Dale Thomas

[Clokey34]

What did you think of his year?

I would say it was lackluster. He was doing enough to keep his spot each week but dropping out of games too much.

Runs a lot and I couldn't question his endeavor, but perhaps needs to develop more smarts on working out the right spots to run to thus being able to impose himself more on the game.

 

[BEEG]

What did you think of his year?

I would say it was lackluster. He was doing enough to keep his spot each week but dropping out of games too much.

Runs a lot and I couldn't question his endeavor, but perhaps needs to develop more smarts on working out the right spots to run to thus being able to impose himself more on the game.

Needs to stay away from the spring carnival this year and start to build a tank

Was ok in some games but hadnt really improved from the previous year if his going to have a stand out year and really make something of his football
2009 will be the year

 

[thatday]

He was very inconsistant and he wasn't able to stand up to the pressure placed on him by Pies supporters. We expected too much from him, he is a young player and with young players come inconsistancy. 09 needs to be a good year from Dale.

 

[Might-Pies]

Sick of his show pony stuff, he has got some great skills, we all know he can take a great mark, and kick a great goal. But he doesnt need to try and take mark of the year every game. I would much rather see Daisy put in a consistent 4 quarter effort, and help us get over the line, then see him take mark of the year. And he also has to stop taking shots from the boundary when the game is on the line.

 

[Flying_Penguin]

Yep, needs to be more consistant, bulk up, and who knows, he could be the next Ablett jnr

 

[Magpie Magic]

Showed glimpses of magic and skill, but needs to deliver on a consistent basis like others have said.

 

[Dave The Man]

Sick of his show pony stuff, he has got some great skills, we all know he can take a great mark, and kick a great goal. But he doesnt need to try and take mark of the year every game. I would much rather see Daisy put in a consistent 4 quarter effort, and help us get over the line, then see him take mark of the year. And he also has to stop taking shots from the boundary when the game is on the line.

Bit hard in the Forward Pocket where he hardly see the ball, so when it get's down there he tries to hard.

When he is in the Middle, He seems to Play a lot Better and More Consistent

 

[Jabso]

Sick of his show pony stuff, he has got some great skills, we all know he can take a great mark, and kick a great goal. But he doesnt need to try and take mark of the year every game. I would much rather see Daisy put in a consistent 4 quarter effort, and help us get over the line, then see him take mark of the year. And he also has to stop taking shots from the boundary when the game is on the line.

If you were saying he tries to kick goal of the year too much then I would see your point but Daisy never goes for unrealistic marking attempts. He only flies when he has to, and while you may love to see him outbody an opponent and outmark him ala James Clement he can't and he has to jump on heads sometimes. Whenever someone else has a better chance at a mark he stays down (we are IMO the most disciplined team in 'staying down' in the marking contest').

 

[Godfrey Jones]

Showed glimpses of magic and skill, but needs to deliver on a consistent basis like others have said.

he started to get there in the second half. in the end his season is a pass but next year really needs to step up as a fourth year player

 

[The Sqawka]

Sick of his show pony stuff, he has got some great skills, we all know he can take a great mark, and kick a great goal. But he doesnt need to try and take mark of the year every game. I would much rather see Daisy put in a consistent 4 quarter effort, and help us get over the line, then see him take mark of the year. And he also has to stop taking shots from the boundary when the game is on the line.

why draft a player who possess all these attributes that lift team members and excite the crowd, as well as by getting more people to our games and more memebrs, and then try and ween it out of him. have a think mate.. it might click in place for u one day. DT is flashy and dashy and thats how we want him, thats how we love him!

 

[shawthing09]

Jabso beat me too it remarking. He doesn't go for unrealistic marks. It's about knowing / learning your limitations. Daisy has a fantastic leap and clean hands so when he goes up for a outstanding mark I am fine with it. More often then not he will take it of get a fair grab. It's not like it the team lose out if he doesn['t mark it.

People are too critical of the flairy stuff he does because he doesn't do the bread and butter stuff enough. It's not a matter of him playing with less flair. Or trying harder. It's a matter of getting fitter and and smarter.

FWIW I think he improved slightly as he showed some pretty good ability around the stoppages which I hadn't seen from him before. He really does need to build a tank and be given oppertunity to play midfield. It's no coincedence that his best games came in the middle. The foward pocket encourages oppertunism.

I think throughout the year he learnt a bit of his limitations when taken players on with run and carry to. Towards the end of the year he was more willing to dish and then recieve again rather then just try and blaze. He got caught less because he was more aware and willing to use his team mates.

 

[hellfire]

In the second half of the year I thought it was obvious that Daisy had started doing the basics rather than the flashy things. When he took on his opponent (this should never be discouraged), he would give the ball off when a better option was on. Whereas in the past he would hold off too long and get caught sometimes. I thought this change was quite obvious, Mick obviously spoke to him about it. I think with a bit more muscle and a bigger tank, he'll be far more consistent because he'll be played in the middle, where he belongs. He'll be a tough matchup too - fast, fantastic at ground level and above his head, and works extremely hard. Mick just needs to make the move, and consistency will come.

 

[Axl the great]

See my post in 09"daisy time "and all will be answered.

 

[Jabso]

Daisy has a fantastic leap and clean hands so when he goes up for a outstanding mark I am fine with it. More often then not he will take it of get a fair grab. It's not like it the team lose out if he doesn['t mark it.

Yes exactly that's what I'm trying to say. I've never seen Daisy fly for a mark and think to myself he shouldn't have gone up. 90% of the time it is because it is his last resort and most of his attempts at least bring the ball to ground and benefit the team whereas a player who doesn't go for high marks would not be in the contest at all, often his attempts are when he is two men back in the contest, it's a two to one situation, if he flies and brings the ball to deck, we are advantaged.

In fact now that I think about it, it is near impossible for anyone who flies for screamers to hurt the team UNLESS they are just crashing over the top of packs willy nilly. Thomas' attempts are nearly always when he is the only Collingwood player with a chance of getting the ball.

To add to this (a lot of writing just to dismiss a silly little myth) Thomas is one of the smartest players in staying down and working his opponent under the ball, not going all out in the marking contest but making sure his opponent is out of the contest so that he can run off him when the ball hits the deck (the most prominent example is him vs. Malceski last year).

 

[StillWaiting5689]

I have been critical of Thomas this year, though to be fair I probably judge him a bit harder because there are posters like the one above who get a bit too excited and say he could be the next Gary Ablett Jnr. I'm not saying he can't but thats why people are so quick to point out any flaw in his game, its so people will just tone it down a notch. Theoritically any player could become the next GAjnr but we usually don't make these comments until the future is a little more clearer.

Anyway, on his form this year, very inconsistent from game to game and quarter to quarter. Hasn't really stepped up from flashy player yet. As someone said his inconsistentcy can in part be attributed to long stints in the forward line, but I don't know what people expect - he clearly doesn't have the motor to run out a game in the midfield, how many times did he sprint for 20 meters and then hunch over and suck air? Once he builds up his running power then he will become a lot more dangerous and spend extended time in the midfield, as of now only his fitness can be blamed for his permanent forward status.
I was calling for him to be dropped after the bulldogs game, not because of him running straight into a tackler but because he was clearly soft as butter in the first three minutes of the game and got dragged afterwards. To DT credit though in the last few matches he has backed back to take a mark so he obviously has been working on his hardness.
Already has some great attributes, so if he can get some consistency he will be very handy next year.