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!
John Fedec
Guest
Gene ?????????? WHAT drugs do you use CAN I please have some Why did Collingwood have 17 scoring shots to 6 vs STK in the 2010 GF up to HT and only lead by 24?? (7.8 to 4.2 HT score) Poor kicking cost them the first time....and STK returned the favor in the replay in the first half ! End of story ! Can't wait till Round 20 Maybe Fremantle can beat Geelong down at SS by 100 and shut all you Lyon hating people up! The cats deserved TWO flags!! They threw 08 away, and 09 was a FLIP which STK kept Geelong in with poor kicking.
Tim
Guest
Kasey, it is an old jibe and the rest of your comments are about 10 years old too. Catch Up!
johno
Guest
He's a great player with hopefully another 3 seasons in him to get him to 250 games and three premierships :)
johno
Guest
That's because Fyfe not only wins contest possessions and clearances but takes pack marks like no other mid fielder. The kid is a beast. Barlo is an old fashioned accumulator, who puts everything into the contest, but Fyfe is a game changer.
johno
Guest
Mundy just looks slow ....
Lroy
Guest
If you remove Sandilands, the best ruckman in the comp may be their second stringer!! Can never remember his name, but he was player of the finals last year IMO, he was absolutely brilliant... so Sandilands for me is the icing on the cake..they are good enough to win it without him, and even more likely with him. Thier midfield are a virtual land of the Giants. Fyfe is as big as Glen Jacovich, the legendary Eagles centre half back... he runs like the wind, kicks it a mile, takes speccies all day... super player, Waters and Hill boys are spectacular... Chris Mayne was their nuber one forward after Pavlich a few years ago, now hes just a half forward flanker.... they have class up and down the line and on the flanks., even Crowley their tagger has more skill than he is given credit for, he always ends up kicking a goal or two each week. They are a really exciting team..
Tom from Perth
Guest
Agree Monopoly Man. Axle, you're a goose.
Coline77
Guest
Simoc I read a lot off comments on here and I think ur an insulting cockhead people have the right to their opinions just because u don't agree doesn't give u the right to criticise them and I think axle/guru seems to make some fair statements. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Axle an the guru
Guest
<Reply: You aint a winner Simoc till you have a premiership, ask Ross Lyon if he thinks he's a winner an i bet he would say the same. Dont know,but maybe you are one of those people who are happy with second best, but i call them a looser. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Simoc
Guest
Axle always writes the complete dropkick scribble of a loser. Lyon gets AFL teams to Grand Finals, Axle writes under a non de plume on The Roar. And that is the highlight of Axles career; criticizing a winner, though not yet a Grand Final winner.
Sean Lee
Expert
Magnificent considering the extent of his leg injury a couple of years back. I wondered how he was even going to walk again after that, let alone play top quality footy! Deserves all credit that comes his way.
Coline77
Guest
They won't win the flag Essendon will win the flag this year, they will come out firing. GO BOMBERS :-) -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Axle an the guru
Guest
Thanks Gecko , but i hate negative footy an i truely belive thats all Lyon knows how to coach. Time will tell. Iwill never begrudge him a pennant if he dose get one tho.
Gecko
Guest
Axle you bring out that anti-Ross Lyon spiel every chance you get and it always stirs plenty of people up. Well done.
Minz
Guest
St Kilda were solid underdogs in the replay year, gave it their all in the first game and had nothing left (mentally and physically) for the second game. Underdogs may get up one day; they're much less likely to get up two weeks in a row.
Me Too
Guest
As much as I dislike how Lyon manipulated his departure from the Saints, and as much as he left a team bereft of a future, the reality is only luck came between him and a flag in the first two attempts. The saints outplayed Geelong all day and bar a few last quarter incidents - a flukey toe poke and a shocking missed call by the ump on a foul on Schneider, followed by a much less likely free to Ablett - on top of the first half poster called a goal, which was immediately followed by another; at the final siren just six points separated them (the after siren shot wobbled along the ground and had anyone bothered to stand near the goal, would have been knocked away easily). Against Collingwood (who were the better team all season) the saints came back from the dead and only an errant bounce cost them the flag (you could even add the missed blatant throw from Dawes to Cloke for Collingwood's last goal). The replay saw the fitter (strangely so, what where those hgh results again?) team win as the saints couldn't recover from their efforts in the previous game. Last years Grand Final saw Freo competitively fight back from stage fright, but the team weren't quite good enough to beat the favoured Hawks. So there is no evidence to say a Ross Lyon team can't win a flag. Unless of course you believe in Lady Luck and also believe she has it in for Ross.
Tom from Perth
Guest
Carn the dockers!
langou
Roar Guru
Who knows Gene, perhaps if Ross was there, The Saints would still be a top eight side. His ability to get the most out of players is excellent.
Dalgety Carrington
Guest
I reckon there has been adjustments, but given it's hard adjusting the finer points to a plan when A) a team is learning it and B) when a huge amount of the attacking options are out for the majority of the season, they may not be as apparent over the past two seasons. But I also reckon you might find just a little bit hard to see anything positive in what Lyon does Gene. Further, I think the statement "strategy that didn't work" should be referred back to last part of my post above.
Cat
Roar Guru
he has not adjusted tho, that's the point you keep ignoring. He has employed the same strategy that didn't work at the Saints at Freo.