ONE OF the defining elements of the opening week of the 2022 finals was pressure, with six of the eight teams involved smashing their season averages on Champion Data's pressure rating measurement.

Sydney delivered on its hard-earned reputation as the AFL's pressure king, players including Luke Parker went to new levels for 2022, and the Western Bulldogs showed what happens when your pressure drops.

Friday night's clash between Sydney and Melbourne was the high point, recording an overall pressure rating of 194, which is ranked No.9 of the 52 opening-week finals in the past 13 years.

The Swans' rating of 219 in the final quarter against the Dees was the highest from the four finals played and their fifth-best quarter for the season, helping them finish the match with a pressure rating of 200.

The standout player in the match was Parker, who raced past his 2022 average of 50.0 to record a season-high 81.8 pressure points, while Errol Gulden (66.0) also recorded a season-best rating.

The Swans had four of the top five pressure players on the ground, with Melbourne star Clayton Oliver (57.9) leading the way for the Demons, who ranked 16th in the AFL for pressure rating at the end of the home-and-away season.

Champion Data's pressure factor stat, which is used by clubs as a key indicator of performance, measures the pressure points accrued by a team through acts like chasing, corralling and tackling for every 100 chances they have to apply pressure.

Collingwood came in second behind the Swans in the opening week of finals, beating its season average of 186 to record a pressure factor of 195, which included crashing through the 200 barrier in the opening quarter against Geelong (208).

It was a team effort from the Magpies, whose best ranked pressure player was Jack Crisp (53.4), while Jordan De Goey recorded a season-high 50.0, well above his season average of 31.9.

Geelong was the outlier in the opening week of finals as they recorded a pressure factor of 176, below its season average of 179, and winning its qualifying final against Collingwood despite being out-pressured for three of the four quarters.

At the top end for the Cats, Tom Atkins was excellent with 72.3 pressure points, with Geelong getting the edge in the third quarter when they recorded a pressure factor of 188 to the Magpies' 183.

The elimination final between Fremantle and the Western Bulldogs swung drastically on pressure and ranked second of the four finals, with an overall rating of 189.

The Bulldogs jumped out of the gates with a rating of 210 in the opening term, their fifth-best quarter of the season, but slipped alarmingly from there.

In the fourth quarter, as the Dockers continued a run that included 11 of the last 13 goals of the game, the Dogs recorded their worst final term of the season in terms of pressure and their second-worst quarter overall for the year (145) to be eliminated.

Midfielder Josh Dunkley could not have done more, recording the most pressure points (88.2) of any player involved in the four finals, followed in that match by Fremantle's Sam Switkowski with a season-best 75.3.

Interestingly, forward/ruck Rory Lobb doubled his average 2022 output of 22.0 for the Dockers to record a season-high 44.0 pressure points, which included five tackles.

The Thursday night qualifying final between Brisbane and Richmond ranked fourth for overall pressure, with the match defined instead by its attacking play and high scoring.

Toby Nankervis (59.7) set the standard with his best pressure performance of the season, while Brisbane star Lachie Neale (50.7) led the way for the Lions, who ranked No.11 for pressure at the end of the home-and-away season.

The standard for pressure in September since 2010, when it was first measured, remains the finals of 2011 and 2012.

The 2012 Grand Final between Sydney and Hawthorn remains at No.1 with a pressure factor of 216, followed by the 2011 semi-final involving the same teams (211).

The top five matches for pressure factor, which also include the 2011 Grand Final between Geelong and Collingwood (211) at No.3, are all matches from 2011 and 2012.

The highest ranked final from last season was the elimination final between the Western Bulldogs and Essendon (197), while the 2020 high mark in finals was Richmond's Grand Final victory against Geelong (202).

Pressure ratings

Finals W1 pressure factor

TOP 10 finals for pressure factor since 2010