Dean Cox ($662 600, 112.20, 22) - The most successful rookie draft pick of all time showed allcomers his worth last year after most had written him off. At 203cm he has rewritten the ruck role by adapting to the modern midfield running game and is often described as a ruck rover in the way he contributes to attacking moves, in particular his ability to receive handballs and execute accurate inside 50s. Has been the dominant SC premium scoring ruck for five out of the last six seasons save for a horrid 2010 when ravaged by core injuries. Despite this, his durability has been second to none compared with his counterparts. Has earned a significant price tag for this year, which may be difficult to justify given his age and the effect of the NicNat.
Pros: Guaranteed consistent point scorer, durability.
Cons: Emergence of NicNat, age and core injury worries.
Nic Naitanui ($508 800, 93.8, 20) - How good would the Dees be with this bloke playing as the #1 ruck? Hard to see Scully moving if this had occurred. Jack who? This bloke will rewrite conventional ruck play in the next two years with his ability to compete and win the second, third and fourth contest of a stoppage as he demonstrated at times last year with only one working wing. It still astounds me that the Melbourne media consider his potential only as good as when he “learns the game” as if he was a Gaelic recruit that had never played AFL. For goodness sake, he was born in Sydney, moved to Perth as a one year old and has played AFL all his life including WAFL seniors with Swan Districts as a 16/17 yo.
This bloke’s aerobic/anaerobic capacity aligned with his skill and will to win the contested pill will make him the next big thing in the AFL.
Pros: Untapped ability, proven SC scoring style, plays for the best team in the league.
Cons: Big Cox.
Scott Lycett ($265 600, 70, 1) - Scotty is another relatively early draft pick (#28) for a ruckman that showed a bit of potential in his only game against the lowly Bulldogs last year. Will obviously not play unless there are injury problems with Cox/NicNat and his price is too inflated after the 70 scored in rd 19.
Pros: R/F ability.
Cons: Price, competition for games.
Overall synopsis: Cox is expensive and will most probably suffer from a more significant role by NicNat – beware.
Get on NicNat. This will be your last chance to buy an absolute premium at a discounted price (so much for my POD!)
Best 22 combo:
Cox
Naitanui
(no surprises there!)
Backfill options:
Lycett
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Haha love the ‘ plays for the best team in the league.’ from what I hear cox is having the best preseason of his career.
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First time I’ve ever seen “Big Cox” listed as a “Con” !
I think a lot of the better players will avoid Cox this year (high price and Nick Nat – his age isn’t TOO bad), so he could be a great pick-up for the reasons you suggested.
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Cant see coxy,s numbers to drop off too much , he is still a class act . Coxy,s price will drop off a tad as the rookie prices rise .
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Been all over NicNat from the start and am expecting big things out of him this year. He’ll be that prem ruck for me in a 1 prem 3 rookie ruck setup.
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