Drop Blake, throw Hawkins in the ruck.

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G.F.C

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Thread starter #1
This was raised on OWAAT, i think it's a bloody good idea. Hawkins needs to get his hands on the leather and find some form. We have Richmond this week with a terrible ruck division, so it's the ideal week to do it.

Hawkins looked like he had it all coming together late last year, but so far this year, it has vanished. Get him on the ball, let him run himself into some form.
 

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Kegs44

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#2
Totally agree. Last year it seemed to really free up Hawkins, takes the pressure off him from kicking a score, tell him to just run, and do damage against his opponent by pushing forward.
Blake is a very good tap ruckman, but just doesnt do enough around the ground. Blake very well may be important come finals time because of his ruck work, but let him work on his around the ground stuff in the magoos, and give big tommy a chance to run free. Surely it cant hurt against Richmond
 

PoidaCat

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#3
Hawkins probably can't be any more useless than he is in the forward line and any more usless than Blake.

Give it a go.
 
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#4
I would love to see Hawkins stay up forward this week. If he can kick a score or at least present then keep him going. If he fails then maybe look at some time in the 2nds to boost the confidence. Im still unsure on Blake, if Simpson keeps pressing he might be in trouble.
 

thejester

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#5
Guys, SJ is out of form too - maybe give him a run in the ruck? Or come to think of it, S Byrnes!

Seriously, I understand that it's in Robert Walls genetic makeup to call for any out of form player over 190cm to have a run in the ruck...but now Luke Darcy has taken up the mantra too, presumably based on his obsession with that mysterious creature called the 'modern ruckman'. When those opinions are picked up by people who think Hawkins is some sort of sacred creature, the result is hilarious.

Hawkins needs to find form...in the twos, like any other player. If people are that convinced Blake is totally useless, he can be dropped too - for a ruckman. West has done his hammy but Dawson put in a reasonable game on the weekend. All Hawkins would do in the ruck is get about 15 touches, a few tackles, a handful of hitouts and absolutely no practice in being a key forward.
 

thehoff

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#6
I agree with this idea. Last year, Hawkins was struggling, we threw him in the ruck and he had a very good second half to the year. I'm hopeful that this would achieve the same this year.

I had very high hopes that this was Tommas break out year. I was hoping for 45+ goals.
 

Vdubs

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#8
Do we all think Blake's performance was why we lost against Carlton. He was poor, but who wasn't? and he was instrumental in our Port win. Surely if anyone could do with confidence uplifting , it would be Blake against this so called weak Tigers rucks division, and Hawkins against their backs.

Rooke is unfit and Dog has been way below his best, Corey and Scarlett back in? Plus, I don't think Ottens looks all that flash at present, and he might go down any time.

Freo coach says Tigers are definitely improving and they do ok against us at Geelong, so I am not thinking this is a foregone conclusive win. Again, they have a lot of pace. Our record of smashing them last time we were embarrassing means stuff all 3 years later.
 
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#9
I get a similar feeling this week to the week we smashed the Tiges 3 years ago. I dont think we will win buy 157 points but look out for a big show. T hawk to kick 5 and Selwood to absolutely fire come Sunday 1pm
 

Ninty

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#10
^ It's a bit similar too, going in with the same 3-2 record after a poor game... We came out to prove ourselves. I wouldn't want to be Richmond this week.
 

Nice Guy Adam

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#11
Love the idea, thought it was the answer for weeks. This option allows Tom to develop another string to his bow and get his hands on the ball some more, develop a more well rounded game and mature as a footballer. Mooney spent some time as a second ruck option a few years ago IIRC, so it won't do him any harm.
 

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cynical

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#12
Do we all think Blake's performance was why we lost against Carlton. He was poor, but who wasn't? and he was instrumental in our Port win. Surely if anyone could do with confidence uplifting , it would be Blake against this so called weak Tigers rucks division, and Hawkins against their backs.
It wasn't blakes fault but we had too many talls.

Blake is a decent tap ruckman but brings nothing else. There is no real upside to him, he is just a b grade ruckman and thats all he'll be.

We have 3 key forwards and can only use 2.

Hawkins has good ground skills for a big man, he did pretty well in the ruck last year. He is a long way from being a good forward, he still just doesnt do enough.

I think his around the ground work, possession and tackling is miles ahead of blake so hawkins is at least as good as blake as a ruck option. The difference is Hawkins has way more upside and is a forward option.

We can always bring Blake back later if it doesn't work or someone gets injured.
 

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#13
Poor Blakey....win, lose or draw y'all are always calling for him to be dropped. Carlton killing us in the clearances had more to do with Judd & co, not the ruckmen. Hawkins needs to go to the VFL to get some confidence back.
 
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#14
Poor Blakey....win, lose or draw y'all are always calling for him to be dropped. Carlton killing us in the clearances had more to do with Judd & co, not the ruckmen. Hawkins needs to go to the VFL to get some confidence back.
We are playing Richmond at skilled, it's going to be easier than a vfl match.

Give him one more week at full forward, then I'd like to see him get some time in the ruck.
 

Claude Balls

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#15
Similar to Patty Ryder, I think Hawkins will benefit enormously from being taken to the ball and getting his hands on it regularly. He clearly doesn't have the football brain or the confidence at this stage to find it himself, and as with any sport, once you get amongst it your confidence and desire to be part of the action increases.

Being part of the stoppages might also teach him a thing or two about timing leads as a forward. It took Mooney a few years playing semi regularly on the ball to become a decent KPF.
 
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#16
Hawkins in the ruck? In the ones? Were you people not there on Monday? Hawkins couldn't chase after 10 minutes.

He would struggle to play the game out and No way in hell could he ruck and then go forward.

If he plays in the ruck he can do it in the two's thanks.



Freo coach says Tigers are definitely improving and they do ok against us at Geelong, so I am not thinking this is a foregone conclusive win. Again, they have a lot of pace. Our record of smashing them last time we were embarrassing means stuff all 3 years later.
Here we go again :rolleyes: all we need is Partridge to join in with similar comments.

Mate, if the Tigers get near us "I will spew up". If they beat us I will declare the dynasty as over, and Gazza can leave.
 

Farmer2Goggin

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#17
Hawkins probably can't be any more useless than he is in the forward line and any more usless than Blake.

Give it a go.
Tom is frustrating the hell out of me.
Too many dropped marks on the lead and seems to lack football nous on occasions.
Classic example last Monday was the possession on the HFF where instead of going long to the goalsquare he hesitated , played on and turned over the handball.
For goodness sake he can kick it 65m+ so get some variety into your game and look interested !
Follow Chappys example and kick long to a contest occasionally - amazing how many of these are marked or crumbed for a goal
 

Partridge

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#18
^ It's a bit similar too, going in with the same 3-2 record after a poor game... We came out to prove ourselves. I wouldn't want to be Richmond this week.
Not quite - in 2007 we were 2-3. Lost against the Dogs in round 1, then successive losses in rounds 4-5 against Hawthorn and North.
 

Pure_Ownage

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#20
Guys, SJ is out of form too - maybe give him a run in the ruck? Or come to think of it, S Byrnes!

Seriously, I understand that it's in Robert Walls genetic makeup to call for any out of form player over 190cm to have a run in the ruck...but now Luke Darcy has taken up the mantra too, presumably based on his obsession with that mysterious creature called the 'modern ruckman'. When those opinions are picked up by people who think Hawkins is some sort of sacred creature, the result is hilarious.

Hawkins needs to find form...in the twos, like any other player. If people are that convinced Blake is totally useless, he can be dropped too - for a ruckman. West has done his hammy but Dawson put in a reasonable game on the weekend. All Hawkins would do in the ruck is get about 15 touches, a few tackles, a handful of hitouts and absolutely no practice in being a key forward.
Agreed.

While I haven't been that happy with Blake this year, Hawkins has definitely performed worse and looks more out of form. I wouldn't be against dropping both (partly to send a message, but mainly based on performance), but if we're only dropping one it should be Tomahawk, rather than dropping Blake to accomodate Tomahawk.
 

Belisarius

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#22
It wasn't blakes fault but we had too many talls.

Blake is a decent tap ruckman but brings nothing else. There is no real upside to him, he is just a b grade ruckman and thats all he'll be.

We have 3 key forwards and can only use 2.

Hawkins has good ground skills for a big man, he did pretty well in the ruck last year. He is a long way from being a good forward, he still just doesnt do enough.

I think his around the ground work, possession and tackling is miles ahead of blake so hawkins is at least as good as blake as a ruck option. The difference is Hawkins has way more upside and is a forward option.

We can always bring Blake back later if it doesn't work or someone gets injured.

What I think ! Geelong need a tall around the ground they trust to spoil and take the occasional overhead mark. Especially at kick ins. No disrespect for Mark Blake as tap ruckman but he is not so good at marking or tackling.

Would GF team be better Hawkins as a ruckman - maybe. Certainly better for Hawkins to get a touch of the leather - and help him get some confidence and form back. Why not try it for a week or two and see what happens. We can always go back to Blake if necessary. How about some new thinking down at the Cattery about this position ? - just for a trial. More upside in Hawkins re the team than Blake IMO.
 

Turbocat

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#23
Guys, SJ is out of form too - maybe give him a run in the ruck? Or come to think of it, S Byrnes!

Seriously, I understand that it's in Robert Walls genetic makeup to call for any out of form player over 190cm to have a run in the ruck...but now Luke Darcy has taken up the mantra too, presumably based on his obsession with that mysterious creature called the 'modern ruckman'. When those opinions are picked up by people who think Hawkins is some sort of sacred creature, the result is hilarious.

Hawkins needs to find form...in the twos, like any other player. If people are that convinced Blake is totally useless, he can be dropped too - for a ruckman. West has done his hammy but Dawson put in a reasonable game on the weekend. All Hawkins would do in the ruck is get about 15 touches, a few tackles, a handful of hitouts and absolutely no practice in being a key forward.
Jester , the Ch10 dynamic duo aside, I think think its worth a try for a few minutes a quarter. The guy was out of form last year and a run on ball seemed to help. Tom is not even taking the marks now , and thats what he should do better than most. Get him out and around the ground get some marks without a defender on his shoulder.
Im not convinced he will ever be a long term Ruck option but I wouldn't mind trying him and West and Ottens sharing it. West has to be more versatile than Son of Rod , just a shame he has twanged a ham and is out for next couple. I suppose this means that Hawkins probably should be dropped but I doubt he will be.

So Blake has probably the next 2 to 3 weeks to show something. He has nothing to beat against Richmond , the week after he will come up against Mumford, if he is shown up by the Sausage man he will be in serious trouble and Simpson may get a extended trial IMO
 

Beth

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#24
At what point do you think Hawkins should stop being treated with kit gloves and start getting selected on performance? I'm really not sure myself, is there an arbitrary age/years in the system that can be agreed upon?, where is the cut-off? How long can you protect a young man's psyche?

The gen x in me would like to see put in a boxing circle Shane Strempel style and told to use his size and HTFU. Kids nowdays sheesh....
 
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