THE ALL-AUSTRALIAN selectors will this year have to debate a philosophical question.

Can they pick a small forward who, in all likelihood, won't kick 10 goals for the season?

Gryan Miers is having a campaign like very few before him. He is undoubtedly one of Geelong's most important players, and one of the competition's best small forwards, yet he has kicked just four goals from 17 games.

Instead, Miers' unique skillset is predicated on setting up others. This year, despite his meagre goals tally, the Cats premiership player has a remarkable 30 goal assists and 46 score assists.

Almost everything that Miers touches turns to goals. Just not for himself. Of his 334 disposals this season, 120 have been score involvements. It means that just under 36 per cent of the time he gets the footy, it leads to a Geelong score.

Miers is on track to break all sorts of assist records that are mostly all currently held by Brisbane's triple-premiership champion Jason Akermanis, who racked up 39 goal assists and 50 score assists (both all-time highs) in 2004.

With six games still remaining in the season, the Geelong fan favourite needs only nine more goal assists and four more score assists to overcome those records. Bear in mind, he is currently averaging 1.8 goal assists and 2.7 score assists per match.

Yes, there are other worthy small forwards who could still pip Miers for an All-Australian blazer. Toby Greene (41 goals) likely still qualifies in that category, while Charlie Cameron (39 goals), Izak Rankine (32 goals) and Tom Papley (30 goals) have been more prolific.

And, indeed, picking an All-Australian forward with so few goals is rare. In fact, only five players have been selected in the full-forward line having kicked fewer than 15 goals in that same season. Unsurprisingly, all were midfielders by trade.

A further six have been named across the half-forward line with fewer than 15 goals in that campaign. Again, all were named in a secondary spot having played the majority of their football through the midfield in that season.

Clearly, what will hamper Miers' case is his lack of goals return. In the campaign where Akermanis had a record 39 goal assists and 50 score assists, he also kicked 40 goals himself to earn All-Australian selection.

In 2008, Geelong forward Cam Mooney had 33 goal assists and 48 score assists – both ranked second of all-time behind Akermanis – as well as kicking 46 goals himself. Even that wasn't enough to warrant an All-Australian blazer, let alone a place in the squad.

But what has made Miers' impact so profound this year, and what surely strengthens his case for a unique All-Australian selection, is just how far clear he is of any other player in the League in assist categories.

Miers' 30 goal assists are 10 clear of Melbourne's Christian Petracca and Collingwood's Taylor Adams in second. Meanwhile, his 46 score assists are 15 ahead of Petracca. According to Champion Data, there has never been a gap bigger than 15 in this metric.

So, can you pick an out-and-out small forward as an All-Australian if he doesn't even break 10 goals for the entire season? It's a question Geelong coach Chris Scott likely wouldn't have to think twice to answer.

"I'm smiling because you're not supposed to have favourites, but it's hard not to like him as a coach. He is a unique player. His decision-making is elite," Scott said after his 100th game over the weekend.

"He takes some options that sometimes don't come off, but at least from my perspective he has that license. When you go for some of the options that he takes, you're going to miss some of them. But, on balance, it's clearly a net positive for us.

"We had a highlights video for him for his 100th … it's a pretty good package that one, he's put together 100 really nice games. There are some brilliant individual finishing-type examples in there.

"But, what's hard to capture on a highlights video or if you only watch him casually, is just how hard he works and how important he is to the way we play. I think that's being recognised a little bit more, which is nice in a way. But I don't think it would worry him either way, which is another reason that I like him."

GOAL ASSISTS
* Record is 39 (Jason Akermanis in 2004)

30 Gryan Miers (Geelong)
20 Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
20 Taylor Adams (Collingwood)
19 Nick Martin (Essendon)
17 Zac Bailey (Brisbane)
17 Tom Hawkins (Geelong)
17 Caleb Serong (Fremantle)
17 Toby Greene (GWS Giants)

SCORE ASSISTS
* Record is 50 (Jason Akermanis in 2004)

46 Gryan Miers (Geelong)
31 Christian Petracca (Melbourne)
30 Darcy Byrne-Jones (Port Adelaide)
28 Toby Greene (GWS Giants)
27 Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane)
27 Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
27 Zak Butters (Port Adelaide)