Getting Better Redux
Are AFL players still getting better all the time?
Back in 2021 I made a blog post, Getting Better, where I looked at how many weeks in a row a player performed better – or recorded an increase in a particular statistic compared to their previous game.
As we get closer to the start of the 2024 AFL season, let’s take another look at the data to see if there have been any changes to the record holders since the initial post.
Kicks
Previous record holder: Daniel Rioli (seven games)
Changes to the record: None
Current active streak: Ryan Lester, Rowan Marshall, Dylan Stephens (four games)
Handballs
Previous record holders: Brendon Gale, Shane Woewodin, Darcy Byrne-Jones, Wil Powell, and Ben Keays (six games)
Changes to the record: None
Current active streak: Max Gawn, Max Holmes (four games)
Disposals
Previous record holders: Matthew Croft and Rod Austin (seven games)
Changes to the record: None
Current active streak: Alex Neal-Bullen, Tom McCartin, Jack Bowes, Mark O’Connor (four games)
Marks
Previous record holder: Michael Pickering (seven games)
Changes to the record: None
Current active streak: Mitch Georgiades (four games)
Goals
Previous record holders: Gordon Coventry, Justin Koschitzke, and Stewart Loewe (five games)
Changes to the record: None
Current active streak: Nick Larkey, Josh Rachele (three games)
Tackles
Previous record holder: Tom Liberatore (six games)
Changes to the record: None
Current active streak: Patrick Dangerfield, Bailey Smith, Rory Sloane, Lachie Young, Callum Jamieson (three games)
Hit outs
Previous record holders: Graeme Jenkin, Ron Alexander, Warren Jones, Greg Stafford, Stefan Martin, and Todd Goldstein (six games)
Changes to the record: While the record of six games hasn’t been broken, two additional players have had six-week streaks where they recorded a larger number of hit outs than the week before: Peter Wright and Oscar McInerney.
Current active streak: Lachlan Keeffe, Darcy Fort, Dante Visentini, Sam Darcy (two games)
Bounces
Previous record holder: Kade Simpson (five games)
Changes to the record: Lachie Ash currently sits level with Kade Simpson on five consecutive games with an increased number of bounces.
Current active streak: Bailey Scott (three games)
Clangers
Previous record holders: Ryan Bastinac and Brett Goodes (five games)
Changes to the record: None
Current active streak: Xavier O’Neill, Logan McDonald (four games)
I’m a little surprised by there only being three players who have tied existing streaks, and that no players took a record outright. But I suppose this speaks to the unique set of circumstances that need to occur for something like this to happen.
The timeframe of this stat is limited based on what data are freely/easily available and/or accessible. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you spot any errors in what I have presented.