One of the major talking points of the 2018 AFL season has been the poor standard of skills being dished up, and the stats back it up.
Kicking efficiency is currently at the lowest it has ever been since Champion Data begun recording stats, with the league currently going at an abysmal 64.9%.
Based off a minimum 75 kicks, the kick rating factors in how much pressure a player is under and the degree of difficulty of the kick.
The kicking efficiency rating does not value possessions that go backwards or sideways as much, because they are hitting expected targets. Therefore, these stats are an accurate summation of the most valuable kicks in the league.
After eight rounds of footy, Adelaide's Charlie Cameron is the competition's best kick at +14.1%, while Gold Coast's David Swallow is dwindling at the bottom, going at -11.0%.
Interestingly, two West Coast players occupy the other top three spots in Brad Sheppard (+9.7%) and Shannon Hurn (+9.5%), while two Suns, Lachie Weller (-10.7%) and Brayden Fiorini (-10.3%) round out the bottom three.
Best and worst kicks for every AFL club
| Club | Best Kick | Worst Kick |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | Luke Brown | Bryce Gibbs |
| Brisbane | Charlie Cameron | Dayne Beams |
| Carlton | Aaron Mullett | Charlie Curnow |
| Collingwood | Will Hoskin-Elliott | Sam Murray |
| Essendon | David Zaharakis | Dyson Heppell |
| Fremantle | David Mundy | Ed Langdon |
| Geelong | Sam Menegola | Joel Selwood |
| Gold Coast | Jarrod Harbrow | David Swallow |
| GWS Giants | Jeremy Finlayson | Nick Haynes |
| Hawthorn | Isaac Smith | Tom Mitchell |
| Melbourne | Jordan Lewis | Christian Petracca |
| Nth Melbourne | Shaun Higgins | Billy Hartung |
| Port Adelaide | Dan Houston | Ollie Wines |
| Richmond | Nick Vlastuin | David Astbury |
| St Kilda | Jimmy Wesbter | Blake Acres |
| Sydney | Jarrad McVeigh | Isaac Heeney |
| West Coast | Brad Sheppard | Jack Redden |
| W.Bulldogs | Marcus Bontempelli | Bailey Dale |
Best and worst kicks in the competition
| AFL's Best | Rating | AFL's Worst | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Cameron (BL) | +14.1% | David Swallow (GC) | -11.0% |
| Brad Sheppard (WCE) | +9.7% | Lachie Weller (GC) | -10.7% |
| Shannon Hurn (WCE) | +9.5% | Brayden Fiorini (GC) | -10.3% |
| Jimmy Webster (StK) | +9.3% | Dayne Beams (BL) | -8.7% |
| Jordan Lewis (Melb) | +8.9% | Bryce Gibbs (Adel) | -8.3% |
| Aaron Mullett (Carl) | +7.7% | Sam Murray (Coll) | -8.3% |
| Dayne Zorko (BL) | +7.6% | Tom Mitchell (Haw) | -7.8% |
| David Mundy (Frem) | +7.3% | Nick Haynes (GWS) | -7.6% |
| Isaac Smith (Haw) | +7.2% | Jarman Impey (Haw) | -6.9% |
| Marcus Bontempelli (WB) | +7.2% | Bailey Dale (WB) | -6.9% |
