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Thomson Dow
- Thread starter fastin bulbous
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More involved after Hopper went off, though maybe that was just because the game turned into stoppage-open play.
He was dynamic around the packs in the 2nd half and was good at scooping the loose ground ball.
As Juffa said he had an interesting role.
We need the strong hopper-type mid plus the agile dow type.
Improved.
He was dynamic around the packs in the 2nd half and was good at scooping the loose ground ball.
As Juffa said he had an interesting role.
We need the strong hopper-type mid plus the agile dow type.
Improved.
Dow really needs a Taranto/ Hopper/ Prestia type around him to perform at his best. Without them his body is too small to compete well with the larger bodied players. I liked his game tonight and wonder if the exposure he gets in 2024 will be enough for him to build the belief that he belongs and can become an effective midfielder long term for us. I'm still not sure.
Played a great game in a very exposed midfield unit against strong opposition.
Did some good defensive work too - saved a couple of goals with a great run down tackle, and that desperate defensive spoil running back.
Still has flaws to work on, but he’s contributing a lot more than plenty of others.
Did some good defensive work too - saved a couple of goals with a great run down tackle, and that desperate defensive spoil running back.
Still has flaws to work on, but he’s contributing a lot more than plenty of others.
Was good in patches. Also had 8 tackles. I'm still a way off being convinced but he was one of our better players last night.
Has a habit of handballing into trouble, when he should be kicking.
Showing good signs of progress.
It's a hard season to watch but great to see the kids getting games and showing why they were drafted
Showing good signs of progress.
It's a hard season to watch but great to see the kids getting games and showing why they were drafted
Until last night's level becomes the standard jury gonna be out. But yeah gotta admit progress has been made. If only his kicking was as good as his hands. In and under shouldnt be his go anyway. It's getting to the outside sometimes freakily. Needs muscle around him.
A big problem I see is that he relies so heavily on handball as his preferred choice of disposal and unless you're Greg Williams or Dale Weightman, your effect on games is going to have a limited ceiling.
He had a number of chances to kick and instead delayed it and changed to a forced handball as he just doesn't have enough confidence in his kicking.
He had a number of chances to kick and instead delayed it and changed to a forced handball as he just doesn't have enough confidence in his kicking.
Needs more time, which he will get. I can see him making it. Needs that experience when to handball to right position and players around need to understand his patterns. waiting for his handball. Well done Thompson.
Thats was certainly noticeable yesterday, when he could kick and was under pressure, at least 2 or 3 times, he handballed no more than 2m to another player who was immediately tackled.
Dow had a lot of the ball around the forward arc, a lot of twisting and turning looking for someone to handball to, yeah a good game but i am convinced if he wasn't so *smile* scared of kicking the footy that he may have been able to spot up someone inside 50 himself.
Right there is the biggest issue with Dow.
His 1 wood is winning the ball and handballing but at AFL level he's not big enough to be able to do that consistently, and rack up 15 contested possessions in a game. His body screams outside runner, but his fitness isn't a strength (still only in the low 70's TOG at 22 years old, and either with his kicking being weak, or his reluctance to kick, he prefers to handball, he hasn't had a game yet where he has had more kicks than handballs, you can't make it as a midfielder without kicking the ball UNLESS you are a big in and under player like Rowell, that will just keep winning it at the source recently.
He's bits of this player, bits of that and whilst last night was a much improved display, I still have massive question marks of his role in the team going forwards.
Dow is a loose ball swooper. When the ball is on the ground and no one's standing over it, he can beat everyone to it. Swoop, depart, release. Blink of an eye. But can he do anything else? His reluctance to kick or burst through a hole he often opens himself, instead handballing sideways/backwards to a hot teammate must change.
Perfect summary.
Gets the ball when it's in the open
Looks quality but can't kick to save himself.
And panics handballs.
Wouldnt/shouldn't Ziebel be teaching him??
Yeah this is so obvious Spook. The space opens up for him based on his lateral movement but he refuses to take the grass. His first option is the sideways hand pass.
I put it down to a confidence thing. Probably due to his lack of kicking ability.
But we have come this far and we have seen gradual improvement. Just got to persist now.
