All statistics courtesy of Champion Data.

Clearances from centre bounces offer a team the most space to use the ball damagingly, and it’s a key focus for both Richmond and North Melbourne heading into Round 6.

After their respective Round 5 losses, both coaches discussed what was happening in the middle of the ground.

“We gave up five (goals) in one game and we gave up another four today (against Geelong). The goals are like a knife through your heart, they’re easy goals that are hard to defend,” Tigers’ coach Damien Hardwick said.

North coach Brad Scott echoed his frustrations.

“There were some pretty fundamental mistakes made in the centre bounces. It’s a really fine line between winning and losing them (clearances),” he said.

So it goes without saying that the Roos will have to be wary of how Richmond approaches centre bounces at Blundstone Arena on Saturday.

For the season, the Tigers have averaged the equivalent of two goals per game from the middle, while conceding slightly more. It has been a similar situation for North.

However, what the above conceals is that the Tigers have been extremely efficient at gaining inside 50’s from their centre clearances.

On average across the AFL, a side normally gets an inside 50 around two-thirds of the time after winning a centre clearance. Richmond is the best team in the competition in this statistic through five rounds.

As would be expected, the Tigers have had a relatively consistent trio at centre bounces so far in 2015.

With Ivan Maric attending the majority as the side’s undisputed number one ruckman, he often has Anthony Miles and Trent Cotchin at ground level to palm it to – the duo have both been at almost two-thirds of Richmond’s centre bounces this season.

Rounding out the quartet are any of Shane Edwards, Dustin Martin or Shaun Grigg.

The wildcard in all of the planning around centre bounces is the Hobart weather. There is rain forecast for Saturday afternoon, which could completely change the general flow of play and turn it into a low-scoring encounter.

There are already slightly more ‘secondary stoppages’ during games at Blundstone Arena, this being when the initial centre bounce, ball-up or throw-in isn’t cleared on the first attempt.

The onset of rain could make for a scrappy, contested affair with plenty of work for Maric and Todd Goldstein at the stoppages, but not in the centre.