The mullet is alive and well in AFL by Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The mullet is an iconic piece of Australian culture in the midst of a triumphant return. Why are they so popular, just how common are they? We sought out the numbers to investigate these questions.

The Australian Football League (AFL) is a showground for the hairstyle and presents a source of data. Each player has a photo on their club’s website, and these could be examined to tally the number of mullets in each team. Could the trend possibly have an impact on team performance?

We automated the process of scraping/downloading each player’s photo, cropping out their hair and measuring its height in pixels. Human analysis was still needed, but the use of machine learning and image recognition software allowed us to build a bespoke data set and present the findings in an innovative and engaging way. Generating the hair silhouettes allowed us to uniquely visualise each player, and interactive elements allow readers to explore the data and browse hairstyles by team. We also examined the relationship between hair length and average points per game.

AFL fans shared this story widely among their groups and online forums. Readers were elated and aghast to learn their team’s standings on the mullet ladder. Tackling a topic of pop and sporting culture, the piece was simultaneously “entertaining”,” informative” and “inspiring” according to readers. “Excellent analysis, graphics and high human interest. A whole lot of fun... the world needs more of that,” wrote one reader in a feedback form. Another explained how they had no interest in AFL nor mullets but was impressed by the format of the story.

The experimental nature — leveraging computer vision, featuring “flying mullet” animations and a mullet shaped chart — coupled with high audience interest made for a memorable investigation both editorially and technically.