What Will He Bring: Josh Dolan

After drafting Lachie Jaques with Pick 29 in the National Draft, the Western Bulldogs were again on the clock only minutes later when Pick 31 came around.

Initially the pick belonged to the Brisbane Lions, but just prior to Night One of the draft the two teams agreed to a swap of picks. At the time of the trade, Brisbane gave the Bulldogs Pick 27 in exchange for Picks 35 and 48. The deal allowed the Bulldogs to move up the draft order, while the Lions acquired more picks to match bids on the likes of Levi Ashcroft and Sam Marshall. As for the Bulldogs, it gave them access to Josh Dolan, whose name they duly called out when their turn came around.

THE PLAYER:

Name: Josh Dolan

Height: 177cm

Position: Forward/Midfielder

Club: Sandringham Dragons

WHAT THEY SAID:

A hard-working half-forward who can also go through the midfield, Dolan is a hard runner and a neat and creative ball-user. He was part of Sandringham’s premiership side in the Coates Talent League as a bottom-age player last year and has taken further strides with his game this season. Dolan played in three of Vic Metro’s four matches in the under-18 national championships, particularly impressing in his match against Western Australia. He logged 19 disposals, four marks, 11 score involvements and kicked two goals that day. He also kicked two goals in the side’s final match against Vic Country. In addition to regular half-forward duties, Dolan has impressed spending time as an onballer with the Dragons this year.” – via CODE Sports

2024 SEASON:

After being involved in the Dragons 2023 Premiership as an underage player, Dolan looked set to take his game to a new level in 2024, before a torn meniscus in the second half of the season brought about a premature end to his campaign, seeing him miss out on both a second flag and the combine testing. But before then, he’d impressed both in the Coates Talent League and in the U18 Championships. His average of 19.8 disposals and 1.6 goals in his five games for the Dragons was enough to see him selected for Victoria Metro, where across the three games he played, Champion Data rated him elite for average score involvements (6), above average for disposals (12.7), score assists (1.3) and forward-50 groundball gets (1.7) and average for goals (1.3). His performance in the championship decider was a highlight, kicking two goals from 20 disposals.

WHAT WILL HE BRING:

While the Bulldogs are blessed with key talls in the forward line, one thing that they don’t have a lot are natural small forwards. In that respect, Dolan fits the bill perfectly. While he missed the combine at the end of the year, testing that took place earlier in the season saw him complete the 20m sprint in 2.92s, and managed 22.1 in the Yo-Yo (Beep) Test, highlighting that he is a player with pace to burn and capable of running all day, making him a dangerous option when the ball hits the ground inside the Bulldogs attacking 50.

His efforts are also regularly rewarded on the scoreboard, as he booted 12 goals in eight games across the Coates Talent League and the U18 Championships, while ranking above average for score assists and elite for score involvements suggests that he is also able to generate scores for his teammates with his use of the ball inside attacking 50 a real feature in his game, both when going to for and when setting them up.

His endurance means that he is also capable of playing further up the ground, and his last two games for Sandringham showed that he can be used as a midfield option, picking up 28 and 26 disposals respectively.

Blessed with pace, great agility, a knack for knowing where the goals, and a character that Draft Expert Cal Twomey described as the best in the draft, Dolan has all the tools to become a very craft and popular small forward for many years to come at the Bulldogs.