StCicatriz
Brownlow Medallist
- Aug 3, 2016
- 28,289
- 61,589
- AFL Club
- St Kilda
Here are his year on year stats (after you have adjusted for the shorter quarters in 2020:
Higgins 2018 Higgins 2019 Higgins 2020 Lonie 2020 Lonie PB Kicks 7.5 9.2 11.1 9.1 9.8 (2019) Handballs 8.7 7.5 7 3.5 5.8 (2017) Marks 2.8 3 4.5 4.2 4.1 (2018) Tackles 2.5 3 2.1 2.6 4 (2017) Goals .8 .7 .6 1.1 1.4 (2018) Behinds .7 .3 .9 .6 1.5 (2019) Inside 50's 2.1 2.7 3.5 2.2 2.5 (2019) Assists .8 .6 .5 .5 1 (2018) Score Involvements 5.6 5 5.5 4.6 6.3 (2018) Stoppage Clearances 1.1 .6 1.1 .5 .9 (2017)
What these numbers indicate to me are we are seeing a plyer move away from a first year crumbing forward to a player that is moving further up the ground. Instead of simply being there to pick up the scraps, he is becoming more of a player that is a part of the chain during the transition from the middle of the ground to the forwardline.
Now there are certainly some signs of stagnation there, but given what the young bloke has been through, it is actually quite remarkable how quickly he has bounced back.
Lonie on the other hand has stagnated across 2017-2020. He has been slightly more damaging on the score board than Higgins, but that has been a bigger part of Lonie's role than it has been, or will be for Higgins.
IMO, Lonie isn't competing with Higgins for a spot, he is competing, and well behind Butler.
I love the little guy, but going forward, unless something drastic changes, Lonie is a depth player. Higgins may not make it, but if he does end up a bust, I think we would be likely to see more of Gresh / Billings / Steel (for stints) playing forward than we would be to see Lonie become a permanent fixture going forward.
great post!