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EdgeRed is featured on ABC News!

EdgeRed participated in the NRL DataJam and took home 2nd place; competing against teams from major companies across Australia. Despite our initial limited knowledge on rugby league, we analysed the effect of lateral movement and brought a fresh perspective into the competition.

Read our analysis featured on ABC News by Jack Snape.

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Have these rugby league novices discovered the secret to winning in the NRL?

By Jack Snape

Posted Thu 12 Mar 2020 at 9:38am

Edge Red impressed judges in an off-season NRL data competition with their analysis of side-to-side movements.(ABC News)

The captain’s challenge. The new 20/40. Outlawing tackles for players in mid-air. Midfield scrums.

All eyes will be on 2020’s rule changes when the NRL season kicks off this weekend. But despite all the tweaks, rugby league’s essential character remains.

Rugby league is about taking the ball forward.

The fierce attack meeting a breaking wave of defence, surging their 10 metres back and forth. Field position means distance from the tryline. Run metres only count if they’re forward. Forwards crave hit ups, not hit downs.

But to the rugby league community, the obsession about forward progress may have hidden the importance of something else.

The side-to-side.

At least that’s what a team of mostly rugby league novices told a collection of the smartest NRL minds over the offseason.

As part of the NRL DataJam competition, a group of data scientists from Sydney firm Edge Red quantified just how important side-to-side movement is in rugby league success.

And it’s not just the cut out pass, the crossfield kick or Benji Marshall’s (early career) step … it’s across all facets of play in attack and defence.

Read the full article here!

About EdgeRed

EdgeRed is an Australian boutique consultancy specialising in data and analytics. We draw value and insights through data science and artificial intelligence to help companies make faster and smarter decisions.

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