Who's the better pick for 4th ruck spot?

Talisman · December 22, 2011, 07:26:36 PM

For me, it's out of Jonathan Giles (GWS) & Sam Rowe (Carlton) - both mature-agers, but Rowe has the added flexibility of R/F DPP (+ the small matter of being $20,000 cheaper than Giles).

I will be locking in 2 premos & 2 cheapies in my rucks in a 'lock and leave' (barring injuries) stratgery, as I, along with many did, last year.

Yet to settle on the 2 premos, but at this stage looking at Cox (super-prem & durable for a big man) McEvoy (prem & only ruckman at Saint-land). 3rd fav prem is Leuenberger. The others I'm strongly considering are Sandilands - but his injuries really worry me - & Goldstein - but not sure what will happen to his scoring if/when H/Mac comes back into the team (as perpetually promised by Brad Scott). Love Mummy, but gets reported too much - just a little too over-zealous when tackling/bumping, and in the current AFL climate, he will get suspended at least once a season unless he changes the way he plays.

The blatantly obvious player for the no. 3 ruck spot is Orren Stephenson, just leaving the no. 4 spot... Interested in anyones thoughts.

nichsa673 · December 22, 2011, 07:35:02 PM

Not trying to be mean, but i think Mummy, Burger, Orren and Giles are the obvious and best picks you can get. Cox had a great year, but will struggle with Naitanui getting better every year, Goldstein will still be good, but H Mac will hurt his scoring, and Sandilands is not seeming as dominant as he was.

Talisman · December 22, 2011, 07:47:28 PM

Quote from: nichsa673 on December 22, 2011, 07:35:02 PM
Not trying to be mean, but i think Mummy, Burger, Orren and Giles are the obvious and best picks you can get. Cox had a great year, but will struggle with Naitanui getting better every year, Goldstein will still be good, but H Mac will hurt his scoring, and Sandilands is not seeming as dominant as he was.

Kinda agree with you on Berger - since my other post, I've been comparing Berger & McEvoy - v.similar, maybe just give to Berger - will come down to preseason for me.

Can't agree on Mummy - great player & scorer - could be the dominant SC ruck for the next few years, but as I mentioned earlier, with his aggressive style & the AFL's stance on protecting the head, I think he is always in danger on suspensions...

Agree with you on Goldstein - as I mentioned in my earlier post - and sort of agree on Sandi - at his peak, still the dominant ruck in the AFL (on the ground & in SuperCoach) - his injuries concern me more than his being dominant or not.

Lastly, I think Cox can back up last year - has only missed 17 games out of a possible 176 in the last 8 seasons (less than 2 games/yr on ave) & has averaged 98+ in 6 of the last 7 seasons - not bad in my book. The more important point you raise is NicNat: he played 20 games last season & Cox still averaged 122 ppg - easily the best of all the rucks.

Consider this: Will NicNat ever affect Cox's scoring? NicNat is an impact player - he does not impose himself on games for 120 minutes like Cox does - he flashes in & out with pieces of rare brilliance - I can't see that changing for at least the next 2-3 years, if in fact he ever can.

I gues you answered my question though - you would take Giles over Rowe by the sound of things... Correct??

c4v3m4n · December 22, 2011, 07:51:57 PM

Giles for me.

Ringo · December 22, 2011, 07:59:03 PM

I am factoring in the byes with Rucks and have gone Berger and Giles both have bye Round 11, Stephenson has bye in Round 12 and McEvoy in Round 13 so you can see have good coverage,
flowers Berger, McEvoy (Giles, Stephenson)
I reckon Giles will play every game with GWS as sup[port to Brogan so he would be the obvious choice for you.

newfreofan · December 22, 2011, 10:23:03 PM

Sam Rowe isn't R/F, he's only F.

coolfugitiv0 · December 22, 2011, 11:14:46 PM

Quote from: newfreofan on December 22, 2011, 10:23:03 PM
Sam Rowe isn't R/F, he's only F.

Listed on Fanplanner as R/F. And (correct me if I'm wrong) the Fanplanner stats are taken from SC Gold, which is now open to people to get an early jump on the competition.

newfreofan · December 22, 2011, 11:54:51 PM

Huh, the other day I could have sworn he was only Forward on SC Gold. Sorry bout that, my bad. Yeah everything is taken from SC gold only difference I've found is that Clifton is listed as C/F on fanplanner but just a mid in SC Gold.

jimmytigs · December 23, 2011, 10:49:42 AM

never knew a thing about rowe so glad to hear such things,even as a r/f will he get a game at carlton & is there another r/f to match him up with?im not going with roughead or hale for starters.warnock/kreuzer & hampson will surely keep him out for most part at blues,on that basis im going with giles who by all accounts almost has him #1 at gws

Talisman · December 24, 2011, 05:54:08 PM

Quote from: Ringo on December 22, 2011, 07:59:03 PM
I am factoring in the byes with Rucks and have gone Berger and Giles both have bye Round 11, Stephenson has bye in Round 12 and McEvoy in Round 13 so you can see have good coverage,
flowers Berger, McEvoy (Giles, Stephenson)
I reckon Giles will play every game with GWS as sup[port to Brogan so he would be the obvious choice for you.

Yeah, I must admit after starting this thread it has certainly got me thinking about the byes & how it will affect my ruck stocks in particular (as there will be less or no DPP coverage in that position) - at one stage was considering Cox & Berger as my starting ruckmen, but the idea of my 2 starting ruckmen both riding the pine in round 11 didn't appeal.

I really like the balance and cost of your rucks, but I'm worried about leaving Cox out - he's such a dominant scorer who I've even given the big "C" to occasionally - leaving him out gives me one less captaincy option (esp. during the bye rounds that he's playing when lots of other guns that are captaincy material will be on the bench). How did you reconcile this yourself?

Quote from: jimmytigs on December 23, 2011, 10:49:42 AM
never knew a thing about rowe so glad to hear such things,even as a r/f will he get a game at carlton & is there another r/f to match him up with?im not going with roughead or hale for starters.warnock/kreuzer & hampson will surely keep him out for most part at blues,on that basis im going with giles who by all accounts almost has him #1 at gws

From what I've heard about Rowe he's a ruck option as a back up if the Blues are desperate, but he's really been drafted to play as a forward - which they obviously need. Being a mature-ager, think he could potentially get plenty of game time, and the Blues have shown a penchant for giving players a chance - eg. Duigan, Laidler, etc. (unlike the Saints under Ross & the Bulldogs under Rocket).

Ultimately, I still like Rowe being cheaper & the added flexibility of him being DPP (esp. with the new DPP trade rule), however, I am now leaning more in the Giles direction - I'd be pretty ticked off with myself if I missed out on this season's Zac Smith afterall! Thanks for the input people! ;)

Ringo · December 24, 2011, 07:05:53 PM

Basically Cox and Berger have a bye in the same round 11. I had to pick one of the 2 and whether you agree or not I based my decision on the fact that Cox is now 31 and has had a few injuries whereas the Berger is only 23 and played all 22 games last year and increased his average SC score to over 100.

With the departure of Clark can see him spending time on the ground and being a resting forward when Hudson is used in ruck for Brisbane. The game that still stands in my mind is where he literally destroyed Mumford as his breakout ruck.

Decision is yours you could substitute Berger with Cox.

Talisman · December 24, 2011, 07:34:45 PM

Yep, all very fair, sound reasoning - can't argue with a word of it! Will still be a close call, but I reckon you've swayed me that little bit towards Berger against Cox as my no. 1 ruckman, to go along with McEvoy, Stephenson & one of either Rowe or Giles (still undecided, but Giles does sound good from what people are saying). Cheers!!