- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The biggest thing, both literally and figuratively, to come out of the opening weekend of the AFL season was Aaron Sandilands.
While Greater Western Sydney burst Buddy’s Sydney bubble and little Gazza and his Suns made Richmond look mediocre (again), Fremantle so comprehensively dismantled Collingwood that calls for Nathan Buckley’s sacking by disgruntled fans could be heard echoing from Etihad stadium well before three-quarter time.
Even Bucks himself admitted his team “got pantsed” by the rampaging Dockers.
Playing no small part in the dacking was Sandilands. The 211cm monolith has picked up where he left off after last year’s finals series – in scintillating form.
Cut down by injury over the past couple of seasons, the man who brought the phrase ‘turf toe’ to the modern football lexicon now looks dangerously fit and that fact alone could spell disaster for the premiership ambitions of his club’s rivals.
Those who had forgotten how good Sandilands is and how important he is to a successful Fremantle side need only watch a replay of last Friday night’s game. The man-mountain dominated the airways and gave his onballers first use of the football at every opportunity.
As Pies ruckman Brodie Grundy found out, once Sandilands plants himself under the ball he is virtually immovable.
Grundy gave 100 per cent and put in an honest performance but he may as well have been going up against the Empire State Building. He gave away several storeys in height to Sandilands and was nothing more than nuisance value to the big Docker.
The hit-out tally tells the story – 46 to 25 in favour of Fremantle.
The value of ruckmen in today’s game is often debated, with some experts claiming they are overrated. The argument goes they negate each other so often that the rare hit-out that does go to advantage is hardly worth the effort.
But perhaps negation is a part of their job, for any side that goes into a game with a makeshift ruckman is often found wanting. The galloping Goliath on the other side suddenly comes into his own, marking around the ground and effortlessly palming the ball to his midfielders with mind-numbing regularity.
Essendon found that out to devastating effect in their 2009 elimination final clash against the Adelaide Crows. The Bombers, under ill-fated coach Matthew Knights, went into the game without a ruckman.
In a perplexing move, Knights left developing big man Tom Bellchambers out of the side (incumbent rucks David Hille and Paddy Ryder were already unavailable) and instead used defenders Cale Hooker and Nathan Lovett-Murray as his tap men.
The result was catastrophic. The Adelaide rucks, led by current Tiger cult figure Ivan Maric, smashed their undersized opponents to the tune of 64 hit-outs to a meagre 18. The Crows running brigade had first use of the ball so often that the Bombers couldn’t get a sniff of it.
The damage at the final siren was 96 points and it was the beginning of the end for Knights, who would be sacked the following season.
It is an extreme example but it does illustrate why teams should always play a recognised ruckman, even if it is just to nullify their opposite number.
And this is where Fremantle have one up on the competition. Sandilands is almost impossible to nullify. On his day he can make even the best ruckman look the way Hooker and Lovett-Murray did back in 2009.
Grundy is not an undersized ruckman, standing over two metres tall and tipping the scales at 100kg, but he looked small in comparison to Sandilands last Friday night. Try as he might, he couldn’t shift the big fella once Sandilands planted his feet beneath the ball at the stoppages.
Sandilands might be occasionally caught out by players running off him, but more often than not his value will be in feeding his smalls. His big mitts and added height mean he can also be a tremendous weapon up forward if things are not working out in the centre.
Put simply, there are 17 other clubs out there who wish that he was on their list.
A great ruckman might not necessarily win you a premiership, but an exceptional one – and make no mistake, that is what a fit and confident Sandilands is – will give you a distinct advantage.
So, you can talk all you want about the enormous performance of GWS in upsetting their cross town rivals, or the distinct possibility that Gary junior will pick up yet another Brownlow. The real story lies with Fremantle.
The ultimate goal of AFL football is to win the premiership and if we are looking for early signs of just where that hallowed cup may be headed come September, you need look no further than the Dockers.
And the big fella wearing the number 31 guernsey might just be the key!
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.