Player Watch #27 Thomson Dow

[tigs2010]

Opened this thread and got distracted and came back was reading the comments and it's sad I could have been in any number of 10 player threads

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

McAuliffe should be playing ahead of him.

But he is not!

 

[Coach_Required]

Needs to be playing VFL. Has had a good enough stint in the seniors so needs to be omitted.
McAuliffe should be given his senior spot.

 

[RockJobster0312]

McAuliffe should be playing ahead of him.

Dow isn’t what is impacting McAuliffe’s playing time. It’s his lack of an aerobic capacity (which in no way is unexpected of an inside mid in year 1) which is his biggest issue.

Last two games McAuliffe played without being the sub (Bombers and Cats) he had the lowest TOG% of any mid.

If he does get dropped for Hopper (which I would favour so he can get a full game in the VFL); that will be the reason. Very little if anything to do with Dow.

 

[Danog]

Dow isn’t what is impacting McAuliffe’s playing time. It’s his lack of an aerobic capacity (which in no way is unexpected of an inside mid in year 1) which is his biggest issue.

Last two games McAuliffe played without being the sub (Bombers and Cats) he had the lowest TOG% of any mid.

If he does get dropped for Hopper (which I would favour so he can get a full game in the VFL); that will be the reason. Very little if anything to do with Dow.

A young player has trouble being match fit for full AFL games? I know! Let's play him for 20 minutes each week, which does nothing at all for his aerobic capacity.

Genius by the coaching staff.

 

[RockJobster0312]

A young player has trouble being match fit for full AFL games? I know! Let's play him for 20 minutes each week, which does nothing at all for his aerobic capacity.

Genius by the coaching staff.

It’s near on impossible to improve aerobic capacity within a season. That’s what a targeted off-season is for.

Between playing the game on the weekend and training multiple times a week and associated recovery you simply aren’t going to get the opportunity to get the loads in to improve your aerobic capacity.

 

[tiger_tough]

Dow isn’t what is impacting McAuliffe’s playing time. It’s his lack of an aerobic capacity (which in no way is unexpected of an inside mid in year 1) which is his biggest issue.

Last two games McAuliffe played without being the sub (Bombers and Cats) he had the lowest TOG% of any mid.

If he does get dropped for Hopper (which I would favour so he can get a full game in the VFL); that will be the reason. Very little if anything to do with Dow.

We're still better off pumping games into a less fit McAuliffe than we are a list clogger Dow.

 

[RockJobster0312]

We're still better off pumping games into a less fit McAuliffe than we are a list clogger Dow.

There is absolutely zero evidence that says that by pumping games into players at AFL level their development will be better and/or expedited. Frankly the whole ‘get them to 50 games’ argument which always gets trotted out should be disregarded as a player development strategy.

The question is simply what is best for player development. That may be that McAuliffe in year one sees time as the sub, interspersed with games in the VFL and AFL, getting exposure to the highest level, but also being in an environment where he’s going to be the #1 mid within games.

McAuliffe will be a very good player, so let’s make sure he’s on the best possible path to success.

 

[_RT_]

Thought I'd address some of the criticisms leveled at Dow

He can't kick and his ball use is horrible are a couple of the common criticisms. Dow goes at 62% by foot, while not great is better than Taranto Hopper Prestia & Graham and when you consider that Dow wins about half his possessions in a contested situation(49.6%), going at over 60% by foot is acceptable for an inside midfielder. Overall his disposal efficiency % of 75.1 is the best among our full time midfielders which also includes our outside midfielders who have much lower contested possession rates. As far as turnovers go, Dow averages 2.9 per game, which ranks 6th among our midfielders and well below the 5+ that Taranto and Hopper average per game.

He can't tackle is another criticism, at the moment he averages 2.4 tackles per game which is equal 4th among our full time midfielders, Graham and Taranto are the only 2 who average over 4 (5.3 each). The fact of the matter is that as a team we're a poor tackling side and we rank dead last in the league for tackles per game, so it's not just Dow that needs to do better in that regard.

His role for the majority of the season has been as our primary midfielder while Taranto Hopper & Prestia have been injured and I don't think it's fair to be asking a player who entered the season with 17 games to his name to be carrying the midfield. This year Dow should have been our 4th/5th string midfielder developing his craft and chemistry with more experienced teammates. Like a number of our inexperienced kids he has shown glimpses at times and has frustrated at others. Just like those other younger players, I'm not putting a line through any or saying they're long term solutions either.

What I want to see in the second half of the season where possible, is the younger players that Yze believes are part of the future being played alongside the experienced players that we've been missing during the first half of the season and then see what they are capable of as part of a better structured line up. That is when we'll be able to make decisions about who and who won't make it as far as I'm concerned.

 

[RJK Tiger]

Dow isn’t what is impacting McAuliffe’s playing time. It’s his lack of an aerobic capacity (which in no way is unexpected of an inside mid in year 1) which is his biggest issue.

Last two games McAuliffe played without being the sub (Bombers and Cats) he had the lowest TOG% of any mid.

If he does get dropped for Hopper (which I would favour so he can get a full game in the VFL); that will be the reason. Very little if anything to do with Dow.

I wouldn't even bother bringin Hopper back this year. Whats the point? Send him to Germany to get some treatment or something. One of the worst trades in our history that one. Will sting for years. Thanks Dimma & the dreamers

 

[lizard man]

 

[tiger_tough]

There is absolutely zero evidence that says that by pumping games into players at AFL level their development will be better and/or expedited. Frankly the whole ‘get them to 50 games’ argument which always gets trotted out should be disregarded as a player development strategy.

The question is simply what is best for player development. That may be that McAuliffe in year one sees time as the sub, interspersed with games in the VFL and AFL, getting exposure to the highest level, but also being in an environment where he’s going to be the #1 mid within games.

McAuliffe will be a very good player, so let’s make sure he’s on the best possible path to success.

LOL

 

[RockJobster0312]

LOL

Always happy to be proven wrong and have the discussion.

So did you want to come back with something of substance?

 

[Grrr]

Thought I'd address some of the criticisms leveled at Dow

He can't kick and his ball use is horrible are a couple of the common criticisms. Dow goes at 62% by foot, while not great is better than Taranto Hopper Prestia & Graham and when you consider that Dow wins about half his possessions in a contested situation(49.6%), going at over 60% by foot is acceptable for an inside midfielder. Overall his disposal efficiency % of 75.1 is the best among our full time midfielders which also includes our outside midfielders who have much lower contested possession rates. As far as turnovers go, Dow averages 2.9 per game, which ranks 6th among our midfielders and well below the 5+ that Taranto and Hopper average per game.

He can't tackle is another criticism, at the moment he averages 2.4 tackles per game which is equal 4th among our full time midfielders, Graham and Taranto are the only 2 who average over 4 (5.3 each). The fact of the matter is that as a team we're a poor tackling side and we rank dead last in the league for tackles per game, so it's not just Dow that needs to do better in that regard.

His role for the majority of the season has been as our primary midfielder while Taranto Hopper & Prestia have been injured and I don't think it's fair to be asking a player who entered the season with 17 games to his name to be carrying the midfield. This year Dow should have been our 4th/5th string midfielder developing his craft and chemistry with more experienced teammates. Like a number of our inexperienced kids he has shown glimpses at times and has frustrated at others. Just like those other younger players, I'm not putting a line through any or saying they're long term solutions either.

What I want to see in the second half of the season where possible, is the younger players that Yze believes are part of the future being played alongside the experienced players that we've been missing during the first half of the season and then see what they are capable of as part of a better structured line up. That is when we'll be able to make decisions about who and who won't make it as far as I'm concerned.

Dow was nowhere near as bad as I read post game. Just watched the replay expecting some sort of horror game. Yes he was beaten by Hawthorn mids, who have smashed every side they have played in the last 6 or 7 weeks, but so were all our mids. Yes Taranto get possessions but he and the rest of the mids were powerless to stop the speed and strength of the Hawks mids collectively. Our mids collectively chased tail all game. Our senior mids were the main problem, Graham, Bolton, Baker, were just nowhere near good enough, so was anyone really expecting Dow to do any better.

 

[skinnyP]

A young player has trouble being match fit for full AFL games? I know! Let's play him for 20 minutes each week, which does nothing at all for his aerobic capacity.

Genius by the coaching staff.

There's a thing called training.

 

[tiger_tough]

Always happy to be proven wrong and have the discussion.

So did you want to come back with something of substance?

If you can't see the benefit of playing a kid who actually has a future with us over a soft D grade list clogger there's probably not much to discuss.

 

[Cam Payner]

Most useless player I've seen since JON ...probably more useless as I doubt he'd be strong enough to even start a lawnmower let alone push one...

 

[Woodstock]

Thought I'd address some of the criticisms leveled at Dow

He can't kick and his ball use is horrible are a couple of the common criticisms. Dow goes at 62% by foot, while not great is better than Taranto Hopper Prestia & Graham and when you consider that Dow wins about half his possessions in a contested situation(49.6%), going at over 60% by foot is acceptable for an inside midfielder. Overall his disposal efficiency % of 75.1 is the best among our full time midfielders which also includes our outside midfielders who have much lower contested possession rates. As far as turnovers go, Dow averages 2.9 per game, which ranks 6th among our midfielders and well below the 5+ that Taranto and Hopper average per game.

He can't tackle is another criticism, at the moment he averages 2.4 tackles per game which is equal 4th among our full time midfielders, Graham and Taranto are the only 2 who average over 4 (5.3 each). The fact of the matter is that as a team we're a poor tackling side and we rank dead last in the league for tackles per game, so it's not just Dow that needs to do better in that regard.

His role for the majority of the season has been as our primary midfielder while Taranto Hopper & Prestia have been injured and I don't think it's fair to be asking a player who entered the season with 17 games to his name to be carrying the midfield. This year Dow should have been our 4th/5th string midfielder developing his craft and chemistry with more experienced teammates. Like a number of our inexperienced kids he has shown glimpses at times and has frustrated at others. Just like those other younger players, I'm not putting a line through any or saying they're long term solutions either.

What I want to see in the second half of the season where possible, is the younger players that Yze believes are part of the future being played alongside the experienced players that we've been missing during the first half of the season and then see what they are capable of as part of a better structured line up. That is when we'll be able to make decisions about who and who won't make it as far as I'm concerned.

The stats don’t tell the true story. The only time Dow hit a target by foot yesterday was when he had a mark or free, play had slowed right down, and he’d do a dinky 15m pass to another player in a non-threatening position. When kicking the ball in a play on situation it was a horrible mongrel punt to nowhere. He isn’t up to the standard unfortunately.

 

[_RT_]

The stats don’t tell the true story. The only time Dow hit a target by foot yesterday was when he had a mark or free, play had slowed right down, and he’d do a dinky 15m pass to another player in a non-threatening position. When kicking the ball in a play on situation it was a horrible mongrel punt to nowhere. He isn’t up to the standard unfortunately.

Wonder if winning a ball in a contested situation where players are often getting a hurried kick away had anything to do with the 'poor' disposal by foot. I've forgotten how many times over the years certain players were excused for poor disposal efficiency % because they were winning the ball in contested situations and hurriedly kicking while under pressure, but when Dow does it he gets little to no leeway regarding his disposal.

As I said I'm not suggesting that Dow is a long term option or is a delist candidate, what I'm saying is I want to see him playing in a better structured line up before making a call either way. Doing so before hand is wrong IMO.

 

[Woodstock]

Wonder if winning a ball in a contested situation where players are often getting a hurried kick away had anything to do with the 'poor' disposal by foot. I've forgotten how many times over the years certain players were excused for poor disposal efficiency % because they were winning the ball in contested situations and hurriedly kicking while under pressure, but when Dow does it he gets little to no leeway regarding his disposal.

As I said I'm not suggesting that Dow is a long term option or is a delist candidate, what I'm saying is I want to see him playing in a better structured line up before making a call either way. Doing so before hand is wrong IMO.

I actually thought it was more to do with his decision making. There didn’t seem many times yesterday where he simply needed to throw it on the boot, but he did. I’d love him to be better and I’m not a hater, but right now he struggles at the level and has been afforded many many opportunities.

 

[_RT_]

I actually thought it was more to do with his decision making. There didn’t seem many times yesterday where he simply needed to throw it on the boot, but he did. I’d love him to be better and I’m not a hater, but right now he struggles at the level and has been afforded many many opportunities.

Decision making can be improved, which is why I want to see him in a better structured side to see if he can make those improvements or not. If he can't then no issue in moving him on.

 

[Charlie Pannam]

Dow isn’t what is impacting McAuliffe’s playing time. It’s his lack of an aerobic capacity (which in no way is unexpected of an inside mid in year 1) which is his biggest issue.

Last two games McAuliffe played without being the sub (Bombers and Cats) he had the lowest TOG% of any mid.

If he does get dropped for Hopper (which I would favour so he can get a full game in the VFL); that will be the reason. Very little if anything to do with Dow.

You have a point re his aerobic capacity
However sitting on the pine 2 weeks in a row is not going to be doing anything to improve that
A. He plays in the starting 22
Or
B. He plays a full game in the VFL.

Option A the best option considering how thin our u21 midfield depth is. We need to be getting games into players that have a long term future.

we need to hit this upcoming national draft hard for mids. I’d be taking 3 genuine midfielders this year.
McAullife aside we have nothing of note coming through.

 

[copthat]

Dow actually reminds me a lot of Reece Conca

6

Reece Conca

Age

32

Ht

181cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.2

5star

K

10.8

4star

HB

7.4

5star

M

3.4

3star

T

3.6

5star

MG

228.0

3star

D

13.8

3star

K

11.2

4star

HB

2.7

2star

M

3.7

4star

T

2.5

3star

MG

228.0

3star

D

15.8

4star

K

8.0

3star

HB

7.8

5star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.0

4star

. Both good in traffic but that's about where it ends. Like Conca, I could see Dow trying to carve out a career either here or somewhere else but eventually not being a player of any real substance.

 

[tiger_tough]

Dow actually reminds me a lot of Reece Conca. Both good in traffic but that's about where it ends. Like Conca, I could see Dow trying to carve out a career either here or somewhere else but eventually not being a player of any real substance.

Conca was twice the player Dow is.

 

[copthat]

Conca is twice the player Dow is.

I agree but just saying their limitations remind me of one another.