A test chart.

Heatmap cluster of surfers based on scores from 2014 WSL season Data provided by surfstats.com

Former Australian Rugby League player Jarryd Hayne has become the story of the NFL pre season playing for the San Francisco 49ers. After 2 games, Hayne is second in the league in rushing yards (117) and leads the 49ers in average yards per punt return (21.6). Are there other Rugby League players capable of causing the same impact in the NFL? If so, who are they? Who should NFL recruiters keep an eye on? The heatmap groups similar players together (see the dendrogram on the left) according to their features and stats. It turns out that along with Jarryd Hayne, James Tedesco from the West Tigers and Darius Boyd from the Brisbane Broncos are in a class by themselves. The next best option is Lachlan Coote (North Queensland).

I came across an article by Phil Rothfield on the dailytelegraph.com.au about the best buys in the NRL. He says "We all agree on the best and we all saw him in full flight on Friday night in the national capital – Canberra Raiders five-eighth Blake Austin." But how about the other players? What if your club missed out on Blake Austin, who is the next best option in the "five eight" position?

Scatterplot of Australian ETF returns vs risk (standard deviation).