Carlton Supporters Club

Being the 2nd best ruck in a club these days can be like being Australia's 2nd best wicketkeeper. Damn hard to get a game.

De Koning will eventually turn out very well for us. Will ruck well and can do well forward too. Look forward to him playing when he's eventually ready.

I wasn't talking successful clubs in terms of recent history.
The early successful clubs in this bastardised 2020 season will be the ones that get their act together quickest.after the resumption.
Few if any seasons have had such a disruption after the season has commenced.
The uncertainty of the timing of the recommencement would also have impacted on the players.

Last weekend was virtually a new start to the year.
How individual players will have coped with the problems of isolation will vary dramatically.
Some will hit the ground without missing a beat and that will go for some teams as well.
Other will take a few weeks to hit their stride.

I like TDK and reckon he is very talented but I doubt he will be able to play a full season ever, very injury prone and
I just wish we could make him more robust. I'm more of the view he will survive longer if used sparingly in the ruck and more down forward.

you really don't like admitting you're wrong, do you?

It's not about being right or wrong, you seem to take this very personally, and it seems to me deeply hate having your arbitrary proclamations questioned.

Do you think Pittonet is better than Preuss, Marshall, Cameron or Smith, if you do what is the basis for that assessment?

FWIW, last season Marshall was probably amongst the BoG against us twice, putting SpecialK and Levi to the sword! Even so Ratten now has Marshall playing 2nd fiddle to Ryder.

Are any of those listed above at the level of SpecialK, Gawn, Grundy, Naitanui, 1st rucks?

If not then how are they viable replacements for a 1st ruck, ever?

What's the point of spending time developing supplementary types, shouldn't we be trying to find a genuine 1st ruck replacement?

It's way too early to judge Pittonet but nothing to suggest (currently) he's not the equal or better of 3 of the first 4 mentioned. Marshall is (currently) a better player.

My point - in response to your original comments - is that there is nothing to suggest Pittonet can't be a very capable first ruck. Big unit (202cm, 105kg) with mongrel, good mark, not slow, appears durable and has an excellent work ethic.

https://www.hawthornfc.com.au/news/461242/pittonets-dominance-recognised

Special K is all but dusted sadly, Gawn is 29 this year (121 games now, had only played 20 odd games at Pittonet's age) , Grundy is 26 with 134 games), Naitanui just hit 30, 168 games.

Some highlights from the Dees game on Pittonet.

The commentators were impressed....

All players had a start, it doesn't count for much.

I'm not sure it's viable to consider VFL rucking as a valid comparison to AFL. If it was how can it be Nick Meese languished his whole career in the VFL, he was the VFL's dominant ruck for almost a decade?

We all wish Pittonet well, but wishes do not count for much and it will be another 2 or 3 seasons before we get the genuine answer. If we wait until then to put an backup plan in place we've burned the careers of Cripps and others. I'd much rather put that time into De Koning as he seems to have potential beyond Pittonet, or perhaps another kid. So for me Pittonet is a place holder, even if I wish him well.

Did I say that? No. But he's clearly done his apprenticeship.

Using Meese as a comparison is just you trying to be cute - and failing.

Meese was overlooked for years, rightly or wrongly, for well documented reasons. Height and tank.

And it won't take 2-3 years to see how good he is - he gave Grundy a fair touch up this year. We'll know this season his 'potential'.

Playing TDK as the #1 ruck now will simply ruin the kid - as we did to Kreuzer to be honest.

The Frenchman Italian is a big man, a hard man and other ruckmen know it.

TDK is a spindly kid - any other ruckmen know that too.

Your logic is flawed.