Player Watch #38: Tristan Xerri - has signed a 4 year contract extension to the end of 2029

[perplexed]

Needs to change up his playing method. His ruckwork isn’t helping our midfield because he either grabs it or hits it to his feet.

Can’t fault the endeavour, but if this midfield ever becomes blue chip, that style of ruck work will actually suit the opposition. Today with players like Newcombe and Worpel the last thing we should have been doing was turn it into a slog on the trenches, which is exactly the way it played out with X’s ruck work.

Unfortunately these are too often his best options at the moment. Our mids are either stationary or getting stoved out of position at most stoppages. Nobody is moving, nobody is blocking to help their teammates, it's a shambles in there. X is the only one consistently holding his own. It would be great have him tapping to a player running into space, but nobody is.

 

[BlueandWhiteinmyBlood]

His game is great on a personal level but he really isn’t giving our mids first use or any real chance of a clean clearance.

 

[archereleven]

The trouble with X is that he is banging and crashing his way through the stoppage and stopping our mids from getting any clean ball. It's a massive problem.

Our mids almost got half a dozen clearances today, which X spoiled with a loose hand or a lunging body. He is like a wrecking ball in there, but he knocks down our midfield structures and any semblance of organisation...

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[tazaa]

Dont read into the Dreamteam points or number of hitouts this bloke is a large reason why we have no midfield. Goldy a massive loss and we are seeing it.

Xerri is a big part of the problem.

F*** the tackles.

He is meant to be a ruck who can provide a relief outlet around the ground and give our midfielders first use.

Not only does he not win the hithouts but he absolutely does not complement our midfield whatsoever.
Its almost like he's the reverse of what the group needs.

 

[Heaps of fun]

Trade him for a 1st rounder. If one positive can come its that another team would offer up decent capital so we can try and and actually get a bloke over 205cm who can mark and tap the football.

Why wouldn't that club use the first rounder for this mythical ready-to-go Dean Cox lovechild that wants to play for North Melbourne?

 

[kool kangas]

Xerri is not a "tap" ruckman like Goldy. Goly would tap the ball and let the midfielders take over whereas Xerri is a "knock" ruckman who wants to get the ball at all costs. He needs to understand his job is to get the ball to the midfielders and not try and win the ball himself...Grabing bit out of the ruck contest does not help the team on most occasions..

 

[Johnny99]

His game is great on a personal level but he really isn’t giving our mids first use or any real chance of a clean clearance.

Opposition have worked him out.

 

[FootySmartSimpson]

Xerri is a big part of the problem.

F*** the tackles.

He is meant to be a ruck who can provide a relief outlet around the ground and give our midfielders first use.

Not only does he not win the hithouts but he absolutely does not complement our midfield whatsoever.
Its almost like he's the reverse of what the group needs.

I think you guys have got a Goldstein-style ruck confused with a Xerri-style ruck.

He has always been like this. Only now he is performing at a high level of that game style.

The majority of you were begging for Xerri’s physical style. Well, you have it.

Don’t blame the player doing what he does to a high level.

He was never a tap-ruck.

 

[KangaRooster]

Unorthodox and unpredictable are the terms i'd use to best describe his ruck work.

Sadly it seems like our mids are the sort that need things to be made as traditional and simple as possible to be effective at the moment.

 

[tazaa]

I think you guys have got a Goldstein-style ruck confused with a Xerri-style ruck.

He has always been like this. Only now he is performing at a high level of that game style.

The majority of you were begging for Xerri’s physical style. Well, you have it.

Don’t. Lame the player doing what he does to a high level.

He was never a tap-ruck.

No confusion mate. I was a fan of Goldi every day of the week and never rated X.

For me a physical ruck is one who can take marks around the ground and surge the football forward.
Not this s**t.

The reality is if we don't win a clearance out of the middle, usually there is a secondary stoppage because the ball has failed to clear the square and then there is congestion and no space and we get taken to the cleaners.

I think watching our midfield set ups is the most frustrating thing right now. He simply does not compliment us at all.
Funnily enough 40yo Goldstein has the campaigners at Essendon humming lol

but yeh, tackles and all that.

 

[The Dougster]

For me a physical ruck is one who can take marks around the ground and surge the football forward.
Not this s**t.

Let's hope the big man can start doing more of the above.

 

[GoRoos2023]

Signed up, announced shortly.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Signed up, announced shortly.

And the clusterheck keeps on pumping.

 

[tazaa]

Signed up, announced shortly.

The man is 25 and has played 39 games in just over 6 years.
We haven’t even looked like winning a game when he’s rucking.

If it’s another 4 year deal Rawlings deserves to be spat on.

Im not even joking.

 

[archereleven]

The man is 25 and has played 39 games in just over 6 years.
We haven’t even looked like winning a game when he’s rucking.

If it’s another 4 year deal Rawlings deserves to be spat on.

Im not even joking.

We only give 4 year deals to s**t truck free agents.

Snoz has him pencilled in until 2030 with Sheezel, you know, for continuity and cohesion...

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[GoRoos2023]

The man is 25 and has played 39 games in just over 6 years.
We haven’t even looked like winning a game when he’s rucking.

If it’s another 4 year deal Rawlings deserves to be spat on.

Im not even joking.

I actually think he has been one of our best this year and happy he is signing.

3rd in the league in Hit Outs

1st in Tackles and Clearances for a ruck.

First proper crack at it since last year injury and before that Goldy.

You surely couldn't question his effort which cant be said for most of the list.

Least of our problems in my opinion. Subjective I guess.

 

[hotchilli]

His tap work has been poor and it certainly is an area he needs to improve but at least he’s actually cracking in at the contest consistently throughout the game. Our midfield group literally refuses to work hard defensively which is at it’s worst on turnovers.

 

[DuckYeah]

His tap work has been poor and it certainly is an area he needs to improve but at least he’s actually cracking in at the contest consistently throughout the game. Our midfield group literally refuses to work hard defensively which is at it’s worst on turnovers.

It would be nice if he could take an over head mark..

 

[hotchilli]

It would be nice if he could take an over head mark..

We could do with a few players with that skill

 

[Dingster]

His tap work has been poor and it certainly is an area he needs to improve but at least he’s actually cracking in at the contest consistently throughout the game. Our midfield group literally refuses to work hard defensively which is at it’s worst on turnovers.

X is predictable so we should have some advantage with that. Set up better for starters. Also until Zurhaar moved into the middle our mids were too stationary against the bigger body and more proactive Hawks. Patch has a lot to answer.

 

[rickety]

It would be nice if he could take an over head mark..

TBF have you seen some of the mungs our blokes kick?. Mind you, the counter to that is that it's usually the other team that has the ball and he should be pushing back to help out. A counter to that is that he's pushing forward hard to be an option up there when we have the ball, but the ball gets turned over before it get forward of centre. Leaving him stranded somewhere in limbo, which is btw, neither here nor there.
FWIW, whenever someone asks me about North ruckmen, I think of Mick Nolan, Crackers Keenan and then Spider Burton ... all of that though, has no relevance here.

 

[Sphynx]

We only give 4 year deals to s**t truck free agents.

Snoz has him pencilled in until 2030 with Sheezel, you know, for continuity and cohesion...

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Nope, I've heard enough tit bits from Twoomey to suggest Rawlings is trying to tie him down to a 4 or 5 year deal.

 

[muttley45]

I have noticed even Max Gawn

11

Max Gawn

Age

32

Ht

209cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.1

4star

K

7.4

3star

HB

6.7

4star

CL

2.8

4star

HO

35.3

5star

D

18.5

4star

K

11.5

4star

HB

7.0

4star

CL

3.5

4star

HO

29.2

5star

D

8.4

3star

K

3.6

2star

HB

4.8

4star

CL

1.0

3star

HO

15.6

5star

of late, at centre bounces regularly goes for the big 5-10m thump rather than the deft tap, if your mid's are awake to it, can pay off handsomely.

 

[scottywiper]

For all the debate on X, imagine if he gets hurt.
Free is nowhere near good enough and was anothrr very strange draft choice. Goad is years away. CCJ is unavailable. It would be a horror show.
Same if Larkey went down.
If we lost those two the thrashings would double.

 

[Gumble Frankieton]

I have noticed even Max Gawn of late, at centre bounces regularly goes for the big 5-10m thump rather than the deft tap, if your mid's are awake to it, can pay off handsomely.

It seemed like Xerri was starting to mix up his taps a bit in the 2nd half rather than just tapping it close to his feet. But he was still grabbing the ball out of the ruck a bit too much (to generally mixed effect). As the midfield group spends more time together I'd love to see him knock the ball into space for someone like LDU or Colby to run onto.