Re: Jordan Roughead
Originally Posted by
Mofra
Name one quality 4th ruck - in any team.
Port have one experienced ruckman to choose from so their round 1 2nd ruck will be a debutant! Carton would probably come closest with Sam Jacobs as a 4th ruck (rookie) but that assumes Kreuzer will play as a ruck this year - he wont, he'll be at CHF.
I think you're stretching the level of cover a team is supposed to have - even 3rd ruck options at Brisbane & Essendon developed as CHB types who rucked last year out of necessity. Keeping 5-6 list cloggers on any list as "back-up" will hurt the system of development required to find the players who will make the grade at senior level.
Sometimes you need to take a gamble, as safe football & safe options will not win a flag.
We have gambled on ruck cover & a Bazza Hall to take then next step - if that means using a Prato, Mulligan, Williams or Everitt to pinch hit for one or two games per year if (heaven forbid) Hudson & Minson both go down at the same time, then so be it.
Good post, I am enjoying the debate.
Port have Brogan, Westhoff, Lobbe, Trengove and Cloke. Geelong have Ottens, Blake, West and Simpson, and did also have Mumford. St Kilda have King, Gardiner, Kosi, McEvoy and Stanley. Collingwood have Jolly, Fraser, Wood and L Brown. Brisbane have Clark, Charman, Leuenberger and Brennan. Carlton you mentioned have Kreuzer, Hampson, Warnock and Jacobs. North have McIntosh, Hale, Petrie, Goldstein
4 playable ruck options plus a couple developing does take up a chunk of your list, so having some as rookies and others that can play other roles for the side becomes important. We have Prato as a rookie, as was Shaw, but Cordy on the main list. None of our ruck options however can play permanently in other positions for us like Ryder, Brennan, L Brown, Kreuzer, Kosi can. This makes it tougher to keep a pure ruck backup option around, but I feel it is more important than backup in other areas where we could throw players around more readily
Originally Posted by
stefoid
Rather play Everitt than Skipper.
I'm a little surprised we haven't given Everitt a run in the ruck in the NAB cup to see if he can become the 4th option for us, as a mobile though undersized option, ala Round 22 2009
Originally Posted by
bornadog
If Skipper was any good, we would have kept him. Too many supporters were just hoping he was going to make it in the AFL. He is too short to be a genuine ruckman and too slow to be a KPP.
Agree, Roughead has probably gone past him already, but behind him there is not much and I would feel a little more comfortable having Skipper still around
If you kicked five goals and Tom Boyd kicked five goals, Tom Boyd kicked more goals than you.
Formerly gogriff