Ruck Dilema

[Titan Tim]

These 2 ruck combinations cost nearly the exact same amount of money, but don't know which one to go with.

Sandilands, Seaby, Hale, Smith and Petrie in the forward line

or

Sandilands, Cox, Smith, J.Tippet and Petrie in the forward line

I can see benifits in both, but which one would you use???      :-\

[Joshy11]

Cox anyday of the week over seaby! No need to waste money on hale the spud coz smith will be a handy back up. Maybe consider getting mcdonald to utilize petries mpp if you want etra insurance :)

[nas]

Option 1 (IMO) as means to me a player from each club & 3 good rucks & with Hale gives you 4 of the 5 mentioned,as 2 has J Tipp & Smith from Suns. Both have the MPP combo. Still maintaining Zac as back up also

[BoredSaint]

dunno why you need to spend so much on rucks? would rather use the money some where else.

[hawk_88]

dunno why you need to spend so much on rucks? would rather use the money some where else.

Agreed. Go rookies for the subs.

[Patrician]

Yeah, I'd spend less on the rookies.

Still not sure what the new sub rules will do to the humble Ruck.

[hawk_88]

Yeah, I'd spend less on the rookies.

Still not sure what the new sub rules will do to the humble Ruck.

It will kill off the tap ruckman. What this will mean is probably a decline in the quality of ruck work, but ruckmen that offer at lot more around the ground - the idea being that both ruckman play as close to 100% TOG as possible, most like rotating through key positions up forward or back for rest, so ensure that clubs can maintain 3 rotating midfielders on the bench.

What does this for fantasy - probably an increase in the average scores for ruckman that will come with more TOG and have more impact on the general play.

[antman]

What does this for fantasy - probably an increase in the average scores for ruckman that will come with more TOG and have more impact on the general play.

I agree with you hawk the ruck will have the biggest change in their tog this year

[SydneyRox]

I would say having hale sit on your bench is too much money wasted. I am a little unsure of Seaby currently and while I like the idea will wait until NAB before committing to him.

[Knowall]

apart from Smith are their any players  under approx 200k thatll play every game

[hawk_88]

You don't need every player to be guaranteed to play every game, especially your 4th ruck. The idea is to pick someone really cheap and if you are luck they will make you some coin if they play a few games.

Admittedly it is a hard year for ruckman. Not only will selections be complicated by the new sub rule, but there is no clear rookie options for the ruck.

You could look at Jamie Charman and Robert Campbell as options for sub 200K ruckman as your third (or forth if you REALLY don't want to take any risk).

You could also pick, as suggested above, Tom McDonald as he is a cheap option for MPP so you could swap him with Petrie. He isn't likely to get games but you would pick him on the assumption that he wouldn't play. his sole purpose would be to swap with Petrie if needed.

[Knowall]

You don't need every player to be guaranteed to play every game, especially your 4th ruck. The idea is to pick someone really cheap and if you are luck they will make you some coin if they play a few games.

Admittedly it is a hard year for ruckman. Not only will selections be complicated by the new sub rule, but there is no clear rookie options for the ruck.

You could look at Jamie Charman and Robert Campbell as options for sub 200K ruckman as your third (or forth if you REALLY don't want to take any risk).

You could also pick, as suggested above, Tom McDonald as he is a cheap option for MPP so you could swap him with Petrie. He isn't likely to get games but you would pick him on the assumption that he wouldn't play. his sole purpose would be to swap with Petrie if needed.

Its not to have as fourth ruckman
For example what about having a backline of Sandi (or whatever prem) and Smith starting and have the most reliable backup for under 200k as third ruck and someone like Daw/mcDonald (MPP) as the 4th ruckman.  Having Petrie in the fwd line could be used as backup as well.

[hawk_88]

That is pretty close to the ruck structure I am leaning towards for this year.

Smith is an amazingly cheap option who could do well as a starting ruckman. It is risky and there is a good argument for forking out for two premium rucks though so consider this carefully.

Given what I have read about Robert Campbell's progress and his ability to play both as a key forward and back I am sure he will be in Melbourne's 22 as he fits the mould of the new second ruck given the sub rule. More people would probably go for Charman, especially with the talk that Mitch Clarke might be giving up the ruck duties and playing more around the ground, so again you should evaluate the options.

The only major change from that is that I am probably not going to pick Petrie up forward so I am not so interested in an MPP to swap him with. I am looking for rookies who might make me some cash but there is a great chance it wont pay off. I think it is worth the risk given it is the 4th ruck spot though.

Also there is a chance Daw won't be mpp. I think he was listed as a forward only in the prospectus which doesn't necessarily mean he won't, but his chances won't be high. Have to wait until SC opens in a week or so to find out.