Adelaide’s Paul Seedsman and Brodie Smith say changes to gameplay have helped land them top of the table for metres gained in the AFL in 2021.

The duo were sitting at 6,848 metres gained and 6,801 metres gained respectively at the end of Round 11. 

“I made mention to (Seedsman) last week that we were one and two and we had a bit of a laugh about it, he beat me by about 30 metres,” Smith told The Optus Crows Show. 

“It’s definitely not a competition or something but it’s good to have guys like us in the team that are breaking the lines and getting those metres gained.

“It’s definitely something we try to implicate into our game plan.”

Seedsman said the AFL’s man on the mark rule, implemented at the start of the 2021 season, helped generate more opportunities to push forward. 

“The game has opened up a bit this year, we’re seeing a bit more scoring… the man on the mark has opened that up,” Seedsman said. 

“If you take (the man on the mark) on, you can generate another 15 metres.

“That definitely has helped and it’s a lot more difficult to defend the kicker.”

The midfielder said neither he nor Smith were particularly phased by stats as long as they were playing their roles in the side. 

“I don’t think either of us worry about the numbers as such, but we’ve sort of got a penetrating kick so Nicksy likes us to hit the back line and also break the lines with run and carry,” Seedsman said. 

“At the end of the day, it’s no good if you’re just kicking it and bombing it to the opposition.

“It’s a way that we can help impact the game for our team and, as long as it’s in a positive way, we’re happy with it.”

Also on The Optus Crows Show this week, Brodie Smith chats with Chayce Jones and veteran David Mackay opens up on how he’s helping the young Crows find their place. 

The Optus Crows Show airs on Channel 7 Adelaide at 1.00pm on Saturday.

Interstate fans can catch the full episode on afc.com.au shortly after.