Revealed: The AFL’s most damaging scoreboard threats for every position, club

Per Wheelo Ratings, scoreboard impact refers to the combination of a player's goals, behinds, and assists, with the total number an accumulation of the points contributed to their team's score per game.

For example, a player that averages one goal, one behind and one goal assist (and no other score assists) per game will have a scoreboard impact of 13.0 per game.

It's a holistic measurement that highlights the league's most impactful scoring threats, and illustrates the kind of attacking influence that other positions - not necessarily just key forwards - have during a game, while also better recognising the players who directly set up goals for their teammates, which the 'score involvements' statistic does not account for.

So, who led the way in 2025? Let's break it down.

Unsurprisingly, the top 10 are all key forwards, however, the 2025 Coleman medallist Jeremy Cameron did not register the greatest scoreboard impact per game, despite kicking 15 more goals than any other player in the year.

Instead, Hawthorn's veteran hero Jack Gunston recorded the highest scoreboard impact across the competition, with his 73 goals just the tip of the iceberg of what he achieved for the Hawks on their way to a preliminary final.

Only Taylor Walker averaged more direct goal assists as a key forward than 'Gunners', while Cameron's 0.6 per game is around the middle of the pack for the position. Gunston's ability to work in tandem with the Hawks' crafty small forwards enabled him to impact the scoreline at a greater level than any other player in 2025, which is even more impressive when you consider the Hawks ranked seventh for points scored this year.

A team's volume of scoring does play a factor in this metric, though. The Western Bulldogs' pair of spearheads, Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton, rank third and fourth on the list respectively, contributing near-identical scoreboard impact in a historically dominant scoring year for the club.

The Bulldogs' elite scoring rate can be further contributed to their midfield, with Marcus Bontempelli having far and away the highest scoreboard impact among the AFL's 93 listed midfielders (minimum 15 games played).

Ed Richards ranked second, while top 2025 recruit Matthew Kennedy also cracked the midfielders' top 10, with his adaptability in a versatile role under Luke Beveridge paying dividends on the scoreboard consistently.

Among the eligible midfielders, Sydney's Isaac Heeney kicked the most goals with 37 while speedy Geelong winger Ollie Dempsey kicked 35. Despite that, the pair's lack of goal contributions elsewhere see them rank below the Bulldogs duo, albeit only just for Heeney.

For defenders, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera unsurprisingly leads the way, considering he was more of a midfielder in the final two months of the season. 

However, there is a notable trend within the top five. Nick Blakey, Jack Sinclair and Josh Weddle all fall under a very similar player prototype; dashing half-backs with elite level kicks, with Blakey and Sinclair's average of over three inside 50s per game highlighting their transitional attacking influence.

It points toward the importance of having that archetype on a playing list, as despite missing September action, both St Kilda and Sydney ranked in the top half of the league in scores originating from the defensive half.

Two rucks were above the rest of their position in 2025; Tim English and Luke Jackson. The pair led the AFL in percentage of hitouts which resulted in a clearance, so the correlation between that metric and scoreboard impact is obvious.

However, English and Jackson both push up the ground more often than most other rucks especially Jackson who shares the stoppage duties with Sean Darcy, which likely contributed to their increased impact.

Rowan Marshall, who ranks third for AFL-listed ruckmen in this metric, also is utilised as an attacking tall in St Kilda's system, and his skillset in that area of the ground is why he's been on the cusp of an All-Australian selection for several years.

Marshall's scoreboard dominance also highlights why the Saints may have been so reluctant to part ways with him via a trade this off-season, with his aerial abilities inside forward 50 an exciting proposition to bolster the club's attack while recruit Tom De Koning looks to benefit from increased time in the middle as the Saints' number one ruck option.

The table below lists every AFL club's leader for scoreboard impact in 2025, sorted by value. Only two teams did not have an outright forward lead their side in the metric; Sydney (Isaac Heeney - midfielder) and Melbourne (Kysaiah Pickett - mid-forward).