Guy Richards

[plugger66]

Not saying I agree with this but I have heard a strong rumour that we may be after Guy Richards this season. If that is the case it would seem to me that there is not high hopes for Michael Gardiner next season.

[n1ck]

I really, really hope not.

Cant afford both Rix and Richards on the list.

[Armoooo]

He's a hack no doubt but I wouldn't mind keeping him for backup, I would have him slightly ahead of Rix but he is a bit younger, just as long as we don't take him ahead of anyone that could be slightly servicable.

During trade week we were offered him and we turned him down so we can't be that crazy about him.

I think the deal was Rhyce Shaw and Guy Richards for Pick 26, definately prefer Schneider and Dempster.

[n1ck]

I think the deal was Rhyce Shaw and Guy Richards for Pick 26, definately prefer Schneider and Dempster.

DEFINITELY!

[Oh When the Saints]

Should delist Rix if we take Richards.

Rucks on list (in order of preference to actually ruck):
King
Gardiner
Rix
Blake
Koschitzke
VanRheenen

I'd rather see us draft a young kid than Richards - at least a youngster would have more upside and could develop alongside VanR for the future.

You can't afford to have more than 4 dedicated rucks on a list of 38 - they make up an eleventh of your team.


I'd rather have Blake ruck every game than Richards ruck. Blake has about the same level of aggression, is more courageous and wins more of the footy. Plus he is more experienced.


Would be a poor selection IMO.

Plus - Richmond are going to take him #1 in the PSD, so we'd have to use a draft pick on him.

[Armoooo]

I would only want to see us go for a ruckman if it was a young raw project player in the draft, I wouldn't be shattered if we got Richards but I wouldn't be happy. IMO Blake is more than good enough to be a backup ruckman. So if we lose Gardiner or King we can still use Blake as a backup if the other goes down there is really little difference between Rix and Richards. It would be good to have another young ruckman coming up alongside LVR.

[mad saint guy]

Here are my ratings of our ruck options as well as Richards to see where he would fit in. Ratings are for the 2008 season

Steven King
Tap work: 6/10
Around the ground: 6/10
Size (height and strength): 8/10
Durability: 4/10
Room for improvement: None

Michael Gardiner
Tap work: 6/10
Around the ground: 5/10
Size (height and strength): 8/10
Durability: 2/10
Room for improvement: None

Michael Rix
Tap work: 4/10
Around the ground: 2/10
Size (height and strength): 4/10
Durability: 10/10
Room for improvement: Very little

Jason Blake
Tap work: 4/10
Around the ground: 6/10
Size (height and strength): 2/10
Durability: 9/10
Room for improvement: None

Luke van Rheenen (estimates)
Tap work: 3/10
Around the ground: 2/10
Size (height and strength): 3/10
Durability: 10/10
Room for improvement: Plenty

Guy Richards
Tap work: 6/10
Around the ground: 4/10
Size (height and strength): 4/10
Durability: 6/10
Room for improvement: Good

Tap work
King 6
Gardiner 5, Richards 5
Rix 4, Blake 4
Van Rheenen 3

Around the ground
King 6, Blake 6
Gardiner 5
Richards 4
Rix, van Rheenen 2

Size
King, Gardiner 8
Rix, Richards 4
Van Rheenen 3
Blake 2

Durability
Rix, van Rheenen 10
Blake 9
Richards 6
King 4
Gardiner 2

Room for improvement
Van Rheenen - Excellent
Richards - Good
Rix - Some
Gardiner, King, Blake - None


Going by that he would probably be our third best ruck option if drafted, and in the very likely scenario that both King and Gardiner are injured then he would be number one. His ruckwork is pretty good (and improving) and he does just enough around the ground.

That said, there would be absolutely no point in having both Richards and Rix on the list. Richards is currently a better player, but Lyon loves Rix's work ethic at training and that seems to be the deciding factor for fringe players keeping their spot.

If we draft Richards and delist Rix I will be happy. If we draft Richards and keep Rix then it is just wasting another spot on the list with a very slight upgrade on what we already have. Would rather that we draft a kid than add Richards while keeping Rix.

[Quixote]

Here are my ratings of our ruck options as well as Richards to see where he would fit in. Ratings are for the 2008 season

Steven King
Tap work: 6/10
Around the ground: 6/10
Size (height and strength): 8/10
Durability: 4/10
Room for improvement: None

Michael Gardiner
Tap work: 6/10
Around the ground: 5/10
Size (height and strength): 8/10
Durability: 2/10
Room for improvement: None

Michael Rix
Tap work: 4/10
Around the ground: 2/10
Size (height and strength): 4/10
Durability: 10/10
Room for improvement: Very little

Jason Blake
Tap work: 4/10
Around the ground: 6/10
Size (height and strength): 2/10
Durability: 9/10
Room for improvement: None

Luke van Rheenen (estimates)
Tap work: 3/10
Around the ground: 2/10
Size (height and strength): 3/10
Durability: 10/10
Room for improvement: Plenty

Guy Richards
Tap work: 6/10
Around the ground: 4/10
Size (height and strength): 4/10
Durability: 6/10
Room for improvement: Good

Tap work
King 6
Gardiner 5, Richards 5
Rix 4, Blake 4
Van Rheenen 3

Around the ground
King 6, Blake 6
Gardiner 5
Richards 4
Rix, van Rheenen 2

Size
King, Gardiner 8
Rix, Richards 4
Van Rheenen 3
Blake 2

Durability
Rix, van Rheenen 10
Blake 9
Richards 6
King 4
Gardiner 2

Room for improvement
Van Rheenen - Excellent
Richards - Good
Rix - Some
Gardiner, King, Blake - None


Going by that he would probably be our third best ruck option if drafted, and in the very likely scenario that both King and Gardiner are injured then he would be number one. His ruckwork is pretty good (and improving) and he does just enough around the ground.

That said, there would be absolutely no point in having both Richards and Rix on the list. Richards is currently a better player, but Lyon loves Rix's work ethic at training and that seems to be the deciding factor for fringe players keeping their spot.

If we draft Richards and delist Rix I will be happy. If we draft Richards and keep Rix then it is just wasting another spot on the list with a very slight upgrade on what we already have. Would rather that we draft a kid than add Richards while keeping Rix.

Verging on blasphemy this

MSG - Really

Guy Bloody Richards?

Rixy is a Saint through and through, he's still improving and he bleeds for it as much as any

Also put in some super games this year - Sydney, Carlton and WCE spring immediately to mind

Richards is not a Rix's bootstrap

MR is also one of the elite atheltes in our squad


Wait for a big year from the Great Man

[midas_touch]

Yeah we should only go for Richards if we intend on delisting Rix. In saying that, whilst Rix is not even a GOP, you gotta admire the effort he put in despite his limited ability. So its a no from me.

[mad saint guy]

Rixy is a Saint through and through, he's still improving and he bleeds for it as much as any

Also put in some super games this year - Sydney, Carlton and WCE spring immediately to mind

MR is also one of the elite atheltes in our squad

Wait for a big year from the Great Man

Are you joking?

West Coast
Rix - 5 possessions, 1 mark, 1 goal, 2 tackles, 7 hitouts
Cox - 22 possessions, 8 marks, 1 goal, 2 behinds, 2 tackles, 25 hitouts, 3 frees against

He was absolutely slaughtered by Cox and Seaby, nearly costing us the game.

Sydney 1
Rix - 7 possessions, 4 marks, 2 tackles, 15 hitouts
Jolly - 5 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles, 24 hitouts
Everitt - 8 disposals, 3 marks, 1 goal, 2 tackles, 12 hitouts

Kosi was our number one ruckman in this game and dominated. Rix had a passable game as the backup ruckman, but had no impact on the game.

Sydney 2
Rix - 0 kicks, 4 handballs, 2 marks, 7 tackles, 12 hitouts
Everitt - 9 disposals, 5 marks, 1 goal, 1 tackle, 20 hitouts
Jolly - 12 disposals, 6 marks, 3 behinds, 1 tackle, 12 hitouts

Rix was easily beaten as our number one ruckman. He ended with 7 tackles, but 4 handballs is just a pathetic effort for a number one ruckman.

Carlton 1
Rix - 0 kicks, 6 handballs, 1 mark, 7 hitouts
Ackland - 6 disposals, 5 marks, 1 tackle, 12 hitouts
Cloke - 9 disposals, 4 marks, 1 behind, 7 hitouts

Kosi slaughtered Carlton's pathetic duo with Rix having no impact.

Carlton 2
Rix - 0 kicks, 3 handballs, 1 tackle, 21 hitouts
Ackland - 15 dispsosals, 5 marks, 1 goal, 1 tackle, 13 hitouts
O'hAilpin - 12 disposals, 1 mark, 2 goals, 1 behind, 1 tackle, 5 hitouts

Rix became the first player in the 2007 season to be beaten by Cain Ackland. He was killed in the first half of the game before they decided to permanently match Clarke up against Ackland, with Rix only rucking against O'hAilpin. As a result of rucking against a 198cm ful back who doesn't know all of the different positions in Aussie Rules, Rix did get a few hitouts.

If any of those are "super games" from Rix, then he is given a ridiculous amount of leeway. He is the worst ruckman getting a game. He is undersized, unaccountable, has no skill, no leap, can't find the ball, is turning 27 and is poor at directing hitouts. He has nothing going for him other than that he has good endurance.

[Ghost Like]

MSG, is there any chance you can pull up Richard's stats?

I cannot imagine them too flash and if they were half decent then why would a club like Collingwood off load a bloke who can back stop an area that Collingwood are nearly as deficient as us in?

Please, say 'No to hacks!' God knows it is taking us enough time to weed out our homegrown ones.

[ben_fff]

MSG, is there any chance you can pull up Richard's stats?

I cannot imagine them too flash and if they were half decent then why would a club like Collingwood off load a bloke who can back stop an area that Collingwood are nearly as deficient as us in?

Please, say 'No to hacks!' God knows it is taking us enough time to weed out our homegrown ones.

Nearly? Collingwood have worse ruck stocks than us, the last two years they've had Fanning, Bryan and Richards playing regular football, Fraser is alright but his best is behind him.

[Oh When the Saints]

Your opinions of players you don't rate are rather confronting reading mad saint guy.

Rating King's tap work as a 6/10 (assuming Spider is a 10/10) is a mistake IMO. King is an excellent tap ruckman, and I would have him at a 7 or 8.

Gardiner around the ground was a 10 when he was fit - he was a better mover than Kosi. I would suspect if he plays he is still a 6 or 7.


And Guy Richards is about as durable as a blow-up sex doll on an end of season rugby trip.

39 games in 4 years, with multiple back, shoulder, ankle and achilles problems I believe. His medical records would take up three filing cabinets.

[Teflon]

No to Richards - sides dont go throwing out players who have been on their list for a few years who can play....not up to it.

Most concerning about this is it smells of stockpiling cause you know something in the ruck fridge may already be going off.....

[mad saint guy]

MSG, is there any chance you can pull up Richard's stats?

I cannot imagine them too flash and if they were half decent then why would a club like Collingwood off load a bloke who can back stop an area that Collingwood are nearly as deficient as us in?

2007 averages (16 games)
8.2 disposals, 2.8 marks, 0.9 tackles, 12.8 hitouts

Best games

Round 2 v West Coast
11 disposals, 2 marks, 22 hitouts

Played a good game along with Fraser, easily beating Seaby and Lynch.

Round 20 v Melbourne
Richards - 9 disposals, 1 mark, 2 tackles, 18 hitouts
White - 8 disposals, 3 marks, 16 hitouts

Was Collingwood's number one ruckman and beat Jeff White.

Elimination Final v Sydney
Richards - 11 disposals, 3 marks, 1 tackle, 16 hitouts
Jolly - 6 disposals, 2 marks, 14 hitouts

Combined well with Fraser to beat Everitt and Jolly.

Richards is no star, but right now he is a reasonable backup ruckman who has the potential to become a solid 150-game player with some quality performances thrown in.

Rating King's tap work as a 6/10 (assuming Spider is a 10/10) is a mistake IMO. King is an excellent tap ruckman, and I would have him at a 7 or 8.

I wouldn't have Everitt 10/10 at the moment. The highest 3 would be Cox, Sandilands and Lade all at 9. King struggles to get off the ground and doesn't have a height advantage over most ruckmen. His hitouts are usually good quality, but he just doesn't get enough of them.

Gardiner around the ground was a 10 when he was fit - he was a better mover than Kosi. I would suspect if he plays he is still a 6 or 7.

Like King, Gardiner's injuries will have taken a huge toll on his leap. Knee and foot injuries have made him very immobile. He would have a reasonable hitout to advantage ratio, but he won't be able to compete with the best t centre bounces.

And Guy Richards is about as durable as a blow-up sex doll on an end of season rugby trip.

He has had problems, but not to the extent of Kosi, King or Gardiner. He was thrown into the deep end as a 20 year-old stick figure and has suffered for it, although he is still a pretty safe bet to be available for 18 games next year.

[saintsRrising]

I thought Richards was off to the Tigers in the PSD?

[True Blue Sainter]

I thought Richards was off to the Tigers in the PSD?

Sounds like the most likely scenario with their dearth of big men...He could do a job for us, but we now have too many ruckmen on the list, unless we're looking at playing Gardi as a permanent forward due to his injury troubles...