Insane in the score chain
Fresh off a league-leading 14 score involvements in Round 10 against Port Adelaide, Jack Gunstonhas broken into the competition’s top five in this statistic – averaging 7.6 per game. This is especially impressive when you consider that the Hawks vice-captain has spent considerable time up the ground so far this season. Gunston booted a career-high six goals on the weekend, but the fact that he also had a hand in another eight of the Hawks’ scoreboard impacts highlights the 27-year-old’s value to his side.
Top quartet of those that intercept
Averaging 8.4 per game, James Sicily sits fourth in the competition for total intercept possessions, behind only Luke Ryan, Alex Keath and Jeremy McGovern. The fact that Sicily also ranks second for rebound 50s shows the value of these possessions, given so many of them are made on the last line of defence. At just 24 years of age, the Hawks defender has furthered his claim as one of the game’s best two-way backmen so far this year.
Hawthorn’s very own Twin Towers
Playing in each of the Hawks’ opening nine games of the season before injuring his ankle, Ben McEvoy averages more contested marks than any other player in the league with 2.8 per outing. Big Boy recorded multiple contested marks in every one of his matches in 2019, including five in Round 1 and four in Round 3. Fellow ruckman Jon Ceglar has also found form in this area of late, with only Tom Hawkins taking more contested marks than him in the last fortnight. Ceglar’s average of 1.9 per game sees him rate just inside the game’s top 15.
Menacing small forwards
Paul Puopolo has made a career out of being one of the most menacing small forwards of his era, with opposition defenders never settled when the Hawk is in the vicinity. This statement could not be better justified by the fact that the 31-year-old is the premium forward 50 tackler in the competition, averaging 2.2 per game to share top spot with Lion Dayne Zorko. Also of note, Luke Breust, the Hawks’ leading goal kicker, sits just behind Poppy as the third-best in the league in this category with 19 on the year. Furthermore, only four players have registered more goal assists than Breust’s 12, while Chad Wingard’s rate of 1.2 per game also delivers him a spot in the top 10 averages.
The hard-running high-markers
Ricky Henderson has worked his way into career-best form in 2019, proving one of the best-performing wingman in the game to date. His incredible work ethic is captured in two statistical areas: he ranks second for marks in the league with 8.2 per game and fourth for uncontested possessions (19.9 per game). Similarly, Sicily ranks fifth for marks and second league-wide for metres gained with Henderson not far behind in 13th.
