Before he met Peterson?The issue with ROB is his bloated contract.
He was at his best in 2019/20 when he had something to prove.
Maybe I’ve just found the issue!
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Before he met Peterson?The issue with ROB is his bloated contract.
He was at his best in 2019/20 when he had something to prove.
Simple really .....if "good" rucks weren't valued, MELB wouldn't have chased Grundy .... !
It’s been explained as to why.Melbourne only gave up a second round pick for Grundy, and his previous side had to pay much of his salary in order to get a side to take him.
Not sure about that.
Sloane
Laird
Dawson
Walker
But he is being paid as it he is a top ruckman rather than an average one.
Yeah, nah.No doubt he is. 2021 contract, off a BNF winning year and at a club that needed to claw their way to the 95% threshold moving forward.
It's certainly likely he is around Sloane/Laird mark for money earned this contract, though it may have been heavily front-loaded.
Yeah, nah.
ROB isn't in our top 3 earners... but comfortably in our top 10 & overpaid for his output.
It’s been explained as to why.
As for Melbourne, they are still paying him. They’ve already got a gun ruck and will be playing both during the same game, so clearly a club who won a flag 2 years ago values rucks.
Would you use a second round pick on a ruck?
ROB has more than held his own against the likes of Goldstein, Nankervis, McEvoy, Lycett and the like who I guess you are referring to here.I've long thought that rucks are strictly grouped into tiers. Elite Ruck > Experienced Ruck > Full-Time Ruck > Part-Time Ruck (Generally picked for another reason, but does have experience as first ruck) > Ad-Hoc Ruck (Tallest Random player, only doing the job because someone has to).
Any ruck from the tier above on their worst day will still generally beat the tier below on their best day. Form only really comes into it with like-for-like ruck duels.
ROB goes fully into the third group. He's not good enough to take it to the best in the comp or even average old-timers, but can make bank on his natural advantage over non-rucks.
Did any of those rucks get dropped last year?ROB has more than held his own against the likes of Goldstein, Nankervis, McEvoy, Lycett and the like who I guess you are referring to here.
The ROB beat up is getting ridiculous now.
Unfortunately ROB is the type of player that’s has to play well, otherwise he stands out like a beaconDid any of those rucks get dropped last year?
That’s what you’re ignoring, no one is saying he hasn’t played some good games, he has. But the majority of last year stank and he offers nothing if he isn’t playing well.
Berry, Fog and Soligo all got dropped. All finished top 10 in our B&F.Did any of those rucks get dropped last year?
That’s what you’re ignoring, no one is saying he hasn’t played some good games, he has. But the majority of last year stank and he offers nothing if he isn’t playing well.
Oh wow, you’re really comparing dropping a key senior player to Berry and Soligo? Especially Soligo a first year player and when he returned he stayed in it. Berry wasn’t dropped, he wasn’t selected but when he returned he stayed in the team too. Both had excellent years when they returned, unlike ROB.Berry, Fog and Soligo all got dropped. All finished top 10 in our B&F.
Getting dropped doesn't have the weight that you think it does. Sometimes players play 2's to work on their games.
Sure, ROB didn't get better (except for beating up on part time Geelong rucks). But that doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't playing ok football, just not what the coaches think he could be playing.
Given it’s dominated the preseason thread the last few days and it’s a polarising topic, maybe needs its own thread.
Mods if you could be arsed you could moved the last few pages over.
The point of the post was that getting dropped isn't the mic drop that you think it is. It isn't proof that ROB is a terrible player.Oh wow, you’re really comparing dropping a key senior player to Berry and Soligo? Especially Soligo a first year player and when he returned he stayed in it. Berry wasn’t dropped, he wasn’t selected but when he returned he stayed in the team too. Both had excellent years when they returned, unlike ROB.
As for Fog, yeah he sucked early and then came back a superstar.
Come on, ROB didn’t play ok. Coaches award votes for playing your role. Despite playing 20 games he didn’t make the top 10.
No offence mate, but your post has to be one of the most bizarre defences of a player I’ve read on here and there have been quite a few.
And Mutineer do you like any post that defends aspects of the club no matter how bad the post was?
The opposition ruck would spike the ball about 30m every time so your four mids would have to set up outside the contest and possibly outside the center square were it a center bounceI've always wondered why a coach hasn't tried just going with four midfielders and not playing a ruckman.
From what I can tell there's nothing in the rules that state you have to have a player actually contest the ruck.
Just have four mids and rove off the opposition ruckman.
Obviously knowing the AFL if someone were to try it with some success they'd just change the rules on the fly to outlaw it.
No
Yes (but so does pretty much everyone else's)
I know the ROB bashers love a good set of stats and a ranking list, so here goes.
I have ranked rucks based upon their average ranking for the key stats of hit outs, hit outs as % of ruck contests, hit outs to advantage, hit outs to advantage as % of hitouts (which seemed a bit of a silly denominator, so I also included), hit outs as % of ruck contests, disposals, marks, clearances and tackles.
I have included both absolute and % ruck stats for 2 reasons:
1. They're rucks. Ruck stats should count for more than non-ruck stats
2. Rucks who ruck all day (Witts, Darcy, ROB, English) should get better overall ruck stats (that's not fair, it overstates ROB's value!), but they also don't require a genuine 2nd ruck (and probably have lower % stats than if they were fresher). Playing a 2nd ruck means someone else misses out, generally a fringe midfielder or fringe key forward. For us in the first half of 2022, that was Soligo, Cook or Fog (ooh, that's kind of valuable). Including both absolute and relative stats provides value for both ruck types, but is weighted more to the part timers in this list.
I have restricted rucks to those that have played 10 games or more and who averaged more than 20 ruck contests per game. Coleman-Jones was the cut-off (10 games and 25.4 ruck contests per game). As it's a ranking it probably doesn't matter too much anyway, but it keeps the outliers and forwards from confusing the data.
ROB comes in at 5th on this very broad approach. If we just did the relative stats, ROB would be ranked 8th, which probably feels more realistic. I'd consider Darcy to be the cut-off for elite rucks, but ROB above average. That's how bad rucks are.
Preuss is the surprise for me, but his ruck game particularly is pretty strong.
Rankings:
View attachment 1591690
Base data:
View attachment 1591705
Gee I hope that’s sarcasmIt's interesting that the stats a ruck should be good at (hitouts to advantage, marks), O'Brien is mediocre, but in the stuff a midfielder should be good at (clearances, tackles) he's okay
Looks like we've been getting it wrong this whole time. O'Brien is actually a ruck rover and the tall midfielder we've been looking for! Bring in Strachan and play a center bounce of Strachan, O'Brien, Laird and Berry.
Going from winning a B&F to not finishing in the top ten and being dropped during the year is proof that he had a poor year though.The point of the post was that getting dropped isn't the mic drop that you think it is. It isn't proof that ROB is a terrible player.
I've always wondered why a coach hasn't tried just going with four midfielders and not playing a ruckman.
From what I can tell there's nothing in the rules that state you have to have a player actually contest the ruck.
Just have four mids and rove off the opposition ruckman.
Obviously knowing the AFL if someone were to try it with some success they'd just change the rules on the fly to outlaw it.