Opinion First Choice Ruck - Pitto vs TDK

[BlueBayou]

Or even Kemp off our list?

Thing is there are a few mentioned from time to time in state leagues who get overlooked because undersized.
But if they have the tank and ball skills, undersized may not matter in a 2x pinch-hitter setup.

How tall is Kemp? I hadnt even thought of him.

I've always said that Jack is a natural ruck rover, like his grandfather. Finding someone of simmilar tenacity, skill level , determination and strength in the cast offs would be a challenge I would think, but not an idea without some merit.

 

[swuzzlebubble]

How tall is Kemp? I hadnt even thought of him.

Think he has Cripps covered who took a few hitouts

 

[The Sultan]

Pitto is a good ruckman but as soon as the ball is on the ground or in the oppo's hands he is a liability.. he moves soooo slow, like he has sandbags tied to his ankles.
Young is too valuable as a defender, and another pre-season gelling with his fellow defenders will be hugly benificial.

Think we need another ruckman, someone not getting a game at their current club, and can get at a pretty basic salary level. i.e Ladhams, Meek.

 

[Sheephead]

TDK all day, every day. Pitto is the Titanic. Can tap but our defensive pressure now supersedes that need. TDK can be Krooze-esque.

Deep forward -McKay. Deep back -Young.

 

[reg_lower91]

Yes, TDK is better around the ground vs Pitto however his ruck work needs to seriously improve in the off season.

Gets beaten in most ruck contests which is what his predominate task is - rucking to the rovers.

I constantly compare him to Sam Draper as they are the same age & very similar build. When you look at the stats, Sam Draper is far better in the ruck contests but TDK slightly better around the ground.

In my opinion, you want to see your ruckman be naturally skilled in ruck contests/ hitouts and they learn how to damage opposition teams around around the ground. TDK is the opposite.

At the same age, Grundy was averaging double the hitouts which TDK averaged this year.

Also at the same age, NicNat (who I think TDK is most similar to IMO) averaged 8 more hitouts per game than TDK did this year.

Would like to see him make some in-roads this off-season with his hitouts. It’s where he needs to take a leap to the next level.

 

[BlueBayou]

Pitto is a good ruckman but as soon as the ball is on the ground or in the oppo's hands he is a liability.. he moves soooo slow, like he has sandbags tied to his ankles.
Young is too valuable as a defender, and another pre-season gelling with his fellow defenders will be hugly benificial.

Think we need another ruckman, someone not getting a game at their current club, and can get at a pretty basic salary level. i.e Ladhams, Meek.

agreed. We need a passably servicable interim ruck, and hope TDK comes good/gets stronger/learns the caper.

 

[Bletch]

I think Pitto has the better ruck craft now, but gets shown up at centre bounces, as he doesn't have much of a leap. TDK on the other hand still gets pushed off contests too easily, but can be a target up forward. TDK has more upside you'd think, but has a lot of work to do. I think he'll get the nod, as we need to get as much game time into him as we can. But Pitto will certainly get regular game time.

The problem we have is that neither of them have sufficient impact around the ground. They both need to work on this over summer. Ideally we'd like to play both with Caz gone, but we can't afford two talls who don't offer anything more than ruck contests. It's a problem. If JSOS is rucking again next year, we're in trouble.

Not a lot has changed since this post a year ago.

I probably underestimated Pitto's centre-bounce work (or it's something he did improve on this year). As a pure ruckman he's streets ahead of TDK. Our mids get first use more often than not when Pitto's rucking.

But TDK is still so enticing. His ability to run out a game has improved - he did a monster of work over the period Pitto was out. But he must improve his tap-work if he is going to hold down the #1 spot. Even in his best games, e.g. 2nd Freo match, he still comprehensively loses the hitouts. Also needs to improve his goalkicking. He needs to be a threat up forward. He can take a contested mark, but his set shots are a lottery.

I was wrong on JSOS. He competed all year against guys way bigger than him, and did a great job. But it's still not ideal.

Where to? Really not sure. I think we need backup - whether they think Mirkov will be game ready may determine the strategy for draft/trade.

 

[Justnetime]

Not a lot has changed since this post a year ago.

I probably underestimated Pitto's centre-bounce work (or it's something he did improve on this year). As a pure ruckman he's streets ahead of TDK. Our mids get first use more often than not when Pitto's rucking.

But TDK is still so enticing. His ability to run out a game has improved - he did a monster of work over the period Pitto was out. But he must improve his tap-work if he is going to hold down the #1 spot. Even in his best games, e.g. 2nd Freo match, he still comprehensively loses the hitouts. Also needs to improve his goalkicking. He needs to be a threat up forward. He can take a contested mark, but his set shots are a lottery.

I was wrong on JSOS. He competed all year against guys way bigger than him, and did a great job. But it's still not ideal.

Where to? Really not sure. I think we need backup - whether they think Mirkov will be game ready may determine the strategy for draft/trade.

Good analysis. I think come 2023 is that ‘we hope’ in some way that TDK has a massive preseason and comes out a force to be reckoned with. If not, I don’t know what we should do with him. On this season Pitto is much more reliable for stoppages. I’m just not sure he has any upside but maybe I’m wrong.

TDK needs to improve 15% on his stats across the board.

 

[reubsblues]

If Pitto is our number one ruck going forward then we’re going nowhere …

100% agree he honestly should only be on list as backup

 

[Gointocarlton]

Just get Grundy FFS

 

[Justnetime]

This battle is still alive.

The race is on. Can Pitto develop similarly into a Nankervis type (serviceable to good at times). Will TDK learn how to service our mids (currently chaotic at centre bounces) or even up his mark average which is woeful. Or will it be the giraffe (Mirkov) who comes from the clouds to claim the number one spot.

I can’t make up my mind. I just don’t know. With Acres coming to our wing, and with Motlop, Durdin being one year older in the small fwd dept, then ruck is currently our weakest spot on the ground.

I think the most talented of our rucks is def TDK but up until now it is just one highlight per game and no substance. Maybe 2 hot games within a season. Please TDK, fix yourself.

 

[Arr0w]

Play TDK & Young

 

[Justnetime]

Play TDK & Young

It’s def worth a shot and it may be our best combo. I haven’t minded JSoS either.

Young is polarising me from very good to scared/fumble version of Young. Windows is a good judge and is bullish on him. Where do you stand on him Arrow? Is he locked and good from your perspective at AFL Level?

Im crossing my fingers. I have doubts on him after seeing him lose his confidence and punch/drop easy marks. He was better than Weitering a lot too. So confusing to line him up. To me, he is a polarising player like Jones was to me. Polarising in a different way completely.

I think I like him as backup squad player, not first choice. He would have set himself for 2022 mentally and they preferred McDonald. After that he surprised in a positive way. Currently we don’t have someone in front of him. I’d be trying to source that player which is not easy.

 

[Sickblue]

Play TDK & Young

Absolutely on this, TDK plays 70% Ruck, Young 20% and JSOS 10% (just for a different look) and this would ensure all three are fresh and enable maximum impact. Personally I still have Pitto ahead based on current output, but if TDK can have a big pre season (working on his ruck craft) he has weapons that Pitto will never possess from an athletic perspective.

 

[gab213]

Pittonet will be the first choice as ruck again. I'm less certain than I was at this time last year that TDK will ever be a pure ruckman. Second ruck/forward is where I see his career, hopefully, he works on his forward craft.

People like to dismiss Pitto but it seems to me we play best and our midfield is most effective with him in the middle.

 

[agro]

I’m not sold on Pittonet as yet, he showed marked improvement in the early part of the season prior to his PCL injury and definitely came back extremely underdone, would like to see how he tracks after a full pre-season, so jury is still out for me, we need him until Mirkov is ready, we definitely need a ready big bodied ruckman as back up.

 

[AB_Blue]

Pitto number 1 ruck when fit

TKD 3rd tall pinch hitting in the ruck in a Luke Jackson

9

Luke Jackson

Age

23

Ht

199cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.3

2star

K

3.3

1star

HB

5.0

4star

M

1.5

2star

T

1.0

3star

G

0.3

3star

D

8.3

2star

K

3.3

1star

HB

5.0

3star

M

1.5

2star

T

1.0

2star

G

0.3

3star

D

8.3

3star

K

3.3

2star

HB

5.0

4star

M

1.5

2star

T

1.0

3star

G

0.3

3star

role


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[katmanblue]

Absolutely on this, TDK plays 70% Ruck, Young 20% and JSOS 10% (just for a different look) and this would ensure all three are fresh and enable maximum impact. Personally I still have Pitto ahead based on current output, but if TDK can have a big pre season (working on his ruck craft) he has weapons that Pitto will never possess from an athletic perspective.

What you haven't accounted for is how much better Cripps plays when Pitto is ruck. As a whole our midfield is much better with Pitto in there. And it's not just hitouts to advantage.

On SM-F926B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Sickblue]

What you haven't accounted for is how much better Cripps plays when Pitto is ruck. As a whole our midfield is much better with Pitto in there. And it's not just hitouts to advantage.

On SM-F926B using BigFooty.com mobile app

I’m with you, over the first 5 rounds Pitto got a lot of love and rightly so, as he was giving our mids absolute silver service and he’s also physical and aggressive and I know our mids love him for that. When he came back post injury he was clearly underdone and if both he and TDK have massive pre seasons we are in an awesome position.

 

[BlueTongue]

Absolutely on this, TDK plays 70% Ruck, Young 20% and JSOS 10% (just for a different look) and this would ensure all three are fresh and enable maximum impact. Personally I still have Pitto ahead based on current output, but if TDK can have a big pre season (working on his ruck craft) he has weapons that Pitto will never possess from an athletic perspective.

But who covers Young in defense? TDK? Nah JSOS & TDK for me. TDK will improve when he get a bit more solid. He needs to be Gawn-wise in frame

 

[Sickblue]

But who covers Young in defense? TDK? Nah JSOS & TDK for me. TDK will improve when he get a bit more solid. He needs to be Gawn-wise in frame

Gov can play taller for a short period and we can / could also throw JSOS back for this 5-10 minute period.

 

[Cringle]

Pits last couple of games he was still injured hey?

If we’re using his early form season he actually wasn’t that slow.

Pit would be ahead as the primary ruckman. And I’m not really sure TDK impacts enough in the F50 to be a third tall option.

I’d start with Pit and JSOS.

 

[My Hat]

Pitto is still our clear #1 ruck for me. He has his limitations, but his ability to either hit out to advantage or at least halve ruck contests is better than anyone else on our list.

Right now TDK is still more potential than reality. Can't fault his effort for the way he filled in during Pitto's absence, but his effectiveness in the ruck wasn't particularly high. And he still hasn't shown much as a forward, which makes it difficult to play him as a 2nd ruck. I'm not writing him off, and I'll be as happy as anyone if & when he takes that next step, but he's not there yet.

 

[Justnetime]

I think Pitto is ahead as well but that is based on TDK not improving over the off season. He is a highlights reel with mostly little substance but that can change in one off season.

Im going to wait for round 1.

 

[Gointocarlton]

Pitto Grundy number 1 ruck when fit

TKD 3rd tall pinch hitting in the ruck in a Luke Jackson role


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Hand the flag over now.