Tweet
link
The question posed in frustration by then Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade three years ago now only serves to magnify the rise of a player who was once much maligned.
Here's a statement: Will Minson is the best ruckman in the AFL.
The man who used to get more attention for knowing German and playing the saxophone is now letting his football do the talking.
Minson has launched 16.7 per cent of the Dogs' scores - 3.9 points more than any other player.
Minson has been the first link in 34 of the Bulldogs' scores.
In raw numbers he ranks second behind Dean Cox, but the Dogs have scored a lot less than West Coast.
Put simply, when Minson gets his big hands on the ball, good things happen for Brendan McCartney's mob.
He is the top-ranked ruckman in the AFL and the fifth-ranked SuperCoach player overall, up there with names like Gary Ablett, Scott Pendlebury and Jobe Watson.
Minson has been involved in 787 ruck contests - 35 more than any other player - and his 417 hitouts are a whopping 44 more than the next best.
His 130 hitouts-to-advantage are 25 more than his nearest rival.
When the All-Australian selection committee meet for the first time in two weeks, Minson should not only be in the conversation, he should be the topic starter.
When it was suggested to Dogs skipper Matthew Boyd last month that Minson was "half a chance" to become All-Australian, Boyd's response was: "Half a chance? I think you're being a bit harsh on him.
"I'd honestly say, and I'm not being biased, that he is the best ruckman in the game at the moment.
"I get to see the sort of work he does up close each week, but he has been outstanding for us.
"Without Will we might have had a few worse results. He's taken his game to a new level in the last two years."
Bulldogs 1992 Brownlow medallist Scott Wynd described Minson's rise as "spectacular".
"He's just grown and grown. I know 'Rocket' wasn't big on playing him and Ben Hudson in the same side and three years ago Will was doing exactly this in the VFL, but just couldn't get a gig," Wynd said.
"He has shouldered a hell of a lot this year with the Bulldogs struggling in most games and going in with no legitimate second ruckman most of the time."
"Doing it with a young midfield, a learning midfield, they are certainly heavily reliant on him getting his first hands on it.
"All he had to do was to see himself as the legitimate number one ruckman and I always believed he would take the next step."
The question posed in frustration by then Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade three years ago now only serves to magnify the rise of a player who was once much maligned.
Here's a statement: Will Minson is the best ruckman in the AFL.
The man who used to get more attention for knowing German and playing the saxophone is now letting his football do the talking.
Minson has launched 16.7 per cent of the Dogs' scores - 3.9 points more than any other player.
Minson has been the first link in 34 of the Bulldogs' scores.
In raw numbers he ranks second behind Dean Cox, but the Dogs have scored a lot less than West Coast.
Put simply, when Minson gets his big hands on the ball, good things happen for Brendan McCartney's mob.
He is the top-ranked ruckman in the AFL and the fifth-ranked SuperCoach player overall, up there with names like Gary Ablett, Scott Pendlebury and Jobe Watson.
Minson has been involved in 787 ruck contests - 35 more than any other player - and his 417 hitouts are a whopping 44 more than the next best.
His 130 hitouts-to-advantage are 25 more than his nearest rival.
When the All-Australian selection committee meet for the first time in two weeks, Minson should not only be in the conversation, he should be the topic starter.
When it was suggested to Dogs skipper Matthew Boyd last month that Minson was "half a chance" to become All-Australian, Boyd's response was: "Half a chance? I think you're being a bit harsh on him.
"I'd honestly say, and I'm not being biased, that he is the best ruckman in the game at the moment.
"I get to see the sort of work he does up close each week, but he has been outstanding for us.
"Without Will we might have had a few worse results. He's taken his game to a new level in the last two years."
Bulldogs 1992 Brownlow medallist Scott Wynd described Minson's rise as "spectacular".
"He's just grown and grown. I know 'Rocket' wasn't big on playing him and Ben Hudson in the same side and three years ago Will was doing exactly this in the VFL, but just couldn't get a gig," Wynd said.
"He has shouldered a hell of a lot this year with the Bulldogs struggling in most games and going in with no legitimate second ruckman most of the time."
"Doing it with a young midfield, a learning midfield, they are certainly heavily reliant on him getting his first hands on it.
"All he had to do was to see himself as the legitimate number one ruckman and I always believed he would take the next step."
Comment