When Mike Brady penned the famous song ‘Up There Cazaly’ back in 1979, little did any of us know that we would be seeing women soar in marking contests in a professional AFL setting almost 40 years later. The song referred to champion St Kilda/South Melbourne ruckman Roy Cazaly from back in the early 1910’s who was known for his spectacular marks.
Roy Cazaly takes a famous one-handed grab. Photo: The Australian
Though the jingle still rings loud and true, particularly across AFL Grand Final week in pubs and venues across the country, there are a new group of talented players drawing their own attention due to their high-flying exploits.
Taylah Harris takes a great mark for Melbourne. Photo: Herald Sun
The mark has become one of the best ways of connecting the millions of AFL fans around Australia to the women’s counterpart – AFLW. Names such as Taylah Harris, Bonnie Toogood, Anne Hatchard and Emma Kearney are becoming the norm as we discuss the ‘marks of the week’ at the family dinner table.
So how does the mark stack up when we look at the numbers over time, and just who is it from AFLW that is stealing the show through their marking prowess?
Breaking down the numbers we can see that all-time, Anne Hatchard from the Adelaide Football Club leads the way. She has amassed close to 300 marks over her 69 career games spanning all 8 seasons. Sitting closely in second place in Jasmine Garner (North Melbourne FC) who has featured as a regular in our 'numbers don’t lie’ discussions so far this season. Jassie Garner has also played 69 games, and her teammate Emma Kearney is hot on her heels in third position all-time.
It is also important to note that two of the top five, Taylah Harris and Ally Anderson are from the Brisbane Lions. Well, originally at least. Of course Harris now pulls on the red and blue at Melbourne (Narrm), but she started her journey in AFLW way back in season one at the Lions in Brissie.
AFLW all-time total marks - top five players. Stats courtesy of AFLWstats.com.au
It’s no surprise then when we look at how the total all-time mark leaders stack up in relation to the OG AFLW teams. With eight OG teams participating back in 2017, the Lions sit atop having taken the most marks of any club from 2017 - 2023. Collingwood, Adelaide and Melbourne are all within 250 marks of the leaders.
OG AFLW teams - All time total marks taken. Stats courtesy of AFLWstats.com.au
So what does it all mean, you ask? Well, if we take North Melbourne out of the equation for a minute (they only entered the league in 2018 (season three), let’s dig a little deeper.
According to AFLstats.com.au, over the course of the first seven seasons, Melbourne (Narrm) lead the charge when it comes to overall win percentage. Adelaide and Brisbane sit just below them, with all three clubs far superior sitting at 70% or higher.
OG AFLW clubs - win percentage. Stats courtesy of AFLWstats.com.au
It’s no surprise that the top three clubs for win percentage sit at the top of the tree when it comes to total marks all-time. Whilst we could look at contested marks or marks inside 50 as we might in the traditional AFL competition, the reality is, marks are harder to come by in W, and they are worth their weight in gold.
Though we all know the importance of kicking in our great game, whether that be hitting a target inside 50, coming out of the backline, maybe the ability to kick from both sides, the fact of the matter is that marking ability is critical to AFLW team transition, ball movement and flow through the centre into the forward 50, and of course, scoring.
Bonnie Toogood (ESS) marks against ADE, Season 8. Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Herald Sun
As our title suggests, ‘the numbers don’t lie’, and when we break it down even further, 8 of the top 10 all-time markers from AFLW so far belong to Melbourne (Narrm), Adelaide and Brisbane (at least during some stage of their career). Although Erin Phillips (now Port Adelaide) and Kaitlyn Ashmore (now Hawthorn) are now at new clubs respectively, they made their names as consistent marking targets at clubs sitting in the top three for all-time win percentage.
Top ten AFLW players all-time marks taken. Stats courtesy AFLWstats.com.au
Funnily enough, the Kangaroos, who entered the competition in its third season (2019) have the next best winning percentage. They are fourth overall when we combine all current AFLW clubs, with a total win percentage of sixty nine.
Jassie Garner and Emma Kearney are leading the way for their team, and of course, Ashmore took 118 of her 215 marks with the white and blue, and another 22 with the Lions in the inaugural season back in 2017.
Season eight is now seventy percent complete and Anne Hatchard (ADE) sits in the top five for total marks once again. However, the tables are turning. Bonnie Toogood (ESS) and Aine Tighe (FRE) are also sitting in the top five representing teams that both sit outside the top four. Toogood is leading her Bombers to a likely finals berth and is doing it in style as the current contested mark leader in the competition. Will she continue to lead the way, or will Hatchard and her fellow top finishing clubs again dominate the total marks as this season comes to a close?
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