Many fans often get over-excited when they hear about a player getting a heap of disposals, but usually don't look into the efficiency and effectiveness of those passes. In my opinion, there is little benefit in getting 35 possessions week in week out, when only half of your kicks and handballs hit the intended target, and/or impact the game in your team's favour. I thought it would be interesting to look at the stats of some of the best midfielders in the game. These are the the players that are in the top 10 for average disposals per game this season (minimum number of games is 10):
NAME (AVE. DISPOSALS)/(DISP. EFF%)
Gary Ablett (32)/(69.5%)
Josh P Kennedy (30.4)/(67.1%)
Dion Prestia (29.4)/(68.6%)
Scott Pendlebury (29.1)/(71.9%)
Matthew Stokes (29)/(72.4%)
Matt Priddis (28.7)/(64.1%)
Jobe Watson (28.3)/(76.8%)
Dayne Beams (28.2)/(65.2%)
Nathan Jones (28.2)/(71.9%)
Dyson Heppell (28.1)/(68.2%)
Out of these players, Jobe Watson has the highest disposal efficiency, with 76.8%, while the lowest is Matt Priddis (64.1%).
Other midfielders that gain a lot of the ball and have high efficiency rates are
Jack Macrae, (ave. 27.2 disposals and efficiency of 74.9%)
Brent Harvey (ave. 26.3 disposals and efficiency of 77.5%)
Grant Birchall (ave. 25.3 disposals and efficiency of 80.3%)
The players that have the highest disposal efficiency (with at least 185 disposals for the season) are:
Scott D Thompson (NM) - 89.4
Dustin Fletcher (Ess) - 86.4
Lachlan Hansen (NM) - 84.6
Paul Duffield (Frem) - 84.2
Cale Hooker (Ess) - 84.1
These stats sum up why players like Scott Pendlebury, Jobe Watson and Gary Ablett are regarded so highly, as they not only get a lot of possession, they use it to positively influence the game for their team's benefit. I believe that there is next to no point in merely racking up kicks and handballs - no matter how many you get, as if they are ineffective, they could actually end up helping the opposition.
NAME (AVE. DISPOSALS)/(DISP. EFF%)
Gary Ablett (32)/(69.5%)
Josh P Kennedy (30.4)/(67.1%)
Dion Prestia (29.4)/(68.6%)
Scott Pendlebury (29.1)/(71.9%)
Matthew Stokes (29)/(72.4%)
Matt Priddis (28.7)/(64.1%)
Jobe Watson (28.3)/(76.8%)
Dayne Beams (28.2)/(65.2%)
Nathan Jones (28.2)/(71.9%)
Dyson Heppell (28.1)/(68.2%)
Out of these players, Jobe Watson has the highest disposal efficiency, with 76.8%, while the lowest is Matt Priddis (64.1%).
Other midfielders that gain a lot of the ball and have high efficiency rates are
Jack Macrae, (ave. 27.2 disposals and efficiency of 74.9%)
Brent Harvey (ave. 26.3 disposals and efficiency of 77.5%)
Grant Birchall (ave. 25.3 disposals and efficiency of 80.3%)
The players that have the highest disposal efficiency (with at least 185 disposals for the season) are:
Scott D Thompson (NM) - 89.4
Dustin Fletcher (Ess) - 86.4
Lachlan Hansen (NM) - 84.6
Paul Duffield (Frem) - 84.2
Cale Hooker (Ess) - 84.1
These stats sum up why players like Scott Pendlebury, Jobe Watson and Gary Ablett are regarded so highly, as they not only get a lot of possession, they use it to positively influence the game for their team's benefit. I believe that there is next to no point in merely racking up kicks and handballs - no matter how many you get, as if they are ineffective, they could actually end up helping the opposition.
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