Robbie Warnock

[Jeremias]

It's very interesting. I must be seeing things a little differently to most on here.

I actually think Warnock has been excellent thus far this season. OK he's had a few brain-fades here and there but overwhelmingly the football he has produced has been excellent.

We know he's been a beast in the ruck for a while and that hasn't changed. What has changed, and it is a huge improvement, is a willingness to involve himself more in the contest.

He'll never be enormously active around the ground but he has been far more involved in the play this year than I can ever remember previously. He's not just a complete witches hat once the ruck duel has been won or lost. He's hunting the ball, getting on his knees, tackling and trying to get the ball out to the midfielders.

Clearly his work outside the ruck contest is still a major weakness and we can't expect miracles from him but the small improvements made have been very noticeable to me and he should be commended for it.

 

[Malifice]

He doesn't even have to be that good each and every week, what i want to see is that obvious raise in intensity that just wasn't there the first 4 weeks. He clearly has it in him, he only just chose to employ it last week.

Statistically he didnt have more disposals than any other week this year.

It was his constant second efforts and follow up work that I noticed. He imposed himself on the contest after tapping the ball, put in blocks and shepherds, and got involved in the packs instead of just sitting back and ball watching like he's done in other matches this year. He also ran harder all day.

Needs to keep that desire going forward because we cant afford to field a side of 17 blokes on the park.

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

It's very interesting. I must be seeing things a little differently to most on here.

I actually think Warnock has been excellent thus far this season. OK he's had a few brain-fades here and there but overwhelmingly the football he has produced has been excellent.

We know he's been a beast in the ruck for a while and that hasn't changed. What has changed, and it is a huge improvement, is a willingness to involve himself more in the contest.

He'll never be enormously active around the ground but he has been far more involved in the play this year than I can ever remember previously. He's not just a complete witches hat once the ruck duel has been won or lost. He's hunting the ball, getting on his knees, tackling and trying to get the ball out to the midfielders.

Clearly his work outside the ruck contest is still a major weakness and we can't expect miracles from him but the small improvements made have been very noticeable to me and he should be commended for it.

I agree with everything you've said here! You're much better at articulating what I'm trying to say.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

As with the whole team, it's all about sacrifice, willingness to do a bit of unrewarded running, the blocking and the tackling. In the second quarter Robbie got space running out of our defensive 50 throught the corridor (he doesn't get in there a lot) and he was used. Eventually it ended up in an Everitt shot for goal. He positioned himself well when Waite gathered at half back and kicked it to Robbie, with the smaller runners streaming past him. That ended up in the Gibbs goal from 50.

A big guy has to be a rock solid link man so players can do the 1-2 and gain space on their opponent. Too often Carlton has had flat footed little guys having to dish off to the uncoordinated big guy who has come in to support. Know your role, know your limitations. All Warnock has to do is watch the play, get himself into a logical bit of space on the ground, and find his runners. I've given up hope he is ever going to be dragging down pack marks, but he'll be a vital part of the side if he keeps working without the ball. If he presents as an option, someone from the opposition has to go to him. If we use him more often, someone from the opposition will go to him. That means we are not outnumbered as the play unfolds.

Play this way and it doesn't matter if he gets 15 disposals or 5.

 

[chelseacarlton]

Always been a fan.
But never have I seen him impose himself on a game like he did on Sunday and against an AA!.
He had that killer look in his eyes,which has sorely been missing from most of the group this year.
He and they will need to bring it again this week and for the remainder of the year if we are to go anywhere....good that is!.

 

[Kramer1]

In hindsight it hasn't worked out as well as we would have liked. At the time though, we took Robbie because we could. He was wanting to leave Freo - because he wasn't going to get a game in the same team as Sandi - and a few clubs were interested in him. The fact that we were able to secure Robby was chalked up by everyone as a success by our recruiting people at the time.
So we can't really blame the recruiting either for how it's panned out. It seemed like a good move at the time and we would have felt it remiss of our people not to chase Warnock when he was there for the chasing.

Disagree. Wrong type of player to chase. I can understand the desperation for the footy dept to land someone...anyone...at the time, but it doesn't point to a strong list management strategy. Short sighted.

Some good kids went in the following 20 picks. Freo didn't make out like bandits with the picks we traded, but the loss of Warnock did motivate them to pick up Zac Clarke in the mid 30's.

 

[Jeremias]

Disagree. Wrong type of player to chase. I can understand the desperation for the footy dept to land someone...anyone...at the time, but it doesn't point to a strong list management strategy. Short sighted.

Some good kids went in the following 20 picks. Freo didn't make out like bandits with the picks we traded, but the loss of Warnock did motivate them to pick up Zac Clarke in the mid 30's.

Why was it short sighted to chase a highly rated young ruck looking to return to Victoria?

At the time our ruck stocks consisted of Cain Ackland, Setanta O'hAilpin, Cameron Cloke and a very raw Shaun Hampson. We also drafted Sam Jacobs as a rookie that year, but he was no certainty to come on as he has since.

We weren't exactly overflowing with quality options...

 

[Kramer1]

Why was it short sighted to chase a highly rated young ruck looking to return to Victoria?

At the time our ruck stocks consisted of Cain Ackland, Setanta O'hAilpin, Cameron Cloke and a very raw Shaun Hampson. We also drafted Sam Jacobs as a rookie that year, but he was no certainty to come on as he has since.

We weren't exactly overflowing with quality options...

Ackland was cut that year praise be to god...also had Kreuzer.

My argument is we didn't need to add to the pile of emerging and or project rucks. We needed an experienced hand...like a Seaby or Hudson.

 

[CrippsonBlue]

Why was it short sighted to chase a highly rated young ruck looking to return to Victoria?

At the time our ruck stocks consisted of Cain Ackland, Setanta O'hAilpin, Cameron Cloke and a very raw Shaun Hampson. We also drafted Sam Jacobs as a rookie that year, but he was no certainty to come on as he has since.

We weren't exactly overflowing with quality options...

We also had Kruezer. When you have spent 2 first round picks on rucks and have a rookie developing, it is not good list management to use a 2nd round pick on another young ruck, in fact it's terrible really.

If we thought Warnock was too good a prospect to pass up on, then we should have traded Hampson much earlier.

 

[BIGGUS 64]

I just don't recall anyone complaining about it at the time. If there were complainers they were very quiet about it. The Warnock aquisition was roundly viewed as a win to us and the only downside was that he spent his first year at the club on the injured list.
Given that he had played about 20 games at Freo and had been in the system for a couple of years already, I think our people were entitled to think they were getting more than a project player.
He seemed more like a young ruckman ready to go. Enough experience that he knows the ropes and the demands, but young enough to be declared a "ten-year player" by the club.

Things we have since learned in hindsight:

• Neither Warnock or Kreuzer are much chop up forward. (Especially Warnock.)
• Robby has taken far longer to develop than we would have guessed.
• Kreuzer has not come on as we would have hoped at the time.
• Both are highly injury-prone.

I think it was hoped that we would have a dominant ruck pair, capable of tag-teaming in the forward line, who would give an elite midfield group first use of the ball for years to come. Is that such a bad thing to aim for?
Unfortunately it didn't work out that way.
As we now know.