Position 2022: Ruck Discussion

Which of the following 2 are leading the race for your starting R1 and R2...?

  • Max Gawn

    Votes: 66 41.8%
  • Sean Darcy

    Votes: 46 29.1%
  • Nic Naitanui

    Votes: 2 1.3%
  • Brodie Grundy

    Votes: 125 79.1%
  • Rowan Marshall

    Votes: 13 8.2%
  • Reilly O'Brien

    Votes: 5 3.2%
  • Oscar McInerney

    Votes: 3 1.9%
  • Jarrod Witts

    Votes: 18 11.4%
  • Braydon Preuss

    Votes: 12 7.6%
  • Scott Lycett, Tim English, Matthew Flynn or Luke Jackson

    Votes: 21 13.3%

  • Total voters
    158
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Still much rather either of the Hayes or Strnadica at R3 over a speculative punt on Preuss.
Id bank the cash If I was convinced either plays or has scoring capacity at AFL level, which I dont think is the case right now.

I'd question Preuss being refferred to as a speculative punt also, we know he can score he just needs to stay on the park.
 
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My only issue on Grundy is I want to say that his last couple of years of, lets call it lackadaisical, football were an FU to Buckley, similar to Moore dogging the crap out of him as a forward, but then he was even worse under Harvey so that went out the window and it really only leaves the "he got his contract and no longer cares" answer for how he's played since he got that contract...

Admittedly, of the negative tales it's the best one so there's that because even 2nd rate effort Grundy is really, really good!

I don't know how the rucks always mess with me so much, I'm not back to the point where taking a 10 point loss on Gawn doesn't seem that bad :LOL:
I agree with your comments regarding Grundy but can add that i believe he had a little niggling injury last season as well , the thing here is do you hit buy or use the wait and see button , have to see his attitude during practice games i think before making any decision on him , 90-100 is not the scores you want from him at that money.

Recently had a discussion with some Melbourne people and they seemed pretty happy with both Gawn and Jackson in the same team and thought they both complimented one another in there positions , be interesting to see Melbourne's ruck set up around the ground , do each ruck take a half of the ground each on rotation and share the middle or play like last years setup.

I'm taking Gawn / Darcy/Grundy and having Coombes R3 and Jackson forward as cover.

This is just my opinion there are some really Melbourne diehard experts on this site and i'm sure they have greater insight than myself.

Good luck this season by the way
 
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I agree with your comments regarding Grundy but can add that i believe he had a little niggling injury last season as well , the thing here is do you hit buy or use the wait and see button , have to see his attitude during practice games i think before making any decision on him , 90-100 is not the scores you want from him at that money.

Recently had a discussion with some Melbourne people and they seemed pretty happy with both Gawn and Jackson in the same team and thought they both complimented one another in there positions , be interesting to see Melbourne's ruck set up around the ground , do each ruck take a half of the ground each on rotation and share the middle or play like last years setup.

I'm taking Gawn / Darcy/Grundy and having Coombes R3 and Jackson forward as cover.

This is just my opinion there are some really Melbourne diehard experts on this site and i'm sure they have greater insight than myself.

Good luck this season by the way
Cheers! You too!

I'd definitely take the wait and see if I felt like there was a wait and see option but right now that seems to be absent the ballot card :)

The positive is lazy Grundy I think is still pretty fairly priced and I expect an improved midfield unit will help him a fair bit. Also hoping a bit more creativity is allowed rather than the old "drop it at my feet" tactic they used all year. Grundy actually is pretty good with his creative taps and it would add a lot of scoring options. Also hoping he takes it out of the ruck more, was something he was adding last year before the neck thing kind of derailed him (NicNat was also doing it a lot to close the season).

I still keep being drawn in by NicNat, might be one of those gut feelings I just end up having to go with because they always work out so well :LOL:
 
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On Grundy,
First 10 rounds 2021 Season "126" average.

Round 11 Neck Injury which lead to an overnight stay in hospital. Returns from injury RD15 and proceeds to produce 135 126 140 next 3 rounds.

Pies ZERO chance of finals by RD18 less time on ground.?? Horror points return is the result to end of season.

"Question what was Grundy TOG stats round 18 through 23." Would be an interesting Stat to know.?? There was a definite change to the game tactics last few rounds , or was it a case of lets protect a million dollar man for next season.?

Lets see how the setup is for the Magpies Today. Both Clubs on a rebuild phase should be interesting match to watch.
 

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Hi everyone! Can't believe another season is only a few months away!

Lots to think about regarding the early drafts/teams/players but one thing I'm fairly certain of is the rucks combination.
I mean...it'll go something like this below :D
1. Grundy + Darcy (if @Connoisseur starts Gawn :p)
2. Grundy + Gawn (if @Connoisseur hopefully stays away from Big Maxy :LOL:)

p.s. Great to see this thread active. Thanks all for the insights!
Welcome back and kudos for paying attention to my frequent Gawn updates over the past few seasons. You will be relieved to know I am currently not interested in Gawn as a starting selection.
Uh-oh!
1539B9BB-2095-466F-A3EE-23DE2D510C3E.jpeg
 
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Hahaha all good! :LOL:

I'm most likely still sticking with starting Gawn! With the new rule on positional changes during the season, Gawn might get ruck/forward status if he spends enough time forward while Jackson takes some of his ruck time.
I still feel Gawn will do well though. But here's hoping your recent luck with having him in your team changes! :p 🤞
 
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I still keep being drawn in by NicNat, might be one of those gut feelings I just end up having to go with because they always work out so well :LOL:
I can see why you are drawn to Nic Nat but to me the cold hard facts is he is turning 32, playing in what's looking like a poor side, never had high TOG %, only play 22 games twice in his career.

Gawn, even if he goes down 5-10%, is still a safer bet IMO

In saying that, I'm going Darcy, throwing all the durability ideas out the window.
 
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What is the consensus on Preuss at R3 after this weekend's match? Flynn in for a considerable more CBs.

People still sticking fat or looking at Hayes plus a cash saving now?
Looks like Flynn is their R1 right now.

Moved to Hayes personally but will see what his prospects look like. If nothing at all on the horizon I move to donut but that's the last resort.
 
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I would like to start Grundy and a placeholder to watch and see. For all the talk of Jackson eating into Gawn's role I haven't seen anyone mention that Gawn could be a forward by round 7. Despite overpaying for him this might work. If Ryder plays round 1 then Marshall could be the other play at a better starting price. I'll fade Preuss after that practise match and I don't think Jackson or English can get to forward keepers.
 
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I would like to start Grundy and a placeholder to watch and see. For all the talk of Jackson eating into Gawn's role I haven't seen anyone mention that Gawn could be a forward by round 7. Despite overpaying for him this might work. If Ryder plays round 1 then Marshall could be the other play at a better starting price. I'll fade Preuss after that practise match and I don't think Jackson or English can get to forward keepers.
I'd be surprised, they've definitely got a filter set to require some kind of performance drop. Last year Petracca never got forward despite playing there more than any of the guys who actually did and the only reason I can see is because his scoring hadn't dropped (DT). Pretty sure they use it more as an "interest" mechanism so people with failed picks get a second chance but do everything possible to avoid changes that will fundamentally impact the integrity of the positions.

Basically if Gawn is forward enough to actually get FWD, you'll be getting bailed out of a bad starting pick anyway, at least assuming Grundy and any of the other rucks sustain premium levels!

I've also put Gawn into my side, I hate the pick but when the alternatives are a Darcy who has already had multiple issues and NicNat, well perhaps you just eat the 10-15ppg loss.

If only there was a Hickey type this year :LOL:
 
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