Pyke in the ruck

[Lucky Knickers]

AFL was taken from Gaelic Football, running game with ball in hand, running off the ball. Running with the ball, finding space etc....
Your a fool if u cant see that and again amatuers from Ireland beat Australia

Isn't rugby the same? Ball, running, finding space?

Moving on...
Liz, I agree re Pyke and composure in traffic. There was a great passage of play yesterday where he'd taken the ball and held up the handball in our D50 beautifully. He didn't panic, waited for the right option and a player to be released. IIRC we broke hard and got the ball quickly down the other end for a goal.
For a first year ruck man and player, it was superb.
I'm sad that he didn't send his tapes at 17/18 but he has a few years to get to his peak.

[Nico]

Quality rucks are not as common as some people think. The swans have been well blessed for a numb er of years in having good rucks in Ball, Jolly and Everett for a while. They also take time to develop partly due to the physical nature of their contests. We have 2/3 young ones in the system but Pyke's ruck work is fine and he has taken two strong contested marks in his two games. He's raw and his kicking will never be top notch but he is providing
Jolly with valuable recouping time and he's hardly getting smashed in the ruck, one bad kick to fb yesterday that was lucky to be held.

No complaints with Pyke so far.

I have no problem with what you and BSa5 say on the topic. However his taps were hardly effective and we got slaughtered out of the centre in the first 3 quarters. I think the best move is to take him back to the 2's (we have seen him for 2 games) promote Currie as a ruck who has a footy background and leave him in to bring him on as quick as possible. He has far more versatility than Pyke. White must also play for his height. What struck me in the warm up yesterday was how small we are compared to Geelong.

Pyke might very well turn out to be an outstanding work in progress but at the moment his value to the side both in the short and long term is probably negligible.

[IrishSwanPerth]

Totally agree Nico

Eagles were poor today, Kerr got injured, Mlb lost a lot of the 50/50 if they won a bit more they could have won.
Also some of there kicking was average

Rugby and AFL are far apart Lucky Nickers.

[satchmopugdog]

Totally agree Nico

Eagles were poor today, Kerr got injured, Mlb lost a lot of the 50/50 if they won a bit more they could have won.
Also some of there kicking was average

Rugby and AFL are far apart Lucky Nickers.

Que???

[dimelb]

AFL was taken from Gaelic Football, running game with ball in hand, running off the ball. Running with the ball, finding space etc....
Your a fool if u cant see that and again amatuers from Ireland beat Australia

Another view is that AFL derives partly from Marn Grook and Rugby.
The main reasons amateurs from Ireland beat AFL teams are: 1. the round ball, 2. the limits on physical contact, and 3. the small field the hybrid game is played on. It's like a handicap race.

[BSA5]

I have no problem with what you and BSa5 say on the topic. However his taps were hardly effective and we got slaughtered out of the centre in the first 3 quarters. I think the best move is to take him back to the 2's (we have seen him for 2 games) promote Currie as a ruck who has a footy background and leave him in to bring him on as quick as possible. He has far more versatility than Pyke. White must also play for his height. What struck me in the warm up yesterday was how small we are compared to Geelong.

Pyke might very well turn out to be an outstanding work in progress but at the moment his value to the side both in the short and long term is probably negligible.

I disagree that his taps were hardly effective. I thought his taps were actually very good. A number of times he fed it straight down a teammate's throat. The reason we were slaughtered in the clearances is because Geelong's midfielders are just so @@@@ing good at reading the ball. They were sharking Jolly's taps just as much as, if not more than, Pyke's.

[ernie koala]

Pyke cost virtually nothing, he's 24, he's big, strong and competitive, give him a few seasons and things.. ie drop punts, handballing ,positional play..will start coming more naturally to him. His progress, so far, has been fantastic. Ruckmen usually peak in their late 20's. It's looking like an excellent gamble to me.

[laughingnome]

The reason we were slaughtered in the clearances is because Geelong's midfielders are just so @@@@ing good at reading the ball. They were sharking Jolly's taps just as much as, if not more than, Pyke's.

What happened to the days when a ruckman would thrash the ball 20-30 metres goal-side? It couldn't have been any worse then the Kitties grabbing everything dropped at (or near) their feet around the ball up.

[573v30]

I have no problem with the Swans taking a gamble with Pyke, he's athletic and has the build to play the game with little difficulty and the way he's rucking for someone with very little Aussie Rules experience is amazing.

[Nico]

What happened to the days when a ruckman would thrash the ball 20-30 metres goal-side? It couldn't have been any worse then the Kitties grabbing everything dropped at (or near) their feet around the ball up.

And it all changed, too late, when Shaw went into the guts, why?

Because he is quick, goes straight at the footy and didn't worry about his opponent (same as Geelong) and doesn't have a negative mindset. Why not build the midfield around him.

[Hartijon]

Pyke cost virtually nothing, he's 24, he's big, strong and competitive, give him a few seasons and things.. ie drop punts, handballing ,positional play..will start coming more naturally to him. His progress, so far, has been fantastic. Ruckmen usually peak in their late 20's. It's looking like an excellent gamble to me.

Totally agree.He is a bargain! Forget the 2's..keep him in the 1's.I believe he has the most potential of anyone in our entire squad.

[Nico]

Totally agree.He is a bargain! Forget the 2's..keep him in the 1's.I believe he has the most potential of anyone in our entire squad.

Now there's a statement for the RWO time capsule.

Do we have an RWO time capsule? Not a bad idea if I may say so.

[ROK Lobster]

I believe he has the most potential of anyone in our entire squad.

Faint praise indeed.

[Hartijon]

Now there's a statement for the RWO time capsule.

Do we have an RWO time capsule? Not a bad idea if I may say so.

Not a wild prediction at all.This guy has faced the All Blacks,as if an AFL ruckman would faze him.I shared a change room with the All Blacks once when they were booked to train after us.Man! Their arms were like my thighs.
Secondly,he is an awesome athlete with some skills already.Don't think rugby union guys have no skills.Inspired recruiting!He is dead keen and totally professional so with good coaching will improve.Look at his height,weight,speed etc..

[undy]

Why dont Man Utd or Liverpool bring in a rugby player as a defender because he can tackle
Lol we will see with time

John Willie Sutcliffe

use the googles