- Aug 18, 2018
- 38,901
- 69,429
- AFL Club
- Geelong
That is the most accurate advice I've see from a pundit
-
Mobile App Discontinued
Due to a number of factors, support for the current BigFooty mobile app has been discontinued. Your BigFooty login will no longer work on the Tapatalk or the BigFooty App - which is based on Tapatalk.
Apologies for any inconvenience. We will try to find a replacement.
Rumour GFC 2025 Player Trading, Drafting FA, Rumours and Wish lists Pt 1
- Thread starter cats_09
- Start date
- Tagged users None
🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.
- Status
That is the most accurate advice I've see from a pundit
Have seen some highlights now… and I really could see him being yet another that would have fit our type. I guess occasionally we will be guzumped … as Footy Smarts mentioned…. at least he was not on our VFL list.
Log in to remove this Banner Ad
Sort of a bit hard to believe when they had so many picks that they could not find a way to add him. They have gone tall hoping they all work and stay.
The Corn chip has be 100% against having so much of their cap burnt on the two rucks.
While he would be ideal for Geelong.. I cant see him landing at Geelong. If he does come back to Vic , one would think he would be involved in a trade for Pickett
I think some are trying to downgrade how significant of an impact top-line ruckman are in the modern game.
Sure, you can get lucky and win a premiership but it's not sustainable without a quality big man dictating terms in the centre of the ground.
This is why Collingwood, Sydney, Hawthorn, Carlton are almost certainties this year for finals. Excellent number one rucks and sufficient support throughout the season.
Kobe Gryant
'07 - '09 - '11 - '22
You've just named four clubs with elite talent in all three thirds of the ground though.
They're not near certainties because of their ruckman. They certainly help, but they're near certainties due to the even spread of high end talent they have at their disposal.
If it was a club like North Melbourne, Melbourne, or St Kilda, then you'd have a real argument for the impact that a single elite ruckman can have on a club.
If anything, it proves that an elite ruckman can take you over the top of you've already got 80-90% of everything else you need to compete, rather than the impact they can have themselves.
Pure_Ownage
TheBrownDog
Darcy yes (but i doubt anyone would take him) Jackson no. Ironically they would have been better keeping Meek and encouraging Darcy to be traded a couple of years ago.
The way its going with Darcy …it may have to be a Bowes deal to move him. He projects fragility.
Last edited:
I still think odds are good that he stays … but if GC have another poor year then …..
Like with any of the players looking at moving …he will look at a range of options that were denied at draft. If Rowell does move ..one has to wonder what type of experience would he be looking for. Imo . Money. Obviously but he will get that at any club. Id say . Big games. MCG games finals winning … and then it would get down to if he wants the big club experience . He wants to stay in a lower profile club then maybe the Dogs would be his go. After years playing in front of empty seats … Id think Cats and Pies would be right up there if he wanted to experience bigger crowds etc.
Last edited:
MacStradbroke
Norm Smith Medallist
- Jul 19, 2015
- 7,931
- 27,444
- AFL Club
- Geelong
A tap ruck has limited ability elsewhere, wow. I think you’re referring to shit tap ruckmen.
If you are labelled a tap ruck its because you are limited elsewhere. Mark blake was an example of a tap ruck, probablu the best example was Aaron sandilands, altho he did it to an elite standard.
Did you ever hear people refer to brad ottens as a tap ruck??
MacStradbroke
Norm Smith Medallist
- Jul 19, 2015
- 7,931
- 27,444
- AFL Club
- Geelong
I’ve heard Max Gawn referred to as a tap ruckman for years, that’s never been debated…until now.
Kobe Gryant
'07 - '09 - '11 - '22
No, it can also mean you're just an elite tap ruckman, while still being viable/elite in other areas.
Players can be multi-faceted. The best often are.
The game isn't so binary that we just pigeon hole players into categories because they share one trait.
Patrick Dangerfield is one of the greatest contested midfielders the game has seen, and is often labelled as one.
It doesn't mean that that's all he's good at, or that he's in the same class as someone like Matt Crouch just because they're both 'contested mids'.
Same thing with ruckman, with the quintessential 'tap ruckman' right now to your definition being Reilly O'Brien. Elite at winning taps, hopeless at everything else.
Max Gawn, who's elite around the ground and far from one dimensional, actually averages more taps to advantage than ROB does, despite it being his specialty.
Is Gawn not a 'tap ruckman'? Or are we smart enough to distinguish that the very best of players often cover multiple facets of the game, and can't be pigeon-holed into an arbitrary label?
Pure_Ownage
TheBrownDog
100 % he does with the Weight and the knee. He might be immoveable but they will try.
🥰 Love BigFooty? Join now for free.
The longer our boys look like taking to become on ground threats …. then we will continue to be linked. If he came with an R1 pick (like Bowes) then who knows.
I suspect though that his bodies issues are now a permanent part of his afl story. If one was optimistic , maybe one might say less time travelling and softer ground might help him. The best you might hope for is like when Ottens missed a chunk of the year and then was fit when it mattered. If one was pessimistic , he is 27 this year , contracted till 2030 .. he may not play out his contract if his body gets worse.
cats_09
Otters United
- Jun 21, 2011
- 84,136
- 178,205
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Thread starter
- Moderator
- #6,373
Problem is that he won't exactly come cheap - Fremantle will either want a team to pay up at the trade table if they're to cover a portion of his salary, or if it's a Bowes type deal with the new team taking over the entirety of his salary than they'll have that hit to deal with
And unlike with Bowes who was a bit younger which made it somewhat easier to renegotiate his contract over additional years, the AFL has tried to stop the club from being able to do that smoothing of a contract when taking over in that situation, Darcy will turn 27 in June is contracted for another 5 years after this season
When considering he's played just the 110 games across his first 8 seasons, and it's a bit unknown how many he'll have in him over the next 6 years of being contracted, just feels like it'll be a gamble for any team that opts to take him on
Though maybe Melbourne will show some interest in getting him involved as part of a trade for Pickett - they'll soon be looking for a Gawn replacement
Sean Darcy just has that faint smell of Hamish McIntosh about him
He won't be cheap though, and if we are complaining about Conway being fragile at least we aren't paying him a lot til he proves himself.
If he was cheap I would be totally up for taking the risk. But Freo will want high picks and he won't have a cheap enough contract.
This year is make or break for him, he had two seasons of 21 games where he showed flashes of being a top top tier ruck, but in 2023 he broke down late in the season and in 2021 he was busted at the start of the season.
And now he is missing games at the start of this season.
If he is going to break down again, whats the bet he misses from Rds 6 to 12 or so?
- Status
