STRENGTHS:

+ Contested work
+ Strength
+ Footy IQ
+ Intercept marking
+ Outside skills
+ Versatility

IMPROVEMENTS:

- Composure
- Speed

PROFILE:

Jemmika Douglas is a well-balanced player who can win it the ball on the inside or outside, and with time and space uses it well by hand or foot. Coming into 2024, Douglas identified groundballs as an area she could further improve, and it was a noticeable improvement as the year went on, taking it cleanly off the deck and firing out handballs to teammates on the move.

Douglas is first and foremost strong and powerful, which allows her to rip the ball from an opponent, or win a contested one-on-one, be it at ground level or in the air. She uses her frame well to bump an opponent off the ball, or nudge them out of a contest and clunk an intercept mark.

In the match against Western Australia at RSEA Park, Douglas was an intercepting machine, and even if she did not mark it, was able to get in the way and thwart a number of forward forays from the Sandgropers. The Vic Country representative has some fantastic footy IQ that allows her to get into the right positions to win the ball, and though not always a massive production player, is eye-catching with the way she can breakthrough tackles or work into space and take off to bomb the ball down the ground.

While she does not have that explosive speed, Douglas' power allows her to drive through her legs from a contest and make her difficult to tackle, or at least have tackles that will bring her down. Even if the opposition can stop her, Douglas will have the strength to get her arms free and handball clear.

Her work by hand is very effective and she is quick to turn and dish off without any issues, or overlap handball then follow-up with a block or presenting with a potential handball receive. Her kicking when in space is delightful and she assesses the options well, with her short-to-medium kicking when on the move going forward a particular strength as she lowers the eyes and can pinpoint targets forward of centre.

Douglas' main improvement in that skill area is her composure while under pressure. What is noticeable in her kicking is that when around a stoppage she tends to drop the ball on the boot with a "basketball style" grip at times and go for distance down the ground. That technique can be hit and miss, but it does create a chaos ball. However when she is running forward and spots a target, Douglas uses great technique to drill a pass to a leading target.

Having played as a forward who rotated into the midfield in past seasons, Douglas became more of a midfielder-defender. She improved her endurance over the off-season and early in 2024, which allowed her to impact for longer. Her strength one-on-one coming out of the backline and around the stoppages was a highlight, and she is so uncompromising in her attack, constantly putting her body on the line no matter what.

A Richmond fan due to being in the Tigers' NGA, Douglas models her game on the Hosking twins (Sarah and Jess), as well as Maddy Prespakis, with a focus on having fun while being serious at the same time. Her attack on the football certainly draws comparisons to those players, and her top-age season has held her in good stead for the future.