Roar Pro
Joined August 2013
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Still can't understand how soccer has more supporters worldwide than AFL footy.
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During World War II, military commanders recognised the importance of entertainment to maintain morale of the troops, sending singers and comedians to wherever their…
Over the years, the Bulldogs and their supporters have escaped the scorn heaped upon more high-profile clubs like the Pies and Dons. It's time…
Remember the days when Alastair Clarkson loaded up his team with players possessing sublime foot skills? When power forwards and rucks mattered? When experience…
The genius of Luke Beveridge is not the set of ideas that he brought to the Bulldogs, but the ideas he thought up after…
There are a number of retiring stars this year. Here are some of the well knowns, and some which perhaps didn't get a great…
2016 has seen the rise of Tom Scully and the demise of Travis Cloke. The contested marking beasts are on the decline and the…
What if drugs in footy was just the tip of the iceberg? What if things in the next decade could get a whole lot…
Three claims were frequently made in 2015 that list managers should not believe. 1. You need to pay big money for a big forward…
With the season opener just a few weeks away, now's the time to congratulate the last dinosaurs left standing. The modern game is supposed…
Brisbane appear to have intensified their ‘moving cage' game plan, which involves flooding around the ball and then sprinting back into an open forward…
It's late October and I'm still thinking about footy. It's tragic, but let's face it - so are you. Season 2014 might be done…
The year 1980 was a year in football that has reverberated massively right through to this day. In particular, the Richmond football club that…
Congratulations to Eddie Betts on playing 200 games in the AFL. Eddie's achievement fits an emerging pattern among indigenous AFL footballers in the 21st…
Imagine this. On the eve of Andrew Demetriou's retirement, the same AFL insider who leaked ASADA information to Caroline Wilson last year has leaked…
Which teams really have the most depth? Hey, that's easy, just measure depth by checking the performance of a team's reserve side. But here's…
Talk about hot and cold. Two weeks ago, we were finally treated to big Trav Cloke and Jack Hawkins each taking a quarter of…
Only two years ago, decorated full forward Matthew Lloyd was proclaiming the changing game was leaving Nick Riewoldt behind. Forward lines were becoming congested,…
Pre-season is a bit like Christmas eve – full of positive vibes and anticipation. But surely not every team can be heading up the…
The performances of Sydney in 2005, Hawthorn in 2008 and Collingwood in 2010 show that innovative game plans can help a team win a…
Earlier this month, I wrote of the growing importance of half back line contests in deciding AFL games in 2013. This article is about…
Sandilands was huge value a few years back but even if he can keep injury-free in the future, he won’t be an automatic selection. The new Docker ethos is huge defensive pressure, but Sandilands averaged 0.5 tackles per game in 2013 and 1.1 tackles per game in 2012 and can’t apply chasing pressure. In the past 3 years, he’s averaged less than half a goal per game. His strength is in clearances but the fact that West Coast, Bullkdogs and the Kangaroos rank in the top 4 teams in 2013 for clearances shows that clearances are not so important nowadays. Sorry Johno but I can’t see Sandilands playing a huge part in anything anymore.
The game has changed for ruckmen
Hi Brent and Winston, agreed the rucks who are not so agile at ground level but who can still go forward and kick goals are still good value…and against certain teams they’re great value The risk with a ruck like Pyke going forward is that the team’s forward press is weakened. The ruckman going forward is a good tactic against teams who lack tall defenders, but would be highly risky against a team like Hawthorn that has good defensive talls and can then exploit the tall forward by running off him.
The ideal would be a Goodes type ruckman that can do the ground level stuff, break even in the ruck contests and go forward for a couple of goals. The only player I can think of that does all 3 nowadays is Natanui (with Petrie and Roughead doing 2.5).
The game has changed for ruckmen
Wasn’t Saad’s mistake just to drink a can of Red Bull? That stuff’s available everywhere. I agree with Bruski above that drinking a commonly available energy drink is nowhere near as serious as injecting wierd stuff into your stomach. Maybe Saad should cop a 2-week suspension but let’s not go overboard.
Why Saad shouldn't be allowed to play
Ross Lyon may indeed pick Sandilands this year or next, and availability of alternative rucks will certainly affect his decision. But Sandilands’ age and recent stats, and the directions both his team and AFL footy in general are heading, suggest he won’t be as valuable as he was a few years ago.
Bellchambers and Trent West will need to adapt their games – not just improve their ‘form’ – if they want to regain a number one ruck mantle. The evidence above suggests agile, hard-working rucks are increasing in value, and less versatile rucks are declining in value.
Let’s re-debate their value in 2014, or at least wait until the end of the 2013 finals series.
The game has changed for ruckmen