Ben Hobbs 2023 average at 19 years of age against all players up to 20 years of age.
He turned 20 on September the 16th.
Doesn't include finals.
Averages 19.7 disposals.
Ranked 7th
Only behind
Nick Daicos
Harry Sheezel
Nasiah Wanganeen Milera
Will Ashcroft
Finn Callaghan
Josh Ward
Of the 6 with more disposals, Ben averaged the least time on ground at 69.3%.
6.4% less than the next closest
Of those same 6, he’s only behind Daicos on inside 50 entries.
In fact, of all the 90 players 20 years and under, he’s equal 2nd with Jason Horne Francis for most inside 50 entries.
But it’s not just delivering the ball inside 50, it's that it ends in a score involvement.
23.3% of his disposals are part of a score.
4th for all 90 players 20 years and under.
Not just an asset with the ball in his hands though.
His average of 4.1 tackles a game has him ranked 3rd of all 90, only behind George Wardlaw & Rueben Ginbey.
Those same players are the only ones ranked higher with more pressure acts than his 21.7 a game.
Of the 6 players who average more disposals than him, he’s ranked 1 for the highest percentage of those disposals being contested, only Horne Francis has a higher percentage of the top 15 disposal winners 20 years and under.
His clearance average of 2.4 at stoppages has him ranked 4th behind Horne Francis, Ashcroft and Daicos.
Essendon is a poor groundball team (contested possession won at ground level) ranked 17th in the competition in 2023.
It's off the back of playing a keeping's off brand of football.
Ben averages 4.9 groundball gets of his 19.9 possessions, only Horne Francis, Ashcroft and Daicos have a better ratio of players with 18 or more possessions.
Now, let's be honest, the players he is categorised with in those metrics are genuine stars in the making just 2 years into their careers.
Hobbs is there with them in key midfield areas.
At Essendon, Ben is ranked 3rd for the most possessions won at stoppage clearance, only behind Darcy Parish and Sam Draper.
Hobbs is ranked 4th at Essendon for clearances per minutes played on ground.
Only behind Parish, Merrett and Shiel.
Plus he’s ranked 2 for Pressure Acts per minutes played just behind Parish.
S
T
A
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On the rise!
I wonder why we don't give him more ground time then. If it's a fitness thing, that's really exciting because as soon as he has the tank, his stats will be enormous.