Paddy Dow came across from Carlton as a free hit, having failed to secure a place in the Blues' star-studded engine room. St Kilda have been well served by Brad Crouch if you look at pure statistical production, but coach Ross Lyon has looked further down the depth chart in recent weeks for the likes of Dow and Hunter Clark for a different mix. Last week, Dow was matched up on Harley Reid and while Reid did have a scintillating Q2 to turn the game, Dow's own stat line was more than serviceable. Can he make good on his last chance? Same goes for Lyon himself.
Paddy Dow came across from Carlton as a free hit, having failed to secure a place in the Blues' star-studded engine room. St Kilda have been well served by Brad Crouch if you look at pure statistical production, but coach Ross Lyon has looked further down the depth chart in recent weeks for the likes of Dow and Hunter Clark for a different mix. Last week, Dow was matched up on Harley Reid and while Reid did have a scintillating Q2 to turn the game, Dow's own stat line was more than serviceable. Can he make good on his last chance? Same goes for Lyon himself.
Paddy Dow is being persisted with in the face of a lot of poor outcomes at senior level. He starred in preseason when the heat on the footy was low, and can also build numbers at VFL level, but he is yet to string good games together in the ones. Carlton have a history of great inside mids in the modern era stretching from Williams to Ratten and Judd, but Dow's body shape probably prevents him from reaching those heights and his ceiling is more like teammate Marc Murphy. Not that that would be a bad thing to be, but he's nowhere near that yet.
Paddy stuck in marsh
It was much of the same for Paddy Dow in his second season. Despite being a high-profile pick from the year prior, the domination of Sam Walsh took the pressure and spotlight off of Dow. Aside from a ghost-like four-touch showing in round 19 which saw the axe swung, it was a relatively acceptable year. Dow is primed for a third-year breakout. As long as his job security isn't ripped out from underneath him by the injection of fellow midfielders Jack Newnes and Sam Philp, Dow will make positive inroads. He's a long-term pillar of Carlton's engine room but we're still yet to see enough. Pass for now.
Dow is able, d'ye ken
Despite not polling a vote in the Rising Star award, Paddy Dow had a very solid debut season with glimpses of the quality that saw him taken at pick 3. Like former Blue Bryce Gibbs he doesn't break from packs with blinding speed, but if he gets clear for delivery inside 50 he's got the talent to be as good as Gibbs by foot. Fantasy coaches can see how good Dow is going to be, and if he follows the Gibbs template then he's got some natural improvement ahead of him. Gibbs jumped thirty points in year two, and Dow's forward eligibility means he starts 2019 ten points behind the baseline. Someone will pick him up late in your draft based on this upside.
Dow hones average
One Bryce Gibbs goes out, one Bryce Gibbs (maybe) goes in. Paddy Dow shares a lot of characteristics with the now ex-Blue, including vision to deliver to targets inside 50 and work rate to accumulate as many touches inside as outside. He underwent a shoulder reconstruction late last season and won't have a full preseason as a result. That injury dropped Dow out of contention for the #1 pick, and it will probably mean he is disregarded by fantasy draft league coaches. He has drawn comparisons with Trent Cotchin whose debut year ended up delivering 15 replacement-level games, though with a lot of variation. The club will probably wait to pick him as he builds fitness, and you should wait too.
