Stat Attack: Turning penalties into points

With the 2018 Telstra NRL Premiership shaping up to be as closely contested as it's ever been, the teams able to take the rare opportunities presented to them will have a critical advantage. In today's Stat Attack we take a look at which clubs in 2017 were best able to press their advantage after being awarded a penalty.

The graphic below ranks all 16 clubs from best to worst via tries scored in the set following a penalty received in 2017. The best attacking team – Melbourne – unsurprisingly tops the list and the worst attacking side – Canterbury – is at the bottom. In between however are some surprising results with four non-finals teams in the best eight.

The fact Canberra are level at the top with the Storm isn't such a huge surprise when you consider they scored the third-most points of any club last season. However to see the last-placed Knights in equal third despite scoring the third-fewest points last season shows that while their inexperienced team struggled to create chances they did their best once they got in range.

Both the Eels and Roosters managed to finish in the top four despite not pressing home their advantage from penalties particularly well.