Adelaide’s Tom Lynch is a genuine all-rounder and more than just the Crows’ ‘connector’

He’s been dubbed Adelaide’s “connector” as important link-man between the midfield and forward line. But Tom Lynch is again showing he’s more than that, says The Phantom.

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Since he became a regular in the Crows’ side after crossing from St Kilda, Tom Lynch has been dubbed the “connector” as the crucial link between Adelaide’s midfield and forward line.

But as he’s shown again this season, he’s more than that.

In terms of numbers, Lynch is a genuine all-rounder and he’s been one of the keys to Adelaide’s impressive response after a disappointing opening month.

Champion Data rates Lynch as the fourth-best general forward in the competition with the 28-year-old ranking elite for disposals, uncontested possessions, marks, score assists and score involvements.

Lynch’s 7.6 score involvements per game is the most at the Crows and the sixth-best in the AFL.

Only Jeremy Cameron, Jordan De Goey, Tom Hawkins, Gary Ablett and Marcus Bontempelli have been involved in more of their side’s scoring chains this season.

That’s some decent company.

Tom Lynch marks strongly in front of Docker Ethan Hughes in Round 7.

While he’s kicked eight goals of his own, Lynch has had a direct hand in seven others, ranked equal-first at the club with co-captain Taylor Walker.

The pair are ranked equal-13th in the competition for goal assists — a statistic which Lynch led in his first year at the Crows in 2015.

In fact, no other player in the game has recorded more score assists (151) than Lynch in the home-and-away season since 2015.

While he was still finding the ball, Lynch struggled to have an impact on the scoreboard in the first four rounds this year, tallying just three goals and one goal assist.

But in the past four matches, the first-round draft pick from 2008, who is averaging a career-high 21 disposals per game, has booted five goals and assisted six more.

It’s no surprise Adelaide have won all four to sit third on the the AFL ladder ahead of the Round 9 clash with the Lions.

Over this career, given his huge workrate, Lynch has won most of his ball in space, but a contested-possession rate of 40 per cent in 2019 is the highest of his 10-year career.

The 131-game Crow has tallied eight contested possessions or more in four of the opening eight rounds this season — something he did in just 15 of his previous 40 matches.

While, as you’d expect, Lynch, ranks second at the Crows for marks, he’s also recorded the sixth-most groundball-gets this season.

In Showdown 46, Lynch, who has taken five contested marks in the past three matches, booted two crucial goals from textbook front-and-centre crumbs and it’s not often a 193cm forward does this.

But it highlights yet another important piece of the connector’s all-round game.