Player Watch #27 Thomson Dow Re-Signed until 2025

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Kane Lambert was a late bloomer. There's been others.

I suppose I was more referring to guys drafted at 18. I am sure there are examples, but most midfielders who are good have normally shown a fair bit more in their first 4 seasons. I am hopeful about Dow rather than confident.
 
Michael Tuck

Tuck played his first full season the same year he turned 21, 1974, his 4th season at Hawthorn. He had played 16 games prior to 1974.

Dow is entering his 5th year at Richmond and has already turned 22. He has played 17 games, so he is at best just under 2 years behind Tuck.

It is too late for the Dow futures index. I am a bit bearish on Dow. It really is Dow or never. I will collect my jacket. :)
 
Tuck played his first full season the same year he turned 21, 1974, his 4th season at Hawthorn. He had played 16 games prior to 1974.

Dow is entering his 5th year at Richmond and has already turned 22. He has played 17 games, so he is at best just under 2 years behind Tuck.

It is too late for the Dow futures index. I am a bit bearish on Dow. It really is Dow or never. I will collect my jacket. :)
and michael tuck was battler too
 
and michael tuck was battler too

Yep never amounted to much, zero B & F's. His greatest claim to fame is that he was 6 positions above the 7th most successful footballer in his family, AKA Gary Ablett Snr.

7 flags M Tuck, Hawthorn
2 flags Geoff Ablett, Richmond + played a little bit with Hawks. G Ablett Jnr Suns, plus a little bit with Cats
1 flag Len Ablett, Richmond. Luke Ablett, Swans. Nafan Ablett, Suns, little bit with Cats as well.

0 flags and therefore the 7th most successful footballer in his family, Gary Ablett Snr. Aka, 7th most successful footballer in his family.
 
How many precedents to a player being well off the pace for 4 years then commences cutting the mustard?
Not sure that's a fair assesment, drafted in the middle of a dynasty so was always unlikely to crack into that team, then missed a lot of key development in reserves footy with the COVID disruptions in very important early years.

Now that's settled, he's coming good.
 

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Not sure that's a fair assesment, drafted in the middle of a dynasty so was always unlikely to crack into that team, then missed a lot of key development in reserves footy with the COVID disruptions in very important early years.

Now that's settled, he's coming good.

Hopefully that is right.

The selectors will no doubt be looking at the defensive side of Thomson's game, and his ability to get the ball advancing in a forward direction and into a team-mate's hands. Without marked improvement in those areas, he is a bit like a Crouch Brother without the body strength.
 
How many precedents to a player being well off the pace for 4 years then commences cutting the mustard?
Not many come to mind. But I really haven’t looked into it to any depth TBH. However it can take some 3-5 to get physically developed & the confidence to genuinely feel they belong and to me he was showing some good signs toward the end last year. Guess we’ll see…
 
Not many come to mind. But I really haven’t looked into it to any depth TBH. However it can take some 3-5 to get physically developed & the confidence to genuinely feel they belong and to me he was showing some good signs toward the end last year. Guess we’ll see…

That is definitely the hope with Thomson.

They weren't midfielders like Dow, but I recall Menadue and Markov, who were similarly lightly framed, both developed into really good VFL players who didn't look out of place at AFL level by the time they were 22-23 like Dow is now. But neither of those quite made it with us. For Dow it might just come down to which side of that line he is on between making it and not quite making it.
 
That is definitely the hope with Thomson.

They weren't midfielders like Dow, but I recall Menadue and Markov, who were similarly lightly framed, both developed into really good VFL players who didn't look out of place at AFL level by the time they were 22-23 like Dow is now. But neither of those quite made it with us. For Dow it might just come down to which side of that line he is on between making it and not quite making it.
Although Markov won a flag at the pies.
 
Although Markov won a flag at the pies.

Sure, but it was a gimp flag. He didn't quite get involved in our elite flags where we had the highest Grand Final percentage of any team in history across 2 or more Grand Finals within a 5 year period. 222%. The Pies gimp flag under 105% not even half as good as our flags DK. Much higher standard required to get a game in a Tiger flag. :)
 
Sure, but it was a gimp flag. He didn't quite get involved in our elite flags where we had the highest Grand Final percentage of any team in history across 2 or more Grand Finals within a 5 year period. 222%. The Pies gimp flag under 105% not even half as good as our flags DK. Much higher standard required to get a game in a Tiger flag. :)
Yeah I know. Townsend won a flag with us but was going through a purple patch at the time. His form over his whole career suggests he was a very good VFL player but couldn't convert that to AFL form.
 
Sure, but it was a gimp flag. He didn't quite get involved in our elite flags where we had the highest Grand Final percentage of any team in history across 2 or more Grand Finals within a 5 year period. 222%. The Pies gimp flag under 105% not even half as good as our flags DK. Much higher standard required to get a game in a Tiger flag. :)
umpires flag
 
Yeah I know. Townsend won a flag with us but was going through a purple patch at the time. His form over his whole career suggests he was a very good VFL player but couldn't convert that to AFL form.

Goatsend one of only 29 men in history to play in a flag for a team with the highest % of any team to play in 2 or more Grand Finals within a 5 year period DK.

To put this in its proper historical context:

The Charge of the Light Brigade had the six-hundred.

The Spartans had the three-hundred.

The Alamo had the one hundred and eigthy-five.

Each and every man of which have been immortalised.

Richmond FC in its historic greatest ever Grand Final run had the even more select twenty-nine. I call them simply the twenty-nine. Jacob Townsend is one of those. :hearteyes:
 

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Player Watch #27 Thomson Dow Re-Signed until 2025

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