Mitch Owens is putting up numbers the competition has never seen before.
That’s the revelation out of Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne, who wants the competition to sit up and take notice of the Rising Star nominee.
Owens, selected in the second round of the 2021 National Draft, has played a starring role for an injury-ravaged St Kilda lineup to start 2023.
The 19-year-old averages just shy of two goals a game alongside 17.2 touches and 2.7 inside 50s.
But given his age and role, Hoyne has Owen’s form in rare air.
“I just wanted to talk about this about guy in a bigger picture sense,” he told SEN’s Sportsday.
“We (Champion Data) measure relative ratings which is taking into account your performance based on your age and your position and how far above or below expectation you’re actually performing based on that age and position.
“If you’re a 25-year-old midfielder and you’re performing to expectation, you’re at 0 per cent relative rating.
“Mitch Owens this year is performing 127 per cent above expectation for a 19-year-old key forward.
“Just to put that into context, if that keeps going across the course of the season, we have never seen a number like that before.”
Hoyne added that only one player relative to their position and age is playing better footy than the young Saint in 2023. And he's the current Brownlow Medal favourite.
“The best season we’ve seen from a key forward was Lance Franklin in 2012 when he performed 87 per cent above expectation for a 25-year-old key forward,” Hoyne continued.
“Again, to put that into context, everyone is raving about Nick Daicos this year – and fair enough too, absolutely – Nick Daicos is performing 170 per cent above expectation for a 20-year-old general defender.
“But we have not seen a player other than Nick Daicos be 100 per cent or more above expectation for their position this year.”
Owens remains eligible for the 2023 Rising Star after managing just six games in his debut season.
Currently third in the market behind last year’s top picks Harry Sheezel and Will Ashcroft for the Rising Star, Hoyne believes Owens is a better chance than many predict.
“He is flying, and for those doing the Rising Star award, I know people just think it’s a two-horse race between Sheezel and Ashcroft, but this guy needs to get some serious, serious, serious recognition,” he explained.
When asked who would win the award if it was handed out now, Hoyne replied: “It would have to be Mitch Owens.”
Gerard: "If you had to pick the Rising Star as of Round 6, who would it be?"
— Sportsday (@SENSportsday) April 26, 2023
Daniel Hoyne: "It would have to be Mitch Owens."
Champion Data rated Owen’s performance in St Kilda’s Round 6 win over the Blues as the second-best on the ground.
He’s set to be aided by the return of Max King in the near future, with St Kilda CEO Simon Lethlean telling SEN Breakfast that the star forward is only a couple of weeks away from a return.