News Injuries & Suspensions

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Luke Jackson is only 18yo, hmmm, Oliver won't be scoring high if Jackson is the ruckman.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/371984/pre-season-from-hell-demons-ruck-stocks-take-another-hit

Gawn is expected to be fit to play in round one on March 22, however Preuss' injury will delay any plans to the pair as two genuine rucks.

Jackson, who has spent time training as a forward this pre-season, stands at 199cm and was last year named an All-Australian in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

Category B rookie Austin Bradtke (204cm) is the other genuine ruck option on the Demons' list, however the 91kg former basketballer is seen as a long-term prospect.
 
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Luke Jackson is only 18yo, hmmm, Oliver won't be scoring high if Jackson is the ruckman.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/371984/pre-season-from-hell-demons-ruck-stocks-take-another-hit

Gawn is expected to be fit to play in round one on March 22, however Preuss' injury will delay any plans to the pair as two genuine rucks.

Jackson, who has spent time training as a forward this pre-season, stands at 199cm and was last year named an All-Australian in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

Category B rookie Austin Bradtke (204cm) is the other genuine ruck option on the Demons' list, however the 91kg former basketballer is seen as a long-term prospect.
Weideman $ 319,400.00 Forward only
 

Darkie

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Weideman $ 319,400.00 Forward only
Fair point.

I got momentarily excited when I saw that Rhys Stanley was the only RUC-eligible Cat ... then I saw they have guys like Ratugolea, Fort and Blicavs available in other positions.
 
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Fair point.

I got momentarily excited when I saw that Rhys Stanley was the only RUC-eligible Cat ... then I saw they have guys like Ratugolea, Fort and Blicavs available in other positions.
throw in JJ and Danger as well.

wouldn't mind seeing Ratugolea get a crack as first ruckman

the other thing Melbourne could easily do is just play all 4 of Brayshaw , Harmes , Oliver & Viney at the centre bounce , no rule as far as I know , that you actually have to contest the centre bounce , see how the other ruck copes then.
 

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throw in JJ and Danger as well.

wouldn't mind seeing Ratugolea get a crack as first ruckman

the other thing Melbourne could easily do is just play all 4 of Brayshaw , Harmes , Oliver & Viney at the centre bounce , no rule as far as I know , that you actually have to contest the centre bounce , see how the other ruck copes then.
I’m pretty sure you’re free to concede the ruck contest, but didn’t they change it last year so the ruck can just take possession (ie no requirement to tap it) if they’re good enough?

I think the theory at the time was that it would help the Gawn and Grundy types. Not sure if it really did though.
 
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I’m pretty sure you’re free to concede the ruck contest, but didn’t they change it last year so the ruck can just take possession (ie no requirement to tap it) if they’re good enough?

I think the theory at the time was that it would help the Gawn and Grundy types. Not sure if it really did though.
If the ruckman then takes it clean , surely the "extra" mid would be close enough to tackle him , given he will be in the centre circle.

which would work if all the umps could actually bounce the ball up straight or throw it up straight.

be interested to see the stats on how many times a ruck actually hits it clean to a player and they then have enough time/space to actually dispose of it effectively
 
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If the ruckman then takes it clean , surely the "extra" mid would be close enough to tackle him , given he will be in the centre circle.

which would work if all the umps could actually bounce the ball up straight or throw it up straight.

be interested to see the stats on how many times a ruck actually hits it clean to a player and they then have enough time/space to actually dispose of it effectively
Give a ruckman a free tap and I think the HTA stats would improve significantly..
 
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Luke Jackson is only 18yo, hmmm, Oliver won't be scoring high if Jackson is the ruckman.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/371984/pre-season-from-hell-demons-ruck-stocks-take-another-hit

Gawn is expected to be fit to play in round one on March 22, however Preuss' injury will delay any plans to the pair as two genuine rucks.

Jackson, who has spent time training as a forward this pre-season, stands at 199cm and was last year named an All-Australian in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

Category B rookie Austin Bradtke (204cm) is the other genuine ruck option on the Demons' list, however the 91kg former basketballer is seen as a long-term prospect.

But his leap is huge, he runs really hard to make others accountable, is a big mark and is not bad below his knees. If he was recruited by some other teams it would not surprise me to see him start as a target up forward and take the odd forward ruck contest. But I can understand a club wanting to play it safe with him. He could be something special.
 
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If the ruckman then takes it clean , surely the "extra" mid would be close enough to tackle him , given he will be in the centre circle.
which would work if all the umps could actually bounce the ball up straight or throw it up straight.
be interested to see the stats on how many times a ruck actually hits it clean to a player and they then have enough time/space to actually dispose of it effectively
Or a ruckman, who hasn't got a tall opponent, can just punch the ball forward and clear the centre square. Lots of tactical options to use.

Maybe before each bounce, the ruckman calls out a code to his players on what he plans to do, like a quarterback does in a NFL huddle :)
 
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Or a ruckman, who hasn't got a tall opponent, can just punch the ball forward and clear the centre square. Lots of tactical options to use.

Maybe before each bounce, the ruckman calls out a code to his players on what he plans to do, like a quarterback does in a NFL huddle :)
Exactly.. the other thing it would give the ruckmans team more opportunity to block their teammates opponent to create the free space as they would already know the plan..
 
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Or a ruckman, who hasn't got a tall opponent, can just punch the ball forward and clear the centre square. Lots of tactical options to use.

Maybe before each bounce, the ruckman calls out a code to his players on what he plans to do, like a quarterback does in a NFL huddle :)
wow a 25m hit that would be something to see , to a congested forward line or maybe diagonally to the running winger

I think the ruckman just use the clock face to call out where they hope to hit it , but with the age of mobile phones that could be very confusing to some of the midfielders ?
 
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