Ex-#44 Shaun McKernan

Belly has a long way to go, to get back into the team.

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McKernan has always been good at second efforts after the ruck contest, and hunting the ball down in congested situations - Has always had the issue of kicking the ball blindly, rather than at times giving the ball off by hand.

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Good performance, i definitely wouldnā€™t be dropping McKernan especially for bellchambers at this stage. I think he plays at least till he under performs or if its a no brainer coming up against a guy like goldstein. He really is like another midfielder once the ball hits the deck.

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He gave away 6 free kicks but from the stands I only really noticed one.

Maybe it was just me, but I thought he was pretty stiff on a couple of them.

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His work so far is reminiscent of his 2015 efforts where he played his heart out. Everyone loved the man then too.

Reckon a club like Hawthorn might have a sniff at bringing in if he didnā€™t get an upgrade with Essendon?

They donā€™t need him. They got Ty Vickery.

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Do they make platform footy boots?

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Delist him every year if heā€™s gonna play like this

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Iā€™ve been a major critic, but his game on Saturday was very good. Hopefully he can keep it up. And hopefully he can cut out some of those stupid free kicks (even if they werenā€™t in the ruck this time).

Can they transplant arms from shoulders to the upper neck??

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Heā€™s more Kreuzer than Kreuzer with his mobility.

Unfortunately I think heā€™s going to give away more ruck frees just because thatā€™s an area with which he struggles.

Heā€™s fine when heā€™s on the ball - I reckon he always has been. Heā€™s not a smart player but he runs and competes and gives heaps at ground level.

He had 7 or so years at Adelaide playing forward, back, everywhere. And struggled.
In 2015 he had to play one-out as the last resort ruckman - and did really well, top 10 of B&F off half a season.
Then 2016 we decided he was apparently a forward & 2nd ruckman, and he struggled.
2017 round one he played as one-out ruckman, and more than held his own.
Anyone spot a pattern?

We need to stop over-thinking this and just leave him there IN THE RUCK. For mine he adds a lot more than Leuey or Bellcho in total. If nothing else, weā€™re better off erring on the side of pace & mobility IMHO.

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Bevvo said that ruckmen might shift to be in the mould of smack. Ie not a giant tap ruckman a la Sandi. But one that overs almost as much as a midfielder around the ground.

Beveridge was playing Devilā€™s Advocate in terms of the 3rd man up rule. Conventional wisdom is that it favours the pure ruckmen (Gawn, Sandi, etc) but he also said we could go the complete 180, not worry about the tapout and play a mobile tall there. I doubt it will ever get to the point, however here is another question. If Smack continues to play like this over the next 2-3 weeks whilst Leuey and T-Bell are injured or getting match fit in the VFL respectively, is McKernan our #1 ruck? Does he keep that mantle and those 2 donā€™t get back in unless he loses form or gets injured himself?

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Yep, says the coach without a decent ruckman on the list.

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Big call.

I like Mckernan, and I agree that number 1 ruck is his best spot, but Iā€™m not sure I agree that he adds more than the other two overall.

Watching Max Gawn hand Hickey his ā– ā– ā– ā–  the other day made me shudder at the thought of Smack going up against him.

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I completely agree that Smack is a #1 ruck or nothing. I think it is obvious. Even his goals arenā€™t like a traditional tall forward.

I disagree on his effectiveness as #1 ruck in 2015. But am happy for him to prove me wrong.

If heā€™s playing well as #1 ruck then IMO he keeps it.

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OMGHAP!!!

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