Welcome to the Bulldogs - Tim English

[jeemak]

It is no coincidence for me that the best footy we have played in the last few seasons in the first half of 2021 was when we English was playing the secondary ruck role and playing foward time.

No, it's not a coincidence. He is by far the best second ruck in the competition and almost in history.

[bornadog]

BAD - if it's a myth then I'm the one who has perpetuated it and I wouldn't do that unless I had some reason to think it wasn't a myth. Bevo protects his players.

YHF (Purps from another time) - it's been done to death, and was the basis of an article that came out early season last year. Tim wanted to be number one, and Bevo confirmed that when refusing to play others in the spot at that time -verbatim

We can do the Nets if it's easier, both of you.

Woof Myths

[Grantysghost]

Id drop English.

[jeemak]

Woof Myths

Nets. And I know where you work mate. So no getting out of this one.

[hujsh]

[jeemak]

English is the best ruck in the competition, he just doesn't have to do it all the time.

[1eyedog]

English can't actually ruck. He's got nfi he was tapping it to Geelong's midfielders all night.

[merantau]

I get more frustrated by Tim English than any other player because he should be able to perform so much better than what he does. For example: at boundary throw ins he rarely takes up front position or engages side by side, thus he gets beaten to the ball or at best halves the "contest". Taps to real advantage - by that I mean to a player who is in space and on the run - are rare. Why is that? He has been around for a long time now and should be better at his craft.

Lobb turned the game last night. Make no mistake about that. He was the difference. English is more physically imposing than Lobb. Why couldn’t he have done that. He was up against a first gamer and Stanley who is a decent player but has never been classed as a dominant ruck.
English needs to improve his ruck work and by playing in bursts and giving it a real crack he might be able to do this. But you have to be fair dinkum about what you do and have a red hot go.

[Jasper]

We are being to critical with English. Hes not a traditional ruckman but that fits into what what Bevo wants in terms of another midfielder around the ground. I think people would appreciate him more if he was a more traditional meat head ruckman that threw his weight around but that isnt going to happen. We need to love what we have got.

[Danjul]

We are being to critical with English. Hes not a traditional ruckman but that fits into what what Bevo wants in terms of another midfielder around the ground. I think people would appreciate him more if he was a more traditional meat head ruckman that threw his weight around but that isnt going to happen. We need to love what we have got.

Nothing shows what we have got more clearly than last night. A coach that can occasionally get the ruck right.

The team was a shambles being humiliated. The views of the supporters showed the wretchedness of the situation. Geelong should have been six or seven goals ahead.

Then a glimpse of early 2021. A ruckman who stopped the leaking from the centre and straightened the team up.

Lobb had few hitouts. He kept the ball where our midfielders were and suddenly we are watching a team that is 5 goals better.

A ruckman is not a midfielder around the ground. You get one or the other, not both.

We saw this in 2021. Maybe seeing it again will finally bring some understanding.

[Grantysghost]

English is the best ruck in the competition, he just doesn't have to do it all the time.

Yes. Spot on.

[D Mitchell]

Nothing shows what we have got more clearly than last night. A coach that can occasionally get the ruck right.

The team was a shambles being humiliated. The views of the supporters showed the wretchedness of the situation. Geelong should have been six or seven goals ahead.

Then a glimpse of early 2021. A ruckman who stopped the leaking from the centre and straightened the team up.

Lobb had few hitouts. He kept the ball where our midfielders were and suddenly we are watching a team that is 5 goals better.

A ruckman is not a midfielder around the ground. You get one or the other, not both.

We saw this in 2021. Maybe seeing it again will finally bring some understanding.

Do you think that Minson should have played in the finals in 2016 ?

[angelopetraglia]

Do you think that Minson should have played in the finals in 2016 ?

In 2016 we used the third man up rule in the ruck to our advantage. The changing of that rule put more focus back on pure ruckman.

We didn't miss Minson, primarily because of the rule and also that Roughead and Boyd did their job well in the big moments during the finals series.

[D Mitchell]

In 2016 we used the third man up rule in the ruck to our advantage. The changing of that rule put more focus back on pure ruckman.

We didn't miss Minson, primarily because of the rule and also that Roughead and Boyd did their job well in the big moments during the finals series.

Third man up was effective ?round the ground but not used at centre bounces, which is where English?s shortcomings are most commented upon. Since 2017, when the 3rd man up was outlawed, we?ve had Redpath and Sweet in the VFL. Bev?s philosophy on ruckman use is obvious but it?s a fair consideration whether that view should be adjusted more.

[Scorlibo]

English always struggles against Stanley, who is incredibly strong despite slightly smaller stature than most rucks out there.

Those bemoaning Lobb not playing more ruck time - I think you have to admit that he's not shown anything close to what he showed last night before now. That kind of display when Tim was struggling is exactly why we recruited him, and should now be a benchmark for the kind of impact he can have on games. Dare I say it was Luke Jackson '21GF-esque.

I'm looking forward now to seeing English and Lobb share the duties, and hopefully seeing Tim galvanised by the internal competition. But I don't bemoan the coaches for not giving Rory more ruck time so far this year, because he's not earned it.

The level of criticism directed at Tim this year is something I find amusing, almost as if the plaudits given to him have to be counteracted with an undercurrent of criticism. His ruck work is mediocre, no doubt, however it's also a lot better than it once was. It's his around the ground work that we take for granted, a genuine asset to the team and the envy of the competition. Like anyone he'll have good games and bad games, last night was a bad one. Seems it takes less than other players for him to be out of favour with our supporters. Might be something about him lacking that hard edge that makes him the whipping boy - similar to Eagleton or McMahon going back a few years.