AFL ruckmen have loved playing against St Kilda in 2018 as stats expose Saints’ big weakness
ST KILDA has won just three matches so far this year in what has been a very disappointing season to date and when looking at their form closely, it appears they are behind the eight-ball from the first bounce as ruckmen have a field day against the Saints.
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IF Max Gawn had his way, he might play against St Kilda every week.
Last week St Kilda somehow won despite his extraordinary seven contested marks and 10 coaches votes.
The problem for the Saints is that every ruckman loves to play against them, with Gawn polling coaches votes in both games against them this year.
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One Twitter user “dools” this week crunched the AFL coaches votes and showed ruckmen this year have polled 43 votes to the Saints’ measly two votes — to Tom Hickey in Round 5.
Ruckmen are often totally shunned in Brownlow and Coaches’ Association votes and yet in eight of 15 games this year ruckmen have polled coaches votes against the Saints.
A closer examination from Champion Data shows playing in the ruck against St Kilda is one of footy’s great joys.
In 11 of 15 games the opposing ruckman has topped 100 ranking points, with Aaron Sandilands, Callum Sinclair, Nic Naitanui, Todd Goldstein and Gawn among them.
St Kilda’s issue is that it has three ruckmen, none of them anywhere near the full package.
Billy Longer provides inside grunt but little around the ground, incredibly amassing only eight kicks and four marks in his four games.
Hickey is the exact opposite — strong around the ground, less so in the middle — while 201cm ruck/forward Rowan Marshall is somewhere in between.
In a season where nearly every club has a quality ruckman, the Saints rank 16th for hit-outs to advantage and 13th for clearance differential.
Maybe Marshall can go past Longer and Hickey in coming years, but would they be interested in a ruck free agent like West Coast’s Scott Lycett?
Former Melbourne ruckman Jeff White has watched Gawn dominate this year as so much more than a tap ruckman.
He says clubs are already a man down if they don’t have a ruckman who can compete in close, then get after the ball around the ground.
“I think the ruckmen needs to become the other midfielder,’’ he said.
“I think back when I first started you had the dinosaurs who sat behind the play but the game moves so quickly these days you need to be able to win possession.
“If you are not getting 15 plus possessions a game as a ruckman you are taking up too much space in the midfield.
“If you are a ruckman you are going to be at a lot of stop plays so how are your second and third efforts going?
“They are paramount. When you think about it, if you are a ruckman playing 80 per cent of the game you are at more stop plays than a mid.”
Alan Richardson at least praised Longer’s effort against Gawn, despite the Brownlow favourite having 25 possessions to go with his 11 hit-outs-to-advantage and 11 marks.
Longer enjoyed rare dominance over Jarrod Witts in the win over Gold Coast but must now neutralise Paddy Ryder and the stoppage-heavy Port Adelaide on Saturday.
It is no surprise White’s All-Australian ruck contenders this year hunt and kill their own.
“It’s great to see ruckmen like Brodie Grundy and Gawn getting their 20-plus possessions a game and that’s what they need, not 10 possessions and 50 hit-outs.
“If those hit-outs are going to advantage that’s great but if not they are dead space. It’s level pegging between Grundy and Gawn. Gawn has stepped up his marking but Grundy’s efforts are great and he’s hunting the ball.
“It’s been great to see those two progressing the way they have gone and their midfielders are feeding off that as well.”
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