Player Watch Lachlan McAndrew - Re-Signed to End of 2027

[1970crow]

The best proof is playing McAndrew in an actual game.

There is no reason why we couldn't have managed ROB for a game this season.

ROB thrives on continuity and huge workload.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Why?

It's obvious we are targeting a lead ruck to replace ROB and ROB is our fall back option in that scenario.

McAndrew wouldn't need to do much if called upon to do better than Strachan IMO.

What we really need to do is put time into developing a 18 -19 year old ruck and who knows we might develop a Rowan Marshall, Sam Jacobs or Lloyd Meek off the rookie list

Yeah, why would we bother giving a player a game at AFL level to see how they go before giving them a 2 year extension...

Seems some are more concerned whether he is ok as SANFL level than being able to play AFL if needed.

 

[AFC979810]

Yeah, why would we bother giving a player a game at AFL level to see how they go before giving them a 2 year extension...

I hope you never hear of the AFL draft.

 

[Vader]

Yeah, why would we bother giving a player a game at AFL level to see how they go before giving them a 2 year extension...

Seems some are more concerned whether he is ok as SANFL level than being able to play AFL if needed.

That's what his job entails... He's not being employed to play AFL football.

Besides, as Mutineer has already pointed out - they see a lot of him competing against ROB & Strachan at training. They have a very good idea of his capabilities, without having to gift him any AFL games.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

I hope you never hear of the AFL draft.

Yeah, because the situations are the same... not!

We gave Strachan a long extension before we tried him out properly... so why would we bother learning from our mistakes.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

That's what his job entails... He's not being employed to play AFL football.

Besides, as Mutineer has already pointed out - they see a lot of him competing against ROB & Strachan at training. They have a very good idea of his capabilities, without having to gift him any AFL games.

They thought the same with Strachan!

You really don't know if a player can make it an AFL level until you give them a go.

Burgess dominates lower levels but is not AFL standard. Some players can't go up another level.

 

[Vader]

They thought the same with Strachan!

You really don't know if a player can make it an AFL level until you give them a go.

Burgess dominates lower levels but is not AFL standard. Some players can't go up another level.

Nobody is expecting him to play at the next level. He's the minimum salary break-glass-in-emergency backup. That's it. His job is to play SANFL, and to be there in case something happens to ROB - but knowing there is 0% chance of him playing while ROB remains fit.

Also, I didn't say that dominating at lower levels means someone is AFL standard. I said that they know his standard from watching him compete against ROB & Strachan at training - i.e. against other players at AFL level, not the SANFL level rucks.

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Nobody is expecting him to play at the next level. He's the minimum salary break-glass-in-emergency backup. That's it. His job is to play SANFL, and to be there in case something happens to ROB - but knowing there is 0% chance of him playing while ROB remains fit.

Also, I didn't say that dominating at lower levels means someone is AFL standard. I said that they know his standard from watching him compete against ROB & Strachan at training - i.e. against other players at AFL level, not the SANFL level rucks.

So you reckon we have signed McAndrew to not play at AFL level?

Seriously?

No way ROB plays 100% games going forward.

 

[Mutineer]

So you reckon we have signed McAndrew to not play at AFL level?

Seriously?

No way ROB plays 100% games going forward.

Of course we haven't given him a 2 year deal just to play SANFL, but all things point to him being our number two option to whoever is our lead ruck currently.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Davis mentioned today that McAndrew's performances have brought the best out of ROB.

ROB has had a far better season, particularly of late... so may have a point now that he has decent competition... though should be self-motivated & never get comfortable.

Wouldn't want McAndrew to tweak a hamstring or something

 

[Kane McGoodwin]

Of course we haven't given him a 2 year deal just to play SANFL, but all things point to him being our number two option to whoever is our lead ruck currently.

You better let Vader know then... ie. The post i was replying to. Care to comment on it?

 

[Vader]

So you reckon we have signed McAndrew to not play at AFL level?

Seriously?

No way ROB plays 100% games going forward.

Pretty much. Same as Lowden, Strachan & Graham before him.

 

[Danger in Texas]

I’m usually not the biggest fan of depth players getting two year deals, but I don’t understand the criticism here at all?

Been performing well at SANFL level, has great measurements, probably still has some development in him given his young age for a ruck, and by all reports has taken it up to ROB at training

Are we really going to get anyone better for that depth role?

 

[Golumless]

But when we’re talking about a depth player why not offer the one year for flexibility sake? Unproven ruck depth are the exact type of player that should be signed year-by-year.

We were just as satisfied with Strachan as depth at the time of his renewal, and the extra year proved unnecessary. I rate McAndrew higher than Strachan but the same principle stands.

The extra year proved unnecessary only due to a long-term injury. There are mechanisms to replace a player if that happens.

Ultimately, all you want here is a warm body who isn't going to embarrass themselves when they're required in the AFL, is willing to accept that they're not going to get a game even if they're tearing up the SANFL, is willing to be a positive presence around the club, and is willing to be here on the minimum salary. If we're confident McAndrews is that guy, that additional flexibility isn't worth anything. There are mechanisms (post-draft signing period, MSD) to cover the biggest risk in these kind of contracts.

 

[1970crow]

The extra year proved unnecessary only due to a long-term injury. There are mechanisms to replace a player if that happens.

Ultimately, all you want here is a warm body who isn't going to embarrass themselves when they're required in the AFL, is willing to accept that they're not going to get a game even if they're tearing up the SANFL, is willing to be a positive presence around the club, and is willing to be here on the minimum salary. If we're confident McAndrews is that guy, that additional flexibility isn't worth anything. There are mechanisms (post-draft signing period, MSD) to cover the biggest risk in these kind of contracts.

Our issue isn’t with the low cost backup role, it’s that we don’t also have a potential higher end ruck developing as well.

 

[FR0GGY]

Well he did better than Strachan vs Nankervis who managed 13 hit outs to Nankervis's 43 last year when he played the lead ruck for the Swans in 2023 against Todd Goldstein. Goldstein 45 hit outs vs McAndrew 20.

That’s a weird way to make a point given you could have compared Strachans own game against goldy.
Strachan did better than McAndrew against Goldstein, in 2022, 34 hit outs and 18 disposals to Strachan, 41 and 12 from Goldy.

 

[Eddie Murphy]

The extra year proved unnecessary only due to a long-term injury. There are mechanisms to replace a player if that happens.

Ultimately, all you want here is a warm body who isn't going to embarrass themselves when they're required in the AFL, is willing to accept that they're not going to get a game even if they're tearing up the SANFL, is willing to be a positive presence around the club, and is willing to be here on the minimum salary. If we're confident McAndrews is that guy, that additional flexibility isn't worth anything. There are mechanisms (post-draft signing period, MSD) to cover the biggest risk in these kind of contracts.

If this low cost backup role can be extended year-by-year then they should. Strachan is one example of an unnecessary multi-year deal. In isolation it’s not a huge deal but the issue is we’ve seen it happen several times and when they stack up, it can bite us. We ultimately saw this last year, when list spots were tight and we were unable to recruit a developing ruck or pick up anyone else we liked in an incredibly deep draft pool.

 

[Samcro24]

Change thread title to Lachy M extended for 2

 

[cmndstab]

Change thread title to Lachy M extended for 2

You monster!

 

[Samcro24]

You monster!

 

[Golumless]

Our issue isn’t with the low cost backup role, it’s that we don’t also have a potential higher end ruck developing as well.

Whilst an issue it's irrelevant in regards to McAndrew. Even if we drafted an 18 year old today, it's going to be 2-3 years before they're ready to be a 2nd ruck.

If this low cost backup role can be extended year-by-year then they should. Strachan is one example of an unnecessary multi-year deal. In isolation it’s not a huge deal but the issue is we’ve seen it happen several times and when they stack up, it can bite us. We ultimately saw this last year, when list spots were tight and we were unable to recruit a developing ruck or pick up anyone else we liked in an incredibly deep draft pool.

That was not the fault of Strachans contract. Ultimately, if we wanted to be in that draft, or to pick up a developing ruck, we would have positioned ourselves to do that. It's not like we didn't have 12 players out of contract in June 2024 (7 of which, we retained).

Ultimately, we haven't picked up a developing ruck because we do not rate the idea of developing rucks. We've had ample opportunity at this point (after all, there are eight drafts and what 40+ opprtunities since we drafted ROB), so clearly this is Reid's ethos at play.

Even our list management last year gave the indication that we weren't that crash hot on the 2024 draft. Had we wanted to be apart of it in the second-third round, we would have delisted someone like Cook, Smith, Berry etc (instead of renewing) or found a way to move someone else to the rookie list. There was also nothing stopping us from turning down Tyler Welsh in the main draft. Ultimately we chose our list (+ multiple trade ins) over a 2nd/3rd round pick. We'll see if that was the right choice when Tex retires (seeing it was a draft packed full of talls).

 

[Eddie Murphy]

Whilst an issue it's irrelevant in regards to McAndrew. Even if we drafted an 18 year old today, it's going to be 2-3 years before they're ready to be a 2nd ruck.



That was not the fault of Strachans contract. Ultimately, if we wanted to be in that draft, or to pick up a developing ruck, we would have positioned ourselves to do that. It's not like we didn't have 12 players out of contract in June 2024 (7 of which, we retained).

Ultimately, we haven't picked up a developing ruck because we do not rate the idea of developing rucks. We've had ample opportunity at this point (after all, there are eight drafts and what 40+ opprtunities since we drafted ROB), so clearly this is Reid's ethos at play.

Even our list management last year gave the indication that we weren't that crash hot on the 2024 draft. Had we wanted to be apart of it in the second-third round, we would have delisted someone like Cook, Smith, Berry etc (instead of renewing) or found a way to move someone else to the rookie list. There was also nothing stopping us from turning down Tyler Welsh in the main draft. Ultimately we chose our list (+ multiple trade ins) over a 2nd/3rd round pick. We'll see if that was the right choice when Tex retires (seeing it was a draft packed full of talls).

The issue is this “warm body” backup ruck is a position we can, and actually have, upgraded. By virtue of most viewing McAndrew as an upgrade over Strachan, it highlights why his extra year was unnecessary. McAndrew fell in our lap due to very unlikely circumstances that could have been completely avoided had we signed Strachan year-by-year.

If we had not rated the 2024 draft crop we’d probably be the only club in the league to do so and it’d be a strange take. But even in that scenario, why not Cook and Borlase for the single year? In isolation, signing a depth player like McAndrew for two years isn’t bad, but when it’s a trend (Schoenberg, Strachan, Cook, Borlase come to mind) it becomes a concern.

We also could not have delisted Smith as we lost all autonomy over a 33 year old’s contract when we gave him a trigger. A different scenario but shares the same sentiment of being too easy with contract lengths.

 

[MF]

How's he been going in the SANFL? Anything to suggest he could become number one ruck in the future?

Was a little disappointed when we let him go as I worried he'd become another Nankervis/Cameron story at another team.

 

[Scorpus]

How's he been going in the SANFL? Anything to suggest he could become number one ruck in the future?

Was a little disappointed when we let him go as I worried he'd become another Nankervis/Cameron story at another team.

Currently injured with a broken face

Has been performing very well in the SANFL prior to that, but given O'Brien's AFL form he'll remain a first choice backup for a while