STRUGGLING Port Adelaide captain Travis Boak has fallen out of the top 25 of the Schick AFL Player Ratings.

Sitting at No.26, it is Boak's lowest ranking since round one, 2014.

Boak's best is brilliant, and he leads his team with aplomb.

He was appointed skipper early in 2013, when the club was coming off a two-year period with only eight wins. The club then made the second week of finals.

The standard of footy he reached saw him rise to No.9 on two occasions, in 2014 and 2015.

Boak's demise is one reason for the Power's woes. Sitting at 4-5 in 10th spot, Port face a crunch game against ninth-placed Melbourne on Saturday afternoon in Alice Springs.

Despite the midfielder's loss of form, coach Ken Hinkley is adamant about Boak's fitness.

"Trav's not playing ripping footy. There's nothing wrong with him. I don't know how many times I can say it to people," Hinkley said after the loss to Carlton in round eight.

Boak notched just 12 disposals that day.

A deeper look into his season shows why Boak has descended in the rankings. His disposal average is at its lowest level since 2011.

In the opening 19 rounds of last year, the dual All Australian was top-30 in the competition for inside 50s, contested possessions and clearances.

Those rankings have dropped away in 2016:

-       Inside 50s (No.79 in the AFL)

-       Contested possessions (No.49)

-       Clearances (No.40)

While one star has suffered a dip, another has risen.

Sydney Swan Dan Hannebery is in the top 20 for the first time in his career.

Hannebery moved into 20th spot after starting the season at No.39.

Since the beginning of 2015, the reigning AFL Coaches' Association player of the year sits in the top-eight for average disposals, groundball gets and inside 50s.

Perhaps most impressively is the improvement in his foot skills.

When comparing 2015 to 2016, his kick rating has improved by five per cent.

The kick rating measure looks at how a player disposes of the ball in comparison to the expected result, based on the difficulty of the kick and the pressure the player is under.

And based on the way the Schick AFL Player Ratings are calculated, the left-footer should continue to rise up the standings.