10-09-2023, 06:57 AM
(10-09-2023, 02:31 AM)DJC link Wrote:Yes, there's no hard and fast rule about ruck/forward combinations, but your point about not going with two one-dimensional rucks is pretty close to being a rule. I guess the same could be said about going with two very good around the ground rucks when neither can play the support/tall forward role.
Pitto and the King, when they're on, make a formidable combination. They weren't really on against McInerney but Cox and Cameron were on in the GF and limited McInerney's influence.
Levi will be preparing for his third season since we announced his retirement :
Thats what i've been saying all along. This is why it relates to OUR team, and not other teams that play 2 rucks, or 1 ruck or whatever.
This is why i prefer when Jack plays backup ruck because he doesn't have to do much in the actual ruck, but he does a lot more around the ground than any of Pitto and TDK.
I said at the start of the year that all of this is dependent on TDK and IF he can learn to play another role, we are better off. If not, its a luxury we cannot afford.
I don't care if other teams play 1 ruck, or 23 rucks, that doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is OUR rucks and what they can (and can't do) and thats what effects balance.
Another thing (or 2) that works against us in this instance is....
1. Our bigger midfield and its inability to chase....or more to the point, catch anyone outside of a contest. See Cripps and Kennedy
2. Our 3rd (or 4th) taller defenders. Weitering, Kemp, McGovern, Marchbank all playing together (at times) down back mean we are extra tall down there.
Put it all together and we are asking our smaller/quicker mids (and forwards) to simply do too much to run, chase, tackle and pressure.
So yes, team balance is about our team, not other teams because it is about OUR players, and rucks.