So harsh winter has blown a very cold wind our way.
Less than four months after his return from an ACL injury, it has been confirmed Naitanui has suffered the same injury in his other knee.
The most influential player in the team (and arguably the entire competition), losing his impact places a serious dent into our premiership chances… Or does it?
Could it be a case that his unfortunate injury could present an opportunity for the team to improve?
The Difficulty of Playing NicNat
It is without question that Naitanui is one of the standout players in the league – a one-in-a-generation talent that is able to impose himself upon stoppage contests unlike many others in the history of the sport.
He does have a downside however: if you have Naitanui in the team then you need to play an understudy also, as his management requires spending comparatively small amounts of time on the ground for a first-choice player. It is not a question of whether Nic is ever able to ruck by himself, there always needs to be a second specialist ruck in the team in order to compete during the 35-40% time when he is on the bench.
As you can see playing Naitanui requires the involvement of two specialist rucks in the squad. This means of course the secondary ruck must play a non-preferred role for considerable periods of the game; otherwise the team effectively loses a bench rotation, which would severely impact the output from the midfield. These non-preferred roles are generally the following:
For example, there are correlations between the amount of time we have multiple rucks are on the ground and increases in opposition rebound percentage and decreases in our total number of disposals.
Playing two rucks is without doubt a handicap upon our performance, but Naitanui is so good that if he is fit you play him anyway.
The Accidental Hero
Enter Scott Lycett. A different breed of ruckman to Naitanui. Whereas Nic is defined by his leaping and deft tapwork, Lycett has the ability to get to stoppages over and over again. His strength is his will to compete. In other words, Naitanui is to Gardiner as Lycett is to Cox.
The key is Lycett is aerobically more than capable of playing out a match as a solo ruckman. The unfortunate fact is, through a combination of injury and conservative selection; he has never had a chance to prove himself this way.
The closest is all the way back in Round 19, 2015.
He played almost 80% in the ruck with McGovern and Yeo filling the rest. He had what still remains career-high figures for hit outs, clearances and contested possessions that night in a dominant performance that would have given us the win if not for Sam Mitchell’s brilliance. No wonder he is frustrated and looking for further opportunities elsewhere.
If not for Naitanui’s injury, Lycett would certainly be leaving the club. Now the opportunity of a lifetime has presented itself however, he may just be exactly what we need – if we use him correctly.
There is no reason why we cannot deploy Lycett as a singular ruckman for the remaining games this season, supplementing Waterman, Yeo and Ah Chee as chop-out rucks during the short stints when he is on the bench.
The upcoming rounds against sides with weakened/injured ruck stocks presents the perfect opportunity to try such a strategy.
The additional midfield rotation and positional flexibility imbued to the squad may well be just what we need to conquer the MCG this September and become premiers once again.
Less than four months after his return from an ACL injury, it has been confirmed Naitanui has suffered the same injury in his other knee.
The most influential player in the team (and arguably the entire competition), losing his impact places a serious dent into our premiership chances… Or does it?
Could it be a case that his unfortunate injury could present an opportunity for the team to improve?
The Difficulty of Playing NicNat
It is without question that Naitanui is one of the standout players in the league – a one-in-a-generation talent that is able to impose himself upon stoppage contests unlike many others in the history of the sport.
He does have a downside however: if you have Naitanui in the team then you need to play an understudy also, as his management requires spending comparatively small amounts of time on the ground for a first-choice player. It is not a question of whether Nic is ever able to ruck by himself, there always needs to be a second specialist ruck in the team in order to compete during the 35-40% time when he is on the bench.
As you can see playing Naitanui requires the involvement of two specialist rucks in the squad. This means of course the secondary ruck must play a non-preferred role for considerable periods of the game; otherwise the team effectively loses a bench rotation, which would severely impact the output from the midfield. These non-preferred roles are generally the following:
- Deployed as a spare in defence – this is a traditional second ruck role that is not often utilised in recent times due to greater emphasis upon speed and disposal efficiency in the modern game.
- Deployed as an extra key forward – this tends to be the modern utilisation for a second or resting ruckman.
For example, there are correlations between the amount of time we have multiple rucks are on the ground and increases in opposition rebound percentage and decreases in our total number of disposals.
Playing two rucks is without doubt a handicap upon our performance, but Naitanui is so good that if he is fit you play him anyway.
The Accidental Hero
Enter Scott Lycett. A different breed of ruckman to Naitanui. Whereas Nic is defined by his leaping and deft tapwork, Lycett has the ability to get to stoppages over and over again. His strength is his will to compete. In other words, Naitanui is to Gardiner as Lycett is to Cox.
The key is Lycett is aerobically more than capable of playing out a match as a solo ruckman. The unfortunate fact is, through a combination of injury and conservative selection; he has never had a chance to prove himself this way.
The closest is all the way back in Round 19, 2015.
He played almost 80% in the ruck with McGovern and Yeo filling the rest. He had what still remains career-high figures for hit outs, clearances and contested possessions that night in a dominant performance that would have given us the win if not for Sam Mitchell’s brilliance. No wonder he is frustrated and looking for further opportunities elsewhere.
If not for Naitanui’s injury, Lycett would certainly be leaving the club. Now the opportunity of a lifetime has presented itself however, he may just be exactly what we need – if we use him correctly.
There is no reason why we cannot deploy Lycett as a singular ruckman for the remaining games this season, supplementing Waterman, Yeo and Ah Chee as chop-out rucks during the short stints when he is on the bench.
The upcoming rounds against sides with weakened/injured ruck stocks presents the perfect opportunity to try such a strategy.
The additional midfield rotation and positional flexibility imbued to the squad may well be just what we need to conquer the MCG this September and become premiers once again.
