Delisted Daniel Nicholson

[Samsara]

Re: Daniel Nicholson

I also liked the games of Blease, Nicholson, Bail, and MacDonald.

Some dubious disposal but all put their body on the line and worked hard for the whole game.

 

[deeman87]

Re: Daniel Nicholson

Should have been in the team weeks ago.

 

[RandB]

Good article on Nicholson.

AFL: Model student

"We have got a huge emphasis on going to watch football live now," Nicholson said. "You learn a lot sitting in the grandstand watching other players."
"We call it the 'fortress' down back, just never giving up on those goals. You would have seen in the game [that] there were a couple of times where it looked like they should have scored but just through not giving up we were able to stop them scoring," Nicholson said

 

[Animosity]

Really impressed with his evasive skills, a young kid selling candy and using spins to get out of trouble shows a lot of self belief and confidence at his age, more than happy to see him start on the field each week.

 

[Eth]

Well, here we are. I'm jumping on the blind-turning, zipping and pacy bandwagon that is Nicho and I'll be whipping up his match and season reviews for the rest of the year. This should be fun.

Not even a seemingly innocuous mop can stop the blistering skills of Nicho!

Report: Round 11 vs Collingwood

[B]K  H  D  CP  DE%  M  CM  T  CL  FF  FA  I50  R50  G  B  GA  SC  DT[/B]
5   7   12  4   83  6  0  2  1  1  1  2    0    0  0  0  45  53

Rating: 5/10

We were expecting big things from Nicho given that he had an outstanding performance the previous week with 22 disposals, and while he only had 12 that was about average (tied 11th for the Demons, in fact) for a day in which, besides Jones and Grimes, there wasn't really many. His 12 disposals did go at 83% disposal efficiency however, which was good to see as one of the knocks we tend to have is on his foot and hand skills, and I like to think he's been rectifying that. The six marks were also a good sign that he can present and link up by foot through the midfield. An okay effort given the performances of the rest of the team but I trust he'll be able to increase the disposal, maintain the efficiency and increase the inside 50s.

 

[Eth]

Report: Round 13 vs Greater Western Sydney

K   H   D   CP  DE% M   CM  T   CL  FF  FA  I50  R50  G   B   GA  SC  DT
13  9   22  8   68  4   1   4   0   0   0   4    1    0   0   0   78  85

Rating: 7.5/10

Played a very good part in an overall fantastic team performance, did our boy Nicho. He racked up 22 disposals (although I wouldn't have known it at the ground, to be honest) and when he did get the ball he was able to execute his usual dash and flair through the middle of the ground. Drove it inside 50 four times and had eight contested disposals, which were both very good signs, and his contested mark on the wing was fantastic. It'll get overshadowed by the usual Watts/Jones/Jamar/Clark top performances as per usual, but Nicho was very, very good today.

Oh, and he tackled Tom Scully for me.

 

[melbournemartin]

This kid is definitely growing on me. He needs to develop a right foot, at least for basic 35 metre kicks, as he currently feels very left dominated.

 

[Eth]

Report: Round 14 vs Brisbane Lions

K  H  D  CP  DE% M  CM T  CL FF FA I50 R50 G  B  GA SC DT
13 7  20 11  80  4  1  2  2  2  4  2   1   0  0  0  80 63

Rating: 7.5/10

Nicho was one of the better performers in a dismal day for the Dees. Despite really lacking any run, Nicho still used his dash from the backline and was fairly efficient by foot as well. He gave away four free kicks which was a little undisciplined (although the one I do recall was the deliberate out of bounds, which was there, but harsh) but given that the entire team was fairly mediocre, he was one of the better performers on the day. He's still the kind of player who you want with the ball and for him to nearly lead the disposals for us was good to see.

 

[Eth]

Report: Round 15 vs Richmond

[B]K  H  D  CP DE% M  CM T  CL FF FA I50 R50 G  B  GA SC DT[/B]
16 2  18 4  83  8  0  6  0  1  1  1   8   0  0  0  93 98

Rating: 8/10

Nicho had a great game, I thought. He lined up on Robin Nahas and while Nahas did kick four goals, Nicho's offensive work was fantastic to say the least. The majority of his disposals were kicks and at a high efficiency, whilst eight of them were rebounds. His dash out of the backline and eventually pushing forward is really impressive and he's proving to be an important asset off half-back.

 

[Eth]

Report: Round 16 vs Fremantle

[B]K  H  D  CP DE% M  CM T  CL FF FA I50 R50 G  B  GA SC DT
5  13 18 3  72  2  0  1  1  1  0  1  1  0  0  0  54 52

Rating: 6/10

Nicho was below the standard he'd normally set over the past few weeks, despite another 18 disposals; he wasn't as efficient as normal, especially given he used it by hand rather than by foot. His run and carry was still there but given only one rebound 50 and one inside 50 (which shows he linked up more, not necessarily a bad thing) amongst the other stats, it shows that the penetration which he can display wasn't really there as much. Still, a fairly solid game.

 

[Eth]

Report: Round 17 vs Port Adelaide

K  H  D  CP DE% M  CM T  CL FF FA I50 R50 G  B  GA SC DT
17 5  22 5  68  6  0  3  2  1  0  3   6   0  0  0  80 92

Rating: 8.5/10

Tell you what, I don't want to quote Luke Darcy too much but I seriously am loving the way Nicho goes about it at the moment. He had a lower efficiency - could put that down to conditions - but his work off half back was once again fantastic. He used his kicking to his advantage and once again found plenty of it. He's winning a lot of uncontested ball which really does suit his type of play.

 

[Captain Jack]

Great work on the reports Eth, it's good to see Nicho really taking his opportunity in the back half of the season (again). Has been one of our most consistent in the last few weeks.

 

[RandB]

Upgraded to primary list.

 

[Captain Jack]

Celebrated by winning the 3km Princes Park time trial on Saturday. Fair to say he has a rare blend of pace and endurance.

 

[RandB]

MFC: Pre-season update: McDonald to Sellar

26. Daniel Nicholson

Along with the likes of Tom McDonald, Dan has driven the standards with the running. His leadership and understanding of how we want him to play as a defender has been fantastic. He has shown genuine development in the past six weeks. We’re expecting a really positive improvement in his game in 2013.

– Jade Rawlings

 

[BiggerPotential]

I really really really hope he gets a go. Takes the game on, super pace and has te ability to lock down small forwards while damaging on the rebound. His kicking is a weakness but can be worked on and is improving each game. Hope he has a super year in 2013 and gets a spot.

 

[Eth]

Adopt a Demon Pre-season Preview - 26. Dan Nicholson

Nicholson wins another time trial by about two seconds...and sixteen minutes...and twelve hours...the rest plan to finish someday, Mark.

Well hey, I've adopted this guy once again for 2013.

And I might actually be consistently reviewing him.

So, what to say about Dan?

He's had another terrific pre-season by all reports, obliterating everybody bar Tom McDonald in the time trials as he generally does, and though he wasn't a stand out performer in the NAB Cup, his deserved promotion onto the main list through the draft last year will see him eligible for Round 1 unlike last year, and you'd think he'll slot straight into the backline without a fuss.

I'd say there's a little query over where he truly asserts himself as a player this year - if his defensive capabilities improve, then the small defender role's his for the taking; conversely, if his disposal and offensive work improves then I'd say he'll end up transitioning to a spot more on the wing, so it'll be interesting to see where he tracks.

His disposal's probably been the one knock on him so far, as he lacks the true quality footskills to complement his combination of dash and endurance out of the defensive 50, and his clangers per game (3, equal second at the club) and the wrath and built-up Melbourne-related frustration of all us supporters can agree. In saying that, he averaged the fifth-most effective disposals per game (13.2) of any Dee last year from the fourth-most average disposals (18.4), and if your efficiency's over 70% then you're doing alright.

He's played 20 games coming into his third season, and bar injury I see no reason why he can't double that in 2013. He's yet to start a season at Round 1 and as a result yet to run an entire one out, and I think doing that with Melbourne and truly asserting his spot in the side for the next couple of years at least is the goal.

Being 22, I wouldn't be surprised in the least to see his form fluctuate a fair bit, despite the fact that he's looked quite consistent (which given his style of run and carry is quite unusual, I would think), so I think it puts extra emphasis on making sure he can stick to his task and play good two-way footy week in week out.

Let's go Nicho.

 

[syl]

Futurama reference. Love it.

You've inspired me to adopt a dee now. Looking forward to a big year from Nicholson.

 

[Eth]

Report: Round 1 vs. Port Adelaide

Port captain Travis Boak has to resort to the good ol' karate chop to try and slow down the weaving Nicho

Report to come when I watch the bloody thing.

Stats: 10 disposals (10 kicks, 0 handballs), 90% DE, 5 marks, 4 tackles, 4 rebound 50s, 4 1%s, 98% TOG, 59 DT, 74 SC

 

[Eth]

Report: Round 2 vs. Essendon

The look of realisation on David Zaharakis' face as he identifies just who's going for a hanger on his back (and probably putting him out for three to four weeks)

Same as above.

Stats: 10 disposals (4 kicks, 6 handballs), 70% DE, 3 tackles, 3 1%s, 80% TOG, 39 DT, 46 SC

 

[The Dr]

I thought Nicho was awful against Essendon. Seems to have lost all his zip and run - might be confidence, but with his questionable foot skills, he really needs to be doing everything else right.

Back to Casey this week for mine