The sign on the door of the 20 and 2 Club asks that the last person to enter please close it behind them.
It seems that was not good enough for Steve Johnson, who in 2011 not only closed the door but locked and bolted it shut, as well.
It has been 13 long years since any AFL player has averaged 20 or more disposals for a season and combined it with two goals per game. Oh, there have been some excellent players that have filled the role of mid/forward, but none of them have excelled the way Stevie J did as he went on to average 22.35 disposals and 2.17 goals per game.
It was his second entry into the club after notching 20.28 and 2.12 three years earlier, in the Cats’ 2008 season.
Yes, THAT 2008 season where they were the best team in the game and fell over in the biggest game of the year.
And since then, the door has remained tightly closed.
Since the turn of the century, just three players have managed to join the club.
2002 saw Brad Johnson get the mix of forward/midfielder just right, as he collected 22.2 disposals to go with his 2.0 goals per game.
Nathan Brown, before he snapped his leg went on to become a shit multi-tipster, was on track to become a great of the game. He was having a blinder in 2005, with 20.2 touches and a whopping 3.4 goals per game. He also went close to doing it again, post leg break, in 2008, with 20.44 touches and 1.94 goals per game.
And then we have Stevie J’s dual appearances.
But what about players like Dusty, Danger, Gray, and Petracca? Surely they’ve gone close?
Dusty’s best goal kicking return was 1.48 per game back in that massive 2017 season. Yes, he was capable of bags, but he didn’t do it often enough to average two per game at any point of his career.
Danger is similar, with 2017 also his high watermark. He averaged 1.88 goals that season.
Robbie Gray did hit the goals component back in 2017, with 2.04 per game, but sat at 18.96 disposals.
And Trac?
Nowhere near it. His highest return was 1.18 goals per game way back in ???
So, okay HB – you’ve covered who hasn’t made the cut, but would you mind jumping back a bit and letting us know who has? And possibly who did it most often?
Why, certainly. And thanks for asking so nicely.
Only two players in history have managed to average 20 and two for their entire careers. As you’d imagine, both have been elevated to legendary status in the Hall of Fame.
Darrel Baldock did it twice in his seven-year career, averaging 21.42 disposals and 2.32 goals in 1965, and backed it up three years later with 20.76 and 2.10 in his final year in the game.
And Leigh Matthews – the Wilt Chamberlain of the AFL when it comes to individual records, notched it the lazy 11 times in his 17 seasons, en route to averaging 22.28 disposals and 2.67 goals across his career. And most players struggle to do it one, huh?
Here are the years he achieved 20/2.
1972 – 22.90 and 2.38
1973 – 24.89 and 2.68
1974 – 21.29 and 2.48
1975 – 22.82 and 2.96
1976 – 22.50 and 3.23
1977 – 27.42 and 3.79
1978 – 25.48 and 3.09
1979 – 25.92 and 2.31
1981 – 23.50 and 3.00
1982 – 22.45 and 3.36
1983 – 20.09 and 3.59
The next best behind Lethal Leigh, is Kevin Bartlett, who managed it four times in the following seasons.
1971 – 23.04 and 2.21
1974 – 29.41 and 2.14
1977 – 28.91 and 2.39
1978 – 24.73 and 2.00
The seventies… what a wild time.
THREATS?
And so we return to the current landscape – dry and barren in comparison to what came before. A 13-year drought and the door to the 20 and Two Club remains slammed shut.
Who is most likely to pry it open?
Back in 2022, Useless AFL Stats’ Bill Skelton wrote about this for us, and suggested Toby Greene was the likely candidate. He is still right up there.
JEREMY CAMERON
Currently averaging 18.1 disposals and 2.7 goals.
Amazing to think that Jezza can do this, after being such a potent full forward for so long. If he is permitted to continue to run far and wide, this is not beyond the realms of possibility. One of those special Cameron 30 touches and five goals kind of games would see him well and truly on the path.
SHAI BOLTON
Currently averaging 18.7 and 2.1
A huge threat in 2024, and could be given greater freedom to ball hunt as the Tigers look for speed in the middle to combat the one-pacers on their list.
If he manages to get off the chain a couple of times, look out!
TOBY GREENE
17.2 and 1.5
A long shot at the moment, but a purple patch of form could see him start to nudge both sets of numbers. Probably too entrenched in the forward 50 to be a serious threat, though. Seems more to hang around a similar number for disposals each week, as opposed to spiking here and there.
IZAK RANKINE
17.3 and 1.9
Interesting… capable of kicking a bag, so could easily tip over the required number for goals, and has been spending more time in the guts. Likely needs a couple of 25+ disposal games in the next month to have a good body of work behind him, which would enable him to have a slight drop here or there without too much impact.
ISAAC HEENEY
27.0 and 1.7
A massive chance. Has done the work early with his on-ball duties. Probably leading the Brownlow right now, and has the ability to play forward once the Swans have their full contingent of mids back. If it’s going to happen, he needs a bag of goals in the next month.
So, who will be the next player to knock on the door of the 20 and Two Club? Who follows Stevie J in after all these years.
With names like Bartlett, Baldock, Bedford, and Matthews in the club, they’ll be in great company.
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