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Noah Balta - Welcome to Tigerland
- Thread starter RICHO_12
- Start date
evo said:
Don't disagree with the first part, but O'Brien is not really a rookie ruck. 25, big body, served a long, classic apprenticeship in the 2s. Been beating all comers and keeping Jacobs out of the side. A premier ruckman of the comp ATM.
Yeah, Ive had him in Supercoach, he's been good lately. But he is by no means a premier ruck. He's only played 13 senior games. He got severely towelled up by Gawny only 2 weeks ago. Thats a rookie in anyones language.tigersnake said:
The fact that Adelaide have been able to nututre him in the magoos for 5 years is indicative how much some clubs rate the importance of good ruck depth and how little we regard it.
Pundits have been asking for years "what happens to Richmond if Nank goes down?" - well now we are finding out.
A lot of pressure on CCj going forward, eh. Theres not a lot else.
The sooner we settle Balta to a wing, the better he & we will be.
Only two things I want to see from him in next 12 months:
- get to as many contests as he can - possession rate will go up & he can then use his speed, strength & long kicking;
- become a one grab overhead mark when body pressure is on.
CCJ should play in ruck tandem with Nank. Forget Soldo & Chol & recruit two new rookie rucks to develop.
Only two things I want to see from him in next 12 months:
- get to as many contests as he can - possession rate will go up & he can then use his speed, strength & long kicking;
- become a one grab overhead mark when body pressure is on.
CCJ should play in ruck tandem with Nank. Forget Soldo & Chol & recruit two new rookie rucks to develop.
Tigers2011 said:
Makes sense - but was Chol that bad. Soldo lakes the mobility around the ground.
Was at the game in Adelaide on Thursday night & both Chol & Balta were completely ineffectual in ruck contests. The loss of clearances was the major factor in Adelaide winning. Double jeopardy in that they had bigger bodies in the contests too.year of the tiger said:
Created wave of ball into our defence which we couldn’t contain. We had them covered on spread & counter attacked well but long term for us to win another flag in this era of the 5 stars etc, we have to address ruck/clearances/contested ball.
Chol isn’t a ruck & drifts in and out of play. Athletically gifted & does a couple of nice things but doesn’t compete well enough for long enough. Can’t ever see that getting better. Balta on the other hand gives it everything but isn’t a ruck either. He’s gifted though & will be a star in a position that suits (eg wing).
year of the tiger said:
Well his opponent O'Brien had 19 disposals and 22 hitouts to advantage (Chol had 1). Count how many in effect disposals that comes to. Chol was totally flogged. Even Balta had 3 hitouts to advantage from 9. Soldo is a dinosaur but atm you'd have to have him over Chol. CCJ has been injured but played well in the ruck today in the VFL.
Even with Soldo giving nothing around the ground? Hampson was pretty good at hitouts when fit.tigerlove said:
tigerlove said:
I hadn’t checked the stats but that’s pretty poor reading. I couldn’t believe the number of times our rucks didn’t compete at the centre bounce - could understand Giggs standing back last year given his size but not Balta or Chol.
Nankervis, where’s Nank, we miss him.
evo said:
we found out what happens when are 2 best ruckman are out. the week before Stanley was pretty ineffective, as was Ceglar Soldo's last game.
if The Crows 2nd ruck was out, they would have had a debutant, or Jenkins, as their ruck.
Am a huge Balta fan like many on here tho i have noticed in the ruck he constantly jumps too early, by the time he could touch the ball most times he's back on the ground....
Jonesracing82 said:
How many seasons can a 194cm player continue to compete and jump over 200+ cm monsters without destroying them?
The club don’t see him as a forward going forward according to Leppa at a recent briefing, he doesn’t seem capable and most supporters don’t want him as a defender, he’s too small as a ruckman and doesn’t yet have a tank for a follower and ( especially ) for a wingman which both require elite tanks let alone average ones.
He’s exciting but we are no closer to discovering where to play him.
One thing is certain. He should never again be compared to a young Richo. Not in the same league.
Dont Argue said:
Good points, I agree, too short for a ruckman these days, even Nank is problematic at 200cm.
Sounds to me like we really need to sort out where he would be best suited and soon. He clearly has talent, needs to be trained for a particular position, leaving him to fill whatever role needs filling isn't doing the club or Balta any good.
DS
These sorts of athletes can be problematic. I remember a similar dilemma about Goodes early in his career, Blicavs too, and I'm sure a few others. Noah doesn't look comfortable as a key forward or back - he just likes to run with the pill and tee off. Power and meterage. Half back? Bachar's oversized understudy?
