Danger could be 'the best': Roo

Crows legend Mark Ricciuto says Patrick Dangerfield is "a captain in waiting". Source: News Limited

MARK Ricciuto has never been given to hyperbole.

He wasn't as a player, and sure as hell isn't now that he is in the football media.

So when he says Patrick Dangerfield is potentially the best player he has ever seen in an Adelaide jumper, you cannot help but sit back and take notice.

Dangerfield makes that impression on people. And Ricciuto says he has never seen a player with as much speed, strength and one-on-one smarts as the man who currently wears his famous No. 32 jumper.

"From day one, he has had this ability to explode unlike anyone I had ever seen, other than Chris Judd,'' Ricciuto said.

"The difference with Danger is he is taller, a bit heavier and stronger than Chris Judd.

"The problem for Adelaide is that they don't have more Dangerfields.''

Champion Data's exclusive One-on-One Contest stats highlight just how critical Dangerfield is to Adelaide.

The measurement is recorded when there is a clear contest for the ball after a kick and there is no chance of a third player to affect the outcome.

To win the contest, a player must gain possession or spoil the ball to advantage.

Dangerfield is the only midfielder to be leading a club's one-on-one contest stat, with the others being rucks or key position players.

Incredibly, he not only leads the Crows, but also leads the entire AFL competition on winning percentage.

He has won 12 of his 20 one-on-one contests so far this season with a winning percentage of 60.

Hawthorn's Jack Gunston (52.6) is the only other to have a rating of 50 per cent or more. Swans ruckman Mike Pyke sits in third spot with 48.1 per cent.

"If he is given a bit of space inside 50m, he is so good one-on-one that he is going to be extremely hard to beat,'' Ricciuto said of Dangerfield.

"His speed, his strength and his attack on the ball is as good as anyone I have seen. Ever.''

Collingwood's power forward Travis Cloke might not have the highest winning percentage (35.5 per cent) on this measurement, but he has an uncanny knack of being involved in one-on-one contests.

Cloke has had 76 one-on-one contests (more than anyone else in the top from each club), winning 27 of them.

Ricciuto insisted the measurement is becoming an increasingly important one.

"When we were kids, you used to call it winning 50-50 balls,'' he said.

"Now it is called one-on-ones and that comes back to winning the hard-ball gets and the contested ball. Danger does all that and more.

"It has always been an important part of the game. It still is, but I suppose it has never been as scrutinised as much as it is now.''

The Brownlow Medal winner said Dangerfield has learnt to deal with close tags this season.

"He is a ripper. He just ticks all the boxes,'' Ricciuto said.

"Quite often blokes who are a bit like that on the field are at times a little bit wayward off it, but he is the complete opposite. He is a complete professional.

"He is a captain in waiting.''

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