Shane Tuck - 2012 expectations?

[Tigermonk]

Tucks "bomb" approach is overplayed.

He does at times do it when he shouldn't, but many times he doesn't have the time. Under Hardwick he has improved in this area.

He repeatedly gets the hard ball, more than moste, so that means he will have many occasions where the quick bomb is the only thing possible, unless you want to get caught with the ball.

Geelongs last premiership captain was a master of the quick bomb forward, the difference being that geelong had forwards that could read the play, were aware he would do it, played in front and were good enough to take advantage..

In the past when tuck has had to quick kick it forward it was the opposition back men that did all these things, rather than our forwards.

The hardest thing to do in footy is get the ball, and tuck does that, and often. The fact that he wins the ball in congestion so often means by the simple law of averages there will be rushed disposals and turnovers.
A few years ago when he was rated in the top ten for contested posesions his effeciency and clangers was on par with most of those other players in the top ten. What tuck lacks that most of these guys do have, is the ability to be creative.

Post of the pre-season 

[Lozza]

Very frustrating watching Tucky get pinged again for illegal handballing yesterday, just wondering what part of an overhead handball using his method is considered not within the rules of the game. See Judd and Buddy Franklin do exactly the same thing and both get away with it. Its almost like the umps have a black mark against him and watch out for the very thing and its instantly paid against him.

[one-eyed]

Pre-season six-pack
Rohan Connolly
March 17, 2012

TEAMS can make of the pre-season competition what they choose, be it a statement of intent for the year ahead, a chance to experiment and see what happens, perhaps even both at the same time.

But the NAB Cup can turn up some even more profound results on an individual level, giving us a tantalising glimpse of which players we might be talking about quite a bit between now and September.

That's been the case again this February and March, with a healthy number of new kids on the block demanding attention, a few more established hands looking to have taken another step, and the odd surprise packet from left-field making us wonder whether we might have to reassess their worth.

As the pre-season draws to a conclusion and the counting of days until the real stuff hits single figures, here's half-a-dozen whose dress rehearsals have been impressive enough to leave you potentially thinking, to quote an old rock standard, you ain't seen nothing yet.

SHANE TUCK (Richmond)

Remember "Terminator", the sci-fi flick where Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a cyborg assassin it seems to take nothing short of a nuclear arsenal to kill off? That's Shane Tuck.

The veteran on-baller has gone in and out of fashion at Punt Road more times than platform shoes. Now he's doing it again.

Tuck was studiously ignored for most of last year by the Tiger brainstrust, playing just four games in 18 rounds. But in the last six games, he averaged 25 possessions, good enough to win him another reprieve. And in this NAB Cup, he's been even harder to ignore.

While Richmond's impressive pre-season has centred around Dustin Martin's great form, and its future clearly rests with names like Cotchin, Deledio, Riewoldt and Co, the 30-year-old just won't go away.

As usual, he's been less obtrusive but pretty effective, ranked No.1 across the league for contested possession, those ball magnet qualities a more-than-handy complement to the silk of the younger hands.

And if that creates a problem of sorts for newly-extended senior coach Damien Hardwick, it's a pleasant problem. Yes, Tuck's disposal can be questionable. Yes, the Tigers need a little more silk in their armoury yet. But it's going to be hard once again to disregard a bloke who can consistently find the ball and simply bang it forward. A quality you simply can't afford to kill.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/preseason-sixpack-20120316-1vb1o.html#ixzz1pIpdcMcx

[gerkin greg]

Tuckinator!

[MintOnLamb]

I love Tuckinators hardness and toughness at the ball.
Sure enough his disposal is slightly ?able but when you get that many touches whose isn't?
We have coaches we pay $ to to improve our players so if tucky is getting the ball surely that is half the bttle, as someone famous probably once said "if you haven't got the ball you are not in the game"

Play to tuckys strength and have him disposing to players running past him or give him instructions. I would 100xes prefer him to McGorne who doesn't get the ball and whose disposal is probably the worst not in the league but in the known universe.
Lay off Tucky and get on him.

[Hellenic Tiger]

To be hard and tough at the ball and continue to get clearances.

Would like to see him have more awareness at times, remember that Sam Mitchell tackle on him when he could have dished off to give us a shot at goal.

It has been spoken of before would love also to see him pinch hit on a HFF. Would be great at locking the ball in and extracting it in the contest has strong hands and is for the most part a reliable shot at goal. Don't let his field kicking fool you he isn't a bad set shot at goal.

[MintOnLamb]

To be hard and tough at the ball and continue to get clearances.

Would like to see him have more awareness at times, remember that Sam Mitchell tackle on him when he could have dished off to give us a shot at goal.

It has been spoken of before would love also to see him pinch hit on a HFF. Would be great at locking the ball in and extracting it in the contest has strong hands and is for the most part a reliable shot at goal. Don't let his field kicking fool you he isn't a bad set shot at goal.

Love your work TB