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Thread: Pull-Up King

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    Pull-Up King

    Ben Collins

    Western Bulldogs Website 2nd February 2012



    WHEN considering diminutive Bulldog three-gamer Jason Tutt, 'strong' isn't the first word that comes to mind.

    Quick? Yes. Elusive? Check. Goalsense? You betcha.

    Each of those qualities came to the fore during Tutt's sensational 26-touch, four-goal debut against Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in round 22 last year.

    But strong?

    The answer is, perhaps surprisingly, yes. For his size, the 20-year-old is one of the strongest Bulldogs of recent times.

    In the club's sub-80kg class, Tutt recently equalled the previous record of 21 chin-ups (while wearing the required 10kg weight vest) set by former Dog-turned-Sun Jarrod Harbrow.

    "Brian (Lake) was saying that I'd put in a couple of half ones, but they were counted so I'll stick with that," Tutt said.

    "I couldn't get that last one out to break the record, though - I only got halfway up.

    "Maybe next time I'll beat it. That's if I stay under 80 kilos."

    For all that, Tutt hasn't beefed up his 177cm frame as much as he'd hoped this pre-season. He has converted some fat into muscle but continues to hover around the 77-78kg mark. He wants to reach 80kg by the start of the premiership season.

    Tutt's improved strength should help him in his quest to become a better inside player. A natural outside runner who can break lines, he is determined to give his game a harder edge, "so that if the contested ball is there, it can be won, or at the very least it can be halved and we can have a stoppage".

    None of which should come at the expense of Tutt's impressive outside play, as displayed by his top-three placing in the Bulldogs' brutal high-intensity running test, comprising repeat 100m runs with diminishing rest periods. Tutt smashed his pre-Christmas result of 42 with a New Year's effort of 47.

    As those figures suggest, Christmas back home in Canberra was no holiday. Tutt trained most days with older brother Ryan at his old club Ainslie.

    Tutt credits his brother, almost four years his senior, with playing a significant role in his career. Ryan Tutt represented NSW/ACT in the national under-18 titles in 2005 and came close to becoming an AFL rookie. After three seasons in the SANFL with Glenelg and Norwood, he returned to Ainslie to help his little brother get drafted.

    "It was a pretty selfless act," Jason Tutt said.

    "He'd run around with me at training and let me know if he thought I wasn't pushing myself enough.

    "And during games he'd always have my back. That was good because Canberra is a bit like bush footy in that if you've had some spotlight growing up, you get a bit of a target on your back."

    As well as being stronger, faster and fitter, the younger Tutt also feels a greater sense of belonging among the Bulldogs' senior group - and he should after the impact he made in the last three rounds of 2011 in a wing/high half-forward role.

    His debut was the stuff of fantasy - a game-high 18 kicks, goals with each of his first three kicks inside the opening seven minutes and a vote in the Brownlow Medal.

    "I look back on it with a bit of pride," the 2009 draftee says. "Bulldogs supporters still come up to me and say, 'Jeez, that was a good first game.'

    "But enough's been said about it now. I just want to move on from it and focus on this season - and hopefully give people other things to talk about."

    Tutt knows there will be opportunities for youngsters like himself under new coach Brendan McCartney, but he isn't looking too far ahead. However, he is determined to feature in the Bulldogs' NAB Cup campaign and push for selection in the season opener against West Coast at Etihad Stadium.

    "If you're in my position, with only a few games under your belt, you can't really take any other attitude than that cliché of week-by-week," he said.

    Read more.

  2. #2
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    Re: Pull-Up King

    Should Tutt be replacing Harbrow as the running little man in the backline?
    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

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    Re: Pull-Up King

    Quote Originally Posted by bornadog View Post
    Should Tutt be replacing Harbrow as the running little man in the backline?
    We lack pace in the midfield, therefore I would play him there. Wood and Murphy are our ball carriers out of defense and hopefully Howard can take a spot back there as well.

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    Re: Pull-Up King

    Quote Originally Posted by Desipura View Post
    We lack pace in the midfield, therefore I would play him there. Wood and Murphy are our ball carriers out of defense and hopefully Howard can take a spot back there as well.
    Wood, Murph, Howard from the back
    Griffin, Tutt, Sherman breaking lines
    Still think we need to use one of next years first round drafts on the best quality line breaker we can find. That's it for run and carry if coons doesn't get back to his best.

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    Re: Pull-Up King

    Quote Originally Posted by Desipura View Post
    We lack pace in the midfield, therefore I would play him there. Wood and Murphy are our ball carriers out of defense and hopefully Howard can take a spot back there as well.
    Sounds good in theory, but Easton Wood can't get the footy (averages less than 12 touches per game, including just 6 kicks) & Howard can't defend, well atleast thus far in his short career.

    Running defenders who can get the ball (and use it well) and still defend are in short supply at WO... makes losing Schofield for nothing a little harder to digest.

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    Re: Pull-Up King

    Quote Originally Posted by Superdog View Post
    Wood, Murph, Howard from the back
    Griffin, Tutt, Sherman breaking lines
    Still think we need to use one of next years first round drafts on the best quality line breaker we can find. That's it for run and carry if coons doesn't get back to his best.
    Agree.

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    Re: Pull-Up King

    Quote Originally Posted by Mantis View Post
    Sounds good in theory, but Easton Wood can't get the footy (averages less than 12 touches per game, including just 6 kicks) & Howard can't defend, well atleast thus far in his short career.

    Running defenders who can get the ball (and use it well) and still defend are in short supply at WO... makes losing Schofield for nothing a little harder to digest.
    The guy has a knack for not only running with the ball but kicks goals, those midfielders are also in short supply.

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    Re: Pull-Up King

    Quote Originally Posted by Desipura View Post
    The guy has a knack for not only running with the ball but kicks goals, those midfielders are also in short supply.
    I tend to agree, but Mantis' point is also a valid one.

    I think Tutt is such a damaging player in that he can make himself the receive option, and has a knack of putting himself into a good spot from where he can take off. It does involve rolling the dice a bit because if there is a turn-over his direct opponent might be in space. What I'm getting at, is it may be a consideration of which part of the ground we prefer to take this risk, and at a guess it will be in the middle/forward half, which is where I think Tutt will play.

    He could potentially become a Harbrow type defender, however I think Harbrow had a better intensity in the contest than what we've seen from Tutt so far. If Tutt can develop his defensive skills and contested ball he could definitely fill a similar role.

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