D/E doesn't mean much - but we are the best.

[Pies2016]

I think you are undervaluing D / E when you just compare it to a teams ladder position.
Good footy is the sum of all parts and although D/E is only one part, it’s an extremely important ingredient.
I guarantee that Hardwick would like a higher D / E but to his credit, he has devised a game plan and has the players that can win games without relying on it. And I guarantee the Saints ( second on D / E ) would love to be able to use and retain the ball a lot better inside their own forward fifty.

These days, most games of footy are won in the back of what you do ( or don’t ) with the footy AFTER its made its way inside your own forward arc.
By having a higher comparative D / E, you are at least improving your chances of getting the ball inside your own scoring area.
Having said that, if you can’t retain it in your own forward 50 long enough, then no amount of high D/E is going to help you convert that entry into a score.

[melliot]

What you really need is a separate DE % for when the ball is moved forward.

If your running at less than 99% DE for backwards movement, then that is a problem!

[HAL]

They do their own thing.