Mark creative we might be but unless Joel Amarty ends up being the Messiah then i doubt we have the rucks to compete at the highest level. Sinclair and Cameron are good second rucks but definitely not first ruck material. We are in trouble unless we can come up with something really different. out mids are going to have to get used to roving to losing rucks each week and that is effing hard to do. In fact I'd say they will start to show the strain about mid season.Originally Posted by Mark26
I think the prospect of Amarty playing any senior footy this year is very slim. As far I as I have seen (admittedly not that many sessions) he's not been training at all with the main group. I'm not sure I've even seen him doing much running.
He's very much undersized to be a full time ruckman at AFL level too. He's listed at just 196 cm. So he'll need to be strong, fit and athletic to compete against the other competition ruckmen. He's going to need a fair bit of time in the NEAFL to develop.
It's terrible for Sam that he's always been plagued with injuries. He had a lot of potential. Now it looks to be career over.
I agree with Liz that it probably opens the biggest opportunity for Aliir. I don't think Sinclair offers much as a ruckman and it's too early to say if Cameron will be good enough. Amartey could be an option in the future.
We should be a more successful team with Aliir and Towers as our ruck combo. It's the way of the future and it really suits the style of play we are heading towards. Injury and a generally poor quality ruck division have forced our hand, but it could all be for the best.
196cm and 88kg. He would be rag-dolled
Given Tippett retired after the final list lodgement, could he not make a comeback as he's still technically listed?
Aliir is 196cm and I'm sure Amarty has put on some weight over the summer. That was last year's weight from his playing TAC. Naismith was supposed to be 200cm when we drafted him but he was in fact 205 or more. Look I said fast track not make him first ruck. He needs to be there in reserve just in case. Can't be a Mitchell or McLaren.
It's not that dire yet. Sure we've lost our two best rucks in Tippo and Naismith but nobody could confidently predict whether they would both be in the best 22, and that was playing two rucks.
We've still got Sinclair and Cameron. Sinclair has a minor injury apparently and will hopefully be ready for Round 1 or else soon afterwards. He is an experienced ruck at AFL level and his best work has been more than handy. The problem is we haven't seen enough of it. Cameron is still a bit of an unknown. He was looking promising before getting injured midway through last year but we haven't seen enough of him in the ruck to fill us with confidence.
The fill-ins are Aliir and Towers. Aliir is injured for the time being and who knows what happens once he has recovered - might depend on how the team goes in the meantime. Towers is obviously not a main ruck option and will at best be able to assist Sinclair or Cameron as second ruck. Likewise, I'm not in favour in chucking Reid or Parker or whoever too much in the ruck. We've gotta show faith in the team and the rucks we've recruited.
Lastly we have Amartey - but he is a project and hasn't shown evidence of bursting out of the blocks in the pre-season so I think we are unlikely to see him this year unless we also lose Sinclair and Cameron. Still, if Aliir and Towers are tall enough, so is Amartey.
Overall the timing of these injuries isn't so bad. Before Tippo retired we had an excess of depth in this position at the same time playing two rucks was going out of vogue. We've still got some solid options and some less-tried back-ups and a lot of teams are putting less emphasis on winning ruck contests anyway. I'm surprised Ludwig hasn't described this as an irrelevant footnote to the season if not a hidden blessing.
that isn't what I'm talking about Liz. He is really athletic and plays ruck better than Goodes at a junior level. what I'm saying is we need him to be ready to go if our other ruckmen go down. Last year we had a situation that nearly every ruckman went down. Only sinclair survived and then after the others started to come back he got injured. We don't have Tippett this yaer and no Naismith really puts us up against it. Aliir is no first ruck and I'm not sure of him rucking at AFL level.
At least Amarty was taking first ruck duties in the TAC. If the other two go down, which they seem to do regularly, we might just need him so it would seem prudent to get him ready. I don't think you really appreciate the desperation here. Not one ruckman short but two due to Tip retiring and the other two we have left are just plodders when it comes to ruck duties. We are dreadfully stretched. Not only that the two we have left are injury prone. the universe help us if either of them go down. If both of them do we only have Aliir of the experienced players left. That leaves Amarty who was drafted as a ruckman. By the way according to people who have seen training he has been doing light work but spending more time in the gym. I'd say they are trying to bulk him up a bit.
If this was an ordinary season Joel Amarty's name would and should not even be mentioned except when talking about him making his NEAFL debut. But I'm here to tell you that if the other two go down they will start looking to fast track his progress.
Aliir might be 196cm but he's a full five years older than Amarty and has been in the system for more than four years. He's fitter, stronger and more experienced. Even he is a doubtful ruck prospect but there's a huge gulf between his capabilities - for this season - and those of Amarty. I think it's folly to think Amarty is going to come in and play in the ruck for the senior team in 2018.
Why do we get ruckmen with injury problems. Tippert was always injured and could not put a string ogf games together. Naismith its the same always one or two in then out injured. Maybe we need to convince tippert to unretire
That's what I thought as soon as I heard about Naismith. Amarty's highlights reel reveals an excellent tap ruckman who positions himself well and puts the ball down midfielders throats nearly very time......yes, it is time to fast track him.
Bloody hell I was worried about this in the thread V Brisbane Lions when Sinclair got injured - this is terrible news. Will need Aliir to recover quickly. Trying to think of other options besides Sam Reid - is Toby Pink any chance of elevation? May not be tall enough but he is an option I guess. I just hope Cameron steps up - he has to take his chance.
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