Dougal Howard ranked #1

[WellardSaint]

Champion Data has ranked Howard
#1 (elite) for
-finger-pointing at team-mates
-falling over while tying his own shoelaces
-running like a baby giraffe
-moving ungainly like Mason Cox but without the Yank accent


I say we hang onto the big orangutang

[CURLY]

Trying to remember a tall forward kicking a bag on him.

[skeptic]

Personally I think the criticism is very overblown

He’s copped flak mercilessly for a few unforced errors but overall I reckon he’s actually done quite well in the role that he’s been in

[magnifisaint]

He's s***.

[D.B.Cooper]

Personally I think the criticism is very overblown

He’s copped flak mercilessly for a few unforced errors but overall I reckon he’s actually done quite well in the role that he’s been in

Agree.

Not having his best period without doubt, but is the Saintsational hysteria warranted?

Suggesting Van Es, Adams or Highmore replace him is not the solution.

[Otiman]

He's a KPD for playing on the oppositions biggest forward.

Expecting him to be an in and under player, able to perform slick handballs like a midfielder in wet conditions is ludicrous.

The reality is that he shouldn't have even been in the situations where his skill errors cost us.

The back 6 (or 7, 8, 18.. however many) is a team, and Howard is a very important part of it.

You don't expect Brad Hill to win any ruck contests.

[Impatient Sainter]

Professional footballers should be able to hit a team mate with a hand ball 5 metres away regardless of the conditions. Howard misses marks, kicks and handballs on dry days so it's not like the weather changes things. He falls over basically everytime he has to change direction quickly, the similarities with a baby giraffe are damning. He does take the biggest forward most weeks and if we had anyone big enough to fill the void he should be playing VFL.

[Otiman]

18 St Kilda players with more clangers than Howard this year. He has also played every game whilst others have not.

Also ranked 18th in total disposals - so pretty much on par with the rest of the team.

Not bad for a baby giraffe.

[magnifisaint]

Should be ranked #1 for the worst defender at the club.
I don't like bagging players but he really annoys me.

[Annoyedsaint]

You’re all on drugs defending him!!

Watch him spoil, he misses half of them.
Then watch Steven May. He pounds them away from the danger area and away from small forwards or out of bounds to reset. That is the standard. Takes no prisoners with the body too.

Howard flops with any slight body contact and is the Titanic when turning for a slender defender.

Add his kicking/handballing where it’s a lottery of where it will go.

This guy makes Zac Dawson look like Alex Rance.

He has no improvement left to get better either.
Out you go

[R. Harvey 3 votes!]

s*** post. No player means to f*** up. They are all trying their best. How about we I dunno maybe support our players?

[Otiman]

#1 in the club and #6 in the comp for 1%'ers.

I do understand the criticism, he has a punchable face, poor body language and makes high profile mistakes. No reason to come with knives out for the bloke though, he pulls on the Saints jumper every week.

Would be in the top 10 full backs to play for the club. I've got Frawley, Hudghton, and possibly Shanahan ahead of him since I started following the Saints in the 80s. Ahead of Zac Dawson.

[B.M]

He’s not as good as Dawson

Were you not around 2009-2011?

Dawson was an extremely close checking disciplined full back

Limited skill but very good defensively

Dougal is poor defensively and gets found out one out

Is always going to have high 1per centres he’s a full back, always going to have high kicking efficiency- he chips it around to uncontested marks in the back half or long to a contest.

He’s an ok player - needs to defend better one out!
He was out bodied by a small last week

[CQ SAINT]

Dougal Howard is not the problem, the amount of work he has to do because our mids have been second to the ball at stoppages is the problem. It's beginning to break Wilkie.

[B.M]

Wilkie is struggling due to the fact he plays on guys 4inches and 10 kilos bigger.

[CQ SAINT]

Wilkie is struggling due to the fact he plays on guys 4inches and 10 kilos bigger.

Wilkie has been doing that his whole career, but currently the turnovers on our half forward line are like an giant iceberg crashing into our Titanic. Wilkie is defending well, his disposal is suffering because our nmidfield can't spread and need Sinclair to show them how. Fix the midfield.

[Scollop]

Last year we were top 6 in defence and about 15th for points for. In other words we were strong defensively and poor for goal attack.

https://www.espn.com.au/afl/standings/_/season/2022

How did our backline talls perform last year and what was each person’s role?

Did Ratten have Howard performing a different role or did Josh Battle perform a different role?

[cwrcyn]

Like him or not, we'd be in serious trouble without him. His absence late last season showed just how important he is.

Okay, he's had some embarrassingly bad moments lately, and believe me, he's had me frothing at the mouth, but he also does a lot of good things.

He's no superstar, that's for sure, but he's a pretty good player and the only 200cm defender we have in a backline otherwise undersized

[Cordz2]

He is related elite for spoils and 1 on ones in defensive 50 - thats what we got him for. Look at the low scores against us. Give the bloke a break. His kicking efficiency is excellent. he makes mistakes when the tea places him under massive pressure.

[The_Dud]

The fact Wilkie is first choice for the most dangerous forward says a lot.

Howard just needs to cut the poor efforts and loose checking out of his game.

[ace]

#1 in the club and #6 in the comp for 1%'ers.

I do understand the criticism, he has a punchable face, poor body language and makes high profile mistakes. No reason to come with knives out for the bloke though, he pulls on the Saints jumper every week.

Would be in the top 10 full backs to play for the club. I've got Frawley, Hudghton, and possibly Shanahan ahead of him since I started following the Saints in the 80s. Ahead of Zac Dawson.

Verdun Howell and Bobby Murray were supermen.
When Des Tuddenham ran through the centre of ground and kicked to full forward Bobby Murray marked and kicked for the boundary.
If Collingwood had taken the mark you may never have heard of Barry Breen.
Siren
Celebration.

[magnifisaint]

He is related elite for spoils and 1 on ones in defensive 50 - thats what we got him for. Look at the low scores against us. Give the bloke a break. His kicking efficiency is excellent. he makes mistakes when the tea places him under massive pressure.

Wow. Just goes to show how overrated stats are. He is totally useless one on one. He gets beaten in the air and on the ground. Lyon won't play him on the best forward because of his limitations.

[1971]

He’s not as good as Dawson

Were you not around 2009-2011?

Dawson was an extremely close checking disciplined full back

Limited skill but very good defensively

Dougal is poor defensively and gets found out one out

Is always going to have high 1per centres he’s a full back, always going to have high kicking efficiency- he chips it around to uncontested marks in the back half or long to a contest.

He’s an ok player - needs to defend better one out!
He was out bodied by a small last week

I am with you BM. I am not knocking Howard but supporting Dawson. When he was at the Saints he was a pretty decent fullback in a good defensive side. Didn't see people like Hawkins tear him apart.

[WellardSaint]

Kicking in after a point- prior to this season, Dougal insisted on doing it.
This year, he may have done it a handful of times. NWM, Sincs, etc will do it.
Bugger me, Boris is still our backline coach- so obviously this pre-season it was decided he was the worst option

[shanegrambeau]

Wasn't it the Essendon game last year - Spud's game, where he was either suspended or injured?

The result without him was a disaster.