WHICH player would you rather have based on these stats?

Player A: 32.6 disposals, 15.9 contested possessions, 6.3 clearances and 6.8 tackles.
Player B: 31.5 disposals, 16.3 contested possessions, 8 clearances and 3.6 tackles. 

Player A is Western Bulldogs inside midfielder Josh Dunkley, while Player B looms as his likely match-up in round 20 – Brisbane's Brownlow Medal fancy Lachie Neale. 

Over the past 12 weeks, Dunkley has quietly entered the 'who's the best inside midfielder in the competition' discussion.

The Bulldogs were sitting 2-4 at the end of round six and struggling to get their midfield and forward mix right.

Dunkley had been employed in a forward role and his stats were reasonable without being eye-popping – 18 disposals, 4.7 tackles and 0.5 goals per game, while sitting 260th in the Official AFL Player Ratings League-wide, and 11th at the Whitten Oval.

He'd barely even been near the middle in that time, averaging just 1.7 clearances and 8.2 contested possessions. 

Then came the shake-up in round seven. It wasn't just Dunkley who coach Luke Beveridge unshackled, but it's the young midfielder who has shown the most improvement in that time.

Dunkley's stats as a permanent midfielder across the past 12 weeks have been astounding. He is averaging 32.6 disposals, 6.8 tackles, 6.3 clearances and a whopping 15.9 contested possessions in that time.

Consider that those numbers have actually taken a slight dip after a comparatively 'quiet' 26-disposal effort against the Dockers in round 19.  

FULL FIXTURE Every round, every game

The spike in Dunkley's standing in the Official AFL Player Ratings has been impressive too, jumping 198 spots to 62 across the whole League. He now trails only Marcus Bontempelli (No.9) and Jack Macrae (No.10) at the Bulldogs. 

For context, here's how Dunkley stacks up against the other contested ball-winning kings on a per-game average. 

Player

Club

Rounds

Disposals

Contested Possessions

Clearances

Tackles

Goals

Josh Dunkley

Western Bulldogs

1-6

18

8.2

1.7

4.7

0.5

Josh Dunkley

Western Bulldogs

7-19

32.6

15.9

6.3

6.8

0.4

Nat Fyfe

Fremantle

1-19

29.3

17.3

7.5

4.4

0.6

Clayton Oliver

Melbourne 

1-19

29.8

16.3

6.9

6.4

0.2

Ben Cunnington

North Melbourne

1-19

26.9

15.9

7.5

3.7

0.3

Patrick Cripps

Carlton

1-19

27.6

16.8

8.6

6.2

0.8

Lachie Neale

Brisbane

1-19

31.5

16.3

8

3.6

0.4

The Bulldogs as a team have seen success with the addition of Dunkley's move – averaging an extra 3.4 clearances per game since round seven.

They've also won seven games and lost five in that time span, putting them firmly in the mix for a place in the finals.

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