Richmond premiership forward Tom Lynch rated an ‘average’ player by Champion Data

Tom Lynch’s barnstorming finish to 2019 wasn’t enough to lift him above ‘average’, according to the AFL’s official number crunchers. And the Tigers’ highest-rated player is an even bigger surprise.

Richmond forward Tom Lynch kicks a goal in the Grand Final.

Richmond forward Tom Lynch, captain Trent Cotchin and dual premiership defender Dylan Grimes have been rated as “average” players by the AFL’s official number crunchers.

The 2020 AFL Prospectus from Champion Data lists five Tigers players as elite in their positions.

But many other premiership players are rated “average” or “below average”.

Average is defined as players rated in the middle 30 per cent of all players in the competition to play their position.

Below average is defined as players ranked in the bottom 35 per cent of all players.

Champion Data has updated its player ratings formula this season in a bid to more accurately capture players across multiple positions; there are seven more elite midfielders than last year and the number of elite general forwards has been cut in half. Five key forwards are classified as “elite” — Jeremy Cameron, Taylor Walker, Jack Darling, Lance Franklin and Jeremy Finlayson.

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In his first season at Richmond last year, Lynch placed equal-third in the Coleman Medal race and went on to finish the campaign with 63 goals, including two in the Grand Final and five in a matchwinning preliminary final performance.

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Tom Lynch kicked 63 goals in his first season at Punt Rd. Picture: AAP Image/Natasha Morello

Cotchin, a Brownlow Medal winner in 2012, averaged 19.8 disposals and 4.4 clearances across 14 games to lead the Tigers to a second premiership under his captaincy last year.

Grimes was a 2019 All-Australian defender and lost just 20.7 per cent of one-on-one contests he competed in across the season.

Defenders Nathan Broad and David Astbury, as well as two-time premiership forward Jason Castagna, are all listed as “below average” players by Champion Data.

Sydney Stack, who missed last year’s finals series due to injury, was the top-ranked Tiger after proving his abilities at both ends of the ground last season.

Star Dustin Martin, reigning best-and-fairest winner Dion Prestia and defenders Shane Edwards and Nick Vlastuin were the four other players to be rated “elite”.

Players who have featured in fewer than 10 games from 2018-19 – including Grand Final hero Marlion Pickett – are listed as “unclassified” in the AFL Prospectus.

Prestia told the Herald Sun this week that Pickett had only scratched the surface of his abilities last year, having played only one senior game after joining the club in the mid-season draft.

“I’d definitely be picking him in SuperCoach,” Prestia said.

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“He’s been absolutely amazing, really. Coming into the team halfway through last year and playing in the VFL and then the AFL premiership is pretty impressive. He hasn’t missed a beat all pre-season.

“He’s done every session and he’s looking pretty good. I can’t wait to see what he’ll produce this year having a full AFL pre-season under his belt.”

Richmond meets Collingwood in its first game of the Marsh Community Series on Sunday, March 1.