GRYAN Miers' kicking style is as unique as his name, but it's one of the most effective and dangerous in the AFL.

The 24-year-old, who is set to sign a new three-year deal, is having a career-best season in his sixth year at the top level, a shining light for the injury-hit reigning premier Geelong.

It's reflected in Champion Data measurements, with Miers comfortably one of the best kicks inside 50 this season, along with Gold Coast's Jack Lukosius.

The kick inside 50 is the crucial last piece of the puzzle when it comes to scoring, and the Cats' twin towers in Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins have benefited immensely from Miers' role across half-forward.

The "mark rate" is Champion Data's measurement of how often a team takes a mark from kicks inside 50, and Miers is clearly above the rest of the pack this season.

The argument can become a little chicken-and-egg in that strong markers can help inflate that figure to a degree, but the kicker has to be putting it to the advantage of the forwards in the first place.

A solution in helping to shut down Brisbane would be to apply close attention to Hugh McCluggage and Dayne Zorko, who also rate well when it comes to effective kicks inside 50.

Taking the mark is just one piece of the puzzle, and sometimes a mark inside 50 does not directly result in a shot on goal.

But when specifically looking at kicks inside 50 resulting in scores for the side, Miers – who leads the AFL in overall score assists (inclusive of handballs) – once again reigns supreme.

A few new faces jump into this category, including the in-form Lukosius and dead-eye Adelaide skipper Jordan Dawson. Interestingly, despite his young age, 2021's No.1 pick Jason Horne-Francis plays a key role in Port Adelaide's scoring chains.

Drilling down even further, inside 50 kicks can range from a pin-point pass threaded between a few opponents to a dinky chip that just manages to scrape the minimum 15 metres.

In order to measure the difficulty of a kick, Champion Data uses "kick rating" which is the difference between the average competition's expected hit rate and the individual player's actual hit rate.

This is where the Suns' Lukosius shines, and is well ahead of the rest of the competition when it comes to kick rating for inside 50 kicks.

A positive rating means the player is ahead of the AFL average, which is at zero.