Tom Doedee has become somewhat of a forgotten man at Brisbane, having spent the first year after a transfer from Adelaide recovering from long-term injury and returning to a team already studded with enough stars to win back-to-back flags without him. He has only appeared in the senior team once in two years, despite the Lions losing Keidean Coleman for all of last season. Coleman's return may see Doedee continue to ply his craft at VFL level, despite the departure of Callum Ah Chee in the off season. He may have one last chance to impress this pre-season.
Tom Doedee has become somewhat of a forgotten man at Brisbane, having spent the first year after a transfer from Adelaide recovering from long-term injury and returning to a team already studded with enough stars to win back-to-back flags without him. He has only appeared in the senior team once in two years, despite the Lions losing Keidean Coleman for all of last season. Coleman's return may see Doedee continue to ply his craft at VFL level, despite the departure of Callum Ah Chee in the off season. He may have one last chance to impress this pre-season.
Tom Doedee has been asked through a combination of injury and list management to play as a tall defender this year, which can tend to work against his best game when he has to lock down on a quality opponent. He usually gets the third tall though, so he has had some very good games in which he is able to get his intercept game going across half back to help out Jake Kelly and Jordon Butts. As a fantasy asset he has a low floor and a decent ceiling, a combination that will usually see him deliver scores when not in your fantasy side.
Tom Doedee captained the Crows last week in their heavy loss to St Kilda, but he was one of the shining lights in a team which has hit rock bottom. As a fantasy asset it was mostly about his debut season in the German tricolour, as a mature-aged recruit delivering nearly keeper-level scores. The Adelaide backline has been fairly settled even as the midfield and forward lines have dropped away, and there is plenty of ball pinging inside defensive 50 for Doedee to intercept these days. Don't expect him to top the fantasy scoring charts every week, but he's comfortably startable in draft leagues.
New day for Doedee
An ACL injury in round 1 put paid to Tom Doedee's 2019 campaign and, given the traditional 12-month rehab prescribed for such injuries, is not a guarantee of suiting up to begin 2020. He failed to finish three of his past five senior matches due to collision injuries, in fact. His 2017 breakout season included an elite level of intercept marking, often zoning off smaller opponents, with a highly variable fantasy output from week to week dependent largely on those marks. The nominal replacement for Doedee in the senior side in his absence was Wayne Milera, who is a different type of player and would probably be better positioned for team purposes up the ground to make use of his delivery inside 50. Doedee's spot in the best 22 is unchallenged despite the long layoff, and he should return to his intercepting ways once the club is confident in his fitness. This makes him a low-end starter and a late-round pick, with his popularity likely waning during a quiet preseason.
All the Doedee day
Delivering on considerable preseason hype among coaches in salary cap competitions, Tom Doedee slid smoothly into the spot vacated by Jake Lever in his debut campaign. His role was not quite plus-one but zoning off his smaller opponent to be third man up for plenty of intercept marks. He was switched forward in Q4 of a big loss to Hawthorn with zero effect. The return of Brodie Smith should not affect Doedee this year as he plays a different and specialised role. He has settled into a scoring pattern which shouldn't change all that much, and will usually reward a start albeit a handful of results last season stayed under the baseline. He should go in middle to late rounds of your draft.
What does Doedee do?
Leading the SANFL in intercept possessions last season, Tom Doedee didn't crack it for a senior game but has been groomed nicely to play a tall defensive role with spoils also a key feature of his game. He registered about the same rate of intercept marks as teammate Kyle Cheney, and led the Crows reserves in rebound 50s. The departure of Jake Lever means Doedee and Cheney could be fighting for one spot in the Crows backline, though the long-term injury to Brodie Smith could mean they both play. Neither are likely to prove startable in draft leagues, though Doedee might merit a flier pick if he is prominent in the JLT.
