Player Watch #26 Riley Collier-Dawkins

Not too sure who made the call but i would be thinking it would have been between the 2 players and the club wouldnt have been against that
Lambert has taken a few players under his wing in the off season in the past with Shai being one. Lambert is lso doing some footage work with some of the younger players

I love Lambo, he's one of those quiet leaders that make or break clubs. (Damn glad Carlton didn't grab him when he was under their eye. God, if he can improve Shai and RCD's running and ability to stay in the game that could transform the team. Well I can dream anyway. ;)
 

Lsta062

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It's a hard one as the mid slots don't open up till 2023. And given there's been limited VFL played for 2 seasons, I reckon he gets till 2024.
Maybe from us, but I think he’ll request a trade if he doesn’t get regular games in 2022. He probably has 1 more year to solidify a place with us. I don’t know what’s in his mind, but CCJ left us for this reason so it may be next year or nothing at all.
 

Grrr

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If he does not cement himself in our best 22, then it’s goodbye I reckon.
Wow, that's tough. All he has to do is have a few really good games and lift his game by 20% overall on last year and the trajectory is about right. Cementing a place will not be easy if we remain injury free. Our midfield of Dusty, Cotchin, Prestia, Edwards, Bolton, Lambert and Graham if they are all fit will be a difficult place to cement yourself. By the end of next year 2 or 3 of those spots will open up, maybe more. We will need our next tier of developing mids to cement their places then, starting this year, but mainly next year.
 
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Wow, that's tough. All he has to do is have a few really good games and lift his game by 20% overall on last year and the trajectory is about right. Cementing a place will not be easy if we remain injury free. Our midfield of Dusty, Cotchin, Prestia, Edwards, Bolton, Lambert and Graham if they are all fit will be a difficult place to cement yourself. By the end of next year 2 or 3 of those spots will open up, maybe more. We will need our next tier of developing mids to cement their places then, starting this year, but mainly next year.
Happens every year, based on their age and injury history Cotchin, Edwards and Prestia will almost certainly all miss games. There's always spots for midfielders available, if he's good enough.

10+ games should absolutely be the minimum aim.
 

Hank Heavenly

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Happens every year, based on their age and injury history Cotchin, Edwards and Prestia will almost certainly all miss games. There's always spots for midfielders available, if he's good enough.

10+ games should absolutely be the minimum aim.
It should be I agree with you...

But I also feel he was dropped this year mid year when he perhaps shouldn't have been, so some of it is clearly out of his control
 

Grrr

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It should be I agree with you...

But I also feel he was dropped this year mid year when he perhaps shouldn't have been, so some of it is clearly out of his control
His defensive running later in the games was almost non existent. Nowhere near AFL midfield fit, which is no great surprise he's no Jack Graham. He will only get better in that regard, but he was impacting on games.
 

Hank Heavenly

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His defensive running later in the games was almost non existent. Nowhere near AFL midfield fit, which is no great surprise he's no Jack Graham. He will only get better in that regard, but he was impacting on games.
He was having greater impact overall than other players when judging the game as a whole, so rightly should have held his spot from memory.

And without VFL games, how did the MC expect him to improve in that regard, without actually playing???

And it could be said those that came in had little impact
 

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It should be I agree with you...

But I also feel he was dropped this year mid year when he perhaps shouldn't have been, so some of it is clearly out of his control
Some of that may have just been load management on a young body though.
Playing inside mid is a very physically taxing role, we know he's still needing to develop physically to play the role full time.
 
Wow, that's tough. All he has to do is have a few really good games and lift his game by 20% overall on last year and the trajectory is about right. Cementing a place will not be easy if we remain injury free. Our midfield of Dusty, Cotchin, Prestia, Edwards, Bolton, Lambert and Graham if they are all fit will be a difficult place to cement yourself. By the end of next year 2 or 3 of those spots will open up, maybe more. We will need our next tier of developing mids to cement their places then, starting this year, but mainly next year.

Lambert, Bolton and Edwards don’t play much midfield minutes. Either has Dusty. There’s a spot there for him. He needs to cement himself
 

Grrr

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Lambert, Bolton and Edwards don’t play much midfield minutes. Either has Dusty. There’s a spot there for him. He needs to cement himself
Yes spots will be available, and you'd hope that he and a few others stand up and put real pressure on when they get a crack. But they might not be automatic selections straight away. Injuries will probably be their in. I'm back he and Ross to play some good footy this year and hopefully replace Cotchin and Edwards going forward.
 

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Maybe from us, but I think he’ll request a trade if he doesn’t get regular games in 2022. He probably has 1 more year to solidify a place with us. I don’t know what’s in his mind, but CCJ left us for this reason so it may be next year or nothing at all.

Saints were all over him year or two ago iirc
 

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Some of that may have just been load management on a young body though.
Playing inside mid is a very physically taxing role, we know he's still needing to develop physically to play the role full time.
I don't disagree, but if we accept that, don't sit here (not you, but others) and tell me "he needs to build a tank" when over the last 2 years the only way to do that effectively has been playing senior footy, and if the MC choose to look after him, don't put that on the kid.
 

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He was having greater impact overall than other players when judging the game as a whole, so rightly should have held his spot from memory.

And without VFL games, how did the MC expect him to improve in that regard, without actually playing???

And it could be said those that came in had little impact
But we were losing games and trying to hang on to a spot in the 8. I remember watching him and thinking wow, he has blown up. It was harsh but probably the right call even though as you say he was impacting. No VFL made it pretty much impossible.

I think they put him away for next season, and I reckon they would be pretty happy with what he achieved. Apparently running with Lambert right now, so you'd think that is his plan or the clubs, but either way it is going to make him a whole lot better.
 

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I don't disagree, but if we accept that, don't sit here (not you, but others) and tell me "he needs to build a tank" when over the last 2 years the only way to do that effectively has been playing senior footy, and if the MC choose to look after him, don't put that on the kid.
I agree, he does need to build a tank, but outside of a few genetic freaks, it takes a good 5-6 years for most midfielders to build enough stamina to run out a full game (75%+ Game time) as an inside mid. Especially for someone like RCD who is more of a burst athlete, it just takes time.
I pay no attention to people who think he can do it in 1-2 preseasons and little to no second tier football to play, it's just not going to happen that quickly.
 
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I like RCD as a player , He has that X factor about his game

Watching him at VFL level in 2019 you could just see the difference between him and the other kids and the VFL players , Covid has not helped his development and has set him back 2 years but with a good pre season and more physical development for season 2022 i can see him becoming a 80% game time player that accumulates 20-25 touches a game.

He must be given opportunity even if its at the expence of other players like Lambert , Cotchin , Pickett , Prestia
We will need to rest the older mids during the year and im sure this will be on the agenda.

Transition must begin
 
Yes spots will be available, and you'd hope that he and a few others stand up and put real pressure on when they get a crack. But they might not be automatic selections straight away. Injuries will probably be their in. I'm back he and Ross to play some good footy this year and hopefully replace Cotchin and Edwards going forward.

Agree. I don’t think he’ll be in our best side to begin with but I think he needs to by the end of the season
 

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I think the kid can play but in saying that i thought Naish could too and the club cut him 0- i thought both he & RCD clearly looked to be the best 2 players we had in the VFL

The reality is the club chose to play Parker in front of him down the stretch & that is what concerns me a bit/ Club seems to love talking him up, but when push comes to shove, they do not trust him to be in the team yet - even with all the injuries we copped
 

rosetech

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I think the kid can play but in saying that i thought Naish could too and the club cut him 0- i thought both he & RCD clearly looked to be the best 2 players we had in the VFL

The reality is the club chose to play Parker in front of him down the stretch & that is what concerns me a bit/ Club seems to love talking him up, but when push comes to shove, they do not trust him to be in the team yet - even with all the injuries we copped

Parker played a completely different position fwd/wing. RCD needs to be in the guts 95% of the time.
 

richard parker

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Has some great qualities and I really want him to progress. My main criticism is his running. He has a very ungainly running style and is not a good runner. Big part of the modern game.
 
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Parker played a completely different position fwd/wing. RCD needs to be in the guts 95% of the time.
Currently he spends 35% of his senior games on the bench because no tank.

I'd like to see him up forward a bit. Third tall stuff, did a bit in juniors.

Has some great qualities and I really want him to progress. My main criticism is his running. He has a very ungainly running style and is not a good runner. Big part of the modern game.
Yeah, no tank. Lambert will help.
 
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