If Warner stays healthy, I'll be utterly stunned if he isn't a unanimous top three player by the end of 2024. One other interesting note (and I don't think this counts as a spoiler), Dunkley is the only player on this list who will play at a new club in 2023. A Above Average: Top 11% to 35% of the statistical category. Michael Willson/Getty Images. The sheer volume of his disposals might not stack up with some of the game's other elite players, but I'm not docking him ranking value for that, because his impact is every bit on par. Greene still finished with four goals and had just as much impact further afield to gather 22 disposals. Surely Bolton hadn't just leapfrogged two dozen (maybe more?!) you would see a team who wins the contested possessions win about 70 per cent of the time. I've got to be honest, I was totally convinced Walker's career was finished about two or three years back. And with an ability to push up the ground when required, Heeney's just about the complete football player. Crazy, I know. His first 400+ season came when he was just 21 years old. Teams were aware of this for years, but now they were getting the hard data to back up their game style. Carlton's dynamic forward snagged 64 goals -- crazy when you consider he was sharing the forward line with a guy who kicked a league-best 58 goals the previous season -- to not only land the Coleman Medal and stake his claim as the best young forward in the AFL, but leave me looking a total fool (yes, I floated the idea of a Curnow trade back in 2020). Collingwood booted three goals to one in the final term, rallying after Chayce Jones extended the home side's lead to 22 points early in the last. The Magpies ramped that up around clearances, claiming a lopsided 16-4 final-quarter count with 4-1 at centre clearances. Most Goals in AFL/VFL history 1,360 Tony Lockett is the league record-holder for the most goals kicked in the history of the VFL/AFL, with 1,360 goals in a career of 281 games, starting in 1983 with the St Kilda Football Club and ending in 2002 with the Sydney Swans. Check. That's not prime LeBron James' per-game averages, but Laird's numbers from an ultra impressive, yet totally underrated 2022 -- the story of his career, right? Greene sparked the fightback with the first of those four goals, while versatile midfielder Harry Perryman also added two as the Giants surged late. The 10 best AFL players at quarter time of the 2023 season - ESPN When you add in the fact Cameron's one of the best kicks for goal (either from a set shot or on the run from open play) in the game and has a willingness to work up the ground and provide the bail out option for his defenders, he's a no-doubt top five player. Enjoy the thrilling final moments between Adelaide and Collingwood in round seven. Eventually, I settled with him at No. He also ranks higher than many of his fellow small forwards given his ability to be equally as damaging in the midfield when deployed there, something I believe the Giants have significantly underutilized in recent times. But Smith's running gifts extend beyond endurance. ABC sports journalist James Coventry brought mainstream AFL analysis into the 21st century when his groundbreaking book, Footballistics, was released in 2018. Whilst reaching 400 games remains an incredibly rare occurrence, the other 400-Club boasts just three players. His 2022 campaign produced 67 goals, including three in the Grand Final, to take his career tally to 732. Charlie Curnow bags nine goals in Carlton's 108-point AFL win over West He also ranked 13th in 2022 for score involvements, the eighth-highest rated midfielder in the category. Laird's remarkable effort in Saturday's loss against Collingwood surpassed Jack Ziebell's previous record of 19 set in 2016. AFL 2023 round 7 LIVE updates: St Kilda Saints v Port Adelaide Power He's such a valuable asset for the Swans, given his ability to control games in the midfield and then seamlessly drop back into defence when required. The win was Carlton's second biggest over West Coast, falling just short of the 119-point triumph in their first meeting in 1987. This was the third time this season they've won from a three-quarter time deficit. Collingwood trailed all game except for the final 30 seconds after Sidebottom's behind. He regathered in mid-air and while under pressure put the ball to the outside of his right foot and somehow squeaked through a goal from the tightest of angles. There's an argument to be made he's already the league's second-fittest player (behind Ed Langdon), spending more minutes and covering more turf than literally any other midfielder (Langdon is classified as a winger). The Demons killed off the contest with the first six goals and gave their percentage a healthy boost with the 22.7 (139) to 7.7 (49) win. One of the more dynamic and dangerous key forwards in the competition, and yet some remain adamant that Naughton is an even better key defender. Fellow Kangaroos forward Callum Coleman-Joneswas also forced from the match in the third term after coming off second-best in a marking contest with Demons defender Steven May. Michael Willson/Getty Images, Club: Western BulldogsPosition: Mid-forward. On average, the team that registered more marks inside 50 has won by 15 points. Lachie Neale (35 disposals, 15 clearances) was everywhere for the Lions, while small forward Lincoln McCarthy kicked three goals to break the shackles of a quiet season. Amixture of bewilderment and sheer disgust was plastered on the face of an ESPN colleague after I had casually noted Richmond livewire Shai Bolton was not a top three player in the AFL. Dylan Burns/Getty Images. Laird and Clayton Oliver were the only two players who averaged 15 contested and 15 uncontested possessions in 2022. Top 10?! AFL Player Ratings: The official AFL player ratings as seen on AFL.com.au using location and the result of events to measure a player's performance. He has also made the list another time, notching 403 from 25 games back in 2012. Not too shabby, by any means. That's eight and a half seasons! Picture: AFL Photos, Shane Mumford competes with Callum Sinclair in the R6 clash between GWS and Sydney on April 27, 2019. Although some coaches might have you believe that contested possessions are the most crucial metric, Footballistics revealed that kicks, in fact, have the closest association with success of any recorded statistic. James Sicily might be the best defender in the AFL. With more time in the midfield, and some further development as a player, I expect Rozee to begin pushing himself towards the top 20. Instead, I've used the last two seasons as a gauge of where a particular player is at in their career. Brownlow medallist Tom Mitchell set the standard for most disposals in 2018 when he famously ran around without a tagger to gather the ball 54 times against Collingwood. Lynch. Do I need to remind you of his match-winning after-the-siren goal against the Tigers last year? The 10 best AFL players at quarter time of the 2023 season - ESPN If he's able to mesh that 2021 goalkicking form with his 2022 production, then just like it was with Martin, few will argue Petracca's not No. I really don't think anyone is going to debate me here and say he isn't the best forward in the game. There were some big moments with Crows captain Dawson's huge contested ball leading to Luke Pedlar's goal on the counter, while ex-skipper Rory Sloane's deadlock tackle helped open up a 16-point three-quarter time lead. Supporters and commentators love to discuss controversial umpiring decisions, but the free kick differential explains just nine percent of the variation in AFLW margins. There are at least four others who play a very similar role and have stronger numbers over a greater period of time (keep reading, I'll prove it), they just don't get a fraction of the credit. Approximately two thirds of matches are won by the team that records more rebound 50s per opposition inside 50 than its opponent. Daniel Pockett/Getty Images. Furthermore, his clearance ranking plummeted from first in that same time period to seventh, averaging a mere 3.3 per game. No surprise he ranked No. Contested possessions: 13.2 (9th) Inside 50s: 6.2 (2nd) Clearances: 6.7 (11th) AFL Player Rating points: 16.4 (8th) v West Coast, Round 1, 2023 Disposals: 32 (8th) Contested possessions: 19 (=2nd) Inside 50s: 7 (10th) Clearances: 10 (2nd) AFL Player Rating points: 24.2 (3rd) Statistics: Champion Data IT'S GREATER THAN JUST A SEAT AT THE GAME It's not just by fans and the media, but umpires, too. Despite the colourful tattoos and retro moustache, 'Libba' flies totally under the radar and has done so for the bulk of his career. And at just 23 years of age, we know he's not even close to reaching his potential. Kennedy the clearance king - Sydney Swans His contested ball, marking, rebounding from defensive 50 and tackling numbers all continue to rise. Even still, he's flirting with the top 10. Last year, he earned All-Australian selection for a season in which he tallied 43 goals, 41 behinds and averaged over 17 disposals and four inside 50s per game -- just outrageous numbers. Touk Miller is one of the elite two-way players in the AFL. Completing a disastrous night for the Kangaroos, Tom Powell needed help from trainers as he went off with a leg injury in the last term. Smith kicked just six goals in 2022 as he transitioned from the wing to a more traditional midfield role, but we mustn't forget he booted 17 the year before, proving he is very much capable of hitting the scoreboard on a far more regular basis. After Bolton's epic four-goal, five-behind, 17-disposal match-winning performance against Port Adelaide in Round 21 last year, opinions and hot takes were flying around the office. It holds him in good. Dustin Fletcher completes the quintet of players to make the 400-Club, but there is another version of this elite company that no one really speaks about perhaps for good reason, but I will let you be the judge. Maybe Chris Judd or Nat Fyfe. The 18-year-old let his guard down, lifting both hands in disbelief and offering a cheeky smile as he was mobbed by his teammates. Technically, he's a small or general forward, but his supreme aerial ability combined with a 1980s-esque swagger means he plays so much bigger than that. 1-ranked marker in the game, No. Noah Anderson celebrates a goal after the siren. 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Some might even go so far as to say he's one of the most underrated players going around (yep, I'm one of them). But for all Adelaide's early dominance, the Crows were left to rue inaccuracy, including a run of three missed set shots, to only hold a 22-point quarter-time lead.