Player Watch #27 Thomson Dow

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The difference with Dow and McRae is Dow is clearly not an inside mid as opposed to McRae who has no issues with physicality. Where is Dows best position? Outside mid ? Well his skills aren’t exactly great either. Just too many weaknesses imo and will happily be proven wrong but he definitely isn’t best 22.

Dow actually takes physical contact quite well for his size and his agility in tight is quite impressive on occasion despite not really having big bodies around him to provide support.

At the moment he is in the to be determined group when it comes to our younger players and whether they will make it or not, but there have been more good signs than bad when you look at the whole picture regarding his performances this year.

 

[el_simo]

Again happy to be proven wrong but I think you all rate evasiveness too highly.
When he does get the ball he often panics.
Sure he has done a few good side steps and handballs here and there but that, to me, is below the bare minimum required.

He does also shirk many contests and doesn’t go when it’s his time. Will he get more confidence to do that? Maybe but the signs aren’t great. Agreed he would look better with Taranto and hopper next to him and maybe we would get a better look at him but again, too many weaknesses

 

[prodigy]

his biggest concern is he has no other position on the ground. hes either in the middle or on the bench. you might get away with that if you've an absolute beast midfielder but if hes 4th or 5th string he's never gonna progress beyond capable depth.

This is probably the biggest concern I have. It's make or break for him in the middle and with the way he is going this season the outlook isn't promising at the moment.

 

[THE THIN MAN]

This is probably the biggest concern I have. It's make or break for him in the middle and with the way he is going this season the outlook isn't promising at the moment.

Dow needs to call International Rescue

 

[Growapair]

Not exactly true. Dow gets to the fall of the ball and is often our first hands on player. When Taranto/Hopper play they are often first touch or putting the body over the ball which leaves space for Dow to hit the ball without the heavy bodies in there. He is good at that due to his agility, which is the one ace he has. He then usually dishes it out to someone is space.

The Dogs midfield is a bit the same, they have Libba doing the grunt work, dishing it out to Bont and Treloar and recently Richards. Bont and Treloar are miles above Dow, as they use it by foot so much better, but they are A graders, Bont elite, best Dow will be is a solid B grader, if he gets there.

Are you saying that Dow will provide the link between inside and outside as Prestia did in his best years?

If I say okay I still can't see a team with him in the starting midfield in that role being a premiership team.

 

[Grrr]

Are you saying that Dow will provide the link between inside and outside as Prestia did in his best years?

If I say okay I still can't see a team with him in the starting midfield in that role being a premiership team.

Prestia was a star, and no Dow will not be in a Premiership team you'd think. All I am saying is he is playing that role now, so no point going too hard at him, as there is nobody better right now. In 6 weeks or next season that may not be the case.

 

[Madtiger2006]

I wouldn’t build a midfield around Dow, maybe a toilet because he’s s**t.

Moron lol
He was very good last night.

 

[TheDyerLegacy]

Moron lol
He was very good last night.

A little heavy on the very. He was okay, and that’s being generous.

Got 7 clearances which is good. Doesn’t offer much other than in the contest at stoppage. He is terrible in transition. He cannot kick to save his life and relies on handballing it. Can’t carry players like that when you’re serious. We don’t have much so he plays. 20 touches for 58m gained, that’s 2.9m per disposal.

Players like him will not survive in today’s game.

 

[banana_bus]

Christ, no one was good last night, let alone Dow

 

[richoplzbreed]

A little heavy on the very. He was okay, and that’s being generous.

Got 7 clearances which is good. Doesn’t offer much other than in the contest at stoppage. He is terrible in transition. He cannot kick to save his life and relies on handballing it. Can’t carry players like that when you’re serious. We don’t have much so he plays. 20 touches for 58m gained, that’s 2.9m per disposal.

Players like him will not survive in today’s game.

That's what caught my eye too. The kick that set up a goal was great but realistically was an anomaly as he usually kicks floater hospital passes. It probably went 25m too, so if you park that one kick he had 19 touches for 30m gained which is excruciatingly dreadful. The worst thing is his uselessness at every other position and zero forward threat keeps Sonsie as a fwd and probably Ross on a wing when he's fit when it's glaringly obvious both are 10x better midfielders than Dow but their versatility means they get shafted to favour him. In my eyes he's depth at best and forces us to give Prestia another contract and since Graham and Baker most likely leave I hope they offer him 1 year on minimum wage. He's probably gonna be instantly surpassed by our 1st picked Mid at EOY draft, Mcauliffe has him covered already by a mile.

 

[rfctigerarmy]

Moron lol
He was very good last night.

I agree, I thought he was good too. Surprised to see the negativity, thought he was one of our best.

 

[tiger_tough]

Still waiting for this guy to impose himself on a game. It's only been 5 years now....

 

[Hank Heavenly]

He was at least having a crack in the midfield on saturday night. He was busting a gut, usually against two oppo mids.

He may not be a superstar, but I can't question his effort

 

[tiger_tough]

He was at least having a crack in the midfield on saturday night. He was busting a gut, usually against two oppo mids.

He may not be a superstar, but I can't question his effort

He always has a crack, that's not the issue. The issue is that he's not very good at football.

 

[rfctigerarmy]

He always has a crack, that's not the issue. The issue is that he's not very good at football.

Which mids were better than him on the weekend?

 

[tiger_tough]

Which mids were better than him on the weekend?

What's that got to do with anything? Are you saying by being the least shit, that he's good? I'd have 1st year McAuliffe's game and old man, injury prone Prestia's games as fairly equal.

Prestia was getting 27 disposals, 5 tackles and 9 clearances per game in his 5th year and I'd put my house on it that McAuliffe will be doing a hell of a lot better than the 15D, 2T and 3CL that Dow is.

The point is 5 years in Dow should be influencing games, not being compared to teammates at either end of their footy careers.

DUD.DELIST.

 

[Grrr]

First half was average, I thought his last half was good. Gave out some quick handballs to the overlapping player that kept us going forward, transitioning. We had very few chains of play, but Dow was in many of them.

 

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What's that got to do with anything? Are you saying by being the least s**t, that he's good? I'd have 1st year McAuliffe's game and old man, injury prone Prestia's games as fairly equal.

Prestia was getting 27 disposals, 5 tackles and 9 clearances per game in his 5th year and I'd put my house on it that McAuliffe will be doing a hell of a lot better than the 15D, 2T and 3CL that Dow is.

The point is 5 years in Dow should be influencing games, not being compared to teammates at either end of their footy careers.

DUD.DELIST.

Just as it's unfair to compare Dow to 2 players at the opposite ends of their careers, it's also unfair to compare Dow to prime Prestia who was a gut running machine when he was at his peak and a young bull in McAuliffe who is a different breed of midfielder to Dow, with more power and size about him that allows him to have an impact against bigger bodies.

Put Dow in a midfield mix with the likes of Taranto Hopper Ross & McAuliffe and I believe we will see Dow come into his own. He does his best work in tight, but in our current structure with little big bodied support around him his impact isn't anywhere near where it could be, yet he is still doing a fair job against more experienced opposition. Last 2 games in which we were blown out he has averaged 19 disposals 11 contested possessions 5 clearances & 3 score involvements playing effectively as our number 1 midfielder

 

[tiger_tough]

Just as it's unfair to compare Dow to 2 players at the opposite ends of their careers, it's also unfair to compare Dow to prime Prestia who was a gut running machine when he was at his peak and a young bull in McAuliffe who is a different breed of midfielder to Dow, with more power and size about him that allows him to have an impact against bigger bodies.

Put Dow in a midfield mix with the likes of Taranto Hopper Ross & McAuliffe and I believe we will see Dow come into his own. He does his best work in tight, but in our current structure with little big bodied support around him his impact isn't anywhere near where it could be, yet he is still doing a fair job against more experienced opposition. Last 2 games in which we were blown out he has averaged 19 disposals 11 contested possessions 5 clearances & 3 score involvements playing effectively as our number 1 midfielder

I'd be shocked. He shouldn't get a game when all those guys are fit.

He played alongside Hopper, Ross and Taranto V blues and Ross, Taranto and Baker V Port and Sydney and did **** all as per usual.

We've heard about how good he is in tight since he was drafted. Hes probably had half a dozen games that were above VFL level, let alone AFL standard. This guy is a bigger tease than 2 phones was. At least Chol had some very good games.

He gets more excuses for shit performances than anyone in recent memory. Reality is he's an inside mid that is small, weak, timid, inconsistent and can't kick. Enough is enough.

 

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I'd be shocked. He shouldn't get a game when all those guys are fit.

He played alongside Hopper, Ross and Taranto V blues and Ross, Taranto and Baker V Port and Sydney and did heck all as per usual.

We've heard about how good he is in tight since he was drafted. Hes probably had half a dozen games that were above VFL level, let alone AFL standard. This guy is a bigger tease than 2 phones was. At least Chol had some very good games.

He gets more excuses for s**t performances than anyone in recent memory. Reality is he's an inside mid that is small, weak, timid, inconsistent and can't kick. Enough is enough.

In those 3 games against Carlton Port & Sydney, when we had our best midfield so far playing he had

Carlton - 16 disposals 4 marks 3 clearances 7 contested possessions 3 score involvements 77% TOG 170m gained
Port - 12 disposals 4 marks 2 clearances 7 contested possessions 7 score involvements 76% TOG 220m gained
Sydney - 18 disposals 3 marks 6 clearances 12 contested possessions 6 score involvements 78% TOG 156m gained

As I said as a role player supporting our better midfielders he played games that are quite acceptable and since the Saints game, he has been asked to be one of our prime midfielders despite having barely played 25 games at the time.

With Dow he'll never be a elite level midfielder, but put him in a midfield where the mix allows him to play to his strengths, while he supports the better midfielders, I'm confident that he'll become a solid AFL level midfielder. If he plays the rest of the year, he'll have close to 50 games under his belt heading into 2025 and that is when he should start to really come on as he'll have had that consistent development put into him.

 

[Profop]

I mean he’s probably pushing top ten in the best and fairest so far which is certainly concerning from a season point of view but also means he should get at least one more year

 

[Tiger_4_Life]

This whole board is turning into such a shit show... Why can't we support the guy who's doing a half decent job.

He may not make it, but he is having a crack. More than most of the players

 

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This whole board is turning into such a s**t show... Why can't we support the guy who's doing a half decent job.

He may not make it, but he is having a crack. More than most of the players

It's almost as if people are afraid to support a player who isn't considered to be an elite player for fear of being ridiculed.

Not every player can be elite but to have a successful side you need more than just elite players. In fact I'd suggest we need more role players than elite. It wasn't until we got a good amount of quality role players that we became the flag winning team that we were.

 

[Madtiger2006]

A little heavy on the very. He was okay, and that’s being generous.

Got 7 clearances which is good. Doesn’t offer much other than in the contest at stoppage. He is terrible in transition. He cannot kick to save his life and relies on handballing it. Can’t carry players like that when you’re serious. We don’t have much so he plays. 20 touches for 58m gained, that’s 2.9m per disposal.

Players like him will not survive in today’s game.

Has excellent hands. Sets up play. Reckon you should take the shades off. Kicking not bad either. Gets under the packs

 

[Tiger_4_Life]

Confidence is his biggest issue I think... Would be nice to have taranto and Hopper next to him.