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Thanks to Lantern and Dry Rot for asking me to review an influential opposition player for our game against Freo this week.
Any analysis of Freo would have to include Matthew Pavlich as the key player but I think there is another who opposition sides need to counter if they are to beat the Purple Horde.
Aaron Sandilands (no relation to Laurie) at 211cm / 124kg is a massive unit who makes a mockery of the line “white men can’t jump” basically because he doesn’t need to. Despite his size, Sandilands is unusually athletic and represents a major problem for opposition ruckmen. It has been said before but there is truth in the theory that as the day goes on, big men get no shorter.
Sandilands greatest strength rests with his ability to win hit-outs, often giving his mid-fielders first use of the ball. So far this season, he averages almost 25% more hit-outs than the Competition’s next best, West Coast’s Dean Cox. Around the ground his athleticism makes him a more than useful opponent particularly if he is allowed to drift forward unattended.
DOB : March 19, 1975 (age 33),
Recruited from : East Fremantle
Height and weight : 211cm / 124kg
Player profile from Wikipedia:
Aaron Sandilands (born 6 December 1982) is an Australian rules footballer. At 211 cm (6ft 11in) tall and weighing 124 kg (273 lbs), he is the equal tallest and the heaviest player in the history of the Australian Football League (and the preceding Victorian Football League).[1] Sandilands plays as a ruckman for the Fremantle Football Club.
Originally from the small town of Mt Barker in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, Sandilands was selected by Fremantle in the rookie draft prior to the 2002 season. He spent the entire 2002 year playing for East Fremantle in the WAFL, before being elevated to the senior list prior to the 2003 season.
Playing in 19 games in his first season, the highlights were being nominated for the AFL Rising Star and earning a Brownlow Medal vote for a dominant display against the reigning premiers, Brisbane Lions in Round 14 and playing in Fremantle's first ever finals match. Despite Essendon being convincing winners, Sandilands was one of the few to perform well, with a personal record 41 hitouts.
As ruckmen are generally considered to peak in their late 20s, Sandilands has impressed many to rank 6th or 5th in total hitouts in each of his first three seasons in the AFL, improving to 2nd (with the highest average) in 2006 .Despite this dominance in hitouts, it doesn't always result in Fremantle winning the clearances.
WOOF player analysis:
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Sandilands’ ability to give his midfielders first use of the ball by using his significant height and weight advantage will give Ben Hudson and Will Minson sleepless nights as they ponder a way of combating the mammoth from Freo.
His efforts against the Catters recently went a long way towards getting them over the line until they were pipped on the post.
Sandilands averages 31.7 hit-outs per game this season compared with the combined average of Hudson and Minson at 25.6. Whether that translates into a similar advantage on the possession count is debatable but clearly if Sandilands is winning them then the opposition is not.
Hudson who is not a great leaper (ruckmen with knee problems rarely are) will have his own problems whilst Big Will is not confident against those who reach high and often tends to simply run into his opponent in an attempt to thwart the opposition from getting a free hand to the ball.
It will be unlikely in ball-up situations that our blokes will out reach Sandilands and their best bet might be to attempt to negate his ability to give the ball into the hands of his midfielders. I have noticed that Sandilands only palms the ball with his right hand and rarely uses the left. Our ruckmen need to be aware of this and position themselves to attack him from his right hand side even if they attempt to make contact with his right arm. At boundary throw-ins a third man up may be deployed.
If we can force the ball into a contested situation at ground level, I have faith in our little blokes doing the job for us but if Sandilands gives first possession of the ball to the likes of Bell, Palmer and Crawley etc, we well may have our work cut out.
Sandilands is also fairly athletic for such a big man and possesses football skills not usually enjoyed by the big units. He is particularly dangerous when running ahead of the play into the forward line and our ruckmen will need to follow him in order to provide a match up when Freo take the ball deep into their fifty metre zone.
At the other end of the ground, he can make life difficult for forwards by getting himself into the hole between FF and CHF. Fortunately, this tactic may not be very useful against us as we tend not to bomb the ball directly into the danger zone but to move the ball into the area with some precision.
One side issue is that Sandilands’ rucking partner, Gilmore (grand-son of Bulldog’s premiership player, Brian) is no world-beater so that when Sandilands hits the bench, we ought to be in an advantageous position. Likewise, given the good oil from a Woof poster, if Warnock is the rotating ruckman there is an opportunity for us to take control as he averages only 5 hit-outs per game this year.
Fortunately, Sandilands is a bit like the entire Freo side. You don’t know whether they are going to actually turn-up to play. Whichever way it goes, our ruckmen and on-ballers need to do their homework before tackling the man mountain.
Any analysis of Freo would have to include Matthew Pavlich as the key player but I think there is another who opposition sides need to counter if they are to beat the Purple Horde.
Aaron Sandilands (no relation to Laurie) at 211cm / 124kg is a massive unit who makes a mockery of the line “white men can’t jump” basically because he doesn’t need to. Despite his size, Sandilands is unusually athletic and represents a major problem for opposition ruckmen. It has been said before but there is truth in the theory that as the day goes on, big men get no shorter.
Sandilands greatest strength rests with his ability to win hit-outs, often giving his mid-fielders first use of the ball. So far this season, he averages almost 25% more hit-outs than the Competition’s next best, West Coast’s Dean Cox. Around the ground his athleticism makes him a more than useful opponent particularly if he is allowed to drift forward unattended.
DOB : March 19, 1975 (age 33),
Recruited from : East Fremantle
Height and weight : 211cm / 124kg
Player profile from Wikipedia:
Aaron Sandilands (born 6 December 1982) is an Australian rules footballer. At 211 cm (6ft 11in) tall and weighing 124 kg (273 lbs), he is the equal tallest and the heaviest player in the history of the Australian Football League (and the preceding Victorian Football League).[1] Sandilands plays as a ruckman for the Fremantle Football Club.
Originally from the small town of Mt Barker in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, Sandilands was selected by Fremantle in the rookie draft prior to the 2002 season. He spent the entire 2002 year playing for East Fremantle in the WAFL, before being elevated to the senior list prior to the 2003 season.
Playing in 19 games in his first season, the highlights were being nominated for the AFL Rising Star and earning a Brownlow Medal vote for a dominant display against the reigning premiers, Brisbane Lions in Round 14 and playing in Fremantle's first ever finals match. Despite Essendon being convincing winners, Sandilands was one of the few to perform well, with a personal record 41 hitouts.
As ruckmen are generally considered to peak in their late 20s, Sandilands has impressed many to rank 6th or 5th in total hitouts in each of his first three seasons in the AFL, improving to 2nd (with the highest average) in 2006 .Despite this dominance in hitouts, it doesn't always result in Fremantle winning the clearances.
WOOF player analysis:
--------------------------
Sandilands’ ability to give his midfielders first use of the ball by using his significant height and weight advantage will give Ben Hudson and Will Minson sleepless nights as they ponder a way of combating the mammoth from Freo.
His efforts against the Catters recently went a long way towards getting them over the line until they were pipped on the post.
Sandilands averages 31.7 hit-outs per game this season compared with the combined average of Hudson and Minson at 25.6. Whether that translates into a similar advantage on the possession count is debatable but clearly if Sandilands is winning them then the opposition is not.
Hudson who is not a great leaper (ruckmen with knee problems rarely are) will have his own problems whilst Big Will is not confident against those who reach high and often tends to simply run into his opponent in an attempt to thwart the opposition from getting a free hand to the ball.
It will be unlikely in ball-up situations that our blokes will out reach Sandilands and their best bet might be to attempt to negate his ability to give the ball into the hands of his midfielders. I have noticed that Sandilands only palms the ball with his right hand and rarely uses the left. Our ruckmen need to be aware of this and position themselves to attack him from his right hand side even if they attempt to make contact with his right arm. At boundary throw-ins a third man up may be deployed.
If we can force the ball into a contested situation at ground level, I have faith in our little blokes doing the job for us but if Sandilands gives first possession of the ball to the likes of Bell, Palmer and Crawley etc, we well may have our work cut out.
Sandilands is also fairly athletic for such a big man and possesses football skills not usually enjoyed by the big units. He is particularly dangerous when running ahead of the play into the forward line and our ruckmen will need to follow him in order to provide a match up when Freo take the ball deep into their fifty metre zone.
At the other end of the ground, he can make life difficult for forwards by getting himself into the hole between FF and CHF. Fortunately, this tactic may not be very useful against us as we tend not to bomb the ball directly into the danger zone but to move the ball into the area with some precision.
One side issue is that Sandilands’ rucking partner, Gilmore (grand-son of Bulldog’s premiership player, Brian) is no world-beater so that when Sandilands hits the bench, we ought to be in an advantageous position. Likewise, given the good oil from a Woof poster, if Warnock is the rotating ruckman there is an opportunity for us to take control as he averages only 5 hit-outs per game this year.
Fortunately, Sandilands is a bit like the entire Freo side. You don’t know whether they are going to actually turn-up to play. Whichever way it goes, our ruckmen and on-ballers need to do their homework before tackling the man mountain.
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