Player Watch #47: Ivan Soldo

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I don't understand our teams thinking one ruckman, CCJ & Chol in the wings for mobility.

Soldo was under the pump last night and it showed, gave away 3 stupid free kicks and also almost cleaned up Jack Higgins who was in front trying to take a mark.
 

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mopsy said:
Dinosaur.
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I agree, love what Nank and Soldo have given us but its also an area that can be used against us if you have a more agile ruckman.

Almost time for Dimma to have a rethink how our midfield works IMO, you always should look to being more flexible and i cant believe we have gone back to 2017 type thinking.
 
Grundy, Goldstein and now English barely fired a shot against Soldo. Another 20-30 games and I think we will see him start to dominate the lesser rucks which is currently his weakness. In the mean time he can follow the better ruckman around and reduce their influence.

Also does a number of clever little toe pokes to get the ball into space.
 
My favourite moment from the big man tonight was that handball chain on the member's wing in the 2nd quarter where he received a ball that came in a little low, snapped it up cleanly then flicked off to a teammate (forget who I was so impressed!) running at full speed with a left-handed handball that hit the sweet receive spot perfectly. That was nothing short of sublime and the sort of hand skills you would hope to see from a former elite junior basketballer.

He ticks so many boxes: already strong enough and fit enough to go with literally any opponent when he has no right to be doing that after so few pre-seasons; plenty of really smart 1%ers that get better every game; very safe ball user, great handball and a decent enough kick for his size; doesn't clunk many marks yet, but he also rarely gets beaten in the air because he's too strong and competitive; his ferocious tackling is a real feature for a genuine giant so new to the game; ruckwork is coming along really well, his timing will keep improving and the top rucks who consistently rack up more HTA's have all been batting it down to the same elite mids for years and had all that time to refine their plays and system, Soldo has no such advantage.

Nank is a great player and a tough bloke to keep out, but Soldo's really pushing up against Nank's average output over his time with us most weeks.
 

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One thing I love about Ivan is what he does off the ball. Blocks, pushes etc. You'll see immediately after a contest/tap he's looking for the oppo to run into, especially if he can get 2 at once. Often he creates the space for us to move out of a contest. No stats for that, but really important.
 
Dr Tigris said:
One thing I love about Ivan is what he does off the ball. Blocks, pushes etc. You'll see immediately after a contest/tap he's looking for the oppo to run into, especially if he can get 2 at once. Often he creates the space for us to move out of a contest. No stats for that, but really important.
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Yep, he's got a great brain and it's fast becoming a great footy brain.

Truly a wonderful asset in a frame that huge.
 
THE_GUN said:
Certainly a much better Ruckman this year than he was in 2019 where he played in the flag
Still a project but getting there and he is just 24 and looking pretty good
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Nankervis 25
Soldo 24
Chol 23
CCJ 21

If they can sign them all up the ruck position looks pretty good long term
 
JAKLAUGHING said:
Not enough crashing the packs for big grabs for my liking...until he does he's just a good foot soldier and marking time for the next ruckman...
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Contested pack marks are way down all over the league, coaches are gradually erasing it from the game with the subtle ways players now position themselves to disadvantage opposition big men and mid-size marking targets, plus the move away from kicking to any genuine pack contest outside the top of the goal square or the highly telegraphed get-out kick up the boundary line. Even the highest paid key forwards are very rarely clunking pack marks, they generally need to get one-out or take advantage of a defensive error like letting them actually get a run at the ball.

So expecting numerous pack marks from Soldo when Lynch and Reiwoldt - not to mention our intercept marking defenders - are very seldom pulling it off amounts to unrealistic expectations, IMO. It's not the 80's, 90's or even the noughty's anymore, that side of the game is dying a slow death, much as we all mourn it. He does crash packs in aerial contests and he does almost always bring the ball to ground for us to take advantage of, which is what we're wanting.

FWIW, it certainly doesn't help that we've barely played a game with a dry ball all season, most of it's been wet grounds and/or looking up into floodlights.
 
JAKLAUGHING said:
Not enough crashing the packs for big grabs for my liking...until he does he's just a good foot soldier and marking time for the next ruckman...
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Pack crashing is Chol/Lynch's dept. Dunno if Soldo has the leap to do that. Soldo is playing textbook footy. Gets the ball he hits up a close target. Blocks & bullocks. He caught in a tackle in the centre last week, this week it was him doing the tackling. With Nank being as injury prone as he is Soldo has been solid, and Chol has been off the chain good.
Nank took quite a few games to find good form after his return from injury in 2019. And when Nankdo rucked Soldo was actually better in every game except the granny. 2020 I think Soldo dropped in form a bit but he's been forced to play, maybe like the rest of the 22 he's just hitting his strides
 
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tora tora tora said:
Pack crashing is Chol/Lynch's dept. Dunno if Soldo has the leap to do that. Soldo is playing textbook footy. Gets the ball he hits up a close target. Blocks & bullocks. He caught in a tackle in the centre last week, this week it was him doing the tackling. With Nank being as injury prone as he is Soldo has been solid, and Chol has been off the chain good.
Nank took quite a few games to find good form after his return from injury in 2019. And when Nankdo rucked Soldo was actually better in every game except the granny. 2020 I think Soldo dropped in form a bit but he's been forced to play, maybe like the rest of the 22 he's just hitting his strides
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Maybe...
But Soldo avoids pack marks...too limited in output...
 
Rayzorwire said:
Contested pack marks are way down all over the league, coaches are gradually erasing it from the game with the subtle ways players now position themselves to disadvantage opposition big men and mid-size marking targets, plus the move away from kicking to any genuine pack contest outside the top of the goal square or the highly telegraphed get-out kick up the boundary line. Even the highest paid key forwards are very rarely clunking pack marks, they generally need to get one-out or take advantage of a defensive error like letting them actually get a run at the ball.

So expecting numerous pack marks from Soldo when Lynch and Reiwoldt - not to mention our intercept marking defenders - are very seldom pulling it off amounts to unrealistic expectations, IMO. It's not the 80's, 90's or even the noughty's anymore, that side of the game is dying a slow death, much as we all mourn it. He does crash packs in aerial contests and he does almost always bring the ball to ground for us to take advantage of, which is what we're wanting.

FWIW, it certainly doesn't help that we've barely played a game with a dry ball all season, most of it's been wet grounds and/or looking up into floodlights.
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When pack mark's are clunked they hurt the oppo that's a fact...
 
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