Past Jordan "I don’t think Sydney fans should be nervous at all" Dawson: Grand Theft Completed, traded 2021 to Adelaide

[Slingshot Footy]

Hindsight says it was unders, but at the time I think it was what everyone outside of Sydney, including neutrals, thought was about right.
The pick we gave you drafted Josh Weddle.

The irony of getting that pick now is knowing that we also had to pass on Weddle because he threatened to go home after two years if we drafted him as well!

 

[MF]

The pity was that we were building a style around Dawson and his kicking out from defence where he would spot up players on angles and over the back of the zone. When we lost him we had to go back to the drawing-board with our game plan.

Having said that, as has been mentioned, we still made 2 GFs without him, however the sting is that he might have made a substantial difference to the outcome. We will never know.

My guilty secret is that I still love to watch him play but I hate that it's for another team.

He's a lot like the guy in your avatar... beautiful kick, excellent skills for his size, good hands and could play just about anywhere.

 

[dosser]

He's a lot like the guy in your avatar... beautiful kick, excellent skills for his size, good hands and could play just about anywhere.

Yeah, that's a pretty good comparison and probably explains why I like to watch him still.

 

[Cleric]

Not a factor.

He was playing on the wing as well, we were hardly giving him a thankless, hidden away role.

Crows didn't even play him in the middle immediately. I recall checking and he was initially at HB again. So I'm not even sure they intended him to be a main mid.

We didn't trade him to be a mid. We were losing Brodie Smith and Seedsman and needed to find a quality running half back flanker to replace both of them. At the time Dawson was a great replacement for them.
And, truth be told, if we weren't so undermanned in the midfield he would have stayed in that position.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback from the Swans point of view. I won't wear out my welcome.

 

[Kiama Chris]

I think one thing Sydney does well is talent id.
We had Max Michaelanny as a FS, and he was expected to be bid one around the late 2nd round, but Sydney bid on him at 17.
Some people accused Sydney of bidding on him to get some revenge over Dawson, to which Sydney replied saying they absolutely wanted him with that pick and hoped Adelaide didn't match, as they really rated him.
Turns out he was absolutely as good as Sydney thought and well worth pick 17.

Pretty sure every Sydney bid on a father/son or academy player has been genuine. Whether they were good bids is another question.

 

[Tedeski]

Are you suggesting we wouldn't be better off with him or the Crows wouldn't be worse without him?

I'm saying he would have been good for us in the home & away but he would have made no difference in 80 point & 60 point losses in our GFs.

Obviously hasn't turned the Crows into anything special either.

But he also costs plenty $$$$$ going forward which on our salary cap makes a big difference in who we keep.

 

[Bloods86]

I'm saying he would have been good for us in the home & away but he would have made no difference in 80 point & 60 point losses in our GFs.

Obviously hasn't turned the Crows into anything special either.

But he also costs plenty $$$$$ going forward which on our salary cap makes a big difference in who we keep.

Sure.

Think the Crows would be far less competitive without him though. One player doesn't single handledly lift a team from 15th to finals.

 

[Callipygian]

With Tippett we offered you the best offer we could. There was no future picks to trade and it wasn't out fault that the draft was compromised by the expansion teams.

We tried to push out Jesse White who, while no world beater, was a solid fwd/ruck. But he didn't want to go to Adelaide.

With Tippett the Crows had promised Tippo that they would trade him for a 2nd rounder (in a signed contract) that led to a whole bunch of sanctions on the Crows and Crows staff and on Tippo for draft tampering.

 

[caesar88]

I don't get the hype and I think the only thing we miss is his marking down the line. The best he has ever looked IMO was when playing on the wing/high half forward in 2021 for us.

 

[Bloods86]

I don't get the hype and I think the only thing we miss is his marking down the line. The best he has ever looked IMO was when playing on the wing/high half forward in 2021 for us.

Would be comfortably Top 5 picked if he was still with us imo.

 

[caesar88]

Would be comfortably Top 5 picked if he was still with us imo.

I just don't really know what sort of player he is, even now at 27 years of age and nearly 150 games. Every role I have seen him in it feels like it is tapping into about 75% of what he could and should be capable of. Then he changes roles or positions and it's sorta the same result.

Whenever Dawson's played on the inside, he can win a lot of contested ball and tackles well, but he can be very ineffective and his skill-set wasted playing as that big-bodied Cripps type mid with no time and space.

Whenever Dawson's played in defence, his intercepting can be handy and he can nail the odd kick, but I think he can be rendered somewhat ineffective against any decent defensive structure that doesn't allow his team to capitalise on his ability to find long-range targets. So he just ends up bombing it long to a contest, which anyone can do really.

As I said above, if he was played on the wing or at half forward, where his marking ability and ability to hit targets inside 50 by foot could be used to full effect, then maybe he'd be a top 5 player for us. But then maybe he wouldn't get as much of the ball, and I think that's why he has hardly ever played there for the Crows and why we were also reluctant to play him there.

He's a player who you want the ball in his hands as much as possible, but pretty much all of the roles that allow this, he is limited in in some way. So yeah, this is not to say I don't think he's a good or even very good player. I just don't see him as this amazing player and huge loss that he's raved about as.

 

[giantsully]

Not looking to upset anyone, and a serious question.
Did you think Dawson was going to be as good as he is now? At Sydney he was a half back flanker, who had one very good season, and he was targeted by Adelaide to fill that exact position.
So for me, I actually thought a good half back flanker was his ceiling, and thought the trade was about right.
I didn't think it was overs, and was quite surprised by how pissed the Swans were about only getting a mid to late first rounder. In no world was he worth a top 10 pick on his exposed form.

However, in hindsight he has well.and truly excelled what he was, and went past just been a flanker, turning into an AA, club B&F and captain.

Did you guys honestly think he was always going to be what he has turned out to be?
I didn't.

Absolutely. I remember saying to your people on BF at the time of the trade that he'd be your best player within a year and being laughed at. Reckon I got that right.

This one still breaks my heart.

 

[.Shotties.]

With Tippett the Crows had promised Tippo that they would trade him for a 2nd rounder (in a signed contract) that led to a whole bunch of sanctions on the Crows and Crows staff and on Tippo for draft tampering.

Yeah, whenever Crows fans bring this up it should be pointed out that Sydney offered more than the Crows obligated themselves to accept. Sydney 'screwing them' or leveraging the deal they made with Tippett would have involved them Sydney offering their second rounder.

 

[Callipygian]

I just don't really know what sort of player he is, even now at 27 years of age and nearly 150 games. Every role I have seen him in it feels like it is tapping into about 75% of what he could and should be capable of. Then he changes roles or positions and it's sorta the same result.

Whenever Dawson's played on the inside, he can win a lot of contested ball and tackles well, but he can be very ineffective and his skill-set wasted playing as that big-bodied Cripps type mid with no time and space.

Whenever Dawson's played in defence, his intercepting can be handy and he can nail the odd kick, but I think he can be rendered somewhat ineffective against any decent defensive structure that doesn't allow his team to capitalise on his ability to find long-range targets. So he just ends up bombing it long to a contest, which anyone can do really.

As I said above, if he was played on the wing or at half forward, where his marking ability and ability to hit targets inside 50 by foot could be used to full effect, then maybe he'd be a top 5 player for us. But then maybe he wouldn't get as much of the ball, and I think that's why he has hardly ever played there for the Crows and why we were also reluctant to play him there.

He's a player who you want the ball in his hands as much as possible, but pretty much all of the roles that allow this, he is limited in in some way. So yeah, this is not to say I don't think he's a good or even very good player. I just don't see him as this amazing player and huge loss that he's raved about as.

Sounds a bit like the way you talk about Florent, caesar.

If I could have Dawso or Hewett back I'd take Dawso, and I say that as a big Hewett fan. Dawson was never one of my top 5 favourite players and Hewett was.

However, I think Dawson made the right choice for himself and the limited grudge I hold is for the Crows screwing us but even then I can't feel too badly because if it were our club that had done it I would say "well, that's the way it works, it works the same for everyone". So I mostly just feel a bit of sadness and what might have been.

I would like to see this thread laid to rest, as someone said above. I don't mean that literally but I'm never pleased to see it's been bumped.