Cyril RIOLI???

[WinnersOnly]

I wonder if the future will dictate that we should have taken Cyril RIOLI at Selection #9 rather than McEVOY? The boy is going to a genuine star when ruckmen are difficult to judge. We did need a young ruckmen to develop but there were plenty left when it came time for our third selection. Only time will tell I guess...!

[Raven]

From the start he was my first choice for pick 9, i.e. the best I thought would be available at that pick. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with McEvoy but I'll always have that twinge of annoyance every time I see Rioli in a Hawks jumper.

[SaintBot]

im going to watch alwyn davey with interest this season

both similar players (rioli a tad better in a general football sense, more versatile also)

davey made an imediate impact last year for essendon, this year?
rioli already making an impact, hopefully he continues to do so - i think he will have a fantastic career in the afl

he is different to the many quick/small players who have a big impact year 1 and then become ok players in the seasons after (eg. aaron davey) - he is much more than a one trick pony...he will be very exciting for years and years to come

dont be surprised if his career is spent mainly on the half back flank, played a lot of his junior career there (as well as stints at fullforward/half forward/onball)

[vacuous space]

There was a huge gap between McEvoy and the next best ruckman. There wasn't anybody after McEvoy that combined size with an around the ground presense. Adding a potentially dominant ruckman to our list was much more important than adding a skilled small. It was the right pick, let's just hope McEvoy repays the faith.

[stinger]

From the start he was my first choice for pick 9, i.e. the best I thought would be available at that pick. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with McEvoy but I'll always have that twinge of annoyance every time I see Rioli in a Hawks jumper.

mine too.....but in the end i was happy with our pick....

[ausfatcat]

Well we have needed a up and coming ruckman since 1997 (Since Lazar retired) was about time we got one.

[Dan Warna]

i think there is a massive fail rate with selecting ruckmen.

heck folks go on about mcintosh but frankly he was a failure for the first 4 seasons he was at north.

also there is a massive burn rate from fans on young players.

cooney was always gonna be a gun but the first what 5 years if he got less than 20 touches he was a hack and overrated ><

guys like judd are the exception, not the rule.

guys like montagna are the example of waiting for players to mature.

[ausfatcat]

Judd has a lot to answer for really hey?

[SaintBot]

Ruckmen in the top ten over the last ten years:

07
Matthew Kreuzer - 1 - ?
Ben McEvoy - 9 - ?

06
Matthew Leunberger - 4 - Looks good, already solidly in Brisbane's 22


05
Paddy Ryder - 7 - Has developed as a good tall defender rather than a ruckman
Mitchell Clarke - 10 - Plays mainly as a forward, injuries have hurt, inconsistent when on the park

04
John Meesen - 8 - Yet to play a game, traded from Adelaide to Melbourne, has potential - however his inability to get a game in the weak adelaide ruck lineup is questionable

03
-

02
Hamish Mcintosh - 9 - Finally had a good season, 5 years after being drafted - interesting to see if he can back it up
Jason Laycock - 10 - Never held a permanent position, on and off 2nd ruck/forward

01
David Hale - 7 - Had a few good seasons but has been overtaken by Mcintosh, can play forward

00
Justin Koschitzke - 2 - If he counts as a ruckman, been very good, injury prone - looks the goods as a key forward
Andrew Mcdougall - 5 - Can play as a backup forward/defender, hasnt properly rucked since being drafted
Laurence Angwin - 7 - Infamously sacked after positive drug tests, never looked any good at either Adelaide or Carlton

99
Josh Fraser - 1 - Best ruckman to be drafted highly so far, still rucking as #1 for Collingwood

98
Justin Longmuir - 2 - Injury prone, could play well up forward or as a ruck

97
Brad Ottens - 2 - Very good ruckman still, can go forward, at Geelong now



07 Leading Ruckman and draft history:

Aaron Sandilands - 2002 Rookie Draft Selection #33
Dean Cox - 2000 Rookie Draft Selection #28
Jeff White - 1994 National Draft Selection #1
Brendon Lade - 1996 Zone Selection



A very big gamble really. Just as good chance of getting the best ruckmen in the rookie draft, luke van rheenen anyone?

[ausfatcat]

no top 10 selection doesn't come with risks have a look at the rest of the top from those drafts and you will a lot of GOPS and duds.

[The Saintsational Man]

THE THREAD STARTER IS A THIEF!!!!

[WinnersOnly]

THE THREAD STARTER IS A THIEF!!!!

"The Saintsational Man"

WTF is this?

[riccardo]

After one game, its already doom for McEvoy and glory for Rioli, is it?

I've got two words for that:

Mark McGough!

[ttufc7]

Bit early for this sort of thinking isn't it?

McEvoy is always going to take a little longer to mature as has been shown to be the case with young ruckmen.

Lets not forget that Rioli's first game was against a weak Melbourne outfit in a 100+ points win in which the Hawks players were able to run around and do as they please

I personally will be holding my judgement on Rioli untill I see how he performs in a tough contest

[Dan Warna]

exactly, ruckmen are a long term investment, some work out, some don't.

if we'd taken mcintosh instead of brooks, given mcintosh's form till 07 season, we'd have 5 years of OMG why did we take mcintosh, what a waste of a draft pick yada yada yada.

same with montagna, fisher x clarke etc.

even here the rumblings about goddard and despite being a former captain, still hear the shyte about why oh why did we take ball intead of judd.

etc etc.


we've done very well over the years with the draft, both early and late, but guess what, sometimes there are misses, and sometimes players take a few years to develop.

[GrumpyOne]

As a wise man once said "Tall players don't get any shorter as the game progresses", or words to that effect.

Ample small crumbing forwards ATM.

[Solar]

it's easy to forget that we got a 23 year old premiership player who will play a smilar role for as a rioli will for the hawks. Rioli will be goo but it's not like he will be a out and out midfielder