Why Troisi is a shooting star

Scoring a long-range stunner from outside the box gets the fans off their seats. Opta Data looks at who bosses the long-bombs this Hyundai A-League 2016/17 Season.

When it comes to trying his luck from distance, one player stands out from the rest in the Hyundai A-League – Melbourne Victory’s James Troisi.

Opta Quiz with Alex Wilkinson

Hyundai A-League Round 15 stats preview

Australia’s 2015 Asian Cup hero isn’t afraid to test opposition keepers from long-range, with his 24 shots from outside the box the most of any player in the competition.

#MVCvBRI - Victory’s James Troisi (24) has attempted more shots at goal from outside the box than any other player this Hyundai A-League season.

He is the only player in the A-League to average more than two shots per game from distance scoring once, last weekend’s cracker in the win over Adelaide United.

Only one other player has had 20 attempts from outside the box – Roar’s Tommy Oar (20) – with his only goal also coming in round 14 against the Jets.

Player  

Games Played

Goals

Total Shots OutBox (inc. Blocks)

Goals (outside box)

Troisi, James

11

2

24

1

Oar, Tommy

14

1

20

1

Finkler, Guilherme

12

2

18

0

Bonevacia, Roly

13

0

16

0

Hoole, Andrew

14

4

15

2

Nicolás Martínez

14

2

14

1

Griffiths, Rostyn

13

2

14

2

Luke Brattan

13

1

14

0

Brown, Wayne

14

2

13

2

Marinkovic, Nebojsa

14

3

13

2

Ferreira, Fabio

12

0

13

0

JETS JOIN JIMMY IN LONG-RANGE STATS

The Hunter club are the competition leaders when it comes to goals from outside the box in the 2016/17 Season.

Mark Jones’ side has netted seven times from long-range, two more than any other team. Of the 20 goals they have scored this campaign, 35% are from distance.

And their attacker Andrew Hoole has contributed two of those – one of just five players to have scored multiple times from outside the box.

Jets winger Andrew Hoole celebrates scoring against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.

Team-mate Wayne Brown, Adelaide United’s Henrique and Perth Glory duo Rostyn Griffiths and Nebojsa Marinkovic are the others that have each scored twice from outside the box.

Phoenix’s Gui Finkler has attempted the most shots from distance (18) yet to find the back of the net.

REDS RULE THE REST

Interestingly, it’s the clubs which are currently outside the top four in the Hyundai A-League that have proved better exponents of the long-range goal.

Team

Inside

Outside

% Inside

% Outside

Adelaide United

6

4

60%

40%

Brisbane Roar FC

15

3

83%

17%

Central Coast Mariners

15

1

94%

6%

Melbourne City FC

20

3

87%

13%

Melbourne Victory

29

3

91%

9%

Newcastle Jets

13

7

65%

35%

Perth Glory

19

5

79%

21%

Sydney FC

32

2

94%

6%

Wellington Phoenix

13

1

93%

7%

Western Sydney Wanderers FC

15

2

88%

12%

Fifth-placed Glory (5) has scored the second most, while for the lowly Reds, four of their 10 goals (40%) have been outside the box, the best conversion rate in the competition.    

Conversely, league-leaders Sydney FC (2) and Melbourne Victory (3), have scored only 6% and 9% respectively of their goals from beyond the 18-yard box in the 2016/17 Season.

Across the Hyundai A-League, 31 of the 208 goals scored have been from outside the box at just under 15%.