Chris25
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- Oct 30, 2007
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Dean Gore
Height: 183cm
Weight: 86kg
From: Sturt, South Australia
Position: Midfielder
Height: 183cm
Weight: 86kg
From: Sturt, South Australia
Position: Midfielder
I wrote about a couple of non South Australians in my last profiles, so that means it's well past time to look at another Croweater. And with Peter Bampton missing the entire U18 Championships and Caleb Daniel missing the early matches, someone really needed to step up in the midfield. And two players did just that; Alex Neal-Bullen and Dean Gore from Sturt. Proving himself as a strong inside midfielder, Gore had a very consistent if underrated Championships and should be a sought after player come November for any team looking for immediate help in their midfield.
It's hard not to notice the 183cm/86kg frame of Gore out on the ground, so it's no surprise that back home in the SANFL he hasn't spent a lot of time in the U18s. Last year he made his Reserves debut, and he played the opening 6 rounds of the 2014 season in the senior Sturt side. And just in case there were any doubts, his strong performances cemented his spot in the South Australian U18 side. In the SANFL season, his best game came in Round 2 against the Adelaide Crows' Reserves in which he won a Rising Star nomination on the back of a 19 disposal, 4 mark, 3 tackle, 3 clearance game - with 7 inside 50s and 2 rebound 50s as well. Otherwise, he's been consistently averaging around 15 disposals playing primarily in the midfield and across half forward. Although he'd probably like a bit more midfield time in the SANFL, the pleasing thing is that he is showing off his versatility in playing a more outside flanker role. In one game he finished with 15 disposals but a huge 11 marks, as he used his run to spread across the field. At the U18 Championships for South Australia though, it was inside that he saw a lot playing time. He was a bull at the contest, getting in and under to win the hard ball. But it was his tackling pressure which was the highlight - with 39 tackles in just 6 games, including four matches in which he finished with over 7 tackles. He's such a strong player in at the contests, and he isn't afraid to throw his body around.
From a purely athletics standpoint, you typically have to worry about these players and whether they are good enough to match it with the gut runners and elite speed of the opposition. But, Gore is surprisingly fit for someone with his frame - with a 14+ beep test, and sub 3 second 20m sprint. And he has proven in the SANFL that he can cover enough ground on the outside. His real strength though is no doubt in his readiness to play AFL football. He hasn't looked out of place at all in the SANFL, competing well against AFL listed players. And he has shown enough versatility to suggest he could play across either half forward or half back if needed - half forward in particular, having typically been good for about a goal a game. In terms of his inside game, he is more along the lines of a Brad Crouch or Josh Kennedy in that he just goes in hard and wins the ball. As opposed to say a David Mundy or Scott Pendlebury who rely more on positioning and smarts. But he still gets results.
As I seem to be saying with most of the South Australians, Gore is not considered to be a real early pick despite all the positives. And I tend to think one reason is in terms of his ceiling as a player. I probably don't see him being a guy who will develop into a real elite midfielder, more one who will be an important part of rotations. When he has time and space on the outside, particularly having marked the ball, his kicking is good. It looks neat and he gets good distance on it, it's a large part of why he has already played senior football in the SANFL and across half forward when he has. But, in the midfield and under a bit more pressure his kicking can be a bit rushed. I think that can be forgiven though, because of all the other work he does in close.
When it comes to a player comparison, I would look towards Adelaide's Mitch Grigg. A similar sized midfielder, he had a very good U18 Championships in his draft year and shares a few of the same traits with Gore. Hopefully Gore is able to cement a spot in the best 22 a little quicker than Grigg, but I feel like they'll both reach a similar level. And for draft position, I would say anywhere between Mitch Grigg (#41 in 2011) and Matthew Crouch (#23 in 2013) would be about right. So basically, somewhere in the second round and he could be a good value selection for that price.
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