AFL By The Numbers: 13 Dale Thomas
13
Dale Thomas.
Forward for the Collingwood Magpies.
If Gary Ablett Jr had a twin it would be Dale Thomas. Watching number 29 for Gippsland during the 2005 TAC Cup would have got a lot of teams thinking about drafting Thomas, Collingwood didn't take any chances and grabbed him much earlier than expected at pick 2. Ryder, Kennedy and Birchall were all available but Thomas was the right pick.
Thomas isn't just an athlete, he has the indescribable football sense that very few others have. He often gets into the right spot and knows where the football is going, he can evade several opponents and make them look they are going in slow motion and whatever the angle is he is a good chance to kick the goal.
There have been plenty of highlights so far in his AFL career, which is only 1.25 seasons old. Huge marks, incredible goals, the succession of bounces as he sprints through the middle. The spiky-haired Pokemon can do it all.
Despite being only 184cm, Thomas already has a couple of games of 10 marks. Often they are of the team-lifting variety, and the bigger the occasion is the higher he flies. Thomas was great in 2006 but has improved and in 2007 he has set new career-highs for kicks, handballs, disposals and tackles in a game.
He will never be the best footballer to come from Drouin, as the guy who wore number 5 before Varcoe did at Geelong has that title, but Thomas could be right up there.
Dale Thomas information:
184cm, 80kg
Official AFL Profile
Wikipedia entry
Number 12
Dale Thomas.
Forward for the Collingwood Magpies.
If Gary Ablett Jr had a twin it would be Dale Thomas. Watching number 29 for Gippsland during the 2005 TAC Cup would have got a lot of teams thinking about drafting Thomas, Collingwood didn't take any chances and grabbed him much earlier than expected at pick 2. Ryder, Kennedy and Birchall were all available but Thomas was the right pick.
Thomas isn't just an athlete, he has the indescribable football sense that very few others have. He often gets into the right spot and knows where the football is going, he can evade several opponents and make them look they are going in slow motion and whatever the angle is he is a good chance to kick the goal.
There have been plenty of highlights so far in his AFL career, which is only 1.25 seasons old. Huge marks, incredible goals, the succession of bounces as he sprints through the middle. The spiky-haired Pokemon can do it all.
Despite being only 184cm, Thomas already has a couple of games of 10 marks. Often they are of the team-lifting variety, and the bigger the occasion is the higher he flies. Thomas was great in 2006 but has improved and in 2007 he has set new career-highs for kicks, handballs, disposals and tackles in a game.
He will never be the best footballer to come from Drouin, as the guy who wore number 5 before Varcoe did at Geelong has that title, but Thomas could be right up there.
Dale Thomas information:
184cm, 80kg
Official AFL Profile
Wikipedia entry
Number 12
