AFL 2022: Champion Data analysis reveals the best kicks at every club
Exclusive analysis from Champion Data has uncovered the classiest kicks in the AFL — and one club stands out above the rest.
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Carlton has the most quality kickers in the game, boasting more players with a top kick rating than any other club.
Exclusive analysis by Champion Data has uncovered the classiest kicks in the league for every team, with the Blues having six players inside the top 50 overall based on their kick rating this season.
Off the back of his elite ranking for kicks and disposals, forward Zac Fisher owns the highest kick rating for the Blues, who also boast Adam Saad, Charlie Curnow, Nic Newman, injured key defender Jacob Weitering and Zac Williams in the top 50.
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Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury has the highest kick rating in the league, slightly ahead of Fisher, and is one of only two Magpies to feature in the top 50 alongside key recruit and former Bulldog Patrick Lipinski.
“Fisher has not only been a strong field kick this season, but his shots at goal have been of high quality,” Champion Data AFL analyst Corey Mobilio said.
“He has attempted the 10th-hardest shots of all players to have recorded at least 15 shots at goal this season, with his accuracy 20 per cent above expectation.
“Pendlebury’s field kicking is what sets him apart, going at 12 per cent above expectation – rating him as the No.1 field kick in the competition.”
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The number of Blues boasting a top-50 kick rating has tripled from last season.
“There is a clear improvement for the Blues in this area, Zac Williams and Eddie Betts were the only two players to rank in the top 50 last season,” Mobilio said.
“Overall, Carlton have been a solid side by foot this season, but their defensive quadrant have set the tone with Nic Newman, Zac Williams, Adam Saad and Jacob Weitering all ranked in the top 50.”
Geelong and the Western Bulldogs follow Carlton with the most players ranked in the AFL’s top 50 for kick rating, with five each.
Champion Data ranks Mitch Duncan as the best ball users at the Cats, who also have Cam Guthrie, key forward Jeremy Cameron and defenders Tom Stewart and Zach Tuohy joining him in the top-50.
Having developed a reputation as one of the classiest kicks in the league, small defender Caleb Daniel tops the kick ratings for the Western Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs also have Adam Treloar, Bailey Dale, Ed Richards and Jack Macrae among the top 50 players in the league based on their kick rating.
But premier Melbourne has only one player – James Jordon – ranked in the top 50.
“It is slightly surprising, but the Demons don’t rely on playing perfect football and this is another example to support that,” Mobilio said.
Champion Data based its analysis for each club on a 100-kick minimum this season.
The AFL stat gurus explained the kick rating as the difference between a player’s expected hit rate and their actual hit rate.
The rating is also based on the types of kicks under the same amount of pressure compared to the AFL average.
“A negative kick rating indicates a player is not executing the kicks as well as the competition average, and a positive kick rating shows a player is hitting the target more often than the competition average,” Mobilio said.
“We take into account the amount of pressure the player is under and what type of kick they are trying to pull off and can compare that to the competition average across the past 10 years to work out what the expected hit rate is for each kick.”
At the other end of the scale, West Coast’s Tim Kelly, Fremantle Caleb Serong and Hawk Tom Mitchell have the lowest kick ratings in the league.
The trio all have a negative kick rating of between -9.4 and -11.2 per cent.
Collingwood club champion Jack Crisp is also a surprise inclusion in Champion Data’s results with the lowest kick rating at the Magpies.
“Albeit he comes up low in this measure, Crisp is an aggressive user by foot this season – attempting the 19th-hardest kicks of this group of players,” Mobilio said.
“However, the execution has been poor, kicking 3 per cent below expectation. Given his aggressive nature when he does hit his kicks there is high reward for Collingwood.
“Tim Kelly is currently rated as the poorest kick in the competition, kicking 11 per cent below expectation.”
Despite its horror 2-9 start to the season, which has sparked a football department review, Essendon has four players inside the top-50 for kick rating – Nick Hind, Jordan Ridley, Nic Martin and Zach Merrett.
Joining the Bombers with four players in the top 50, St Kilda’s Brad Crouch, Bradley Hill, Jack Sinclair and Seb Ross all boasted high kick ratings.
Brisbane captain Dayne Zorko also ranked highly for his kick rating, one of three players at the Lions in the top bracket.
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Originally published as AFL 2022: Champion Data analysis reveals the best kicks at every club
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