ruckmen

[yandb]

there is a fairly good chance that troy simmonds will win all australian selection this year as a ruckman. as good as this is it doesn't mean that he is the answer to our ruck problems. even though troy gets first hands on the ball we rarely get the advantage from this.  pattison in comparison does equaly as well and he is only learning the trade.

if we are to improve in clearances  in the ruck contests we need to either draft a ready made ruckman, get noble fit ( noble leads the comp. in hit outs to advantage but doesn't do anywhere near as much around the ground) and ready for next season or fast track pattison by giving him more game time. what ever we do we need to help our midfield by giving them first use of the ball through a good tap ruckman

( sorry about the first version folks but i misread the stats)

 

[Rosy]

I think Troy does his best work around the ground so it could be an idea to have someone who does the centre ruckwork then goes forward of back and Simmo takes over ruck duties.

Then again it would be great if the players could read the opposition ruckman and capitalise on his hitouts.

Does anyone else think Troy wasn't jumping that well at the end of the season? I wonder if he was carrying an injury.

I thought Troy would be AA ruckman but if they left it till the last game to judge Cox would get the nod. Hard to know how they decide it though. Good luck Troy. :clap

 

[Tigerfan]

one configuration is this:  

Simmonds to CHB
Knobel ruck - i/c
hall - Back Pocket.
Gaspar Full back
Richo schulz hughes - fwds
Patto: Ruck - i/c

obviously a lot depends on who we trade on and off though

 

[Stuart]

I guess the figures are hard to read, does to advantage mean we actually took clean delivery from a tap, does it mean we got the first touch on the ball, does it mean he hit it the direction of where the midfielder should have been for that play???
These stats are ones that I think are too hard for someone outside of the coaching panel to rate as effective or not.

Is the solution to play Simmonds as a ruck rover, big body, strong overhead, great endurance, accountabilty on a smaller faster opponent??. Only problem is if Knoble is your ruckman, where do you hide him when the ball is in play. Pattison IMO is a loonng way off from being a reliable player at AFL level.

Sorry, no structure to this reply, just thinking aloud at work!

 

[Stuart]

Also, which team has the most hitouts to advantage. Is it the team with the best clearance players, ie a Mitchell from the Hawks etc, or WCE where everyone in the centre square is being tagged.

 

[Phar Ace]

Interesting synopsis Yando.  Simmo hyper-extended his knee early in the season (against the Lions - was even amazed he got up the next week), so I would be interested to see what his results were before and after - even first half of season vs second half.  He's jumping early in the ruck these days indicating a bit of apprehension (protecting something).

His value to RFC has been enormous around the ground and he seems to need on-ball roles to get into a game.

If looking at the figures again, who are the top 5 tap ruckmen to advantage - I would expect Lade to in that list and to become the AA ruckman this year.  Do you think the quality of the midfield impacts signioficantly or only marginally on the results you have commented on?

 

[Tigers of Old]

If looking at the figures again, who are the top 5 tap ruckmen to advantage - I would expect Lade to in that list and to become the AA ruckman this year. Do you think the quality of the midfield impacts signioficantly or only marginally on the results you have commented on?

Everitt(when fit) is still up there with the games best tap ruckmen. Hence our apparent interest in him.
Miller is doing the right thing exploring this option, despite Spida's apparen drawbacks.

 

[Phar Ace]

Is the solution to play Simmonds as a ruck rover, big body, strong overhead, great endurance, accountabilty on a smaller faster opponent??. Only problem is if Knoble is your ruckman, where do you hide him when the ball is in play. Pattison IMO is a loonng way off from being a reliable player at AFL level.

Sorry, no structure to this reply, just thinking aloud at work!

SNAP!  I've wonder this one, ala Brown occasionally into the centre sq for Brisbane, Kouta etc.  I bigger bodied "protector" , screen, shepherd could be role for Simmo and allow him to still get into the game by starting on the ball not necessarily rucking so much.

 

[Phar Ace]

If looking at the figures again, who are the top 5 tap ruckmen to advantage - I would expect Lade to in that list and to become the AA ruckman this year.  Do you think the quality of the midfield impacts signioficantly or only marginally on the results you have commented on?

Everitt(when fit) is still up there with the games best tap ruckmen. Hence our apparent interest in him.
Miller is doing the right thing exploring this option, despite Spida's apparen drawbacks.

Agree 100%