Best Spine 2019

[DontArgue4]

Since the trade period is done and dusted (for players anyway) i thought id take a look at the spines of each team. There are some seriously good ones going around, but which is best?

Let me know if i missed anyone obvious, inevitable that i did.

Obviously the mids for each team are interchangeable, i basically just chose the one that came to mind first.

 

[col44]

Don't usually see a centerman included in a spine exam. Especially with that meaning it's just another guy that goes everywhere but with or without Dusty it's still the Tigers.

 

[bungalow_bill]

McStay is CHF so..

Andrews/Gardiner/Neale/Hipwood/Cameron

 

[DontArgue4]

McStay is CHF so..

Andrews/Gardiner/Neale/Hipwood/Cameron

Cameron is your FF?

 

[bungalow_bill]

Cameron is your FF?

Forgot McStay

Andrews Gardiner Neale Hipwood McStay

 

[kaiserchief13]

Isn't the ruck the "spine" member from the centre?

 

[kaiserchief13]

Clearly between WC and Richmond.

Barrass > Astbury
McGovern > Rance
Martin > Shuey
Riewoldt > Darling
Kennedy > Lynch

WC 3-2

 

[The Bomb]

Essendon has

Hurley
Hooker
Zerrett
Daniher
Stringer

But WC has the best spine atm.

 

[Brutalitops]

Isn't the ruck the "spine" member from the centre?

Traditionally its been the centreman. Its only recently that the definition has been swaying.

 

[DontArgue4]

Essendon has

Hurley
Hooker
Zerrett
Daniher
Stringer

But WC has the best spine atm.

Was tossing up between him and stewart, i see stringer as more a caddy type 3rd tall so didnt include him

 

[blitzer]

I prefer the ruck as the spine. Its never made sense to me to randomly include one midfielder. It seems people are divided on this issue.

Anyway its hard to go past West Coast and Richmond. I'd probably lean towards West Coast because Darling and Kennedy have actually been playing together for years and the Richmond forward duo won't have the same level of synergy.

 

[Mitchell54]

Clearly between WC and Richmond.

Barrass > Astbury
McGovern > Rance
Martin > Shuey
Riewoldt > Darling
Kennedy > Lynch

WC 3-2

Swap Lynch with Riewoldt and I gets interesting though.
Lynch hasn’t played a continuously injury free since 2017. Darling always performs a very solid year. That one could go either way.

The Riewoldt/Kennedy matchup is good but the cookies will have to go to the Coleman medalist for now.

Barrass > Astbury
McGovern > Rance
Shuey < Martin
Darling ? Lynch
Kennedy < Riewoldt

 

[Monkey King]

Can’t go passed the Tigers. Astbury the weak link, but even then he’s vastly underrated.

Just on Carlton, injuries permitting, I’d change the FB to Marchbank.

 

[Brutalitops]

I prefer the ruck as the spine. Its never made sense to me to randomly include one midfielder. It seems people are divided on this issue.

I would say it happened simply because when a team is named on a field pictogram you see the players named on the field as FB, CHB, C, CHF, FF. The centreman today normally just gets lumped in the midfielders, but good examples of "true" centremen would be Williams and Daicos (pre injury).

I think the concept of "the spine" is more about "link up" play between the bookends and the ruck has a more specialist role at stoppages and centre bounces moreso than that. Im not fussed either way, just playing devil's advocate.

 

[DontArgue4]

Can’t go passed the Tigers. Astbury the weak link, but even then he’s vastly underrated.

Just on Carlton, injuries permitting, I’d change the FB to Marchbank.

Yep fair point on the Blues, slipped my mind

 

[yyou]

For Freo I'd remove McCarthy from the spine as he is a flanker, shift Hogan to chf & plonk Lobb at ff

 

[scaryness]

Not many should be voting for us anyway, but Reid is ahead of McCartin pretty comfortably at this stage.