CBAs – Centre Bounce Attendances – is a statistic that measures the number of times a player is present at a centre bounce at the beginning of a quarter or following a goal. A player that has a high attendance rate at CBAs is around the footy more and (in some cases) in a more fantasy-friendly midfield role.
Analyse the CBAs from the football weekend in our user-friendly tables in our premium resources section – featuring advanced analytical tools to better measure the most significant changes, seasonally and week-to-week.
Hugh McCluggage
Josh Dunkley has been ruled out for 1-2 weeks and we saw the best of Hugh McCluggage in Round 16. He attended 17/29 (58.6%) of the centre bounces in Round 16 for a 116, his second ton of the year. The most promising stat was that he scored a massive 62 points from stoppages after averaging just 30.7 stoppage points in 2023.
Will we see McCluggage play more midfield this week with Dunkley out? I think it’s very likely after 7 coaches votes last week. And to make things better, he gets to play against the West Coast Eagles, and could be an epic captaincy selection this week.
Darcy Cameron
Since his return from injury in Round 10, Darcy Cameron has been the #1 ruck at the Pies again. He averaged an impressive 97.5 in his four games between Round 11 & Round 15. However, it all came to a halt against Jarrod Witts where Cameron scored 58 fantasy points. It was likely matchup related, with Witts arguably the toughest ruck to oppose, but there were some flags for the role of ‘DC’.
Cameron only attended 53.8% of centre bounces with Cox and Frampton sharing the rest. If we look to ruck contest numbers, Cameron had 63%. As a owner myself, I’m not too worried about his prospects for the rest of the year. And with R/F status, I’d probably still play him in the forwards if I found a new ruck on the waivers.
Connor Rozee
Port Adelaide have been using the deepest midfield mix in the competition this year with centre bounces spread equally over five players. Rozee has been the best of them this season with 70% centre bounce attendance. 145 points in Round 16 is a season high for Rozee and it only came from 58.3% CBAs. Let’s take a look at how he scored those points:
| Centre Bounce | Ball Up | Throw In | Turnover | Kick-In |
| 11 | 22 | 13 | 84 | 15 |
His stoppage numbers were boosted a lot by tackles, with 7 of his 9 tackles at stoppages. This is a good example of how players can still be involved when below their usual centre-bounce attendance.
Callum Mills
Long term owners of Callum Mills are on a bit of a rollercoaster with him at the moment. After a career best season averaging 111.0 in 2022, Mills has had an interrupted year so far. After missing a few games with injury (and a score of 3 to go with it), he’s had modest returns of 64 and 85 fantasy points. Owners will be pleased to see that Mills had a season high 76.5% CBAs in Round 16.
Of the elite midfielders in fantasy, Mills has always been a different type of accumulator. He doesn’t score many points from centre-bounces even with high usage, but is heavily involved in the outside transition. Chad Warner is still out so Mills could get a bit more inside ball than usual, which can only help.
Josh Ward
Hawthorn are trying a handful of players in the midfield this season, and in Round 16, Josh Ward got his chance. After missing 6 games through injury, he was straight into the middle with a season high 53.8% CBAs. He scored a very solid 91 fantasy points and should be one to hold onto for years to come. The main change for the Hawks was a drop in centre-bounces for Will Day who has been spending more time in defence without James Sicily.
Coach Sam Mitchell said this about Ward post-game: “He finally gets his chance this week, and I thought he performed really well… he just looks capable at the level.” Ward is an exciting prospect moving forward for keeper leagues and being in the midfield will help to score well as he develops.
Preview of Advanced CBA Stats:
| Player | Club | Pos | LG% | LG%vsPG% | Avg% | L3Avg% | LG%vsAvg% | L3G%vsAvg% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Steele | SK | C | 86 | -7 | 89.7 | 88 | -3.7 | -1.7 |
| Reilly O’Brien | AD | R | 84 | -4 | 89 | 86 | -5 | -3 |
| Rowan Marshall | SK | R | 76 | -20 | 87.7 | 87 | -11.7 | -0.7 |
| Lloyd Meek | HW | R | 90 | +11 | 86.2 | 87 | +3.8 | +0.8 |
| Tom Green | GWS | C | 80 | -5 | 86.2 | 85 | -6.2 | -1.2 |
| Max Gawn | ME | R | 92 | +6 | 86 | 88 | +6 | +2 |
| Luke Davies-Uniacke | NM | C | 80 | -5 | 85.5 | 84 | -5.5 | -1.5 |
| Jarrod Witts | GC | R | 93 | +11 | 84.6 | 87 | +8.4 | +2.4 |
| Ned Reeves | HW | R | 82 | -5 | 84.5 | 79 | -2.5 | -5.5 |
| Toby Nankervis | RI | R | 83 | -7 | 83.8 | 84 | -0.8 | +0.2 |
View more CBA Analysis numbers here.
Key:
LG% – Percentage of CBAs last game
LG%vsPG% – Percentage of CBAs last game versus percentage of CBAs previous game
Avg% – Average of CBA percentage in games played
L3Avg% – Average of CBA percentage over the past three games
LG%vsAvg% – Last game CBA percentage vs average CBA percentage
L3G%vsAvg% – Last three games CBA percentage vs average CBA percentage
