Player Watch #24: Tom Powell - signed thru 2026

[Heaps of fun]

Pykie gets a lot of rave reviews, but he's really a numbers man. This has it's place, but it's inferior to the experienced eye test.

9.5 times a match.

 

[Snake_Baker]

You're no Norm McDonald.

 

[Merlin007]

So congrats to the administration for putting in place the recruiting and list manage team that snaffled this gem then?

Absolutely, and hopefully less of the hand wringing about the trade with Melbourne that got him to the club

 

[Heaps of fun]

You're no Norm McDonald.

I'm known to get a few laughs here and there.

 

[Snake_Baker]

I'm known to get a few laughs here and there.

I certainly don't doubt that.

 

[Mav]

Yeah, because he's a freak runner and gets in space. Every player can mark in space, it's only really tested in contests. It's a big reason why he has played off the back flank and wing in AFL when he was a junior key forward. Did take a nice one against us though. When he puts on some size and can protect his space better he'll probably end up an OK contested mark for his height.

yep. SANFL Eagles used him as a lead up forward or on the wing. His marking was something they had to continually work on. But don't go too harsh on Snake, he loves using Super Coach stats in an attempt to prove his opinion.

 

[big_e]

Caring so much about random internet dudes and dudettes knowing you sometimes make accurate predictions can't be healthy.

 

[The Warlord]

Absolutely, and hopefully less of the hand wringing about the trade with Melbourne that got him to the club

Win - win - win.

We got we want in a major rebuild of the midfield.

The Dees got what they want.

We burnish our reputation as a good club to business with.

Great work by Brady and the admin.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Caring so much about random internet dudes and dudettes knowing you sometimes make accurate predictions can't be healthy.

.............or commenting at all for that matter.

 

[DesertRoo]

Win - win - win.

We got we want in a major rebuild of the midfield.

The Dees got what they want.

We burnish our reputation as a good club to business with.

Great work by Brady and the admin.

The whole trade capper is about relationship building, you want to be first club called or at least have the most irons in the fire at any one time.
Brady with the nmfc old boys network around the traps would at least be able to get most clubs on call now...
I’ve always wondered if the same greeting was extended to the last lot.

 

[The Warlord]

Caring so much about random internet dudes and dudettes knowing you sometimes make accurate predictions can't be healthy.

It isn't a prediction AFTER the kid has been drafted.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

I've given this post the eye test and decided that its elite attribute is sarcasm. Some of you guys probably won't understand what that means. I'm a bit of a sarcasm genius.

Thanks Donald...

 

[Nutjob]

Just take it as read that I'm always right when it comes to football.

Show us all the garbage you posted about Logan McDonald


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[The Filth Wizard]

Everybody forgets it was me that said Tom Powell would look nice with shorter hair.

 

[hilly]

Absolutely, and hopefully less of the hand wringing about the trade with Melbourne that got him to the club

Yes apparently we traded both Pickett and that bloke that ended up at Freo. Not bad for one selection.

 

[The Warlord]

Having actually watched the kid at training my view was he had all the ability to play seniors but I thought he was too light.

I remember being surprised when he swapped jumpers after Cunners went down in the scratchy.

I then remember being very impressed with what he did, and going well okay, the experts think he can play seniors and they're clearly right.

As I recall most track watchers like Passmore
and Flawed Genius having a similar reaction.

 

[Merlin007]

Everybody forgets it was me that said Tom Powell would look nice with shorter hair.

Not me, etched indelibly

 

[king of the road]

The whole trade capper is about relationship building, you want to be first club called or at least have the most irons in the fire at any one time.
Brady with the nmfc old boys network around the traps would at least be able to get most clubs on call now...
I’ve always wondered if the same greeting was extended to the last lot.

I wouldn’t be trading for Capper.
Game has gone past tight shorted, dyed haired forwards who don’t chase.

 

[The Filth Wizard]

Not me, etched indelibly

The tattoo was romantic.

 

[Flawed Genius]

Having actually watched the kid at training my view was he had all the ability to play seniors but I thought he was too light.

I remember being surprised when he swapped jumpers after Cunners went down in the scratchy.

I then remember being very impressed with what he did, and going well okay, the experts think he can play seniors and they're clearly right.

As I recall most track watchers like Passmore
and Flawed Genius having a similar reaction.

I went back and had a look at what I'd commented over the pre-season. Pretty much as you've said, but I'll freely post in here that I was wrong, because I had both Laz and WiPhi ahead of him in the pecking order:

18 December 2020

Powell looks like the first few posts of Kayne's thread where Kayne, all 54 kilos, was described as a tough inside midfielder, and we thought they were playing the opposite game. He's very skinny, so it's exciting to think that he can get the footy 35+ times while being physically underdeveloped. Once he fills out I expect he will be a very, very difficult player to tackle. Nice kicking style, gets it to where it needs to be mostly

15 January 2021

Powell surprised me a little in the mid drill. He appears to be a seriously, seriously smart footballer. They had him matched up against a team of Jy, Polec, Cunners, Phillips and Goldy, and he was hitting packs and taps at full speed. From a very limited showing, he looks like he just knows where to be and when to get there. I think a little while back Tef broke down some footage that showed him being the only person moving through a stoppage at pace at SANFL U18s level; while he won't be the only one doing so at AFL level, his willingness to attack the ball at pace and on time so early in his career, even at training, is encouraging. He has really fast hands; a couple of handballs which cleared the space were blink-and-you'll-miss-them type stuff. I noticed also that he appears very well balanced - whenever he would end up with the ball he was in a position to distribute either left or right immediately, and usually chose the right option.

25 January 2021

Powell seems to be everywhere the footy is and his first instinct looks like it's always to handball. As stated previously hes highly skilled especially by hand and gets to all the right spots, and he gets better every time I see him

5 February 2021

Powell was in the blue mid rotations as a first choice. He has got Sam Mitchell written all over him. Naturally accumulates the ball and is a far better disposal by hand than by foot. Seriously his handballing is nuts, it always hits a player in stride and is never behind or too far in front. His football brain is exceptional even at stoppages. His kicking needs work but he looks like a very smart, very well put together midfield option

Yeah probably Laz, Phillips then Powell in that order.

Laz screams composure and football nous and intelligence, very neat over 30m and runs nice patterns.

Phillips is or will be an elite mid who I don't think is suited to playing HFF at this stage of his career and might miss out on R1 because of it

Powell is a football savant but very light on and back in the pecking order. Also needs work on kicking.

I don't know if any of them get in R1 to be honest

"I don't know if any of them get in R1 to be honest"

lol, idiot

 

[The Warlord]

"I don't know if any of them get in R1 to be honest"

lol, idiot

Laz certainly surprised me.

Tbh Philips could have played rd1 in terms of ability and hardness.

But his lack of conditioning means he'd require a lot of resting, which in the era of seriously restricted rotations is a serious impediment.

Powell already has the miles in the legs.

 

[Flawed Genius]

Laz certainly surprised me.

I'll happily claim I was on Laz before anyone else

Powell already has the miles in the legs.

And therefore it's not surprising he's been the best of the draftees

 

[King Corey]

Everybody forgets it was me that said Tom Powell would look nice with shorter hair.

Rubbish.

What young Powell needs is to grow out like really out his locks. I'm talking Mel Gibson Braveheart or Christopher Lambert Highlander (during the ancient Scottish bits) style. Only then will he realise his full potential.

Check. Mate.

 

[The Warlord]

And therefore it's not surprising he's been the best of the draftees

Also shows just what a dramatic variable bench rotations have become.

Willips can't get a game because he'd eat up more than his ration.

 

[The Warlord]

The whole trade capper is about relationship building, you want to be first club called or at least have the most irons in the fire at any one time.
Brady with the nmfc old boys network around the traps would at least be able to get most clubs on call now...
I’ve always wondered if the same greeting was extended to the last lot.

Yep. Idiots like Dodoro see it as zero sum where you get 100 points every year and the aim is to walk away with as many of the other 1700 points held by other teams as possible.

Brady understands it isn't linear in any way and that it is about having as many options open at any time is the real aim of the game.