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How will Martin and Leuenberger fare for the Lions?

Roar Pro
30th March, 2015
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Roar Pro
30th March, 2015
1

Many have been excited about watching the Brisbane Lions since the conclusion of last season.

Talented youngster Lewis Taylor won the NAB Rising Star award after slipping to the Lions at pick 28 in the 2013 draft. Brisbane also managed to welcome former Collingwood gun Dayne Beams, Allen Christensen and Mitch Robinson.

But the thing that most intrigues about the Lions is the ruck combination of Matthew Leuenberger and Stefan Martin.

Leuenberger amassed a total of 724 hitouts in 22 games in 2011, at an average nigh on 33 a game. In 2013, 608 hitouts were won in 20 games, an average of 30.4. These numbers suggest Leuenberger, when fit, has the capability to be one of the best rucks in the league.

But with Leuenberger comes injury troubles. The very same injury that required Martin to play out the whole second half of last season, and surprise the football population averaging 22.4 disposals and 28 hitouts a game.

With the 2015 season rapidly approaching, coach Justin Leppitsch has expressed his excitement for being able to boast a real weapon in the ruck with these two players fit.

But how do two ruckmen with clear number one qualities work together and get the best out of themselves, in order to be the weapon that Leppitsch wants?

Ruck combinations in the AFL right now are mostly similar. At Richmond you have the clear number one ruck in Ivan Maric, and when he needs a break your forward/rucks will take over. It’s the same at Adelaide with Sam Jacobs and Josh Jenkins.

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But if Martin and Leuenberger continue to step up and play to their potential, Brisbane will need to find a way to rotate them effectively between ruck and forward, as whoever isn’t rucking will often be the Lions’ tallest target in Jonathon Brown’s absence.

The best rucking combination of two genuine first rucks doesn’t date back too far: Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui. The most successful season for these two was 2012, when both of the Eagles ruckmen made the All Australian side – Nic Nat as the ruck and Cox resting in the forward line. Naitanui’s season totals were 543 hitouts and 24 goals. For Cox it was 628 hitouts and 28 goals. If the output from the Brisbane boys is half or three quarters of this, then it’s a win.

The concern however, isn’t really the ruck. It’s the effectiveness of the resting ruck when he’s forward. Cox and Naitanui combined for 52 goals in 2012. Leuenberger and Martin, between them, have only ever had one single season where they’ve reached double figures in goals – Martin, back in 2011 at Melbourne, with 10 goals.

When you think about, there isn’t a whole lot of difference between the pairs. Cox and Leuenberger, are 204 centimetre ruckmen who surprisingly have a bit of useful agility. Naitanui and Martin both have the running and movement skills to play as big midfielders.

Then you have ruckmen such as Todd Goldstein, Will Minson and Sam Jacobs, who have very little help from any other ruck or tall forward in their team and that seems to suit them just fine. It remains to be seen whether Martin and Leuenberger are the type of ruckman who excel with sole ruck duties. We have seen ‘Leuey’ go 700-plus in terms of hitouts which suggests it may be so.

I wouldn’t be against playing Leuenberger in the ruck and Martin as a tall rover, as we have seen on occasions in the past with Naitanui or Jarryd Roughead. It might be more appropriate to experiment with something like that if Brisbane had some more experienced forward options, because in the wake of Brown’s retirement there are youngsters Michael Close, Daniel McStay and then Brent Staker or Luke McGuane. But for now it will probably be necessary to rotate one up forward at a time.

I’d say both of their output will drop as the hitouts are shared around, and they won’t produce the fantastic stats that Cox and Naitanui have in the past. They both seem like the kind of players who would thrive rucking on their lonesome, as shown in 2011 and 2013 with Leuey, and the latter half of 2014 with Martin. Neither will be as damaging sharing the role, but the positive to come out of it will be team balance.

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