World Footy News

Much has been made of the recent match-up between these two North American products after they lined up against each other in the ruck last weekend. When Sydney Swans took on St Kilda, much of the Australian Rules football world was salivating at the thought of an American and a Canadian player locking horns at the highest level of the game.

But, for all that anticipation, how did they actually go?

To look at pure figures is a long way from a fair comparison. With Sydney walloping St Kilda by a massive 97 points, through a great team effort, any comparison of two directly opposed players would always be a little skewed.

In pure bold match day statistics it is hardly a surprise to learn that Mike Pyke had the better of the dual based on a player v player comparison. His match stats saw 6 kicks and 7 handpasses for a total of 13 disposals. He also collected 4 marks, 1 tackle and finished the match with 15 hitouts and 2 goals. Not a bad afternoon’s work in his 107th AFL match.

By comparison, Jason Holmes was in his second AFL game. Very unfair to expect a fair comparison, but for the record he managed 1 kick, 2 handpasses for a total of 3 possessions. He also managed 18 hitouts (better than Pyke) gave away 1 free kick, laid 2 tackles and did not score.

As stated, grossly unfair to compare performance given their different levels of experience, pathways to the game, surrounding team performance and more.

But here is something a bit more reasonable. Back in 2009, when Pyke debuted in Round 2 against a rampant Geelong which won by 51 points, his stats were remarkably similar to those of Holmes last weekend.

Pyke managed that day to get 2 kicks and 5 handpasses for a total of 7 disposals. He also had 18 hitouts, laid 3 tackles, gave away 2 free kicks and did not score. But for a couple of extra handballs, Pike played out his second AFL match in much the same statistical way as Holmes.

Whilst it is difficult to compare games played 6 years or more apart and in different circumstances, there is enough evidence in those figures to suggest that Holmes, if given the same amount of opportunity, might one day be at least as effective as Pyke.

Time will tell, but the bold statistics to date certainly give us something to think about, and maybe hope for.

But one thing is certain. The dual represents a landmark day for Australian Rules football here in Australia, in Canada, the USA and across the entire world where the game is played.