WE NEED A RUCK!!!!!

[bokka]

Stoka where did you get your listings?
According to afl.com.au we have:

Clarke 198cm / 100kg
Biglands 199cm / 105 kg

So there is no significant height diff given McKee is what? 198 I think, and Josh 200 or more. I may get used to these frigging cm's yet.
I've included weight since that is on a par in importance these days.
don't forget both our ruckmen were injured.
I think it's likely that last year's gf was well ahead of the development schedule, including of our rucks. probably they will be due to be a real force by this season's end, and certainly next season. If not by then we may have a more legitimate grounds for complaining.

[Cam]

this subject frustrates me so much, especially when i see stats like:
clarke 38 hit outs
biglands 26
rocca 5
mckee 2

i made up a little poem to describe how i and many others feel, but it had to be censored a little

WE NEED A RUCK by Cam

onballers we have plenty like bucks bucks bucks
we need a ruck - WE NEED A RUCK
small forwards are multiplying like ducks ducks ducks
we need a ruck - WE NEED A RUCK

the Cats have got Street he's a smuck smuck smuck
but WE need a ruck - WE NEED A RUCK
the recruiters need even more luck luck luck
we need a ruck - WE NEED A RUCK

now i'm not sayin that stunners got no pluck pluck pluck
we need a bigger ruck - WE NEED A BIGGER RUCK
the frickin hawks pinched spider though he's no Tuck Tuck Tuck
we need a ruck - WE NEED A RUCK

rocca can play there if we're stuck stuck stuck
but we still need a ruck - WE STILL NEED A RUCK
We got past Primus coz he gets 'finals struck struck struck'
we still need a ruck - WE STILL NEED A RUCK

our centre clearnances suck suck suck
we need a ruck - WE NEED A RUCK
watchin foes smash us there is yuck yuck yuck
we need a ruck - WE NEED A RUCK


f@##, f@##, f@##,
we need a ruck - WE NEED A RUCK
f@##, f@##, f@##,
we need a ruck - WE NEED A RUCK

The End.

Thankyou.

Amen.

[*ORZA*]

Does anyone know how justin Crow from our rookie list is progressing. The reports were that he was playing pretty good in the ruck for Willy last year.

[bokka]

judging by the blurb on him at collingwoodfc.com he will be at least a couple of years but you never know.

[MarkT]

[bbmod1]

Thanks for that Mark, I guess trying to be constructive is a no-no. If McKee is no good at it at all, you would have to agree that Matthew Primus isn't too bad wouldn't you? In fact I'd say he was the best going around last year. Would you agree? Now let me remember what happened in the qualifying final last year......

As far as I'm concerned McKee's efforts in that game won us the game. If we had not won that game we would likely have not made the GF, let alone had the opportunity to win it. Now think about it Mark and you will also remember. So let's thank Mckee for getting us there in the first place not losing it, FFS.

(Sorry this post was by AnthonyC)

[chalky]

Here we go again! No ruck, No Collingwood - is that correct?
We will never win a Premiership without a ruck - is that correct?

Walls kept saying, every week, that Collingwood would lose because we had no ruck, but could not explain this amazing phenomena when we won.
Yet we reached a GF without the said ruckman. Is this the same ruck that we needed all through 2002 season?

Port have Primus, the best ruckman going around- we beat them!
Brisbane's ruck Rd 4 - we beat them!
Melb have got White - we beat them

Have you noticed a trend here. the games that we won were in spite of the oppositions so-called "ruck superiority", then the games that we lost should not be blamed on the same erroneous supposition, that ruckmen win matches

MM had the chance of picking up any number of ruckmen - Everitt, Mott, Keating, Noble? Yet each were rejected. Instead MM further bolstered our mid-field options- Woewodin, Williams

We can and will win a premiership without this mythical man mountain that can win games merely by tapping the ball down.
In the modern game played in the style of MM, McKee does only what is required, it is then up to the much vaunted midfield to deliver the goods

[MarkT]

[AnthonyC]

Fair enough Mark. But I can't agree with the statement how we lost the GF in the ruck. Sure we lost the ruck contests, but I don't think that was the single reason why we lost the game. 100% concentration was required which we sadly only put in 99.9% (time on in the 2nd and 3rd, I'm sure you know). Anyway the problem was that when brissy lost McDonald, Keating probably played the game of his life. I thought we might have them when McDonald went off early, but it wasn't to be. The weather made it scrappy and the ruck contests were not as pivotal. I suppose we can agree to disagree but I don't think this is why we lost.

[MarkT]

As I said, I am not blaming McKee and never have blamed him. His endevour cannot be questioned. I like the guy but I am firmly convinced that the ruck cost us a day and a night grand final and that it may well cost us another day grand final. It would be nice to have that little better in areas like concentration that you refer to. The fact is we were excellent there. We can always be better but we have to be realistic too. If Collingwood have to improve the intensity to win a grand final then I fear we are in deep poo. Realiatically no team goes through a finals series with more concentration and intensity than we did in 2002. We were awesome in that regard. we shouldn't have to inprove in that area because we should have inproved in our areas of deficiency.

We have a very good midfield, a very solid backline and a dangerous forward line. Our midfield has to battle with losing rucks and our backs are under undue pressure when the opposition clear the centre quickly. Our forwards also don't the advantage of quick ball into their zone from the ball ups like our opposition sometimes do.

Take a look at the games where we under performed last year. Richmond, Carlton, Geelong, Essendon and Bulldogs beat us because they dominated the rucks and therefore the clearances. IMO a quality ruckman could well have seen us finish on top after the H&A and would have seen us premieriers.


I have seen us lose too many grand finals to ever want to see another one. I went to 5 grand finals in 5 years before I saw 1990. 2002 was tolerable because we have come so far so quickly and we have so much upside in our list. Not getting a ruckman this pre seaon is completely unfathomable to me though.

[Donny]

Well said, Chalky!

[Dale61]

*ORZA*, Crow is still about 8 weeks away from coming back after breaking his ankle.