They need the nomination. If they don’t have it, the umps and players don’t know who’s actually contesting the ruck, so they don’t know who they can and can’t stand in front of at the stoppages.
Eg if there was no nomination and both Goldstein and Brown were in the vicinity at a ruck contest, non-North players would stand in front of Brown, Goldstein would see it and deliberately not contest the ruck, and Brown would then appeal for a free kick, claiming he was blocked from competing in the ruck. Same problem with Grundy + Cox, Naitanui + Kennedy, Bellchambers + Smack etc. With no nominations, Caleb Daniel he could look for a free kick if someone stands in front of him at a ruck contest.
With the nomination (assuming Golstein nominates,) the non-North players know they can stand in front of Brown, but they’re not allowed to impede Goldstein, and vice versa if Brown nominates.
Gotta love Blitz, two weeks of Blitz saying how Phillips was so much better than Belly and how much more he offered, then he has one bad week and suddenly he is the worst player to ever play.
I never said he was that good. He did play a fine game against Grundy.
Then he got whipped by Goldstein - but Goldy is in rare form.
Then he had one of the all time dominant performances played on him by a guy who loses his position most weeks. I’d say it warrants some re-evaluation of his prospects as an AFL footballer.
Bellchambers might be a better matchup for Witts in a few weeks than Phillips. Witts doesn’t really hurt you around the ground. He’s just a really good rap ruckman.
Bellchambers a better chance of competing in the taps with Witts.