Mooney to ruck?

[Turbocat]

I agree with most points

Mooney is not fit ,he is probably not capable of contesting the centre bounces without giving away several frees and we need him forward of the centre and whats the point of having reserve rucks if we don't use them.

However , I do see an advantage of running him on the ball for short bursts ( say 2x5 minutes pg) as a mid ruck/rover who would only contest boundary throw ins.
This would have several advantages. It would help keep his fitness at a higher level than just playing at FF would allow.It would also give us flexibility to cover mid game injuries , Ottens or Blake could go down at any time , just like Sat , I'd hate to see it cost us in a do or die game.We ended up putting Taylor in there Sat and thats not acceptable.
It would allow us to be less predictable and would create mismatches in the forwardline , eg. Mooney out and Ling or Ablett in.
It would give us a real nasty look around the ball. Send Mooney , Chapman and Rooke in to the guts 5 minutes and the other side would feel their bodies going blue.
It would release him a bit , being able to run around and play midfield would be like a breath of fresh air especially if his form is off.

No doubt , his main job is up forward and thats where he should spend most of his game time

 

[Partridge]

I feel Blake will get dominated every week and simply isn't god enough around the ground, coaches will tell there rucks to push forward and Blake will get caught out. I say bring in West, he can mark the ball and has strength, we can use him up forward and in the ruck. Blake/Mooney/West to rotate in the ruck.

Agree with most of it - except for the final combination. Mooney is not a ruckman. Forget it. He and Hawkins have to do the key forward work. West comes in, who showed genuine promise pre-season, and we have to trust he and Blake to do the job.

Why does every second supporter here want to move all our key players? Ablett up forward and Mooney in the ruck are among two of the more idiotic suggestions I've heard. Our best midfielder and most effective forward. Unbelievable.

 

[shahla_selena]

west will be fine, we need mooney up forward or we have no one good

 

[AM]

Previous attempts to play Moons in the ruck haven’t been successful. Clearances are so important these days I reckon we need our best available ruckman at stop play contests.

Also, to me, Moons doesn’t appear motivated at present. A number of times on Saturday he was more of an onlooker than a contributor.

 

[darren forssman]

On Hawkins, did anyone notice his tap in the last 1/4 when SJ kicked the goal from the pocket? Straight down Gaz's throat

wasnt lost on me...almost like a set play that had been practised.

 

[LifeSpan-Void]

Pretty optimistic, Mooney was a terrible ruckman years ago, and was used more as a battering ram anyway. Too old to do that now, Got to see if West has what it takes otherwise we might as well drop him at the end of this year, has had enough time to develop in the VFL to be able to break even in the AFL.

 

[shallow grave]

The result on sat would not have been as bad obviously if Ottens wasnt down. I cant remember the last time were were annihilated out of the middle like we were. You need a ruckman.Mooney cannot ruck.Forget it.
I was more stoked when i heard on the radio Ottens wasnt gone for the year than i was for the whole game. Sheeet, we need him.

 

[Copernicus]

Why would we waste Moons in the ruck? We need someone experienced down forward, and we have West to come in for Ottens. Obviously that's not ideal but he has shown some promise and will be a good foil for the unco Blake. Moons was never much chop as a ruckman, he's too small. He played in the ruck to make a contest, not in the expectation that he'd win taps. Keep him up forward where he'll be better value.

 

[cat in sydney]

On Hawkins, did anyone notice his tap in the last 1/4 when SJ kicked the goal from the pocket? Straight down Gaz's throat

Yep, noticed it at the time and thought is was the play of the day. He had the intention of hitting it there, as he obviously saw both Gaz and SJ on that side of the ruck (they were the in-form two players on our side at the time). Over the top, and straight into Jrs arms. Great work.
Gazza got the 'assist', but it was Hawkins' goal I reckon. He meant it, which was the most pleasing aspect of it.

 

[ZosoCat]

biggest mistake if mooney does even one centre bounce ruck contest... I would rather the worst 2nd stringer i the league rucking as opposed to moons.. We need him fit and firing up forward.

 

[Vdubs]

biggest mistake if mooney does even one centre bounce ruck contest... I would rather the worst 2nd stringer i the league rucking as opposed to moons.. We need him fit and firing up forward.

YES, so what about Lonergan back in as a tall (197cm) floater=ruck, forward, back as a trial. It might just work. His versatility could be a weapon.

 

[Copernicus]

It seems that Mumford was not injured as we suspected (calf cramp, from what I read) so he's an option, too. Apparently he's been ripping it up in the VFL.

 

[ZosoCat]

YES, so what about Lonergan back in as a tall (197cm) floater=ruck, forward, back as a trial. It might just work. His versatility could be a weapon.

agreed I remember Mooney was our flexible player in the mid 00's at centre half back/ruck/forward and that worked out alright. I remember Gerald Healy once saying that Cats need Mooney in the forward line to win a premiership and he was right.

I agree that Lonergan would be a better choice to be a floater around the ground where needed. The idea of Mooney and an in form Hawkins in the forward line wets my whistle.

 

[Mooney_d'King]

It seems that Mumford was not injured as we suspected (calf cramp, from what I read) so he's an option, too. Apparently he's been ripping it up in the VFL.

Bewsie still seems to be of the opinion that Mumford's injured:
http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/04/08/61371_gfc.html

 

[Exhale You]

Bewsie still seems to be of the opinion that Mumford's injured

His calf was cramping badly, so in that regard he was injured.

Anyone who's experienced that knows that it's pretty painful and hard to tell (for a few days, at least) whether it's simply cramps or whether the cramps have caused some injury to the calf muscle.

I'm sure the club would know the outcome now, but either way it'd be difficult to see him being selected for the senior team this week given the short turnaround and the fact that even if it was simply bad cramping he wouldn't have been able to train at full speed this week.

 

[Barabbas]

On what I've seen of Mumford I'd be keen to see him get a shot. If he's not injured.

 

[Whit3y]

Is there anyone else here that sees the benefit of playing Mooney as the back up ruckman?

shakes his head in disgust

 

[ripitup27]

shakes his head in disgust

Yeah nah good contribution champ.