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Certified with Bonz Tick of Approval
- Sep 13, 2011
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More love for X:
But the combination of that ankle injury and the Demons’ capitulation over the last six weeks, plus the emergence of some bona fide alternatives, has made the title of the league’s best ruckman a wide open one. And for me at least, none of the candidates have been better than North Melbourne’s Tristan Xerri.
So confident was Alastair Clarkson in the man mountain that he was willing to move on from club legend Todd Goldstein to give Xerri full ruck responsibility; it is a job that the big fella has taken with both hands.
No ruckman in the game tackles harder or more often than Xerri, and it ain’t close: he sits second in the AFL behind Matt Rowell for tackles. His effort in the Roos’ win over West Coast earlier in the year to run down Liam Ryan and impact his kick is the most inspirational act I’ve seen this year.
Getting better as the Roos have surged, he is a stoppage force that allows the likes of Luke Davies-Uniacke and Harry Sheezel to play more of an outside role, receiving the ball from Xerri and George Wardlaw instead of having to win it at the source themselves.
There aren’t too many ruckmen in the game good enough and bullocking enough to have their star midfielders play in this way, and especially not for an entire year: Brodie Grundy, briefly, was one, while Lloyd Meek has certainly been another.
Without Xerri doing the hard yards at ground level against Richmond and a mighty tough opponent in Toby Nankervis, winning 20 disposals and laying ten tackles, Davies-Uniacke doesn’t get off the leash on the outside to kick three classy goals and win best-afield honours.
His work around the ground has improved vastly, too: he’s taken 11 marks in the last two weeks, well above his season average; just three of them contested shows how hard he’s working to get into space and be an outlet to use coming out of defence.
There’s no one more improved in the AFL in 2024 than Xerri, and while Rowan Marshall, Grundy, Meek and Gawn himself all have compelling cases to be considered, I can’t go past the Roo with a helmet and a whole lotta ticker.
4. The All-Australian ruckman is no longer Max Gawn
From virtually the start of the season, Max Gawn has been the de facto pick in all our mock All-Australian teams.But the combination of that ankle injury and the Demons’ capitulation over the last six weeks, plus the emergence of some bona fide alternatives, has made the title of the league’s best ruckman a wide open one. And for me at least, none of the candidates have been better than North Melbourne’s Tristan Xerri.
So confident was Alastair Clarkson in the man mountain that he was willing to move on from club legend Todd Goldstein to give Xerri full ruck responsibility; it is a job that the big fella has taken with both hands.
No ruckman in the game tackles harder or more often than Xerri, and it ain’t close: he sits second in the AFL behind Matt Rowell for tackles. His effort in the Roos’ win over West Coast earlier in the year to run down Liam Ryan and impact his kick is the most inspirational act I’ve seen this year.
Getting better as the Roos have surged, he is a stoppage force that allows the likes of Luke Davies-Uniacke and Harry Sheezel to play more of an outside role, receiving the ball from Xerri and George Wardlaw instead of having to win it at the source themselves.
There aren’t too many ruckmen in the game good enough and bullocking enough to have their star midfielders play in this way, and especially not for an entire year: Brodie Grundy, briefly, was one, while Lloyd Meek has certainly been another.
Without Xerri doing the hard yards at ground level against Richmond and a mighty tough opponent in Toby Nankervis, winning 20 disposals and laying ten tackles, Davies-Uniacke doesn’t get off the leash on the outside to kick three classy goals and win best-afield honours.
His work around the ground has improved vastly, too: he’s taken 11 marks in the last two weeks, well above his season average; just three of them contested shows how hard he’s working to get into space and be an outlet to use coming out of defence.
There’s no one more improved in the AFL in 2024 than Xerri, and while Rowan Marshall, Grundy, Meek and Gawn himself all have compelling cases to be considered, I can’t go past the Roo with a helmet and a whole lotta ticker.
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