Kicking for goal is, in the end, what wins and loses clubs matches.

Scoring chains are often started in the backline and the end result comes with many thanks to the work rate of the midfield, but it's those who need to be the most clinical in front of goal and put points on the board that produce the end result.

The first 15 rounds have left fans with happiness and heartbreak, the latter often coming thanks to an inaccurate evening inside 50 from their top-paid attackers.

The light has been strongly put on Carlton key forward Harry McKay through the course of 2023 so far, with the Coleman medallist's woes in front of goal among many factors that have the Blues sitting among the bottom four this year.

McKay's inaccuracies in front of goal have seen the bustling forward convert between the sticks on 21 occasions from 56 scoring attempts, a rate of just 37.5%. Of those 56 shots, 18 (32.1%) have resulted in a behind being scored, while a staggering 17 shots (30.4%) have failed to register a score at all.

That rating places McKay as the second worst for non scores from set shots among the league's most impactful in the front third, with Melbourne midfielder Christian Petracca the only player among the top 40 for shots on goal with a worse conversion rate.

Petracca has failed to register a score in 15 of his 42 shots for the year, a tally that sits level with his total behinds and stunningly three more than his goals tally of 12.

The 35.7% non-score rate is almost an outlier among the top 40 crop, with McKay and St Kilda forward Jack Higgins (30.0%) the only three players to sit above the 30% NS mark from their goalkicking.

Petracca ranks 40th for goals from shot attempts given his return of a dozen majors from 42 attempts, which reads as 28.6%. That lowly rating falls below the next worst in Bulldogs youngster Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (31.4%) and Tigers superstar Dustin Martin (33.3%).

Contrastingly, McKay's partner in crime, Charlie Curnow, has the second lowest non-score rating at 5.3%, however the All-Australian spearhead ranks 19th among the top shooting forwards for shot-on-goal percentage at 55.3%.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 23: Harry McKay (left) and Charlie Curnow of the Blues celebrate during the 2023 AFL Round 02 match between the Carlton Blues and the Geelong Cats at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 23, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Gold Coast sharpshooter Jack Lukosius has the same goal conversion rating from his 47 attempts at the sticks, converting 26 of them. However, his rate of picking up a score is the highest at 97.9%, having only missed out on a score just once this year.

Richmond veteran Jack Riewoldt and newly-signed North Melbourne forward Nick Larkey trail Curnow and Lukosius with a non-scoring rate of 7.0% each from their tally of shots on goal, with Geelong's Oliver Henry rounding out the top five with 8.1%.

Larkey ranks as the No.1 player for converting shots to goals, working at a rate of 68.4% - booting 39 goals from 57 attempts. That rating comes ahead of Adelaide's Taylor Walker (67.2%), Eagle Oscar Allen (63.6%) and Lions livewire Charlie Cameron (63.6%).

2023 goal, behind and non-score breakdown: 

Player Shots at Goal Goals Behinds Non Scores Goal Accuracy % Behind % Non Score %
Nick Larkey 57 39 14 4 68.4% 24.6% 7.0%
Taylor Walker 64 43 14 7 67.2% 21.9% 10.9%
Oscar Allen 55 35 12 8 63.6% 21.8% 14.5%
Charlie Cameron 55 35 11 9 63.6% 20.0% 16.4%
Jye Amiss 40 25 8 7 62.5% 20.0% 17.5%
Ben King 53 33 15 5 62.3% 28.3% 9.4%
Kyle Langford 42 26 12 4 61.9% 28.6% 9.5%
Brody Mihocek 52 32 13 7 61.5% 25.0% 13.5%
Todd Marshall 35 21 10 4 60.0% 28.6% 11.4%
Dan Butler 37 22 10 5 59.5% 27.0% 13.5%
Joe Daniher 58 34 19 5 58.6% 32.8% 8.6%
Toby Greene 62 36 17 9 58.1% 27.4% 14.5%
Jeremy Cameron 69 39 19 11 56.5% 27.5% 15.9%
Tom Hawkins 62 35 16 11 56.5% 25.8% 17.7%
Darcy Fogarty 39 22 10 7 56.4% 25.6% 17.9%
Luke Breust 47 26 15 6 55.3% 31.9% 12.8%
Eric Hipwood 47 26 14 7 55.3% 29.8% 14.9%
Jack Lukosius 47 26 20 1 55.3% 42.6% 2.1%
Charlie Curnow 76 42 30 4 55.3% 39.5% 5.3%
Mitchell Lewis 40 22 12 6 55.0% 30.0% 15.0%
Aaron Naughton 48 26 18 4 54.2% 37.5% 8.3%
Oliver Henry 37 20 14 3 54.1% 37.8% 8.1%
Jack Riewoldt 43 23 17 3 53.5% 39.5% 7.0%
Bayley Fritsch 55 29 19 7 52.7% 34.5% 12.7%
Jesse Hogan 46 24 18 4 52.2% 39.1% 8.7%
Jack Higgins 50 26 9 15 52.0% 18.0% 30.0%
Shai Bolton 37 19 13 5 51.4% 35.1% 13.5%
Zac Bailey 35 17 12 6 48.6% 34.3% 17.1%
Jeremy Finlayson 58 28 18 12 48.3% 31.0% 20.7%
Tom Papley 50 24 16 10 48.0% 32.0% 20.0%
Sam Powell-Pepper 36 17 16 3 47.2% 44.4% 8.3%
Kysaiah Pickett 45 21 16 8 46.7% 35.6% 17.8%
Cameron Zurhaar 43 19 17 7 44.2% 39.5% 16.3%
Izak Rankine 60 25 20 15 41.7% 33.3% 25.0%
Josh Rachele 39 16 18 5 41.0% 46.2% 12.8%
Jake Stringer 44 18 18 8 40.9% 40.9% 18.2%
Isaac Heeney 38 15 12 11 39.5% 31.6% 28.9%
Harry McKay 56 21 18 17 37.5% 32.1% 30.4%
Dustin Martin 39 13 15 11 33.3% 38.5% 28.2%
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan 51 16 22 13 31.4% 43.1% 25.5%
Christian Petracca 42 12 15 15 28.6% 35.7% 35.7%

AFL players with 35 or more shots on goal in 2023 ranked by conversion rating (stats via AFL.com)