AFL Coaching Glossary, Part 7: Stats & Metrics
Differentials, conversion rates, and the numbers that show up on a coach's iPad — explained in plain English.
AFL Coaching Glossary, Part 7: Stats & Metrics
Differentials, conversion rates, and the numbers that show up on a coach's iPad.
Modern AFL coaching is data-heavy. Numbers help coaches answer "what's actually happening?" when their gut feel and the scoreboard disagree. This article covers the most common stats and metrics you'll see referenced in match reviews and game-day software.
Terms marked Advanced are the ones analysts use more than coaches, but they're worth knowing.
Differential
The difference between your team's number and the opposition's number for the same stat. A "+5 clearance differential" means you won five more clearances than they did. Most AFL stats are tracked both as raw counts and as differentials — the differential usually tells a clearer story.
Clearance differential
How many more clearances your team won than the opposition. Clearance differential is the cleanest measure of who's winning the stoppage battle, since it cancels out factors like the total number of stoppages.
Clearance metres
How many metres your team gained from clearances — i.e. how far the ball travelled forwards on the first kick after winning the stoppage. High clearance metres means you're not just winning the ball, you're moving it forwards effectively.
Metres gained
The total distance the ball travelled towards your goal during a possession or chain. "Metres gained" is one of the cleanest ways to measure ball movement — a team that gains a lot of metres is putting pressure on the opposition's defence.
Inside 50
A count of how many times your team got the ball over the opposition's 50m arc. Higher is generally better, but only if you're scoring from those entries — inside 50 count on its own can be misleading.
Scoring accuracy
The percentage of your scoring shots that became goals (rather than behinds). A team that takes 20 shots and kicks 12.8 has a scoring accuracy of 60%. Below 50% accuracy usually means shots are being taken from poor positions.
Wide shots % / outside 25 shots %
The percentage of your shots taken from wide of goal or outside 25 metres. High percentages here usually mean your forward 50 entries aren't getting deep enough — you're scoring from bad locations.
F50 to score %
The percentage of forward-50 entries that result in a score (goal or behind). The AFL average sits around 35–40%. Lower than that and you're probably entering too short or with poor structure.
F50 to F25 %
The percentage of forward-50 entries that get the ball into the F25 area (within 25 metres of goal). It's a measure of entry quality — high F50 to F25 % means your entries are deep and dangerous, not short and easy to rebound.
D50 to F50 %
The percentage of times your team takes the ball from D50 all the way to F50 — i.e. converts defence into attack. A useful measure of overall ball movement efficiency.
Clearance to score %
The percentage of clearance wins that produce a scoring shot at the other end. High numbers mean your midfield isn't just winning the ball, they're turning it into scoreboard pressure.
Scores per F50
How many scoring shots you average per inside-50 entry. Closely related to F50 to score % but expressed as a ratio. AFL teams typically average around 0.4–0.5 scores per F50.
Intercept chain length
The average number of disposals in your intercept chains. Long chains often mean composed, possession-based football; short chains often mean fast, risky surge play. Neither is automatically better — coaches look at chain length alongside outcome.
Intercept to F50 / Intercept to score
The percentage of intercept chains that reach the forward 50 / produce a score. If your team is winning lots of intercepts but the "intercept to F50" % is low, you're winning the ball back but not converting that into territory.
Kick-in territory metres
The total distance gained from kick-ins after opposition behinds. High kick-in territory metres means you're using your kick-ins to launch attacks, not just survive them.
Turnover metre differential Advanced
A more advanced metric that compares the metres each team gained from turnovers. It tells you which team is winning the quality of the turnover battle, not just the volume. If your team intercepts the ball more often but the opposition gains more metres from their interceptions, your turnover metre differential is negative — and you're probably scoring fewer goals from intercepts than you should.
Previous: Part 6 — Player Roles & Mix Next: Part 8 — Tactical Concepts & Cues Index: The AFL Coaching Glossary
