By the numbers: how Cork's forwards have fared in front of the posts

With the league campaign drawing to a close and Cork merely a result against Offaly away from securing a league final for the second consecutive season, it’s fair to say that Ben O’Connor’s maiden campaign has gotten off to a positive start.

But how have the players fared individually? Stats still play a relatively primitive role in Gaelic games, at least when compared to professional sports. The data we’ve got available to us is limited too, and here we can only use stats to measure how Cork’s forwards have performed in front of the posts.

And while that is not the only measure of success with forwards, it does leave room for some interesting trends and statistical talking points.

For example, you may be surprised to learn that Tommy O’Connell has been Cork’s most clinical shooter (of those who have attempted at least five shots). The Midleton man has taken seven attempts, and six have resulted in white flags.

Perhaps more impressive, is the return posted by Shane Barrett. The Blarney sharpshooter has scored 13 of his 16 attempts and has been deadly accurate in the early months of the season.

Barrett and O’Connell are the only players (who have attempted at least five shots) to post conversion rates of over 80%, while at the foot of the table, Declan Dalton and Darragh Fitzgibbon have been the least accurate. Though one would hardly suggest Fitzgibbon has been anything but excellent for Cork so far this year. Proof again that these stats measure one thing, and it’s not performance.

But there’s another metric we can break down – what each Cork player has averaged in scores per game. And, to even it out across the board, we’ll only focus on returns from play.

Perhaps unsurprisingly – given how crucial his scoring returns have become to Cork – Brian Hayes is in a league of his own at the top, average almost five points a game from play, having scored 3-5 in 200 minutes for the Rebels.

The only other player to average over four points a game is Shane Barrett, while young guns William Buckley and Diarmuid Healy have averaged 3.8 and 3.7 points per game respectively.

Despite Cork playing five games, rotation leaves the sample size small for many, but Barry and Alan Walsh both post decent averages given their rookie status.

The data also shows changes in playstyle, too. Alan Connolly has completely changed the way he contributes to Cork, and his average of 2.3 points a game is proof that while he's been less prominent from play in terms of scores, every other area of his game feels like it's improved dramatically.

Combined conversion rate data across all five league games (v Waterford, Galway, Tipperary, Kilkenny and Limerick):

85.7% Tommy O'Connell – Scored: 0-6 | Missed: 1 

81.3% Shane Barrett – Scored: 0-13 | Missed: 3 

75.5% Tim O'Mahony – Scored: 0-9 (5 frees, 1 65) | Missed: 3 (2 frees) 

69.2% William Buckley – Scored: 1-8 | Missed: 4 

68.8% Alan Connolly – Scored: 1-21 (13 frees, 1 65) | Missed: 10 (4 frees, 1 65, 1 penalty) 

66.7% Seamus Harnedy – Scored: 0-4 | Missed: 2 

63.6% Diarmuid Healy – Scored: 0-7 | Missed: 4 

61.5% Brian Hayes – Scored: 3-5 | Missed: 5 

60.0% Eoin Downey – Scored: 0-3 | Missed: 2 

57.1% Mark Coleman – Scored: 0-4 | Missed: 3 (1 free) 

56.0% Darragh Fitzgibbon – Scored: 0-14 (3 frees) | Missed: 11 (2 frees) 

55.6% Declan Dalton – Scored: 1-4 (1-0 penalty) | Missed: 4 (1 penalty, 1 sideline) 

Players with fewer than five shots attempted:

100% Cormac O'Brien – Scored: 0-1 sideline | Missed: 0 

100% Brian O'Sullivan – Scored: 0-1 | Missed: 0 

75% Barry Walsh – Scored: 1-2 | Missed: 1 

50% Shane Kingston – Scored: 0-1 | Missed: 1 

50% Brian Roche – Scored: 0-1 | Missed: 1 

50% Hugh O'Connor – Scored: 0-2 | Missed: 2 

50% Alan Walsh – Scored: 1-1 | Missed: 2 

0% Ethan Twomey – Scored: 0-0 | Missed: 1 

0% Micheál Mullins – Scored: 0-0 | Missed: 2 

0% Patrick Collins – Scored: 0-0 | Missed: 1 free 

0% Ciaran Joyce – Scored: 0-0 | Missed: 1 

Average scores from play per game:

4.9 pts per game – Brian Hayes (3-5 from play in 200 mins) 

4.1 pts per game – Shane Barrett (0-13 from play in 222 mins) 

3.8 pts per game – William Buckley (1-8 from play in 204 mins) 

3.7 pts per game – Diarmuid Healy (0-7 from play in 131 mins) 

3.0 pts per game – Seamus Harnedy (0-4 from play in 94 mins) 

2.9 pts per game – Alan Walsh (1-1 from play in 95 mins) 

2.8 pts per game – Darragh Fitzgibbon (0-12 from play in 295 mins) 

2.5 pts per game – Barry Walsh (1-2 from play in 138 mins) 

2.3 pts per game – Alan Connolly (1-6 from play in 280 mins) 

2.0 pts per game – Declan Dalton (0-4 from play in 139 mins) 

2.0 pts per game – Brian O'Sullivan (0-1 from play in 35 mins) 

1.8 pts per game – Shane Kingston (0-1 from play in 40 mins) 

1.6 pts per game – Mark Coleman (0-4 from play in 175 mins) 

1.5 pts per game – Tommy O'Connell (0-6 from play in 280 mins) 

1.1 pts per game – Tim O'Mahony (0-3 from play in 199 mins) 

0.8 pts per game – Eoin Downey (0-3 from play in 280 mins) 

0.7 pts per game – Brian Roche (0-1 from play in 105 mins) 

0.7 pts per game – Hugh O'Connor (0-1 from play in 107 mins)