Getting Worse

What goes up must come down

I’ve previously written two posts about the idea of AFL players getting better, or looking at the number of consecutive weeks they recorded an increase in a particular statistic compared to their previous game. The original post was published back in 2021, before I published an updated version earlier this year.

But what if we look at the opposite, at players who performed worse each week? How do the streaks compare, and have there been any players who have had an extremely hot and cold streak throughout their career?

Kicks

• Record holders: Seven games – Wes Lofts (16, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 8, 7, 7) and Glenn Nugent (20, 15, 13, 8, 7, 6, 5)
• Current active streak: Five games – Riley Garcia (11, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3)

Handballs

• Record holder: Seven games – Luke Shuey (22, 20, 17, 15, 14, 13, 9, 8, 14)
• Current active streak: Four games – Jayden Laverde (3, 10, 8, 7, 5, 3) and Luke Edwards (4, 12, 5, 4, 2, 1)

Disposals

• Record holders: Seven games – Jordan McMahon (15, 30, 26, 25, 23, 19, 17, 15, 10, 11) and Andrew McLeod (14, 26, 24, 21, 19, 18, 17, 13, 9, 14)
• Current active streak: Five games – Rory Laird (31, 37, 30, 29, 25, 24, 22)

Marks

• Record holder: Five games – 54 different players
• Current active streak: Four games – Cooper Sharman (6, 6, 5, 4, 3, 0)

Goals

• Record holder: Five games – Harold Robertson (0, 14, 7, 5, 2, 1, 0, 3), Bill Mohr (4, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 1, 5), and Ross Ditchburn (2, 9, 7, 6, 4, 3, 0, 1)
• Current active streak: Two games – 5 different players

Tackles

• Record holder: Five games – 11 different players
• Current active streak: Three games – 6 different players

Hit outs

• Record holder: Six games – Rod Payne (16, 18, 17, 15, 14, 13, 10, 8), Graham Teasdale (28, 37, 21, 18, 13, 12, 8, 4, 5), Derek Shaw (0, 23, 17, 13, 10, 8, 6, 4, 5), and Drew Petrie (7, 13, 11, 8, 6, 5, 1, 0, 4)
• Current active streak: Three games – Matt Flynn (34, 38, 33, 28, 24), Marc Pittonet (17, 24, 21, 17, 15), and Sam Darcy (7, 12, 11, 8, 7)

Bounces

• Record holder: Four games – 24 different players
• Current active streak: Two games – Lachie Whitfield (2, 6, 5, 4)

Clangers

• Record holder: Five games – 5 different players
• Current active streak: Four games – Angus Sheldrick (0, 6, 5, 2, 1, 0), George Hewett (1, 5, 4, 3, 1, 0), and Hayden Young (3, 11, 8, 5, 4, 2)

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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.