Hitouts should be viewed in the context of the multiple possessions that occur afterwards, as pressure around the contest has completely changed the game in recent years.
You’ve got a pack of fresh and focused players all watching the ruck contest waiting to pounce with a tackle, knock, or pressure. It’s nearly impossible for any ruckman to:
1. Tap the ball cleanly
2. down to a teammate
3. who delivers the ball to another teammate
4. forward of the contest.
This happens cleanly like once or twice a game and it seems to happen in reverse just as frequently:
1.Tap the ball cleanly
2. down to opposition
3. who delivers the ball to another teammate
4. forward of the contest.
Usually whenever this string of events occurs, it’s the result of randomness or an act of pure brilliance by a midfielder capable of turning randomness into favour.
It drives me nuts how blind I am at not seeing whatever a ruckmen is supposedly doing in ruck contests.
Null hypothesis not rejected.
In Soldo’s first game this year, I praised him for doing 5-6 unique things around the ground (big mark in defence, up forward, a tackle, a chain possession, etc). He didn’t do much, but everything he did required a different skill.
His marking and spoiling around the ground is getting better, and he’s still displaying a well-rounded range of other efforts at low quantity, so it’ll be promising if he continues this trajectory.
