_RT_
Hall of Famer
- Sep 17, 2006
- 44,579
- 82,885
- AFL Club
- Richmond
- Other Teams
- Furies Premiers 2010
14 days ago we were favourites for the flag and everyone was wondering how we were going to be stopped. 7 days ago it was confirmed that Rance would miss the 2019 season and the discussion became whether we would be able to cope with the loss and still win the premiership. Less than 24 hours ago Jack attempted to take mark of the year and ended up breaking his wrist and now many are wondering if we'll even feature in September. At the moment I'm not one of them as there are still 20 games of footy to go and we should be good enough to make it to September if our list was as good as we all believed it was heading into the season.
In saying that the loss of Rance for the season and Jack for at least a month, combined with the ongoing injury to Caddy and Dusty obviously below his best creates a bit of a crisis with a massive 4 weeks of footy coming up with GWS(away) Port(away) Swans(home/Marvel) Demons(home) to come. We're going to need to bring in 2 talls at minimum, which means that 2 of Balta Garthwaite Moore CCJ Soldo or Chol now have an opportunity to put their hands up and show both the club and us the fans that they have what it takes to be a long term player for us.
The question is who will the club turn to for these 2 spots.
Balta - the hype started after a second quarter purple patch in the first JLT game, since then he hasn't exactly followed up but that happens with young KPPs still learning to play the game at this level. He could come in as the second tall who pinch hits in the ruck like he did in round 1 or he could be slotted in at CHB and be given the opportunity to settle and develop as Rances heir apparent.
Chol - effectively the last player added to the list after being delisted at the end of last season. Has some amazing attributes that could be a real point of difference in our side, but also has some that will infuriate those who don't regularly watch him play at VFL level. Like Balta he could play as a 2nd tall and pinch hit in the ruck if he was to be given a crack.
CCJ - 2nd year developing ruckman who has put on some size since being drafted. Playing a bit more in the ruck this year in the VFL games I've seen and looks quite good. A 4 week block as second ruck/second tall forward before Jack comes back might just help his development as he gets a taste of what is required at the next level up.
Garthwaite - IMO he is the long term Astbury replacement rather than the Rance replacement. Like Astbury Garthwaite is a defend first backman who doesn't really look to get involved in much rebounding. With Rance missing we could look to utilise Garthwaites defensive ability to shore up our back 6 and allow Broad to take up the slack as a rebounding defender.
Miller - unlikely to get the call up but an option none the less. Has played KPD when Garthwaite has missed and held his own, but not really ready for the call up to the senior side.
Moore - was the go to option last year when we looked at playing a second tall forward. Slightly shorter than Balta CCJ Chol and Soldo he would be less likely to have much of an impact in the ruck, but given Hardwicks comments last night of we don't play 2 ruckman he might comes into calculations as he could play at CHF and allow Lynch to play the deeper option. Was in good form the second VFL practice match getting his hands on the ball in marking contests and kicking goals.
Soldo - an interesting option for mine. In the JLT we played Nankervis forward in Lynchs role and started Soldo in the ruck. Could we turn to this over the next 4 weeks given we're coming up against some good rucks in the next month. Soldo has shown at VFL level that he can be a threat up forward when resting and covers the ground quite well. Similar to cousin Ivan he also seems to enjoy throwing his weight around either protecting his midfielders or getting his knees dirty and getting down and fighting for the ball himself.
So as the title says, 'Crisis Creates Opportunity' so which 2 would you turn to to fill the void of a 3 time Coleman Medal winning forward and a 5 time AA defender. None of the options put forward are going to be able to fill their shoes to the same level, but we're going to have to pick 2 of them for the next month at least.
In saying that the loss of Rance for the season and Jack for at least a month, combined with the ongoing injury to Caddy and Dusty obviously below his best creates a bit of a crisis with a massive 4 weeks of footy coming up with GWS(away) Port(away) Swans(home/Marvel) Demons(home) to come. We're going to need to bring in 2 talls at minimum, which means that 2 of Balta Garthwaite Moore CCJ Soldo or Chol now have an opportunity to put their hands up and show both the club and us the fans that they have what it takes to be a long term player for us.
The question is who will the club turn to for these 2 spots.
Balta - the hype started after a second quarter purple patch in the first JLT game, since then he hasn't exactly followed up but that happens with young KPPs still learning to play the game at this level. He could come in as the second tall who pinch hits in the ruck like he did in round 1 or he could be slotted in at CHB and be given the opportunity to settle and develop as Rances heir apparent.
Chol - effectively the last player added to the list after being delisted at the end of last season. Has some amazing attributes that could be a real point of difference in our side, but also has some that will infuriate those who don't regularly watch him play at VFL level. Like Balta he could play as a 2nd tall and pinch hit in the ruck if he was to be given a crack.
CCJ - 2nd year developing ruckman who has put on some size since being drafted. Playing a bit more in the ruck this year in the VFL games I've seen and looks quite good. A 4 week block as second ruck/second tall forward before Jack comes back might just help his development as he gets a taste of what is required at the next level up.
Garthwaite - IMO he is the long term Astbury replacement rather than the Rance replacement. Like Astbury Garthwaite is a defend first backman who doesn't really look to get involved in much rebounding. With Rance missing we could look to utilise Garthwaites defensive ability to shore up our back 6 and allow Broad to take up the slack as a rebounding defender.
Miller - unlikely to get the call up but an option none the less. Has played KPD when Garthwaite has missed and held his own, but not really ready for the call up to the senior side.
Moore - was the go to option last year when we looked at playing a second tall forward. Slightly shorter than Balta CCJ Chol and Soldo he would be less likely to have much of an impact in the ruck, but given Hardwicks comments last night of we don't play 2 ruckman he might comes into calculations as he could play at CHF and allow Lynch to play the deeper option. Was in good form the second VFL practice match getting his hands on the ball in marking contests and kicking goals.
Soldo - an interesting option for mine. In the JLT we played Nankervis forward in Lynchs role and started Soldo in the ruck. Could we turn to this over the next 4 weeks given we're coming up against some good rucks in the next month. Soldo has shown at VFL level that he can be a threat up forward when resting and covers the ground quite well. Similar to cousin Ivan he also seems to enjoy throwing his weight around either protecting his midfielders or getting his knees dirty and getting down and fighting for the ball himself.
So as the title says, 'Crisis Creates Opportunity' so which 2 would you turn to to fill the void of a 3 time Coleman Medal winning forward and a 5 time AA defender. None of the options put forward are going to be able to fill their shoes to the same level, but we're going to have to pick 2 of them for the next month at least.