Actually, we hope it’s an incurable disease. Thommo is the team’s most consistent, durable and prolific ball-winner, and the hardest-working. At 28 years of age and with 196 games behind him, he’s not quite in the veteran class but he’s not far off it, either. He is at the top of his game, and he needs to stay there for a long time yet.
He also needs to teach the Crows’ emerging midfielders. They can learn several lessons from him.
One of them is on durability. According to his player profile, Thompson has missed three games since arriving at the Crows from Melbourne at the end of 2004. That is durability of stainless-steel proportions. He consistently wins hard contests and he’s the team’s best tackler, so it’s not as if he preserves himself by prancing around on the outside and staying out of harm’s way. He has built his body to withstand the buffeting; he looks like he’s made of cured concrete and I’d back him to survive a collision with a cement mixer. The younger Crows need to build their bodies in a similar way.
Another lesson they can learn from Thommo is on work rate. I don’t know how far he runs in an average game but it must be a very long way because he always seems to be where the ball is. He does more than run, too: this year he leads all comers at the Crows in kicks, handballs, contested possessions, tackles, clearances, inside 50s and goal assists. Other Crows see what he does and should aspire to work as hard.
Thommo can also teach the Crow youngsters about consistency. He has had fewer than 25 disposals in only four games this year; in eight games he has had more than 30 and in one game, against Gold Coast on Saturday, he had a stunning 51.
Quite a few Crows could improve their tackling if they watched Thompson in action. He’s strong enough to stop the otherwise unstoppable, and practised enough to prevent it from releasing the ball.
He is not without his flaws. He has committed almost twice as many clangers as any other Crow this year (although that is partly a function of his high number of disposals), he gives away more free kicks than he earns, and his disposal effectiveness is relatively low (67%). He doesn’t score huge quantities of goals, although he is a superb set shot.
Nevertheless, his value is immense; he is the Crows’ colossus in the midfield. He continually moves the ball forward; he tackles, he scraps, he gets the ball clear.
He needs support. van Berlo and Douglas have similar work ethics and are emerging as elite midfielders, but they are yet to reach the level set by Thompson. Sloane and Dangerfield have progressed this year but are capable of much more improvement - when they match Thommo for consistency, durability and work rate they will be dead-set stars. Newcomers and part-timers in the midfield, such as Wright, Riley and Petrenko, also have much to learn. All are surely inspired by Thompson’s example.
We know Thommo excels in many aspects of the game. We should all hope that he also shines as a teacher because the Crows’ youngsters must become as hard, strong and fit as he. Chronic leather poisoning is an affliction we want to spread throughout the team.
