Continuing on with the community generated content, weve got a piece that was submitted by Ruddy.

Now, technically it was submitted last week and Ive been sitting on it waiting for the right time to post it- but with the Rumours going round regarding Petrie at the moment, I think were fast going past its time!

So he we go- its a fantasticly comprehensive piece about rucks.

Rucks seem to be a bit of a problem this year. Do you load up on set and forget rucks, or do you try to find some value in the mid pricers. There are a couple
of different ways you can approach the ruck conundrum this year, and each one depends on a few factors.


Most people this year were set on Sandi before SuperCoach began for the year. Sandi is the top of the top in ruckmen. But he also limits who your second ruck can be.
Whether you are going in with Sandi, or you arent i will discuss who would make a good candidate for your first and second ruck.

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2 Premiums
Sandilands: Everybody knows the benefits of Big Sandilands. He averaged 22 more ppg then the next best ruckman, and he was the only ruckman to average over 100. Can he stay injury free? Specifically towards the end of the season, during Sc finals. A must have imo.

Mumford: Sydney has a bye in round 5, and one in round 19. these are nicely spaced byes, and the round 19 bye should see Mumford go into SuperCoach finals refreshed, and ready to fire. There are questions over who will be Sydneys first ruck, and it could impact on Mumfords scoring. Mumfords scoring increased while Seaby was out with injury. Can seaby stay healthy? These are all questions whose answers you need to think about before picking Mumford.

Bradley:
I wouldnt recommend having two players from the same team, and since most people will have Sandilands, that rules out Bradley. He really has only had one year of scoring like a premium ruckman, so consistency may be an issue.

Cox: West Coast have 2 relatively early byes. They are the fourth team to complete both byes, with their second coming in round 15. Would it be better to upgrade to Cox, and bypass both byes? Doing that would also give you the chance to see how the Cox/Naitanui time share will work. Another thing to consider is, will NicNat get more time towards the end of the season, once West Coast are out of finals contention?

Ryder: As with any Essendon player, Ryder will require a trade for round 24, as he has a bye in the SuperCoach GF. Given the health worries of many ruckmen, that could mean 2, possibly even 3 trade through the year, spent just on rucks. If you are going with Ryder, you have to start with him, as you will waste more trades if you bring him in part way through the season.

Jamar: Jamar seems to not really be compatible with any other premium rucks. He shares the round 5 bye with both Mumford and Cox, while sharing his round 16 bye with Sandilands. This puts him out of contention for me, especially as he was the lowest averaging premium ruck last year.


Combinations you dont want:
Sandi and Bradley: Same team, so share the same byes
Mumford and Cox: Share their round 5 bye
Jamar and Sandi/Mumford/Cox: Shares the round 5 bye with Mumford and Cox and the round 5 bye with Sandi


Premium/midpricer
This strategy includes one of the above rucks as R1 and a mid-pricer as R2.

Kreuzer: Obviously coming off a knee reconstruction, he is a big risk. Carlton seem to be aiming for him to come back round 1, which is extremely quick, considering the timing of his knee injury. Any sign of soreness in that knee, and you can expect Kreuzer to miss some time. We have been told that Kreuzer will play as a KPF, so that will reduce his scoring as he wont be on the ball. Carlton also have a bye in round 23, the second last round, so you may need a trade there.

Mcintosh: He had surgery on a bothersome achilles during the pre-season, however, he is hoping to be ready for round 1. Given his interrupted pre-season, and many people will have Petrie, he may not be the best Also has a bye round 21, the first round of SuperCoach finals.

Hille: A couple of years on from undergoing a knee reconstruction, Hille seems to be having injury problems quite commonly. Hille had minor knee surgery, adn will miss the NAB cup, and is battling to be ready for round 1. Given Ryder is expected to get better this year, and Hille decline slightly, as well as Essendons bye in the SuperCoach GF, Hille isnt the best option from this Mid-pricers group.

Jolly: Collingwood complete their byes very early, having their second one in round 13. Jolly began slowly last year, but as he got used to his new team, he got better, eventually going on to play a key role in the finals. Jolly may be a better upgrade target, but since he doesnt share byes with any other key ruckmen, it may be better to get him early, especially if his average from the last half of last season is anything like what hell average this year.

Premium/other
Although the other category will containn in it some mid-pricers, many of them, for whatever reason, will play a different role to last year. Which could result in a different scoring output.

Jacobs: Playing only 12 games last year for Carlton, Jacobs moved back home to Adelaide. He is currently tipped to be Adelaides first ruckman, ahead of Maric, with Tippett possibly playing a cameo as second ruck. He shouldnt have the time share that he did at Carlton, and so could play 22 games, and as their first ruck, has the potential to score higher. Shares the round 16 bye with Sandilands and Jamar.

Clark: Since his breakout 2009 season, Clark hasnt been great. Many went with him last year and got badly burnt. Clark is tipped to play primarily as a forward, playing second ruck to Leuenberger. Playing forward severely reduces his value. Share his round 19 bye with Sydney, so dont go a Clark/Mumford combo, or just dont pick Clark at all.

Tippett:
Had a shocking season last year, so should be under priced. He isnt really premium level, but should go up a bit. However, he shares his bye with Sandi and Jamar, so maybe not the best option.

Goldstein: When Mcintosh was tipped to miss the first portion of the season, Goldstein was set to become the first ruck at North, and could be great early season value. With Mcintosh now expected to play round one, or at least pretty early in the season, Goldstein probably isnt worth a short cameo role in your team. Also has a bye in the first final for SC.

Seaby: The main worry with seaby is his injury history. He only managed 6 games last year. And even when he s fit, it seems as though Mumford will still be the first ruck. Also, he shares his round 5 bye with Cox and Jamar.

Hale: Although he moved away from playing in the seconds at North, Hale still doesnt present much value. He will still play primarily as a forward, and will play third fiddle to Buddy and Roughead. He also shares his round 6 bye with Sandi.

Fraser: He should start as first ruck in 2011. At least for the start of it. After about two thirds of the season, GC will likely be out of finals contention, and Frasers body may once again show it isnt made to take the beatings dished out to an AFL ruckman. GC get their byes over extremely early, so he will miss games early. May even play as a forward/second ruck, allowing the young blokes to get more experience.

Petrie: After missing basically all of last season with broken bones in his foot, Petrie is at a very cheap price. He doesnt really play as a ruckmen, but plays all over the ground. The two years previous to 2010, he averaged above 90. It is reasonable to think he could average 80+ in his first year back, but more than likely 70+, which is great for a ruck bench player. Does have a bye in round 1 of SuperCoach finals.



Rookies
These are the players who will fill up your bench. There arent too many options here and for those who want a lot of security, petrie falls into the bench category.

Stanley: Had some media attention over the pre-season, and is not training with the main group as a punishment. Probably wont be his most constructive pre-season. Depending on what Saint Kilda decide to do with their structure, will change whether Stanley gets games. Mcevoy rucking with Kosi backing him up means they can use their bench more effectively. However, Kosi is widely tipped to get dropped on form, giving Stanley a chance to take over his role. His MPP is also a bonus, but if he doesnt play, it just makes him an expensive bench player.

J Tippett: Many are considering him simply for his MPP. Since Z Smith is also in a lot of teams, i dont recommend have both. Since Tippett is unlikely to play, and is a little expensive for just mpp, i will personally be leaving him out.

Smith: Should start at GC as a second ruck to Fraser, but eventually take over as first ruck. Provides a cheap bench player who actually plays, and gives you bench coverage for byes and injuries. He is a must have imo.

Bailey: He has played only 6 games in 5 seasons. While he is cheap, and looks like a good option, he probably isnt. This year, bench cover is maybe the most important thing to think about in your rucks. If you have a non-playing bench player, and you get an injury, you could be in a fair bit of trouble. Bailey probably wont start the season, but may push renouf out of the first ruck position eventually. It seems to almost be a guarantee that he will get injured. Also shares a bye with Sandi.

Cordy: Although suffering injuries through his first couple of seasons, Cordy is currently injury free. Tipped to possibly be the Bulldogs sub, he may get game time. As an athletic ruckmen, he could be great, but i reckon he is still a year or two away, and wont get good consistent minutes.


All the players listed in this essay are players that people are considerng, or people have asked questions about.

And for the record, my personal tip for everyone is this:

Sandilands and Smith are must haves this year. I would also recommend going with the 2 premium strategy. However, going with a combo of Sandi/Jolly/Petrie/Smith is probably what ill go with. Another tip, you are very likely to get injuries in your ruck division. So make sure you have a trade or two spare for it.

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Walesy again- personally, I could discuss the rucks all day. There are just so many different options, who do we think will increase in average next year? Will the lack of a second ruck increase ruck scoring across the board? Or will it increase injuries and down-time? Should you be investing in a team that has two solid rucks that can play up forward? Or go with the historical 1-man-band?

Then theres the rookies, never have I seen so many different options that are legitimately available to fill in on the ruck bench. Heck, Ive heard people discussing the possibility of putting Smith on as an R2 for goodness sakes! (I still stand by my belief that those people are NUTS though!)

So yeah, a lot of good points thrown up- where do you stand on the topic?