vacuous space wrote:I would have thought that, after last year, people would excercise some restraint on gloating about a pickup like this. King isn't a number one ruck and hasn't been for a while. He was AA the year before Michael Gardiner. It's been quite a while since he played footy at a high level. At this stage of his career he provides little more than ruck depth. It's no more a great pickup than Gardiner or Clarke last year.
While I agree with the sentiment of not getting carried away with King as saviour (and I assume you're referring to Gardiner more than Clarke), the King pickup far better than either... Gardiner had barely played in 12 months before the Saints got him, Clarke was older than some of the goelogy down at Moorrabbin, and basically depth.
King has also barely played AFL football in 12 months (like Gardiner), but his most recent hitout was won by displacing the regular ruckman of the premiership team as being better able to handle Lade (probably #2 ruck in the entire comp) and his #2 Brogan (a monster himself)... which is far better form coming in than either of the others can claim. It would be fair however to note that without that single game, King may have gone untouched through the PSD.
If we can get 10 games out of Gardiner next year (though from whispers here, even that's optomistic), 15 out of King, 20 out of Kosi, then while I wouldn't expect any to figure in the '08 AA ruck figurings, I'd be confidant we'd get the best rucking results we've had since Spida left.
My waffling musings and predictions aside, I think the salient point is that King represents an upgrade on Matty Clarke, gained for the same price - nothing... slowly but surely, the ruck situation improves.