Player Watch Reilly O'Brien - Re-Signed to End of 2028

[LC40]

But Sauce thrives on continuity and huge workload plus there's no 'resting' clause in his contract.

That's what hurt us late last year. Sauce does thrive on it but our player management has to be smarter and not wear him out. They need to peel back his time on the field so instead of being buggered at seasons end he's raring to go. That can only happen by playing O'Brien.

 

[Vader]

That's what hurt us late last year. Sauce does thrive on it but our player management has to be smarter and not wear him out. They need to peel back his time on the field so instead of being buggered at seasons end he's raring to go. That can only happen by playing O'Brien.

The problem with Sauce, at the end of last season, did not appear to be fatigue. It appeared that he was still suffering from the ankle injury, which kept him out for 2 weeks (allowing ROB to make his debut). He probably should have been given more time off, allowing his ankle to recover properly. Instead, he was rushed straight back, and played poorly in every game thereafter.

I am, however, willing to concede that there may be a link between him being injured and him being fatigued - both in terms of him getting injured in the first place, and his inability to recover from the injury.

 

[GreyCrow]

Try telling Sam Jacobs he isn't playing.

 

[GreyCrow]

I would hope and expect better player management next year. Not only with Jacobs role but other positions. If we use 35 players next year then so be it.

 

[WetCrow1991]

I'm of the opinion that O'Brien should be playing instead of Sauce for two reasons:

Firstly, it would mean we can finally again play a good ruckman we have developed ourselves.

Secondly, Jacobs doesn't jump, for whatever reason and some of his lumbering about looks pretty lazy to me, either that or he just isn't athletic enough. Also I think he is on the decline.

 

[RippaRiley43]

I think he should play at any stage when Jacobs is not 100%, be it through form/injury, and perhaps even more often than that. 10+ games is what I'm hoping for. O'Brien showed some good signs last year, especially considering his age. We need to see if he is good enough to replace Jacobs long term and perhaps short-to-medium term if Jacobs plays like he did late last year.

The trouble is, as was shown during last year, we were far too scared to make changes to Pyke's best 22, favouring "continuity" over actually good form/uninjured players, so we didn't dare play O'Brien in that first final (which we would win easily) against North Melbourne after Jacobs' absolutely stinky performance against big gun Jonathan Giles and West Coast which deserved relegation to the SANFL. By the end of the year, Jacobs was absolutely cooked, and while it was likely due to injury, I don't think he should necessarily have a monopoly on the first selected ruck.

But for the reason I outlined above, I'm confident he will have a monopoly on the first ruck position and I am not confident we will play O'Brien enough, and so I think he might seek a trade if he doesn't get the opportunities he deserves, which would be a disaster for us if Jacobs goes down/plays like an absolute dinosaur as he did at stages last year. Otherwise there is only Hunter/maybe Himmelberg on the list as backup, and I don't particularly want us to recruit another Graham/Lowden spud.

 

[baldandbroke]

We need to start playing ROB, but I cannot see ROB and Jacobs in the same team.

Jacobs played better than I thought in a lot of games when I looked back at them after the season had finished but he never really dominated a game of note - he definitely feels like a player that might have the game pass him by pretty quickly.

Is ROB the answer? Might be - I guess we don't really know where the ruck position is heading ... the last few premiership teams seem to have done well with a player that can compete in the ruck and roll into another position.

I don't know, we might be underestimating how much Jacobs brings to the table in terms of clearances but until we try something new we will be stuck with and old-style ruckman and an old-style clearance game.

Will be an interesting one to watch unfold, as Pyke implements his game plan.

 

[MRB37]

The problem with Sauce, at the end of last season, did not appear to be fatigue. It appeared that he was still suffering from the ankle injury, which kept him out for 2 weeks (allowing ROB to make his debut). He probably should have been given more time off, allowing his ankle to recover properly. Instead, he was rushed straight back, and played poorly in every game thereafter.

I am, however, willing to concede that there may be a link between him being injured and him being fatigued - both in terms of him getting injured in the first place, and his inability to recover from the injury.

Usual issue last year. And wasn't it the Essendon game he hurt himself in? Which he shouldn't have been playing in anyway, that Essendon/Brisbane/Fremantle block was a perfect opportunity to debut ROB and rest Jacobs a bit. We didn't take the initiative in the first week and then it ruined the rest of Sauces year.

 

[WetCrow1991]

I think he should play at any stage when Jacobs is not 100%, be it through form/injury, and perhaps even more often than that. 10+ games is what I'm hoping for. O'Brien showed some good signs last year, especially considering his age. We need to see if he is good enough to replace Jacobs long term and perhaps short-to-medium term if Jacobs plays like he did late last year.

The trouble is, as was shown during last year, we were far too scared to make changes to Pyke's best 22, favouring "continuity" over actually good form/uninjured players, so we didn't dare play O'Brien in that first final (which we would win easily) against North Melbourne after Jacobs' absolutely stinky performance against big gun Jonathan Giles and West Coast which deserved relegation to the SANFL. By the end of the year, Jacobs was absolutely cooked, and while it was likely due to injury, I don't think he should necessarily have a monopoly on the first selected ruck.

But for the reason I outlined above, I'm confident he will have a monopoly on the first ruck position and I am not confident we will play O'Brien enough, and so I think he might seek a trade if he doesn't get the opportunities he deserves, which would be a disaster for us if Jacobs goes down/plays like an absolute dinosaur as he did at stages last year. Otherwise there is only Hunter/maybe Himmelberg on the list as backup, and I don't particularly want us to recruit another Graham/Lowden spud.

Spot on. It was a big issue nearing the end of the season when we had blokes that should have been rested, weren't and then couldn't compete. We fell in a heap in the 2nd Showdown, that was season over type stuff.

 

[cmndstab]

I'm of the opinion that O'Brien should be playing instead of Sauce for two reasons:

Firstly, it would mean we can finally again play a good ruckman we have developed ourselves.

Secondly, Jacobs doesn't jump, for whatever reason and some of his lumbering about looks pretty lazy to me, either that or he just isn't athletic enough. Also I think he is on the decline.

I don't know. I'm not sure the first point has any real merit at all, why does it matter who develops the ruckman? Also, I think that Jacobs is underrated in terms of his use around the ground. Doesn't chase much obvious, but he's very handy at being a linkman in play and I think he's very reliable at finding a simple 30m option and executing the kick. Better than most big men, anyway.

 

[baldandbroke]

I don't know. I'm not sure the first point has any real merit at all, why does it matter who develops the ruckman? Also, I think that Jacobs is underrated in terms of his use around the ground. Doesn't chase much obvious, but he's very handy at being a linkman in play and I think he's very reliable at finding a simple 30m option and executing the kick. Better than most big men, anyway.

I think other teams rate him, and we take him a bit for granted. He doesn't dominate many games - but doesn't get towelled up very often either.

 

[Vhaluus]

I think other teams rate him, and we take him a bit for granted. He doesn't dominate many games - but doesn't get towelled up very often either.

He doesn't get towelled up in the ruck that often, but that's because he's fairly good at playing a negating ruckman nowdays.

But where he does tend to get destroyed is around the ground and particularly in front of goal.

 

[Bicks]

I'd prefer Hunter to develop into our number 1 ruck. ROB looks like a Sauce clone, which would be perfect 10 years in the past but the game is changing.

I disagree , ROB has something neither Sauce or Hunter have near enough of...aggression and physicality, and his follow up work is already better than Sauce IMO. He's an absolute keeper.

 

[baldandbroke]

He doesn't get towelled up in the ruck that often, but that's because he's fairly good at playing a negating ruckman nowdays.

But where he does tend to get destroyed is around the ground and particularly in front of goal.

Disagree there, he is pretty good around the ground imo.

 

[baldandbroke]

I disagree , ROB has something neither Sauce or Hunter have near enough of...aggression and physicality, and his follow up work is already better than Sauce IMO. He's an absolute keeper.

I haven't seen enough of him tbh, but what I have seen he does look to have an aggressive attack on the man and the ball. I'd want to see him against a ruckman like Mumford or Gawn to get a real idea of his potential ... but agree that he looks like a keeper. His attitude also looks first rate, the way he handled his time in the AFL team was classy.

 

[spenze]

Not sure people who think Rob is a Sauce clone have watched enough of Rob. Guy runs hard, very hard, no lope to his step at all and with his size, he'll break mids tackles if he gets to a fourth step.

On topic, I would like to see us make the most of ROB this year. If they are going to persist with playing Sauce on the ground for 90% of the time then they need to give him extended breaks during the year. Ideally a 3 and four week block off in the year should have him in good stead come finals time. On both of those breaks, play Sauce, the week before coming back in the SANFL and manage his game time, so he has a hit out under his belt but is fresh.

We are in a lucky position to have two bloody good rucks in the team, we should be smart and make the most of it.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Last year proved that one ruckman can't last the season playing every available game. Jenkins only gives a handful of minutes a game. It's basically Jacobs solo.

We can't be stupid enough to do this again.

Also rushing Jacobs back after his ankle injury was even dumber than not strategically resting him at stages.

Couldn't have possibly managed our ruck situation worse than we did last season - ran Sauce into the ground and had him flat at the most crucial time of the year, and invested next to no experience into ROB.

Complete disaster and can't happen again.

 

[Ramify]

I'm not a fan of the 'one' ruck man set up. Call me old fashion but 2 genuine ruck men (Jenkins is a forward in this case) gives the team a whole different look and balance.
Last year if Sauce was getting beaten, that was it. Goldstein took him apart in one game and we couldn't change our set up. Throwing O'Brien at him as an alternative would have changed things up and the dual threat of jumping into Goldstein gives him no peace for the whole duration of the game.

This tactic of allowing Sauce to ruck 80% of the games was fine to a point but it wore him down by seasons end.
That final game against Sydney was his worst. The bloke could hardly jump was ineffectual and in reality a liability in that game. (Jenkins couldn't help because he was on one leg ...another bad selection.)

The coaching staff must take a lot of blame for player management last year.
Jacobs needed resting and freshening up throughout the season but we didn't put time into a legitimate second ruck.
Every game in the run home was a mini final and we didn't have enough guts to trust a young O'Brien to share the load. By simply sharing the ruck load and playing both, we would have had the flexibility to cover a bad performance or an injury.
Jenkins, Sauce and O'Brien can rotate off the bench and cover each other for short bursts.

There is always this argument trotted out that an extra ruck man means we have one less quick on the bench to rotate. It's not where the game is heading. So what!
Stop playing Thommo and our leg speed improves immediately.
Trends are just that, they're not set in concrete or law. A dual ruck threat may work for us!

I really believe last years failure can be put down more to poor selection and gutless list management than available talent.

To answer the initial question...Rein in Jacob's time on the field whether he likes it or not and select O'Brien in the same team.
He is our future ruck man, play him now, get games into him and by seasons end we will have legitimate and multiple options going into the finals.

Bloody good post mate.

 

[Ramify]

ROB can mark and spoil so miles ahead of Sauce in some areas already. Has real strength unlike "big mid" as well.

Sauce needs to get back to his best or he is in real trouble.

Can also pick a ball up off of the ground as he showed at least 4-5 times in that one game.
Compare to the 4-5 times Sauce did in that one year.

Ive said it before, but I feel for Old Red as I think he has been hopelessly mismanaged over the course,and fear this will cost him at least 2-3 years of his career.

Geez our midfield strategy has been crap for so long now.

 

[Ramify]

Complete disaster and can't happen again.

Lol. Bet you it can.

 

[Shaz2012]

I'm not a fan of the 'one' ruck man set up. Call me old fashion but 2 genuine ruck men (Jenkins is a forward in this case) gives the team a whole different look and balance.
Last year if Sauce was getting beaten, that was it. Goldstein took him apart in one game and we couldn't change our set up. Throwing O'Brien at him as an alternative would have changed things up and the dual threat of jumping into Goldstein gives him no peace for the whole duration of the game.

This tactic of allowing Sauce to ruck 80% of the games was fine to a point but it wore him down by seasons end.
That final game against Sydney was his worst. The bloke could hardly jump was ineffectual and in reality a liability in that game. (Jenkins couldn't help because he was on one leg ...another bad selection.)

The coaching staff must take a lot of blame for player management last year.
Jacobs needed resting and freshening up throughout the season but we didn't put time into a legitimate second ruck.
Every game in the run home was a mini final and we didn't have enough guts to trust a young O'Brien to share the load. By simply sharing the ruck load and playing both, we would have had the flexibility to cover a bad performance or an injury.
Jenkins, Sauce and O'Brien can rotate off the bench and cover each other for short bursts.

There is always this argument trotted out that an extra ruck man means we have one less quick on the bench to rotate. It's not where the game is heading. So what!
Stop playing Thommo and our leg speed improves immediately.
Trends are just that, they're not set in concrete or law. A dual ruck threat may work for us!

I really believe last years failure can be put down more to poor selection and gutless list management than available talent.

To answer the initial question...Rein in Jacob's time on the field whether he likes it or not and select O'Brien in the same team.
He is our future ruck man, play him now, get games into him and by seasons end we will have legitimate and multiple options going into the finals.

Love your statement about player management (edit). Dont know if we would have won a flag, but it would have made a massive difference if we played that swans game with 22 in form and fit players.

Dont agree with you on the 2 rucks rotating off the bench plus JJ up forward though. The bench is vital to modern footy tactics which is why they keep changing the rules - sub rule, max rotations, etc. We would be limiting ourselves too much. If that was an option it would be in use by at least one other AFL club already. I think you are spot on about JJ though. If that extra tall forward is not 100% fit, then we should not play him. It would be better to play ROB as a forward pocket and rotate him and sauce there, perhap 60-40. But if JJ is fit, then it has to be either sauce or ROB. Thats my opinion anyway.

 

[cmndstab]

Last year proved that one ruckman can't last the season playing every available game. Jenkins only gives a handful of minutes a game. It's basically Jacobs solo.

We can't be stupid enough to do this again.

Also rushing Jacobs back after his ankle injury was even dumber than not strategically resting him at stages.

Couldn't have possibly managed our ruck situation worse than we did last season - ran Sauce into the ground and had him flat at the most crucial time of the year, and invested next to no experience into ROB.

Complete disaster and can't happen again.

It's not like this year was the first time we've gone with that setup.

 

[MRB37]

I would hope and expect better player management next year. Not only with Jacobs role but other positions. If we use 35 players next year then so be it.

Could be interesting to see how having our head of football coming from a fitness background impacts that sort of decision making now.

 

[MRB37]

Last year proved that one ruckman can't last the season playing every available game. Jenkins only gives a handful of minutes a game. It's basically Jacobs solo.

We can't be stupid enough to do this again.

Also rushing Jacobs back after his ankle injury was even dumber than not strategically resting him at stages.

Couldn't have possibly managed our ruck situation worse than we did last season - ran Sauce into the ground and had him flat at the most crucial time of the year, and invested next to no experience into ROB.

Complete disaster and can't happen again.

Not only that, he's been doing it for 4 straight years now. Both Stefan Martin and Todd Goldstein had slight dropoffs this year as well for the same reason. All that work eventually takes it's toll.

Makes you wonder how long Max Gawn can keep up his huge output and if he'll suffer the same fate in a year or two.

 

[Sanders]

Jacobs is a clear #1 ruckman at the Adelaide Crows. He's currently 28, turning 29 in April. He probably has at least 3 years left on the clock.

When did you last watch one of our games???

At least 3 years!

Sauce needs a big 2017 to show the game hasn't moved past him