How far off is Scott Thompson from being elite?

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Must say, I have always rated this guy.

I don't quite think he is at the Pendles, GAblett, Judd, Selwood.. level.

I do think of him as an equal of the Mitchell, Kerr, Hayes, Watson, M. Murphy, Swan... level though.

I also think of him as being ahead of the Cotchin, Priddis, Griffen, A. Swallow, Vince, Mundy... level.

Thoughts?

 

[Go the Guts]

Love the guy and he gets plenty of pill but his disposal is probably not quite strong enough for elite status. His in and under pack work is the equal of pretty much anyone in the comp, ATM anyway. Is a tough unit, never steps backwards, love that about him. He is a huge part of the reason we are enjoying a purple patch ATM. He's also just so unassuming, no pretty boy looking at the big screen all the time garbage, has one objective in the game, getting the bloody ball. I actually have wondered a few times if he has been a fairly major influence on how Danger goes about it with contested ball.

 

[Magma]

anyone who's had a 51 disposal game, and currently averaging 32 a game (i think) surely has to be considered elite or thereabouts.

 

[Cazalys]

Has done extremely well in North's backline this year, despite little help.

On track for AA squad.

 

[Go the Guts]

Has done extremely well in North's backline this year, despite little help.

On track for AA squad.

He he well done, I did think the same when first reading the thread, but then realized he was comparing midfielders.

 

[GUMBLETRON]

Still just an accumulator, but they win medals now, so who knows.

 

[The Speaker]

What measure is "elite"?

Why do we care about giving players these overused labels?

 

[WCEbrody]

Must say, I have always rated this guy.

I don't quite think he is at the Pendles, GAblett, Judd, Selwood.. level.

I do think of him as an equal of the Mitchell, Kerr, Hayes, Watson, M. Murphy, Swan... level though.

I also think of him as being ahead of the Cotchin, Priddis, Griffen, A. Swallow, Vince, Mundy... level.

Thoughts?

Disagree, Dont think hes as good as any of the players in bold. Doesnt mean he isnt good though, would probably rate him alongside Boyd,Priddis,Ball etc

 

[PieBeast]

Disagree, Dont think hes as good as any of the players in bold. Doesnt mean he isnt good though, would probably rate him alongside Boyd,Priddis,Ball etc

Even that would be a stretch, the least damaging of any current prolific ball-winners.

 

[nickh32]

Play in Victoria and he's elite.

 

[AFC979810]

Play in Victoria and he's elite.

Yup... Happy for him to be underrated though.

 

[crownie]

Play in Victoria and he's elite.

scott west says hi.

 

[PTizzle]

anyone who's had a 51 disposal game, and currently averaging 32 a game (i think) surely has to be considered elite or thereabouts.

Boyd is a very good player and led the competition for disposals last year (unless my brain is scrambled, excuse me if it is) and has been this year too (is 30 behind Swan but should get that against GC).

Scott Thompson is about the same level for me. A great accumulator, good in and under player but doesn't use the pill that well.

Very good player but not a game breaker for mine.

Can we please invoke the Josh Kennedy rule and start calling North's bloke Scott D. Thompson please

 

[The Karma Bus]

It's funny how myths just stay around.. It is now a while ago that Thommo would burn the ball sometimes, that has been changed for a few years now..

I have always said that the reason he gets that put on him is because when he burns it, they are real shockers.. Or a simple kick that he stuffs up, so it stands out a lot.. He generally doesn't do that anymore either..

His disposal efficiency is 68% which is good as it is, but more so when considering he wins contested ball and often gets kicks or handballs under pressure..

Pendlebury 72%, Judd 70%, Goodes 70%, Dal Santo 69%, Griffen 69%, Mitchell 68%, Marc Murphy 67%, Simon Black 67%, Kerr 67%, Kennedy (Syd) 66%, Bartel 65%, Ablett 64%, Boyd 61%..

There's some "elite ball users" in there who are obviously miles ahead of Thompson .. Last year he was about the same, only had a few real good users of the ball like Pendlebury ahead of him by a bit..

Anyway, i really like watching Thommo play live.. You get a great look and feel for what he does, Adelaide would not be winning so much ball if not for him.. He's leading the competition for clearances too..

 

[pazza]

He is elite.

Only trouble is, he's one of so many of his type that getting more recognition could prove difficult.

 

[PTizzle]

He is elite.

Only trouble is, he's one of so many of his type that getting more recognition could prove difficult.

This probably puts it better than I did.

He's elite at what he does, which is clearances and accumulating. He's like Priddis.

His game against GC was utterly incredible last year but apart from that I haven't seen him take a game apart, which doesn't make him an all around elite player.

I hate that word anyways. He's a very good footballer and is great for the Crows. I don't know why the word elite needs to be slapped on him before his influence magically means something.

Usually the elite types like Goodes/Gaj/Pendles/Judd show a game-breaking ability that gives them that label. Blokes like Mitchell, Priddis and Thompson don't necessarily do that but it doesn't mean they aren't bloody good at what they do.

I guess it's a bigfooty thing.

 

[Tre Bones]

728.2 kms

 

[Tulip]

Play in Victoria and he's elite.

He did until he wanted to go home.

Made his own bed.

Great player.

 

[The Passenger]

fantastic player.

would've been top 15-20 in the competition last year imo.

 

[Lemma]

Swan should be in the top bracket

 

[crowsarethebest]

For me he is elite. His ball use is very good and he's got the ability to push forward and kick goals as well. He's just racking it up for fun now, criminally underrated. Decent chance for the Brownlow, he usually polls alright. He's on par with Watson, Bartel, Mitchell, Murphy etc. He's the tier below the top in Judd, Swan, Pendles, Gablett etc. but he's still 'elite'.

 

[Happy Daze]

Agree with most of what's written here - he is an elite player; he doesn't have parts to his game some of the very top-shelf players have though. He doesn't regularly kick goals a la Ablett, Swan, Murphy etc - you can't switch him forward like you can some midfielders and expect him to win the game (Goodes for example) and he doesn't take many overhead marks under pressure like Pendles or JP Kennedy. But what he does do he is either near or at the very top of the competition. He is an excellent user of the ball and doesn't butcher it - probably not as good on his left as some of the other primo mids but he is also in many ways untaggable. That's because he gets most of his possessions inside and doesn't get that many cheapies - he's also extremely consistent and has obviously worked extremely hard to get where he is. Also for a player who gets buffetted around a lot he is very durable. Would have to be the first player on the team sheet at the Crows.

 

[PykeDream]

Even that would be a stretch, the least damaging of any current prolific ball-winners.

??? We'd be nowhere without his influence this year. Disposal is easily better than that of Boyd, Ball and Priddis.

Leading the comp for clearances (53) suggests he's fairly damaging.

 

[policegetthatman]

lol at people who think Thommo's disposal is still ordinary. Miles above Boyd.

 

[half_back_flank]

Currently making Mike Sheehan look like a clueless ********.