In praise of ....

[ShockOfHair]

...at 100% efficiency.

The legend grows.

[CureTheSane]

Courage yes, ability, no.

Reminds me of a lot of McVeigh comments from a few years ago.

[ernie koala]

I thought he was decent last night too though I was a little disheartened to see in the paper this morning that he'd only had four possessions.

But he laid 6 tackles...Which was twice as many as McEvoy and Hale combined.

He plays his role, seems to know his limitations, it was a whole hearted performance.

[dimelb]

Credit where it's due. Well done Tom, an A+ for effort and commitment to the team.

[RogueSwan]

Deservedly listed in the best. Right up there with Hanners, Benny and Parker in giving everything he had, nothing left on the field.

[Jimitron5000]

It would be interesting to know what the coaching staff expect from him. I expect all they want is a contest and for him to throw his weight around a bit, which he did well last night.
Still loads of room for improvement but for a 9 game ruckman I think he is going very well.

[Primmy]

Reminds me of a lot of McVeigh comments from a few years ago.

Yep. To my eternal shame I was calling for his boost out of the side in his first senior year.......I hang my head and apologise.

Tom D may not have had huge possessions, but did anyone watch for all the other stuff he did. Made a nuisance of himself, blocked, tackled (maybe not in the MikePyke range, but still, that's 6'9" of bulk holding you up) etc. He may not be the biggest kick, nor the best handball, etc, but he is there, he contributes, he puts in, he is involved. And we won.

[wolftone57]

I am not a fan of his skills but have never doubted his courage and determination. I don't see great skill and he can be a bit slow to the open contest and to make up his mind. But having said that last night he was wonderful. It is what he did off the ball, his shepherding and bullocking that won me. He also tackled and his second efforts cost Hawks dearly. Don't think I'd like to be on the end of one of his tackles. I never doubted he gives his all the only thing I doubt is his skill level and whether he will get the pace of the game completely. Time will tell.

[DK_]

I'm down with the Tom love. Like Wolftone said, his work off the ball is exceptional and that's what gives our midfielders room to move. It's not a coincidence that the improvement in Tom D has been mirrored by improvement of our midfield. Looking at the way he's played, particularly against Freo, I'm almost certain the coaches have directed him to be a battering ram and that's exactly what he's doing. I sometime think he only jumps in the ruck to fill in time before he slams into one of the opposition midfielders. It must have them looking twice around the ruck.

I'd also throw some love out there to Sammy Reid. His marking around the ground is finally what he's always promised. He's slipped into the swing man role like Bond slips into a fitted Armani suit.

While I'm in the mood, let's throw some Jetta's way. He's moved on ball this year and it suits him well. The work he did releasing McVeigh to set up Tippet's first goal was exceptional, as was his tackling pressure and his incisive kicks going forward.

[Mountain Man]

I thought TD's ability to tackle/hold up the Hawthorn midfielder who was about to effect a clearance was just outstanding. If you watch a replay, look for the number of times there is a 'throw up' after a centre square ball up - a new concept; amelioration of taps to disadvantage

[Big Al]

With the Rolls Royce Forward Line, Ferrari Midfield and a hard working Land Cruiser back line sometimes you just need a Holden Ute to some of the heavy lifting.

Well done TomD.

[O'Reilly Boy]

I'm down with the Tom love. Like Wolftone said, his work off the ball is exceptional and that's what gives our midfielders room to move. It's not a coincidence that the improvement in Tom D has been mirrored by improvement of our midfield. Looking at the way he's played, particularly against Freo, I'm almost certain the coaches have directed him to be a battering ram and that's exactly what he's doing. I sometime think he only jumps in the ruck to fill in time before he slams into one of the opposition midfielders. It must have them looking twice around the ruck.

I'd also throw some love out there to Sammy Reid. His marking around the ground is finally what he's always promised. He's slipped into the swing man role like Bond slips into a fitted Armani suit.

While I'm in the mood, let's throw some Jetta's way. He's moved on ball this year and it suits him well. The work he did releasing McVeigh to set up Tippet's first goal was exceptional, as was his tackling pressure and his incisive kicks going forward.

Word up

[Matt80]

An added benefit to Tom D's form is that you don't have to rush Mike Pyke back. Pyke can miss against the Dons and have a couple of weeks training to prepare for the Cats. You don't want to rush hamstrings no matter how minor they are.

[RogueSwan]

Just watching a replay and towards the end of the game Tom seems to be stuffed and Reid is taking some ball ups, I'm expecting Tom to be off the ball for a while but no, there he is at the next contest, battling away.
Another who deserves some love but doesn't often get it is Reg. He played on one of the games premier forwards in Roughead and, IMO, won (well, he didn't lose the battle :-) ). I realise Roughead still got three goals but they were not due to poor play from Grundy.

[altmattr]

A big man a little lacking in skills but putting in 100%, where have I heard this story before?

cough-LRT-cough-Pyke-cough

have I found a new hero? Never - it's all Pyke for me, but he will kept his spot warm last night