Opinion Kreuz - A new dawn or dusk fast approaching?

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BlueJet

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That first 12-18 months back are the biggest hurdle, by far, and he has barely put a foot wrong. Forced to share game time, and his footy suffered, but by the end of the year he was improving in the very things you're asking for from him.

Might even go so far as to say his contested marking was career best form.

And again, with Phillips, he's had hamstring problems for years, and he's clearly lost a significant amount of pace because of it.

I mean he pinged his hamstring launching a long kick for a goal FFS. It's not like this the 90s and he's a bit lazy on his conditioning; he's clearly very lean and prepares well, so it's safe to say his hamstrings are royally stuffed.

He loses virtually every foot race he's in while with us, regularly sidestepped, and he can't get to enough contests through the middle of the ground. Not even reliable when you kick it on his head in the forward line. The way some of you rave about his efforts up forward seems akin to watching starving people enjoy a mouldy cracker: they're just happy to eat for once.
So in short, our ruckmen have the same shortcomings..
Hopefully we recruit another.

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gbatman

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He had an alright season this year, he was 27, he'll be 28, this is usually when ruckman peak which I think Kreuzer probably has. He's not a star but he's a good honest ruckman. Can't see him playing much past 30 although we are looking to look after him more with rotations but patience will be tested as this IMO doesn't work well.

The ruck situation is going to be interesting. Phillips is a lot like Kreuzer in that he's an ok ruckman but not much of a forward. The both don't fit in our side. Casboult isn't a great forward but he's a pretty good ruckman and should be used as such but needs to get fitter. McKay will probably become a forward who goes into the ruck.

Our team could do with an athletic ruckman who can play footy, read the play and take a grab. It's not real high priority right now but it should be on the cards. None of our ruckmen are stars and they don't have to be. I think it's more important to have a gun second ruck who goes forward than a gun first ruck really.
 
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If this conversation was taking place pre-knee injury, I'd say without fear of failure that we would be expecting a massive upswing in performance & dominance.

Sadly, that knee-injury has set him back a long way and I just can't see him doing any more than what we saw last season and nor can I see him being around for very long in the future.
 

Deep Blue

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He had an alright season this year, he was 27, he'll be 28, this is usually when ruckman peak which I think Kreuzer probably has. He's not a star but he's a good honest ruckman. Can't see him playing much past 30 although we are looking to look after him more with rotations but patience will be tested as this IMO doesn't work well.

The ruck situation is going to be interesting. Phillips is a lot like Kreuzer in that he's an ok ruckman but not much of a forward. The both don't fit in our side. Casboult isn't a great forward but he's a pretty good ruckman and should be used as such but needs to get fitter. McKay will probably become a forward who goes into the ruck.

Our team could do with an athletic ruckman who can play footy, read the play and take a grab. It's not real high priority right now but it should be on the cards. None of our ruckmen are stars and they don't have to be. I think it's more important to have a gun second ruck who goes forward than a gun first ruck really.

That's it in a nutshell - at the moment it's a little bit of this, not enough of that and altogether not really good enough! Defence starting to look good as a unit, future forward set-up is moving in the right direction, midfield is quality but needs significant bolstering (will happen over next two years); ruck needs sorting and will be last cab off the rank - I suspect Kreuz and Phillips in one form or another will largely hold the fort for the next 2-3 years (as many have said - teams have performed well with a mediocre ruck division). Hopefully within that time-frame though Korcheck comes along and/or we can find a durable, athletic ruckman who can take marks around the ground and kick goals like Dean Cox?:D I still think there is a place for a good ruckman - had a look a little while ago at ruckmen of the past and was astounded how many marks Gary Dempsey used to take!!!
 
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gbatman

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That's it in a nutshell - at the moment it's a little bit of this, not enough of that and altogether not really good enough! Defence starting to look good as a unit, future forward set-up is moving in the right direction, midfield is quality but needs significant bolstering (will happen over next two years); ruck needs sorting and will be last cab off the rank - I suspect Kreuz and Phillips in one form or another will largely hold the fort for the next 2-3 years (as many have said - teams have performed well with a mediocre ruck division). Hopefully within that time-frame though Korcheck comes along and/or we can find a durable, athletic ruckman who can take marks around the ground and kick goals like Dean Cox?:D I still think there is a place for a good ruckman - had a look a little while ago at ruckmen of the past and was astounded how many marks Gary Dempsey used to take!!!

I think if you have a ruckman who can can really get their hands on the ball in the ruck and can be neat around the ground you're doing well enough. I think it's really important to have a good forward/ruck in your team. If your ruckman can do extra like mark around the ground and kick a few goals that's also a massive advantage but that's hard to find. I think to be a good side, one of the players who goes into the ruck has to also be able to kick goals. We've really lacked this for a very long time.
 

johnsy14

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I think if you have a ruckman who can can really get their hands on the ball in the ruck and can be neat around the ground you're doing well enough. I think it's really important to have a good forward/ruck in your team. If your ruckman can do extra like mark around the ground and kick a few goals that's also a massive advantage but that's hard to find. I think to be a good side, one of the players who goes into the ruck has to also be able to kick goals. We've really lacked this for a very long time.
Since Cain Ackland? Or Barnaby French?
 

gbatman

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Well Madden kick 20+ goals three of times. Casboult kicked 24 goals in 2015 in what was his best season which is what we need and need regularly. You need one of your rucks kicking just over a goal a game. Most teams that have won the flag recently have had a guy who goes into the ruck and kicks 20-30 goals per season or in this years case had a guy who played at that level. Our hope is that that player is McKay. Casboult should be playing that role but for what ever reason we didn't ruck him last year and he only kicked 18 goals as a permanent forward.
 
Kreuzer is going to have a career year. Am very confident in this. The continuity that he got in 2016 will benefit him tremendously.
 

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Tambourine

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I think Phillips is better up forward than kreuzer, can clunk a mark more often and is a good kick at goal. They're equal in rucking ability imo. Kreuzer has him on pressure efforts and second efforts (just from my observations), although phillips is no slouch.

I still think we should cash in on kreuzer and put him up for trade. If we keep cas, we have him, phillips, McKay and korcheck as rucking options. We could get a top 20 pick and pick up a quality mid, which is vital to life after gibbs and murphy.
 

Jesse Deluxe

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He was cooked years a go. Might of got a second rounder for him if we let him go. Now just a plodder that tries his hardest. Not sure if injuries ruined him or the fact that he's just a good ordinary player.

Rucks average
Marks average
Kicks average
Forward work below average
Athleticism average
Effort excellent
Loved by fans

No. 1 pick???

Natanui didn't even go 1, yet done more dynamic things in one game than kruz in 200.

Hope he comes good till McKay is ready to be a real ruck/forward.
 

teagueyubeauty

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will be interesting how kruez goes should the league ban the third man up. Should they make the change I would think it will help him.

I've never heard of a more stupid rule change than that, which makes it likely the AFL will do it whilst at the same time trying to tell us there are too many stoppages and we need to open the game up more.
 

teagueyubeauty

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He was cooked years a go. Might of got a second rounder for him if we let him go. Now just a plodder that tries his hardest. Not sure if injuries ruined him or the fact that he's just a good ordinary player.

Rucks average
Marks average
Kicks average
Forward work below average
Athleticism average
Effort excellent
Loved by fans

No. 1 pick???

Natanui didn't even go 1, yet done more dynamic things in one game than kruz in 200.

Hope he comes good till McKay is ready to be a real ruck/forward.

Agree with most except injuries have ruined him, he's no better now than when he was 19-21 but at least back then he had a high ceiling of improvement through age and inexperience.
 

Soapy V

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It's a long shot but I'm hoping Gorringe steps up and can play Ruck. It's his best role and can also go forward. No doubt about his athleticism and as a junior looked a star. If he can play to his ability he could be our Blicavs.
 

bigm386

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I feel like Kruze gives us a heap as an extra midfielder. Great second efforts, tackles etc.

My one thought throughout the year is he seemed the struggle at the centre bounce. maybe lost a bit of his leap?
 

harrisendblue

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I think Phillips is better up forward than kreuzer, can clunk a mark more often and is a good kick at goal. They're equal in rucking ability imo. Kreuzer has him on pressure efforts and second efforts (just from my observations), although phillips is no slouch.

I still think we should cash in on kreuzer and put him up for trade. If we keep cas, we have him, phillips, McKay and korcheck as rucking options. We could get a top 20 pick and pick up a quality mid, which is vital to life after gibbs and murphy.

Unless kruez has a breakout 2017 then I think unfortunately there is zero chance of getting a top 20 pick.

We may have to keep him for another year or two until either big Harry comes on or phillips improves dramatically.
 

navybluesince75

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Kreuzer, effort A+, commitment can never be questioned but in my opinion was always just undersized for a ruckman and then did a knee and lost a little spring and timing on his marking, given the size and athleticism of players on the way up I fear for kreuz but he will fight and scrap and give it his all and that will be enough until we can find or develop a better option.
 

Nori

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I don't think Kreuz needs to do any more than what he has been doing except hold his marks. If he was taking 4-6 contested marks each game (mostly forward of centre) he would be one of the best rucks in the game. Ground efforts are never in question. His deft taps and knock-ons to players during general play don't register as stats but they often setup play.

I think his use in tandem with Phillips is a good strategy. They are different players and that makes them harder to match up on.
 

Azul

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It's a long shot but I'm hoping Gorringe steps up and can play Ruck. It's his best role and can also go forward. No doubt about his athleticism and as a junior looked a star. If he can play to his ability he could be our Blicavs.
Worth a punt and if I can play the age card, he's younger than Kreuzer, Phillips, Jones, Rowe, Casboult and Korcheck.

Indications are he'll be lucky to get a new contract but if we're looking for a utility big man to bridge the generational divide between Glass-McCasker and McKay then let's see how this plays out.
 
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I don't think Kreuz needs to do any more than what he has been doing except hold his marks. If he was taking 4-6 contested marks each game (mostly forward of centre) he would be one of the best rucks in the game. Ground efforts are never in question. His deft taps and knock-ons to players during general play don't register as stats but they often setup play.

I think his use in tandem with Phillips is a good strategy. They are different players and that makes them harder to match up on.
If he took that many contested marks a game, he'd also be the greatest mark of all time statistically.
 

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