Being an interstater I havent seen any trainings or practice matches, so to those of you that have, who will start as the back-up to Barnaby?
From the training reports I have read, there doesnt seem to be a stand out from those three.
Do we go for the "better tap ruckman" of the three in McLaren, or the flexibility of Bryan or Deluca to go forward as marking options?
Personally, I'm a Bryan fan, By all reports he has bulked up significantly, is a better mark than the other two IMO and I love that booming left foot.
But I would like to hear the opinions of those that have seen these three train/play this pre season.

Cheers

I'd go for Bryan ahead of the other two. I remeber thinking that Mclaren wasn't that impressive when I saw him play for the Lions. I was amazed that we sounded him out for the 1st pick in the pre-season draft. Unfortunately these days players don't want to come to Carlton anymore hence we were not able to attract a big name.

I am not a fan of De Luca. He has too many deficiencies for my liking. No right side and drops too many marks. Bryan on the other had is a great kick and good mark. Like the one he took against Waiklen last year. He's ruck work needs improving but he's the pick out of those three.

As far as ruck work goes I think McClaren is streets ahead of the other 2. I think Bryan is a good player though hopefully he can fit in somewhere.

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"We used to sit around and talk about how bad the game plan was." Anthony Koutoufides

Is this a trick poll? If not the options are to restrictive

None of the three should make it in our starting line up going by their intra club form. They should focus more on the short term in earning a spot otherwise Setanta or even Prenda are my preference as the back up ruckmen.

If they can't earn a spot on form then lets players and develop the kids.

Conundrum

No Prendergast is finished. He has had enough chances. I'm tired of unskilled players in the team. Bryan should be the back up ruckman.

Hopefully the ruck line up in a few years will be made up of French, A O'hAilpin and Luenberger

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

Agree with bax. As sad as it may sounds our shorter ruckman have been trained to nullify and not win the taps, at times, and that's what they had to do on Saturday.

I actually thought Bryan was OK on the weekend, but mainly for his shepherding and forward work.

Mclaren is a good clubman, has a good work ethic and is probably the better ruckman out of the three but isnt going to be bothering the scorers on the stat sheets too often as he doesnt get much of the ball..
Bryan's ruckwork last season was very ordinary in my books but he has more natural skills than the others...he will pick up more possies than the other two combined but can waste the footy with kicking clangars and can look slow and lost at times...his work ethic could also have been questioned in the past but he appears to have a had a good summer and knuckled down...needs to be consistent and not a novelty player known for kicking the cover off the ball
Deluca if he can get the footy is a very reliable kick for goal and good decision maker...getting the thing is his problem, can be a fumbling type of player who looks awkward but I have always been impressed with him and I like good decison makers..dont think his ruckwork will get him a game though and his best spot is up forward.

At the moment you would probably have Mclaren and Bryan ahead of Deluca with Mclaren more assured of getting a game as he is considered a better ruckman than the other two...

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training partner."
- Conor Gillen

???

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Agreed. As long as Barney is fit & firing Bryan should be the second ruck/follower however I think McLaren will get the gig because he is a "new recruit".
As much as I admire Prenda, if he's in our best 22 we are [REDACTED].
Archie to play in red also & should only be called upon if we have injuries.

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There's so much I could say...

Wow.
At the moment it seems the votes are pretty close between McLaren and Bryan with Deluca not getting much of a sniff in.
It seems to be McLarens superior ruck work vs. Bryans better skills and ball winning ability around the ground.
How has McLaren been going in ruck drills against Barnaby?
It will be interesting to see who gets picked this Saturday and who has the early running for season 06

mmm... spoilt for choice A Lions fan I know was mortified when D-Mac didn't sign on, i cling to this

McLaren for me just for the simple fact he is a new recruit and we must give him an opportunity to perform. Also i dont think he can play anywhere else other then ruck. The other two i can see playing forward when needed

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showpost. ... stcount=51

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

Deluca has the most potential of the 3 but may lack the mental application of the other 2.

McLaren for mine, then Bryan, then DeLuca.

DeLuca is more of a forward in my opinion. Even then, I'm not a fan as he has hands of stone and drops just about everything that comes his way. he has proved too soft for a Ruckman.

Bryan has all the right tools to be a good back up ruckman. If he has added muscle and strenght from last year, then he'd be right in the mix.

If Barnaby gets injured this season, we are in a lot of trouble. He is arguably our most improtant player.

Obviously the match commitee rate "Butter Fingers" Deluca higher than we TCers.
I am flabbergasted that Bryan couldnt make that NAB Cup side before Deluca

So you got the book too Zippy?

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"You are being watched. The government has a secret system. A machine that spies on you every hour of every day. I know because I built it." - Finch

Can Bryan play CHF? Can he play CHB? Has he ever done so before?

Deluca is primarily a CHF or 3rd forward. Dylan McLaren has the ability to play in defence on 195+cm defenders. French thrives on hardwork and will benefit from having the lion's share of the ruckwork in the preseason games.

Complaining about Deluca being picked ahead of Bryan is no more sensible than complaining about Wiggins or Teague being picked ahead of Bryan. At the moment, they aren't direct competitors for the same role. McLaren and Bryan are competing for the No. 2 ruck position. Bryan needs to establish that he can play another position successfully at AFL level. McLaren has the advantage with greater mobility and flexibility at the moment.

A fair complaint could be that he won't be able to demonstrate an ability to play as a forward unless he is played ahead of someone like Deluca. But Deluca has shown he can play as a forward, and has the pace and agility of forwards 6 cm shorter than himself. But Bryan wasn't able to demonstrate potential as a forward in 11 games last year, and I doubt he has the pace or agility to do so effectively.

The days of the lumbering second ruck playing in a forward pocket are gone. Gardiner has not set the world on fire in that position despite being an elite player. Good ruckmen/forwards are rare. JLo, Salmon and Alessio, Darcy and Kozzie stand out, and Ottens, Bandy and Simmonds have shown a bit at various stages.

The logic is so obvious - someone who is around 200cm should be able to outmark most defenders. Don't think that recruiters wouldn't kill for such a prize. But unless they are truly exceptional, they are exploited by faster opponents who leave them for dead running upfield.

Why don't we give Bryan the opportunity to dominate in the forward line at VFL level. At his height, he should be able to do so. If he can't do that, then forget about it.