Roast How long will AFC ignore their ruck stocks?

[Alwaysacrow]

Is it just me or has our club been negligent in stocking our ruck department? ROB is an average ruckman at best but I can put up with that if he's doing what he does best which is taking grabs and contributing around the ground but even that has been hit and miss lately. If he isn't doing that he's a liability. God help us if he goes down. Who's in the cupboard? Straun?Frampton? It's a joke.
We should've gotten a project ruckman years ago.
Thoughts?

 

[Mego Red]

We just re-signed our lead ruckman for five years last year.

We have multiple backups and a 200+cm first round draftee.

How many do you want? Besides the fact it's the least important position on the ground - if we want someone later, we'll just trade for them. Ruckmen move all the time.

 

[Alwaysacrow]

Tilthorpe could go into ruck if Reilly goes down but what a waste. His best role for us is as a marking forward who can pinch hit in the ruck. Our only backups aren't AFL standard. . I'd love us to trade in a mature young ruckman but let's face it AFC aren't known for catching the big fish.

 

[CrowsB4hoes]

I still reckon we take on Grundy’s contract at some point. Maybe next years trade period ready to play in 2023 for us.

 

[Golumless]

Probably until this offseason. We're due a refresh below ROB. Especially a young one who could be something.

That said, it isn't urgent. ROB goes down and hey look, a better draft pick.

 

[Deaneus!]

We’ve got the ”elite” ROB for a few more years, but FSM help us if he goes down

TT should not be the answer

We need to draft a project or two this November, or retool Frampton/Himmelberg, or make a call on Strachan, or trade in a second-stringer. This next draft must be class mid, potential ruck.

 

[Jarman3]

I still reckon we take on Grundy’s contract at some point. Maybe next years trade period ready to play in 2023 for us.

Nah, I'd pass on that one. He's contracted until the end of 2027. He's already 27 now, at the start of 2023 he'll be 29, and he'll be 33 by the time that contract ends. Taking on a guy on $1m a year for the 30+ twilight years of his career would be madness. Especially ruckmen, who tend to take a pretty solid belting over the course of their career. I don't really want a guy hobbling around like Sauce's last couple of seasons but on $1m a year. And Grundy's form since signing that contract has been pretty average.

If Collingwood basically gave him to us for a 4th round pick or something and picked up half of that salary, it might be worth it. But otherwise, if we're splashing $1m a year around, we could get ourselves a pretty decent free agent midfielder, and just grab some average ruckman for nothing via the draft or as a FA.

 

[Golumless]

Nah, I'd pass on that one. He's contracted until the end of 2027. He's already 27 now, at the start of 2023 he'll be 29, and he'll be 33 by the time that contract ends. Taking on a guy on $1m a year for the 30+ twilight years of his career would be madness. Especially ruckmen, who tend to take a pretty solid belting over the course of their career. I don't really want a guy hobbling around like Sauce's last couple of seasons but on $1m a year. And Grundy's form since signing that contract has been pretty average.

If Collingwood basically gave him to us for a 4th round pick or something and picked up half of that salary, it might be worth it. But otherwise, if we're splashing $1m a year around, we could get ourselves a pretty decent free agent midfielder, and just grab some average ruckman for nothing via the draft or as a FA.

They might be needing to give us their first round pick as well to move Grundy on at that price on a couple of years.

I think it's very safe to say Grundy retires at Collingwood.

 

[Betts are off]

Ruck is a strange position in list management terms, most young rucks get dominated by seasoned AFL rucks until they develop and its pretty rare to get a young ruckman to be developed until their mid 20's. By then they are usually on their 2nd or even 3rd contracts.

So when they reach that level it seems to cause logjams on lists when the old guy is at the height his powers, but the young guy is also now ready. And that's when other teams come sniffing around for the young guy and can potentially pick up a bargain.

I can understand why list managers would prefer trying their luck cherry picking ready made rucks on the cheap rather then spending draft capital, list spots and time developing them. Its a risk, but its not like it doesn't pay off. I mean we've done it before with Sauce (who was stuck behind Kreuzer) and he was probably the 2nd best ruckman the clubs ever had

 

[DJ75]

I still reckon we take on Grundy’s contract at some point. Maybe next years trade period ready to play in 2023 for us.

If we do, it will be nothing more than a repeat of the Gibbs move. Picking up a bloke well past his best just because you wanted him previously.

 

[jackster83]

Plan A is to play ROB.

If he gets injured, plan B is to play him anyway.

We'll run him into the ground just as we did with Sauce.

 

[UcantCme]

Im not concerned

IMO ruckman are over rated and you got need an elite ruck to win a flag

Not to many of the current elite rucks have won premierships, many premiership sides are sides that don't have an elite ruckman

On SM-G973F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[MRB37]

The question would be do you think the best ruckman you could have gotten was in the MSD now, or can you find a better player in the next draft?

We've got ROB, then Strachan, Himmelberg and Frampton can play if forced, it's not an area of immediate need we need to fill. We need a ruck to develop, whether that came now or at the next draft is largely irrelevant.

We've shown a clear method with rucks. Have the A ruck (Sauce, ROB), experienced backup (Graham, Lowden, Frampton) and then 1 or 2 developing in the SANFL (ROB, Hunter, Strachan, all those basketball players we took).

So the next move we make is to go back to grabbing 1 or 2 developing rucks that can take a couple of years to get up to speed.

 

[Sanders]

We just re-signed our lead ruckman for five years last year.

We have multiple backups and a 200+cm first round draftee.

How many do you want? Besides the fact it's the least important position on the ground - if we want someone later, we'll just trade for them. Ruckmen move all the time.

exactly!

what a strange thing to worry about

 

[Sanders]

I still reckon we take on Grundy’s contract at some point. Maybe next years trade period ready to play in 2023 for us.

what will they give us to take that albatross on?

 

[Crowster01]

How woeful is Kieran Strachan, needs to be delisted End of the year to be honest. just need 1 solid back up Ruckman in my opinion, due to the prevalence of tall's we have in our side already.

 

[WetCrow1991]

Just get Dmac to Ruck. It is the perfect transition for him.

 

[1990crow]

ROB - uncompetitive at times this year. Looking to need someone to be able to compete with him.
Strachan. Delist.
Himmelburg. Forward / delist.
Frampton. Forward / delist.
Thilthorpe. Forward who can pinch hit in ruck and we wouldn't want to waste in ruck.
Lachlan Murphy? Maybe.

 

[RoweyThePainter]

Hickey and Witts two good recent examples of quality rucks that can be picked up.

 

[moogerfooger]

I still reckon we take on Grundy’s contract at some point. Maybe next years trade period ready to play in 2023 for us.

The beauty of that plan is he's only getting his current money because of our interest last time.

We'll take him now and you can pay half, thank you very much. Win/win.

 

[Ravenous Crow]

Trade in a journeyman who is in good form and don't give too long of a contract and that's about all you should be doing if you want to 'moneyball' the position. I think it was a significant screw up to sign O'Brien on a long term deal, I don't think you bother with that unless you have someone transformational at the position like Gawn or Nic Nat.

Even not great ruckmen can play into their 30s and often get better with age. Look at Tom Hickey starting to peak now at his fourth club.

 

[FR0GGY]

Hickey and Witts two good recent examples of quality rucks that can be picked up.

Not saying we shouldn’t do it but, 2/100, plenty have moved and not been anything.
It took Hickey 3 moves before he became anything.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

ROB is fine

It was revealed that we've moronically been playing him through a back injury which explains his form

If we dial the idiocy down to a 6 or 7 we'll have a decent ruckman for years

 

[Betts are off]

Hickey and Witts two good recent examples of quality rucks that can be picked up.

The list is much longer then that too. Stefan Martin, Lycett, Pittonet, Pruess, Ryder, Mumford, Sinclair, Nankervis, Sauce, Rhys Stanley, Stefan Martin again.

That's just off the top of my head

 

[Bazz_27]

The list is much longer then that too. Stefan Martin, Lycett, Pittonet, Pruess, Ryder, Mumford, Sinclair, Nankervis, Sauce, Rhys Stanley, Stefan Martin again.

That's just off the top of my head

At least one of the port rucks will be added to that list this season and probably CCJ or Chol at Tigers.