VFL Round 10: Northern Blues vs Box Hill at Box Hill

[laj]

We'll play two rucks. Can't have a game like today where we got absolutely no service.

The Saints would have based their match strategy on getting the ball on the outside and running away from our mids. Our plan would have been to make it a contested ball situation at the stoppage.

We couldn't that because their ruckman put it anywhere he wanted.

Phillips will be in next game because GWS have even more speed on the ball.

and effective ruckman don't clog up space, they create a mismatch in the forwardline .

We probably will but it doesn't do us much good normally as history shows time and again. Would rather an extra player elsewhere and set up to a losing ruck. We'll get more value around the ground. Way more important to me than a few tapouts, especially when about only 20-25% go to advantage anyway. Tapouts are great but overrated compared to value around the ground. Prefer our best set up year and year, as proven time and again, Kreuzer and Casboult than some other lumbering ruckman taking up space. May not have done brilliantly in the tap dept but we were so much better around the ground. Went well with Wood and Casboult last year too, one of the few things. We won the clearances near all year last year, did us no good. Geelong rarely won clearances at their best but set up accordingly. Freo didn't often win the clearances when Sandliands was rucking as the opposition set up to a losing ruck.

As Hinkley said, you need either a winning ruck or a losing ruck so you can set up accordingly. He the worst situation was when it was neither winning or losing as it affects the way you set up.

I rather concede and set up with a different structure. One ruckman for me as it's proven to be best for us many, many times. If Kreuzer is still out of sorts following his knee op then don't play him. Play Phillips on his own.  Two ruckmen never suits us. Best performances this year on ball, Collingwood and Port games.