where to now for Rix? (And Brooks!)

[Huzzad]

Can some of you experts please explain something to me?

IF Brooks is so good, and Rix is nothing more than a hack VFL level ruckman.

How come two coaches have let Rix keep Brooks out of a job for a season and a half?

Amen. Rix is way better than Brooks. I saw a couple of Brooks' games and they were pathetic. Rix isn't terrbily consistant, but he goes at it alot harder than Brooks. Alot harder. He just isn't a ball magnet. But I'd take Rix over Brooks any day. Brooks is a perfect example of don't judge a book by its cover.

[Solar]

Ok can anyone explain to me why we are keeping a hack VFL standard player on our list?

Extra points if you don't include any player now not on out list

Personally I would rather blood a couple of 18 year olds then go with dinosaur

[rodgerfox]

Ok can anyone explain to me why we are keeping a hack VFL standard player on our list?

Depth.

[barks4eva]

Ok can anyone explain to me why we are keeping a hack VFL standard player on our list?

If M.Gardiner and King are out all year with injury, what then Albert?

Rix is durable, which is more than one can say for any other ruckman we've had at the club for over five years

[riccardo]

Being injury free dosen't help him when he is at the very best a standard GOP.

Rather have a match winning but injury prone ruckman than a player who keeps playing but couldn't win a macth off his own boot if he tried.

Play the percentages.

[spert]

Until champion ruckmen start falling out of trees, we will have to go with triers and I think Rix may go well next season as a backup. It is clear that RL values gut running and hard work ethic and I think a few lazy players will be getting a good kick up the bum in pre-season.

[sunsaint]

Being injury free dosen't help him when he is at the very best a standard GOP.
Rather have a match winning but injury prone ruckman than a player who keeps playing but couldn't win a macth off his own boot if he tried.
Play the percentages.

Hey Riccardo could you please explain how a ruck man can win matches sitting on the sidelines(Gardiner) or worse still playing in the VFL(Brooks)
"Play the percentages" would surely mean fielding a ruck man fullstop.

[Solar]

Ok can anyone explain to me why we are keeping a hack VFL standard player on our list?

If M.Gardiner and King are out all year with injury, what then Albert?

Rix is durable, which is more than one can say for any other ruckman we've had at the club for over five years

rather chuck allen to full forward and play kosi and blake in the ruck. Or throw an 18 year old in.

barks the whole 5 years thing is pretty silly, we had a certain other ruck forward on our list for 6 and I don't think many miss him!

btw has anyone got his stats for the past year or two? I'm too lazy but will be guessing that he struggles to push 10 posessions!

[Solar]

Being injury free dosen't help him when he is at the very best a standard GOP.

Rather have a match winning but injury prone ruckman than a player who keeps playing but couldn't win a macth off his own boot if he tried.

Play the percentages.

your being very nice to him ric

[mad saint guy]

btw has anyone got his stats for the past year or two? I'm too lazy but will be guessing that he struggles to push 10 posessions!

Has had more than 10 possessions once (11 disposals v Collingwood 2006)

[Squizzy1970]

Many of you expect far too much from a back up ruckman who is fit and willing. We've gone for Brooks, Ackland, Doc Clarke, and Knobel in the past - so Rix has by far been the best value.

[skeptic]

Many of you expect far too much from a back up ruckman who is fit and willing. We've gone for Brooks, Ackland, Doc Clarke, and Knobel in the past - so Rix has by far been the best value.

Rix is a shadow of what Trent Knobel was for us

With Rix, u have a player that will ALWAYS be beaten and will always hold us back... his spot is better gone to a developing rookie

promoting VR and delisting Rix would have been a better option

[mad saint guy]

Many of you expect far too much from a back up ruckman who is fit and willing. We've gone for Brooks, Ackland, Doc Clarke, and Knobel in the past - so Rix has by far been the best value.

Knobel either won or broke even in the hitouts. He did nothing around the ground, but at least he did something right.

Ackland was a seviceable backup ruckman for us in 2005 and finished top 10 in our B&F.

Rix is constantly beaten in the ruck and is slaughtered around the ground in every game he plays. Just because he looks angry at centre bounces it doesn't mean he is a good player.

[Solar]

Many of you expect far too much from a back up ruckman who is fit and willing. We've gone for Brooks, Ackland, Doc Clarke, and Knobel in the past - so Rix has by far been the best value.

of course, how dare I expect our back up ruckman to be able to not only compete, yes compete, meaning 50/50 split in the ruck taps but also be able to

- take a mark, let alone a contested mark
- be smart enough to find the positions to work as a link man or at worst work back into the defensive 50 and take some marks in front of the opposition forwards.
- be able to kick over 30 metres
- have more strings to his bow ie. can play forward or back

Clarke was 34 and still better value then a guy in the prime of his life. I think that says it all.

[barks4eva]

RIX ROX RUX

[SENsei]

SIX SOX STINX



I like this new game.

[Solar]

RIX ROX RUX

barks, just a question

can we afford to carry, yes carry, a ruckman that has only ever had a 10 possesion game in his career and can't kick over 30 metres?

btw brooks has been delisted and gardiner is set to train, doesn't answer the question on why we are carrying a VFL back up ruckman.

[sunsaint]

Many of you expect far too much from a back up ruckman who is fit and willing. We've gone for Brooks, Ackland, Doc Clarke, and Knobel in the past - so Rix has by far been the best value.

<snip>

Hey Skeptic, Solar and MSG

2007 St Kilda Saints Total Hitouts Leaders (Minimum 5 Games Played)
Rank Name Games Total
1 Michael Rix 17 206
2 Justin Koschitzke 19 155
3 Matthew Clarke 10 141
4 Jason Blake 22 79

You can hate the guy for all your collective worth.
But the stats dont match what you are saying, and obviously the team selection committee didnt agree with you either.
He was by far our best performing ruckman for the year, full stop, suck it up, end of story...

[Oh When the Saints]

If you are comparing Rix to Knobel and Ackland, don't forget that both those players were #1 ruck in terrific midfields.

Had Rix played #1 ruck like Knobel in our 2004 midfield, he would have given us similar value IMO.


At the end of the day, he's played 25-odd games in 2 years. Selected by two different selection committees with with two different sets of coaching staff.

In 2005, he was the best player at a VFL club and the second best ruckman in that competition.

He's not great at AFL level, but he's better than some players I've seen at AFL level.

[mad saint guy]

You can hate the guy for all your collective worth.
But the stats dont match what you are saying, and obviously the team selection committee didnt agree with you either.
He was by far our best performing ruckman for the year, full stop, suck it up, end of story...

Oh yes, his 12 hitouts per game (with about 2 effective) are truly vital to the team.

The number of hitouts a ruckman wins doesn't show their worth unless it is a Sandilands type player who often wins 35+. Kosi played a few games as our number one ruckman this year and sometimes only ended up with 6-10 hitouts, yet he was one of our best and most influential players. He nullified the ruck contests and then was super-effective around the ground. That means that he might end up with 20 possessions, 8 marks, 3 clearances and 10 hitouts. I would take that every day of the week ahead of Rix's 3 disposals and 20 hitouts.

I have absolutely nothing against the guy personally, but he just isn't good enough to be an effective AFL footballer. He would not get a game anywhere else in the competition. The fact that he was cut from Hawthorn's rookie list shows that at least one other club made the decision that he isn't AFL standard.

[Oh When the Saints]

I have absolutely nothing against the guy personally

That's good to hear. You tend to direct a lot of vitriol towards players who you don't rate, and it gives the appearance (obviously not your intention) that you hate them in some way.


Basically, I think Rix and Clint Jones are vital members of our best 22

[sunsaint]

I have absolutely nothing against the guy personally, but he just isn't good enough to be an effective AFL footballer. He would not get a game anywhere else in the competition. The fact that he was cut from Hawthorn's rookie list shows that at least one other club made the decision that he isn't AFL standard.

Yes and Port summed up Brooks very quickly dumped him on us and denied us the chance to get Salopek, now you tell me of the two, which player cost the Saints dearly & who is still playing for us?
Please give it a rest, your point of view is on the record, record, record....

[Solar]

Many of you expect far too much from a back up ruckman who is fit and willing. We've gone for Brooks, Ackland, Doc Clarke, and Knobel in the past - so Rix has by far been the best value.

<snip>

Hey Skeptic, Solar and MSG

2007 St Kilda Saints Total Hitouts Leaders (Minimum 5 Games Played)
Rank Name Games Total
1 Michael Rix 17 206
2 Justin Koschitzke 19 155
3 Matthew Clarke 10 141
4 Jason Blake 22 79

You can hate the guy for all your collective worth.
But the stats dont match what you are saying, and obviously the team selection committee didnt agree with you either.
He was by far our best performing ruckman for the year, full stop, suck it up, end of story...

wait wait wait.....

so off my head (sorry drinking beer at present so my maths is 5th grade stuff) rix averaged 11 hit outs and clarke, yes a 34 years old! averaged 14 hit outs a match.

Kosi has other strings to his bow so no wonder his hit out stats are down.

So seriously, you happy to have a guy who at his peak averages 11 hit outs a match, less the 10 possesions a match, can't kick over 30 metres, has no other strings to his bow and in fact was playing third ruck at casey in the final they played.

[Oh When the Saints]

He can kick over 30m. He's not a penetrating kick, but he can certainly kick 40m+ ... did it against the Eagles in Banger's 350th when he slotted that goal from the boundary.

[Solar]

He can kick over 30m. He's not a penetrating kick, but he can certainly kick 40m+ ... did it against the Eagles in Banger's 350th when he slotted that goal from the boundary.

yet struggled to make the distance at the dome a couple of weeks later from 30 metres out.