At the start of the 2024 AFL season, a quick look through the league’s highest-rated rucks saw Max Gawn looking like he was ready to resume as the best big man in the game.
He had been incredibly durable, averaging 23 games per season over the 2021-23 seasons, and it may have lulled his club into being a little overconfident. Perhaps it made Melbourne feel like they were ready to take a gamble.
They came into the 2024 season without a designated second ruck, after parting ways with Brodie Grundy after a highly publicised trade to Sydney, which placed enormous pressure on Gawn.
And to their credit, the gamble has paid off, with their lone ruck once again the front-runner for All-Australian honours.
But it was still a gamble, and I’ll just throw on my Nathan Brown mask for a second… (and possibly vomit as a result), did the Dees gamble responsibly?
Max Gawn will sit out the Round 18 clash against the Bombers this weekend, and he does so at a time when his team desperately needs a win to remain in contention to play finals.
A quick question for you – without looking, who will play ruck for the Demons this week against Sam Draper?
When the team was released this evening, Harrison Petty was named as the first ruck. It might end up being Tom McDonald, as well, with Jacob van Rooyen taking the responsibility for the forward fifty stoppages, but the name on the sheet belongs to Petty.
That is Shaun Grigg-like selection from the Dees, but at least Petty won’t be stinking up the forward line, as he has for the entire season to date.
Perhaps this move unlocks the potential the Dees saw in Petty? The potential that saw them knock back a substantial trade for the swingman after the 2023 season.
However, the reality is that Petty has managed but 22 hit outs in 2024. Whilst some players register that many in a half of footy, Melbourne may be entrusting their centre bounce work to a man that has barely touched the pill in ruck contests all year.
But what were their other options? Who else could they have thrown into the mix?
Petty stands at 197 centimetres. Not a small man by any stretch, and the Dees have five players, other than Gawn, who stand taller.
Two of them are 20 years old, and are a few years away from being able to compete against the better AFL rucks. Ben Brown is another, but he moves like a container ship. And then there is Tom Fullarton, who was recruited from Brisbane in the hopes he could provide relief in the ruck. Sadly, he has not played senior footy since – wait for it – 2022.
Oh, and the other is Josh Schache… LOL. We all know he’s not going to be the answer. Not to any question, really.
The Dees have had their ruck/stoppage woes compounded with the absence of Christian Petracca, and the dip in form from Clayton Oliver. They are ranked 17th in clearances per game in 2024, after being sixth in 2023, and fifth in 2022. It’s a pretty drastic dip, and one that has seen them chasing tail far more often than they’d like. Their one shining light has been Gawn (and Jack Viney, if I’m being honest).
The big fella has been averaging 5.1 clearances per game this season – a career high. But with Gawn out and Petracca gone, the club is going to have to rely heavily on a miraculous resurgence from Clayton Oliver, and Jack Viney elevating his game yet again, to match it with the Bombers.
Essendon sit 11th in clearances per game – surely no powerhouse in that department, but this is a game where Sam Draper should be eyeing the opposition and licking his lips. If he walks away with fewer than 50 hit outs and a handful of clearances, he should hang his head in shame, such is the difference in the quality of the proposed rucks.
Can Harrison Petty work hard enough around the ground to capitalise on being the more mobile of the two? God knows, with 1.7 hit outs per game, and 0.08 clearances, he is not likely going to be the most dominant in the ruck. He has to find a way to combat Draper and remain involved. Maybe he follows him around and tries to make sure Draper’s dominance is restricted only to ruck contests?
The Dees are up against it this weekend, but in situations like this, you either rise to the occasion, or fall back to the pack.
Is this the game that shakes things up at Casey Fields? Is this the moment we finally realise that as a forward, Petty makes a damn good makeshift ruck? Or is this the game where the Melbourne Football Club has one more straw placed upon its back before it breaks?
Many have forecast the Demon downfall since the off–season dramas. We are now at the crossroads, and even though they have managed to battle on through injury and innuendo, if they are smashed in the ruck and the Bombers win, this time the club may have to front up and admit they got it very wrong.
Much like trusting Nathan Brown’s multis, going into a season with only one ruck was a huge gamble.
And we’re at the stage where the bookie might be ready to collect on Melbourne’s debts.
Did they gamble irresponsibly?
We’re about to find out.
As always, massive thanks to those who support this work. It is a labour of love for me, and having you guys as members of the site basically keeps me going. So sincerely… thank you – HB
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