Ray Boyne

National Hurling League Division 1A. Similar to the recent Division 1 football exercise, this is a look at scoring efficiency. Scoring efficiency shows how effectively a team turns attacks into scores. Calculated as scores ÷ offence plays, it offers a simple measure of which teams are getting the best return from possession.

Performance development often comes back to something very simple. Simple rarely means easy. These three graphics look at Division 1 from a slightly different angle. Armagh currently sit 6th in the table, yet they have produced more scores than any other team in the league and have the highest offensive efficiency. So that naturally raises a few questions. If they are already creating that many attacking opportunities… If they are already turning possession into scores at that rate… What might happen if even a small number of those 1-pointers became 2-pointers? Or if the value of each attack increased slightly? That is where performance development gets interesting. Sometimes the next step is not doing dramatically more. Sometimes it is about getting more value from what you are already doing well. Maybe that is one of the questions for every team heading into championship preparation: Are we just measuring how often we score? Or are we also asking what our scores are worth? No grand claims here. Just an interesting pattern in the data and perhaps a reminder that in performance, the margins are often found in the value of the opportunity, not just the volume. Simple is not always easy. But better questions often lead to better outcomes.

Goals and two-pointers change the value of each attack. More scores create pressure. Higher-value scores can create separation. That may be one of the clearer patterns emerging from Division 1.

Understanding Offensive Efficiency Around 2016, a statistic was born out of the question “When we get the ball, what happens next?” : How many scores does a team generate from its offensive plays? At its most basic level, the game can be broken into a sequence of offensive and defensive phases. When a team gains possession, that marks the beginning of an offensive play. That play concludes when the possession ends whether through a score, a missed shot, a turnover, or the ball going out of play. At that point, the same team transitions into a defensive play, while the opposition begins their offensive phase. Over the course of a game, both teams therefore tend to have a broadly similar number of offensive and defensive possessions. From an analytical perspective, this shifts the focus toward how effectively a team converts its attacking opportunities. The key metric becomes: Offensive Efficiency = Scores ÷ Offensive Plays Or expressed simply: Scores = Offensive Plays × Efficiency This statistic allows teams to measure how effectively they turn possession into scoring outcomes. It is also worth noting that not all scores carry equal value, which adds another important layer to how attacking performance can be evaluated. Score value is the next part of the formula Offensive Plays → Efficiency → Score Value

Armagh are the most frequent scorers in Division 1, the next step may simply be increasing the value of those scores. Armagh are currently the highest scoring team in Division 1, producing 128 scores and 145 points after six rounds. But the data reveals something interesting: 89% of those scores are single points. In the modern game, the teams climbing the table are increasingly combining score frequency with score value goals and two-pointers dramatically increase the return from attacking opportunities. Armagh are already proving they can create and convert attacks consistently. The opportunity coming out of the league may simply be to add more variation and value to those scores. Sometimes the difference between a very good attack and a great one is not how often you score but what type of score you produce

@Bunnygolf @ponyyelof Love this ❤️

@AnalysisGaa @ponyyelof

The most interesting thing about these numbers isn’t the statistics. It’s the behaviours hiding behind them Those France Six Nations numbers are extraordinary, first in almost every attacking and defensive metric. Points. Tries. Metres made. Line breaks. Defenders beaten. Offloads. Dominant tackles. Tackle success. But the interesting thing is this: Stats don’t create performance. They reveal it. The reason teams track these numbers is simple. Because what gets measured gets done. When you measure: •metres made •dominant tackles •offloads •line breaks •tackle success you are really measuring something deeper. You are measuring effort and attitude expressed as data. Metres made = players working to get over the gain line. Dominant tackles = players committing to collisions. Line breaks = players attacking space. Offloads = players supporting each other. Tackle success = players refusing to be beaten. So when a team tops almost every category, what you’re really seeing is not statistics. You’re seeing a culture where the behaviours that matter are repeated again and again. That’s why good teams measure things. Not to admire spreadsheets. But to make sure the right behaviours show up every weekend. Because in the end, the scoreboard follows the behaviours. And behaviours follow what you choose to measure. Effort. & Attitude. What you’re really seeing isn’t statistics. It’s effort and attitude… measured

The value of the 2-pointer may lie less in the score itself and more in the pressure it places on defensive structure. Teams that can threaten consistently from distance force opposition defences to stretch, which can open space elsewhere.

Last week, six of the eight teams in Division 1 occupied the same position in both the league table and the 2-point scoring table. After Round 6, that relationship remains broadly similar, with most teams still sitting close to their two-point ranking. The teams currently occupying the top four places in the league table Donegal, Kerry, Mayo and Roscommon are also the four highest producers of two-point scores, although the order varies slightly. At this stage, the data does not establish causation, but it does continue to suggest that two-point scoring is emerging as a meaningful indicator of attacking output in Division 1. It may simply be coincidence at this point, but it does raise the question of whether long-range scoring is beginning to shape how games are decided. With @Microsoft copilot

6 Two-Pointers for Kerry today (6–4). That’s 12 points from outside the arc. The two-point rule is continuing to change the geometry of the game, teams that can create and convert from distance now carry a completely different scoring threat. 🎥 @RTEsport #GAA #TwoPointer #GameEvolution #GaelicFootball

@is_mise_ciaran Thanks Ciaran 👍🏼

@AnalysisGaa Yes. The movement of the hands rather than the ball is the rule.

Sometimes the most important coaching conversation you’ll ever have happens after success, not failure. I saw a clip this week where CJ Stander spoke about scoring a try as a young player and celebrating it, only to be pulled aside afterwards by his father, furious at the attitude behind it. Not because he scored. Because of how he behaved after scoring. That moment stayed with him. In sport and in life the people who care about you most are the ones willing to check you when your behaviour drifts from the standard. Scoreboards show outcomes. But the controllables are always the same: • Effort • Behaviour • Attitude When those stay right, everything else tends to follow. When ego creeps in, the best teams and the best families quietly bring you back. Not criticism. Care. Because culture is built on standards. Scoreboards recognise talent. Standards reveal character.

Creating the 2-Pointer The effort behaviours that create the 2-point opportunity. graphic by copilot

Mental toughness isn’t about being hard. It’s about accepting responsibility for your role in something bigger than yourself. Great clip from Jon Gruden talking about the biggest lesson his father taught him about mental toughness. One line stood out: “Everybody had a job.” It might have been cleaning the dishes. Taking out the bins. Working after school. Nothing glamorous but it mattered. It got me thinking about something we see more and more today. Many of us grew up in homes where contribution was just part of life. Everyone had a role. Housework wasn’t punishment, it was participation in the family system. Today, many households (often unintentionally) operate more like service providers. Parents manage everything. Parents solve the problems. Parents carry the responsibility. Young people become participants in the household rather than contributors to it. When most needs are already met, which in many ways is a privilege, the natural pressure to contribute disappears. Effort can become situational rather than habitual. Older models asked a simple question: “What is your role in the group?” Family. Team. Community. Modern culture often asks a different one: “What feels right for you?” That brings a lot of positives, creativity, individuality, confidence, but it can weaken the instinct for duty and responsibility. You see the tension in sport. Players enjoy the winning, but not always the work. They want the freedom of the jersey, but not always the responsibility that comes with it. Another challenge is that many parents (usually from love) try to remove struggle. But struggle is where young people learn problem solving, accountability and perseverance. If obstacles are removed too quickly, the internal voice that says “figure it out… keep going” never really develops. That voice is mental toughness. Sport is one of the few environments left where some simple truths still apply: Effort matters. Roles matter. Discipline matters. Which is why coaches often end up teaching things that used to be learned around the kitchen table. The interesting thing though… Most young players respond really well once they experience structure. When they understand their role. When they see how their effort helps others. When the standard is clear. Belonging through contribution, not status. That’s why I like measuring behaviours in teams: Efforts. Tackles. Recovery runs. Support lines. Because once effort becomes visible, contribution becomes real. And that’s where toughness grows. Mental toughness isn’t about being hard. It’s about accepting responsibility for your role in something bigger than yourself. 🎥 @coachajkings

Interesting to see the discussion around the new 2-point rule continuing to evolve. I had shared a simple table earlier this week looking at the relationship between Division 1 league positions and two-point scoring. It’s still a very small sample size, but the early patterns are certainly intriguing. Good to see the topic explored further in a piece by Philly McMahon in the Irish Independent this morning. As with all things in sport, time and a bigger body of games will tell the real story but it’s an interesting trend to keep an eye on as the season develops. @Independent_ie

Limerick v Cork — Key Game Indicators Cork were actually the more efficient shooters. But Limerick created more chances, forced more turnovers, conceded fewer frees and finished with three goals. The biggest indicator though was the simplest one. Effort Stats: Limerick 101 Cork 82 Skill may decide the score. Effort decides the game.

Sometimes there’s a lazy narrative in sport: “Systems restrict talent.” But listen to Finn Russell. The best players don’t reject structure. They master it, then express themselves inside it. Process doesn’t coach the skill out of players. It gives skill a platform. ⚡