Who is your club’s most accurate goalkicker?
While the eye-test has us feeling different levels of confidence as a player lines up for goal, we’ve got the stats to tell you who from your team is the deadliest in front of the big sticks.
Breaking it down team-by-team, we’ve looked at just the 2023 season and for players to qualify, they had to have at least 20 shots on goal across the campaign.
While some defenders kicked goals with their only attempts last season giving them a 100 per cent accuracy rate, it simply isn’t a big enough sample size to really prove how clinical they are.
With that in mind, check out the most accurate from your team below!
Taylor Walker: 76 goals, 34 behinds, 129 attempts – 58.9% accuracy rate
The 2023 All-Australian is one of the competition’s best kicks and he makes his attempts count.
Behind him key forward Riley Thilthorpe went at 56.3 per cent while Darcy Fogarty also went at 53.1 per cent.
Lincoln McCarthy: 28 goals, 11 behinds, 45 attempts: 62.2% accuracy rate
Lincoln McCarthy is one of the competition’s most clinical small forwards and that reflects statistically.
Charlie Cameron went at 58.4 per cent which is impressive for over 100 attempts. Zac Bailey (52.7 per cent), Joe Daniher (52.6 per cent) and Eric Hipwood (50.6 per cent) also hit more than they miss.
Charlie Curnow: 81 goals, 44 behinds, 134 attempts: 60.4% accuracy rate
The 2023 Coleman Medallist improved on his return in 2022 where he finished 54.7 per cent of his attempts.
Small forwards Jesse Motlop (55.8 per cent), Matthew Owies (54 per cent) and Jack Martin (53.1 per cent) are also accurate.
Harry McKay (37.7 per cent) would be desperate to improve significantly for a player that has so many attempts.
Daniel McStay: 20 goals, 7 behinds, 30 attempts: 66.7% accuracy rate
Collingwood will miss the accuracy of Dan McStay who went down with an ACL injury this summer.
Bobby Hill (61.1 per cent) is elite inside 50 while Ash Johnson (58.3 per cent) and Brody Mihocek (56 per cent) are accurate for tall forward options.
Matt Guelfi: 14 goals, 4 behinds, 20 attempts: 70.0% accuracy rate
Matt Guelfi doesn’t get a heap of opportunities, but when he does, he makes it count.
The Dons have other sharpshooters deeper inside 50 with Kyle Langford (61.4 per cent) and Peter Wright (61.3 per cent) making the most of their attempts.
Michael Walters: 33 goals, 13 behinds, 53 attempts: 62.3% accuracy rate
The Dockers veteran is classy inside 50 and that reflects in this statistic.
Youngster Jye Amiss (61.2 per cent) is just behind him while Michael Frederick (57.8 per cent) will hope to follow in Walters’ footsteps as a smaller option.
Brad Close: 21 goals, 6 behinds, 33 attempts: 63.6% accuracy rate
The small forward finishes at an elite level and Ollie Henry also joins him in that category at 60.3 per cent.
Jeremy Cameron finished 55.6 per cent of his attempts in 2022 but that dipped to 50.5 per cent in 2023. He’ll hope to bounce back this year.
Levi Casboult: 24 goals, 11 behinds, 39 attempts: 61.5% accuracy rate
For a player whose goalkicking was maligned early in his career, Casboult has genuinely turned that knock on his game around.
Jack Lukosius (59.1 per cent) and Ben King (57.1 per cent) are also quality kicks for tall forwards.
Jesse Hogan: 49 goals, 28 behinds, 83 attempts: 59% accuracy rate
Jesse Hogan leads for a side that isn’t too accurate in front of goals compared to the competition.
Other forwards that hit more than they miss include Jake Riccardi (53.8 per cent) and Toby Greene (53.7 per cent).
Mitch Lewis: 36 goals, 20 behinds, 63 attempts: 57.1% accuracy rate
One of the cleanest kicks of the footy in the competition, Lewis led Hawthorn’s ranking again despite falling from an accuracy rate of 66.1 per cent in 2022.
Luke Breust (56.6 per cent) was the only other full-time forward above the 50 per cent marker.
Jacob Van Rooyen: 28 goals, 9 behinds, 40 attempts: 70.0% accuracy rate
The young Demon made the most of his opportunities in 2023 and he’ll need to do the same in 2024 as he looms as Melbourne’s key tall to start the campaign.
Kade Chandler (61.5 per cent) is also a sharpshooter, while Kysaiah Pickett (43.5 per cent) will want to improve significantly.
Nick Larkey: 71 goals, 24 behinds, 100 attempts: 71.0% accuracy rate
A deadeye in every sense, Nick Larkey is the competition’s most clinical forward. For a player that has so many shots at goal, it gives him a great chance of claiming a Coleman or two if he keeps up his rating.
Behind him, Eddie Ford (60 per cent) and Jaidyn Stephenson (59.1 per cent) are quality when they get their hands on the ball near goals.
Willie Rioli: 31 goals, 17 behinds, 55 attempts: 56.4% accuracy rate
Rioli is reasonably accurate, but the Power would like to have someone with a better rating lead their side in this statistic.
At least tall forwards Todd Marshall (53.7 per cent) and Charlie Dixon (52.3 per cent) hit more than they miss.
Samson Ryan: 12 goals, 5 behinds, 22 attempts: 54.5% accuracy rate
Richmond had eight players who were technically more accurate than Ryan, but none of them qualified with 20 shots.
One that got close but was injured for much of the season was Tom Lynch, who went at 56.3 per cent.
Superstars Shai Bolton (43.1 per cent) and Dustin Martin (39.7 per cent) could impact even more if they straightened up with their attempts.
Cooper Sharman: 15 goals, 5 behinds, 23 attempts: 65.2% accuracy rate
The medium forward makes the most of his opportunities when he has them, and Dan Butler (61.1 per cent) isn’t far behind him.
For all of the stick Max King cops about his goalkicking, he actually hit more than he missed in 2023 going at 54.9 per cent.
Logan McDonald: 32 goals, 15 behinds, 51 attempts: 62.7% accuracy rate
The key forward has a nice kicking style, and that technique pays dividends in front oof goal.
Fellow tall forward Hayden McLean (58.3 per cent) is also a nice shot. Will Hayward (48.1 per cent), Isaac Heeney (46.9 per cent) and Tom Papley (46.3 per cent) have room to improve.
Oscar Allen: 53 goals, 23 behinds, 87 attempts: 60.9% accuracy rate
No surprises here, the new co-captain is the man West Coast want kicking for goal and that’s proven statistically.
None of West Coast’s other forwards that had at least 20 attempts went at above 50 per cent.
Tim English: 16 goals, 4 behinds, 21 attempts: 76.2% accuracy rate
It’s a small sample size, but English is a great finisher when he floats inside 50 and marks.
Cody Weightman (57.6 per cent) is the club’s most accurate recognised forward.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (37.6 per cent) could really go to the next level if he could even improve to slotting half of his attempts at goal.
