The Ruck Bolter

[adelaidecrows]

Well it appears the forgotton man Brad Moran could not only be viewed as a second ruck but could proove a vital cog in our best 21. He was a standout on Friday Night. I was not impressed with either Jacob's or Maric as Moran out positioned and ran his opponants into the ground. When the crows drafted Moran they said he moved like a midfielder and i beleive them. This means we could well go into a match with Moran, Jacob's/Maric, Mckernan and Tippett.

 

[WALL-e]

I think Jacobs is out best #1 ruck option. Simply because of his elite tapwork.

I also think Moran has the lead for #2 role. Moran's abilityt o get around the ground, link up and his increased desire to make contact with people as well as his leap at the center bounce has him in good sted for a regular game.

The only problem with drawing conclusions this early is Moran and Jacobs went up against a pretty inexperienced Port combo.

 

[afc1991]

Dont know how you couldnt be impressed with Jacobs, he was very good. Moran, meh, still has a lot to prove.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Moran wasn't that good was he?

 

[afc1991]

Moran wasn't that good was he?

I was mesmerised by the 'do'.

 

[WAG]

Jacobs has to be our #1 wouldn't he? While not that impressive around the ground, his tap work is great and has the potential to give us first use of the footy.

Also hypothetically (and if the 300K rumours are accurate), have we backed ourselves into a situation where we have to play Sauce regardless of his form to justify what we are paying him?

Granted Moran looked impressive during the MMC, however I'll reserve judgement for when he plays in an actual AFL game !

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

I was very pleased with Jacob's in the 2nd game, however like Moran when considering their opposite numbers it is very dangerous making any assessment at this point of time

 

[woopedazz]

Moran was good. Was present at many marking contests and often did a lot of work to get there in order to block out Port players.

Is he our best ruck? No. Is he our second best ruck? No. Does it matter all that much? Personally I think with the sub rule I'd prefer to have someone on the ground who can force a contest in the ruck and be able to run to make contests all over the park. Plus having some ability to actually kick the ball and do the work on the ground. When was the last time Maric kicked a ball? He takes mainly uncontested marks and handballs it to the midfielder running past and jogs over to the bench. I love Maric, but Moran offers a solid contested mark and the ability to be present in more marking contests due to his big tank. Plus he does something with the ball when he gets it.

Love Maric, but Moran might be a better fit for this season.

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

Moran was good. Was present at many marking contests and often did a lot of work to get there in order to block out Port players.

Is he our best ruck? No. Is he our second best ruck? No. Does it matter all that much? Personally I think with the sub rule I'd prefer to have someone on the ground who can force a contest in the ruck and be able to run to make contests all over the park. Plus having some ability to actually kick the ball and do the work on the ground. When was the last time Maric kicked a ball? He takes mainly uncontested marks and handballs it to the midfielder running past and jogs over to the bench. I love Maric, but Moran offers a solid contested mark and the ability to be present in more marking contests due to his big tank. Plus he does something with the ball when he gets it.

Love Maric, but Moran might be a better fit for this season.

IMO a ruckman will not fill the sub role, it will be a running type of player

 

[jo172]

If McKernan and Tippett are in the 22 do we need to play 2 of Jacobs, Moran and Maric?

Me thinks probably not ...

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

If McKernan and Tippett are in the 22 do we need to play 2 of Jacobs, Moran and Maric?

Me thinks probably not ...

Me think your probably right

 

[Bovo]

IMO a ruckman will not fill the sub role, it will be a running type of player

100% agree. If a ruck was a sub, you will have a ruckman running all over the ground from quarter to quarter without the required rest. Then when subbed, if the sub gets an injury...you have no ruckman for the rest of the game.

I would say we would have three talls combining the ruck contest
Forward - Tippet
Mid - Sauce or Maric
Back - Stevens or Sellar or Moran

They may take it turns in the middle of the ground....and rest in FWD/DEF

The sub has to be a multi positional player that can play anywhere on the ground. Well that is how I would do it, if I were coach

 

[Dandy_GO]

Jacobs didn't look like getting a tap against Jamar. Looked good against the children Port played. On Friday's evidence, I don't see how he's that much of an upgrade over Griffin - same type of ruckman - tries to use his reach rather than his bulk. Dropped a pretty easy mark for this reason alone in the Melbourne game. Maric doesn't have half his ability, but he knows how to get his body behind the ball. I'm apparently seeing something everyone else missed though so I do hope I'm wrong, or that it was just a bad night. His tap skills could be the best ever seen but it ain't gonna do much good if his positioning is so shitty that any experienced ruckman can push him out the way.

Moran looked good but again wasn't against much.

 

[Vader]

You're not the only one who noticed. I've been counselling against reading too much into the ruck contests, noting how both Maric & Jacobs struggled when faced with a quality ruckman (Jamar) yet Jacobs & Moran both made it look easy when opposed by children in the Port game.

 

[TheLeftFist8]

Definitely too early to make the call.

Both Moran and Jacobs beat the Port rucks easily, both palming some beautiful balls straight to our blokes.

Moran also played very well around the ground, unfortunately managed to hit the post going for a 9 pointer. Basically I'd expect him to towel up Redden/Trengove at this stage in their respective careers but what i was most happy about was his intensity. Didn't look timid at all, used his bulk in contests, and ran damn hard to get to the next one...these qualities haven't been a natural feature of his game previously. If he has overcome these faults, he is certainly in the 1R race.

Can't comment on the Melbourne game but it doesn't surprise me Maric and to a lesser extent Jacobs couldn't match one of the league's best. Let's hope Moran gets a chance against decent opposition to see if he can do any better.

With 3 games to go, any combination involving these guys is possible.

 

[lunacy]

Definitely too early to make the call.

Both Moran and Jacobs beat the Port rucks easily, both palming some beautiful balls straight to our blokes.

Moran also played very well around the ground, unfortunately managed to hit the post going for a 9 pointer. Basically I'd expect him to towel up Redden/Trengove at this stage in their respective careers but what i was most happy about was his intensity. Didn't look timid at all, used his bulk in contests, and ran damn hard to get to the next one...these qualities haven't been a natural feature of his game previously. If he has overcome these faults, he is certainly in the 1R race.

Can't comment on the Melbourne game but it doesn't surprise me Maric and to a lesser extent Jacobs couldn't match one of the league's best. Let's hope Moran gets a chance against decent opposition to see if he can do any better.

With 3 games to go, any combination involving these guys is possible.

For those who did comment on Jacob's game against Jamar, I thought he was ok. I don't think he had huge game time in that game, but I still think he looked pretty good. Plus he didn't play internal trial and it was his first game playing with our boys.

I'm very happy with how Jacobs/Moran/Maric/Mckernan are tracking in their respective roles. I think we have a good future in this group.

I just like the structure of 1 recognised good tap ruckman supported by a strong/mobile KPF who can ruck as well. Therefore 1st ruck is where all the competition is imo. Moran, Jacobs and Maric to fight it out for 1st ruck. IMO Mckernan is almost perfection for the 2011 version 2nd ruck. Especially after his game against Melbourne which was much better than his game against Port (probably due to game time).

 

[TheLeftFist8]

For those who did comment on Jacob's game against Jamar, I thought he was ok. I don't think he had huge game time in that game, but I still think he looked pretty good. Plus he didn't play internal trial and it was his first game playing with our boys.

All fair points...I'm certainly hopeful he will become a quality AFL ruck. Looking forward to his development over the PS.