Post Game Passion: AFL 2019 Rd 23: Carlton vs Geelong

[crashlander]

2018: Lycett/Vardy
2017: Nankervis/Grigg lol
2016: Roughead/Boyd
2013: Bailey/Hale
2009: Campbell/Renouf


Half of the last decade of premiers did not have a dominant ruckman.

But they were dominant in the finals.

2018: Lycett/Vardy: Lycett is not the greatest ruckman of all time, but he had a final’s series to define his career. He actually beat real top ruckmen during those games and kept Grundy from dominating in the GF. Even Vardy played some of his best football in years.
WC’s ability to win enough taps and nullify their betters was crucial in allowing their midfield to get on top. And then their talls stood up around the ground and took match winning marks.
Had Lycett and Vardy played as they had during the season, they simply wouldn’t have won.

2017: Nankervis/Grigg lol I have reservations about Nankervis, but he played his best footy in 2017 and allowed the Richmond mids to dominate. He kept Sauce Jacobs to his least effective game on the year.
As for Grigg … I’m not going there. I haven’t forgiven him for abandoning us yet.

2016: Roughead/Boyd: I could not say this pair is a top duo, but Roughead played his best footy for the Dogs that season and limited the effectiveness of the other ruckmen. As for Boyd, it was probably the only time in his career that he played to his potential. He was magnificent on GF Day.
I am not surprised that neither could repeat that performance, but they really stood up when it counted.

2013: Bailey/Hale: Bailey and Hale were not match winners, but they nullified their opponents and allowed their own mids to dominate.
2009: Campbell/Renouf: I find it difficult to believe that any team could win with these spuds as ruckmen. But their job, as Bailey and Hale did in 2013, wasn’t to win the rucks. Instead it was to make sure that their opponents didn’t win the rucks.

Honestly the 2 Hawthorn pairs are the exception that almost proves the rule. They had midfields that were extraordinary. All they had to do was to keep their opponents from winning the game, and their smalls would do the rest.

I could live with that, if we had a midfield good enough to dominate like Hawthorn’s did.
I could live with the sort of guys who rose like a Phoenix during the finals.
But I would prefer the sort of rucks that can lift and win the game themselves.