2020 season review: Dom Sheed

Dom Sheed was in many ways West Coast’s quiet achiever in 2020. It’s hard to imagine the 2018 grand final hero slipping under the radar, but with the likes of Luke Shuey, Elliot Yeo, Andrew Gaff and boom recruit Tim Kelly running through the midfield, that’s exactly what happened this year. And it suited Sheed perfectly. The 25-year-old averaged a career-best five clearances per game and ranked ninth in the league for stoppage clearances per game. He set a new career mark for average centre clearances (1.8) and one percenters (1.2). That, plus his season average of 19.8 disposals and 9.7 contested possession per outing, clearly caught the umpires’ attention given he polled an equal team high 11 Brownlow Medal votes on the competition’s night of nights.

Standout performance: A blistering showing against the Blues

West Coast’s coaching panel adjuged Sheed the club’s best player afield against Carlton in round 11 and it’s not hard to see why. The kid from Kalgoorlie was everywhere at Optus Stadium, completing the contest with 26 possessions (12 contested), nine clearances, five score involvements, four inside 50s and an impressive 524 metres gained in his stats column. He also pushed forward and kicked two spectacular goals in the fourth quarter to seal the Eagles’ 22-point win over the plucky Blues.

Season averages:

Disposals: 19.8
Contested possessions: 9.7
Clearances: 5.0
Score involvements: 3.6
Marks: 3.2
Goals: 0.5
Inside 50s: 2.8

2020 AFL statistical rankings:

8^th: Stoppage clearances per game, total stoppage clearances
13^th: Total clearances
14^th: Clearances per game
18^th: Total centre clearances