Lachie Plowman - Disrespected for too long
Written by Ari Stamatakos
The whipping boy of the Carlton Football Club for some time, Lachie Plowman has garnered much criticism amongst the Carlton’s fans for his so-called ‘lacklustre performances” in recent times. Being a defender, especially in modern times, is arguably one of the hardest jobs in football. Expectations of an elite kick, strong in contest and an ability to be one kick behind the ball at all times creates an illusion of a poor defender when there potentially isn't one. Lachie Plowman has been a victim of unrealistic expectations, the hyperbolic nature of some supporters and having a quietly good season, despite many people wanting you to think otherwise. Lachie Plowman - Disrespected for too long.
One Out Plow
One aspect of Plowman's role is his ability to compete in the One-On-One contest. While he isn't versing the biggest and best forwards of the competition like Liam Jones or Jacob Weitering, he is still coming up against formidable opponents, and he is well and truly holding his own. He is more often than not playing on the opposition most dangerous small forward; this can be seen as he has the third most Contested Defence One On Ones with 17 at the club. In those, he has lost 4, in isolation it doesn't sound that impressive, however that gives him a Contested Defence Loss Percentage of 23.5%. In comparison to other defenders in the competition, this stat is extraordinary. Harris Andrews for example, a premier defender in the competition and one of the best One-On-One defenders in the game has a percentage loss of 28.2%. Darcy Moore, granted, more known for his intercept ability, but his loss percentage of 26.3% is worse than Plow’s. Steven May, his staggering 28% further expresses how much Lachie Plowman has been unfairly criticised this season. So far, there have only been comparisons to key defenders, who naturally have been coming up against the strongest and biggest forwards, however, when you start comparing him to other defenders of his ilk, the positives only grow stronger.
He ranks 4th in the competition for total Contested Defence One-On-One’s amongst other ‘general’ defenders, this shows the level of opponent that he is coming up against, the opposition want to kick the ball to the player who he is on. Again his 23.5% loss percentage only can show how good he is when compared to other defenders. GWS’ Nick Haynes, a big strong defender has a 41.7% loss percentage. Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard, pretty much a carve and copy player, has a 29.4% loss percentage. Geelong’s Jake Kolodjashnij, who has the most Contested Defence One-On-One’s amongst ‘general’ defenders has a loss percentage of 29.2%. And finally, Jeremy Howe, who has a 44.4% loss percentage. This just shows how good he actually is in the One-On-One contest when compared to other similar defenders. When compared to other Carlton ‘general’ defenders, only Liam Stocker (12.5%) has a better loss percentage, and that is from under half of the One-On-Ones that Plow has faced.
Lachie Plowman is putting up numbers in the one-on-one department which, despite not being world beating numbers, does not deserve the criticism he gets. And dare I say if you were to place that One-On-One stat next to any other name, there would be a different conversation.
Kicking Plow
Another aspect of Plowman’s game is his ability to generate attack from defence with penetrating kicks either up the line or biting off the corridor bullet. While he doesn't have a line breaking kick like Weitering or Saad, his kicking this season has been, despite many fans’ opinions being to contrary, nothing short of excellent. I will preface this point by acknowledging that, he isn't perfect, some of his kicks do go astray and the nature of being a defender, his mistakes are amplified 10-fold, which makes him seem much worse then what he is. Lachie Plowman, this season, has a 80.6% kick efficiency, which ranks above average for other ‘general’ defenders in the competition. That is the 3rd best at the club behind Jack Martin and Matt Owies, who have played less games combined then Plowman has played this season. His 83% overall disposal efficiency ranks identical to the above metric. This is surprising for someone who is supposedly a ‘bad kick’. Again, compare this to others at the club such as Adam Saad (76.4 DE and 71% KE), Sam Docherty (82.4% and 79.7%) and Sam Petrevski-Seton (76% and 74.1%). Staggering really when you think about the reactions and the notions regarding those three players.
In comparison with other ‘general’ defenders of the competition, this only makes him look even better. Just to reiterate, his kick efficiency of 80.6% ranks above average amongst other ‘general’ defenders, so when comparing you have to compare with players who are renowned for their kicking prowess. Caleb Daniel for example, many have said he is up there, if not, the best kick in the competition, he pales with his 79.7% kick efficiency. Comparatively, Jack Bowes, who is having a career best season, only has a comparable 79.9% efficiency. This is showing that Lachie Plowman is being criticised based on isolated mistakes rather than his whole game. Lachie Ash, a young gun who is driving the Giant’s rebound 50 game, which they are second in the competition, only has 77.1% efficiency by foot. Speaking about rebound 50’s, Hawthorn lead that statistic and Blake Hardwick is the driving force behind it. His 78.2% kick efficiency again pales in comparison to Plowman’s. Something else which is interesting to note, his 1.1 clangers per game is, again unassuming in isolation, however if I were to tell you that Sam Docherty, Jacob Weitering, Liam Jones, Adam Saad and Sam Petrevski-Seton all average over 2 per game, pretty extraordinary isn't it. When comparing this to others in the competition, he is the 85th best player on average for clangers, again unassuming, however, if I were to tell you that Changkouth Jiath is the 488th best player for clangers with 3.4 per game, it just shows the reliability of Plowman. As well, it shows again his criticism is based on his one error a game, not his whole performance.
Plowman has shown that he is both stronger in the One-On-One contest then you would think, as well as a much better user of the ball then most people would think. Still not convinced? How about if I mentioned he is a much better intercept player then you would think as well.
Intercept Plow
While it’s not a standout of his game as something like his kicking or his One-On-One ability, and definitely one of the bigger areas of improvement he has in his game. His intercept ability has really taken a leap in 2021, his averages this season far out way his averages from the rest of his career. In the ranks of defenders, you wouldn't assume Plowman is up there with the premium of interceptors, however, his 2.1 intercept marks a game is only beaten by Liam Jones and Sam Docherty. Ranking him above the likes of Weitering and Parks, as well as SPS and Saad. This ranks him 10th in the league amongst other ‘general’ defenders, therefore ranking him elite in the competition. His marking game is also heightened when you look at his contested marks. Again not known for it and not necessarily his job but it’s still interesting to look at and notice that he ranks 26th for Contested Marks with 0.6, ranking above average amongst his fellow ‘general’ defenders. Ranked 9th at the Blues and 3rd for all defenders at the club, beaten out by Doch and Weitering. Whilst not excelling, he is still being much more than serviceable in areas of the game which are not his strong suit or necessarily his job. In these two metrics, he is far out-performing his career averages of 1.6 and 0.4 respectively, again showing the improvement that he has shown this season and the versatile nature of his game.
More metrics which are interesting to note are the Spoils and One Percenters. Whilst not major aspects of the game, still vital to the performance of both the player and the team. He ranks third at the club for one percenter’s with 4 per game and 4th at the Blues for average Spoils with 3.1. Again, compared to the rest of the comp in terms of ‘general’ defenders, he ranks above average for both and more specifically 12th and 16th respectively. The intercept game is not his strong suit, arguably his weakest attribute, but he still finds a way to contribute positively in areas where he isn't as strong as others.
Overall?
Overall, Plow has shown that he is capable of being a more than serviceable defender, taking on the game's most dangerous small forwards every week and giving a red hot crack. Arguably Plow’s biggest weakness is his breakaway speed. He always seems to be one meter too far back from the forward which allows too much space for them to mark or create goal scoring opportunities. This hurts the Blues big time as the opposition have isolated his man more often than not in the attempt to expose this weakness. Personally, the blame for the constant ‘exposing’ of Plow has to come upstairs in the coach’s box and poor pressure applied high up on the ground. The persistence use of a man-on-man defence is the perfect way to expose Plow’s biggest weakness. Allowing the isolation inside 50’ and there constantly being space inside defensive 50’ for the ball to be kicked there is asking for trouble from the very start. As well as this, the opposition has been allowed too much time and space to pick the perfect option. This comes down to either, the coaches not setting up the players correctly, or the midfield not applying the required pressure in order to create rushed and hurried kicks inside 50 for the opposition to allow a player like Plow to intercept. The Blues have conceded the 7th most inside 50’s and marks inside 50 this year, what chance does a player like Plow have if the ball is being pounded inside 50 constantly to his disadvantage.
Plowman has been subject to some criticism in recent times. Some fairly, however, more often than not it's been unfair. Perhaps maybe the fans are looking for some sort of a scapegoat as the teams below par performances have caused much anger and frustration. Whatever it may be, Lachie Plowman has been disrespected for too long and needs to stop because as we have seen, he is more than a good enough defender for the Blues.
