Jordan Dawson – Deck of DT 2025

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Why should I pick him?

In his time at Adelaide we have seen the very best that Jordan Dawson has to offer. He has been solid in his scoring, posting averages of 100.8, 113.4 and 105.3 in the three years at the club. The other thing we have seen from him is that he has been consistent with games played having played in 22 or 23 across his last four seasons which includes his last at Sydney. This is exactly what you are looking for in your premiums. Someone that is going to average you over 100 and is going to play week in and week out.

The Adelaide skipper is their engine room, he is the one that starts a lot of their attacks and he is the one that they want to have the footy in his hands and he loves to have a kick rather than a handball, he is also a good mark averaging over 5 per game in the last four seasons.

Adelaide didn’t take the step forward that many thought they would last season but with a couple of handy additions to the team and a fully fit Thilthorpe they are likely to take that step and when they do it will only be a good thing for Dawson’s scoring. He was tagged on occasion but he only had three scores under 80 being away against Carlton, Hawthorn and Brisbane in games that weren’t blowouts, they beat Carlton.

If we do what Calvin does and removes those three poor games his average raises to 112.6 so if the additions to the Crows side don’t steal points from him then he could certainly bring you some value.  He has a pretty good run to start the season facing the Saints, Bombers, North, Gold Coast and Geelong with his scores against them from last season being 114, 155 & 81, 122, 89 and 131 & 104 so by starting him you could be off to a flyer which would very much negate his high starting price.

Dawson remains the main man at the Crows and would be a handy starting player in your side.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

To put it simply, he is close to fully priced. While he does have that good run to start the season, one poor game and then he isn’t likely to improve on this price. Overall I  have him regressing slightly from last season, but not by much. In season 2024 we saw players like Soligo and Rankine really step up and take a bigger role in the CBAs which has seen Dawson and Laird lose some of their CBA numbers. Dawson attended 59% of CBAs last season compared to 70% the prior year.

We need to then consider the addition of James Peatling to the Crows and Matt Crouch also being fit after missing a big chunk of last season. What does this do to the amount of ball that is available to Dawson.  We will see Rankine, Soligo, Crouch, Peatling, Berry as well as Laird and Rachele on occasion running through that midfield.  With the Crows looking for a new midfield formula perhaps this will see Dawson’s possessions drop.

Taggers. Who are they going to go to? They won’t go to Laird if he is not in that midfield, he will get a forward tag. However, the key midfield tagger in any team will target Dawson for the very reasons I stated above, he is their engine room and the base for a lot of their attacks.

Lastly, that price is a high one. If you are going to go with either a Xerri or a Marshall in ruck and then a Merrett who is heading for his 1oth or 11th season in a row over 100 (sorry Warnie, tuned out a bit on that one) then if you take Dawson too that is $3.4m of your $17.8m or 19% of your overall budget on three players.  There are a lot of guys around that price like Heeney, Daicos, Butters and Walsh so you really only get to take one of them at the very most.

Deck of DT Rating.

KING

Dawson will score and he will score well. That  starting run should see him get off to a nice scoring run to start the season and if he can replicate his scoring against those teams from last year, in that scenario he could be a good option to begin the season. But, it is a high price to pay for a starting mid and there is a bit of risk involved as we don’t know the full rotations of that new Adelaide midfield. I think there are better options around that price point and remember, you can’t have all the guys that cost over $1m so choose wisely.

In Draft he is one to pick and will be gone early, don’t expect to see him on the board towards the back end of your third round. If you want him, then I would say spend a second round or an early third round selection on him.

Dunny

A passionate Port Adelaide Fan who simply loves footy! That is how I would describe myself. Catch my weekly article "The Thursday Scramble" with all the last minute things to think about for the weekend Follow: @pkd73.