Who do we need backing up Fraser in '07

[Palmer Stoat]

If we want a ready-made AFL ruck, go for Laycock. Maybe have a crack at Cameron Wood, who, I think, is out of contract.

In all likelihood, though, we won't be able to get either. So we'll have to draft a kid. Leuenberger will be gone before our pick, so we'll be looking at Jacobs, Tippett, or Renouf, I suspect.

The other option is to draft a slightly more mature ruckman from the WAFL, SANFL, VFL etc.

 

[Books]

Because since his achillis injury he can’t get off the ground. Maybe a pre season will improve that but we can’t rely on it and if he does come good he will be too valuable up forward to move away for too long.


Our options appear to be:
1. Draft a kid. I like this option. Not as the only option but as a long term solution. We need to have someone with a clue make the assessment though and we clearly don’t have such a person at the club or else we wouldn’t have a ruck division consisting of the nearly always beaten Fraser and the nonexistent backup.
2. Trade for an early/mid 20’s quality player. Very hard to find and very expensive if they are any good. You could get lucky with a player about to break out but the chances are you wouldn’t end up with much better than have now.
3. Take an old player like Everitt who want money and security. Don’t over pay in a trade but be prepared to buy the services for a decent base and a big incentive component and if necessary for a PSD with a big contract stipulation.

I vote for 1 & 3.

From an outsiders perspective - I agree with you, and MarkT.

A quality tap ruckman would improve your whole side, and I admit that Fraser, playing as a round-the-ground ruck-rover type and drifting forward would be a very very hard match-up.

Fortunately for the rest of us, Malthouse doesn't seem that smart!

 

[MarkT]

Malthouse v Roos:
Goodes no longer rucks. Swans went and got rucks. Fraser is STILL our only realistic ruck option.
Swans have a flag and might get another. We have pick 10. Last time that got us Egan and we started with 7.

 

[Licuria18]

i d say we need a gardiner type player down at the club, surley malthouse could manufacture him into a handy player for us

 

[Angelus512]

Trade richards and fanning for sam newman anything's gotta be better than those 2.

 

[mbosca]

If we're gonna go for an experienced ruckman, Laycock from Essendon should be our man. Can seriously play.

What would you give up for him?

 

[toorakbum]

I'm prepared to take the risk on Gardiner, we don't really have much to lose. Him being a waste of time won't make our ruck department any worse than it already is, which is, well, ****.

 

[MarkT]

I too would take a punt on Gardiner but we’d have to realise it was a long shot and still recruit a ruckman to replace the ones we have to discard and we can't pay more than a very pate pick or a bunch of players we want to delist anyway. If anyone else is in the market fro Gardiner we can’t try and out bid them.

 

[Murray]

I'm prepared to take the risk on Gardiner, we don't really have much to lose. Him being a waste of time won't make our ruck department any worse than it already is, which is, well, ****.

His knees are shot.
He can't get off the ground
He has "issues"
He would take up a spot in one of the best and deepest drafts ever

 

[Palmer Stoat]

What would you give up for him?

I doubt we'd be prepared to part with our first-round draft pick, which is what I'd expect Essendon to demand for him. I also doubt our second-rounder would be enough. Maybe our second-rounder and a player would do the trick. But Essendon would want youngish mids with pace or a key defender -- the type of players we're not exactly flush with ourselves... That's why I don't think the deal will take place.

The best chance of it happening would be bringing a third club in on the deal.

 

[MarkT]

His knees are shot.
He can't get off the ground
He has "issues"
He would take up a spot in one of the best and deepest drafts ever

All but the last are very relevant points. We have enough players we could easily delist though to carry him. We already have 2 retirements at least and most agree Walker, Hall and Fanning should go. That’s 5 out before you even try and look at the list. Presumably Harry will get promoted so we have 4 spots open. The other rookies still have a rookie year to run so it makes sense unless we cut deep to leave them on the rookie list for now. If C1 has reported walked but of not he may as well. I’d love to use him to upgrade a draft pick. Rowe would be lucky to survive. If we don’t delist and/or trade another 3 or 4 we are kidding ourselves.

When they say the draft is deep I doubt it means it goes down into the hundreds. You may get good quality at 25 and you may get a good late pick at 50 or 60 but 80 is unlikely to be much better than any other year if at all. If we got anything beyond our 5th pick it would be a near miracle.

 

[johhno's girl]

Cam could do the job, sometimes though I reckon I should have kept my footy career going, I stand taller than Cam and can ruck better than Richards

but in one of your many million posts ages ago, you said you were an umpire. Eeerrrmm. You are a 6ft+ umpire? You can't keep up with your lies eddiesmith.

 

[eddiesmith]

but in one of your many million posts ages ago, you said you were an umpire. Eeerrrmm. You are a 6ft+ umpire? You can't keep up with your lies eddiesmith.

You havent seen a tall umpire? Damn you need to get out more, we got a few giants down at the Ammos