Lions.com.au takes an in-depth look at the statistics from Saturday’s disappointing loss against the Western Bulldogs.

Disposals
Although the Western Bulldogs clearly dominated the disposal count (380-304), Lions Vice-Captain Tom Rockliff finished with a game-high 33 possessions.

Brent Moloney ranked second at the Club with 23, while seven of his teammates (almost one third of the entire team) failed to reach double figures.   

One of those was 2013 Michael Tuck Medallist Daniel Rich, who was blanketed by Bulldogs tagger Nick Lower and held to a career-low eight disposals.

Disposal Efficiency
Rockliff not only got more of the ball than any other Lions player, but he also used it the best.

Rockliff’s disposal efficiency of 87.9% was a team-high, followed by ruckman Billy Longer who’s seven disposals came at an efficiency rate of 85.7%.

At the other end of the scale, only one of James Polkinghorne’s six touches was deemed to be ‘effective’.  

Clearances
The Lions were soundly beaten in the clearances 42-34, with Brent Moloney contributing a team-high eight (which was twice as many as the next best Lions player).

Only Tom Liberatore (11) had more clearances than Moloney for the match.

Tackles
The tackle count was one of the few statistical categories the Lions won on the day – which is probably more of an indication that they spent most of the match chasing their opponents.

The Lions’ leading tackler for the past two seasons, Jack Redden, was once again at the fore with a game-high 10 tackles, while Josh Green laid six.  

Inside 50
Moloney was one of the few players who could hold his head up high after Saturday’s match.

He not only led the team in clearances and ranked second in disposals, but also pumped the ball inside 50m more times (seven) than any other Lions player.

Rohan Bewick was next best with five.

Goals
Goals were certainly hard to come by for the Lions last Saturday, with the team’s seven majors all coming from individual goal-kickers.

Of most concern was the team’s inaccuracy, with a number of missed opportunities from ‘gettable’ shots.    

There will no doubt be a big focus on goal-kicking at training this week, with spearheads Aaron Cornelius (25% accuracy) and Jonathan Brown (33%) the worst offenders.

Substitute
When the Lions activated their substitute midway through the third quarter, the match had probably already slipped through their fingers.

However Claye Beams came on and made a solid contribution with nine disposals, three marks, two tackles, and a goal in just 37% of total game-time.

In fact, he scored more AFL Dream Team points (47) than seven Lions teammates who spent considerably more time on the field.

Dream Team
The Lions’ top five AFL Dream Team scorers were as follows:

114 – Tom Rockliff
96 – Brent Moloney
87 – Pearce Hanley
80 – Jack Redden
73 – Daniel Merrett