Dawson Simpson – Murray Bushrangers
205cm, 97kg (size taken from TAC Cup Record but is said to have grown to 207cm, 100kg)

Junior position: Ruck
Projected AFL position: Ruck

Strengths
Height
Fearlessness
Ground skills for size
Second efforts

Weaknesses
Ruck technique
Low possession winner

Question marks
His height has been a distinct advantage in juniors, but will it stand out as much in AFL as he’ll be up against smarter and more athletic opponents?

Comments
Dawson Simpson is a massive unit. Listed as 205cm in the TAC Cup Record (measurements taken at start of year). On top of his extreme height he also has a decent amount of bulk behind him tipping around 100kg, but the thing that makes Simpson such an exciting prospect is that this monster frame doesn’t detract heavily from his athleticism.

Immediately these measurement would conjure images of a tall dopey bloke who couldn’t put one leg ahead of the other, nevermind catch a ball, but Simpson actually moves around the ground a lot better than you would expect. On top of this he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty with second efforts so he displays a good level of intensity.

He seems to have a very good understanding of his size advantage because he doesn’t hold much fear, whether that be backing into a contest or bending down to pick up a ball in traffic.

He has a bit of work to do with his rucking as he still loses hitouts to guys under 200cm at juniors. Shaun McKernan and Jackson Trengove with superior technique and leap got the better of him in their two finals match-ups despite giving away over 10cm to Simpson, so this is a clear indication that some improvement needs to happen there and height alone won’t do it for him. With that said, it’s not like he is a bad ruckman. He is quite good and made Vic Country this year against some stiff competition, but better technique mixed with his height would go a long way.

At this stage he is still a low possession winner, even in juniors. He’s not a bad user of the ball when he gets his hands on it but he’s not really influential around the ground. Reasonable athleticism and immense size are a good combination so he’s got the makings right there to be moulded into a more effective around the ground player, but that’s not an extremely likely prospect.

Upside is a key term with Dawson Simpson. He’s shown good signs at junior level and has every chance to improve. His improvement over this season alone has shown that he could be on the way to realising his potential.

Mid second/early third round pick

Stats
2007 TAC Cup season
18 games played
6.4
68 kicks (44 of them effective)
67 handballs (58 effective)
277 hitouts
16 contested marks
30 uncontested marks
37 tackles