AS WE hit the halfway point of AFLW season seven, it's time to take a look at some key statistical leaders.
While some areas are dominated by familiar names, like Kiara Bowers leading the tackle count to the surprise of no one, others show just how much of an impact first- and second-year players are having this season. Eilish Sheerin's intercepting work has been impressive, while both Charlie Rowbottom and Georgie Prespakis sit in the top five contested ball winners.
The differing game styles also become evident in the team statistical leaders, as Brisbane dominates key numbers in the attacking half of the ground and Geelong leads several defensive metrics.
Goals
10 - Kate Shierlaw (St Kilda)
9 - Jesse Wardlaw (Brisbane)
8 - Ash Woodland (Adelaide)
7 - Greta Bodey (Brisbane)
7 - Courtney Wakefield (Richmond)
St Kilda veteran Kate Shierlaw has kicked a goal in every game to date this season, including a haul of four in round one. Prior to this season, Shierlaw had never kicked more than one goal in a game and had never kicked more than eight goals in a season. Although the Saints have hit a tricky patch with injury and an increasingly difficult fixture, and Shierlaw has been required to assist in defence, she has still managed to get forward and hit the scoreboard in what has been a bright spot for her side.
Jesse Wardlaw has kicked nine goals from four games, and in round three became the first player in AFLW history to kick 10 goals against one side with four against Gold Coast. Reigning leading goalkicker Ash Woodland has continued her goalkicking ways, although has had a marginally slower start to the season. Meanwhile, Courtney Wakefield is on track to best her personal best of 10 goals in a season, as is Greta Bodey, whose best is 13.
Average disposals
26.4 - Amy McDonald (Geelong)
25.4 - Anne Hatchard (Adelaide)
24.8 - Ebony Marinoff (Adelaide)
24.6 - Alyce Parker (Greater Western Sydney)
24.2 - Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne)
Geelong midfielder Amy McDonald has continued to grow, averaging a career-high 26.4 disposals so far this season, an increase of 5.4 disposals on average compared to last season. This included a career-high 32 disposals last week in the Cats' big win over St Kilda.
Crows duo Anne Hatchard and Ebony Marinoff are unsurprisingly nipping at McDonald's heels, and Kangaroo Jasmine Garner looks to be back to her damaging best. And in tough conditions, Greater Western Sydney midfielder Alyce Parker has done what she can to lift her side, averaging a career-high 24.6 disposals.
Average contested possessions
16.4 - Amy McDonald (Geelong)
13.4 - Ebony Marinoff (Adelaide)
13.2 - Charlie Rowbottom (Gold Coast)
13.2 - Georgie Prespakis (Geelong)
13 - Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne)
Again, Amy McDonald is atop a ball-winning list, and racking up career-high numbers including a record-breaking 23 contested possessions last week, with the experienced Ebony Marinoff and Jasmine Garner a step behind.
Young duo Charlie Rowbottom and Georgie Prespakis – the first and second selections in last year's draft – are winning impressive contested possession numbers and have been real drivers of their respective sides' success this season.
Average inside 50s
5.8 - Ebony Marinoff (Adelaide)
5.8 - Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne)
4.8 - Claudia Whitfort (Gold Coast)
4.6 - Anne Hatchard (Adelaide)
4.4 - Becky Webster (Geelong)
What Ebony Marinoff, Anne Hatchard and Jasmine Garner are doing better than the other high ball-winners is delivering inside 50 when they get it. Marinoff and Garner's average of 5.8 is the highest average inside 50 count the competition has seen, currently ahead of Emma Kearney's average of 5.4 back in the very first season of AFLW.
Going hand in hand with this, Marinoff is averaging 428.4 metres gained to date, and should she continue in a similar vein, will become one of just four players in competition history to average more than 400 metres gained in an AFLW season.
For Gold Coast, Claudia Whitfort has become a clear conduit between the contested work of players like Rowbottom and Alison Drennan and its attacking line, as has the hard-running Becky Webster for Geelong.
Average clearances
7.6 - Amy McDonald (Geelong)
7 - Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne)
6.4 - Kiara Bowers (Fremantle)
6.2 - Emma Swanson (West Coast)
5.8 - Charlie Rowbottom (Gold Coast)
To go along with Amy McDonald's ability to win the ball, she leads the competition for clearances, averaging 7.6 per game. This is another career-best for McDonald, +2 on average compared to last season. But she isn't the only one reaching new personal bests so far this season.
Jasmine Garner has been a midfield stalwart for North Melbourne since joining in 2019, but this year is averaging a career-high seven clearances, 1.5 more than her previous best of 5.5 in the 2021 season. Similarly, West Coast captain Emma Swanson's average is 1.1 clearances more than her previous best, and Charlie Rowbottom has grown exponentially in just her second season.
Meanwhile, Kiara Bowers' average of 6.4 clearances might not quite be a personal best, but that's simply an indicator of just how dominant she has been in past seasons.
Average tackles
12.4 - Kiara Bowers (Fremantle)
10.2 - Ebony Marinoff (Adelaide)
9.2 - Jacqui Yorston (Port Adelaide)
9 - Tilly Lucas-Rodd (Hawthorn)
8.6 - Maria Moloney (Port Adelaide)
Similar to her clearance numbers, Kiara Bowers is topping the competition for average tackles, but her 12.4 per game is still not quite her best, given she averaged 14.1 tackles across the 2020 season. Bowers also leads the competition for tackles inside 50 with three per game. No other player in the top five for average tackles also features in the tackles inside 50 leaders.
Ebony Marinoff is an interesting one here, too. She started her career as the most prolific tackler in the league, but as she narrowly fell away and Bowers joined the competition in 2019 the latter took that mantle. This season, Marinoff is back to rival Bowers, averaging her second-highest tackling average since the competition began.
Port Adelaide pair Jacqui Yorston and Maria Moloney are emblematic of their side's broader brand, propped up by elite pressure, and Hawthorn captain Tilly Lucas-Rodd continues to work hard both ways in the middle.
Average marks
6 - Anne Hatchard (Adelaide)
6 - Georgia Garnett (Greater Western Sydney)
5.6 - Katie Lynch (Western Bulldogs)
4.6 - Breanna Koenen (Brisbane)
4.5 - Tayla Harris (Melbourne)
While Marinoff thrives inside the contest, Anne Hatchard's ability to spread and become involved in passages of play more than once down the field makes the duo particularly hard to contain. She has taken 30 marks so far this season, picking up where she left off last season.
Georgia Garnett also averages six marks per game, although has played just the four, as she works hard to be an option for teammates looking to clear the ball. In defence, Bulldog Katie Lynch and Brisbane captain Breanna Koenen have competed well in the air, while Tayla Harris' aerial dominance continues this season. Harris also leads the competition for average contested marks, with 1.8 per game, while Kate Shierlaw's average 2.2 marks inside 50 is the most up forward.
Average intercepts
11.0 - Eilish Sheerin (Richmond)
8.4 - Indy Tahau (Port Adelaide)
8.2 - Meg McDonald (Geelong)
8 - Mua Laloifi (Carlton)
7.6 - Libby Birch (Melbourne)
In her first season, Eilish Sheerin has starred in defence, racking up unprecedented intercept numbers. On debut, Sheering registered 17 intercepts, the most of any player in their first game and the equal-second most in the competition's history. It wasn't simply a one-off effort, either, as she has registered double-digit intercepts in three of her opening five games.
For Port Adelaide, Indy Tahau is averaging 8.4 intercepts while also getting forward and kicking two goals while Mua Laloifi and Libby Birch hold down the fort for Carlton and Melbourne respectively. Geelong captain Meg McDonald is also getting back to her All-Australian best with 8.2 intercepts per game, after a quieter season earlier in the year.
Teams in attack
Average points for
56.2 - Brisbane
42 - Adelaide
41.8 - Essendon
The Lions dominate most attacking statistics – even with their low-scoring loss against Richmond on Saturday. Not only are they averaging the highest score of any side, they're also leading the competition for average inside 50s with 36.6 and tackles inside 50 with 19.8.
Adelaide has steadily improved its attacking power as the season has progressed, with its average score of 42 significantly helped by its 97 points scored in a record-breaking win over Greater Western Sydney on Sunday. Meanwhile, Essendon continues to stake its claim as the best expansion side the competition has seen, still averaging more than 40 points per game.
Teams at the contest
Average clearances
26.8 - Adelaide
26.6 - Brisbane
26.2 - Carlton
After being the 11th-worst clearance side in competition history last season, Adelaide is now averaging the most clearances ever in the AFLW this season with 26.8 per game.
The Lions aren't far behind, with the likes of Emily Bates, Ally Anderson and Belle Dawes driving the contest, and they are then backing that up with extreme tackle pressure with a competition record 74.8 tackles per game to date.
Carlton, meanwhile, has found a real strength through the middle despite being hit hard through the off-season and again by injury. Abbie McKay's improvement and Mimi Hill's continued hard work have allowed the Blues to stand strong at the contest when many anticipated a dramatic drop off in the area.
Teams in defence
Average points against
15.2 - Geelong
16.2 - Collingwood
19.6 - Richmond
Last season, Adelaide became the first side in AFLW history to average fewer than 20 points conceded across a season, and now so far this season three sides are keeping opponents below that metric.
Geelong has made its name as a dour, defensive side and for good reason. It is conceding just 15.2 points per game across the opening five rounds and leading the competition for intercepts with 61.8.
Collingwood's whole game plan is set up around its tough, reliable backline and it is showing on the scoreboard with its average 16.2 points against per game, while Richmond has been the surprise packet. The additions of Eilish Sheerin and Libby Graham alongside the ever-improving Bec Miller, Beth Lynch and Maddie Shevlin has been masterful.
