Carlton great Greg Williams says Paddy Dow must “pull his finger out and toughen up” if he is to reach his potential.
Williams initially pushed Dow’s case for a senior recall after a knee injury forced him to miss a large chunk of the season.
Dow averaged 10 disposals and one tackle in his two games back for the Blues, resulting in his omission for tonight’s clash with Sydney, and Williams was blunt in his assessment of the young midfielder.
"Teaguey (David Teague) has obviously made it hard for him to get a game, which is a good thing because he got a lot of games early,” Williams told SEN Breakfast.
“I thought just watching him … he’s just not desperate enough, not going hard enough and I’m pretty blunt but I think you get what you deserve - you’ve got to toughen up.
“I remember telling Jobe (Watson) this when he was about 19, I said, ‘You’ve got to play like a man or don’t play’. Jobe was thinking he was going hard but he was going half-hard. Then he started going hard and he turned into a man and the same with Josh Kennedy.
“A lot of these young players, they’ve got to get to a level to be able to compete with other men and Dowy can’t at the moment.
“He’s got to pull his finger out and toughen up, it’s as simple as that.
Dow, 20, was selected by the Blues with the third pick overall in the 2017 draft and has played a total of 42 games.