02-29-2024, 03:46 AM
(02-29-2024, 01:37 AM)LP link Wrote:Give Pitto time, he was in need of a hit out having missed a lot of footy.
As I've said before, Pitto's worth is measured in combination with TDK, they come good and when they do it'll hurt opposition.
If there was anything to take out of yesterday, it was that BigH is not a ruck, not a 2nd ruck, and given how good he looked inside F50 I'm gobsmacked we risk him in that role.
We did come up against one of the best rucks in the comp and in fine form. Pitto simply couldn't keep up with Gawn and was out-muscled, out-jumped and out-thought by the big man. De Koning did a lot better and was able to use his athleticism and mobility to put a very slight dent in Gawn's dominance.
There was one ruck free kick in which, of the three people directly involved, only one saw it as a free to Gawn. Both Pitto and Gawn reacted as if it was a free to Pitto. Apart from that, the "straight arm" rule did not come into play. Gawn dominated because of his size, athleticism and ruck ability.
Harry McKay was excellent as second ruck and I though he was our best player by some margin.
Plan A might be Pitto and De Koning in tandem, but I think Plan B - De Koning with Harry as back up ruck - is gaining momentum.
Goodwin wanted to rest Gawn but had to put him back on in the last quarter when Tom and Harry were having their way with Verrall, Schache and van Rooyen.
“Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?” Oddball