The GIANTS AFL Women’s team currently sit in third on the Conference A ladder and ahead of their round four clash with table toppers Brisbane Lions on Sunday. GIANTS Media takes a look at how some of the GIANTS are leading the way when it comes to the key statistics in the competition.
Disposals
Young-gun Alyce Parker (who will feature prominently in this article) is finding plenty of the footy in 2020. The 19-year-old is averaging 20 disposals per game this season, ranking her eight in the competition. Captain Alicia Eva isn’t too far behind in 14th with 17.3 per game.
Disposal Efficiency
If you want players to hit a target, look no further than experienced defensive trio Jessica Dal Pos, Louise Stephenson and Tanya Hetherington. Dal Pos is equal fifth at 81 per cent efficiency from her 26 disposals off half back, while Stephenson is close behind in equal seventh on 80 per cent from her 20 touches. Hetherington is hitting targets 79 per cent of the time while another defender in Elle Bennets has also been very accurate at 77 per cent disposal efficiency from 31 touches.
Metres Gained
Parker isn’t just finding a lot of the ball, she’s also moving it a serious distance. The Holbrook product is ranked outright fourth in the competition with 1,098m gained at 366m per game. The next best GIANT is Alicia Eva at 707m total.
Contested Possessions
Is it any surprise that Parker is second in the competition for this stat? The midfield bull is ahead of stars Dana Hooker (West Coast), Ebony Marinoff (Adelaide) and Madi Prespakis (Carlton), averaging 12.3 contested possessions per game. Eva is again not far behind with an average of nine per game.
Clearances
Oh, look it’s Alyce Parker again. Equal seventh in the competition alongside gun on-ballers Hooker, Kiara Bowers (Fremantle), Ellie Blackburn (Western Bulldogs) and Anne Hatchard (Adelaide), Parker is averaging 4.3 clearances per game in 2020.
Marks and Contested Marks
This will come as no surprise to GIANTS faithful; forward Rebecca Privitelli is fourth in the competition for overall marks with 14 in three games. The defender-turned-forward has been a focal point for the GIANTS up front so far this season and is also equal-second in the competition for contested marks with six, just one behind Carlton star Tayla Harris. Not a bad effort given that the GIANTS’ round one game at Blacktown was played in torrential rain.
Tackles
Britt Tully and Eva have been crushing it (literally) when it comes to tackles so far this season. Tully is equal third in the AFLW with 22 tackles (that’s 7.3 per game) and despite her size, Eva is the one taking the others down, ranked equal-fifth with 21 tackles (seven per game).
Intercept Possessions
If you’ve watched a game of the GIANTS’ AFLW campaign closely in 2020, you would have noticed Elle Bennetts drifting back across the GIANTS half-back line to take marks and mop up loose balls. The 30-year-old is equal-eighth in the competition for intercept possessions with 20 at 6.7 per game. It’s even more impressive when you realise that she is playing at half-back for the first time in her career and is also using the ball incredibly efficiently. First-year GIANT Annalyse Lister is also high on the list with 17 intercept possessions.
