The first big question is can English contribute enough playing just 30% game time in the ruck? I think he can.

He is great with ball in hand, moves around the ground well, can take marks up forward as good as any other second ruck (low bar i know) and has shown an ability to drift forward to do so as well (I know that is while playing as a ruck on a ruckman but it does show he is able to contribute something there). His most effective games have been when he has also been an aerial presence drifting back as you say, which is certainly going to be impacted by him not playing ruck as much, but maybe that's offset by what other benefits he brings and the overall change to the side playing two rucks offers.

We have quite often lacked a target who can work up the ground as a viable bail out option and help us constructively move the ball forward. Naughton can do this, but we seem to like playing him deeper, despite that also being where we prefer Bruce. If we are going to persist with keeping Naughton playing deep then I think having a mobile tall target we can hit up like English helps give us more structure going forward, a bit like how St.Kilda are able to use Marshall. Can English do that well? I don't know, but I think it's worth finding out. Also even if he is slow and ineffective as the third tall forward he is probably still going to contribute more than whoever else would take his spot in the side. It isn't like we are dropping Tory Dickson in his prime to play English as a second ruck.

So I do think that English is worth trying in a role where he only gets 30% rucktime.

Now onto Martin being the actual target, I'm not sold on him being an AFL player anymore but picking a pure ruck is not an issue I have. Ideally he contributes on field, teaches English off field, and buys English/Sweet/any young ruckman we pick up a year to mature. I am hugely skeptical on the viability of English as a number one ruck going forward, so maybe the benefit of Martin being a 34 year old who's career is virtually over is that it gives us a chance to try this kind of setup for a season before committing to it as our long term strategy as we would've had we brought in Goldstein/Draper etc. My preference would still have been to back ourselves in and grab one of those guys, but at least this is recognition that what we are currently doing isn't working and is a half hearted attempt to fix it.

Also the alternative is we go into the season with the same flawed ruck setup of 2020, and that's just depressing. At least if we pick up Martin I can spend the pre-season pretending we are gonna be better.

Now whether or not the double ruck idea sticks or goes the way of the much hyped "three pillars attack of Bruce, Naughton and Schache", or Martin spends the entire year injured/playing as a second ruck for no apparent reason/emailing Dodoro to see if his brother can try out their spongy floors remains to be seen, but surely forcing a potentially washed up ruckman into our lineup so English can pretend to be a forward has to be a good thing....right?