How to read a FootySphere result

Read the question and answer together

Start with the question banner. Check the names, dates and calculation against what you typed. The answer sentence gives the short result, but it should be read with the table and any notes beneath it.

If you asked for an average and the result describes a total, reword the question with “per game”. If the year is wrong or missing, ask again with the year written out. A plausible number can still answer a different question.

Work out what one row represents

In a game log, a row represents a match entry. In a player leaderboard, it represents a player’s result across the selected period. A season comparison may have a different row for each season. Read the headers before comparing the numbers.

Highlighted columns draw attention to the statistics used by the question. Other columns give context. A large number in a nearby column is not necessarily the value that determined the answer or ranking. Use the glossary if a heading or abbreviation is unfamiliar.

Open “What games were included?”

When this section is shown, use it to check how the result was built. Look for the season range, finals selection, match conditions and the included games. This matters most when you combine filters or ask a question covering several years.

For an average, check the sample size. For a total, check that the period is complete enough for the comparison you are making. For a recent game log, use the match dates to confirm what “last” means in the returned data.

Follow one row back to the question

Choose a row in the result and read it from left to right. In a game log, identify the match first: season, round, opponent or date, depending on the columns shown. Then find the statistic you asked about. This helps avoid mistaking a round number or another nearby value for the answer.

For a leaderboard, check whether the row describes a total, an average or one performance. If games played is shown, read it alongside an average. A high average from two appearances carries different weight from the same average across a full season.

If the table has more pages, remember that the visible rows may only be part of the result. Use the available page controls to inspect further entries. Changing the table’s sort order can change which rows appear first; it does not change the original question’s meaning.

Keep the notes with the number

A recording-period note can limit a record to the years where that statistic is available. A missing entry is not proof that the player recorded zero. Read any caveats before quoting the answer as an all-time record.

When saving or sharing a result, keep its question and scope with it. Use the bookmark control to revisit it from your account. Where a sharing control is provided, use it to copy the result link so someone else can inspect the same question.

Tell a scoring event from a match

Some detailed results show one scoring event per row. That means the same player and match can appear several times. A goal and a behind in the same quarter are two events, but they still belong to one appearance. Look for Quarter and Time columns and read the row description in the scope notes.

This matters when counting games. Adding the rows of an event table will count events, not distinct matches. For a question about how often a player scored, decide whether you want the number of goals, the number of scoring events or the number of games containing a score. Those totals need not be equal.

Check ties, sorting and table excerpts

Read the answer sentence when two values look equal. In the MCG goals example elsewhere in these guides, Kysaiah Pickett and Bayley Fritsch both have 25 goals. One appearing above the other does not make him the outright leader. The answer explicitly describes the tie.

The embedded tables in these guides are saved excerpts. They show only a few rows so the explanation is easy to follow. Their capture date tells you when they were taken. Open the full result for the remaining rows, current answer and complete match detail. A three-row preview should never be read as proof that only three players qualified.

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