Seven AFL stats will actually tell you whether your child is getting better. Three others get most of the attention on the sideline — and they’re the least useful ones to watch.
It’s not that kicks, handballs, and goals don’t matter. It’s that at junior and youth level, those numbers mostly reflect game time, team strategy, and where your kid happened to be standing on the day. They don’t show you whether your child is genuinely developing.
The stats below do. And because a forward, midfielder, and defender are doing completely different jobs on the field, the ones worth watching depend on where your child plays — and how old they are.
Quick Reference: Stats by Position and Age Group
Find your child’s position and age group in the table below, then read the sections underneath to understand what each stat actually means.
| Stat | Forwards | Midfielders | Backs | Junior (up to U11) | Youth (U12–U17) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure Acts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Primary | Primary |
| Tackles Made | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Primary | Primary |
| Ground Ball Gets | ✓ | ✓ | Secondary | Primary | |
| Contested Possessions | ✓ | ✓ | Secondary | Primary | |
| Inside 50s | ✓ | ✓ | Primary | ||
| Intercept Marks | ✓ | Youth only | |||
| Contested Marks | ✓ | ✓ | Youth only | ||
| Disposal Efficiency | Not recommended | U16+ only |
Primary = a key development indicator at this level. Secondary = worth watching, but context-dependent. Blank = less relevant for this position.
The Stats That Matter at Every Age and Position
These two apply no matter where your child plays or how old they are. If you only track two things this season, start here.
Pressure Acts
Pressure acts cover chasing, tackling, and smothering. They’re the effort stats — and effort is something every kid can control.
Your child can’t control where the ball goes. They can always control whether they chase. A player who racks up pressure acts every week is building the work ethic and defensive awareness that coaches love, at every level from U8 through to open age.
For junior players especially (up to U11), pressure acts are the most reliable development indicator you can track from the sideline. Technique is still developing. Fitness is still building. But the decision to chase — to put the effort in regardless of the scoreboard — that shows real character. And it compounds over seasons.
Five or six pressure acts in a game is a genuinely good contribution. Write it down.
Tackles Made
Tackles are visible, exciting, and one of the most meaningful stats across every age group.
A child who tackles consistently has figured out two important things: where the ball carrier is going, and how to commit to the contest. Both are coachable skills. Both take time. And both show up clearly in the numbers when a player is growing.
Going from two tackles a game in Round 1 to four by Round 10 is real development. Celebrate it like a goal.
Stats That Start to Matter From U12 Upward
Once players move into the U12 to U17 range, more position-specific stats become worth tracking. Game structures get more defined. Positions get more distinct. And you can start to see — in the numbers — the difference between a forward who is developing and one who is just getting the ball in space.
Ground Ball Gets (Midfielders and Backs)
A ground ball get is when your child wins a loose ball — in traffic, in a pack, or in a one-on-one scramble on the deck.
For midfielders, this happens in the centre where games are won and lost. For backs, it happens when the ball spills out of a defensive pack and someone needs to be brave enough to get down and claim it.
Players who go for ground balls are developing two things at once: bravery and anticipation. Knowing where the ball is going to land before it gets there — that’s a skill that grows with experience. Watch the trend across a season.
Contested Possessions (Forwards and Midfielders)
A contested possession is when your child wins the ball with an opponent right there, fighting for the same ball.
For youth-age forwards and midfielders, this is one of the clearest signs that a player is genuinely competing, not just finding space. Winning contested ball under pressure takes courage and competitiveness — qualities that show up in this stat before they show up anywhere else.
At U11 and below, game structures are loose enough that “contested” situations are harder to measure consistently. From U12 upward, look for an upward trend over the course of a season.
Inside 50s (Forwards and Midfielders)
An inside 50 is recorded every time a player moves the ball from the midfield into the attacking zone.
For youth midfielders and forwards, this is a football IQ stat. It tells you whether your child is reading the game — knowing when to push, when to carry, when to find the corridor. A player who consistently generates inside 50s is making decisions in real time, not just reacting.
At junior level, inside 50s often happen by accident. From U12 upward, they start to tell a real story.
Intercept Marks (Backs — Youth Only)
An intercept mark is when a defender reads where the ball is going, gets there first, and takes the mark before the opposition can react.
It’s one of the best stats you can track for a back — because it measures three things at once. Game awareness (reading the flight and intent of the ball). Decision-making (committing to intercept rather than spoil). And skill (actually holding the mark under pressure).
Here’s what makes it special: you can actually see the moment it’s happening from the sideline. The instant a back commits to the intercept path — before the ball arrives — that’s the skill on display. The mark is just the confirmation.
Start tracking this from U13–U14 onwards, when defensive positioning becomes deliberate enough that intercepts are a genuine read of the player rather than lucky positioning.
Contested Marks (Forwards and Backs — Youth Only)
Taking a mark under pressure is hard. It needs timing, positioning, aerial courage, and the ability to read the ball in flight — all at the same moment.
For youth key forwards and key defenders, contested marks are one of the clearest indicators of aerial development. An uncontested mark might mean the opposition just broke down. A contested mark means your child won a genuine battle in the air.
Track this from around U13–U14, when aerial contests become a real feature of the game. At younger ages, there simply aren’t enough marking contests per game to draw useful conclusions.
The 3 Stats That Don’t Tell You What You Think
Kicks and Handballs
Total disposals are the most-watched number at junior AFL — and the most misleading.
At under-age level, disposals are shaped by position, game plan, and how the game flows. A midfielder in a ball-dominant team might rack up 15 touches. A half-back in a defensive side might get five. Neither number tells you whether that player is actually improving.
Disposals matter. But on their own, they create a distorted picture of development — and sometimes a discouraging one that has nothing to do with your child’s effort or growth.
Goals Kicked
Goals should be celebrated. But at junior level, they’re one of the stats most likely to flatter or unfairly punish a player based on things well outside their control.
A forward who earns five entries into the forward 50 might kick two goals. Another who earns two entries might kick none. The entry count tells you about midfield performance. The goal count tells you about angles, wind, and a bit of luck.
Enjoy goals. Just don’t use them to measure whether your child is getting better.
Disposal Efficiency
Disposal efficiency — the percentage of kicks and handballs that find their target — is a genuinely useful stat. But only for older players.
Under 14s are still developing the core kicking and handballing mechanics that make efficiency a fair measurement. A 55% efficiency rate at U12 might mean your child is brave enough to take the game on under pressure. That’s a good thing. Measuring it harshly at that age does more harm than good.
From U16 upward, it starts to mean something real. If efficiency is climbing over the course of a season, that’s meaningful development worth tracking. Below that age, leave it out of the picture.
How to Track These During a Game
You don’t need a professional setup. Most parents can accurately track two or three stats from the sideline with the notes app on their phone or a simple tally.
Pick two stats that match your child’s position and age group from the table above. Track them every game. Look for a trend across four to six rounds — not a reaction to one good or one bad game.
A player who averages one ground ball get per game in Round 1 and four per game by Round 10 has genuinely developed. That number — quiet, unsexy, easy to miss in the moment — is the one that matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What AFL stats should I track for an Under 10 or Under 11 player?
Stick to pressure acts and tackles. They reflect effort and attitude rather than technique, which is still developing at those ages. They’re also the easiest to track accurately from the sideline — you’ll know one when you see it.
My child plays multiple positions. Which stats apply?
Start with the position they spend the most time in and use that column as your guide. If they genuinely float across multiple roles, pressure acts and tackles are always worth tracking regardless of where they’re playing.
Is it normal for stats to go up and down week to week?
Completely. Game conditions, opponent quality, weather, and game flow all move individual numbers around significantly. One round is noise. Four to six rounds is a trend. That’s what you’re looking for.
At what age does disposal efficiency become useful to track?
Around Under 16s, once players have had enough time to build repeatable kicking and handballing technique. Before that, it’s more useful to notice whether your child is attempting difficult disposals under pressure than whether those disposals find their target.
How many stats should I try to track in one game?
Two or three is a practical limit if you also want to watch the game. Quality tracking of a few stats across a full season is far more useful than rough tracking of many. Pick your two, be consistent, and the story will emerge.
Related reading
- How to Track AFL Stats on Your Phone During a Game — the practical guide to recording these stats on the sideline without missing the action
- What Development Coaches Watch at Junior AFL — how the numbers pair with what you see in movement, effort, and body language
- 5 Development Goals to Set at the Start of the AFL Season — turning these stats into season targets that keep your athlete motivated
ScorX is free to download. Track your child’s first game this weekend and start seeing their development in the numbers.