Past Matthew Dick

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Jeremias

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Sep 26, 2004
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Blues sign Matthew Dick

Carlton’s GM – Football Operations Andrew McKay says Dick is a big-bodied player who will offer the Blues flexibility.

“It’s great to get a versatile young player like Matthew through the door, particularly coming from a strong club such as Sydney,” McKay said.

“He’s a powerful right footer with plenty of leg speed who makes good use of the football.

“Matthew only turned 20 on Monday, so his addition fits with our overall strategy to lower the age profile of our team.”
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Blues sign Matthew Dick

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Here's what BF's draft 'experts' said about Dick prior to the 2012 National Draft.

Knightmare:

#48 Melbourne (Compensation Pick) - Matthew Dick (VIC – Def)
Height: 187cm, Weight: 86kg, DOB:
Recruited from: Calder Cannons
Style:
Player comparison:
Range: 30-60
Profile: Line breaking defender with some real pace. Can play on either talls or small well. Tackling game very good for a defender. Also capable of stepping into the midfield and playing a role. Ball use fine and performed well at the draft combine.
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Snoop Dog:

# 39 Fremantle
Matthew Dick
Calder Cannons
187cm / 85 / ‘94
Was told early on this year to keep a close eye on this bloke and whilst I could see the potential the output probably wasn’t there. As 2012 has gone on this kid has really screamed up my ladder. Smooth moving, very quick and a terrific size for an AFL HB / Winger who clubs would be pretty excited about what he could do for them. His skills are excellent and whilst to me he looks a bit laconic he always gets the job done. In fact there was a piece of play at Champs where he worked brilliantly between Wing and HF and he very nearly nailed the goal at the end of it. If he had have then there would have been much more chatter about him (eg a Sam Blease moment). I liken him a bit to Heath Shaw but a little less intense...not a bad thing! One I will keep my eye on closely as think he could be a late pick that really makes his mark. Shane Nelson might be a local kid they think could walk in and add something to their mid rotation.
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Chris25:

62. West Coast - Matthew Dick (187cm defender - Calder)

There is a lot to like with Matthew Dick, the least of which isn't the fact that he already has a solid build - unlike many other players around the 185-190cm mark. From a physical standpoint, he could certainly push for selection next year. He is also very quick, and isn't afraid to ues that pace coming off the half back line. I think he is just a really solid player, and is versatile enough to play a defensive role on both talls and smalls or play more of an offensive role as he has nice skills. Wouldn't be a huge surprise to see him go earlier than many think of draft day.
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Quigley:

64. Adelaide

It wouldn’t hurt the Crows to add some pace to their defensive unit and Dick would offer them that.

Matthew Dick
DOB: 3/11/94 Ht: 188 Wt: 86

Dick has quite a bit going for him but what he is not is a key position defender and the Metro coaches did him no favours playing him there as often as they did at the Champs often at FB. He has played as a close checking defender for most of the year averaging only 13.8 disposals per game in the TAC. He has shown himself capable of playing tall or short in the TAC but realistically I think he will play on medium forwards in the AFL.

Dick’s main selling feature is his speed. Over 20m he timed in the top 10 at Combine with a 2.88 sec time. His 30m repeat sprint time was a bit down on that kind of result but it was still pretty good. In games situations Dick certainly plays to his speed using it to close down opposition players when defending and to run away from the opposition when attacking. He is a little manic with his speed in attack, liking to get out and try and break the lines and take on tacklers. This can be to his detriment as he does run himself into trouble a bit. He has a bit of a change of direction that he likes to use when deciding where to run but once he is up and going he is not the most evasive player in the world. He is quick certainly and if he gets away he is not going to be caught but he will be nailed a fair bit at the next level whilst he learns that trying to bust through tackles is going to result in frees going against you a fair bit.

I noticed Dick taking quite a lot of the kick ins for Metro and I have to say I did not understand that. He is a reasonably accurate kick but not particularly long. Further I would classify his decision making with the ball in hand as being fairly poor. He turned quite a lot of ball over and if not turned over resulted in the receiver being under pressure. He is also prone to leave the ball hang in the air a bit too much and allow the attacker to make a play on it. Mostly though his actual kicks are fine it is just the decision about where to kick it that makes you wince. On the other side of the skills equation I like his long handball skills. He can get out a really nice quick long handball when needed and that will set his man away. He uses his handballs quite a bit when he has the chance and loves to sprint and receive back. During the Champs in one play I noticed him receive and handball off three times sprinting the whole time from half back up onto the wing. That is the kind of things clubs will be keen to exploit.

Dick is a pretty recent basketball convert and does not really have a great feel for where to run to receive at the moment. He is not a high possession winner and given he won’t be a key position at the next level he needs to become more of an option going forward. With his pace he could be very dangerous in that kind of role but he needs some serious coaching about how to exploit that aspect of his game. His endurance will certainly need some work and this will help but he tested reasonably for endurance at the Combine and had the engine to be getting more of it than he has to date.

Another strength of Dick’s game is his marking. He tested well in the jumping at the Combine and uses that in games situations nicely. He generally likes to have his man in front of him and he uses his body really well to control the contest and watches the ball into the hands exceptionally well. His hands are soft and he controls the ball coming in really nicely. When the ball hits the decks he is quick to react and has really clean hands being able to collect and go before others react. He won the clean hands test at the Combine and personally I really like a one touch player in the backline as it just tends to relieve so much pressure if you are not fumbling the ball and giving the attacker time to make a play on you or the ball.

Defensively Dick is pretty good on guys close to his size. He struggled on a few of the really big blokes at the Champs but when he had a fighting chance he used his pace and strength to blanket them pretty well. He got caught out of position a few times but his pace allowed him to shut down the danger quickly. Against the big guys though he really had no idea what to do and was letting them mark the ball too easily and getting nowhere near it with the spoils.

Dick has not been super impressive this year but he does have a collection of skills and abilities that I think will intrigue a few teams and I expect someone to pick him up.
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Carlton signs Matthew Dick, confident in age-gap filling recruiting strategy

Dick arrives targeting a Round 1 debut after two years at the Swans where he couldn’t break into a strong line-up.

“To be honest I want to play Round 1. That’s where my head is at the moment and it would be a great honour,” Dick told the Carlton website.

“But if I have to wait a bit longer obviously that’s what it will take. But I’m very excited about next year and hopefully it does come as soon as possible.”

McKay said the club had been watching the Victorian for some time — enthused by his speed and ball use — and see him playing multiple positions.

“We looked at who was on the edge and who wasn’t quite getting a game and who we could get some benefit from and his name came up a number of times,” he said.

“He’s got a good, penetrating kick and good leg speed and they are the two key ingredients we want to improve in.”
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Carlton signs Matthew Dick, confident in age-gap filling recruiting strategy
 
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Matt wants to take on Tigers

"It's very exciting – this Club's got a great history and hopefully I do get the chance to play, it would mean a lot,” he said.

"I've (just) got to get my body in shape, avoid injuries and put myself in contention for Round One."
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Matt wants to take on Tigers

Good on him for wanting to hit the ground running and setting that goal for himself.

At this stage I wouldn't have him in my lineup for round 1 but MM won't shy away from picking players who impress throughout the preseason.

Put his best foot forward and there's no real reason why he can't feature against Richmond.
 
HARKER said:
Just can't see it.

Dick is OK going backwards but not so much going forwards.............................Oh boy, how does that read?
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I dunno bout his chances. I see others in more trouble like the forwards & mids, we were screaming out for someone to demand a mid & fwd spot but none really stood up. The defence on the other hand all season was relatively settled & had Simmo & doc playing standout football. I think playing in bullants defence he's perhaps been under the pump more as the players around haven't been up to it. I reckon the coaches would see the whole picture of who's around him etc.
 
ctacp said:
I dunno bout his chances. I see others in more trouble like the forwards & mids, we were screaming out for someone to demand a mid & fwd spot but none really stood up. The defence on the other hand all season was relatively settled & had Simmo & doc playing standout football. I think playing in bullants defence he's perhaps been under the pump more as the players around haven't been up to it. I reckon the coaches would see the whole picture of who's around him etc.
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His skills aren't good enough to deliver into traffic, which he's going to have to do quite a bit at AFL level unless he bottles the footy and kills our time in possession.

He's gone, which is unfortunate because he had everything else going for him. The least we can all do is get this thread to a second page.
 
Jimmae said:
His skills aren't good enough to deliver into traffic, which he's going to have to do quite a bit at AFL level unless he bottles the footy and kills our time in possession.

He's gone, which is unfortunate because he had everything else going for him. The least we can all do is get this thread to a second page.
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Do you know something for sure is it your opinion?
 

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ctacp said:
Do you know something for sure is it your opinion?
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Whether he's gone? I don't know for certain.

He's out of contract, he's not improved since he got in the door, and I'm just making the logical conclusion. Fair play to the bloke though he gave it a crack.
 
Jimmae said:
Whether he's gone? I don't know for certain.

He's out of contract, he's not improved since he got in the door, and I'm just making the logical conclusion. Fair play to the bloke though he gave it a crack.
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If he doesn't survive, I wonder how many kids with good prospects haven't made it more so because of our poor coaching etc over the last few years rather than a deficiency? Kids get picked for a reason but sometimes it feels like we kill them so to speak & can't bring them on.
 
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