10-10-2023, 05:17 AM
(10-09-2023, 10:45 PM)Lods link Wrote:The Pittonet/De Koning combination is still a work in progress.
Stability and game time, working in tandem is what's needed.
The more DeKoning plays, the more responsibility he takes, the better he gets.
The reason I'm uncomfortable with Silvagni as a ruck is that he's basically there as cannon fodder.
Does it give us better results using him in this fashion.
He finished 2022 banged up and spent.
He finished this year injured.
Let's just give him the one job next year and we may see him shine as that third (hopefully goal kicking) third tall.
Causation and correlation.
Its easy to point to Jack and say he's cannon fodder and we broke him because he got injured in the 1st quarter and never played again.
Reality is, that could've happened to anyone.
Reality is, the week before he was BOG, and kicked 4.
So how banged up was he?
No 2 players are the same. So when comparing them, you list your pros and cons.
We do this with Pitto vs TDK......and we can do this vs Jack as well.
Its clear to all that Pitto + TDK perform better in pure ruckwork than Jack.
However, what half of you have been telling me is that the pure ruckwork side of things means nothing and its what they do around the ground.
So.....when looking at pros and cons around the ground, this is where Jack shines. He simply does more of everything once the ball hits the deck....including clearances when playing as a ruck.
So my contention has always been its better to play 1 pure ruck (to do as much ruckwork as possible - not 50-50) and get someone who is good around the ground (SOS, Cripps, Young, Harry....whoever) to chip in from time to time.
The players mentioned do not get 'beaten up' by playing as a ruck because...
a) They don't actually fly for the contest like pure ruck do, rarely leaving their feet.
b) They don't actually play any more than a quarter of a game in the ruck anyway (and thats spread over 4 quarters)
c) They all play in a position where they constantly get battered and bruised anyway from marking contests and stoppages.
So what is the added stresses that these guys face by playing 6 minutes of ruck a quarter, of which 2 minutes may actually involve a ruck contest??
Again, its all pros and cons.
Pitto + TDK = better tap work.
Pitto or TDK + Jack = better output around the ground.
Its up to you which camp you fall into, but to me its clear that the latter has more influence on the game.
If it was simply about ruckwork, than Sandilands would be undefeated and Mumford wouldn't be far behind.
Our game plan is built on contests and manic pressure. The pressure is applied by the smaller blokes who run, chase, tackle and harrass. The more big blokes we have playing, the less small blokes we have playing and the harder it is to apply that kind of pressure.
Yes, Jack is not a small bloke, but he applies more pressure than our rucks do, and thats what counts.