Changes - Round 16 vs Hawthorn

[barry]

Our ruck stocks, in order of usefulness are:

1. Tippet
2. Pyke (even injured)
3. Nankervis (as slow as an injured Pyke)
4. Derrickx (generally unco)
5. Nainsmith (unknown quantity)

Its debatable whether any of the 2 to 5 on that list are at AFL standard. Therefore I strongly suggest to the selectors we go with only Tippet, with Reid backup.

And hope that Pyke recovers from injury/form/whatever before the finals. However I think Pyke might be shot, in which case we are in deep do,do's especially with a trade ban stopping us importing a quality ruck replacement.

[Doctor J.]

Our ruck stocks, in order of usefulness are:

1. Tippet
2. Pyke (even injured)
3. Nankervis (as slow as an injured Pyke)
4. Derrickx (generally unco)
5. Nainsmith (unknown quantity)

Its debatable whether any of the 2 to 5 on that list are at AFL standard. Therefore I strongly suggest to the selectors we go with only Tippet, with Reid backup.

And hope that Pyke recovers from injury/form/whatever before the finals. However I think Pyke might be shot, in which case we are in deep do,do's especially with a trade ban stopping us importing a quality ruck replacement.

We need to find another Mumford @ $250k per year for 4 years. Surely there is one of those hanging around on other clubs lists

[Hotpotato]

Couldn't Sam Reid ruck ?
At least he can jump and time his jump, or is he too skinny ?

[Ludwig]

Our ruck stocks, in order of usefulness are:

1. Tippet
2. Pyke (even injured)
3. Nankervis (as slow as an injured Pyke)
4. Derrickx (generally unco)
5. Nainsmith (unknown quantity)

I agree on the number 1, but not the rest:

1. Tippett
2. Naismith (enigmatic: has been 1-2 weeks away for 2-3 months)
3. Nankervis (slowed himself down so not mistaken for Dean Towers)
4. Pyke
5. Sean McLaren
6. Aliir Aliir
7. Aliir Aliir (brother of above - has first and last names interchanged)
8. Abe Davis
9. Nick Davis
10. Betty Davis (good eyes)
11. Jake Derickx (not so unco younger brother of Tom)
12. Tom Derickx (got tired of this list, so put him much higher than warranted)

[mcs]

Out: Pyke (injury), Shaw (slowed down and we need more speed), Robinson (gave it a go but not our best 22 yet), Towers (has not got what it takes for our best 30, sorry)
In: Nankervis (put in last game and more mobile than Pyke), Heeney (replaces Shaw), would love to have McGlynn to put in but in his absence - Rose (brave, in and under, work rate and raring to go), X in for Towers.

I would also like sometime soon to see Aliir thrown amongst them, he's big, he's courageous with massive potential.

Has anybody else noticed the afl and other websites haven't updated the ladder? They still all say 14 played. I keep checking and am very sure it's round 16 this week. What's going on?

You really want to throw in Rose and Xavier Richards against the Hawks?

I do like the look of Rose, but he is still very raw, and Xavier is a defender, not some sort of running player, like Towers is (although his efforts in the AFL so far have been disappointing).

[MattW]

There is no way Pyke will be dropped unless injured. He is our number 1 ruckman - fact.

Not so sure. Tippett had 50% more hitouts on Sunday and polled coaches votes. Reckon they're thinking about making the move.

[jono2707]

If Pyke is dropped/rested, there'd be a slight chance of that giving a lifeline to Towers, who has been thrown into the ruck on the rare occasion in the past. Not that I think that'd be a good idea...

[Mug Punter]

I agree on the number 1, but not the rest:

1. Tippett
2. Naismith (enigmatic: has been 1-2 weeks away for 2-3 months)
3. Nankervis (slowed himself down so not mistaken for Dean Towers)
4. Pyke
5. Sean McLaren
6. Aliir Aliir
7. Aliir Aliir (brother of above - has first and last names interchanged)
8. Abe Davis
9. Nick Davis
10. Betty Davis (good eyes)
11. Jake Derickx (not so unco younger brother of Tom)
12. Tom Derickx (got tired of this list, so put him much higher than warranted)

One of your best

[wolftone57]

I'm assuming that Roughead doesn't play, so their only 'physical' tall forward will be their resting ruckman, probably covered by Reg. Ted, Laidler and Rampe can handle Gunston and Schoenmaker, at least from a physical standpoint. So Reid can be spared to play forward or on the wing.

Out: Pyke, Towers, Robinson.
In: Richards, Heeney, B Jack (sub)

Tippett and Reid to share the ruck duties, perhaps with a cameo from Goodes.

It's going to take a huge improvement to even get close to Hawthorn. Longmire seemed to have a look of resignation on his face every time the cameras flashed to the coaches' box. Like he knew we were crap and there wasn't any point on giving himself a heart attack about it. Maybe the untimely death of Phil Walsh made him rethink his priorities. I've never seen him more composed.

Given the likely scenario that there will be a lot of stoppages and pressure inside football, it might be worth considering bringing Bird back for this one.

That all depends Ludwig on whether Hawks decide to play three ruckmen. Hale at FF, Ceglar & McEvoy both doing the ruck duties. Otherwise they could play Grimley who has been kicking a bag or three in the Twos. Schoenmakers might not play yet. schoenmakers is a tall as is Gunston (193).

I don't want to see Reid rucking again in his career. He is crap at it. Ok second up but not as the main ruckman.

Agree about improvement. I think we need a miracle. but I haven't seen Horse walk on water lately.

[Bloodthirsty]

Tippett is our best ruckman. But he is a gun forward when solely in a forward role. He is a waste of money in the ruck, but an asset forward.

Do you think we could re-draft Barry Hall as rookie? He is relatively tall and could add some physical presence to the ruck. He could also perform lockdown jobs around the ground, like on the weekend against Staker, for example. He could also perform odd-jobs like mowing the SCG, washing Horse's car and cutting out promo pictures of players in Photoshop to use in a different background on the website. For under 300K you can't go wrong.

[Ludwig]

That all depends Ludwig on whether Hawks decide to play three ruckmen. Hale at FF, Ceglar & McEvoy both doing the ruck duties. Otherwise they could play Grimley who has been kicking a bag or three in the Twos. Schoenmakers might not play yet. schoenmakers is a tall as is Gunston (193).

I don't want to see Reid rucking again in his career. He is crap at it. Ok second up but not as the main ruckman.

Agree about improvement. I think we need a miracle. but I haven't seen Horse walk on water lately.

I can't remember the last time Hawthorn played 3 ruckmen, so I think it's unlikely. If Roughead comes in, it will probably be at the expense of Shoenmakers, so their structure is unlikely to change from the Freo game.

Reid played very well in the ruck against Richmond. The hitout numbers in that game were Tippo - 16, Reid - 12 and Drex - 7. So not bad for our 3rd ruckman in that game. I think many of Reid's hitouts were 3rd man up, but was a good job nonetheless.

It's interesting that the 3 other top 4 sides play similar forward line structures with a resting ruckman, a primarily tall and a secondary tall. Here are the typical setups:

Hawthorn: Hall, Roughead and Gunston
Freo: Clarke, Pav, Mayne
WCE: Sinclair, Kennedy, Darling

All pose challenges, but not due to height. Reid can be spared in the forward line against all those sides. Their small forwards are many and dangerous.

[graemed]

It was interesting to hear the comments from the weekend wrt how Hawthorn combated the influence of Sandilands. Their rucks were virtually noncompetitive in stoppages but they were still able to win the clearances. I believe that we are capable of implementing something similar without Pyke.
I would use Tippett as a roving follower as long as he is pitted against their rucks he will be both competitive and a challenge for them, my doubts run to his resilience and fitness. If he wins the hitouts to advantage good but otherwise we need to shut down their ability to get clean clearances especially when Burgouyne, Rioli or Mitchell are in the centre square. Their ability to hit targets by hand or foot and set up scoring oppourtunities is significant.
Roughhead is unlikely to play but even if he does I rate Gunston as their main leading target with Hale and the other ruck whoever he is as goal square targets but their effectiveness is mostly to ground the ball for their small forwards, Bruest and Paopolou. I fear Rioli one out in the goal square above all else.
Shaw must not play down back, he is too slow and his decision making under pressure is getting worse. I would like to see him run with Smith. I know Smith is quick but I don't see another role for him and if we let Smith link up unrestrained his ability to break the lines and create is devastating.
Hannebery will get the Shiel tag and maybe Hodge/Lewis on Joey. McVeigh must work hard to make Birchall accountable if he is allowed to be the release person his accurate kicking is important upfield.
When we have possession we must hit targets and make good decisions, too often we are under pressure and Hawthorn are too good getting back if you make an error.

Changes: (Desirable)
Out: Shaw ( 15 games but no improvement. how much longer can we carry him?), Pyke (looks to be carrying an injury and unable to jump)
Ins: Richards ( if fit must come back), Bird ( need hard bodies against Hawks and he is uncompromising)

Would like to have included Heeney but judging by report from Tom Harley do not think he is ready.

Changes: (probable)
Outs: Towers ( unlucky, as he seems to be filling a role and his speed and pressure could be important whilst Rohan is absent), Pyke (see above)
Ins Richards (also based on Harley report), B. Jack ( been showing good form in 2's also based on Harley report and lack of match fitness from Bird)

Likely Line up:
Rampe Richards Smith
Laidler Grundy Shaw
Hannebery Kennedy Jetta
McVeigh Franklin Lloyd
Goodes Reid Parker

Tippett, K. Jack, Mitchell

Int Robinson, Jones, Cunningham (sub) B. Jack

[Dosser]

It was interesting to hear the comments from the weekend wrt how Hawthorn combated the influence of Sandilands. Their rucks were virtually noncompetitive in stoppages but they were still able to win the clearances. I believe that we are capable of implementing something similar without Pyke.
I would use Tippett as a roving follower as long as he is pitted against their rucks he will be both competitive and a challenge for them, my doubts run to his resilience and fitness. If he wins the hitouts to advantage good but otherwise we need to shut down their ability to get clean clearances especially when Burgouyne, Rioli or Mitchell are in the centre square. Their ability to hit targets by hand or foot and set up scoring oppourtunities is significant.
Roughhead is unlikely to play but even if he does I rate Gunston as their main leading target with Hale and the other ruck whoever he is as goal square targets but their effectiveness is mostly to ground the ball for their small forwards, Bruest and Paopolou. I fear Rioli one out in the goal square above all else.
Shaw must not play down back, he is too slow and his decision making under pressure is getting worse. I would like to see him run with Smith. I know Smith is quick but I don't see another role for him and if we let Smith link up unrestrained his ability to break the lines and create is devastating.
Hannebery will get the Shiel tag and maybe Hodge/Lewis on Joey. McVeigh must work hard to make Birchall accountable if he is allowed to be the release person his accurate kicking is important upfield.
When we have possession we must hit targets and make good decisions, too often we are under pressure and Hawthorn are too good getting back if you make an error.

Changes: (Desirable)
Out: Shaw ( 15 games but no improvement. how much longer can we carry him?), Pyke (looks to be carrying an injury and unable to jump)
Ins: Richards ( if fit must come back), Bird ( need hard bodies against Hawks and he is uncompromising)

Would like to have included Heeney but judging by report from Tom Harley do not think he is ready.

Changes: (probable)
Outs: Towers ( unlucky, as he seems to be filling a role and his speed and pressure could be important whilst Rohan is absent), Pyke (see above)
Ins Richards (also based on Harley report), B. Jack ( been showing good form in 2's also based on Harley report and lack of match fitness from Bird)

Likely Line up:
Rampe Richards Smith
Laidler Grundy Shaw
Hannebery Kennedy Jetta
McVeigh Franklin Lloyd
Goodes Reid Parker

Tippett, K. Jack, Mitchell

Int Robinson, Jones, Cunningham (sub) B. Jack

I think Cunningham will get Smith, but does anybody know how BJ goes as a tagger?

[chalbilto]

With 1-5 mm rain predicticted to fall Wednesday, then 20-40 mm on Thursday & 5-10 mm on Friday, combined with the NRL playing a game of Friday night, the surface is going to be chopped up and heavy (just like the Richmond game last year). I think that the selectors should factor the weather and surface conditions before selecting the team.

[Molly dooker]

You really want to throw in Rose and Xavier Richards against the Hawks?

I do like the look of Rose, but he is still very raw, and Xavier is a defender, not some sort of running player, like Towers is (although his efforts in the AFL so far have been disappointing).

Hi MCS, throwing in Rose against the Dawks is not my first choice but why not blood the young fella against the best, he could play out of his skin. X, mnyeh a total roughie but he has a good footy head, great genes and has improved his speed.
Unfortunately Towers just frightens me (in a Reg way) every time he goes near the ball. I like the idea of Birdie getting a run but his speed is also the issue, at least X has a height advantage.
With a wet soggy ground to be expected, speed might be negligible but height may be an advantage for first hands on ball.
I would always prefer our best 22 which includes Ben Mc and Heeney, neither who have height but are ball magnets when the talls knock it down or get marks spoilt.
I'm scared to be honest but like my Dad used to say..... "they've got 22 and so do we, we can beat anyone on any day if we come to play".