History has shown that Smack will have a pretty average game this week. He will only possibly keep his spot if he has a blinder.
Not really. He was consistently good in 2015 and consistently bad in 2016. If anything history suggests weâll have good smack in 2017.
Gawn hardly destroyed Looney. He won the tap outs, but Looney has a fair knack for neutralising opposition hit outs. When Smack loses hit outs, he loses them emphatically.
I donât reckon Looney has ever been totally destroyed in his career, and he has a fair record against the big guys. Heâs more of a defensive / negating option than Mckernan. As in, he is far, far less likely to get totally pantsed in a ruck contest.
Who knows, maybe Mckernan has made some progress? Iâd be happy for him to be given the chance to find out, but Iâd be surprised if anything has really changed.
I can definitely see why we wouldnât send an underdone Belly up North, particularly if it is going to be wet.
But letâs not kid ourselves, Looney and Belly are our #1 and #2 ruckman (likely in that order) and one should come into the team as soon as ready. Smack is proving to be a solid back-up plan (which is what we need him to be), but if history has taught us anything it is that last week is likely to be the exception rather than the rule. An A-grade ruckman (think Gawn, Goldstein and worryingly, perhaps, Martin) will tear him to shreds.
And I really noticed his leap at the centre bounces, which someone mentioned was second only to Natanui in the draft testing. Ryder went to a different level when he was called on to do the big jobs. First choice for mine except perhaps against the genuine giants.
Also came 6th in the agility (although Ayce Cordy came 5th lol)
http://www.topendsports.com/sport/afl/testing-draft-results-2008.htm
Would be better if they had jump + reach than just vert jump
Would be even better if that wasnât 8-9 years ago.
Except for one significant advantage McKernan has over both - he wins a significant number of clearances when he plays ruck and fight for the ball on the ground like a midfielder. Leuenberger & Bellchambers hardly win any.
For the first time that I can recall, they werenât hack-the-kick forward type clearances either - thee were a couple of smart handballs to release his mids to deliver. He had 5 clearances - equal 2nd for us alongside Zach Merrett (goddard had 7 and was our best player I thought).
He now has to maintain that intensity and form and stop giving away 5+ free kicks per game. Normally they are all in the ruck but on Saturday night they were nearly all in general play. Itâs why he was credit with 9 clangers which is easily the worst of any of our players - Parish was next worst with 6; with 3 shocking kicks into the F50 in Q4 that limited us scoring even more heavily (he really does need to work on his disposal).
Gawn had 31 hitouts to Leueyâs 16
Goldstein 35 to Leueyâs 17
He didnât have to play Mummie or Sandi, and Jacobs went off in the 1st quarter.
All in all Iâm not sure if he really stacks up as this weapon against the gun rucks that heâs meant to be.
As I said, itâs not about hit-out numbers, itâs about the quality of the hit-outs conceded.
Be honest, if we were playing Melbourne this week, and you had a fit Mckernan or a fit Looney to choose from, who are you picking?
Dont get me wrong, Iâm a fan of Mckernan, and I hope like hell he can step it up on a regular basis, because he adds a lot of extra things the other guys donât. The negatives are glaring though.
Hopefully he gets the chance to find out if he can do what he did last week consistently.
I would genuinely take McKernan.
McKernan really gives us something at ground level and around the flanks. I donât know what it is about his build, but heâs really got some agility, heâs not super quick but he does move side to side far better than most big blokes, which is a real asset around a clearance - and heâs getting pretty nifty at using that step and finding quality options by hand.
Leuey just doesnât do that stuff. He either wins the ruck or he doesnât, then he goes deep forward or deep back as the long target. Heâs better in the ruck and heâs better in the air than McKernan, but thatâs almost the sum total of what he does. And thatâs fine to a point, but heâs not getting any of Gawn or Sandi et al worried just yet.
At least Smack can give them some real grief in one facet of the game.
Moot point anyway, odd-numbered year, Leueyâs broken.
Ha. I forgot about that.
One thing I would say is being exaggerated, and that is Mckernan around the ground. Outside the odd pot shot for goal (which is fun), Leuy is all over McKernan when it comes to link up play and getting in the right positions. Of course, when its in Leuyâs hands in that situation the heart can be in the mouthâŚ
LOL
Luey is a better tap ruckman but Iâd suggest you donât watch our games of you think heâs better around the ground. Tell me when youâve ever seen luey nail a goal like smacks in the third against the hawks. Mckernans agility and scoreboard power are his two biggest assets
What? leuy stops forward momentum quite often by trying to do too much.
Only time Leuey gets the ball in space is when the ball goes down one end, rebounds back and he hasnât moved, so heâs the only guy in the centre square.
McKernan is much better around clearances, and as I said dobbing the odd goal. But Aleut positions himself far better for general play through the middle. How many times have we screamed âdonât give it to him!â?
By âpositions himselfâ you mean heâs almost always there as the long option because he basically doesnât leave the central third of the ground.
Whereas SMack basically follows the ball like a midfielder.
Itâs a good problem to have, anyway. I donât reckon belly would be feeling that great, at the moment heâs the least likely of the 3 to get a game