I just don't reckon the coaches will do it....and some or all of your reasons may well come into it. I do reckon they still see value in having him out there from the start because he takes the number one defender....and then taking him off later if he's been ineffective.....or getting tired with the team in control of the match.
Steven May in court this week for driving with a suspended licence. Demons premiership star faces court after latest off-field incident
Selectors certainly have their headaches this week as dropping McLean for Buddy would expose us in the ruck if Ladhams gets injured. Taking a punt if they do that and same if we played all 4 Talls! Just would've like to see Logan/Armartey forward combination again for another week against a top liner like Melbourne. Maybe Buddy should've been suspended for 2 weeks! (Only kidding!).
I hope they repeat the Number 25 Jumper tribute this week, with Barry Round's career having overlapped between South Melbourne/Sydney. Also hope they're continuing with wearing the Red V for Victorian games.
McLean isn’t a backup ruck. Partey boy is a much better option, even if he’s a bit short of match fitness
If that's what the selectors do decide, they may start with Buddy on the bench (not as sub) to give the Logan/Armartey combo another crack to begin with. Buddy could come on to play high half forward role if that combo starts well. It might also throw off Melbourne plans with May who is usually matched on Buddy.
Noticed Logan did play some minutes in the Ruck during the practice matches, so he & Amartey could also possibly share the relief ruck duties for Ladhams.
Now that Gawn is out, I'm not so worried about how our 2nd ruck goes against their 2nd ruck. The Demons have already named Jacob Van Rooyen to make his debut, so their 2nd ruck will either be him or Ben Brown.
AFL 2023: Melbourne’s Jacob van Rooyen to debut v Sydney Swans | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site
I hope we play the Wombat this week. I wanted us to take JVR (Jacob van Rooyen) with the pick we used on Sheldrick and am looking forward to see how they go. I quite like Sheldrick and think he will be a midfield regular in the next couple of years. But JVR would better fill a role we need.
Too much importance is being placed on the relief ruckman role. It doesn't really matter that much, especially when the opposition team only have one regular ruckman as well. I would be more concerned if one of our trainers got injured and couldn't provide massages on the sidelines.
More important than the participants in the ruck contest is how we play the contest to prevent the opposition from gaining advantage with a quick break out of the centre. I know this is something we are cognizant of and continually try to improve. It's much more than just about the ruckman.
It would seem hard to drop Amartey after he got so many coaches votes last week. But you never know.
Loose translation from the Latin is - I am tall, so I hit out.
Ins are Sheldrick Franklin and Hall-Kahan
Bookmarks