Football games are played on grass, not calculators, but there’s a lot of numbers that go into every match up and, ultimately, that have a big influence on the result.
These are the figures that could be a factor in Friday’s AFL preliminary final between the Tigers and the Magpies.
Richmond v Collingwood
Games between these two clubs
Total: 208
Richmond wins: 90
Collingwood wins: 117
Draws: One
MORE: The players that matter in Richmond v Collingwood | Buckley reveals the pressure of being Collingwood's coach
Finals
Richmond wins: Nine
Collingwood wins: Seven
Collingwood’s last win in a final against Richmond was the 1937 Semi-Final: Collingwood 18.12 (120) d Richmond 10.9 (69)
Last time they met in a final
1980 Grand Final. Richmond 23.21 (159) d Collingwood 9.24 (78)
Since that day
Richmond wins: 30 Highest score: 159 Lowest score: 37 Biggest winning margin: 91
Collingwood wins: 31 Highest score: 161 Lowest score: 36 Biggest winning margin: 101
Preliminary final teams
Average age
Richmond: 25 years, 311 days
Collingwood: 25 years, 285 days
Over 30
Richmond: Two (Houli, Grigg)
Collingwood: Three (Goldsack, Pendlebury, Varcoe)
INCREDIBLE GOAL FROM TRAVIS VARCOE!#AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/6XckNiHJuL
— AFL (@AFL) September 8, 2018
Under 21
Richmond: Two (Graham, Higgins)
Collingwood: Two (Stephenson, Sier)
Average games
Richmond: 120.18
Collingwood: 108.68
Over 200 games
Richmond: Five
Collingwood: Three
100-200 games
Richmond: Eight
Collingwood: Eight
JACK HIGGINS!
— AFL (@AFL) July 28, 2018
He pulls a rabbit out of the hat for a @coateshire Goal of the Year contender! #AFLTigersPies pic.twitter.com/yXUukeKmM4
50-100 games
Richmond: Six
Collingwood: Six
Under 50 games
Richmond: Three
Collingwood: Five
Collingwood has the most experienced player on the ground in captain Scott Pendlebury with 275 games, as well as the two least experienced, Brayden Sier (10) and Brodie Mihocek (14).
Brody's on the board with the banana!#AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/jVptXIeQd3
— AFL (@AFL) September 15, 2018
Average finals played
Richmond: 5.4
Collingwood: 5.5
Collingwood has 14 players who hadn’t fronted in a final before this year compared to just two at Richmond, but the five most experienced September campaigners are all Magpies (Pendlebury 19, Varcoe 19, Sidebottom 16, Goldsack 15, Mayne 13)
How players came to the club
Richmond
Draft
1st round: 10
2nd round: Four
3rd round: Three
5th round: One
Rookie: Three
Pre-season: One
Traded in from another AFL cub: Five
Josh Caddy slots it from the tight angle!#AFLTigersPies pic.twitter.com/zFTbcfPrUZ
— AFL (@AFL) July 28, 2018
Collingwood
Draft
1st round: 10
2nd round: Four
3rd round: One
4th round: Three
5th round: One
Rookie: Three
Traded in from another AFL club: Eight