Rucking Duties

[pietillidie]

We don’t have insufficient ruck depth. We’re just extraordinarily unfortunate that our two starting rucks are both injured and our back-up third string ruck too. You can’t recruit 11 ruckmen onto the list incase 10 are all injured.

It's the length of the injuries and already being a CHB and CHF short that makes it more dire. Thank mercy we got Frampton, but wasn't he something like a future third-rounder? And Steene was a rookie, so we still seem to have under-prioritised in an area in which we were already vulnerable. That might simplly have been because of what was available at the time, but it's not as if Coxy and Cameron are Jim Stynes-durable. So, that gamble could haunt us at least this year. But we've got some smart cookies at the club now, so let's hope they come up with a more workable option this week that doesn't confuse everyone.

[RudeBoy]

Clearly we have a shortage of talls in the short to medium term. As long as we can win 3 of our next 5 or 6 games, we should be able to gather great momentum in the 2nd half of the season with Cameron, Cox, Howe and Kreuger available. In the meantime, I think we will continue to mainly rely on McStay to contest the ruck, with minor support from Johnson and Frampton.

[Big T]

Frampton still preferred for mine. Steene no chance .

Melbourne are loving this with bum chin hitting form.

[warburton lad]

This is a genuine conundrum.

For this week, as others have suggested, I would play Frampton in the ruck and bring in Ruscoe as the defensive cover (or the could leave Mrakov as a quick and mobile defender).

By ANZAC Day, Krueger could be fit and be asked to share the ruck duties with McStay. Again, this would be a 'Hail Mary' but it could work.

Hopefully by the Adelaide game, Cox would be back and the team could get back into the pattern of Rounds 1-3.

I am bullish about beating St Kilda- we still have a potent forward line which would start something like this:

HF: McCreery. McStay. Johnson
F: Elliott. Mihocek. Hill

[Mr Burns 17]

Frampton is not required down back this week. He will ruck. Moore and Murphy will shoulder the load. If Howe was playing, this would be a game Frampton is not required and would have been left
out. Please no more Krueger or Kelly talk. Both should be delisted at season end.

[Take_a_Screamer]

^^^ what, you want to punish Krueger for being injured?
I would give him a go. He has shown promise.

[Mr Burns 17]

So you think injury prone made of glass players deserve a spot on the list? You're kidding right?

[MatthewBoydFanClub]

So you think injury prone made of glass players deserve a spot on the list? You're kidding right?

You would have said the same thing about Murphy before he found consistency. Kreuger is hard at it on the ball and gets injured. Neither he nor Murphy are made of glass. Once they learn what their bodies are capable of doing they avoid injury. Every time Kreuger has come on the ground for us he has done a job for us. You don’t delist guys like that. Kreuger would have been a great cover for us in the ruck. It’s unfortunate he’s injured.

[Mr Burns 17]

Krueger is not a best 22 in any team. At 195cm he is also not a ruck and has never finished a game for Collingwood where he was not injured. I never mentioned Murphy, so thanks for automatically assuming I pasted him as well.

[lazzadesilva]

So you think injury prone made of glass players deserve a spot on the list? You're kidding right?

What’s your definition of a “made of glass” player? I remember years ago a few players including Peter Daicos, Ricky Barham, Denis Banks and in recent years, Pendles etc were injured for a few weeks so were they injury prone made of glass players as well? Respectfully, that is utter bloody rubbish

[Craigmac]

If we are going to play McStay and Johnson and still lose the ruck and lose our forward structure then they are not the answer.

I would prefer see them try WHE at centre bounce. He can leap to create a contest, not tall I know, but we can easily replace his spot on the field. We wont win the ruck but we back our mids and structure to get a win.

[WhyPhilWhy?]

Whether Frampton rucks surely depends on who we need to cover in the opposition's forward line.

If there are 2 big talls like Daniher and Hipwood, we need him down back.

Against the Saints?

[tbaker]

So you think injury prone made of glass players deserve a spot on the list? You're kidding right?

What’s your definition of a “made of glass” player? I remember years ago a few players including Peter Daicos, Ricky Barham, Denis Banks and in recent years, Pendles etc were injured for a few weeks so were they injury prone made of glass players as well? Respectfully, that is utter bloody rubbish

[Pies4shaw]

^ I think you're all doing Mr Burns 17 a disservice. The point he is making is a simple one - Kreuger almost never gets on the park and on the rare occasions he does, he doesn't finish the game. It's a fairly unusual situation - it happens only very occasionally. Being "injury prone" and not being able to get on the park at all - or finish the game when you do - are 2 quite different things.

I don't have a view about his point - but it's probably more useful to consider it on its merits in relation to Kreuger than to pretend it's a stupid point because it could apply to half the list - whatever your view, that simply isn't correct.

[What'sinaname]

So you think injury prone made of glass players deserve a spot on the list? You're kidding right?

What’s your definition of a “made of glass” player? I remember years ago a few players including Peter Daicos, Ricky Barham, Denis Banks and in recent years, Pendles etc were injured for a few weeks so were they injury prone made of glass players as well? Respectfully, that is utter bloody rubbish