Controversial Opinion: We will/would be BETTER with LOBB in the ruck and English up forward in 2023.

[Mantis]

I’ve always thought that Lobb is a better ruck than forward (and that he’s given credit for generally) so I’m for this. Tim is a superstar but solo rucking is way too taxing to be viable, especially when we have capable support in great supply.

Tim was out of gas by the end of the year and given he's had an interrupted pre-season, which could be due to his heavy load in 2023 we need to ensure he is capable of playing the entire season at an extremely high level, which we know he is capable of. Having Rory share the load can only benefit us.

[Bulldog Joe]

We?re moving the land of giants to the centre bounce. Lobb, English and Darcy all on the ball.

What could possibly be wrong with that?

[GVGjr]

Tim was out of gas by the end of the year and given he's had an interrupted pre-season, which could be due to his heavy load in 2023 we need to ensure he is capable of playing the entire season at an extremely high level, which we know he is capable of. Having Rory share the load can only benefit us.

He certainly looked to be tiring in that last past of the season so I agree having Lobb increase his ruck work in most of the games should be a positive for the club and the players. A few more spells on the bench or even up forward should strike a a better balance.

We've got a very good match day ruck combination, tweaking the balance to utilise their talents is the key.

[Bullies]

Happy to cut Lobb some slack on last year as well. By all accounts he should not have played the first part of last year and only made his ankle worse coming back to soon after finally having the op. Has a good tank as well and can play up the ground. He is also one who can kick a goal.

[Sedat]

We've got a very good match day ruck combination, tweaking the balance to utilise their talents is the key.

Better late than never. If we use these two correctly all season (not just in R24), we have a couple of studs in the team that will cause all sorts of problems for the opposition wherever they are deployed.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

I still can't fathom how or why we recruit Lobb to play second ruck/forward, only to basically not play him as a second ruck.

Maybe I am underselling Lobb's injury / conditioning and he simply wasn't able to do it as originally planned.

[bornadog]

I still can't fathom how or why we recruit Lobb to play second ruck/forward, only to basically not play him as a second ruck.

Maybe I am underselling Lobb's injury / conditioning and he simply wasn't able to do it as originally planned.

But, he did play second ruck, however, not for long stints, which is what I think you are alluding too.

[Brass Dog]

Definitely up for Lobb spending more time in there in 2024. Keep Tim fresher by doing a 60-40 or 70-30 split with Lobb.

[Dazza]

Ideally I'd prefer to see Darcy come on in leaps and bounds and take Lobbs role off him

[Mofra]

Darcy needs to of us on staying on the paddock... and he's probably going to be a victim of his own flexibility this year.
I suspect next year he really challenges Lobb given he will still probably be a little underweight for significant ruck duties at AFL level.

[GVGjr]

I still can't fathom how or why we recruit Lobb to play second ruck/forward, only to basically not play him as a second ruck.

Maybe I am underselling Lobb's injury / conditioning and he simply wasn't able to do it as originally planned.

Lobb's injury late in the preseason really unraveled the start of his season. I'm optimistic of what he might bring us this year.

[Can Bar]

Ankles and Ruckman, are like Half back flankers and hammy's. You cannot expect optimal performance if not 100%. The difference being that Ruckman can still play with a dodgy ankle at a reduced output. Looking forward to seeing what Lobb can bring, when at 100%

[doggiesin08]

Tim was out of gas by the end of the year and given he's had an interrupted pre-season, which could be due to his heavy load in 2023 we need to ensure he is capable of playing the entire season at an extremely high level, which we know he is capable of. Having Rory share the load can only benefit us.

Agree with this. Tim solo rucking needs to be considered across the season, not just as a within game workload issue.

Possibly a multi-year career consideration too. Probably gets an extra 1-2 years out of himself with ruck support and spending more time just floating a kick behind the play like Gawn does. Offsets the slight salary difference to stay too.

[jeemak]

Lobb played 98% TOG in 2022 as Fremantle's second if not major target, and kicked 36 goals.

As our third forward target in 2023 with a bit of ruck relief he missed a few games due to form but still kicked 24 goals at 85% TOG. His disposals were down 0.8 a game, marks 1.2 a game, goals 0.5 a game on average. Probably something you'd see if someone went from second/ first banana to third.

Everyone would admit he disappointed, but I reckon by how much he did should be up for debate. Adapting to a new system and having his role changed from the year prior drastically might have had a justifiable impact on his output.

[weltschmerz]

Tim should still be our main ruck, but giving him a bit more of a rest from the ruck makes a lot of sense. He can be effective anywhere, Lobb can step in if Tim is getting physically monstered. Down the line I'd love to see an English/Darcy ruck/forward duo rather than Tim playing almost entirely ruck.