Who'll get the first tap on the shoulder and when?

[Shermanator]

Curran has unfortunately retired.

Poor bloke.

Just one of those things that can ruin a kids dream aka Jusse Smuth.

Good luck for the future young fella.

 

[CharlieMortdecai]

Curran has unfortunately retired.

Ah, s**t, that's no good. Watched his old man kick a few in the 1989 replay in the GF marathon a couple of weeks ago and got my hopes up a little bit.

All the best to him, whatever he pursues.

 

[Rooboy 96]

OK, Caleb, we hear you. No more repeat postings required.

would prefer the dice? how did you know my name was Caleb?

 

[boneofshin]

Curran has unfortunately retired.

?

 

[naturally north]

If he retired he may actually have to do something.

 

[Chazdog92]

?

Haha took me a second to work that out. I spoke to him last Friday at the Best and Fairest.

 

[boneofshin]

Haha took me a second to work that out. I spoke to him last Friday at the Best and Fairest.

Oh really? That's very disappointing to hear. From all reports had all the attributes to be a good footballer, just couldn't ever get his body right.

 

[Chazdog92]

Oh really? That's very disappointing to hear. From all reports had all the attributes to be a good footballer, just couldn't ever get his body right.

Agreed. I thought I would go have a chat with him at the end of the night to see how he is travelling. He said he saw the surgeon mid year and he had lost too much cartilage in his foot. He was understandably very shattered. The club are going to let him use the gym at the club. Going to take a year off and maybe have another crack. No pun intended.

 

[Twinkletoes]

Agreed. I thought I would go have a chat with him at the end of the night to see how he is travelling. He said he saw the surgeon mid year and he had lost too much cartilage in his foot. He was understandably very shattered. The club are going to let him use the gym at the club. Going to take a year off and maybe have another crack. No pun intended.

The club have nothing but praise for Tom and the way he's handled himself in and around the place, working hard on his rehab, often alone, promoting the club and The Huddle whenever required, and being a very good clubman to cap it off.

 

[Ohhh Errol]

Bringing in 2, maybe 3 FA's makes it hard to free up spots.

Maybe they havent announced delistings yet so if pick 36 came up in a trade we would pretend to play hard ball, knowing we are only going to take 15 and the greenwood pick to draft. Assuming we can only free up 2 list spots for draftees?

If that's the case, maybe they'd be looking to package 36 and 25 for one of dogs 22-23 ish picks?

 

[naturally north]

• = at some point in the not to distant future that won't be an acceptable reason to maintain him on the list. Gone for mine.

• has been delivered the news.

• = wants out, see ya.

• = say hi to Higgins.

• = gone

• = gone from what we hear.

• = gone

• = paid out if necessary for list room

• = would be stiff but maybe gone.

Not suggesting all are finished but would think that's the group our delistings will come from.


I'd rookie a mature ruck as back up for a LTI . If Goldie missed a couple of weeks I'd go with a Daw/Brown/Petrie setup. Waite could take FF if Petrie's needed elsewhere. Think we've the cattle to get us through. Hope Currie gets a look in elsewhere if we let him go.

 

[Heaps of fun]

NN your obsession with not having a ready to go back-up ruck is confusing. Every club has at least one.

 

[naturally north]

NN your obsession with not having a ready to go back-up ruck is confusing. Every club has at least one.

four game's in seven years. Maj could do what Currie does, be fair.

 

[year of the roo]

I'm open to trading Currie, but I certainly wouldn't delist him. Plus, it would have to be a good trade, not just a swap of 6th rounders. Harper is safe as houses, although he is odds on to be gone this time next year unless he takes significant strides.

 

[Heaps of fun]

four game's in seven years. Maj could do what Currie does, be fair.

Maj has had trouble running out full games as a forward and considering his injury and the pending court case is no sure thing to be available all of next year. Both Currie and Maj together is a thin but workable back up scenario. I think we're just lucky with Todd, he's incredibly resilient for a guy his size that works as hard as he does.

 

[Black2Blue]

I do like me maths, but try as I might, I am still struggling to find a way to prove the equation 1 + 1 = 1. With all the permutating and combinating of shoulder taps, FAs and trade-ins and -outs, it looks more than likely that we will just have one spot for a rookie upgrade, but 2 fellas who realistically should both be upgraded i.e.. Tipps and Turns.

Question to the brethren and sistren - if it is just one of them, who should be upgraded? I would have Turner personally with Tippett as backup.

 

[boneofshin]

Given that Tippett signed a 2-year extension a while back I'd be expecting him to be upgraded; with a full pre-season I think he'll be demanding a spot in our backline. Turner has clearly come on much more quickly than the club was anticipating, there will no doubt be a LTI and he'll be first upgraded.

 

[NM_Mitchell]

I do like me maths, but try as I might, I am still struggling to find a way to prove the equation 1 + 1 = 1. With all the permutating and combinating of shoulder taps, FAs and trade-ins and -outs, it looks more than likely that we will just have one spot for a rookie upgrade, but 2 fellas who realistically should both be upgraded i.e.. Tipps and Turns.

Question to the brethren and sistren - if it is just one of them, who should be upgraded? I would have Turner personally with Tippett as backup.

after this season, Turner, if Tippett didn't get injured i would say him, but Turner would almost have to be a walk-in to the line up to start next season, whereas tippet will have to earn it again.

 

[Black2Blue]

Given that Tippett signed a 2-year extension a while back I'd be expecting him to be upgraded; with a full pre-season I think he'll be demanding a spot in our backline. Turner has clearly come on much more quickly than the club was anticipating, there will no doubt be a LTI and he'll be first upgraded.

Fair point re. the contract. It is a bit of a dilemma because Tippett looks ready to claim the role of taking on the gorillas, as heir apparent to Narni and relieving Scooter of this role. Yet at the same time, Turner looks like the type of player who might never step out of the side as he has the attributes of a seasoned player but in the body of a teenager yet to do a full preseason. As they say, its a good problem to have.

 

[naturally north]

I'm open to trading Currie, but I certainly wouldn't delist him. Plus, it would have to be a good trade, not just a swap of 6th rounders. Harper is safe as houses, although he is odds on to be gone this time next year unless he takes significant strides.

Currie has zero value.

Maj has had trouble running out full games as a forward and considering his injury and the pending court case is no sure thing to be available all of next year. Both Currie and Maj together is a thin but workable back up scenario. I think we're just lucky with Todd, he's incredibly resilient for a guy his size that works as hard as he does.

Agree on Goldie, my point was if we're struggling to find enough to delist Currie certainly isn't safe.

Majak's injury won't hold him back I've been very reliably informed. Court case? God only knows.

I'd like us to have a mature age ruck on the rookie list to cover for LTI's. And Wallace isn't the answer.

 

[year of the roo]

Currie has zero value.

Nah, that's crap. I've been doing this long enough to know that average ruckman get traded for decent picks all the time. Basically every year without fail.

 

[Black2Blue]

I actually think our ruck situation is fine as it stands. In his stand-in game at the end of the season, Currie did his job, nothing flash, but nothing that upset the form of the team, so we can see he can do that job as understudy to Goldy.

Maj has had trouble running out full games as a forward and considering his injury and the pending court case is no sure thing to be available all of next year. Both Currie and Maj together is a thin but workable back up scenario. I think we're just lucky with Todd, he's incredibly resilient for a guy his size that works as hard as he does.

Maj regularly runs out VFL games playing fully as a ruckman and the 2013 scenario of subbing him out at 3 quarter time because of fitness wasn't so much the case this year. And assuming that the court case falls in his favor and his recuperation allows him to get a fair chunk of the pre-season done, he should be able to improve his tank. But as you say, with Goldy's resilience, we haven't actually had to test this and hopefully won't have to in a hurry.

Currie has zero value.

Agree on Goldie, my point was if we're struggling to find enough to delist Currie certainly isn't safe.

Majak's injury won't hold him back I've been very reliably informed. Court case? God only knows.

I'd like us to have a mature age ruck on the rookie list to cover for LTI's. And Wallace isn't the answer.

I would think in 2015, either Currie or Daw could stand in for Goldy with back up from Brown and/or Petrie so we don't have to mess with our team balance. And in a worst case scenario with injuries to all three of Goldy, Currie and Daw, the Beast would be played in a heartbeat just to provide the ruck contest and keep the team structure (Brad loves his structure). Wallace should still make some improvement, hence being given another contract, and would be marked down as backup number 4.

I don't agree that Currie has zero value but I the pick we would get for him probably wouldn't be relevant, so in that sense, letting Currie go would be like delisting. Personally, I would like to see Daw become first cab off the rank as backup ruckman to Goldy, but with his court case and injury, I think the club will be cautious and hold on to Currie, at least for this year. Nevertheless, it is a good time to rookie list a ruck man, but I would look at a raw kid to start an apprenticeship this year.

 

[Firebat]

Currie has had interest from both QLD clubs, both this year and last.

He has value. Club loves him. Keeps at it, and I'd say Goldy having to train against him has had a pretty big effect on how he uses his body in contests.

 

[roos_fanatic08]

Currie if he had an extended crack, would be a fine ruckman. He just isn't a good ruck/forward.

He is important to keep. There is no way Daw is good enough to play ruck the way Currie does.

 

[Black2Blue]

Good points about Currie's role as Goldy's sparring partner. And he does look like a safe, solid ruckman. His initial stint as a forward-ruck early in the year didn't help his credentials as a footballer, but his game against Melbourne was handy.

Agree that Daw doesn't play the same game as Currie, but actually has a better record rucking for Werribee. Whether that can translate to playing first ruck for North remains to be seen but I think Daw's struggles as a forward have also hurt his reputation as a ruck man. His development as a ruck man has been quite impressive from what I have seen and he done some of his best work filling in for Goldy. Sure there are many questions about his game, his tap work is very good, his tackling is solid, his around the ground marking has been impressive at times, and he has pace. I may be off the mark, but think his ruck potential is underestimated. Mind you, he has a lot of court proceedings and rehab to pass through before this can even be tested.