Ludwig that's a very interesting and insightful post. Why not play Buddy in the ruck, he'd be a nightmare matchup. I think because Mr Magoo is right, you don't want your really good players in the ruck as they get damaged.
Tippett is seriously out of form / confidence and that's creating a huge problem, when you compare his performance v Mummy on Saturday to the game he got injured in last year (when it wa the other way around). So is the absence of a decent second ruck. Sinclair is also a liability. I would be inclined to force Tippett to ruck on his own and have a stable of pinch hitters including Reid and Aliir supporting him.
It's a hard position to fill, you want someone tall but exceptionally mobile like a Buddy or a Goodesy, but if you have someone that good, you don't want to risk playing them in the ruck. The alternative would be someone like a Sam Jacobs, Todd Goldstein type that can ruck on their own all day, so you only have to have one player that can ruck. I can see the appeal of going for a tall athlete and trying to turn them into a ruckman, like Mike Pyke.
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