Damian McKenzie was at the centre of many of the Chiefs' great attacking moments this season.

OPINION: On April 28, I wrote an article, the thrust of which was that the 2016 Chiefs were on track to sit amongst Super Rugby's statistical greats.

At the time they were scoring an average of 5.38 tries and 38.13 points per game, and had an average points differential of 14.38 per game, marks good enough to make them second, eighth, and fourth-best overall in the competition's history, out of 283 contenders.

On Sunday, the regular season came to an end, with the Chiefs averaging 4.53 tries and 32.73 points per game, with an average points difference of plus 10, good enough for 10th, 16th, and 27th historically.

Good, then – especially the tries and points marks – but not great.

READ MORE:

* Chiefs on track for statistical greatness

* Voerman: Blackadder's rough deal

* Super title far from settled

* Bonus point change mattered

You might ask what happened, and the answer is simple: The rest of the season.

When I wrote my article, the Chiefs had played eight of their 15 games, a start to the season which included the Force and the Kings, the two weakest teams on their schedule, and four games against playoff sides.

In the seven since, they did add a game against the lowly Reds, but also another four against those headed to the playoffs.

Take that final stretch of seven games in isolation, and you'll see how much they differed to the first half.

In that run, they averaged 27.14 points per game, 3.57 tries per game, and had a points difference of plus 5.57, rates that would have had them 103rd, 38th and 74th historically if maintained over a whole season, rankings that are nothing worth writing home about.

None of this should be taken as me excusing them – a drop off from spectacularly high levels of production is to be expected – it's just to show what happened.

While their final numbers have fallen short of ones that would have been amongst the best ever, the 2016 Chiefs have still given us plenty to enjoy.

They ran in four tries in a game (the old bonus point mark) a staggering 11 times out of 15 – a rate only bettered by the 2003 Blues and the 1997 Brumbies, who both did it nine times out 11 – and they often scored those tries in exhilarating fashion.

Of course, we're now at the stage of the season where that matters not a bit.

Look at the eight teams left standing, and the Chiefs' record stands out a little less.

For starters, three of the teams joining them there have put up numbers that are just as impressive.

The Lions scored 35.67 points per game and 4.73 tries per game; the Crusaders scored 32.47 points per game and 4.33 tries per game; and the Hurricanes scored 30.53 points per game and 4.07 tries per game.

There's also the fact that this season's schedule has created more imbalance than ever before. The Lions got to play the woeful Kings twice, for example, and when the Chiefs play the Stormers in the quarterfinals, it will be the first time the Cape Town side have gone up against a New Zealand team all season.

The end result is that these numbers have been generated in conditions vastly different from previous seasons – so comparing them is a bit dicey.

Cast your eyes over the playoffs field, and every time you see a compelling reason to pick a winner, there's an equally as compelling reason to think twice.

Whatever happens, it is sure to be exciting – and especially so where the Chiefs are involved.

Sign up here for the Rio Olympics: Going for Gold newsletter