K3 said:Have a great day *and awesome* afternoon mate. Hope it is a real blast!
Quick question though... what are the kids up to today?
Good question too.
They are stuck at school in NSW. When they are old enough ill tell them mum made them do that
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IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
Emma Quayle's 2012 Final Predictions
- Thread starter Tigers of Old
- Start date
Good question too.
They are stuck at school in NSW. When they are old enough ill tell them mum made them do that
Tigers of Old said:
He will have a long career, no doubts there, but the club has now place itself in a very precarious position regarding our ruckmen. Having Grundy available was an unexpected bonus which we have decided to ignore, if Vickery doesn't fully recover from the shoulder surgery and Maric goes down, we have sweet FA to fall back on.
I think history will be very unkind to those who have grossly undervalued ruckmen, particularly athletic ones who can play in multiple positions. The whole free agency phenomenom has clouded people's judgement, after all, there's 18 clubs who are now banking on securing quality ruckman as freebies, yet the laws of supply and demand still apply.
bullus_hit said:
Your talking in past tense worries me Bull. Have I missed something? I'm about to leave for the GC now, I will text tigersnake pre draft tip bits to post on draft chat thread from about 5.30 (I have a really dumb phone and still dont really understand what tweeting is), hopefully like 'Vlastuin nowhere to be seen' or 'Josh Simpson just pulled a rabbit out of Dimmas cap as they both laughed and slapped each other on the back' before the draft or 'Vlastuin is a man-mountain and the best looking ranga ive ever seen, i got my pic with him' and 'Still cant believe Grundy AND White slipped to 32/34, this is THE best christmas ever' after the draft :hihi
Wish me luck gents, im goin' in .....
Swans, Hawks, Adelaide and Collingwood - last years 4 top sides (and you can add Geelong in their premiership years) all have 1st rucks that played for other teams.
Rucks take time to develop - they will always be taken in the draft but not necessarily in the first round - for every 4 rucks drafted only 1 becomes a 1st ruck and the odds have been that the player you thought was going to be the future # 1 ruck at 18/19 years old isn't the one that makes it when they are 25/26.
They'll always be there to trade and each team will have a number on the list that they'll try to develop - but also be willing to trade.
Grundy looks good but the risk is too great - in fact the risk/reward equation is so lopsided it just doesn't make sense - look at how the top teams have recruited (and what we did last year with Maric) - we're learning and no way will we take Grundy at 9
ps: exception is nicknat - and they don't come along often ....... and melb still took watts ;D
Rucks take time to develop - they will always be taken in the draft but not necessarily in the first round - for every 4 rucks drafted only 1 becomes a 1st ruck and the odds have been that the player you thought was going to be the future # 1 ruck at 18/19 years old isn't the one that makes it when they are 25/26.
They'll always be there to trade and each team will have a number on the list that they'll try to develop - but also be willing to trade.
Grundy looks good but the risk is too great - in fact the risk/reward equation is so lopsided it just doesn't make sense - look at how the top teams have recruited (and what we did last year with Maric) - we're learning and no way will we take Grundy at 9
ps: exception is nicknat - and they don't come along often ....... and melb still took watts ;D
If Vickery and Maric go down this year we are stuffed even if we do have Grundy. An 18 year old ruckmen in his first year isnt going to be our saviour.bullus_hit said:
Lucky we didnt have pick 1 in the 2007 draft. ;D
tigergollywog said:
It's a done deal, Vlastuin has boarded the plane ready to be presented with a Tiger jumper.
bullus_hit said:
It is not free agency that is the issue, it is the change to the interchange rules.
The substitute rule has all but killed off the second ruck. Hawthorn won their flag in 2008 with two vaguely competitive ruckmen who each spent 50% of the game on-ball and the rest on the bench. That is unheard of now. Most teams are going in with 1 ruckman, supported by a ruckman/forward. There is no such thing as a second ruck any more, just back-up rucks who play in the State comps and come in to play first ruck when the main man goes down. If they ever introduce the 2+2 Interchange system, we will see even fewer ruckmen on AFL lists.
The problem with this model is that if don't have many support rucks and your no 1 ruck goes down with injury you are stuffed because of lack of adequate coverage. On the flip-side, if you have two many rucks, then they have to share duties at State League but when they step up have to play all game in the seniors, which also causes problems. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.
I'd take Grundy as well, all things considered, but having him will cause logistical problems if both Maric and Vickery play full seasons. What we really need is a Centre-half forward. I am hoping that we get one of those too. Actually, what we really need is a Crystal Ball.
TOT70 said:
Not sure I agree entirely Tottie, Sydney just won the flag with Mumford and Pyke (who proved a very handy back up ruck).
bullus_hit said:
I feel like my brother just told me christmas eve that the big squishy parcel under the tree for me is full of socks and undies
Oh well. 200 game foot soldier that we gotta have at 9. C'mon tigs, roll the dice on a little bit of X-tacy slider with 32 (garner, gibson, garlett) and 34 (White White White) and then back to versatile KPP soldier at 43.
Smoking Aces said:
I was referring the next couple of years, not to mention we have to plan for Maric's replacement.
TOT70 said:
Not really, Grundy would have been back-up in the event either ruckman went down (which they will at some stage). Now we waste a position on Wood or Big O, yet still have to find Maric's eventual successor.
tigergollywog said:
Sorry Golly, hopefully there's still some surprises to come.
Vlas to replace jacko from round one, and give us all less heart failure during games.
if we want some zippy run and carry goal kicker, then atkins at 32 is our man.
spencer white for our future buddy CHF at 43.
at 34 whatever is best....
thats my chriss presents....
if we want some zippy run and carry goal kicker, then atkins at 32 is our man.
spencer white for our future buddy CHF at 43.
at 34 whatever is best....
thats my chriss presents....
Tigers of Old said:
Some clubs still persevere. I'm pretty sure that Mumford went into the GF with injury concerns that flared up during the game and led to his substitution. They may not have had much choice if they couldn't rust his body. WC have the best ruck division in the league with Cox, Niknat and Lycett and they do OK as well. I take the point that some pure second rucks are still running around.
Nonetheless, if you have a couple of ruckmen who can't play forward then you are down on rotations for your midfielders, which causes major problems for most teams.
Don't get me wrong. I would take Grundy and laugh all the way to the bank. From what I have seen of him in the U18 champs this year and last, I think he will be a star. If that causes problems with our other rucks, I'd still live with it. It would be a good problem to have.
I still think our biggest need is for a game-breaking CHF. If Griffiths or Elton can step up and play that role that's great but I would keep putting more irons in that fire until we end up with the next Wayne Carey. Riewoldt, partnered with a bullocking, skilful, monstering beast would be the scariest forward line in the league.
