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Tex Support

Tex Support

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What are your expectations of Ben Rutten in 2013?

IMO - I saw signs last year that have me worried. In particular with his pace, and how other sides matched him up. At times he looked a liability. He was awesome in the Semi & Prelim when it mattered, but the consistancy just wasnt there like other years. If you dont agree, fair enough. If you do agree, is it something we can cope with this year, or should finding his replacement be a priority? Reports suggest he's dropped a few, which will help his cause, but how much?

No fluff. Started this thread not looking for a testamonial or shiny retrospective of Truck's career. Look at 2013 only. Will there be a tough call we have to make this year, or am I talking crazy?

Get into it...
 
He had literally no pre-season last year and was more than adequate for the majority of the season, especially in being the cool head down back to mentor the younger players coming through. This year, he has lost some weight and got a bit more agility back from what has been reported coming out of the club and people attending training. He will still be the No 1 defender.
 
Well, he didn't have a pre-season last year, and had a niggling foot injury. Yet he still played most games, even if not at his usual 100% game-time. It sounds like he's fully into succession planning this year, stepping from the leadership group to "mentor" the young defenders, so I would expect this to be either his last, or second-to-last season. He spoke in his recent fans-on-one about how important the preseason was to him, so I'd expect him having a good preseason this year would mean he could hold his own.
 

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No Preason last year, but was one of our best in Finals as he got his fitness back.

Sounds like he is in good nick now and I personally hope there are a few more years left in the Truck.


As bad as he was at times early last year compared to his high standards, we would have been worse without him there.
 
I think he can last the year, but I don't believe he is our 'No. 1 defender'. He can't stay with the J Riewoldts or Hawkins' of the world any longer, so I think Talia deserves the mantle.

And he didn't really have a great prelim, he gave away eight scoring shots to his direct opponent with several simple scoring opportunities being fluffed.

His performance in the Semi is exactly what we needed though, and meant Freo never had a chance to stay in the game.
 
The only concern I have with Rutten is that the more mobile forwards are able to take a few grabs against him on long leads, since he's had a good pre-season and slimmed down a bit this may be less of a problem this year. Other than that he's still a quality player that we can rely on for 2013.
 
Thommo51 said:
I think he can last the year, but I don't believe he is our 'No. 1 defender'. He can't stay with the J Riewoldts or Hawkins' of the world any longer, so I think Talia deserves the mantle.

And he didn't really have a great prelim, he gave away eight scoring shots to his direct opponent with several simple scoring opportunities being fluffed.

His performance in the Semi is exactly what we needed though, and meant Freo never had a chance to stay in the game.
Click to expand...

Looking at things purely based on matchups Talia would definitely be our number one defender. I was very impressed with his ability to "stick" with his opponent, a worthy replacement for Truck.
 
I still see Rutten being reliable for a couple more seasons. Sure there are a few signs to suggest he's slowing down, but he's never really been fast as such anyway. Plays intelligently, there are certain types who trouble him, but generally a bloke like Roughead has always given him problems, and you don't think of him as the quickest either, so I think he can still use his smarts for a couple more seasons yet.
 

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I tend to agree with the OP - I certainly take on board the comments about a limited pre-season, but there were definitely times last year where I thought he was struggling from a non-fitness related pov (eg decision making, disposal).

Very happy to be proven wrong and would love to see him get some consistent form back this year. We badly need him to hold down a key post for another 1-2 seasons yet, if possible. But it wouldn't surprise if last year was the start of the end.
 
Could have just bumped a similar thread from the past five years. How many goals did Truck concede last year? How many did J Reiwoldt and Hawkins kick on him? Must have been quite a few bags against him to be making this very big call once again this year. He is one of the best FBs in the comp and I reckon he has 2 or 3 left if he wants them.
 

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I find it funny that people are worried about Truck on the quicker forwards, thats what Talia is for! They compliment each other very well. If it wasn't for Truck, DT may not have had the year he had last season. Talia may well have struggled on bigger forwards, so it would've been nice having Truck to back him up.
I would sure hate to go into this season with Luke Thompson or Hartigan as our fullback.
 
FR0GGY said:
How?
Click to expand...
They build the defensive team around him, thats how.

similar to how Thompson is still our most elite midfielder (and will be this year), his presence allows others to prosper...and mids get recognised a hell of a lot more ;)
 
Yeah but thommo was our most valuable player last year let alone our best midfielder. I'm saying that perhaps due to whatever reason (lack of preseason) Talia was more important to us last year than truck. It would have been a close call.
 
These questions get asked of Truck every off season. Whilst Talia will, more often than not, this season take the most dangerous fwd, Rutten will still be a very valuable defender for us. He can still take the really big guys like resting ruckman despite him conceding 10+cm. He played his best footy of the year in the finals against the best teams, against probably the best 2 key forwards, without Talia by his side and when it mattered most.

Plus looking at him in preseason in person go head to head with Tex and probably just take the honours tells me he can handle the best 3 key forwards in the league (Buddy, Tex, Pav). He'll be alright. I'm excited to see Hartigan though because IMO he looks to have all the tools. Once he learns a few tricks off the master (Truck) like Talia did this year, I believe Hartigan will be a good replacement for Truck and it'll be perfect timing.

Talia and Hartigan are the same age and IMO will form a good tandem defense for many years with Shaw or Otten playing 3rd tall defender. Then we have Siggins waiting in line developing for next couple of years who IMO would be a perfect CHB in the Bock mould. If he's not required down back because Talia/Hartigan/Shaw hold those positions for years, I think Siggins could play key forward as well. Tex & Siggins forward with Jenkins as fwd/ruck. Jacobs in ruck of course, big man department is starting to look good again.
 

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