Position 2024 Fantasy Rucks

[Phar Ace]

Round 0 sees the clash of "MATES"...... well former team mates at least GRUNDY vs GAWN. The massive plan of tag teaming Grundy with Gawn was a much heralded fail.

From a Fantasy perspective, we don't care how much Collingwood was paying of Grundy's salary, or even if any of that goes to Sydney now. We just want a durable ruck who can give a viable alternative to English or Marshall at a fraction of the cost. We are bargain hunting here! So we look first at last season:



Then Grundy's output the season before (2022):


And for good measure, the season before that (2021):


It's not a particularly deep dive. Impacts the big Cox and Darcy Cameron

14

Darcy Cameron

Age

28

Ht

204cm

Wt

103kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

6.0

1star

K

3.3

1star

HB

2.7

2star

CL

0.3

2star

HO

5.3

5star

D

7.5

2star

K

4.5

2star

HB

3.0

2star

CL

0.5

3star

HO

3.5

5star

D

6.0

2star

K

3.3

2star

HB

2.7

3star

CL

0.3

2star

HO

5.3

5star

has had on his output could be looked at as well, but I doubt it will have a material effect on the following question:

If you are considering Brodie Grundy

4

Brodie Grundy

Age

30

Ht

202cm

Wt

105kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.5

4star

K

8.0

3star

HB

9.6

5star

CL

4.1

5star

HO

32.0

5star

D

16.4

4star

K

6.8

3star

HB

9.6

5star

CL

4.0

5star

HO

34.6

5star

D

13.8

4star

K

5.2

2star

HB

8.6

5star

CL

2.6

5star

HO

20.6

5star

for your Fantasy side, what do you need to see from him in the Mates Showdown in Sydney between Grundy and Gawn on Thursday March 7th?

 

[Phar Ace]

Darcy was a great pick. It was just unfortunate that English's improvement covered Darcy's improvement.

I'm looking at picking Jackson up at some point. Just not at his starting price with Darcy in the side.

Yeah, he's in my side at present, but waiting to see whether Darcy makes it through to Rnd 1.

 

[Barrybran]

Yeah, he's in my side at present, but waiting to see whether Darcy makes it through to Rnd 1.

I'm trying very hard to stick to the 'every starting pick is value' rule but I acknowledge that Jackson does not provide value unless Darcy goes down. He just fits with every combination of rucks I try and, at worst, shouldn't need to be traded until R16.

Of course, I could go Gawn and English/Marshall (starting or upgraded from Grundy) and I wouldn't need Jackson, saving a trade / cash for the forward that does pop.

 

[Corkintheocean]

Is anyone else warming to the idea of starting English and Marshall?

As it is going to be a far more unique pairing than set and forget has been in previous years, I can see a lot of contrarian upside to it.

Pros;

• Both in the prime of their careers (unlike Gawn and Grundy)
• Both were extremely durable last year
• >115 avgs could mean they put real dents into those starting any other combo (eg. Gawn ~100, Grundy ~90)
• Captain options every week
• 4/6 first rounds we only require 18 scoring players, meaning less reliance on rookie scores and we can prioritise genuine premium scorers with the intention to have commenced upgrades to our 22 by round 7
• No early byes - so you get an extra game
• If either are injured, you only have to worry about trading down, not scrambling around to find cash or continually burning trades, trading sideways

Cons;

• Pay a premium for the above

 

[JDWCE]

Is anyone else warming to the idea of starting English and Marshall?

As it is going to be a far more unique pairing than set and forget has been in previous years, I can see a lot of contrarian upside to it.

Pros;

• Both in the prime of their careers (unlike Gawn and Grundy)
• Both were extremely durable last year
• >115 avgs could mean they put real dents into those starting any other combo (eg. Gawn ~100, Grundy ~90)
• Captain options every week
• 4/6 first rounds we only require 18 scoring players, meaning less reliance on rookie scores and we can prioritise genuine premium scorers with the intention to have commenced upgrades to our 22 by round 7
• No early byes - so you get an extra game
• If either are injured, you only have to worry about trading down, not scrambling around to find cash or continually burning trades, trading sideways

Cons;

• Pay a premium for the above

I just can’t get past the value of Grundy Gawn Xerri. Toying with going a Grundy and English option but it really affects the rest of the team

 

[Barrybran]

I just can’t get past the value of Grundy Gawn Xerri. Toying with going a Grundy and English option but it really affects the rest of the team

I'm leaning one top dog and one value at the moment, more for risk mitigation than anything. There is a world where Gawn shows he's a 32 year old ruckman, Grundy isn't the same player he was in his 120 days and Xerri doesn't quite take off like we hoped. I actually think ALL of these events are more likely to happen than English OR Marshall failing. The truth is likely that Gawn kills it and Grundy and Xerri prove to be the value picks we all expect but if you don't have English and Marshall by round 6 you're probably not getting them until round 16, barring injury.

 

[Zevon]

I’ve seen a few posts where people are worrying about Gawn being 32. I don’t feel that’s a concern at all really. Rucks hit their peak a lot later than most other positions; Gawn is still comfortably within his.

If we were talking about a 32 year old midfielder who was being transitioned out of the CBA rotation then I would be worried. But 32 really isn’t that old for a ruck and it’s not like Melbourne can afford to start phasing him out this year… who else have they got?

 

[Phar Ace]

I’ve seen a few posts where people are worrying about Gawn being 32. I don’t feel that’s a concern at all really. Rucks hit their peak a lot later than most other positions; Gawn is still comfortably within his.

If we were talking about a 32 year old midfielder who was being transitioned out of the CBA rotation then I would be worried. But 32 really isn’t that old for a ruck and it’s not like Melbourne can afford to start phasing him out this year… who else have they got?

Seriously, listed as rucks, that's it!

 

[WaynesWorld19]

View attachment 1895785

View attachment 1895789

Seriously, listed as rucks, that's it!

 

[JDWCE]

View attachment 1895785

View attachment 1895789

Seriously, listed as rucks, that's it!

 

[Barrybran]

View attachment 1896162

Will Ferrall is only 191 cm. Not even close to being tall enough to ruck. Fade.

 

[Exambolor]

Is anyone else warming to the idea of starting English and Marshall?

As it is going to be a far more unique pairing than set and forget has been in previous years, I can see a lot of contrarian upside to it.

Pros;

• Both in the prime of their careers (unlike Gawn and Grundy)
• Both were extremely durable last year
• >115 avgs could mean they put real dents into those starting any other combo (eg. Gawn ~100, Grundy ~90)
• Captain options every week
• 4/6 first rounds we only require 18 scoring players, meaning less reliance on rookie scores and we can prioritise genuine premium scorers with the intention to have commenced upgrades to our 22 by round 7
• No early byes - so you get an extra game
• If either are injured, you only have to worry about trading down, not scrambling around to find cash or continually burning trades, trading sideways

Cons;

• Pay a premium for the above

IMO I think it’s worth picking at least one of them, just from experience going full value with the rucks will backfire…… I started with neither of RoMa or English last year and it put me behind early

 

[Phar Ace]

Will Ferrall is only 191 cm. Not even close to being tall enough to ruck. Fade.

Better tell Melbourne that then - they've missed it

 

[WaynesWorld19]

 

[SDJ0208]

Any Sydney people here?

If so, is Braeden Campbell a viable option to start with? Feel like I've been waiting for this guy to breakout and really find that next level but hasn't happened as of yet. Looks like they like the ball in his hands and he has a booming kick, just feel like it's one waiting to happen. Cheers in advance.

On SM-S916B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[ronpingwins]

Any Sydney people here?

If so, is Braeden Campbell a viable option to start with? Feel like I've been waiting for this guy to breakout and really find that next level but hasn't happened as of yet. Looks like they like the ball in his hands and he has a booming kick, just feel like it's one waiting to happen. Cheers in advance.

On SM-S916B using BigFooty.com mobile app

Probably too short to ruck.

 

[Corkintheocean]

Probably too short to ruck.

Will be exploring his opportunities with the Bulldogs via free agency at the end of the year.

 

[happy_eagle]

Any Sydney people here?

If so, is Braeden Campbell a viable option to start with? Feel like I've been waiting for this guy to breakout and really find that next level but hasn't happened as of yet. Looks like they like the ball in his hands and he has a booming kick, just feel like it's one waiting to happen. Cheers in advance.

On SM-S916B using BigFooty.com mobile app

Started him last year in the hope he would break out.

It's going to happen eventually, but wasn't quite last year. Unfortunately he's seen now as a winger rather than half back (more fantasy points available at half back).

But also yeh, he's not a ruck

 

[Exambolor]

Could Naismith come back?

 

[happy_eagle]

Could Naismith come back?

Unfortunately irrelevant at 520k

 

[Catastrophe!]

Unfortunately irrelevant at 520k

SC will be frothing at the mouth though

 

[happy_eagle]

SC will be frothing at the mouth though

Is he basement priced in that game ?

 

[CursingFijian]

It's starting to feel like the ruck setup will be the factor that separates SC teams early.

Considering starting English (as a genuine captaincy backstop with his early Sunday games) and Briggs with his North / West Coast start to the year, then trading Briggs down to Xerri for the Round 3 price rise.

 

[Catastrophe!]

Is he basement priced in that game ?

Pretty close from memory

 

[perplexed]

I haven't watched all the games, but from what I've seen, the new ruck rules are going to advantage the meatheads over the lighter athletic types. Xerri monstered the two Collingwood rucks by holding them off the line of the ball with a straight arm. I expect guys like Darcy, Grundy, and Reeves will dominate and Jackson, Stanley, etc. will struggle. Interested to see how English goes against Ned Reeves today.

 

[powerrrrrrrrrrrr]

Flynn apparently done his hammy for anyone brave enough to take a stab on him.