Which Rucks?

[eaglesman]

A word of caution for those relying on Witts - Nicholls has been named in the Suns NEAFL side to take on Aspley in a trial match this weekend.

Shhh ringo.

He is 200k let everything pick him.

Was never gonna pick him but now everyone will jump off him  :P

I hope they do, but this will be a case of massively overrating Nicholls who gets smashed in the H/O department every week. Witts was recruited for a reason, he'll play round 1 and it's up to him to hold his place. People forget he was the number 1 ruck at Collingwood until he split the webbing in his hands.

I really can't see how in the earth witts gets dropped from the side? They will play witts and Nichols before they drop witts imo. All this talk of witts getting dropped for Nichols once fit is nonsense. If they pick both for round 1 I'll still pick him.

[HoleMeal]

A word of caution for those relying on Witts - Nicholls has been named in the Suns NEAFL side to take on Aspley in a trial match this weekend.

Shhh ringo.

He is 200k let everything pick him.

Was never gonna pick him but now everyone will jump off him  :P

I hope they do, but this will be a case of massively overrating Nicholls who gets smashed in the H/O department every week. Witts was recruited for a reason, he'll play round 1 and it's up to him to hold his place. People forget he was the number 1 ruck at Collingwood until he split the webbing in his hands.

I really can't see how in the earth witts gets dropped from the side? They will play witts and Nichols before they drop witts imo. All this talk of witts getting dropped for Nichols once fit is nonsense. If they pick both for round 1 I'll still pick him.

Never at any stage was he our number 1 ruck other than by default.
Grundy was left out of Round 1 last year for a reason.

[Bully]

A word of caution for those relying on Witts - Nicholls has been named in the Suns NEAFL side to take on Aspley in a trial match this weekend.

Shhh ringo.

He is 200k let everything pick him.

Was never gonna pick him but now everyone will jump off him  :P

I hope they do, but this will be a case of massively overrating Nicholls who gets smashed in the H/O department every week. Witts was recruited for a reason, he'll play round 1 and it's up to him to hold his place. People forget he was the number 1 ruck at Collingwood until he split the webbing in his hands.

I really can't see how in the earth witts gets dropped from the side? They will play witts and Nichols before they drop witts imo. All this talk of witts getting dropped for Nichols once fit is nonsense. If they pick both for round 1 I'll still pick him.

Never at any stage was he our number 1 ruck other than by default.
Grundy was left out of Round 1 last year for a reason.

I think you're making light of the competition Witts put up for the number one mantle. The fact that Buckley played two ruckmen for the good part of two years illustrates how close it was. Grundy pulled away in 2016 and Witts was left languishing in the VFL, a competition which he dominated once over the hand injury. He's a good player and I think GC have done exceedingly well to grab him on the cheap. 

[john23132]

Anyone going Grundy & Sandi like myself? Havent seen many

[dmac07]

Anyone going Grundy & Sandi like myself? Havent seen many

I am. But not many doing it, im pretty happy with the Grundy/Sandi set up. Risking no forward cover though.

[john23132]

Anyone going Grundy & Sandi like myself? Havent seen many

I am. But not many doing it, im pretty happy with the Grundy/Sandi set up. Risking no forward cover though.

Risky prospect, i think all teams should start with the Nank

[MontyJnr]

Nicholls is lazy and extremely average haha why are people talking him up like he's the Gawn of Gold Coast? If Nicholls was fully fit, I'd still expect him to still languish in the reserves.. Currie a bigger risk IMO

[Nige]

Anyone going Grundy & Sandi like myself? Havent seen many

Yep, locked and loaded. Nank at F5 too. Not for forward cover though, purely because I'm just keen to start all three.

[MontyJnr]

Anyone considering Vardy? Only 50k more than Witts and very solid JS now with Naitanui and Lycett injured

[Bully]

Nicholls is lazy and extremely average haha why are people talking him up like he's the Gawn of Gold Coast? If Nicholls was fully fit, I'd still expect him to still languish in the reserves.. Currie a bigger risk IMO

Yep, part of the reason Witts chose GC was due to having a fair run at the top job. It's absurd to suggest he would go to a club and then play in a vastly inferior competition like the NEAFL.

Just for the record, here's why GC were so desperate to get a competent ruckman.

Nicholls HO Record

vs Gawn (9-60)
vs Sandi (16-48)
vs Mumford (18-51)
vs Naitanui (16-38)
vs Kurt Tippett (21-50) Note: Sinclair also had 23 hit outs
vs Hampson (23-42)
vs Leuenberger (24-32)
vs McEvoy/Ceglar (27-41)
vs Kreuzer (17-23) Note : Andrew Phillips had 11 hit outs

Statistically Nicholls is one of the worst tap ruckmen in the AFL and for a 200cm+ player, he's stone cold motherless last in the rankings. I hope people now realise that Witts will be given every opportunity to play out the year.

[RaisyDaisy]

Like the Witts advocates have said at the end of the day he's basically a 200k rookie, and he might actually get a good crack at being their number 1 ruck, and if it busts then you move Nank/Ryder to the rucks and sideways Witts to a fwd rookie

I'm contemplating Witts now, but I honestly wouldn't be expecting anything more than a 70ish average, which I guess isn't too bad at the end of the day IF he holds his spot and lasts up until their bye

Could even look at turning Witts and Nank into our R1 once we have a clearer idea of who the best ruck is

[Torpedo10]

Would people really be game enough to go SandiWitts with Nank forward?

Seems like an awful lot of risk for not much reward, Espeically if Goldy or Gawn start well.

[RaisyDaisy]

Would people really be game enough to go SandiWitts with Nank forward?

Seems like an awful lot of risk for not much reward, Espeically if Goldy or Gawn start well.

I think the main appeal of this is that it allows you to go deep in the forwards, because there are not many forward rookies at all and the ones that are looking likely to actually play are going to score really crap anyway

[Bully]

Would people really be game enough to go SandiWitts with Nank forward?

Seems like an awful lot of risk for not much reward, Espeically if Goldy or Gawn start well.

I don't see it as a risk if one can swing Ryder or Nank into R2. Goldy & Gawn are also fully priced so their value will be heading south, it's just a question of how much they shed. The risk is actually locking in a ruck when there are no guarantees that this choice will be the right one. Daw will affect Goldy's output, Spencer will affect Gawn's output, and if North go with Preuss one could expect more of the same.

[eaglesman]

Would people really be game enough to go SandiWitts with Nank forward?

Seems like an awful lot of risk for not much reward, Espeically if Goldy or Gawn start well.

I think the main appeal of this is that it allows you to go deep in the forwards, because there are not many forward rookies at all and the ones that are looking likely to actually play are going to score really crap anyway

this plus also in defense. So many coaches are going to be crying when the likes of Stewart hibberd otten are either not named or dropped after one week.