Nic Nat is an interesting case in point.
You could argue he’s still got no idea where to run when he’s not in the actual contest.
Still hugely damaging.
Just like Draper, he’s basically just a big meat axe, who happens to be a really tap ruck and super quick.
Part of why I’m not so convinced that Draper wouldn’t cope if we had to play him. Send him in, tell him to follow the other big guy around and smash him when he gets it, I think he’d be an asset.
Nic Nat is an interesting case in point.
You could argue he’s still got no idea where to run when he’s not in the actual contest.
Still hugely damaging.
Just like Draper, he’s basically just a big meat axe, who happens to be a really tap ruck and super quick.
Part of why I’m not so convinced that Draper wouldn’t cope if we had to play him. Send him in, tell him to follow the other big guy around and smash him when he gets it, I think he’d be an asset.
I’d absolutely hate to see that done to him.
FFS just have some patience and let the guy continue to develop properly with craft and skill.
Dunno if it was 3 years ago or more now (most likely more) that St.Kilda took Paddy McCartin at pick 1 despite Petracca generally being the concensus number 1 pick.
I remember shaking my head at the time they drafted him.
It also doesn’t help that they have no idea whatsoever on how to develop young talent.
Petracca isn’t exactly setting the world on fire.
He’s going ok, but to me he’s stalled a bit.
If you gave me the choice right now of swapping him for Langford, I’d be hanging on to Langford.
I reckon if the 2014 draft was done again today, Petracca would be outside the top 5. Probably still top 10 though.
Conor McKenna pick 1
Agreed.
But the point is.
There were a few players rated a lot highter than McCartin before he was drafted and you are right, Petracca hasn’t set the world on fire but he is a truckload better than Paddy.
Pretty sure most of the reliable commentators had McCartin in the top 3 so it’s fair to say he was highly rated before the draft. And since being drafted has suffered concussion issues that weren’t a factor before he was drafted, so it’s hardly a forgone conclusion that they made the wrong choice. Given Petracca isn’t exactly a superstar it’s entirely possible that if McCartin’s development hadn’t been interrupted he’d actually be ahead and they’d look smart for drafting the type they needed who also turned out great.
I look at it from the point of view that recruiters like using low picks on rucks rather than disliking using high picks. Draper is a perfect example. If he works out we fill a position that really only needs one or two specialists on the list for a decade.
We tend to judge a midfield too much on stoppage performance. That is the number of clearances a ruckman and his mids can win. The fact is the number of clearances on average is very close from the worst team to the best. The average is about 37 and the standard deviation is under 2.
If we look at the number of clearances per hitout, it varies a lot more, and some of the teams with the best ruckmen have the lowest clearances per hitout while some of the teams with the worst ruckmen have the highest clearances per hitout.
Surprised? If a team has a poor ruckman they play a sharking style, more tackles, more accountable approach to opponents.
But the fact is, there is a lot of randomness in outcomes at stoppages
Turnovers, that is the way to win games. But ruckmen do not have to be brilliant, they have to be competitive and make sure the outcome of stoppages is random, or better.
I reckon Sam could do that now but he is only 20, he really does need more time in the VFL.
The 2000 to 2003 drafts had 6 tall forwards go top ten across the four years.
2004 and 2005 had 3 each.
That made me snort
As it would!!
Fixed.
Meh. I don’t reckon it’s the worst strategy around the ground. Much like we started Clarke as a run with when we weren’t quite sure of his impact.
He’s real good in the ruck, I’ve got no issues there, and if he can slow down the other ruckman, he could get pretty close to winning his spot from day one.
Good point about Smack
He can fill in now and then but is too short to be no 1 ruck
Need a replacement if TBC is injured. Not sure Draper is ready. Need to recruit a ready made one- rookie- Tom Campbell maybe ok unless Mummy is available and over his issues
Absolutely ridiculous to recruit a hack like Campbell when you have Sammy running around in the twos. We havd adequate coverage for Belly and Sammy is a more than adequate understudy. Ideally Sammy swill get 4-6 games for experience this year. The more experience we get into Sammy the better he will be.
Draper would pants Campbell, head to head.
I take it you didn’t see the two games they played against each other in 2018?
Campbell smashed him the first time, I believe.
I saw bits of the second one.
Draper’s improving at a huge rate of knots. Campbell isn’t.