“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.
Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher, coined the phrase sometime between 384 and 322 BC, explaining that a single thing made of many separate variables can be of more value than the individual parts on their own.
So, how can this theory be proven an age later through the method of GVL Data — a system even Aristotle would probably have had headaches with?
Take Seymour’s loss to Mooroopna, for example.
At the weekend, the Lions fell at the hands of the Cats 11.13 (79) to 8.9 (57) despite still holding a higher team ranking point total (1600-1581).
Seymour’s Nathan Beattie scored top marks on the day, with his 36 disposals, 12 tackles and five scoring involvements landing him an aggregate score of 160 — the best of any player in the match.
But Mooroopna still won the game.
Scrolling through the stat categories is like splitting hairs when trying to differentiate the two sides in terms of their performance.
Mooroopna and Seymour both shared an identical 76 per cent disposal efficiency, though the former moved the ball more frequently according to the 365-323 touch count.
Seymour versus Mooroopna
Disposals
Seymour: 323
Mooroopna: 365
Inside-50s
Seymour: 39
Mooroopna: 44
Turnovers
Seymour: 61
Mooroopna: 61
Pressure acts
Seymour: 74
Mooroopna: 48
It was even-stevens in a host of other metrics, with Seymour’s output in one-percenters (17), turnovers (61) and midfield tackles (42) identical to that of the Cats.
The same can’t be said for swinging the ball inside the arc, though.
Mooroopna had the upper hand with five more inside-50 entries, boasting 73 per cent efficiency in direct contrast to Seymour’s 59 per cent.
The Cats also beat the Lions to the ball from the stoppage, dominating the clearance count 46-26 while piling on plus-26 in the contested possession department.
When push came to shove at three-quarter-time with the score locked at 51-all, Mooroopna had too much firepower up forward for the Lions to contend with.
Daniel Johnston kicked three goals in short succession, taking the bulk of Mooroopna’s five marks inside 50 throughout the fourth quarter to Seymour’s none.
Yet stats-wise, Seymour had the wood over its opponent for three out of four quarters.
As Aristotle intended, however, a whole-hearted effort across the board will beat any individual brilliance, and lapses — however small — are often the difference between winning and losing in footy.