IF YOU thought football in 2014 was short of shootouts, you were right.It took a score review deep into the final quarter of Saturday night's Collingwood-West Coast game to end a streak more than half-a-century long.Until the video umpire confirmed a goal to Jack Darling which tipped the Eagles' score over 100, we hadn't had a single game this year in which both teams had topped the century.That's something which hasn't happened this deep into a VFL/AFL season since 1963. And that year the entire season was completed without any game where both clubs topped the ton.It's an interesting statistical quirk, or possibly something more significant given the amount of hand-wringing about the congested nature of football in 2014.Prior to the Eagles scoring 15.11 (101) and losing one of the season's best games to the Magpies' 17.7 (109) on Saturday, the closest we'd come this year to a genuine shootout had been games between those who were closer to the lower rungs of the ladder at the time: the Bulldogs sneaking home against Richmond in round three - 15.10 (100) to 15.8 (98) - and Gold Coast torching the young Giants - 20.14 (134) to 13.16 (94) - in round six.Of course there have been plenty of thrashings this year that have tipped the match aggregate score well over 200 points. The clubhouse leader at the conclusion of round 10 is West Coast's demolition of GWS a fortnight ago - 30.8 (188) to 12.5 (77) for an aggregate of 265 points between the two teams.It's not like shootouts have been on the wane in recent years. There were 23 such contests last year (and 10 by the end of round 10) as run and gun football seemed very much in vogue.In the past five seasons, it's been Geelong, Carlton and North Melbourne who have been the casual fan's best bet to be involved in a high-scoring frenzy.Each of those teams played in 14 such games from 2009-2013 with Essendon and Port Adelaide playing in 13. That's certainly been one of the things that has made the Cats such popular champions of recent seasons - they'll grind out the odd result but they've been just as likely to throw caution to the wind and back themselves to win a 20-18 goal game.Indeed, no matter what trends come and go in football, fromto Ross Lyon's high-pressure scrum-fests, there have always been at least a few games each year where defenders have been mere spectators as the forwards have run amok.Since 1927 there have only been three seasons without a game in which both sides kicked 100 or more points - 1953, 1955 and 1961.In the formative years of the game, a result with both teams breaking through the century mark was completely unheard of. No such game was played until 1924 when Fitzroy opened the season with a two point win over Carlton at Brunswick St Oval, the Lions sneaking home 16.9 (105) to 15.13 (103).And 1917 could very much be considered the forwards' nadir - not a single team kicked 100 points in a game that year.These days, there isn't the spread of sharpshooters of the 70s, 80s and 90s to deliver goal-fests like the remarkable day at the MCG in 1978, when St Kilda 31.18 (204) defeated Melbourne 21.15 (141) for a match aggregate of 52.33 (345).But it's been difficult to feel too short-changed, because in the last five years, we've had a minimum of 11 certified shootouts by the end of the home and away season.Just short of the half-way mark of this season, it's more than a little disappointing that we've only now brought up the first.*Figures after 10 rounds