Mongrel Punt: Pretty Awesome 2023 Bulldogs Preview

[dog town]

Lobb hating rucking was an interesting point, and backed up by Naughton doing the forward line ruckwork in match sim yesterday. I don't mind Naughton doing that, building a Hawkins-like ability to outbody and get cheap goals from boundary throw ins.

But SURELY Lobb will be our 2nd centre bounce ruck. Surely.

Lobb attended about 20-25% of bounces last year for Freo when he was the second ruck which is usually 5-10 bounces. There were games he had zero when Meek played or they used someone else but generally the second half of the season he was 20-25% CBA. Not sure what the preferred mix with English will be for us I suspect it will evolve. The best rucks hate sharing too much time and thrive on the workload in my experience.

He has to be the ruck when English is resting and that would have been the selling point to get him. Not only does it allow English a rest but we can hold our preferred forward structure if we want to for longer periods. The bonus of Lobb/English over a traditional ruck who only rucks is that you have more options and flexibility on bench time. It’s why if you are going to be a traditional one position tap ruck you need to be exceptional at it, having two positions is critical for all players which is why I liked reports of Weightman getting a few midfield minutes.

[Happy Days]

Lobb hating rucking was an interesting point, and backed up by Naughton doing the forward line ruckwork in match sim yesterday. I don't mind Naughton doing that, building a Hawkins-like ability to outbody and get cheap goals from boundary throw ins.

But SURELY Lobb will be our 2nd centre bounce ruck. Surely.

When I read it I didn’t think it was accurate but you’re right about the match sim stuff.

What makes it frustrating is that Lobb is actually a very good ruckman and before last year it’s where he’s played his best footy. If he’s not going to do any ruckwork then it would be a massive disappointment and missed opportunity.

[Mofra]

I want Baz to take if not all of then the lion’s share of Dunks’ midfield minutes, in what I hope is a condensed rotation. He’s got the tank to make it work in practice and the ability and x-factor to make it pop on paper.

They are complete opposites in defensive ability - I have concerns