The Economics of Sport
  • Sports Economics
  • About
  • Workshop
  • Selected Publications
  • Book Reviews
  • A Primer on Gaelic Games
  • Upcoming Events
  • Media
  • Education
  • Resources & Links
  • Data

Hurling is ...

7/6/2021

 
By John Considine
Picture
Economics is what economists do.  That statement is attributed to Jacob Viner.  My guess is that Viner never saw a game of hurling but his statement could be amended to describe sporting games.  Hurling is what hurlers do.  So, what do they do?  A good place to start is a paper published last month in the International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport.

The data in the paper is from all senior inter-county championship games for the 2018, 2019, and 2020 seasons.  The primary purpose of the paper is to distinguish between winning and losing teams in terms of a range of performance indicators.  However, it can also be used to give a picture of what constitutes the small-ball & stick game two decades into the 21st century.  Hurling, like economics, is ever changing.

On average there are 74 shots (or score attempts) per 70+ minutes of a game.  Sixty-seven (67) of these shots cross the opponent’s end-line for either a score or a wide (zero points).  Then, the game is restarted by a puckout.  There is a wealth of analysis on what happens with these restarts.  Heat-maps detailing where on the playing area the puckout is directed.  Tables showing who wins these puckout and how it differs depending on the distance the ball travels.  It is a prime example of how the game has changed.  If the data was collected for the late 20th century then the figures in the rows for short puckouts would be close to zero.  In those days, "going short" meant dropping the ball 70m away rather than 85m away!

The authors note a considerable shift towards shorter puckouts in 2020.  The acceleration of the longer-term trend is probably due to the pandemic but no explanation is offered in this paper (maybe a further paper is coming).  The pandemic had three important implications.  First, it changed the competition structure to reduce the number of games.  In 2018 and 2019 a round-robin regional structure determined who progressed to the later All-Ireland stages.  In 2020 the regional competitions became single-game knockouts with success in the regional competition determining the stage of entry to All-Ireland competition.  Second, the pandemic meant that the games were played in autumn/winter compared to the summer.  Third, the pandemic also meant that the games were played without spectators at the venues.  My speculation is that the first two might have slightly contributed to longer puckouts but that the absence of crowds contributed to shorter puckouts in a big way.  Speculation.

There is also tabulated data and graphs detailing how possession is lost or turned over to the opposition (84 turnovers per game).  For example, possession is frequently lost in the tackle.  It is the third most frequent way possession is lost or turned over.  It is a very important part of the game.  However, there is not a statistical difference between winners and losers.  As Paul O’Brien and his co-authors say, “Tackling is not a significant factor that differentiates winners and losers, despite being portrayed in the media and public discourse as such”.  I wonder will we hear and read less of "the team that wins the tackle count wins the game"?

It would be interesting to see how the authors would code the "tackle" if they viewed games from the 20th century.  My guess that there would be very few modern day tackles where bodily contact dislodges the ball.  A current favourite tackling technique is to use the arm, that is not holding the stick, to make contact with an opponent.  The further back in time that one goes, one is likely to find that players kept both hands on the stick when attempting to turnover possession.  Frequently, it was the stick that made contact with the opponent.  This was done with varying degrees of force and legality.  Not only could it turnover possession, it discouraged players from trying to retain possession themselves.  The ball was transferred as quickly, and as far away, as possible.  Different times.  The game evolves.  What players do defines the game.  Hurling is what hurlers do.  A good picture of hurling in 2021 is provided by Paul O'Brien and his co-authors.


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    About

    This website was founded in July 2013.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    American Football
    Athletics
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Behavioural Economics
    Boxing
    Broadcasting
    Competitive Balance
    Cricket
    Cycling
    Darts
    David Butler
    Declan Jordan
    Drugs
    Ed Valentine
    Epl
    Esports
    Expenditure
    F1
    Fifa World Cup
    Finances
    Funding
    Gaa
    Gaelic Games
    Gambling
    Game Theory
    Gary Burns
    Geography
    Golf
    Greyhound Racing
    Guest Posts
    Horse Racing
    Impact Studies
    John Considine
    John Eakins
    League Of Ireland
    Location
    Media
    Mls
    Mma
    Olympics
    Participation
    Paul O'Sullivan
    Premier League
    Regulation
    Research
    Robbie Butler
    Rugby
    Simpsonomics
    Snooker
    Soccer
    Spatial Analysis
    Sporting Bodies
    Stephen Brosnan
    Swimming
    Taxation
    Teaching
    Technology
    Tennis
    Transfers
    Uefa
    Ufc
    World Cup
    Wwe

Related

The website is not formally affiliated to any institution and all of the entries represent the personal views and opinions of an individual contributor. The website operates on a not-for-profit basis. For this reason we decline all advertisement opportunities. 

Contact

To contact us email sportseconomics2013@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @SportEcon.