Dogwatcher wrote:Yep. We couldn't stop a run because we couldn't get enough ball on the outside. Swan was getting loads of the ball, but was forced into handballing close (pretty creatively, mind you) to other players under pressure.
Maric was on top in the ruck - which is an ongoing problem. I love Grundy, but when he comes up against a gorilla such as Maric, we get less of the ball from the ruck contests.
Again, though, we missed a couple of sitters (White and Seedsman) that certainly could have made a difference. It's a big problem - but it's seems not one isolated to Collingwood.
An interesting tactic has emerged this season, whereby some teams are deliberately not caring about winning the hit outs and are going for more mobile ruckmen. Blicavs (Simpson), spencer (jamar), cordy (minson), ceglar (McEvoy) are all playing ahead of ruckmen that are arguably much better tap ruckmen but much less mobile. Seems like the play is to use your ruck as the link man and hurt the opposing gorillas in transition. Jacobs is good at this too
Either that or you better offer something at ground level with tackling and contested possession (Mumford, lobbe, Grundy)
Seems like this is nullifying the goldys, sandys, marics and pykes?
Of course this has happened in previous years but it got me thinking this week when the Bulldogs still kept minson out of the side knowing cordy would get monstered in the ruck.