Yesterday I became so frustrated because it appeared as though the Demons ruckman were tapping it to the blues!! the number of times they got clearances from the hitout was amazing!!

is it a case of our midfielders not knowing where the ball is going or the tap not going where it is meant to.

white controlled the hitouts but was sharked so many times!!

we are getting smashed in the midfield and this appears something that we should be able to fix!!

Yesterday I became so frustrated because it appeared as though the Demons ruckman were tapping it to the blues!! the number of times they got clearances from the hitout was amazing!!

is it a case of our midfielders not knowing where the ball is going or the tap not going where it is meant to.

white controlled the hitouts but was sharked so many times!!

we are getting smashed in the midfield and this appears something that we should be able to fix!!

might have been my imagination ..but I noticed in the pre match warm ups that the blueboys had their centre crew practicing the hit outs..and it almost looked like they were practicing sharking as opposed to getting their own wins.

I dont think its any lack of faith in Kruezer ..just a realistic hedging. And they certainly were better at clearances on the day.

First use of the ball is all that matters and yes i agree the opportunity for that to happen can be equated to ruckmen IF THERE GOOD ENOUGH

there hasnt been a ruckman in the game since Simon Maddern that could do that

there is far more emphasis on your midfielders reading the play these days because of it

White is an excellent jump ruckman and follower around the ground but getting first possesion consistantly hasnt been his strength

Cox from the Eagles does it better than anyone running around at present

How i miss a player like Viney

Swampy,

The centre rule change in 2004 effectively changed the emphasis on the importance of the first hit at the centre bounce by eliminate the ability to run and leap and palm/ punch the ball any considerable distance. Simon Maddern would have to learn a new skill because he advantage would have neutered by the rule All taps now fall within a smaller central area than potentially 5 years ago. The traditional jump ruckman is a dodo now. Unless a big man is mobile and doubles as an additional midfielder then that players use is indeed limited.

There is greater importance on the competence of the first and second 4 players rotating through the midfield to win possession and effective clearances while at the same time nullifying the opposition clearances.

Why is Cox is best ruckman in the AFL and winning the lion share of hit outs yet WCE this year (and last year too when Cousins and Judd wer out) are getting carved up? Further illustrates the dwindling importance of the centre bounce ruckman as against having a dominating and competitive midfield.

In MFC's case our midfield is underclassed and has been so for some time. So no matter how many hit outs White does get on a good day its too often sharked by better more competitive opposition midfielders who read the play better than MFC and have better first dib ball getters who start the play rolling

Swampy,

The centre rule change in 2004 effectively changed the emphasis on the importance of the first hit at the centre bounce by eliminate the ability to run and leap and palm/ punch the ball any considerable distance. Simon Maddern would have to learn a new skill because he advantage would have neutered by the rule All taps now fall within a smaller central area than potentially 5 years ago. The traditional jump ruckman is a dodo now. Unless a big man is mobile and doubles as an additional midfielder then that players use is indeed limited.

There is greater importance on the competence of the first and second 4 players rotating through the midfield to win possession and effective clearances while at the same time nullifying the opposition clearances.

Why is Cox is best ruckman in the AFL and winning the lion share of hit outs yet WCE this year (and last year too when Cousins and Judd wer out) are getting carved up? Further illustrates the dwindling importance of the centre bounce ruckman as against having a dominating and competitive midfield.

In MFC's case our midfield is underclassed and has been so for some time. So no matter how many hit outs White does get on a good day its too often sharked by better more competitive opposition midfielders who read the play better than MFC and have better first dib ball getters who start the play rolling

Yeah fair comment and i did take that into consideration thus included IF THERE GOOD ENOUGH in capitals

Ruckman are the first to touch the ball so therefore still remain some influence over who gets the ball next

There just isnt anyone around that has exploited and adapted to those changes yet

But appreciate your reply just the same

All comes back to a lack of quality in midfield.

We lack someone like Judd. Dynamic enough to break the game apart with a goal from a run-away stoppage.

All comes back to a lack of quality in midfield.

We lack someone like Judd. Dynamic enough to break the game apart with a goal from a run-away stoppage.

so do 15 other teams

so do 15 other teams

I was just making Judd the example.

So no. West Coast have Kerr, Hawthorn have Hodge, Etc.

Who do we have?

bailey said during the week and I agreed with him, that the clearances is an area we've actually been pretty good...

i'm pretty sure we won the clearances in the first 3 games, we were at least competitve in this area while we were getting smashed everywhere else...

however this is an area we've fallen off in the last couple weeks, which I put down to jamar playing instead of johnson... once the ball hits the deck PJ is athletic enough to help clear the ball, or stop the opposition clearing it... while Jamar is about as useful as a tree that gets in the way in this aspect of the game...

the problem against carlton too was the quality of the clearances, which is attributable to one chris judd being the freak that he is...

I was just making Judd the example.

So no. West Coast have Kerr, Hawthorn have Hodge, Etc.

Who do we have?

Yeah i know you were

we have nobody of that class yet but one position we have always had no problem filling over the years is Centre Line Players

I was just making Judd the example.

So no. West Coast have Kerr, Hawthorn have Hodge, Etc.

Who do we have?

B)Daniel Rich, - Here we come!B)

bailey said during the week and I agreed with him, that the clearances is an area we've actually been pretty good...

i'm pretty sure we won the clearances in the first 3 games, we were at least competitve in this area while we were getting smashed everywhere else...

however this is an area we've fallen off in the last couple weeks, which I put down to jamar playing instead of johnson... once the ball hits the deck PJ is athletic enough to help clear the ball, or stop the opposition clearing it... while Jamar is about as useful as a tree that gets in the way in this aspect of the game...

the problem against carlton too was the quality of the clearances, which is attributable to one chris judd being the freak that he is...

Clearances are a misleading stat. What should be measured is effective clearances? Our numbers would be considerably low. Combine that with effective inside 50's and it might give you a more meaningful stat.