Ruckmen

[Kildonan]

With the recent form of Rix and Ackland and the pending return of Blake and Koschitzke, St Kilda will soon have an excess of ruck talent.

Can we afford to field them all ?

Who do we drop in order to play them ?

What roles can these talls have while they are not rucking ?

The injury list is reduced to one of the better ones of the league now.
Soon Hamill and Thompson will return. Even Schwarze will be available soon.
Even Fergus Watts has been spotted around the club and is looking almost ready to resume training (if he hasn't already).

Lenny Hayes is a big loss and is definitely missed. ACL's are tough to recover from and there is no guarantee that he will be able to participate in a preseason training program - so it is wait and see for him.

The rest is good news.

So now that we have an embarassment of riches in the rucking department, who do we play, where do we play them and who do we drop.

My thoughts:

Kosi will probably play three quarters for Casey next week and then declare himself available for the Port Adelaide match. This week against Essendon may see the return of Blake. Will he be an automatic inclusion? Will he be relegated to Casey or will Rix be dropped to Casey. Could all three play? (Ackland, Rix and Blake). The following week, against Port with Kosi in, will we have room for all three ruckmen as well? I don't think so. So who will be dropped? I doubt that Kosi will ruck for long if at all in his first week back. He will probably take a key forward position and will be eased back into the ruck over a few weeks (to regain match fitness).

Rix has been good for us. His ruckwork is quite sound. Could we be doing ourselves a disservice by omitting him (if it comes to that)? What of Blake - does he have a role in our best team ? Is Ackland safe ? Should Kosi ruck ?

 

[mad-saint-guy]

I believe that this year, apon Kosi's return he will play mainly as a forward, however we can't fit him, Ackers, Rixy and Blake in the team. Unless we get Rix playing a key defensive role, or there's a specialist tagging job for Blake (eg Goodes), we couldn't possibly have those four in the team.

For mine Rix should be the starting ruck; he has a massive physical prescence, his ruckwork is excellent and he's starting to contribute more around the ground. In his first couple of games he refused to kick the ball, but with some confidence I'm sure he'll back himself a bit more.

Ackland should be retained as long as he's in decent form, but I don't know about Blake. GT obviously loves him and he has been in career-best form, but I'm not sure how much he can contribute to the team.

Don't forget about Brooksy either, who has made a good return for the Scorps.

If I were coach, and Kos/Blake were both ready for the Port game, I'd bring Kosi in and bring Blake back for the West Coast game to tag Embley. Play Kosi as a forward (leading out of the square with Fraser, letting Roo roam up around the ground a bit more), and Rixy rucking for about 70 minutes, and maybe dropping into the backline, and have Ackers rucking for the rest of the game, also spending a bit of time forward.

V Essendon

B: L.Fisher, Hudghton, S.Fisher
HB: Gram, Maguire, Goddard
C: Powell, Ball, Montagna
HF: X.Clarke, Riewoldt, Harvey
F: Milne, Gehrig, Voss

Foll: Rix, Dal Santo, Baker
Int: Ackland, Fiora, McQualter, Peckett

Emg: McGough, Gilbert, Sweeney

No change.

V Port Adelaide
B: L.Fisher, Hudghton, S.Fisher
HB: Gram, Maguire, Goddard
C: X.Clarke, Ball, Montagna
HF: Hamill, Riewoldt, Harvey
F: Milne, Gehrig, Koschitzke

Foll: Rix, Dal Santo, Baker
Int: Ackland, Fiora, Powell, Voss

Emg: Blake, Schwarze, Thompson

OUT: Peckett, McQualter
IN: Hamill, Koschitzke

Give Thommo a game in the reserves before his return, and Schwartta might be in a bit of trouble now that Kosi can fill that third tall forward role. He might have to move bak to defence or have a go on a wing.

 

[Kildonan]

V Port Adelaide
B: L.Fisher, Hudghton, S.Fisher
HB: Gram, Maguire, Goddard
C: X.Clarke, Ball, Montagna
HF: Hamill, Riewoldt, Harvey
F: Milne, Gehrig, Koschitzke

Foll: Rix, Dal Santo, Baker
Int: Ackland, Fiora, Powell, Voss

Emg: Blake, Schwarze, Thompson

OUT: Peckett, McQualter
IN: Hamill, Koschitzke

Give Thommo a game in the reserves before his return, and Schwartta might be in a bit of trouble now that Kosi can fill that third tall forward role. He might have to move back to defence or have a go on a wing.

Great reply MSG
Just a concern that by leaving out McQualter and not bringing in another midfielder v Port, we may be depleting our midfield rotation and making ourselves vulnerable if there was an injury or severe tag.

I might reorganise them and bring in Thompson:

V Port Adelaide
B: Baker, Hudghton, S.Fisher
HB: Gram, Maguire, Goddard
C: X.Clarke, Ball, Montagna
HF: Hamill, Riewoldt, Voss
F: Milne, Gehrig, Koschitzke

Foll: Rix, Dal Santo, Harvey
Int: Ackland, L.Fisher, Thompson, Powell

Emg: Blake, Schwarze, Fiora

OUT: Peckett, McQualter, Fiora
IN: Hamill, Koschitzke, Thompson

L Fisher and R Clarke are fighting for the same spot.
Powell and Thompson were fighting for the same spot until Lenny did his knee, now McQualter is fighting for a spot with them
The four rucks are fighting for two possies
Fiora, Montagna and X Clarke might be fighting for two spots

 

[Ms Pikey]

I say carry on with Rix, aka the template. hes pretty much as good as the others and, with practice, hes only going to get better. Plus he lives with his mum, weve got to get him out of there.

 

[samm]

Great reply MSG
Just a concern that by leaving out McQualter and not bringing in another midfielder v Port, we may be depleting our midfield rotation and making ourselves vulnerable if there was an injury or severe tag.

I might reorganise them and bring in Thompson:

V Port Adelaide
B: Baker, Hudghton, S.Fisher
HB: Gram, Maguire, Goddard
C: X.Clarke, Ball, Montagna
HF: Hamill, Riewoldt, Voss
F: Milne, Gehrig, Koschitzke

Foll: Rix, Dal Santo, Harvey
Int: Ackland, L.Fisher, Thompson, Powell

Emg: Blake, Schwarze, Fiora

OUT: Peckett, McQualter, Fiora
IN: Hamill, Koschitzke, Thompson

L Fisher and R Clarke are fighting for the same spot.
Powell and Thompson were fighting for the same spot until Lenny did his knee, now McQualter is fighting for a spot with them
The four rucks are fighting for two possies
Fiora, Montagna and X Clarke might be fighting for two spots

the problem in bringin back kosi and hammill (and a nice problem it is) is that the saints will be missing the fast run of rotating midfielders. may go in too tall and slow. what do you do about the excess of ruckman (what a change)

 

[Sportsman]

With reagrds to the ruck stocks at St Kilda, I recall talking to some St Kilda fans at the start of the year and they laughed at me when I made the suggestion that Blake can't shoulder the ruckload.

Quite simply, he isn't a true ruckman in my opinion anyway.

Rix is finally proving his worth, have followed his progress at VFL level for several years and I'm happy to have seen him finally make the grade.

 

[Nick off]

i say our best option is to leave rix and acland doing the ruck work, put kosi into the forward line and leave blake in case of emergancy.

or if hamill is back, kosi can pay as a backman. i think he is more valuable to us if he stays out of the ruck. forward or back he can play anywhere he is a true utility

 

[sainter]

With reagrds to the ruck stocks at St Kilda, I recall talking to some St Kilda fans at the start of the year and they laughed at me when I made the suggestion that Blake can't shoulder the ruckload.

Quite simply, he isn't a true ruckman in my opinion anyway.

Rix is finally proving his worth, have followed his progress at VFL level for several years and I'm happy to have seen him finally make the grade.

Really?

Almost every Saints supporter I know would have agreed with you.

Even those people that rate Blake highly would concede that he's not a #1 ruckman.

I rate his work ethic and determination around the ground and there's possibly a position for him as a utility but I'd like to see Rix hold his place for the rest of the season. Unfortunately I fear it will be Rix and not Ackland that will lose their place when Kosi returns. That might be harsh on Ackland but I really want to see more of a presence at ruck contests or at least more marks around the ground. That's the area where he should outshine Rix.

 

[austinthedog]

blake needs to get back in a hurry, hes in my dreamteam and i'm down a ruckman

 

[Sportsman]

Really?

Almost every Saints supporter I know would have agreed with you.

Even those people that rate Blake highly would concede that he's not a #1 ruckman.

I rate his work ethic and determination around the ground and there's possibly a position for him as a utility but I'd like to see Rix hold his place for the rest of the season. Unfortunately I fear it will be Rix and not Ackland that will lose their place when Kosi returns. That might be harsh on Ackland but I really want to see more of a presence at ruck contests or at least more marks around the ground. That's the area where he should outshine Rix.

The St Kilda supporters I was talking must have been a bit wierd, I don't know what was going on with them.

 

[Kildonan]

The St Kilda supporters I was talking must have been a bit wierd, I don't know what was going on with them.

There was a stage earlier this year where Blake was legitimately our best Ruckman, simply because Ackland was not performing and the selectors were slow to give Rix a go. We ended up dropping Ackland and playing Blake as our sole ruckman (against Sandilands) and the tactic was successful. Blake was possibly BOG. That said he has never been considered a genuine ruckman, he is a tall midfielder who can jump. He is handy as a link man and his "presence" is advantageous for our on-ballers.

 

[Oh When the Saints]

My feeling is that Rix is our #1 ruck for the rest of the season, form permitting. At the moment he is averaging 18 hitouts per match. He is also averaging about 7 disposals per match, and has kicked a goal.
In contrast Ackland is averaging 10 hitouts per match and just over 8 touches per match. He has kicked 3 goals for the year.
Blake averaged 15 disposals and 6 marks per match, and 11 hitouts. He kicked 5 goals for the year.

Stats don't paint the picture, but going on the above it would appear Rix is the #1 ruckman and Blake the #2.
However, the ruck combination of Rix/Ackland should not be under-estimated. They have gelled together well and complement each other perfectly. They are a much better combo than Blake/Ackland, and we haven't seen the Rix/Blake combo yet ...

Kosi is the other factor. I believe that for his first 3-4 games, he should be used as the second ruck, just doing 10 minutes each quarter. The big question is: do we play three ruckmen (incl. Kosi) or just two (incl. Kosi)?

My personal view is that we should play Kosi, Rix and Blake. I WOULD NOT use Blake as a ruckman - I do not believe the ruck is his position - but he IS a versatile player who CAN play in the ruck if necessary. With these three players in the side, Rix can ruck for the first 15-20 minutes of a quarter, and then Kosi can ruck for the remaining 10 minutes. Blake can play the role of a run-with player/in the ruck/a wingman etc. I think with these three players in the side, the 22 has the most versatility possible.

 

[MrChristo]

blake needs to get back in a hurry, hes in my dreamteam and i'm down a ruckman

No!

He needs to stay away, 'cause I've got Rix covering for Cox in my team!

(Sorry Saint posters!)

 

[nicko016]

I think that we should play Rix, Blake and Koschitzke. I think that Rix should be our #1 ruck and Blake our #2. This leaves Koschitzke to play mainly as a key forward spending a bit of time in the ruck. I think Blake's performance has been underestimated this year. He is averaging 15 disposals a game and 11 hitouts which is equal that of Ackland. He also played very well when he rucked solo against both Sandilands and then Street. He should never be our #1 ruckmen, however, I think he should be #2 ruck because there is Koschitzke to ruck and Blake can play other roles around the ground. I thinkonly 1 o Ackland or Rix can play at the same time if Koschitzke is in which means that Blake will always be the #2 ruckmen.