Individual Stats
*Qualification - 5 games played
Kicks
AFL leaders
Gary Ablett, 21.5 per game
Brent Stanton - 20.9 per game
Dane Swan - 19.6 per game
North Melbourne leaders
Daniel Wells, 14.4 per game
Liam Anthony - 13.6 per game
Brent Harvey - 12.1 per game
While Ablett is in a world of his own, Wells' games with a high amount of kicks have been wasted by the team. Both times Wells has had 20 kicks, the result has been a two-point loss - Round 1 and Round 8.
Handballs
AFL leaders
Gary Ablett - 16.1 per game
Daniel Cross - 15.6 per game
Scott Selwood - 14.9 per game
North Melbourne leaders
Andrew Swallow - 14.2 per game
Liam Anthony - 13.6 per game
Shaun Atley - 11.5 per game
Swallow's high level of handballs come about due to his excellent clearance work and also places him 10th overall in the AFL, ahead of the likes of Jobe Watson, Josh Kennedy and Scott Pendlebury.
Hit-outs
AFL leaders
Aaron Sandilands - 43.0 per game
Mark Jamar - 35.5 per game
Will Minson - 31.3 per game
North Melbourne leaders
Todd Goldstein - 28.8 per game
Hamish McIntosh - 22.4 per game
Still managing such a high amount of hit-outs per game despite a poor start to the season shows how valuable Goldstein will be when he finds top form. The last three weeks has seen a return to something approaching his 2011 with an average of more than 35 hit-outs per game.
Clearances
AFL leaders
Patrick Dangerfield - 7.4 per game
Matt Priddis - 7.3 per game
Jobe Watson - 7.1 per game
North Melbourne leaders
Andrew Swallow - 7.1 per game
Jack Ziebell - 4.8 per game
Daniel Wells - 3.6 per game
Swallow led the AFL in this stat before a quiet game against Hawthorn. It's no surprise his two quiet games in terms of clearances - one against the Bulldogs, two against Hawthorn - has led to disappointing team performances.
Frees for
AFL leaders
Luke Shuey - 3.3 per game
Joel Selwood - 2.7 per game
Dean Cox - 2.4 per game
North Melbourne Leaders
Andrew Swallow - 2.1 per game
Drew Petrie - 1.7 per game
Liam Anthony - 1.1 per game
Amongst players who have played at least five games, Swallow sits behind only three West Coast players and Joel Selwood for drawing free kicks. His reckless abandon at the contest has allowed North to win the ball
first and become one of the leading clearance sides in the competition.
Tackles
AFL leaders
Ben Howlett - 7.6 per game
Nathan Van Berlo - 7.3 per game
Brad Ebert - 6.7 per game
North Melbourne leaders
Andrew Swallow - 6.1 per game
Ben Cunnington - 5.1 per game
Jack Ziebell - 4.4 per game
Swallow again leads North in a 'contested' statistic. He is a full tackle per game ahead of second place at North, demonstrating the effort he puts in from week to week.
Team stats
Goal accuracy
1st - North Melbourne - 58 percent
2nd - Sydney - 58 percent
3rd - Port Adelaide - 57 percent
While North is second in the competition for most goals behind West Coast, it is also taking advantage of its opportunities to be the most accurate team in the competition.
One-percenters
1st - Brisbane - 59 per game
2nd - Sydney - 55 per game
3rd - Carlton - 55 per game
(10th - North Melbourne - 50 per game)
While the one-percenter statistic may not guarantee a spot high on the ladder, North's middle rank could be reflected in the last month or so of disappointing performances.
Clangers
1st - Brisbane - 52 per game
2nd - Geelong - 50 per game
3rd - St Kilda - 49 per game
(14th - North Melbourne - 44 per game)
After 2011 frequently brought about concerns due to poor ball use, it has been an area which has improved significantly. North has reduced its clangers from 49 per game in 2011, to 44 in 2012.
Contested possessions
1st - Western Bulldogs - 157 per game
2nd - Adelaide - 156 per game
3rd - Essendon - 150 per game
(7th - North Melbourne) - 145 per game
North has tread water in the contested possession statistic since 2011's average of 147 per game. However it has been the uncontested possessions which have shot up.
Uncontested possessions
1st - Richmond - 252 per game
2nd - Western Bulldogs - 228 per game
3rd - Hawthorn - 226 per game
(6th - North Melbourne - 221 per game)
Despite North not being at the top of the pile, its uncontested possessions have increased by 18 per game since 2011. It was used early in the year to run opponents off their feet.
