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Anyone that has watched the SANFL will know that Butch, Shaw and Harvey are not ruckmen. While all are big they don't seem to like the body contact.
The age-old question... are rucks overrated?
West Coast have the two best rucks going around in Cox and Naitanui but that doesn't mean they win games.
Sandilands is the best tapman of them all, but the rest of his game fails to hurt the opposition most of the time. Carlton's Warnock gets a huge number of taps but his team can't use that to much advantage once the ball hits the ground. Adelaide has a good one in Jacobs, but that doesn't mean that Adelaide can build a winning structure around his good work.
Not having two solid ruckmen always seems to be a problem. For Port, it means that Westhoff and Trengove have to be played out of position which often upsets options in other parts of the ground.
What's the answer? Maybe it's about devolving the ruck role. Maybe the tallest player in every line (or the player with the best jump) should assume ruck duties at throw-ins and ball-ups. Maybe, in time, all teams will cease having designated rucks in the same way that those teams that lack a designated tall full forward have found ways to kick goals by spreading the task around their creative smalls.
All other positions on the ground have become interchangeable or multi-skilled – forwards have to defend; defenders have to attack. The best small players also play tall; the best tall players also have good ground skills.
Maybe, in the continuing evolution of our game, designated ruckmen will become dinosaurs.
Do international rookies sit outside the salary cap?The only way we can add to our list mid season is an international rookie IIRC.
Should we consider just adding soneone super tall and athletic just in case we can use them?
I know it is unlikely they would ever be good enough to play this year but what does it really cost us?
Wines does it a fair bit as it isHaving a tall midfielder like Ebert to be 3rd man up is going to be increasingly important in stoppages around the ground if god forbid we lose Lobbe. Ebert's averaging 2 a game this year.
Do international rookies sit outside the salary cap?
I think a single designated ruckman is fine, but the way the game is and will head further (as the cap goes down more), you can't afford to play two ruckman who can't play another position. Ie. they have to be able to either play as a KPD, KPF or a Westhoff type extra tall utility as well. Otherwise you just lose too much run late in games.The age-old question... are rucks overrated?
West Coast have the two best rucks going around in Cox and Naitanui but that doesn't mean they win games.
Maybe, in the continuing evolution of our game, designated ruckmen will become dinosaurs.
Rookie Ben Haren. He has shown enough I think. Not overly big, but he has heart.I thought we might have rookied Cameron Wood. He's no great shakes but would have been a break glass in case of emergency option.
What you say is true John but part of me says, it is better to have a good ruckman than not have one at all.
The changes to the ruck rules have meant that ruckmen cannot use the body like they did when Matty Primus was dominant. Ruckmen have had to become much more athletic and the ability to jump is now a bigger attribute than pure height and weight. You will not get away with a midget as a ruckman but an athletic type could pinch hit. You have to be careful though because the last showdown the Crows won was primarily because Sam Jacobs racked up a record number of taps against Lobbe who was a raw kid at that stage. Hopefully Lobbe will remain sound but using a kid like Mitchell or Shaw could have a similar result.
The bottom line is that reassessing and building up our ruck stocks should be a high priority in this years trading and draft period.
That's the guy.Trent ormond-Allen??
The more games I am seeing this year, the more I feel winning the tap doesn't necessarily translate into clearance advantage. Redden and Lobbe are more than capable of holding down the dinosaur ruck position, what we need is a athletic tall competitor who is more than capable around the ground.
who knows, we may already have this in the form of butcher.
What, trengove?The more games I am seeing this year, the more I feel winning the tap doesn't necessarily translate into clearance advantage. Redden and Lobbe are more than capable of holding down the dinosaur ruck position, what we need is a athletic tall competitor who is more than capable around the ground.
who knows, we may already have this in the form of butcher.
What, trengove?
You need someone who can at least hold their own in the ruck. Winning a tightly contested tap might not give you much, but winning a tap comprehensively results in Primus/Francou style clearances all day. Also see Lobbe before he came good in that game where Jacobs had like 60 hitouts.
Keegan Brooksby looked okay in the state game without being dominant. He was pretty competitive at ground level with eight tackles. He would need to get stronger overhead but he showed some promise. I assume he would be a very late draft pick.
lol angus grahamHe's eligible father-son for the crows and would be cheaper and possibly better than Angus Graham.