Over-rated / Under Rated #2: James O'Donnell

[BontlowSzn]

A at the moment.

I had really high hopes for him this year on the back of 2023. However he regressed a bit unfortunately. I'm hoping it was just the injury disruptions.

Has incredible foot skills for the position he plays. Hoping for a big spike from him now.

[Mantis]

I have been very bullish on JOD due to athletic traits, but that changed after the EF so I'm grading him as ''A'' as of now.

He plays ''nice'' and to make it as a more than handy key defender you need to play with an edge/ be competitive animal, and he hasn't shown that side... yet.

He was shown up by Dear in the EF with the goal where he ran along the boundary line and didn't either bash Dear over the line, or kill the ball was very telling in the type of player he is.

He has time on his side so hopefully another pre-season has him being harder to play against in 2025.

[jazzadogs]

The fact that everyone is saying he's overrated tells me that he's actually correctly rated.

He's not a walk up start to the best 23, but we have a spot in our backline that nobody is a walk up start for - he is right in the mix as an inexperienced tall with decent skills, great work ethic and good potential to improve. He very well might be 'best 23' on our list because his competition is Khamis, Busslinger and Coffield - you could argue that any one of them is better than the others.

I think at the start of last season he was overrated based on a handful of games, but through the year to now I think it has stabilised and everybody knows where is at.

[Go_Dogs]

I think he’s probably fairly rated by supporters (most on WOOF at least, who seem to have him around the mark for the best 23 but not an absolute lock).

he’s probably played more footy in 2 years than his form has at times warranted and played in some interesting roles. It’s clear there has been an intent to accelerate his development learning the ropes at AFL level which some others haven’t had the benefit of. Given he’s got some many AFL attributes it kinda makes sense.

best is yet to come and hey, if he can forge another 10 years of his career 150 games is not out of the question.

[Grantysghost]

B).

Lots of potential, however lots of work to do.

Don't think he's a walk up to the best side.

Not sure he's super strong over head which is a concern for a KPD.

Very composed player, I think despite his strange path to the side he's a keeper.

[Rocco Jones]

Overrated at this stage but I also have hope.

Atm I kinda see him as an allrounder who doesn't earn a spot with either bat or ball. He seems to be in the side due to theoretically suiting the 3rd tall role rather than what he actually brings.

[SonofScray]

Properly rated.

A prospect with the right athletic and physical profile for an area of need getting opportunities ahead of schedule in some ways. Has a high ceiling, so folk are right to be invested in his trajectory.

[GVGjr]

Properly rated.

A prospect with the right athletic and physical profile for an area of need getting opportunities ahead of schedule in some ways. Has a high ceiling, so folk are right to be invested in his trajectory.

I'm hoping he is back into full training when they return. He's got a lot of upside but needs to start making a more positive impact soon.
He's added a bit of size in the off season which might mean he's more of a KPD than a 3rd tall.

[Vred]

Solid B - Big fan of him, but can see the holes in his game he needs to work on, but I do think he has huge scope for improvement.

[Eastdog]

I’ll go B. Huge potential still from JOD. Has more work to do but has a lot more improvement.

[MrMahatma]

Definitely overrated on here. I'd have thought he's not rated at all by anyone who isn't a dogs fan, is he?

[SonofScray]

I'm hoping he is back into full training when they return. He's got a lot of upside but needs to start making a more positive impact soon.
He's added a bit of size in the off season which might mean he's more of a KPD than a 3rd tall.

Who are the players that we’ve had in the role that you are hoping he is analogous to?

If he can get near Jones impact as a FB we’d all be very happy with that. My feeling is we’ll get a reasonable upgrade on Hamling/Roberts but over a longer period of time.

[GVGjr]

Who are the players that we’ve had in the role that you are hoping he is analogous to?

If he can get near Jones impact as a FB we’d all be very happy with that. My feeling is we’ll get a reasonable upgrade on Hamling/Roberts but over a longer period of time.

He reminds me a bit of a more mobile version of Keath.
He's still got a bit of work to do though.

[mighty_west]

Big upside, atm i'll give him a B but could potentially hit A in a few seasons, his first few games in the VFL (likewise with Freijah) could just see the potential given he came in first game and took marks at will and then followed it up, could play a few positions but i'd prefer he played down back as that 3rd tall fighting that position with Busslinger, Buku and Coffield, obviously not at the same level "yet" but i see his game similar to a Rance if he can bulk up a little more and be able to defend a bit stronger to go with his marking ability, reads it well enough but still needs a few more pre seasons to really hit his straps.

[Rusty12]

EASY ONE.
Based on the number of games he has been selected for so far, and the opportunity given, he is over-rated by our match committee.

Still hope that investment pays off, and he closes the gap to be properly rated this year.