Just some context to Ryan today.
1. He was playing in the last quarter of a 30 degree practice match when no-one gave a stuff.
2. In terms of the reserves game, on the Show Me the Money documentary when discussing the recruiting of Brodie Grundy, Melbourne list manager Tim Lamb said their ruck stocks were Max Gawn and nothing else. His words, 'literally nothing'. They then added Josh Schache to the list because he had shown promise in the ruck at VFL level for the Bulldogs. If Ryan didn't dominate that game there's be something wrong.
Positive direction sure, but don't get carried away.
@The Big Richo i think your point 1 is a bit dismissive of the gains Samson appears to have made on his forward craft. his first two outings have shown aggression at the ball and splitting packs.
Watch the replay of the North game, could have kicked 4 and either marked or brought the ball to ground, not dominant but when the ball was in the vicinity did what you would want from a resting ruckman, (which he was not on the day i know).
Yesterday what 4 marks and what should have been a couple of goals in a qtr,
(where the likes of May, Lever, Petty couldn't give a stuff ).
On to point 2 where I agree with you:
There has been a bit of a catch-22 situation with Rhino, previous seasons he has played predominately forward in part by design and in part playing 2nd and 3rd fiddle to Soldo and even some hybrids in the VFL, (also because we had no other VFL key fwd), so he has not had the body of ruckwork to stand him in great stead for AFL?
I had heard he was going to be given the number 1 ruck duties at VFL level to ramp up his development but again, all pre-season, (due to Lynch's injury), he has had to play the Lynch role for structure and very little ruckwork at training and match sim.
May be a bonus in the long run as the forced circumstance may have just fast tracked his forward work?
Hard to know if Samson will be automatically be better in the ruck given he has put on a bit of size but I too would like to see him rucking himself to exhaustion in the VFL and dominating before throwing him to the wolves again so it wouldn't be round 1 for me.