Going by pure statistics, Fremantle forward Chris Mayne is just an average AFL player.
Sure, his goalkicking accuracy is phenomenal, with a return of 72.15 since the start of last season making him the deadliest kick for goal in the league.
But with an average of just 1.7 goals and 15 possessions per game over that period, Mayne is a fair way off the pack when it comes to the league’s elite forwards
However, stats can be deceiving in the modern game, and Mayne has now established himself as one of the most valued and important players within Fremantle’s ranks.
Star Dockers goalsneak Michael Walters has received much of the forward-line praise this year – and rightly so.
After all, he’s kicked 36 goals and produced a series of match-winning performances to put himself in All-Australian reckoning.
But the influence of Mayne has been arguably even more pivotal, especially during the lengthy injury absences of skipper Matthew Pavlich and ruckman Aaron Sandilands.
Mayne has continually provided a marking target up forward, while his ferocious tackling and constant pressure at ground level has helped breed a frenzied environment that Fremantle have come to depend on.
The 188cm forward is also ultra disciplined, winning 53 free kicks and conceding just 17 over the past two years.
Put simply, Mayne has become the glue in Fremantle’s forward line.
And his efforts haven’t escaped the attention of coach Ross Lyon.
“He’s critical. He’s one of our leaders,” Lyon said ahead of Sunday’s clash with Melbourne at the MCG.
“There are players who make their teammates better, and their team better, and he’s one of them.”
Mayne has never kicked more than four goals in a match during his 100-game career.
But he has been ultra consistent in hitting the scoreboard, with the 24-year-old going goalless just once in 19 games this season.
With Pavlich and Sandilands now giving Fremantle more marking options in attack, Fremantle possess a more even spread of talent up forward.
Last week, the Dockers had 15 individual goalkickers in their 113-point trouncing of GWS.
They are tipped to notch another big win against the struggling Demons, who have won just two games this year.
Fremantle entered the round in fourth place, but are well placed to snare a top-two berth with games against Port Adelaide (home) and St Kilda (away) to follow Sunday’s match.
The inclusion of Stephen Hill against the Demons is a big boost, while Garrick Ibbotson, Clancee Pearce and All-Australian defender Luke McPharlin will also return to the side over the coming weeks.
The Demons are yet to announce who will coach the club next year, but welcomed in new president Glen Bartlett on Friday.
