The numbers have been crunched, and St Kilda’s stats from the 2021 AFLW Season are officially in the books.
From surprise chart-toppers, young talents rolling up the sleeves and emerging leaders posting impressive league-wide standings, there’s plenty to dissect from the Saints’ final tallies.
Note: All stats are correct following the completion of the 2021 AFLW home-and-away season.
Disposals
- Georgia Patrikios (215)
- Cat Phillips (134)
- Tilly Lucas-Rodd (133)
No surprises here. Georgia Patrikios ended the home-and-away season equal-second in the league for the most touches, just seven behind Collingwood’s Brittany Bonnici.
The All-Australian nominee improved upon the club’s individual disposals record four times throughout the year (Round 1, Round 2, Round 8 and Round 9), capping off her season with a 30-disposal performance against West Coast.
Patrikios averaged 24 touches from her nine matches this season – a significant upgrade from last year’s average of 16.
The major ball-winner similarly topped St Kilda’s tallies for kicks (130) and handballs (85) in 2021.
Intercept possessions
- Hannah Priest (54)
- Jayde Van Dyk (49), Tilly Lucas-Rodd (49)
- Rhi Watt (40)
With St Kilda’s defence put into overdrive in the middle portion of the season, Hannah Priest was prolific when it came to thwarting enemy advancements.
The No. 14 was at her best when the Saints’ backs were against the wall, notching up half of her intercept possessions between Rounds 5-8.
Priest was closely tailed in the count by fellow defenders Jayde Van Dyk and Tilly Lucas-Rodd (49 apiece), while Rhi Watt (40) racked up the numbers floating between the backline and midfield throughout the year.
The skipper also topped St Kilda’s rebound-50 numbers (28) by season’s end.
Goals
- Caitlin Greiser (9)
- Kate Shierlaw (6)
- Darcy Guttridge (4), Jess Matin (4)
For the second year running, it was All-Australian forward Caitlin Greiser who clinched St Kilda’s leading goalkicking honours.
G-Train bagged nine majors for the year, jagging multiple goals against the Bulldogs (two), Cats (three) and Eagles (two).
Fellow key forward Kate Shierlaw finished runner-up with six goals, while a three-goal blitz from Jess Matin in the final game of the year put her level with the third-placed Darcy Guttridge (four).
Tackles
- Tyanna Smith (68)
- Rosie Dillon (54)
- Cat Phillips (48)
Last season’s leading hard-nut Rosie Dillon was knocked off her throne by newcomer Tyanna Smith in 2021, who laid an astonishing 68 tackles from just nine games.
The Rising Star nominee got the motor running against Geelong with a game-high 13 tackles, before going on to deliver uncompromising efforts against GWS (14) and Collingwood (12).
Smith closed out her debut season on the league’s tackling ladder second to AFLCA AFLW Champion Player of the Year, Kiara Bowers.
Metres gained
- Georgia Patrikios (3241)
- Tilly Lucas-Rodd (1831)
- Tyanna Smith (1745)
With hands on the Sherrin so often, it’s no shock that Georgia Patrikios again tops the list.
St Kilda’s leading ball-winner charted third in the league for the all-important metric, with her 3241 metres gained close to double that of the next best Saint, Tilly Lucas-Rodd (1831).
Patrikios topped the stat for the Saints in six matches, saving her best for Round 8 against Collingwood with a staggering 529 metres gained.
Contested possessions
- Rhi Watt (74)
- Georgia Patrikios (69)
- Tyanna Smith (63)
Through the middle, in the ruck or deep in the defensive arc, Rhi Watt was a consistent force when it came to winning the contested ball.
Two thirds of the co-captain’s disposals this season were won at the coalface, with her best figures coming from the Saints’ season opener against the Western Bulldogs (13 contested possessions from 13 touches).
Watt went on to register equally effective outings against Geelong (11) and West Coast (11), both of which resulted in wins for the red, white and black.
Clearances
- Georgia Patrikios (34)
- Tyanna Smith (23)
- Rhi Watt (20), Rosie Dillon (20)
Georgia Patrikios’ silky skills proved vital several times throughout the year, especially when it came to winning clearances.
Her ability to break free from stoppages had a flow-on effect on St Kilda’s forays forward, with the 20-year-old similarly topping her side’s score involvement (26) and inside-50 (29) numbers.
Only a handful of clearances separated Patrikios and Tyanna Smith with just two games remaining, before a nine-clearance masterclass against Collingwood gave the former a near-unassailable lead in the statistic.
Contested marks
- Kate Shierlaw (14)
- Rhi Watt (9)
- Caitlin Greiser (7)
It was the high-flying Kate Shierlaw who came out on top of the pile, with her 14 contested marks for the year placing her second in the league behind the Bulldogs’ Isabel Huntington.
The co-captain clunked over half of her big grabs by Round 3, before recording just one more in the ensuing month as the Saints entered a lean stretch in the attacking half.
Shierlaw finished the year strong against West Coast, reclaiming her place on the competition’s podium with three contested marks and a goal.
