Though champion midfielders and other running types are essential ingredients to a successful team, most teams live and die by their KPPs and ruckmen. These tall guys are who you build your team around, and the quality of your rucks and spine will dictate how you go in clearances as well as your ability to go down the corridor knowing you have strong guys there to provide targets or be the defensive rock.
I've taken a look at our KPPs and ruckmen, and it seems like we're in very good shape. Though we have a couple of blokes who are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, I'm confident there's plenty of success this group of players will to bring to the club in future years.
I've listed such players at our club, ranked by their age. Stats are as of end of Round 20, 2007.
At the top, Bradshaw, Brown and Charman are bona fide stars, while Beau McDonald is a two time premiership player.
Then the next group of 22-23 year olds is interesting: Roe, Brennan, Patfull and Merrett. All four of them this year have put in some outstanding performances, and I'm confident they'll all go on to be regular AFL players for some years to come.
Then immediately below in the 18-20 year old bracket we have the majority of our KPPs and ruckmen. Some have shown exciting glimpses but all of them have heaps of upside. History though shows that not everybody will be able to realise their potential due to a variety of reasons.
In recent years, I think we've drafted tall players fairly well, with Spaanderman the only one who isn't with us any more.
The pleasing thing about our tall timber is that they're mostly at their prime or entering their prime (Bradshaw, Brown, Charman, Roe, Brennan, Patfull, Merrett - solid group there!), while our 18-20 year olds could be anything. It's exciting to think that while our spine is already pretty strong, they could get so much better in a few years.
Exciting times ahead!
I've taken a look at our KPPs and ruckmen, and it seems like we're in very good shape. Though we have a couple of blokes who are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, I'm confident there's plenty of success this group of players will to bring to the club in future years.
I've listed such players at our club, ranked by their age. Stats are as of end of Round 20, 2007.
Code:
Name Age Games Draft Pick
Daniel Bradshaw 28 181 1995 56
Beau McDonald 27 91 1997 73
Jonathan Brown 25 137 1999 30 (F/S)
Jamie Charman 25 105 2000 29
Jason Roe 23 30 Rookie
Jared Brennan 23 57 2002 3
Joel Patfull 22 35 2005 56
Daniel Merrett 22 44 2002 30
Scott Clouston 20 0 Rookie
Cameron Wood 20 14 2004 18
Pat Garner 20 0 2004 27
Wayde Mills 19 14 2005 25
Mitchell Clark 19 9 2005 9
Matt Tyler 19 0 2006 54
Matthew Leuenberger 19 7 2006 4
Joel Tippett 18 0 RookieThen the next group of 22-23 year olds is interesting: Roe, Brennan, Patfull and Merrett. All four of them this year have put in some outstanding performances, and I'm confident they'll all go on to be regular AFL players for some years to come.
Then immediately below in the 18-20 year old bracket we have the majority of our KPPs and ruckmen. Some have shown exciting glimpses but all of them have heaps of upside. History though shows that not everybody will be able to realise their potential due to a variety of reasons.
In recent years, I think we've drafted tall players fairly well, with Spaanderman the only one who isn't with us any more.
The pleasing thing about our tall timber is that they're mostly at their prime or entering their prime (Bradshaw, Brown, Charman, Roe, Brennan, Patfull, Merrett - solid group there!), while our 18-20 year olds could be anything. It's exciting to think that while our spine is already pretty strong, they could get so much better in a few years.
Exciting times ahead!
