Pretty much everyone on BigFooty knew that Ben Hudson was a must-have player this year, and there were a couple of other cheapies who’ve since risen to a more appropriate price. So, the time is right to upgrade to a ‘premium’ ruck – but who? Last year’s All-Australian ruckman is under $300k after a bad start to the year, and there are others more expensive with question marks hanging over their heads. I’m having real trouble picking just who to target here, but I’ll fill you in on my thoughts. (You may want to read my overall strategy reasonings before continuing).
Best cheap rookies:
Ivan Maric ($134k): Maric looked ok last year when he played a few games for Adelaide, and with Bhiglands out, I reckon he’s pretty certain to overtake Jon Griffin and become the second ruckman. However, in terms of value for money, I’m not sure he’s worth this much…
Matthew Leuenberger ($107k): Number four draft pick last year, and although young ruckman generally take time, word on the street is that Loonie could get a run this year. If that happens, his price will rise – he’s a possession-winning ruckman, like Dean Cox. But 107 is a fair bit to fork out for a guy who is far from a certainty to play
John Meesen ($82k): The risk here is that Meesen is behind Hudson and Maric in the Crows’ pecking order (boom boom), and after suffering a serious knee injury pre-season, may be behind Griffin as well. However, he’s solidly built, very talented, and a reasonable stat winner for a ruckman. On the other hand, he’s got very little history of good form in the SANFL. So in summary – he’s cheap, but a big risk
Aisake O’hAilpin ($69k): Now, now, calm down and here me out. I know Aisake isn’t even on a senior list yet, but Pagan loves him and he’s been in good form in the VFL. I reckon the Blues see him playing ruck for a few years to come, and I reckon they’ll take the chance to give him serious gametime this year. It doesn’t hurt that Cain Ackland is in such pathetic form at the moment (and they resorted to a young, skinny Josh Kennedy in the ruck last weekend against
Adelaide). Bring on the Irishman!
Best upgrade targets:
Dean Cox ($347k): Here’s where it gets interesting. Cox is in my opinion clearly the most reliable ruckman in Dream Team, capable of consistent big scores. But he’s injured, and having that amount of money on the bench every second week is a recipe for disaster. Worth seeing how he’s going with the injury before picking him
Jeff White ($350k): White has been a star for the Demons so far this year. However, he has a history of injuries, too, and after being burnt a couple of years ago I’m reluctant to jump on board
Josh Fraser ($363k): In form at the moment, and this won’t last for the whole season. Could be a good scorer, but be aware it won’t stay at this level forever
Brendan Lade ($292k): Certain bet to rise in price, but will he score enough to make it worthwhile? I’m not in it for value increases, I want the best scorer I can get. Not sure if Lade is my man this year, even though Brogan’s injuries have cemented his gametime
Hamish McIntosh ($298k): Wish I had him at the start of the year, but I reckon he’ll run out of steam as the year rolls on. No thanks
Jamie Charman ($256k): I really rate this bloke, but he’s having a shocker so far. See analysis for Lade
David Hille ($274k): Another who’s certain to rise in price, but for some reason I like Hille as a reliable scoring option. The Dons always give him gametime, (although if Laycock can get fit and firing his matchtime will fall), and he’s a goalkicker. The Laycock question is one that I’m not willing to risk, though
Well, there we have it. No real definitive answers from me. However, if I have to nominate my verdict, I reckon I’ll go with Cox, and if he’s hurt I’ll go with Fraser
What about Sandilands?
Yeah, Tom this is an analysis on rucks and you miss the important of all
Everyone I know has either got him or decided not to. I doubt many people will upgrade to Sandi - or upgrade him to another player. The real tactical moves involve other players, in my view.
Hey Tom,
Did I see you writing stories for AFL.com.au?
Molly
this analysis demonstrates why the rucks are arguably the toughest picks in DT - when Aisake is the only guy you make a confident prediction about - and in Dream Team, you can only play him as a back!
i reckon Lade is the best value 4 money at the moment…. he only went down in value so much with a couple of bad games…. hes still pretty consistant n a good price 4 sure… but if money isn’t a factor… then cox is the best outta em all … thatz my opinion anyway…. hey did any of u’s get darcy at the start of the year? … coz do u reckon he’ll eva come good?? … i’ve got him sitting on my bench… with cox n sandilands on the ground…. so was wondering hang on 2 darcy or trade 4 that walnock guy from freo… ($82,300) or something ? … just 2 get some money n upgrade a different player
Yeh im having trouble with rucks too, i currently have lade, darcy, ryder, and some random essendon guy. ryders been on the bench all year but he usually outscores darcy anyway. i just made some upgrades to other areas, so i only have $9k in the kitty, with 11 trades left. i very much need to improve my ruck though. any ideas?
What about Simmonds!
Going to crash in price when he comes back, averaged roughly 94 last year..
Cameron Mooney is one of the better “ruckmen” because he doesn’t play in the ruck.
I upgraded to White three weeks back and haven;t been disappointed. In my view, at the moment you are better off upgrading in other areas if you have at least one good ruckmen and leaving rucks to later. Your simply not losing much with the other middle of the range rucks at the moment because the guns are not killing it consistently
How can anyone go past Everitt, he is down to $250k, and Sydney are on the rise as they are a 2nd half season team. I’m wanting to trade Darcy for Spider and i dont have many trades left.
Do you think its a good choice??
Fontaine, given that you only have a few trades left at this early stage, i wouldnt waste a trade on this. you are better off saving the trade for later in the year when one of your players gets injured…
I personally wouldn’t pick him, especially if you’re running out of trades. Sure he might go up in value but he’s not a consistant player, and with Jolly in the team he’s not going to be getting as much game time or be the main rucking focus. He seems to have a few big games and then a lot of averages ones in between, so it’s a risk if he’s a long term option.
There are far better upgrade options than Everitt. Like Fontaine, I thought he was cheap for an elite ruckman at the start of the season, but the problem is he isn’t playing like an elite ruckman.
However, if a key forward for Sydney gets injured…
[...] away from last week, Molly goes through the ruck article in Tom N’s excellent upgrade analysis series, including discussion on Ivan Maric, John [...]
What do you guys think of Trent Knobel from Richmond? He’s only at $110k, do you think he’d get much game time? Looks like he could be returning either this week or the next, the only problem is Simmonds is probably 1 week more away from returning.
For $110k (or thereabouts) Knobel is an excellent choice, because he’ll get a game - I should have included him as an original option.
However, with this $110k purchase you get what you pay for; Knobel won’t score much at all. He just ain’t a stat-getter (much like Mark Jamar or Guy Richards). He’ll be a back-up in case of injuries but a score of 40 is to cause for celebration.
In short, he’s a good option if you want someone to cover injuries. For the potentially big scorers, try Maric, Leuenberger or Meesen.
PS - Aisake O’hAilpin mentioned as a possible inclusion this week.
The reason I asked is because I have Ben Hudson in my side on the bench but he’s there as an emergency only. If I got rid of him (I have Jamar as well) I’d want a player who was going to be able to get some points (30 is better than none). If Aisake plays I might look at him also.