AFL Rankings: Round 2 2023

In winning only two games last year North Melbourne were significantly behind their opponents in a lot of areas, but one of them was their ability to win the contested ball. The Kangaroos averaged nine contested possessions less per game than their opposition last year, ranking them equal third-last in the AFL (see table below).

After two rounds this year under new coach Alastair Clarkson the Roos have won two games already, albeit narrowly. So far their average contested possession differential has hugely improved, shooting up to almost 20 per game, ranking them second (see table below). This has to a large degree been driven by an improvement in winning clearances, with an average differential so far of 15 per game, easily first in the league. The monster in the middle for North has been Luke Davies-Uniacke who is averaging over 10 clearances per game, about double what he averaged last season.

Winning the contested ball can not only turn you from a relatively poor team to a good team, but also from a good team to a great team. Collingwood had a similar contested possession differential to North Melbourne last year, and a worse clearance differential, ranking near the bottom of the league for both (see table above). Despite this they came within a couple of points of making the Grand Final.

Over the first two weeks this year however they have killed it in these categories, averaging a whopping 31 more contested possessions than their opponents and almost ten more clearances. Former Brownlow Medal winner Tom Mitchell has helped the Magpies’ clearance work with his arrival, averaging nine clearances per game. Many of the main Pies have increased their contested possessions per game so far this season, most notably Darcy Cameron, who has gone from eight to 12 contested possessions per game.

At the other end, probably part of why reigning premiers Geelong are winless so far this season is their losing the contested possession battle, with a deficit of over ten per game compared with a surplus of seven per game in 2022. Fellow winless finalists the Bulldogs have also seen a large drop in their contested possession differential, mainly from not yet holding up their amazing clearance differential from last season. More specifically Jack Macrae has spent less time in the middle, and has dropped from six to three clearances per game, with his replacements not winning the stoppages with the same success.

Winning contested possessions is of course not everything, but it does go a fair way to helping get the win. If the Kangaroos and Magpies continue to rank near the top of the league throughout the season in this category rather than the bottom, they can reasonably expect their overall performances to markedly improve compared with last season.