Rucci’s Roast: Is this the end for the great Paddy Ryder v Sam Jacobs Showdown sideshow?
In 2017, they duelled to decide the All-Australian ruckman. Two years later and Sam Jacobs and Paddy Ryder will be praying for a call-up from the SANFL. Michelangelo Rucci looks at their enduring rivalry.
- By the numbers: It’s time to anoint a new ruck king
- The Phantom: What to do with injured Bulldog
- Time to Lycett and forget it in the forward line
- Rucci’s Roast: Showdown men who can save the Blues
- ‘I hope to be named’: Jenkins ready for miracle return
Every Showdown is a rivalry wrapped within SA football’s greatest modern-age grudge match.
That is on and off the field … as the Ramsgate Hotel “showdown” on a Sunday afternoon in Adelaide’s western suburbs during the 2002 AFL season still proves.
Brownlow Medallist and Crows captain Mark Ricciuto v Port Adelaide midfielder Josh Carr, who became “Mr Showdown” for his 10 wins from 10 starts in the derby.
Crows full back Ben Rutten v future Australian Football Hall of Famer, Warren Tredrea.
And — to delight Dennis Cometti, one of Australia’s masterful men behind the microphone and the No. 1 ticketholder of the ruckmen admiration society — Sam “Sauce” Jacobs v Patrick Ryder since “Paddy” moved to Port Adelaide from Essendon at the end of 2014.
Showdowns in 2017 and last season delivered four consecutive super duels between Jacobs and Ryder, with the 2017 battles giving the All-Australian selectors reason to crown Ryder as the league’s No. 1 ruckman in the AFL team of the year.
This was despite Jacobs winning the third of his three Showdown Medals as best-afield in the second derby in 2017 when he outpointed Ryder 42-40 in the hit-outs — and scoring two goals.
Jacobs’ knee injury denied a fifth successive tap-to-tap duel with Ryder in Showdown 46; and Ryder’s form slump has the 2017 Power club champion behind Dougal Howard from a recall from a one-match ban to support Scott Lycett in Saturday evening’s derby.
Jacobs’ possible recall for Showdown 47 makes for a more interesting debate inside the Adelaide match committee room at West Lakes.
Crows coach Don Pyke has to measure the reputation of veteran Jacobs, a master craftsman with his telling tapwork, against the building form of 14-game novice Reilly O’Brien.
‘”It’s a tough decision,” Crows defender Brodie Smith said on SEN1629 earlier this week.
“(Port Adelaide recruit) Scott Lycett is a new player (to the Showdowns) — and he has stood up (in the past fortnight as the Power’s No. 1 ruckman). So it is an interesting debate.
“Sauce’s strength is in his hit-outs — and hit-outs the advantage.
“ROB (O’Brien) is a beast when the ball hits the ground — and around the ground as well.
“They are two good ruckmen, two different ruckmen.”
And which is more suited to the Showdown?
Jacobs is proven — and has worked his way back from his knee injury with three games in the SANFL. He is still the best ruckman to ensure Adelaide gets an advantage in first use at stoppages, an area that is always declared as the critical point in a Showdown.
O’Brien has lived up to his grand promise in the summer to take the No. 1 ruck role from Jacobs.
And only injured Crows forward Josh Jenkins is advocating playing both Jacobs and O’Brien with Jacobs testing defences with his 200cm frame in the goalsquare.
Jacobs v Ryder was becoming a must-see Showdown event, a rivalry within the rivalry.
In 2015, for Showdowns 38 and 39, Ryder was second string to Matthew Lobbe — and Jacobs dominated in the second derby of that season with 51 hit-outs.
In 2016, Ryder was missing as he served the one-year ban he carried from Essendon with the WADA hit on the Bombers’ supplements program of 2012.
In 2017, the duel was very much to decide the All-Australian ruckman — and they split the hit-out honours in the two Showdowns (48-42 for Ryder in the first; 42-40 for Jacobs in the second).
In 2018, Ryder carried his Achilles issue but still had Jacobs’ measure on the hit-outs — 39-32 and 40-28.
And this year there has been no Ryder-Jacobs duel … and there might be reason to ask if the rivalry will ever again play out in a Showdown.
REALITY BITES
SWANS CAN’T WIN
Sydney is facing a vexing decision with John Longmire that once again reaffirms a contract is not worth the paper it is written on … and the AFL has an issue with rival clubs enticing coaches out of their supposedly “binding deals”.
The Swans simply cannot win, even though Longmire is on contract to coach Sydney next season — for the 10th consecutive year after delivering a premiership in 2012 and grand final appearances in 2014 and 2016.
North Melbourne’s “Godfather” offer to restore Longmire at Arden Street — where played 200 AFL games, kicking 511 goals as a prime forward while playing in the Kangaroos’ last premiership team in 1999 — is just as testing for the Swans and the AFL as it is to “Horse” Longmire.
Does Sydney stand firm — as Port Adelaide did during the 2007 AFL finals series when Power president Greg Boulton told Essendon his club would take the Bombers to court if it persisted in trying to tempt coach Mark Williams to Windy Hill on a $5 million, five-year deal to succeed master mentor Kevin Sheedy? How did that work out for Port Adelaide … and Williams, who always wanted to coach a big-time Melbourne-based AFL club?
Does the AFL beef up its anti-poaching rules to punish clubs that seek to lure coaches out of their contracts?
STATE-OF-ORIGIN
This week marks the 43rd year since the West Australians — tiring of seeing its favourite sons wear the Big V of Victoria in interstate games — came up with the concept of State-of-Origin football.
And the Sandgropers are again eager to restore Origin on the AFL calendar — more so after seeing the success of NRL Origin with the record crowd at Perth Stadium (59,721) for the NSW-Queensland clash last week.
But how does it work? The only practical option might be to have one Origin game each season with a six-year roster for the four state teams — Victoria v SA; Victoria v WA; Victoria v Allies; SA v WA; SA v Allies and WA v Allies.
SOCIAL GIANT
Italian soccer giant AS Roma is proving there is some good that can come from social media.
The Serie A club is using social media to announce its new signings — and on each video clip of the signing there will be photographs and details of missing children in the US and Italy.
“Initially, the club will release two videos per player announcement through its social media accounts — one featuring Italian children and one featuring American teenagers,” said AS Roma that has more than two million followers on its Italian and English-version social media accounts. “The club is currently in talks with a British charity about providing information and photos on more children currently missing in Europe.”
TIP OF THE DAY
Former Port Adelaide fitness guru DARREN BURGESS has left English Premier League club Arsenal — and might be bound for the US before returning to the AFL system.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
I’m absolutely contracted to North … to the Sydney Swans Football Club.
Sydney premiership coach JOHN LONGMIRE
TWEET OF THE DAY
NewsCorp cricket correspondent ANDREW MENCZEL (@amenners) on the prospect of the SCG Trust removing the cricket square at the SCG to satisfy the AFL.