Gold Coast forward Ben King’s recent six-goal performance has increased his chances of claiming a unique record in the competition.
King’s half a dozen majors came from a staggering nine disposals, leaving little to the imagination of what he does with the football in his hands.
The gun tall has slotted 57 goals to sit second in the Coleman Medal race (behind Jeremy Cameron), but from far fewer disposals.
BEN KING
Forward
Gold Coast
King has recorded 147 total possessions for the year, of which 100 are kicks.
From a total disposals lens, the 25-year-old kicks a goal every 2.58 possessions, but the number dramatically drops when applying just kicks (1.75).
But this is not new for King.
In Round 5 against North Melbourne, King slotted five goals from six disposals. A month ago, he added four majors from six touches.
This year, King hasn’t collected more than 12 possessions in any given game, and has kicked goals in every outing at an incredible accuracy rate (75 per cent).
Fellow forwards Nick Larkey (3.04 in 2023), Harry McKay (3.19 in 2021), Jesse Hogan (3.58 this year), and Jeremy Cameron (3.61 this year) have shown their excellence in making the most of their opportunities.
Retired West Coast champion Josh Kennedy flirted with dipping under three disposals per game during seasons 2016 to 2018, as well as 2020, while Adelaide veteran Taylor Walker‘s 2023 campaign places him among the list with 3.76 touches per goal.
For reference, champion goal-kickers Tony Lockett and Doug Wade are rivalled by King’s extreme efficiency.
Throughout his glittering 20-year career, Lockett averaged 2.11 disposals for a goal on his way to the current record of 1,360 majors, highlighting a different time in the game’s history.
The era before Lockett was dominated by Wade, who marginally pipped the Sydney and St Kilda superstar with an average of 2.02 possessions per goal throughout his career.
The AFL’s most efficient goal scorers
*The player must have kicked 40+ goals