Player Watch #27 Thomson Dow - signed to 2024

[Bobby Sands]

I have no idea what to make of this selection other than he is now a Tiger & my blind optimism says he will now be an inside beast with hands of silk. They will make him live with Shedda, just to learn the weave.

 

[A Banderas]

Still, it took Shedda years and years to become the player he is now.

i thought he was a spud until like 2013

 

[tugga]

i thought he was a spud until like 2013

So did I.
And rance was an embarrassment for the first three years.
We used to go just to have laff.

 

[Heisenberg_]

How good is this?

 

[fargothegreat]

How good is this?

They seem genuinely surprised, and very excited.

 

[Dr Tigris]

How good is this?

Happy to be drafted. But "Richmond, Richmond, I can't believe it". They are very happy with the club of choice.

 

[Spacedog]

Anyone else see a bit of Shane Edwards in his highlights video? It looks like he has really clean hands in traffic

 

[A Banderas]

How good is this?

looks like the other kid has been locked in his room cos he plays for irrelevant carlspoon

 

[Heisenberg_]

looks like the other kid has been locked in his room cos he plays for irrelevant carlspoon

They have a son who doesn’t bring shame to the family now.

 

[Dr Tigris]

Looked at what videos I can find.

That agility/step/whatever!!!! He is amazing in how he can move in tiny spaces. Makes Shai looks clumsy!. Even when being tackled he can position himself to have that extra space and time. It's not power like RCD last year, it's body smarts and agility. That is way beyond normal AFL level.

Great hands. Gets them free and hits people running to advantage at weird angles. Once again already beyond AFL level.

Amazing burst speed and leap. No problems with athleticism.

Kicking - drop looks a bit weird. Kicks shown were good - as expected. Nothing amazing.

Not afraid on contact in the clips. Always seemed to provide the block after his disposal. So good there. He's skinny but looks to have plenty of body to build into.

Looking glass half full there is some incredible stuff to work with. I guess they had a good hard look and thought this potential is hard to find, lets grab him. Like Sheds in terms of hands and ability to get through space. Unlike Sheds in terms of height, athleticism and marking. If the development team can use Sheda's experiences to speed up his development we've got something special here. But he also looks speculative. Interesting. Very similar to RCD last year. A grade potential, but a lot of development needed.

 

[Sir_Loin]

Anyone else see a bit of Shane Edwards in his highlights video? It looks like he has really clean hands in traffic

that’s the mail. Super quick hands. Gets a chance to learn off Jedi Master Shedda for a few years.

 

[Heisenberg_]

looks like the other kid has been locked in his room cos he plays for irrelevant carlspoon

I haven’t looked yet, but you can sort of hear it and I thought myself last night when they were talking before our pick the fox team were talking about every kid would have been desperate to be called out with our pick for out on field success, off field powerhouse and we’ve got the happiest group in the league that has fun.
* would have been some pretty good salt from oppo flogs at that point

 

[Nebular]

i thought he was a spud until like 2013

Yeah but you don't know s**t tho

 

[CaptchaProofBot]

here's Really Average and Kickit Tome gasbagging on...I've cut out the foreplay and jumped straight to the money shot:

Dow.mp4

MP4 File

1drv.ms

 

[Lsta062]

Looked at what videos I can find.

That agility/step/whatever!!!! He is amazing in how he can move in tiny spaces. Makes Shai looks clumsy!. Even when being tackled he can position himself to have that extra space and time. It's not power like RCD last year, it's body smarts and agility. That is way beyond normal AFL level.

Great hands. Gets them free and hits people running to advantage at weird angles. Once again already beyond AFL level.

Amazing burst speed and leap. No problems with athleticism.

Kicking - drop looks a bit weird. Kicks shown were good - as expected. Nothing amazing.

Not afraid on contact in the clips. Always seemed to provide the block after his disposal. So good there. He's skinny but looks to have plenty of body to build into.

Looking glass half full there is some incredible stuff to work with. I guess they had a good hard look and thought this potential is hard to find, lets grab him. Like Sheds in terms of hands and ability to get through space. Unlike Sheds in terms of height, athleticism and marking. If the development team can use Sheda's experiences to speed up his development we've got something special here. But he also looks speculative. Interesting. Very similar to RCD last year. A grade potential, but a lot of development needed.

His speed is great. It’ll help a lot on a ground like the MCG.

Although not that necessary for a player his height, I wonder what’ll happen with his size. We don’t have the best track record in turning players into big-bodied mids but with his pace perhaps size may not be the best thing for him

 

[GoTigers2015]

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

Plus we re in the enviable position where we can warehouse players for 12-18m to really develop at vfl. There’s already a queue so it suits . He has the qualities that suggest to me he was very much a targeted selection

This.Early reports on Fraser Turner has comeback real positive.Really like the concept of getting kids that are underageish and give them time to develop.
Tu

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

Robertson looked like a cry baby last night. A bit of a me me me, "mummy why didn't I get picked?" type of character. Not a Richmond man

Perfect Dangerflog understudy.

 

[Lsta062]

One thing that I like about this pick is that it’s probably a project midfielder. We’ve taken a couple of immediate impact type midfielders like Ross, Graham and Pickett recently but we need more of the RCD and Dow types with potentially high ceilings.

Not saying that he’ll end up a star but at least I can see the club’s choice from that aspect. He also has his brother as a mentor who’s been drafted to the AFL recently so he has plenty of support available.

 

[Heisenberg_]

This.Early reports on Fraser Turner has comeback real positive.Really like the concept of getting kids that are underageish and give them time to develop.
Tu

Developing their game in the VFL will work our brilliant in the end rather then playing out of position in the AFL

 

[HeadandShin]

here's Really Average and Kickit Tome gasbagging on...I've cut out the foreplay and jumped straight to the money shot:

Dow.mp4

MP4 File

1drv.ms

And the only reason he has for saying that Richmond was interested in Philp is that Carlton were adamant that we were. Investigative journalism at its best.

 

[Muddiemoose]

And the only reason he has for saying that Richmond was interested in Philp is that Carlton were adamant that we were. Investigative journalism at its best.

Love how none of them are touching the fact carlton clearly wanted dekoning with that pick

Looks on the rooms face when cats picked him up says it all

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

Think both these post really highlight a discussion I was having with a Hawks supporting friend whom I watched the Draft with.

Firstly, the team that is selecting the player has a massive influence on the type of player selected. There is more leeway with a team like Richmond than say Gold Coast as they can afford to take a player that has a longer scope for development. They are more in as position to take a higher upside guy with a longer development timeframe than a ready to go but lower upside player. I see Gould and Robertson as more ready to go but far lower upside.

Secondly, it seems as if teams are starting to promote upside over ready made players when it comes to the second tier guys in the draft. Jack Higgins fell. As did guys like Rhys Matheson. I think guys who do Phantom Drafts haven’t come around to that line of thinking. Case in point - Matt Balmer said he expected the picks in his mock to be the top 20 in some order. This has proved not to be the case.

I personally would have selected Worrell, but I certainly am not disappointed that Robertson or Gould weren’t selected. Lower risk but definitely lower reward.

Excellent post.

 

[rowlingsdevsqd]

It's more about having a point of difference that I'm thinking about. Don't want to end up like Melbourne with 20 of the same player

I’d happily have 20 dusty’s


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

What i really like about this draft selection is that it proves to us that our recruitment team has a clear eye on the future structure of the club rather than just aiming for the now. When you start to see what players we have drafted recently and where they fit across the ground, you can see that our recruiters are making sure we have diversity of talent and roles developing. Dow is another example of this.

Last year we drafted, inside midfielder bulls who can win the contested ball and bulldoze their way through congestion and into space. Dow is not that type of midfielder. Dow is the type of player who wins the balls, somehow spots a player in space and handballs to them before the opposition even registers what has happened. Based on his highlights, he really does have that Edwards-eque skill set.

Dow is the sort of player that makes other around him better. He's the type of player who won't ever shine, gain all the pulpits or get 40 possessions. He's the type that all his team mates love to play with, the type that is a important cog in the machine.

Let's not tar him with the same brush as his brother or expect him to be the next star in our team in his first season - we are not that type of club or supporter group any more. Dow will become an important player for us in the future and he has a skill set we value and which makes a uniquely powerful club. Many of our premiership players were not even taken in the draft yet our recruiters still saw something in them that the other clubs did not. This is what makes us Richmond. This is what makes us the best. Dow is just another example of this.

✔ of approval