Ruckman

[SaintSimmo]

Are we exaggerating our supposed ruck problem?

We have McEvoy who is clearly our number 1 ruck.

Stanley has proved that he can play in the forward line and rotate in the ruck to give Macca a rest.

And then there is Kosi, who seems to be in a sticky situation. There has been very little (if anything) said about Kosi so far this silly season, which is incredibly unusual. Whether or not he will be in our best 22 next year is debatable. But obviously he is another option as a backup ruckman.

Hickey has been suggested as a suitable pick up, I tend to agree with this as he is young and will develop in the future. He is 201cm so he's a genuine ruck. If we do sign him then I would be worried for Kosi as we would then have:
1) McEvoy
2) Stanley
3) Hickey
4) Kosi
5) Lever

[Trixilver]

Kosi is better suited sitting at FF or not playing at all. Even Blake was a far better option filling in for McEvoy.

[busso mick]

I would suggest SaintSimmo you have a look at the replay of the Grand Final and assess the performance of Mike Pyke (a rugby convert) who knows how to get his hands on the ball, and had a huge bearing on the final result of the match. The only crash and bash big-bodied ruckman we have is McEvoy and we definitely need more support in that area. Young Hickey would be a good get to start with but I feel that we need someone else as well who can perform the Mike Pyke role for us.

[WinnersOnly]

I think they want to recruit a ruckman that can actually deliver the ball to our advantage at stoppages. Kosi doesn't have the tank to be a ruckman & Lever is more a tall KPP & they want to develop Stanley to replace Roo when he goes. So really that leaves us with Macca who struggles to win the ruck taps against the weakest of opponents.

[ROLS-LEE]

David hille if cheap draft pick and salary cap wise

[bobmurray]

David hille if cheap draft pick and salary cap wise

Hmmm, we do have to think of sandy's list as well as the Saints list.....He could be all right at sandy...

[Spud02]

Scotty has publicly stated his desire to add another ruckman to the list, however I think this will be a back up option should either Macca/Rhys go down, rather than a bigger name.

[plugger66]

I think they want to recruit a ruckman that can actually deliver the ball to our advantage at stoppages. Kosi doesn't have the tank to be a ruckman & Lever is more a tall KPP & they want to develop Stanley to replace Roo when he goes. So really that leaves us with Macca who struggles to win the ruck taps against the weakest of opponents.

I agree. I think he averages about one hit out a quarter less than the best ruckmen. A whole hitout.

[wally]

Hille seems to be injured alot, kosi as a sub come on and bash & crash for a quarter

[SaintSimmo]

I would suggest SaintSimmo you have a look at the replay of the Grand Final and assess the performance of Mike Pyke (a rugby convert) who knows how to get his hands on the ball, and had a huge bearing on the final result of the match. The only crash and bash big-bodied ruckman we have is McEvoy and we definitely need more support in that area.

I agree with that however, just as an example lets say we pick up David Hille.

B: Simpkin, Recruit, Geary
HB: Gwilt, Fisher, Dempster
C: Siposs, Hayes, Montagna
HF: Wilkes, Riewoldt, Stanley
F: Schnieder, Hille, Milne
FOL: McEvoy, Dal Santo, Steven
Int: Armitage, Gilbert, Saad, Gram

Others: Milera, Dunnell, Curren, Ray, Kosi, Newnes, Markworth, Ross
Trade: Cripps? Ledger? Jones?
Retire: Blake?

The balance in the side just doesn't seem right to me (most likely just my selections) but surely McEvoy, Wilkes, Hille and Stanley can't all play in the same side.

[ROLS-LEE]

Hille seems to be injured alot, kosi as a sub come on and bash & crash for a quarter

TBH I can not remember the last time kosi put in an honest 4 quarter effort.

As a crash and bash he will either hurt himself or one of one of our own.

His time has been and gone.

Sandy bound until injury or a complete turn around in form for several weeks.

The mention of hille was to generate some thought and opinions.

[Bardon Saint]

We're not picking up David Hille. We're just not.

[busso mick]

We're not picking up David Hille. We're just not.

If we pick up Hille, we are going down hill.

[mad saint guy]

I think McEvoy and Stanley are a perfectly fine ruck combination, our issue is ruck depth. It was plain to see at the start of the season that if McEvoy goes down, we're screwed. That would leave us with Stanley as the number one ruck (who didn't have the body for it) and two pinch hitters left as our only other options in Blake and Kosi.

Kosi started the year quite well as a forward and then had to spend time in the ruck which pretty much derailed his season. Watters has stated several times that they'd prefer not to have him ruck at all as his body isn't up to it. So Blake had to go into the ruck when he had been our best tall defender - it threw the team balance off badly and we were still getting flogged in the ruck.

We have one genuine ruck on the list, one part timer and two capable of pinch hitting.

Now the two grand finalists this year..

Sydney

Mumford, genuine ruck
Pyke, genuine ruck
Seaby, genuine ruck
White, pinch hitter
LRT, pinch hitter

Hawthorn

Bailey, genuine ruck
McCauley, genuine ruck
Hale, part timer
Roughead, part timer
Pattison, part timer
Grimely, developing ruck

Now like us, and like most teams, they had injuries to their ruckmen throughout the year. But they had the depth to maintain team balance and stay competitive in the middle. That's all we need. Our first choice combo is fine, we just need a big body or two who can get the job done in case of injuries.

[villasaint]

Kosi is better suited to the vfl. We need another two ruck an. I think Peterson from north would be a good second ruck who can always play forward or back as well.

[ShanghaiSaint]

we need another ruck option...

[gringo]

I'm surprised no one want jesse white, I thought he would be the type that would be shopped around.

[Bernard Shakey]

I think they want to recruit a ruckman that can actually deliver the ball to our advantage at stoppages. Kosi doesn't have the tank to be a ruckman & Lever is more a tall KPP & they want to develop Stanley to replace Roo when he goes. So really that leaves us with Macca who struggles to win the ruck taps against the weakest of opponents.

I agree. I think he averages about one hit out a quarter less than the best ruckmen. A whole hitout.

Yes and do they go to our advantage? Do they?