Rating our list 2021: Riley Garcia 38

[Hotdog60]

Hi All,

During the off season I thought I would start our list rating again. I won't included the new recruits as there is nothing to go on and I'll leave out desisted and retired players as there is no point.

Like last time I'll count down from the highest number to the lowest but I thought the poll rating this time will go on a different tack and get Woofers thoughts on how they rank from Elite to Below Average.

[Hotdog60]

https://s.afl.com.au/staticfile/AFL%20Tenant/AFL/Players/ChampIDImages/XLarge2022/1006533.png?i10c=img.resize(scale_height:0.504)

Western Australian midfielder Riley Garcia arrived at the Kennel with pick 62 in the 2019 NAB AFL Draft. Garcia is a prolific ball-winning midfielder who runs hard both ways, and is a stoppage specialist. He averaged 20 disposals (9.2 contested), five clearances and 3.5 tackles in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, despite suffering an ACL injury in the deciding match of the carnival. Garcia is a natural leader who plays with enthusiasm, with his tough, physical approach setting an excellent standard for his team. After spending his first year on an AFL list rehabilitating his ACL reconstruction, the 20-year-old suffered another injury setback during the 2021 pre-season.
LINK (https://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/players/3741/riley-garcia)

[Hotdog60]

I marked Riley at this stage of his career as average but I believe he has some up side and could possibly be a Libba in waiting.
This may be the case of wait build on what you have and be ready in the event that Libba is not available.
I can't see him in any other position and that others could be ahead of him.

[bornadog]

I also gave him an average at this stage.

I thought he showed some glimpses last year of the making of an AFL player. He has been coming off a knee injury and with another preseason under his belt, he has the opportunity to show he can make it as a player.

[GVGjr]

It's not often a club will draft a player who's effectively not going to play the following season and especially bring him interstate but this is what we did with Garcia. Clearly we were impressed with the long term vision for him.
I think I've mentioned previously that I was fortunate enough to do a teams meeting with Cody Weightman back in 2020 and this lead to his flatmate Garcia joining in for the whole session.

I found him to a be a footy head and an engaging youngster. He see's himself primarily as a high half forward flanker who could take a turn in the midfield and someone who helps lock the back in the forward line.

His career effectively started last season and he secured 9 senior game and his best performance was probably against the Crows where he had 18 possessions, a goal and 3 tackles.

2022 shapes as a big one for him as he needs to build on his progress in 2021. He's got plenty of competition for spots in the forward line so he will need to make the most of the opportunities when he gets his chance.

He is still below average but he can improve. I'm not sure what that one or two attributes he will bring to his game that will make him invaluable for us.

[EasternWest]

Average, too soon to make any real call. But I like him and am optimistic for him.

[Bulldog Joe]

I like Riley, but he can't be rated other than below average at this point.

However, he is the type of player who can really contribute to an improvement in the team as someone who can take a big step forward.

[jazzadogs]

It's interesting how we are rating the players - he is average for where he is at in his career, but he is below average as an AFL player.

I like Garcia and think he has some great tools - will be an interesting battle between he and West in the coming years, I imagine.

[GVGjr]

It's interesting how we are rating the players - he is average for where he is at in his career, but he is below average as an AFL player.

I like Garcia and think he has some great tools - will be an interesting battle between he and West in the coming years, I imagine.

He's got some competition for a spot. VDM, Weightman, JJ, Scott and Hannan are in the mix along with 3 talls.
West and Garcia need to to replace a few of those guys to grab a spot. Jones might surprise as well.

[jazzadogs]

I see West and Garcia as different to the others you've listed, in that their best position over the course of their career is likely to be inside the centre square. It's not really something we've got to see from either of them yet though, and I agree they're competing with all of those guys in the short term.

[soupman]

I really like him. My impression of him is that he brings intensity and fight despite being undersized, and I think that's a very valuable commodity for a player that plays a role that always pegs him around number 20-26 on the list.

I do have queries on whether he can be more than that though, I'm just not sure what he has that sets him apart. Very few guys his size are succesful AFL players without a star attribute, his skills look standard, his speed is good but not something that would set him apart, his composure and decision making seems alright so maybe thats it, but he isn't damaging enough with that unless he can average around 15-25 touches a game which is tough off a flank.

I see him and West a bit like Honeychurch, both really talented players that due to their size are going to struggle big time to make an AFL career actually happen. Too small to be full time mids and not tricky enough to be a full time forward, and in that role unless you have real polish and hurt factor then you are very droppable regardless of effort. McNeil is a similiar sized player but due to his running ability and arguably better goal sense from what we've seen he has some weapons to build on that these guys maybe don't have.

[Testekill]

I've put him down as average but I really like him. He's got that ability to burst from a pack that is priceless.

[Vred]

Ability to be elite, highly rated internally at the club, and from what his shown, his got it. Average at the moment but can't wait to see him develop

[Mofra]

Has a dose of bastard that is valuable to us. I like him

[Mantis]

I see him and West a bit like Honeychurch, both really talented players that due to their size are going to struggle big time to make an AFL career actually happen. Too small to be full time mids and not tricky enough to be a full time forward, and in that role unless you have real polish and hurt factor then you are very droppable regardless of effort. McNeil is a similiar sized player but due to his running ability and arguably better goal sense from what we've seen he has some weapons to build on that these guys maybe don't have.

I don't.

HC was much smaller in physical stature which meant his ability to stick a tackle was limited, and he would often get brushed aside. Garcia already shows a willingness & the capability to mix it physically, and he tackles with intent... think his tackle to bring down Oliver late in the Melb game in the wet last year which led to a Bont goal.

Obviously we are stacked with talent in the midfield area, but a workhorse like Garcia is a valuable commodity.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I don't.

HC was much smaller in physical stature which meant his ability to stick a tackle was limited, and he would often get brushed aside. Garcia already shows a willingness & the capability to mix it physically, and he tackles with intent... think his tackle to bring down Oliver late in the Melb game in the wet last year which led to a Bont goal.

Obviously we are stacked with talent in the midfield area, but a workhorse like Garcia is a valuable commodity.

Yep - Garcia is a bit of a wrecking ball. He hits hard, fast and low and is reasonably quick to get back to his feet.

Type of player that brings 'energy' and I see early-Dahlhaus traits in him.

[Bulldog Revolution]

He is still below average but he can improve. I'm not sure what that one or two attributes he will bring to his game that will make him invaluable for us.

His read of the game and decision making showed glimpses of being the attributes that could separate him. He looked to have some of the footy nous when crumbing/roving/getting to the drop of the ball.

But needs to keep building his body and get super fit so that he can get to as many contests as possible and then his read/decisions can shine

[Bulldog4life]

Reminds me of Libba snr so I definitely think he is going to be a regular. When I'm not sure.

[FrediKanoute]

Above average for me.

Has pace; has strength. Given he was used as part of the midfield rotations for a while last season is a plus. Ithink he will play a number of games next year

[Go_Dogs]

Needs to tighten up his disposal and decision making under pressure to have a long term future, makes a few errors at critical times. He is a strong competitor though and from all reports dedicated to improving.

I think he’s a 8-12 games in 2022 player and has an opportunity to cement his spot in our forward half if he can add a bit more goal scoring and halving 2:1s to his game. At this stage behind LDM and Cody, and maybe Scott, probably on par with West and McNeil.