Player Watch Billy Dowling - Re-Signed to End of 2026

[GrommoT]

Which one is he? Can't actually see anyone being congratulated

Think he's not actually there - below has pix from his Into the Fire Ep 336 Billy Dowling interview

​

2nd from left on couch not going quite as crazy as the others

You sure? The hairstyles of the two on the left don't match the jumper presentation pix Crow-eater posted.
The title of the AFC tweet suggest Billy might not be there either

 

[ABAB]

More than likely

Well, I'm not FAITH who has insider information on Rankine requesting a trade to us weeks before the media got hold of it.

 

[BACCS]

So you think his kicking is an issue or am I reading that wrong?

He doesn’t have a Dawson type kick, but is better than a Laird or Berry; basically, he is on par with the majority of top line mids in the comp. I posted a quote from my recruiting mate on the previous page, he called him a ‘great user’.

 

[Danger in Texas]

He doesn’t have a Dawson type kick, but is better than a Laird or Berry; basically, he is on par with the majority of top line mids in the comp. I posted a quote from my recruiting mate on the previous page, he called him a ‘great user’.

Yep better than Berry (and definitely better than Keays), still a bit hit-or-miss though, IMO. That said, he gets good depth on his kicking, which is a good trait to have, especially when it comes to pushing forward-of-centre

 

[Jeffcrowe]

So you think his kicking is an issue or am I reading that wrong?

Don’t mind his ball use by hand

 

[Jeffcrowe]

He doesn’t have a Dawson type kick, but is better than a Laird or Berry; basically, he is on par with the majority of top line mids in the comp. I posted a quote from my recruiting mate on the previous page, he called him a ‘great user’.

I definitely wouldn’t call him a ‘great user’

More a work in progress

If he was a great user and also close to the the leading ball winner around Australia he’d be going top 25 IMO

He’s not quick but his repeat running is v good which makes up for a lot of it

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Think he's not actually there - below has pix from his Into the Fire Ep 336 Billy Dowling interview

View attachment 1564684​

You sure? The hairstyles of the two on the left don't match the jumper presentation pix Crow-eater posted.
The title of the AFC tweet suggest Billy might not be there either

3rd from left sorry - that’s him

 

[Houston]

Well we know that's definitely not him 2nd from the right?

That bloke does look like a ball getter though, surely a rookie chance this afternoon?

 

[kick it to me_]

Younger Patrick Wilson

31

Patrick Wilson

Age

30

Ht

188cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.5

3star

K

8.0

3star

HB

5.5

4star

M

3.5

4star

T

3.0

5star

CL

1.5

4star

No current season stats available

D

13.5

4star

K

8.0

3star

HB

5.5

4star

M

3.5

4star

T

3.0

5star

CL

1.5

4star

anyone?

On SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Jetafl]

 

[Crow-eater]

 

[BACCS]

I definitely wouldn’t call him a ‘great user’

More a work in progress

If he was a great user and also close to the the leading ball winner around Australia he’d be going top 25 IMO

He’s not quick but his repeat running is v good which makes up for a lot of it

That was a direct quote from an SA recruiter, they watch a lot more vision than any of us. Talent was quite even after the top 12-15; someone like Rowston went inside 20 after being rated a 40+ selection. I think we can all agree though that he is above the level of players like Berry and Keays, which is where the mind of people go if you say his kicking isn't fantastic.

 

[Jeffcrowe]

That was a direct quote from an SA recruiter, they watch a lot more vision than any of us. Talent was quite even after the top 12-15; someone like Rowston went inside 20 after being rated a 40+ selection. I think we can all agree though that he is above the level of players like Berry and Keays, which is where the mind of people go if you say his kicking isn't fantastic.

Yep just saying what I’ve seen and I’ve seen him play live and also on stream

Have also heard people say same thing so there are differing opinions

Not all recruiters think he’s a great user

Yes he’s a better natural kick than Berry and Keays although Berry is improving

 

[Jeffcrowe]

That was a direct quote from an SA recruiter, they watch a lot more vision than any of us. Talent was quite even after the top 12-15; someone like Rowston went inside 20 after being rated a 40+ selection. I think we can all agree though that he is above the level of players like Berry and Keays, which is where the mind of people go if you say his kicking isn't fantastic.

Re Rowston - I’d have Dowling over Rowston

 

[BACCS]

Yep just saying what I’ve seen and I’ve seen him play live and also on stream

Have also heard people say same thing so there are differing opinions

Not all recruiters think he’s a great user

Yes he’s a better natural kick than Berry and Keays although Berry is improving

Fair mate, appreciate your opinion as you have seen a bit of him too. Time will tell! At least his base is at an above average level and should improve in the AFL system.

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Fair mate, appreciate your opinion as you have seen a bit of him too. Time will tell! At least his base is at an above average level and should improve in the AFL system.

Yep and as I said if he didn’t have any weaknesses he would have gone in the 1st round comfortably , so we get a discount for it and he can work on all parts of his game

Great to have such a prolific ball winner ( inside and out ) on our list

 

[Sanders]

Well, I'm not FAITH who has insider information on Rankine requesting a trade to us weeks before the media got hold of it.

Pay your bets weasel

 

[CroCop]

Finally everyone can stop complaining about a big bodied mid

Nankervis, Dowling and Cook can all become the big bodied mids we are after . All are different types also .

 

[dogs105]

So you think his kicking is an issue or am I reading that wrong?

Nah, it's more an issue of ball use by foot

 

[CutAboveTheRest]

Nankervis, Dowling and Cook can all become the big bodied mids we are after . All are different types also .

Firstly, I rate Cook and really hope he steps up this year but if he doesn't learn to go when it's his time he will be found out very quickly. He was as soft as I've ever seen a footballer in the SANFL final series.

 

[StonesThrow]

Any good highlights package for this guy? What I've seen so far is pretty average quality compared to last year.

 

[feenix67]

Too smart to be a bust, footy IQ is really high. His disposal due to his decision making is elite, rarely wastes a disposal in general play, extremely composed

He doesn’t have a Dawson type kick, but is better than a Laird or Berry; basically, he is on par with the majority of top line mids in the comp. I posted a quote from my recruiting mate on the previous page, he called him a ‘great user’.

Well that's interesting, because in reality his kicking is actually one of the question marks. I'll take my info from someone at St Peters:

 

[Arr0w]

Well that's interesting, because in reality his kicking is actually one of the question marks. I'll take my info from someone at St Peters:

View attachment 1565293

 

[feenix67]

As I said, I'll take my info from someone actually involved with his footy, not a highlights clip.

 

[WaynesWorld19]

As I said, I'll take my info from someone actually involved with his footy, not a highlights clip.

Your post with no indication of the person making the comments , indicated “ he understands Dowling is a good Capt” …. so whoever it is, isn’t that close

Also, in school footy, your kicking depends on the movement in front of you …. which being a lowly school, isn’t surprising

That was my go too excuse