Tony Shaw, former Collingwood captain and premiership winner, has expressed his discontent with the AFL’s current approach of counting kick-ins as disposals. His frustrations were fueled by the recent performance of Essendon’s Archie Roberts, who racked up 42 disposals on Anzac Day, yet seven of these came from kick-ins after the Magpies registered 17 behinds in the match. Without these kick-ins, Roberts would have ended the game with 35 disposals, still impressive but short of the 40-mark that stands out in statistics.
The AFL instituted this rule change in 2019, allowing players who play on immediately from kick-ins to add to their disposal tally. Shaw believes this adjustment distorts historical records and inflated the statistics for defenders, making the game less reflective of true performance. He voiced his concerns during an interview, arguing that such statistics should not count until the next phase of play.
Shaw stated, “The kick-ins should not be added to the stats,” noting that they give a misleading enhancement to players’ performance metrics. He cited a personal anecdote involving his nephew, Heath Shaw, who often accrued significant disposals from kick-outs, bolstering his averages in a way that could be considered unfair.
Considering the implications for player recognition and historical legacies, Shaw argued for a review of this statistical practice. He believes it diminishes the value of their achievements and complicates comparisons across eras. Such changes should be reconsidered to maintain the integrity of the sport’s statistics and its history.
In the larger context, players like Bailey Dale of the Western Bulldogs exemplify this trend by averaging 8.1 kick-ins per game, playing on for about 90% of them. Dale’s season highlights include playing on from 10 out of 11 kick-outs in one match, which raised questions about the validity of the resulting statistics.
Overall, Shaw’s comments have reignited a conversation about how the AFL measures player performance, suggesting that removing kick-ins from disposal counts could simplify records and restore integrity to the statistics that define player legacies in the league.