Post Contact Metres

The amount of metres a team or player advances with the ball in his possession towards the try line, after being contacted by opposition defenders. 

Probably the most in-vogue NRL stat, post contact metres is useful in demonstrating the strength and power of ball runners.

It also sorts out the genuine metre-eaters from the rest, as running metres can occasionally be skewed towards players who take long runs from drop kicks or kick returns before contacting the defensive line.

Typically, this stat is dominated by players who have enough strength to surge forward with the ball with two or three defenders hanging on to them. 

Example: “Jason Taumalolo was the first player to reach 1,000 post contact metres in the 2018 NRL season.”

Like with running metres, post contact metres demonstrate the ability of a team to run the ball from one end of the field to the other.

As possession in attacking areas is such a key advantage in a game of rugby league, punters will view teams with Jason Taumalolo-type players as more likely to get their team in a position to score points. This has a bearing on both the head-to-head and total points over/under markets.

Benchmark: Any forward who makes more than 4 post contact metres on average per run is considered a strong ball runner.