Ruck Depth Chart: You want 3 '1st rucks' IMO and 2+ 'chop outs' on your list (unless one of your chop outs would still be an AFL standard ruckman if they couldn't play fwd/back which some are - you could get away with 2 + chop outs). You're going to need 1 1st ruck + 1 chop out or 2 x 1st rucks in your 22 each time and if you don't have that due to injury then you're fucked. With in game injuries you're going to want 2 ruck options at all times. And you're not going to want to have to play a shit cunt purely because you've got nobody else. Some people have absolutely offensive ruck depth....Bosh/Harps for one. Some could do with an extra genuine ruck in case of injury and some could do with a better chop out option. As I think ruck depth is just so important here's a depth chart. P.S. Bots you should only be trading Martin imo if you get a 1st ruck back too..just a shitter one P.P.S. Benny, Brett, Theo, Diggler, Bosh - Martin's a big upgrade on most of your first rucks P.P.P.S. Some of you guys don't have much tall forward depth so could use Martin as a key forward come ruck though he's not great forward, he couldn't be much worse forward than your chop out option *cough* Masters/Morgie/Bosh *cough* Code: 1st Rucks: Chop Outs: Skip: Naitanui Hickey Gawn Thompson Daniher McGovern Benny: Jamar Sinclair Clark Dixon Boyd Reframe: Jacobs Campbell Hannath Jenkins Masters: Ryder Grundy McKernan KATA: Leuenberger Longer Redden Lynch Jabba: Lobbe Martin Vickery Roughead Brett: Lycett Simpson Smith Petrie Theo: Griffin Warnock Lobb Tippett Griffiths Trengove Jackenny: Sandilands Ceglar Brown Stanley Heef: Cox Hampson Renouf Hale Pedersen Keeffe Jimmy: Maric Witts Gorringe Roughead Rowe Westhoff Hen: Goldstein West Daw Day Nino: McEvoy Giles Derickx Blicavs Diggler: Clarke Bellchambers Currie Grimley Carlisle Paul: Mumford Nicholls Wood Casboult McBean Morgie: Minson Nankervis Spencer Vardy Mousey: Kreuzer Pyke White Apeness Bosh: McIntosh Fitzpatrick Bradley Walker
Cheers Skip, Happy to listen to offers but ideally I want someone who can play ruck and KPD either off the bench or start at KPD and move to ruck when Lobbe rests
Isn't Hampson a ruck as well? Anyway, happy to trade with anyone if people put forward offers. I don't really know enough to propose offers myself.
very few of them out there Rory Thompson, Jackson Trengove, Sam Rowe, Mark Blicavs, Jordan Roughead and Lachlan Keeffe (?s about his ruck ablity though) are really the only blokes who are primarily key defenders who are able to chop out in the ruck. And I'm not sure many people would be willing to trade them. Key forwards might be more valuable but they're also far more convenient to move into the ruck. I'm not too sure people would be keen to trade their KPDs out as they're just so structurally important - KPFs are worth more but they're also easier to cover while in the ruck and replace in this IMO as opposed to KPDs. Jeremy McGovern, Mitch Clark, Charlie Dixon, Ben Griffiths, Jake Carlisle, Rhys Stanley, Cam Pedersen, Justin Westhoff, Jarryd Roughead, Sam Day and Kepler Bradley are all blokes who *can* play back and also chop out in the ruck but they'd be wasted in defence as they're much more valuable forward
Masters McKernan didn't even make my list in the above post at Jabba because he's just terrible at everything - although he can play in defence he's just so bad forward, back and in the ruck he's not worth mentioning
So you reckon I should be looking to add a ruck/KPF option to come off the bench and trade away Martin and potentially Vickery if they require a KPF back?
Yeah Vickery's that chopout option but if you play him you're too top heavy. A KPD/Ruck would actually suit you where it wouldn't suit others as much. For now I'd run with Roughead chopping out, he's done a good job of it in the past despite being so undersized. Yes. But I don't particularly rate either highly. Yes, I'll let you know before the season starts (if the offer's still on the table) He's 195cm which is slightly undersized but passable for a chopout with a really high vertical leap. He's played as second and occasionally first ruck in the WAFL frequently and when Cox went down last week he broke even in terms of hitouts/contests with 10 hitouts in the second half chopping out NicNat against Maric. He's certainly not an ideal option but all that's needed to be a realistic one is have proven that you can hold your own *if* it's asked of you. CPL isn't about what players do right now, it's about what they're capable of. It's why Mitch Clark played as a ruck last year in CPL. If a player has shown they're able to do it even if they've only done it once or twice then it's a string to their bow.
