- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
If you were to ask someone who the best player in the AFL is, it’s a pretty safe bet that they are going to pick Gary Ablett Jr
And that’s hard to argue with.
But there is someone who is just as good as him.
Dane Swan.
At this point, many people will think that I’m stupid, but hear me out.
Both players have averaged over 30 disposals a game since 2009.
Swan reaches this mark in 42.47% of matches and Ablett reaches it in 35.18%. In fact, the former has passed 30 disposals more frequently than anyone else in the history of the game, and only Greg Williams stands between him and the latter.
Both players have reached 40 disposals more than 10 times. Both players accumulate a high percentage of those disposals in contested situations – the list goes on and on and on.
The point is that the duo has reached a level and consistency that no one ever has, and both will go down as the best players of their generation. They both play within the spirit of the game and lead the competition in several fields.
In fact, Swan surpasses Ablett in a number of categories despite consistently spending 10 percent less time on the ground than him each game.
A criticism of Swan has been his effectiveness, many people labelling him not as a graceful swan but as an ugly duckling. It’s time to debunk that myth.
As midfielders gather the ball so much and often kick the ball hurriedly out of the middle, etc., their disposal efficiency tends to be less than players in other positions.
The most effective midfielders, such as Scott Pendlebury, may have an effective disposal percent of more than 70, but anything from 63-75 is very good for a midfielder.
From 2010 to 2013, Ablett’s effective disposal % reads as follows: 74.3, 69.9, 69.1, 67.0.
Swan’s has been 71.6, 69.3, 67.3, 67.7.
Although it may seem that Ablett is clearly the more effective player, this comes down to the fact that he handballs so much.
Ablett, like Daniel Cross is a midfielder whose kick-to-handball ratio is roughly 1:1, which means that he kicks the ball just as much as he handballs it.
A more penetrating player who tends to kick the ball more, Swan’s ratio is about 2:1.
Anybody who has ever played Australian football knows that it is easier to hit a target three metres away than it is to hit a target 30 metres away.
When it comes to clangers – terrible kicks and kicks that go straight to the opposition – the stats may surprise some.
Over the last four years, Ablett has averaged 2.96, 2.55, 4.05 and 3.88 clangers per game, whereas Swan has averaged 2.19, 3.25, 3.52 and 3.04.
They are a coach’s dream – two players who will run until the final siren sounds every time.
And although Ablett has had some minor groin and hamstring issues across his career, both players rarely miss games and have never been suspended.
If you were to model your game on one of the two, you’d choose Ablett, hands down.
If you were to go to a game just to see one player, you’d choose Ablett. But if you were to watch the highlight reel of the two players, you’d be hard pressed to pick a winner.
Both players have some amazing highlight reels. You can watch Swan burst through the middle and nail the goal from 55 metres out on more than ten occasions, or you can watch Ablett curl the ball through the sticks from the most miraculous angles – both are incredible for different reasons.
And both players are brilliant for different reasons.
History will remember Gary Ablett Jr more than it will Dane Swan, and for a reason that I can understand.
The son of a Geelong legend has done things with the ball that some people never thought possible. But it’s a shame that so many slander Swan for his off-field deeds.
Dane Swan re-committed to Collingwood last week, and I expect that Ablett will do the same in the future.
I encourage people to watch both players and judge their performances on their merits, ignoring whatever colour they may wear. They are both legends of their clubs.
You don’t win a Brownlow medal through mediocrity.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.