Player Watch Nathan Kreuger

[domus]

Checkers is also capable of going through a game somewhat unsighted. Kreuger has a booming kick and has good ground skills for a tall player. If he is not expected to be the centre piece of our attack, he could become a very handy player.

It's rare indeed for Checkers to play a game with minimum impact even when he isn't registering possessions he is crashing packs, tackling like a terminator and punching or tapping the pill to advantage.

 

[northcotehead]

Even when Checkers goes AWOL, he tends to bob up for a quick cameo like an important goal or assist. Poor guys been lifting mountains for us for years.

 

[No SPIN]

All the criticisms you have with Krueger as a ruckman I have with McStay except Kreuger has added speed and agility at ground level. Whilst McStay is a better forward and our forwardline functions better when he can play 90+ percentage of game time there.

I don’t think many here would agree with you that Krueger is a better Ruckman than McStay.
McStay is streets ahead in that respect.
Agree on Krueger’s greater agility.

 

[Bianconeri]

I don’t think many here would agree with you that Krueger is a better Ruckman than McStay.
McStay is streets ahead in that respect.
Agree on Krueger’s greater agility.

I’d watch McStays effort against Oscar McInerney before calling him a better ruckman than anyone. But even he is being a bees dick better than Kreuger for 5 minutes a quarter in the ruck doesn’t warrant the loss of quality in the forwardline.

 

[rand corp]

Kruegs needs games, a run of them without injuring himself. Only then will we know how much improvement and potential he has and what he can bring the the side.

 

[manicpie]

I’d watch McStays effort against Oscar McInerney before calling him a better ruckman than anyone. But even he is being a bees dick better than Kreuger for 5 minutes a quarter in the ruck doesn’t warrant the loss of quality in the forwardline.

McStay is quite average as a ruck. I doubt we want him rucking for more than a couple of minutes at a time

 

[No SPIN]

I’d watch McStays effort against Oscar McInerney before calling him a better ruckman than anyone. But even he is being a bees dick better than Kreuger for 5 minutes a quarter in the ruck doesn’t warrant the loss of quality in the forwardline.

I’ll wait to see how many agree that there’s marginal difference in their Ruck capabilities.

 

[sr36]

I don’t think many here would agree with you that Krueger is a better Ruckman than McStay.
McStay is streets ahead in that respect.
Agree on Krueger’s greater agility.

I doubt that McStay will come back early after an ACL and then get thrown straight into the ruck unless it was an emergency.

My view is that Cox's injury is a blessing in disguise as he'll be back before finals and it gives us a decent block of games to assess the difference between playing 2 rucks or a forward who chops out in the ruck.

 

[manicpie]

I’ll wait to see how many agree that there’s marginal difference in their Ruck capabilities.

Correct. I doubt we want either playing too much ruck

 

[DopeMaster]

Kreugs ability or lack-there-of in the ruck is offset by how quickly he closes space when chasing players. It’s pretty off the charts for a tall IMO, suits our gameplan beautifully.

 

[TheVillageIdiot7]

For mine, its flexibility vs structure.
We play 2 "talls" and a resting Ruck.

Its just no one realizes that our second tall is Elliot or WHE or JDG (Shooter even was forced to play this role when we had no one else!!).
Which is why we looks so dangerous and fast ahead of the ball.

So if we're going to play McStay & Checkers..... then the question becomes around whether one them takes the "second ruck" or "second tall" role.

Depending on what the club see's more value in (speed of that mid sized second tall vs having 2 dominant ruck capable players sharing the load more) will determine which way we go IMO.

Where Kreugs fits will literally be based on the outcome of the above decision.

 

[sr36]

For mine, its flexibility vs structure.
We play 2 "talls" and a resting Ruck.

Its just no one realizes that our second tall is Elliot or WHE or JDG (Shooter even was forced to play this role when we had no one else!!).
Which is why we looks so dangerous and fast ahead of the ball.

So if we're going to play McStay & Checkers..... then the question becomes around whether one them takes the "second ruck" or "second tall" role.

Depending on what the club see's more value in (speed of that mid sized second tall vs having 2 dominant ruck capable players sharing the load more) will determine which way we go IMO.

Where Kreugs fits will literally be based on the outcome of the above decision.

McRae has said that he thinks proper talls become more important in finals due to the extra heat around the ball and it certainly correlates with the sides he went for in last year's finals.

He'll want McStay and Checkers with a third bloke who can play some forward and some ruck - which if we're lucky with injuries will probably come down to how well Cox goes at whatever level when he returns and how well Freddy goes before Cox returns and how much having a non-ruck chopping out impacts us at stoppage.

If we have injuries or Freddy/Cox are playing woefully - WHE will probably play tall.

 

[TheVillageIdiot7]

McRae has said that he thinks proper talls become more important in finals due to the extra heat around the ball and it certainly correlates with the side he went for in last year's finals.

He'll want McStay and Checkers with a third bloke who can play some forward and some ruck - which if we're lucky with injuries will probably come down to how well Cox goes at whatever level when he returns and how well Freddy goes before Cox returns and how much having a non-ruck chopping out impacts us at stoppage.

I agree talls in finals (who don't get out marked) are worth so much.
Talls who don't compete are a waste of a spot.

But i'm 100% certain we don't win last year without Cox rucking.

When he plays, he doesn't just give 5 mins worth of rucks. He is a far better ruckman than fwd.
So it provides in game depth as well as improved aerobic power in the back end of games due to less minutes.
No co-incidence that he took the ruck in the GF in the last stanza.

Last weekend was a glimpse of Cameron solo....and he got monstered by Xerri & Teakle (IMO).
With absolutely no plan B or ability to throw something different at the oppo.

I bet on the review, the club wishes we could have had Cox.

Like you said earlier....its important we get a few games look at both setups prior to finals and make an informed choice.

 

[sr36]

I agree talls in finals (who don't get out marked) are worth so much.
Talls who don't compete are a waste of a spot.

But i'm 100% certain we don't win last year without Cox rucking.

When he plays, he doesn't just give 5 mins worth of rucks. He is a far better ruckman than fwd.
So it provides in game depth as well as improved aerobic power in the back end of games due to less minutes.
No co-incidence that he took the ruck in the GF in the last stanza.

Last weekend was a glimpse of Cameron solo....and he got monstered by Xerri & Teakle (IMO).
With absolutely no plan B or ability to throw something different at the oppo.

I bet on the review, the club wishes we could have had Cox.

Like you said earlier....its important we get a few games look at both setups prior to finals and make an informed choice.

When Cox is playing well, I think it's pretty clear cut. But he was having a very bad year and when he's bad he's bloody bad. You'd be tempted to pick him anyway as he's lifted for finals - don't know. Hopefully he finds some form on his return - or Freddy makes himself irreplaceable. Hopefully they're all fit and firing come September. McStay may also have not done enough when it comes time to pick a final's team. We could very easily find ourselves going into finals with two talls who've done SFA throughout the year, in which case it might be WHE playing tall.

 

[northcotehead]

I haven't seen him ruck in the twos but the sample size on Kruegs ruckwork proficiency in the ones is small. He might surprise us, because you know he's a competitor and even if he loses the tap he'll be up for the second effort. But an in form Cox is always good and he seems to step up in finals.

 

[Ted Potter]

We could very easily find ourselves going into finals with two talls who've done SFA throughout the year, in which case it might be WHE playing tall.

What complicates this whole issue of Krueger/Cox debate is that JDG is not going to have the same level of fitness before his injuries. So is likely to spend more time forward than in the past year or so.

 

[lenny20]

Kreuger's defensive work at ground level is very strong, so you could definitely get away with playing Mihocek, McStay and Kreugs in the same forward line. They're all so mobile for big men, and Kreugs has great agility and a tackle-to-kill mindset.

Occupying the three tallest opposition defenders with those boys then makes a matchup for any of Elliott/De Goey/WHE/Shooter a nightmare, since they're all more than capable overhead.

We might even be able to run two rucks given the mobility of the Mihocek/McStay/Kreuger combo, in which case, Cox or DC would get the matchup of their dreams when resting forward. (That being said, I think we'll favour only one of Kreuger/Cox if both are fully fit...but you never know).

It's that cascade effect which makes a player like Freddy so interesting, especially alongside McStay and Checkers, who are also mobile for KPFs. He demands a genuine KPD to stand him, and thus makes the matchups for his teammates significantly easier... but you don't lose much - if anything - in terms of defensive pressure when you play him.

 

[domus]

McStay is quite average as a ruck. I doubt we want him rucking for more than a couple of minutes at a time

Freddy is below average.

 

[sr36]

Kreuger's defensive work at ground level is very strong, so you could definitely get away with playing Mihocek, McStay and Kreugs in the same forward line. They're all so mobile for big men, and Kreugs has great agility and a tackle-to-kill mindset.

Occupying the three tallest opposition defenders with those boys then makes a matchup for any of Elliott/De Goey/WHE/Shooter a nightmare, since they're all more than capable overhead.

We might even be able to run two rucks given the mobility of the Mihocek/McStay/Kreuger combo, in which case, Cox or DC would get the matchup of their dreams when resting forward. (That being said, I think we'll favour only one of Kreuger/Cox if both are fully fit...but you never know).

It's that cascade effect which makes a player like Freddy so interesting, especially alongside McStay and Checkers, who are also mobile for KPFs. He demands a genuine KPD to stand him, and thus makes the matchups for his teammates significantly easier... but you don't lose much - if anything - in terms of defensive pressure when you play him.

The other part of it is that when we do play two rucks with two proper talls - the rucks play low combined minutes as we are less mobile when all 3 are on the ground. Krueger could play more minutes due to mobility which could keep others fresher.

If Krueger holds fitness and plays well enough, there will be good arguments either way.

I'll be happy with whatever they go with, as evaluating the advantages and disadvantages would require some pretty serious analysis

 

[manicpie]

Freddy is below average.

They both are but chances are that if we get to the GF, then chances are we'll be up against a side who uses predominantly one ruck, so either would be fine for 5 minutes a quarter

 

[LuckyLee]

There’s a passage of play late in Q3 versus the Kangas not long after Freddie kicked his goal where he dropped an easy mark from a McCreery kick out of D50, Naicos gathered and handballed it forward into Freddie’s path and he ran and tapped it forward a couple of times under pressure then soccered it into F50 and then sprinted away from his opponent to lay a great tackle on McDonald.

So it started with an error but I loved the 2nd, 3rd and 4th efforts, as well as remarkable acceleration and agility for such a big bloke.

I reckon there’s huge upside to Freddie if he can finally get an extended run at it. I hope we keep playing him until he either becomes a Best 23 lock or breaks down again.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[manicpie]

There’s a passage of play late in Q3 versus the Kangas not long after Freddie kicks his goal where he drops an easy mark from a McCreery kick out of D50, Naicos gathers and handballs it forward into Freddie’s path and he runs and taps it forward a couple of times under pressure then soccers it into F50 and then sprints away from his opponent to lay a great tackle on McDonald.

So it started with an error but I loved the 2nd, 3rd and 4th efforts, as well as remarkable acceleration and agility for such a big bloke.

I reckon there’s huge upside to Freddie if he can finally get an extended run at it. I hope we keep playing him until he either becomes a Best 23 lock or breaks down again.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

Freddy has 6 weeks to overtake Cox. It isn't out of the question

 

[gerryg400]

If Kruegs plays, it'll be the first time in his career that he's managed 3 consecutive games.

There will be an asterisk though because the games straddle the bye.

 

[MoreMoore]

Kreugs ability or lack-there-of in the ruck is offset by how quickly he closes space when chasing players. It’s pretty off the charts for a tall IMO, suits our gameplan beautifully.

His 3 or 4 repeat efforts running the length of the ground was awesome

 

[Copeland]

What complicates this whole issue of Krueger/Cox debate is that JDG is not going to have the same level of fitness before his injuries. So is likely to spend more time forward than in the past year or so.

Thats a great point. We are looking forward to our guns coming back but how far off their best will they be, its a worry.