Player Watch #26 Riley Collier-Dawkins

Nov 23, 2015
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#17
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Alt being mentioned about RCD tank/Fitness but the kid seems to run out games well at VFL level but is not afforded the same time at AFL level
Now is that fitness or just experience and coaches wanting to ease him into his game or use him in spurts or maybe its due to giving the lder guys more game

But this off season Lambert has taken him under his wing and im sure his running capacity will improve with 6 months of training , I would like to see our mid coaches have more faith in the younger mids next season and allow them to play more minutes
 
Alt being mentioned about RCD tank/Fitness but the kid seems to run out games well at VFL level but is not afforded the same time at AFL level
Now is that fitness or just experience and coaches wanting to ease him into his game or use him in spurts or maybe its due to giving the lder guys more game

But this off season Lambert has taken him under his wing and im sure his running capacity will improve with 6 months of training , I would like to see our mid coaches have more faith in the younger mids next season and allow them to play more minutes

It's a really good sign.

IMHO RCD always seemed a little bit off in terms of timing etc at AFL level. So I reckon he was still thinking at VFL pace. He might never be an elite Lambert style player. But if he can learn the AFL speed and running patterns the step up from VFL to AFL is less difficult. If he can run out VFL games well, then running out AFL games with a bit more work and greater smarts is just the next step.

Or at least I hope so
 
Nov 23, 2015
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#17
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Richmond
It's a really good sign.

IMHO RCD always seemed a little bit off in terms of timing etc at AFL level. So I reckon he was still thinking at VFL pace. He might never be an elite Lambert style player. But if he can learn the AFL speed and running patterns the step up from VFL to AFL is less difficult. If he can run out VFL games well, then running out AFL games with a bit more work and greater smarts is just the next step.

Or at least I hope so
If RCD was drafted by Carlton , North or another bottom team that would have given him 50 games until now he would have been best 22 imo
Really has not had a good run at it until this year but has shown in the games he has played that he has that something that makes a AFL player
Covid has been major factor in this kids career with no VFL games and ability to get consistency.
I like him and he has a point of difference to our other players with his size and speed and dimma has mentioned many times about his talent and lack of opportunity
 
Jan 14, 2002
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I seem to remember a young Shane Edwards showed some nice moves and took several years to put it all together. Some players take longer to mature and I think people are way to quick to judge.
Totally agree. If there'd been a vote taken on this board over whether or not to keep Shedda he'd have been comfortably gone well before our premiership run. He was well into the latter half of his 20's before his real worth manifested.
 
Last edited:
May 17, 2004
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Punt Rd ‘17? ‘19?
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If RCD was drafted by Carlton , North or another bottom team that would have given him 50 games until now he would have been best 22 imo
Really has not had a good run at it until this year but has shown in the games he has played that he has that something that makes a AFL player
Covid has been major factor in this kids career with no VFL games and ability to get consistency.
I like him and he has a point of difference to our other players with his size and speed and dimma has mentioned many times about his talent and lack of opportunity
No doubt about that and similarly if Andy Brayshaw was drafted by rfc he wouldn’t have played the volume of games he has
 

Moppey

Team Captain
Oct 24, 2020
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No doubt about that and similarly if Andy Brayshaw was drafted by rfc he wouldn’t have played the volume of games he has
Gotta disagree we would have been playing Andrew Brashaw from day one. From day one he showed more than enough and every club plays thier pick #2's at every opportunity unless they are physically not ready.
 

Grrr

Brownlow Medallist
Aug 16, 2009
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mildura
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Disagree, RCD's effort in the VFL for system based football was not up to standard. If Aarts could play 35 games Brayshaw could
That is just wrong. He played well as an 18 year old kid playing against senior bodies as an inside mid. His finals series was great. Last year there was no VFL and this year he played a few, got tagged in one which would have been new to him, but dominated with 30 odd possessions in a couple of others.
 
Sep 19, 2006
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I don't understand why RCD hasn't played more. When he has been in the seniors...for his age and game experience, I've seen him show enough to warrant more games and continue to improve. He has shown more than basically 3 quarters of our team (when they also began their careers) in his first 5 or so games, bar Martin, Stack, Cotchin.

Rance/Edwards/Grimes/Houli/even Rioli to a degree all looked horrible in their first few games. It's expected! They are still learning.

Fact is, RCD has the build and has been flashy in the middle. He is an extractor and feeds it off by hand hard in the contest. We need to prioritise him in the middle for 2022 onwards. Any draftee we select this year is well behind RCD currently.
 

Grrr

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A couple of reasons in my eyes. First we were playing for a spot in the eight and the match committee seemed very reluctant to leave that to the young players which is sort of understandable but a bit frustrating. Miller was a good example when Astbury went down, had the choice to play him but patched up with regulars. Then Miller was injured and Garth was eventually called up.

RCD was needed as a front-line mid but they went for players like Baker instead, which worked for a week or two. He wasn't fit enough, even I could see that off the TV, struggled to do the defensive running. Could go back to the VFL as it was over by then.

I have no doubt he will come back much fitter and stronger after a proper preseason attached to Lambert if that is what is going on. Could be very good next year, as you say he was pretty decent this year.
 
RCD would have got way more game time and more games if he'd been physically capable of performing at the already great level he showed he was capable of in parts of games. He wasn't demoted or benched for any lack of ability, just when he fell off a cliff because he needed a rest.

It may take him another season or three to reach a level where he's physically capable of becoming a week in, week out, genuine full-game mid, but all the talent required is certainly already there.

The upside is that with decent injury luck, his slow start should allow him to play well into his 30's.
What a joke. A year or THREE? He’s been in the system 3 years already. If he hasn’t got the fitness required in his 4th season, then we should send him packing. I am sick to death of a lack of game time being used as a reason for his lack of fitness and inability to see out a game. His preseason should be the indicator of what he’s likely to deliver. By the time the season starts his fitness should be A1, if not he should remain in the twos and delisted at years end. It’s time he delivers. Other youth we’ve drafted have not been given half the time to mature
 

Grrr

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Aug 16, 2009
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What a joke. A year or THREE? He’s been in the system 3 years already. If he hasn’t got the fitness required in his 4th season, then we should send him packing. I am sick to death of a lack of game time being used as a reason for his lack of fitness and inability to see out a game. His preseason should be the indicator of what he’s likely to deliver. By the time the season starts his fitness should be A1, if not he should remain in the twos and delisted at years end. It’s time he delivers. Other youth we’ve drafted have not been given half the time to mature
That is just not true. Which other youth? Bolton still can't run out games in the midfield and he has been there longer. Not every player is Jack Graham. Petracca just got there a year or two ago at 24-25 years old. Even Dusty wasn't running out games as a full time mid at 22. And how is the lack of match fitness not an excuse when there have been 10 games of VFL in two years. He runs out VFL games no problem, the next step to AFL is more difficult as most find out.

I get that you don't rate him, mainly because that was your opinion pre-draft, and that is fair enough, but to say he has shown nothing and there are no excuses is pretty harsh.
 
He needs to play along side the likes of Cotch, Dusty, Shedda and Prestia to really see what he can do.

That said, its really only his tank holding him back IMO

I reckon he's a guy who will significantly improve just by playing AFL. He'll get to AFL speed and hit contests better, and get that outside ball more.

If he can improve his tank then he could be a 20+ possession player.

Whether he's an inside grunt player with some ability to break away, or a guy that can break games open who knows? But I like his tools. I reckon he'll always be part of the machine rather than the main man. But alongside Graham, Shai etc we have the beginnings of a good young midfield.
 

DoItForCaptBlood

Premiership Player
Sep 8, 2008
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Nothing in this bloke's way except working hard and getting opportunities at senior level. Doesn't need to be a star but think he will be a very good player for us.
Well he'll need to make the most of those opportunities because there'll be a couple of other 'blokes' getting in his way very soon.
 

bc27

Club Legend
Nov 5, 2014
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His future will be pretty much go as far as how much he can improve his skills and endurance base. He has the physical tools to be a starting 22 player, but as of the end of 2021 season his skills are just too far off the mark.
 
His future will be pretty much go as far as how much he can improve his skills and endurance base. He has the physical tools to be a starting 22 player, but as of the end of 2021 season his skills are just too far off the mark.
Thought his skills were a highlight
Was involved in some great passages of play and kicked some nice goals as well

Just didn’t get the ball enough to showcase them enough
 
Thought his skills were a highlight
Was involved in some great passages of play and kicked some nice goals as well

Just didn’t get the ball enough to showcase them enough

Yeah I like his smart handballing. Kicking is good without being outstanding. We know Danger can be quite decent (in the H&A) with mostly awful kicking. RCD is good enough. Room for improvement though, as is true for almost everyone.
 
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