Champion Data reveals the most-improved players of 2020 at every AFL club
He’s been a shining light in a testing season for Collingwood — but where does Josh Daicos rate among the AFL’s most improved players? Champion Data crunches the numbers to reveal the rising stars at every club.
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As Collingwood has struggled with injuries this year son of a gun Josh Daicos has emerged as its most improved player.
At Carlton, all eyes are usually on midfield star Patrick Cripps and Eddie Betts but the Blues’ biggest improvement has come from Will Setterfield, while young Essendon defender Jordan Ridley has been rising up, up for the Bombers.
So, who is your club’s most improved player in 2020?
We have dissected the numbers with Champion Data to reveal the players from each team who have made the biggest improvement this year.
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Based on Champion Data’s player ranking points, here are the players who have made the biggest leap from season 2019 to season 2020.
A rising Bombers backman, a star Demon and a young Gold Coast Sun are the top three rankings points improvers across the competition.
The ranking points figures are the season averages for 2019 and 2020 based on a minimum of five games across each season.
ADELAIDE
There hasn’t been much for Adelaide to crow about in 2020. But key defender Kyle Hartigan has made the biggest leap this year, according to Champion Data. The 28-year-old held star Cats forward Tom Hawkins to just one goal in the opening half last round. Midfielder Paul Seedsman and ruckman Reilly O’Brien have been the other top improvers.
BRISBANE
Young midfielder Zac Bailey has made the biggest leap in 2020, according to Champion Data’s player rankings. After 15 games in his second season last year, Bailey has played in every game so far in 2020, averaging almost 15 disposals and five marks a game. Defender Alex Witherden and Brownlow Medal favourite Lachie Neale have also made jumps. Neale’s season average ranking in 2020 – 140.3 – is the second-highest in the league to Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn.
CARLTON
Midfielder Will Setterfield has made the biggest rankings leap for the Blues this year. In his second season at the Blues, the former Giant is averaging almost 15 disposals and five tackles a match to see his ranking points climb by 25 on last year. Fellow midfielder Matthew Kennedy and forward Michael Gibbons have been the next two biggest improvers.
COLLINGWOOD
He’s the son of the premiership-winning gun, who Fox Footy commentator Jason Dunstall recently labelled “the new Macedonian Marvel” after he produced a miraculous goal to make his father, Peter, proud in Round 10 against the Swans. In his fourth season at Collingwood, the 21-year-old has emerged as the Magpies’ top improver this season, kicking nine goals in his 12 matches this season. Defenders Brayden Maynard and John Noble have made the next biggest jumps for the Magpies, according to the Champion Data figures.
ESSENDON
Young backman Jordan Ridley has enjoyed a breakout season for the Bombers at the age of 21 and has made the biggest rankings-point jump of any player in the league. After nine games across his first two seasons at the club, Ridley has played in every game in 2020 and has been a revelation at halfback. He has averaged almost 18 disposals and seven marks a match. Midfielder Andrew McGrath and defender Adam Saad have also made gains.
FREMANTLE
Rising Dockers midfielder Andrew Brayshaw is in the top five for the biggest improvers this year, based on his ranking points. The 20-year-old is averaging 20 disposals – including a career-high 33 against Hawthorn in Round 11 – and five tackles a game. He leads defender Brennan Cox and midfielder Adam Cerra as the Dockers to have made the biggest gains.
GEELONG
No surprises here. The big Tomahawk has taken his game to a new plane in 2020, enjoying what many consider to be career-best form. He has kicked 33 goals for the season to lead the Coleman Medal race and has twice kicked bags of five goals or more. He sits in the elite category for goals, disposals, kicks and marks. Cameron Guthrie and Menegola are also enjoying standout seasons and would be right in the B and F mix at the Cats, flaunting the club’s depth of elite talent.
GOLD COAST
Young Sun Jack Lukosius has made the third-highest leap in the AFL this year, according to Champion Data’s rankings. In his second season, the 20-year-old is averaging almost 17 disposals a game and is in the elite category for metres gained – 468.6. Midfielder Touk Miller and key defender Sam Collins have also made significant leaps.
GWS GIANTS
Defender Nick Haynes has scored the biggest rise in ranking points for the Giants across the season. The 28-year-old backman is in the elite category for marks in the competition with an average of 7.5 and is averaging close to 17 disposals a game. Defender Aiden Corr and midfielder Harry Perryman have also scored big ranking points rises.
HAWTHORN
Young defender Harry Morrison has earned the Hawks’ biggest rankings rise in 2020. Having played 21 games in his second season in 2018, Morrison managed just nine senior games last year, but has already featured in eight in an improved 2020. High-profile recruit Chad Wingard and defender James Sicily, before he was ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament, have also made a rankings rise.
MELBOURNE
It’s been the kind of season Christian Petracca has been threatening for some time – and now he is delivering. It has been a super year for the 24-year-old Demon, averaging an elite 24.5 disposals a game. Petracca’s climb in ranking points from last season is the second-highest in the league and he sits third on the AFL Coaches Association player of the year leaderboard. Melbourne vice-captain Jack Viney has also made a significant jump, while Clayton Oliver’s 2020 player ranking points figure of 126.7 is the second-highest in the league behind Brownlow Medal favourite Lachie Neale.
NORTH MELBOURNE
Defender Luke McDonald has been a big improver for the Kangaroos in 2020. The 25-year-old ranks in the elite category for disposals, averaging more than 19 a match, and for tackles, averaging almost three a game. He scored a career-high 35 disposals against the Adelaide Crows in Round 9 and is also above average for metres gained. Midfielders Jy Simpkin and Trent Dumont have been the next biggest improvers for the Roos, according to Champion Data.
PORT ADELAIDE
Young forward Todd Marshall has emerged as the biggest improver at Port Adelaide in his fourth season at the club. The 21-year-old has kicked nine goals from his eight matches this season and ranks in the elite category for tackles, averaging three a game. Fellow forward Zac Butters has also made a strong jump, ranking in the elite category for disposals at an average of 15 a game. Charlie Dixon completes a trio of forward-line improvers for the Power with 23 goals for the year.
RICHMOND
His name might be Short, but it has been a tall rankings rise for the Tigers defender in 2020. The sixth-sharpest rankings rise in the league, Short sits in the elite category for disposals, averaging almost 19 a match, marks (5.6 a match) and metres gained – 459.1. Young forward Shai Bolton and key defender Noah Balta, who Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has said reminds him of a young Alex Rance, have also made big rankings gains.
ST KILDA
He’s the Saints’ midfield man of Steele. Jack Steele is enjoying a standout season for St Kilda and is one of the most improved midfielders across the league. He is averaging 22 disposals a match, almost four marks and ranks in the elite category for tackles at 5.7 a game. He is catching the eye of AFL coaches, sitting fourth in the AFL Coaches Association player of the year leaderboard. Defenders Nick Coffield and Ben Long have scored the next highest rises for the Saints.
SYDNEY
Defender Robbie Fox has made a steep rankings rise in his fourth season at the Swans. After playing 11 senior games last year, he has already featured in nine this season. He ranks in the elite category for tackles at an average of 2.4 a match. Midfielder Ryan Clarke and defender Callum Mills, another to hold an elite rating for tackles, both share a rankings rise of 18 points this year.
WEST COAST
Defender Jackson Nelson heads the list of improvers for the Eagles, according to Champion Data. The 24-year-old, who hails from Geelong in the under-18s, has played 10 matches in his fourth season at the Eagles and hit a career-high for disposals (23 – against Fremantle in Round 7) and metres gained (417 – against Collingwood in Round 8) this season. Ruckman Nic Naitanui has also been a big improver after half of his 2019 season was lost due to his recovery from his ACL injury and he’s back in the elite for total clearances (5.5) and hit-outs to advantage (9.2)
WESTERN BULLDOGS
It has been a breakout season for 22-year-old defender Bailey Williams at the Bulldogs. After playing just nine senior games last year, he has secured his place in the team’s best 22 this year. He is among the elite in the competition for metres gained – 414.1 – and is averaging more than 17 disposals a game. Ruckman Tim English has also made a rankings jump in his third season as has Tom Liberatore after his season ended in August last year due to knee troubles.
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Originally published as Champion Data reveals the most-improved players of 2020 at every AFL club