This week I will look at two forwards who each started the season under $330,000, averaged less than 80 points for the first 6-8 rounds of the season, yet have clocked up an impressive 111 point average over the past five rounds. So perhaps I am jumping on these two dynamos a couple of weeks to late, but sometimes it is too hard to ignore players in such breakout form. The two players I talk of are Richmond’s new saviour, Jack Riewoldt, and Adelaide’s own rising star, Richard Douglas.

Richard Douglas:

It’s fair to say that the first time Douglas scored a ton against Richmond in round seven I was a skeptic, in fact I singled him out as a ‘blip on the radar’ in my Weekend Wrap. However, in all but one game since then he has scored at least 115 points, becoming Adelaide’s most consistent and in-form player. From rounds 1 to 6, Douglas was playing predominantly as a forward with cameo roles through the midfield – in this time he averaged just 63 points. However, since round seven and his more permanent move to the midfield, he has averaged a very good 111 points.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 23: Richard Douglas of the Crows handballs during the round five AFL match between the Western Bulldogs and the Adelaide Crows at Etihad Stadium on April 23, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)

The beginning to Douglas’ career has been a slow one – he is already 23 years of age and is in his fifth year of AFL football. His early career has been played mainly on the half-forward flanks, often as a defensive forward. His strength is in-close football, a fact that has helped him to an impressive tackle average, as well as a good ability to win his own ball in a contested situation. As a junior, Douglas was a midfielder with a good ability to find the pill – something which he finally looks to be matching at AFL level. I have personally found Douglas a very one-dimensional footballer over his first few years – he is good at the grunt work, but has shown very little flair and has never threatened to rip a game open. Things have certainly changed lately, and I have been watching him closely – his addition to Adelaide’s midfield is mostly due to their depth of injuries, however I cannot imagine Neil Craig moving him from here, even if they do all return.

He suddenly has a bit more excitement to his game, winning his own ball and running it up the wings – he is breaking through packs and delivering the ball into the forward line as if this has been his role for five years, not five games. He is also yet to gain the attention of taggers – lately, Thompson has been the target, whilst McLeod and Vince also find themselves being shut-down often. One of Douglas’s more impressive stats is his tackles – averaging just two per game until round 6, he has averaged five per game since – 12 points in difference. His kick to handball ratio is also strong – nearly two kicks for every handball since round 7.

Whilst Adelaide themselves are not going very strongly, Douglas seems to be leading their now young midfield. I also don’t believe that Adelaide are as bad as their form suggests – they did get thrashed again on the weekend, but they were still competitive through parts of the game. Also, plenty of their key players are either returning from injury or coming into form, suggesting a few more wins won’t be far away. Senior players will continue to either retire or be wrapped in cotton-wool in preparation for 2011, meaning that the younger players such as Douglas are going to be left with plenty of responsibility. He is probably a bit overpriced compared to a few weeks ago (his price has risen $125,400 since the start of the year), however he is one of only a few forwards who have averaged over 100 points for the past five weeks. He will also present as an uncommon selection for your team approaching finals – he is in the fewest amount of teams of all top-20 forwards. You could certainly do much worse than him for the remaining rounds – he is certainly showing no signs of slowing down.

Key Stats 2010:

Kick : handball ratio – 1.5 : 1

Average Marks per game: 4.8

Average Tackles per game: 3.4

Average Disposals per game: 20.5

Average Goals per game: 1

Breakeven: 55

Average Dream Team Points: 87

Price: $414,400(+$125,400)

Jack Riewoldt:

There were never too many doubts about whether Riewoldt would become a good player, but the worries were more about when – he plays in the forward line for the bottom team of the competition and has become known (in his short career) for being a very selfish player – something which certainly slows down his development. But in the past several weeks we have witnessed Riewoldt getting better and better every week. I sat behind the goals last week at Etihad Stadium as he kicked himself six goals against the Saints – and even the great defensive side that is St.Kilda had few answers for him. He has amazing strength for a player of his age – not that it looks like it – but watching Sam Fisher and Jason Blake double-teaming him, yet BOTH getting out-bodied by the much younger player proved just how good he is getting both physically and as a player.

There will be doubts about whether he can keep this form up, but from watching him he is certainly not showing any signs of slowing down. He is clearly loving his football at the moment and his current form is indicative of this. There is, however, no better example of how well he is playing then the 10 goals he kicked against West Coast this weekend – the first time a player has hit the ten-goal mark in nearly three years – the last player being Jono Brown (not bad company to be in!). This is no mean feat, especially when you are playing for the team sitting clear on the bottom of the ladder, in a position that would generally be considered one of the hardest in football. Yet in the past five weeks, he has kicked 32 goals – more than any other player in the competition, and a tally that now has him sitting two goals clear on top of the Coleman medal list.

What makes Riewoldt’s game more interesting is the way he plays his role – to put things in comparison, he is 193cm, the same size as his cousin, St.Kilda’s Nick Riewoldt – unlike many other players of his size, his ability at ground level is almost the equal of any small forward. Where most tall forwards would palm the ball down to their crumbers when unable to take a mark, Riewoldt instead palms the ball to space where he himself can run onto it to kick a goal, ala Stephen Milne. It is a freakish ability, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly from a player of his stature.

Goals are not his only way of troubling the stats sheet, as he has also worked on many other areas of his game too this year, such as his tackling – he averages just over four tackles, nearly double his average from 2009. His disposals average has remained the same from last year, but what has improved is his kick to handball ratio – in 2009, he was running at a very good 2.5 kicks for every handball, but this year his 5.6 kicks to every handball is simply ridiculous!

It could possibly still be argued that Riewoldt is not worth choosing due to the team he plays in, but I believe that this is not an issue – whilst it would be much better for him to be playing at Geelong or St.Kilda, the players delivering the ball to him are all great users of the ball (Cotchin, Martin, Cousins), meaning it is typically placed very well for him. Also, being such a key target, they go to him much more than any other player – think of Fevola at Carlton over the past few years. He is a brilliant player, despite only being 21 years old. He will only continue to get better and is even a chance to make it to the lofty heights of his great cousin if he works hard enough. He is not as left-field a pick as many may make themselves believe, plus with forward lines being the bane of all evil in 2010, it is worth being creative – it just may pay off!

Key Stats 2010:

Kick : handball ratio – 5.6 : 1

Average Marks per game: 5.75

Average Tackles per game: 4.1

Average Disposals per game: 12.75

Average Goals per game: 3.75

Breakeven: 23

Average Dream Team Points: 92.58

Price: $395,300(+$67,900)