West height

[Gogeelong]

The commentators keep saying that West is not tall enough.
How tall is he and how does he compare to our other rucks?
He appeared to move well on Thursday night.

If he is not tall enough can he be groomed for another position and if so where? CHF/CHB

 

[crosby123]

198cm. Blakey is 200 I think, Brad is 202.

 

[jess_555]

He did look small last night compared to the PA ruckman, maybe he just doesn't jump so high?

 

[geelong_crazy26]

hes 103 kilos which is more than blake at 101 kilos

 

[keen cats fella]

I'm interested to see west's progress throughout his career. I think honestly think he is the second best ruckman at our club. The days of huge ruckmen is quickly coming to an end (Peter Street , David Loats), as i believe more agile ruckmen, with the ability to push forward with good affect, will give more value to teams.
This year and next year, i'd like to see Ottens playing at least 85-90% game time, with at least 20-25% time up forward, and West being the relief ruckman, playing about 50% game time, with however long else up forward, as watching the VFL finals last year, i like the look of his mitts. He would offer much more up forward than Blake, despite his Coleman compared 2 goal effort last year!

 

[BlueNWhite]

Westy also had one more touch of the pill than Blake.

Mind you, that was 7 touches.

Seemed to throw himself around a bit too. Liked what I saw from our first gamer. Watch out Blakey

 

[catempire]

Wouldn't want to be any smaller, but 198cm is fine for a ruckman with a reasonable leap.

 

[TheTimeCometh]

yup, right on the threshold. dunno about relying on a leap thru out the entire game and differing conditions.



mind you long arms can make a difference - anywhere between 6-odd inches.

maybe we need a 'West wingspan" thread.

 

[Asty]

on the power site ...

brogan is 200cm and 98kg
Lade is 199cm and 100kg

I didn't think west looked too short he did look like they were easily out bodying him in a contest though. Maybe geelong had Mackie stand on the scales with him to get his weight up?

Blake was better than west in the ball ups (more competitive gave less easy taps to PA ruckmen) but west is definately alot better than blake around the ground. West has better disposal, faster decision making, better tackler and more mobility

 

[cats2rise]

Wasnt John Barnes only 199, or 198?

 

[Linx]

Wasnt John Barnes only 199, or 198?

Barnes was only 193cm-194cm tops. He made up for it with a huge leap and long arms.

 

[Rosso]

I thought that both big fellas were passable even though they were soundly beaten by two of the best going around.

Blake certainly looked more comfortable and wasn't pushed around as easily as he was in the round 21 affair last year. He has worked on his core strength over summer but his reflexes are still below average at best.

West looked good around the ground and at throw ins but he looked a little tentative at the centre bounces. That's just a confidence thing though, it will come in time. His ability to gather and dispose of the ball to a team mate is what will make him a player. Certainly doesn't dispose of it like a ruckman.

So will it be a case of the 2007's. Bomber always hinted at playing 3 rucks last year and it didn't prevail. By the way, just coz King's gone doesn't mean that Blake slots into the number 2 role. He has another battle on this year and that's a good thing!!

 

[GeeCat]

Wouldn't want to be any smaller, but 198cm is fine for a ruckman with a reasonable leap.

To an extent, yes.

The game seems to be moving in two directions though - rucks being drafted are getting taller, and are also being expected to have better than reasonable athleticism these days.

West may struggle to fulfill the first criterea (particularly as the new batch of taller rucks begin to take over), but his mobilitity and athletic capabilities (arguably the best out of all the ruckmen on our list) may yet prove his saving grace. He'll do just fine around the ground, and probably in centre square situations, it's the issue of stoppages around the ground that he'll need to rectify. At his height, he'll struggle to compete with the taller tap rucks going around (not to mention the added issue of core strength, which was unsurprisingly exposed against the stronger Lade/Brogan, but that'll come in time).

 

[LifeSpan-Void]

West will make it at 198/103+, Charman is 197/102. Comes with experience.

 

[Rosso]

Lingy said in an interview that Westy mentioned that he needs to do some serious weights to get strong enough to compete with the big boys. He apparently said it as he came off for a break during the match.

 

[catempire]

West will make it at 198/103+, Charman is 197/102. Comes with experience.

There we go. I was trying to think of a good example and there's an excellent one.

 

[GeeCat]

West will make it at 198/103+, Charman is 197/102. Comes with experience.

The bulk of my argument was in concern with the future, and more specifically, addressing the issue of him "being too short". As I said though, his strength will be his ability around the ground.

The Charman comparison isn't the worse one I've heard - if we're to grab anything from his Thursday performance, he seems to display similar aggression and a willingness to throw his weight around in contested, grounded situations.

Playing third fiddle to Otto and Blake seems to be the suitable position for him at the moment.

 

[dadonis]

yup, right on the threshold. dunno about relying on a leap thru out the entire game and differing conditions.



mind you long arms can make a difference - anywhere between 6-odd inches.

maybe we need a 'West wingspan" thread.

hah, too true! just noticed that in a picture of richo from thursday...have a look, his head is nearly a shoulder below the pack, but his hands are right up top. that's some seriously long arms!

 

[The Casey Cat]

^^^^

My god that is a big wingspan Richo has. When you add that to his athleticism it is probably why he has competed ok in the ruck when needed.

As for West's height I don't think it's a big deal. He is young and athletic enough. Kruezer is also 198/199 and no draft scouts had a problem with his height for a ruck.

 

[LifeSpan-Void]

The bulk of my argument was in concern with the future, and more specifically, addressing the issue of him "being too short". As I said though, his strength will be his ability around the ground.

The Charman comparison isn't the worse one I've heard

Yeah but really it's just a number. 198, or 211? Sandilands might be the tallest ruckman, but I'm sure Jeff White, at 195cm, has beaten him in ruck contests before. Being a good ruckman is as much about being strong-bodied as tall. If West can add another 5 - 7kg to his frame he will become a wrecking ball with the drive he has between the ears. Taller ruckman will hate going up against him because his centre of gravity will be lower, and he will be able to drive his hip into their upper thigh and hurt them.

Also, I recall Steven King being 199cm when drafted, and Ottens 197cm. He may add another couple of cms to his height by the time he's 22 - 23.

 

[sarah.13]

A good footballer will always be able to beat a tall footballer!

 

[scottydeewah]

Who cares how big he is, when he is 200x the footballer byrnes ever will be. Changes this week.

In: Otto

Out Brynes.

West to play crumbing forward pocket.

 

[The Casey Cat]

Who cares how big he is, when he is 200x the footballer byrnes ever will be. Changes this week.

In: Otto

Out Brynes.

West to play crumbing forward pocket.

Why be such a ridiculous sook about it?

 

[Ricketts]

maybe we need a 'West wingspan" thread.

We can compare it to the length of Josh's string.

 

[cats2rise]

Who cares how big he is, when he is 200x the footballer byrnes ever will be. Changes this week.

In: Otto

Out Brynes.

West to play crumbing forward pocket.

He can come off the bench for Stokes at the 20 minute mark of each quarter.