AFL Rankings: Round 14 2022

There was an entertaining game between GWS and the Bulldogs on the weekend where both teams scored over 100 points (125 to 105). It does seem like scoring is a tad up this year – is that right?

Well, yes – it is a tad up. The average points scored by a team per game so far in 2022 is 82.4 points, up from 79.6 points in 2021 (see table below). The average scoring shots is up by 0.6 per game, and the average inside 50s is up by 0.3 per game. These figures are also all slightly up on 2019 (2020 had shorter quarters).

Scoring is still well down from a decade ago. Teams still got the ball inside 50 about 50 times per game – as they have pretty much every year since the statistics was first recorded – but they more often converted inside 50s into scoring shots (see table above).

According to an article on the AFL website earlier this year, ‘transition’ from defence of the ball has improved this season, which was claimed as a main reason for the uptick in scoring. At the time the article was published, chains to inside 50 from both kick-ins and defensive 50 had risen significantly. The average number of tackles and stoppages had declined (although the percentage of secondary stoppages was steady).

Matches like the Giants-Bulldogs clash this season are still very much the rarity, not the norm. It’s still a 4 per cent increase in scoring so far though, so for those who prefer higher scoring it’s something.