With the Brisbane Lions afforded the Bye in Round 10, lions.com.au takes a look at the team’s stats leaders so far this season.

DISPOSALS

After nine matches, Jack Redden currently leads the Lions in total disposals with 211, however his average of 23.4 per game ranks him second at the Club behind Tom Rockliff (28.3 disposals per game).

Rockliff has been clearly the team’s leading possession-getter this season, collecting 30-plus disposals five times in his seven matches in 2014.

However, the 2011 Club Champion has missed two matches – one through suspension and one through illness – which means his overall totals can be a bit misleading.

Pearce Hanley (21.7), Dayne Zorko (20.6), Brent Moloney (20.2) and Ryan Lester (20.1) round out the major ball-winners.

Lester’s inclusion in that group is a credit to the 21-year-old, whose producing career-best numbers in 2014, and is more than three disposals per game up from last year.

Redden, meanwhile, leads the team in contested possessions (11.2 per game), with almost half of his average disposals gained from contested situations. Rockliff ranks second with 10.9 per game.

In terms of efficiency, Ryan Harwood leads the way with an efficiency rate of 87.5% from his two matches this season.

Jed Adcock ranks second with an efficiency rate of 81.7%, however his figure is arguably more impressive considering he’s played in all nine matches and has racked up 175 possessions (143 of which have been effective).

The only other Lions player to boast an efficiency rate of 80-plus per cent is draftee Tom Cutler (80.8%).

MARKS

The Club’s reigning first round selection and Round 6 Rising Star nominee, James Aish, has taken more marks than any of his Lions teammates this season, with 47 from his nine games.

On average, however, Aish ranks fifth overall with (5.2 per game), behind Jordan Lisle (6.4), Pearce Hanley (5.7), Mitch Golby (5.6) and Tom Rockliff (5.6).

In terms of contested marks, Daniel Merrett leads the way with seven, ahead of Jonathan Brown with five.

Merrett is one of just two players at the Club to average one contested mark per game – the other being second year forward Michael Close, who has taken four contested marks in his first four senior AFL matches.

Brown, meanwhile, is a clear leader when it comes to marks inside 50m. The Lions spearhead has taken 17 marks inside 50m – almost three times more than his nearest rival Sam Mayes (6).

HITOUTS

It’s no surprise to see Trent West leading the hitouts for the Lions this season, particularly after Matthew Leuenberger went down with a knee injury in Round 4.

West’s 231 hitouts also sees him ranked seventh across the entire League.

Interestingly, Jack Redden ranks fourth at the Club in this category – behind West, Leuenberger and recent part-time ruckman Daniel Merrett.

In fact, Redden averages more than one hitout per game, despite being a midfielder by trade.

TACKLES

Redden is also one of the team’s best tacklers, having led the Club in this particularl statistics for the past couple of years.

However, his mantle as the Lions’ tackling machine looks like being overtaken by none other than Tom Rockliff, who leads the way in both total, and average, tackles this season.

Rockliff (8.4 tackles per game) averages more than two tackles per game than Redden (6.2) and third-placed Dayne Zorko (5.8).  

LAST LINE OF DEFENCE

One of the key performance indicators for defenders includes one percenters – which incorporate aspects of the game such as spoils and smothers.

Justin Clarke currently has more one percenters than any other Lions player with 63 from his nine matches – at an average of seven per game.

Reigning two-time Club Champion Joel Patfull isn’t far behind with 47 ant an average of 5.9 per game, with Jordan Lisle (4.8) and Darcy Gardiner (4.6) the next best.

But Matt Maguire still boasts the best average of one per centers with eight from his sole senior match back in Round 8 against Essendon.

Jed Adcock, meanwhile, is the clear team leader in terms of rebounds from 50m, with 47 from his nine matches.

Not only is Adcock repelling opposition teams’ forward entries, but his high disposal efficiency rate (as stated earlier) means that the ball is generally safe in his hands.

Rockliff has the second most rebounds with 26, which is testament to the amount of ground he covers on a weekly basis.

SCORING POWER

Jonathan Brown is on target to claim a record sixth goal-kicking title at the Club, with 14 goals so far this season.

Brown was the Lions’ leading goal-kicker last season with 28, and is already half way to reaching the same total with 13 matches remaining.

Hot on his heels is livewire small forward Josh Green, who has kicked six goals in his past two matches to rocket into second place with 10 for the season.

Sam Mayes is third with eight goals, while Tom Rockliff and Marco Paparone round out the top five with seven and five respectively.

Green looks to be Brown’s major competition, particularly given Mayes was shifted to defence after Round 4 to cover the loss of Daniel Rich.

Green is not only among the top goal-kickers, but also ranks first in average inside 50s (3.9 per game) and equal second in goal assists (0.6 per game).

In fact, if you added up both goals and goals assists, Green has directly helped contribute 14 goals this season, compared to Brown’s 15.

Jed Adcock and Ryan Lester, meanwhile, lead the team in goal assists with five each.

TIME ON GROUND

With limited interchanges, it is only natural that players were going to spend more time on the field in 2014 compared to last season.

Jonathan Brown has currently spent the greatest percentage of time on the field of any Lions player this season – remarkable considering he’s in his 15th AFL season.

95.9% of Brown’s game time has been spent on the field, meaning he rarely gets the chance of catching his breath on the interchange bench.

The key defenders all dominate the next four positions – with Joel Patfull (93.4%), Daniel Merrettt (92.3%), Justin Clarke (92.2%), and Matt Maguire (90.8%) also seeing plenty of on-field time.

AFL PLAYER RATINGS

Only five Lions players currently feature inside the official AFL Ratings’ Top 100, which is compiled using a complex formula of statistics from recent seasons.

Tom Rockliff is the Lions’ highest rated player at number 48, closely followed by Daniel Rich (50th), Jack Redden (58th), Pearce Hanley (60th) and Dayne Zorko (66th).

Captain Jed Adcock is the Lions’ next best at 143rd, while Josh Green and Ryan Lester have proven the biggest movers, both settling into the Club’s top 10 in seventh and ninth position respectively.

The top 10 rated Lions are as follows:

48. Tom Rockliff (453 points)
50. Daniel Rich (451)
58. Jack Redden (440)
60. Pearce Hanley (438)
66. Dayne Zorko (426)
143. Jed Adcock (358)
177. Josh Green (336)
195. Joel Patfull (324)
198. Ryan Lester (321)
215. Trent West (309)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

If you ask Lions fans whose been the Lions’ best this season, the overwhelming vote has been for Tom Rockliff.

Fans are asked to submit their votes post-game for the Lions’ best player, using the familiar 3-2-1 format.

At the end of Round 9, Rockliff is a clear leader for Player of the Year with 211 votes – more than twice the amount of second-placed Dayne Zorko (107 vbotes).

Jack Redden (65), Jonathan Brown (48), and Marco Paparone (46) round out the top five.

There’s still a long way to go in the 2014 season, however it’s going to take some kind of effort for someone to catch Rockliff given his substantial early lead.