We all LOVE Bevo (of course), but SOMETIMES...

[jeemak]

I relented and selected outside five, which is a tactic I actually like in the two offencive thirds of the ground. Laying off close to goal really annoys me.

He doesn't like one trick rucks who aren't highly competent, and that's fair enough. It's a philosophical belief and you have to take it with a few of his others as they are fundamental to his make up. By recruiting and playing Martin it was clear he isn't averse to playing a highly competent traditional ruck (Martin was just too cooked by the time we got him), so putting the blame on him solely for not having another one over the journey isn't right - the recruiting team needs to take some responsibility.

[Sedat]

No prizes for guessing, but it is his undying loyalty to English as our no.1 ruckman, come hell or high water. It has persisted for 4 years now, has already cost us massively in big finals (and too many H&A games to mention since 2019), and shows no signs of abating (or succeeding). Lobb will minimise the impact of this massive weakness in our structure but it will still remain a net weakness against the best ruck combinations in the business.

It's no coincidence that our absolute best stretch of form in the last 4 years was the first 6 games in 2021 when we had a genuine natural stoppage ruckman, Stef Martin, who was still performing in the general vicinity of his athletic peak - hell, he even did a passable impersonation of his younger self for the PF and half the GF that year. We also looked very potent and multi-dimensional in attack in that stretch when English was up forward causing havoc for decent chunks of those matches. But what would I know?

It's a weakness but also a strength that he has such fierce loyalty to his players.