Mike Pyke?

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Time to bump this thread.

How good is our Canadian boy ? 8 freakin' tackles to add to his 33 hitouts. Those are Judesque tackle numbers. In fact only the great Jude himself beat him today with 9 with Jack coming in third with 6.

Is it confidence ? He gained more frees today than he gave away. He even kicked the ball a few times (though please Mike, not the short option in defence).

10 rounds ago I would have been worried to have Mike lead our ruck. Not now. Of course, he's not Mummy and perhaps he's not even Seaby (yet) but he's done more than any of us could have hoped for. Well done Mike. You deserve to play finals.
 
All of you who doubted the great man or wanted him dropped can start lining up to apologise whenever you're ready. What a fantastic effort from him to impose himself on games as much as he is starting to, after never having seen an aussie rules football 2 years ago.

He has actually always been a good tap ruckman, ever since he started, but to be a top AFL ruckman you need a lot more strings to your bow. He's now starting to take crucial marks at both ends of the ground, but particularly in defence. And anyone who doesn't think he's the best tackler in the competition should have a long think about what it takes to play international rugby. I think the biggest change is he has more confidence now, which not only means he feels free to impose himself on the game and get in the right positions, but his teammates feel comfortable looking for him with the ball. They now don't mind kicking it to him in a contest, knowing he's a good chance to take the mark or will at least bring it to ground.
 

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just read a great article on Pyke on the swans site, I liked his last line about playing on the big stage gotta feeling he's gonna come out and crunch these carlton squibbs...:thumbsu:

"Theres probably a bit of a lift in intensity and the guys will be going a bit harder at it, but thats something you always want to be part of. Thats what you play for"
 

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Mike Pyke?

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