46 minutes ago, old dee said:

Gone as soon as contract expires. As DD says no intensidy. You have it or don't, it cannot be taught. Kentland has it in spades. You need skill as well but without it you won't make a Senior level player especially if you are a KPF.

Who is Kentland ? Is he related to McAdams ?

16 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

Who is Kentland ? Is he related to McAdams ?

OD meant Lukar Kentfield large lump of a kid that just resumed with Casey after a long illness. Pennant coached him as a junior where he played him at CHB where he showed intent and intensity ( key component’s for a key fwd/ defender).

1 hour ago, old dee said:

Gone as soon as contract expires. As DD says no intensidy. You have it or don't, it cannot be taught. Kentfield has it in spades. You need skill as well but without it you won't make a Senior level player especially if you are a KPF.

1 hour ago, Cranky Franky said:

Who is Kentland ? Is he related to McAdams ?

Sorry CF corrected." Kentfield".

It's difficult to see him making it

I don't read replies or reactions

13 minutes ago, greenwaves said:

It's difficult to see him making it

I don't read replies or reactions

A genuine question, just curious:

You apparently read, reply and react to other people's posts as evidenced by your above post which is only intelligible as a response to someone else's post.

While I can understand you or anyone not wishing to get involved in a stream of argumentative counter posts, why do you feel it necessary to add that? You can simply not respond to responses if you wish.

Not that I expect a response....

4 hours ago, rjay said:

I think Tom still plays like a basketballer & hasn't been able to transition his athletic traits to football.

You can get away with it at VFL level but get found out in the AFL.

When he jumps at the ball it's not with intent, he seems open (for want of a better word) & he's too easily pushed aside or blocked.

He does some smart things around the ball, little tap ons & the like that come from his previous sport.

...but as a package he's obviously not the answer.

Wonder what LJ's doing.

Great take. I see this too as someone whose played/watched a lot of basketball.

There's a real difference between using the body in basketball and football. I can see Tom being great at boxing out, he holds his ground OK but in footy you can bump and use your arms more in a marking contest and he just doesn't seem to be able to create space for himself to compete in the air.

I think it's hard to critique ruck/forwards in terms of intensity. You have those the natural instinct like the Xerri types it clearly goes a long way and you can build your skills/craft off it. Then there's the Max types who I wouldn't say play with great intensity, he relies more on his work rate and positioning to stay engaged and impact each contest. I'm not sure Tom has enough of either of these key traits to really make it as a full-time AFL player unfortunately.

What I will say is unlike this week, I thought Tom worked well in terms of simplifying our structure/positioning. I think there's some merit in having a bigger body who holds position and creates space for others. I think that both JVR and AJ get sucked into contests or where the ball is sometimes and could do more to hold their position and create space when needed. Hoping especially JVR can learn this and not have to fly/attack everything to create space for others and/or be an option off the post contest clearance more with more space to work with.

Edited April 26Apr 26 by Young Blood

Interesting that we have mentioned Xerri regarding developing rucks.

I remember watching him as a young player, and not being very impressed with his positioning, intent or skills.

However, after 4-5 years of development with Goldstein and TC, he is a much more accomplished player. He is now 26 of course. And his skills are still a bit 🤮

The other factor to take into account is how it affects the defence of the opposition. Shorter defenders often overreact to tall players in space. This helps to provide leading lanes. It’s also good for a bigger players to learn to legally block in marking contests – something that we haven’t been doing recently, but JVR benefited from this week.

8 minutes ago, picket fence said:

Jack Watts could play... Fullarton cannot! and should never play another game for us again!

4 hours ago, old dee said:

Gone as soon as contract expires. As DD says no intensidy. You have it or don't, it cannot be taught. Kentland has it in spades. You need skill as well but without it you won't make a Senior level player especially if you are a KPF.

JEFFO Contracted till end of 2026

Edited April 26Apr 26 by picket fence

14 hours ago, picket fence said:

JEFFO Contracted till end of 2026

That’s fine PF, I hope he can improve, sadly the odds aren’t in his favour.

20 hours ago, old dee said:

Gone as soon as contract expires. As DD says no intensidy. You have it or don't, it cannot be taught. Kentland has it in spades. You need skill as well but without it you won't make a Senior level player especially if you are a KPF.

Kentfield looks handy enough

Edited April 26Apr 26 by Tracca

21 hours ago, picket fence said:

JEFFO Contracted till end of 2026

Will he Weideman us with four good games mid 2026 and then a 3 year contract. I hope not.

This should be his year if he is to make it.

Sticks head above parapet...

I haven't seen the replay yet but the Fullarton feelings seem strong, here and over on '3 words'. Does the following count for anything 'within the four walls'? Would JVR or AJ provide the same % of ruck contests and/or hitouts to advantage?...

Max 34 hitouts from 65 contests, Tom 10 from 24; Max 10 HTA (28%), Tom 4 (43%)

57 minutes ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Max 34 hitouts from 65 contests, Tom 10 from 24; Max 10 HTA (28%), Tom 4 (43%)

Ah the role of the second ruck. Solve that one and you'll win the lottery.

Collingwood and others seem to have achieved a balance

There's even a school that says hit out stats are irrelevant

I have no idea these days

Luke Jackson and Max sure did this job pretty well

Edited April 27Apr 27 by Young Angus

56 minutes ago, Young Angus said:

Luke Jackson and Max sure did this job pretty well

LJ's career average 14.1 hitouts, 4.3 to advantage, boosted by his increased role at Dockers (e.g. 2025 to date: 33.0 and 11.8). Fullarton 10 and 4 on Thursday.

On 26/04/2025 at 13:30, Young Blood said:

What I will say is unlike this week, I thought Tom worked well in terms of simplifying our structure/positioning. I think there's some merit in having a bigger body who holds position and creates space for others. I think that both JVR and AJ get sucked into contests or where the ball is sometimes and could do more to hold their position and create space when needed. Hoping especially JVR can learn this and not have to fly/attack everything to create space for others and/or be an option off the post contest clearance more with more space to work with.

Would this be a vote for playing Tom Campbell instead of Fullarton or JVR then?

5 hours ago, Adam The God said:

Would this be a vote for playing Tom Campbell instead of Fullarton or JVR then?

or AJ

I think Campbells lack of mobility is probably keeping him out of the side along with the fact he's really just a true ruckman, less so a forward. With Max fit we really just need someone to pinch hit in the ruck who can provide a contest and PRESSURE up forward so I think it will continue to be JVR or AJ picked over the next few weeks.

Maybe if the oppo plays two genuine rucks might we look at TC.

One of the less inspiring performances I've seen in a while. Was hopeless in the ruck. No disrespect to the kid, but unfortunately football isn't his thing.

On 26/04/2025 at 14:21, DiscoStu17 said:

Interesting that we have mentioned Xerri regarding developing rucks.

I remember watching him as a young player, and not being very impressed with his positioning, intent or skills.

However, after 4-5 years of development with Goldstein and TC, he is a much more accomplished player. He is now 26 of course. And his skills are still a bit 🤮

The other factor to take into account is how it affects the defence of the opposition. Shorter defenders often overreact to tall players in space. This helps to provide leading lanes. It’s also good for a bigger players to learn to legally block in marking contests – something that we haven’t been doing recently, but JVR benefited from this week.

What’s interesting about Xerri is that last year he became a tackling machine, averaging 7.5 per game. For context, Gawn averaged 2.5.

Last week against Carlton he was game high with 11.

To your point, if the skills aren’t great then you have to be providing some other intensity around the ball like tackling.

For a guy who has been in the AFL system for six years and who has spent 18 months waiting for an opportunity at Melbourne, Fullarton shows an incredible lack of desire and competitiveness.

I thought Tom was beaten in the ruck by OMac against Fremantle, which is bad enough, but to get beaten by the much smaller McIntosh against Richmond is damning. Combine that with his lack of presence and contribution in the forward line, and clearly he is not the answer. He certainly can't be an option when we play against sides with two genuine ruckmen and I can't see him being on the list next year.

9 hours ago, VoiceOfReason said:

One of the less inspiring performances I've seen in a while. Was hopeless in the ruck. No disrespect to the kid, but unfortunately football isn't his thing.

I agree

Really want him to play well, just doesn't look comfortable in the Ruck

The criticism of Fullarton's lack of impact as a forward is justified, but those claiming he was awful in the ruck just don't watch closely enough to get beyond their initial bias. To say he was beaten by McIntosh is inaccurate, at least!

He doesn't want the ball! He should be made to by playing him at fullback at Casey or at FF with the ball bombing on his head.

On 26/04/2025 at 08:25, rjay said:

I think Tom still plays like a basketballer & hasn't been able to transition his athletic traits to football.

You can get away with it at VFL level but get found out in the AFL.

When he jumps at the ball it's not with intent, he seems open (for want of a better word) & he's too easily pushed aside or blocked.

He does some smart things around the ball, little tap ons & the like that come from his previous sport.

...but as a package he's obviously not the answer.

Wonder what LJ's doing.

Not sure if anyone else watched Kalani yesterday. but your basketball point is very valid. given as he didnt see a minute of rucking he just doesnt attack the footy, just stands with his arms up being tall, wouldn;'t be surprised if he falls to a rookie pick. definitely not the great white hope he has been pegged as for the lasdt few years