Who’s your AFL club’s best ruckman combination?Adam Baldwin and Tom Morris
Foxsports
February 5, 2016With the substitute rule operating in recent seasons, most coaches would admit to having more rucks than the game demanded.
They were once reluctant to play two ruckmen under the substitute conditions and if they did, one of them would invariably finish the game in red.
However, with the return of four interchange players in 2016, some might now be wondering whether they’ve got enough.
Fox Footy analyst David King believes ruckmen will be the greatest beneficiaries of this rule change.
He predicts coaches will select two ruckmen more often and, specifically, to combat a dominant opposition ruckman.
“When you look at the Kangaroos’ advantage over the past few years it’s been Todd Goldstein’s ability to play 90 per cent of game time in the ruck,” he told SEN radio.
“Now there will be an ability to double team him because you can rest a ruckman on the bench.”
King suggested that the cap on rotations would also give coaches greater confidence to play two ruckmen, even if it means playing limited minutes.
“They can rest for longer and you can still spin the bench at the same pace you have over the last couple of years,” he said.
“I think the challenge would be balancing your rucks. Would you go for one, would you go for one and a makeshift? Or, could you go for a bona fide two ruckmen?”
Champion Data analyst Glenn Luff says some clubs might opt to pick two ruckmen if they don’t have the luxury of a competent part-timer.
“It depends if you have a player that can actually play forward-ruck and there’s not many that can play it,” he said.
“We all thought Paddy Ryder could go over to Port and play that forward can go into the ruck, but Paddy is a ruckman then a resting forward.”
Geelong has no such restriction with Zac Smith, Rhys Stanley, Nathan Vardy and Mitch Clark at coach Scott’s disposal.
While, on the flip side, Essendon has just two pure ruckmen on its senior list plus Shaun McKernan, who is likely to fill a key forward role.
“They are all athletic and can play centre-half forward, they can play deep forward, they can run in the ruck and almost be an extra on-baller ... I want to see how they go because they are something unique we haven’t seen before,” King said.
How much ruck depth does your club have and what’s the best combination?
RICHMONDRucksIvan Maric
Shaun Hampson
Pinch hittersBen Griffiths
Ty Vickery
Liam McBean
DevelopingIvan Soldo
Ivan Maric is Richmond’s oldest player and will likely require more support in 2016. This help will come from a combination of Ty Vickery and Ben Griffiths, with Shaun Hampson an able understudy.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/whos-your-afl-clubs-best-ruckman-combination/news-story/746a11cd0e40d04806ea49389f9fdbb4
