Richard Douglas Progress..........

[FAITH]

Hi guys, please dont bite my head off with what Im about to say.

I dont understand why everyone is saying that Douglas had a great game on Sat night, and that he will be the big improver this year.

Im a bit concerned with his development. His first year at the club was excellent. But last year and so far this year it almost seems as though he has lost pase and agility. Once again he hasnt bulked up enough to avoid tackles and to make consistent tackles.

Just a little concerned, he is obviously too good for SANFL, but no where near good enough for AFL (YET!).

My views are that he needs to bulk up and hopefully becomes similar to the manner Akermanis played for Brisbane.

Peoples Thoughts?

Once again please dont bite my head off, its just my observation.

 

[-VC-]

*bites FAITH's head off*

 

[Ad76]

Hi guys, please dont bite my head off with what Im about to say.

I dont understand why everyone is saying that Douglas had a great game on Sat night, and that he will be the big improver this year.

Im a bit concerned with his development. His first year at the club was excellent. But last year and so far this year it almost seems as though he has lost pase and agility. Once again he hasnt bulked up enough to avoid tackles and to make consistent tackles.

Just a little concerned, he is obviously too good for SANFL, but no where near good enough for AFL (YET!).

My views are that he needs to bulk up and hopefully becomes similar to the manner Akermanis played for Brisbane.

Peoples Thoughts?

Once again please dont bite my head off, its just my observation.

I think there were a few around with high expectations for him early, which were inflated by some good SANFL showings. I'd expect to see him follow a similar path to Reilly (who i think is set for a big year), in taking a while to build confidence and cement a spot at AFL level.
It's only his 3rd season, and for mine he's definitely shown enough to suggest that he's going to make a good little AFL player.

 

[Divado]

DO you think he will play 10-15 games this year? I can see him being a very solid midfielder but i think he will take time. One thing he doesn't lack is desire and work ethic so i he will be fine.

 

[The Crows Truth]

Hi guys, please dont bite my head off with what Im about to say.

I dont understand why everyone is saying that Douglas had a great game on Sat night, and that he will be the big improver this year.

Im a bit concerned with his development. His first year at the club was excellent. But last year and so far this year it almost seems as though he has lost pase and agility. Once again he hasnt bulked up enough to avoid tackles and to make consistent tackles.

Just a little concerned, he is obviously too good for SANFL, but no where near good enough for AFL (YET!).

My views are that he needs to bulk up and hopefully becomes similar to the manner Akermanis played for Brisbane.

Peoples Thoughts?

Once again please dont bite my head off, its just my observation.

look i partially agree - except with the aker comparison which isnt relevant to me

i dont think he will have the same sort of impact as say vb and knights had in their 3rd yr at the club (ie last yr). douglas has never really grabbed an afl game by the scuff of its neck - is that ability or opportunities or confidence - time will tell. i do think he has shown enough to think he could become a regular over the next couple of yrs but i am not sure he will ever be a top 10 player at the club. he doesnt appear to get enough of the pill - thats my main concern but does have pretty good skills. i mentioned in vinces locker room yesterday that he seems to be have jumped clearly ahead of douglas in the pecking order IMO (as he probably should as he is older)

dougies defensive game was a highlight the other day - numerous tackles and the spoil that gave mcleod the last qtr goal

 

[WaynesWorld19]

Again maybe everyones expectation of draftees continues to be a little unrealistic ..........into his third year and of his type of build and player IMO his progress is fine.

Acker was very thin in his early years and in/out of the side with no-one really predicting too much for him.

Edwards followed a similar path.

Very few draftees make an impact this early unless they have some freakish skills............as the media and us hype up the draft each year so our expectations are also hyped up.

IMO a player at 22 or 23 should be on the cusp ........Reilly at 24 probably reflects the average age when you start to get "consistent" returns in games.

Douglas is travelling OK ......just needs to get more comfortable on the field and realise he can be a good AFL footballer

 

[Drummond]

Again maybe everyones expectation of draftees continues to be a little unrealistic ..........into his third year and of his type of build and player IMO his progress is fine.

Acker was very thin in his early years and in/out of the side with no-one really predicting too much for him.

Edwards followed a similar path.

Very few draftees make an impact this early unless they have some freakish skills............as the media and us hype up the draft each year so our expectations are also hyped up.

IMO a player at 22 or 23 should be on the cusp ........Reilly at 24 probably reflects the average age when you start to get "consistent" returns in games.

Douglas is travelling OK ......just needs to get more comfortable on the field and realise he can be a good AFL footballer

328 possessions and 32 goals in 21 games as a 19 year old, Aker was absolutely miles ahead of Douglas at the same age.

So you think his build is good for that of a 3rd year player? Look at Knights and VB last year, they were huge and probably at a level they can stay at for the entire careers. Douglas still needs to add another 5kg, how many years will we need to keep saying this? Probably every year because it will always be a problem, he seemingly has an inability to bulk up. He’s obviously trying, and I read that he arrived at the club a week before they were expected, but the bottom line is that he’s heading into another year below his preferred weight. Concerning? You bet.

Despite the very exciting performances of many youngsters last week Douglas was still the same old, some good pieces of play in an otherwise mediocre game. I don't have great expectations.

 

[J-Ro-20]

your right mate. he still needs a fair bit of developing to do.

but what a great opportunity he will have this year. In a young side set to develop its youngsters Douglas will have much more game time than he had in previous seasons.

good luck to him

 

[Wallace]

Its not often that i agree with Drummond (i.e. my lack of faith that Cambell will be on the crows olist this time next year), but I agree with his comments on Douglas. Undersized, slow midfielder midfielder that doesnt have the strength to break tackes or consistently stick them on others.

Also is a terrible sight when he tries to juke an opposition player multiple times and ends up stopping or back turning as he doesnt have pace to burn around them.

Will struggle to become an average AFL player at best. Equally likely he wont last on the crows list

 

[Porps_is_HOT_loz]

I agree.
I have been telling everyone that I dont think that he should become part of the midfield this year..

Another year or two he will be a star

 

[Tiger07]

Dont be to worried about Ritchies progress. He has silky skills, an amazing work ethic and with confidence will come more possesions. Whilst his size seems to be a talking point, it doesnt effect his attack on the ball, or his ability to hold an opponent in a tackle. As to why he is being compared with the progress of Akermanis I'm not quite sure? Totally different type of player!

 

[Southerntakeover]

Will struggle to become an average AFL player at best. Equally likely he wont last on the crows list

What?!

Thats madness.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

328 possessions and 32 goals in 21 games as a 19 year old, Aker was absolutely miles ahead of Douglas at the same age.
So you think his build is good for that of a 3rd year player? Look at Knights and VB last year, they were huge and probably at a level they can stay at for the entire careers. Douglas still needs to add another 5kg, how many years will we need to keep saying this? Probably every year because it will always be a problem, he seemingly has an inability to bulk up. He’s obviously trying, and I read that he arrived at the club a week before they were expected, but the bottom line is that he’s heading into another year below his preferred weight. Concerning? You bet.

Despite the very exciting performances of many youngsters last week Douglas was still the same old, some good pieces of play in an otherwise mediocre game. I don't have great expectations.

When will people learn that stats are not the bible of performance.

Yes I do think his build is heading right direction ........he's certainly bigger than last season looking at some of the PS images.

Unless we see his current weight that's likely to be open to debate as we know the stats on the AFC website are not 100% accurate.

Van Berlo huge ? ........that's a bit exaggerated .......Knights has a muscular body when drafted so comparisons are not appropriate.

Not sure what you expect from a 3rd year player .......hell he has only played one game and already you have "labelled" him.

You did the same to Sellar last year .........but not once did you say Meesen was under-weight and he more than anyone suffered from a lack of upper body strength for the position he played.

You can be very inconsistent with your comments sometimes ?

 

[Drummond]

When will people learn that stats are not the bible of performance.

Care to backpedal any more? Good for you if you feel stats are unimportant, but choosing to ignore them in this case is just flat out wrong. So despite the fact he averaged 16 possessions and 1.5 goals per game when he was 2 years younger than Douglas, it’s not worth discussing?

Yes I do think his build is heading right direction ........he's certainly bigger than last season looking at some of the PS images.

Bigger? Yes. Big enough? Not even close.

Unless we see his current weight that's likely to be open to debate as we know the stats on the AFC website are not 100% accurate.

Was the picture quality from Dubai that bad that we can’t form opinions?

Van Berlo huge ? ........that's a bit exaggerated .......Knights has a muscular body when drafted so comparisons are not appropriate.

Yeh?

Not sure what you expect from a 3rd year player .......hell he has only played one game and already you have "labelled" him.

You did the same to Sellar last year .........but not once did you say Meesen was under-weight and he more than anyone suffered from a lack of upper body strength for the position he played.

You can be very inconsistent with your comments sometimes ?

Meesen was underweight for a ruckman, as is Griffin. No denying that, I said that many times.

 

[Ticktak]

Dont be to worried about Ritchies progress. He has silky skills, an amazing work ethic and with confidence will come more possesions. Whilst his size seems to be a talking point, it doesnt effect his attack on the ball, or his ability to hold an opponent in a tackle. As to why he is being compared with the progress of Akermanis I'm not quite sure? Totally different type of player!

Totally agree. He will make it.

 

[Southerntakeover]

Bigger? Yes. Big enough? Not even close.

Can you qualify a) exactly how big he is and b) how big you feel he needs to be to play AFL football?

 

[macca23]

Despite the very exciting performances of many youngsters last week Douglas was still the same old, some good pieces of play in an otherwise mediocre game. I don't have great expectations.

But you do for Campbell??

IMO Douglas will have a much more illustrious AFL career than Campbell.

 

[Drummond]

Can you qualify a) exactly how big he is and b) how big you feel he needs to be to play AFL football?

A). He was listed at 74kg last season, he said he's put on about 3kg, which means he's roughly 77kg. B) I'd like to see him up around 82kg.

But you do for Campbell??

IMO Douglas will have a much more illustrious AFL career than Campbell.

Gee macca, one taken 16th overall straight out of the TAC Cup, the other a mture aged, 78th selection after 3 years in the SANFL. You would hope Douglas would have a more illustrious career.

 

[macca23]

Gee macca, one taken 16th overall straight out of the TAC Cup, the other a mture aged, 78th selection after 3 years in the SANFL. You would hope Douglas would have a more illustrious career.

Agreed.

So why do you pump up Campbell's tyres and put down Douglas?

 

[Truck Rutten]

Drummond if you're obsessed with players physiques so much, why aren't you harping on about vB's legs? Look at them in that photo, they're puny. Get him out of the team until he can build them up to Truck like proportions.

Douglas's build is coming along fine. In fact in relative terms I'd say he's bulked up more than vB has. vB is still a bit of a stick instect with muscles attached.

 

[Jars458]

Thought Douglas had an average game at best on Saturday night. By example he dropped a mark he would have swallowed two years ago. His progress hasn't bee as I would have liked however its very ealry on in this year so the jury is still out.

Not sure he will ever be a "star" but will be more of the solid reliable type. More of a Mark Bickely than a Simon Goodwin say but not to that level.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

I think there were a few around with high expectations for him early, which were inflated by some good SANFL showings. I'd expect to see him follow a similar path to Reilly (who i think is set for a big year), in taking a while to build confidence and cement a spot at AFL level.
It's only his 3rd season, and for mine he's definitely shown enough to suggest that he's going to make a good little AFL player.

Good post.

de javu with posters writing off Reilly a few seasons back. Need to be realistic with expectations.

I have seen enough of Douglas at SANFL level to be confident that he has the class to succeed at AFL level.

 

[-CG-]

I love watching Richard Douglas play He's a real 'lively' player, always in on the action type of thing. I'm expecting him to play the majority of games this season. As I've mentioned before, I saw him a lot in the SANFL finals last year and he looked very promising. Last Saturday, well, I'd admit he wasn't a stand out, but that was the first game for the year!

 

[betterthanu]

He was so destructive in the clearances for Glenelg in last years finals. Very very impressive. He just needs to find his feet at AFL level. Look at Vince last year. Couldn't adapt to AFL level but after that game on Saturday it looks like he finally has that belief. Douglas has all the attributes to be a gun for the crows and will be.

 

[MickyCrow]

He was so destructive in the clearances for Glenelg in last years finals. Very very impressive. He just needs to find his feet at AFL level. Look at Vince last year. Couldn't adapt to AFL level but after that game on Saturday it looks like he finally has that belief. Douglas has all the attributes to be a gun for the crows and will be.

My opinion, for what its worth, which admittedly isnt a great deal, is that Douglas will play around 15 games this year, be around the mark and then explode in 2010. Just a gut feeling