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RUCKS! - Strategy and Structure, Top-Tier and Value! #PODPOD
3.1k Plays5 days ago
Honestly, what the ruck? Every year the rucks are one of the hardest lines to select in our AFL Fantasy starting squads. Jordy wants to “set and forget,” Lewy likes the idea of paying up for one and then finding value and Harmey genuinely has no idea where he wants to go. Come and join us as we talk all things rucks!
In this episode, the panel discusses everything you need to know in terms of the ruck line. The lads discuss strategy and structure and whether you can or should pay up in the top tier with the impending ruck rule changes. They discuss allllllll relevant options they believe should be considered whilst chatting about whether it is viable to start a red dot rookie at R3. The decisions here will shape what money you have left to spend in other lines and is crucial in finding the balance that will set you up for success!
The PODPOD is brought to you by Moreira’s Magic in 2026. All Holmes Files episodes will be available exclusively as a part of the 2026 Season Guide. As well as the podcasts, the Season Guide will also include:
- Player profiles and comments for all players in the AFL
- Best 22’s from the MM team
- Draft rankings
- DVP
- Strength of schedule
- Market Share
- Podcasts with Selby and Xavier Ellis
- Much much more!
The guide is now live! A must have for any serious Fantasy coach head over to moreirasmagic.com.au/ to order now! The guide will be updated right up until the start of round 1 and the in-season content begins
Follow us on X:
The PODPOD: @podpodAFL
Holmesy: @Holmesysheroes
Lewy: @AFLewy
Harmey: @jonharmey
Dos: @HKdos
Sam: @grillis03
Jordy: @jordandsena
Dossy: @HKdos
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Overview of AFL Fantasy Classic
00:00:18
Holmesy
G'day and welcome to the Pod Pod brought to you by Moreira's Magic. I'm your host Holmesy, three-time top 10 finisher and twice runner-up in AFL Fantasy Classic. We are back for the third of our positional previews and one that sparks a lot of debate each year.
00:00:35
Holmesy
Lou, I'm going to go to you straight away. i went back through the title of some of our preseason episodes last year, and I think the title was What the Ruck? Indicating that this time last year, we really didn't know what was going on in the Ruck line. And it wasn't really until Briggs got injured in round zero that Max Gorn became an option for us. So it is super important to to really stay flexible and agile in the preseason, mate. But i'm I'm super excited to chat about the Rucks today. So how are you?
Meet the Hosts and New Season Prospects
00:01:01
Lew
I'm well thanks mate and yes I'm excited to talk about the rucks I think every single year this is one of the more relevant podcasts um we're always floundering around trying to figure out what we're going to do here so excited to talk about some of these names and I'm sure we'll try and scratch below the surface a bit on some of these new ruck rules
00:01:22
Holmesy
And with us, as always, is two-time top 10 finisher and runner-up in 2019, John Harmy.
00:01:25
JORDAN D'SENA
right.
00:01:27
Holmesy
And Harmy, I'll admit, pre-pod, giving the going a little bit behind the curtains here, you're saying, I genuinely have no idea what to do here. Let's go, which is always good for a fantasy podcast, but really excited for what you'll bring to the show today.
00:01:44
Jon Harmey
Hello, Host Homesy. Yes, I know. It's a bit hard to get excited about really the rucks, I think, mate. But big news today. And yeah, we've got another ruck just throwing his hand up. So that'll be interesting to talk through.
00:01:59
Holmesy
Are you talking about two-time premiership Ruckman Darcy Ford?
00:02:04
Jon Harmey
Spot on. Yep, solo ruck at Brisbane now. So I'm sure he's going to take the step up.
00:02:10
Holmesy
I just know you so well, mate. Straight in the mind. And we do have Jordi De Sena, co-host at AFL Fantasy Fanatics with us again
Injury Impact on Fantasy Decisions
00:02:19
Holmesy
today. Jordi, straight off the train, fresh off a nap this afternoon when us you know adults were doing their full-time work gig. But good to have you. Thanks for waking up. And yeah, good to have you here.
00:02:30
JORDAN D'SENA
Thanks, boys. Yep, I needed that nap this evening. It's been pretty hot here in Adelaide and as Louis knows, I've been smashing the gigs on the weekend. So sort of a bit sapped with the energy today. So yeah, little refresher and um yeah, across all the fantasy news and keen to be on.
00:02:45
Holmesy
ah Beautiful. Good to have you here, mate. Before we get into the rucks, I suppose we do need to go over some hot topics and just some injury news that's around the around the traps. And to be honest, that it has actually been a bit relevant with the rucks. So let's let's dive into it. And the first one,
00:03:02
Holmesy
Broke my heart a little bit on the weekend once again. Sean Darcy, it was good while it lasted. I think I put him into my side for about 24 hours, Lou, and then that's the indication that ah the preseason is really back. So Sean Darcy out with a calf. Now, it's only a ah minor one, but with a track history of Darcy and and the injury worries, yeah, what does that mean for our fantasy sides?
00:03:25
Lew
Yeah, well, it seems to happen every single year. ah Yeah, Sean Darcy just doesn't quite have the body to to stand up for consistent footy, does he? So what it means for us is that Luke Jackson all of a sudden springs into contention for that R1 or R2 spot, which...
00:03:43
Lew
I'm sure plenty of coaches will be excited about. We've seen what he's been able to achieve when he is the solo ruck. And if he can get a nice little extended start to begin the season, then I think he's going to be a pretty popular choice. And and given that he doesn't have the bye, I think that it could be a a popular duo alongside maybe Tristan Sherry is what I'm thinking at the moment, but remains to be seen.
00:04:09
Jon Harmey
Holmes, he did the same, exact same thing happened last year. Darcy got injured in the pre-season. He missed the first couple of games. is that right? I just remember starting with Jackson.
00:04:20
Holmesy
No, so he went to he went to Qatar, I think it was, in the off-season to get his hammy and all that right. And then it was it was an infection in an old wound in his ankle.
00:04:31
Holmesy
So they had to go in and remove that plate from his ankle, which meant he was ah coming from a little bit far back. I think it was about round four or five, right, that he... that he started to come good and play games. So it it is something we see with Darcy every year, unfortunately. Jordy, it does sound like it's only going to be a week or two. Is there any chance if he's up for those practice games and and we see it, that you'd consider going there or does that just rule him out for you?
00:04:56
JORDAN D'SENA
Well, the Rucks have been...
00:04:57
Holmesy
Darcy, that is. We know you're already selecting Jackson.
00:04:59
JORDAN D'SENA
okay. um Yeah, I think Sean Darcy, just with that injury history now, I thought it was, as you said, having a good preseason. I think it's going to rule it out just because of what we've seen in the past, unless we see something.
00:05:12
JORDAN D'SENA
But for now, put a cross on him.
00:05:15
Holmesy
Yeah, it was interesting. I was listening to Ryan Daniels on the Hardball Gets podcast on the way home from work this afternoon and he was talking about Frio and and he just thinks that even if Darcy is fit and firing, he'll he's the perfect candidate for that sort of high 50s to mid 60s game time with the five on the bench, really just burst player on and and then Jackson does the work around the the ground after that. So, yeah.
00:05:38
Holmesy
Breaks my heart a little bit. I was actually warming to the idea of Sean Darcy. He did go 95 only two years ago with a big stretch of 100. The sky was the limit for him, but unfortunately just can't get his body right. So won't be considering him now, Harmi. The next
Player Fitness and Fantasy Viability
00:05:53
Holmesy
ruck that's relevant, and we already kind of touched on it, but Sam Draper.
00:05:56
Holmesy
So ah don't know about you, but it didn't really pass the pub test for me that he was going to be fit and firing for round zero, considering he did that Achilles in round six last year, and they're typically a year injury. but It's come out now that he's got a stress fracture in his foot. Now, they haven't said whether it's the same foot or the other foot, but he's not going to be available until early rounds. So round two or round three and they have the buy in round two.
00:06:20
Holmesy
What are your thoughts on on Sam Draper now? Is he someone that we look to target in the early rounds of the season if he if he comes out in his fit then? Or does that put a little bit more doubt around him now and and his role in that side?
00:06:33
Jon Harmey
Oh, well, spoiler alert, Home G, I was never going to start with him. Being an Essendon fan, I've seen years upon years of this, um him being injured constantly. So he would really have to string together a solid month before he perked my interest. So, um yeah, I ah share your thoughts there. Him and Nick Bryan got injured around the same time. They are really 12-month-plus injuries. um The Achilles for a ruck, I mean,
00:07:04
Jon Harmey
good luck dominating those jumps in the ruck tap with a coming off a busted Achilles. But look, anyway, good luck to Sam Braper, but he's not somebody I'm particularly interested at this point and never really was over the pre-season either.
00:07:19
Holmesy
Yeah, I suppose coaches were interested in him for a number of reasons. The first being obviously the ruck forward status. So the bar isn't as high in the forward line. So if you can pick him at 70 and he goes 85, he's going to be you know close enough to that top 10 forwards for a while. And you get it you get to see how all the other forwards kind of line up. Or you start him at R2 and you you give a chance to see how the new ruck rules play out and then you can swing him forward. So I i could see the appeal. Obviously, the early round by in round two was always tricky. But Now he's not going to be playing opening round. We're not going to see it. And to be honest, I think even if he is fit to start the year, whenever he comes in, Darcy Fort, I think they'll play a dual ruck setup and it it's it's just going to reduce his scoring, I think. So one to monitor there, Jordy. The next one I'll go to is you because this hurts you and it hurts me as well.
00:08:06
Holmesy
Our boy, Adam Treloar, we were on an island saying that we were keen. we We wanted to go there if he he was fit and healthy and he'd been flying in the preseason. But lo and behold, another soft tissue injury, a hammy, only a minor one, still likely to see him in preseason games and moving into round zero.
00:08:24
Holmesy
Talk me through your thought process now of whether you can still pick him.
00:08:29
JORDAN D'SENA
Yeah, it was disappointing when I first saw that and Mitch Cleary tweeted that. But yeah, I looked further into it. Obviously, reading a CoSports article and yeah, is that one week. He said he should be back next week.
00:08:40
JORDAN D'SENA
Slight hamstring, just a little tweak. So i think I wrote to you guys, I'm not writing him off just yet. I think if he's back for the practice games, I mean, it's Adam Trelaw. I can see him.
00:08:52
JORDAN D'SENA
in opening round, still getting a good score for us and we might have to decide of picking him. But the good thing with him is we get to see him opening round. So bit of a cheat code, not ruling him out. I think the community are, there's obviously been a few tweaks and stuff floating around that they're ruling him out, but he's had a flawless preseason to date. It's a small tweak. I know he's had the the history, but um I'm staying positive.
00:09:18
Holmesy
What would you need to see in opening round, Jordy? For me personally, I'd need to see the 70% plus center bounces to know that he's got that role. The score for me would be irrelevant, but what would you need to see?
00:09:30
JORDAN D'SENA
I reckon even if it was 55% to 60% CBAs, I reckon I'd be happy because he can score really well, as especially as a forward. I know he's priced at 90, so it is quite expensive. To me, it's him or Petrarca, isn't it? That sort of range that we're looking at. So...
00:09:47
JORDAN D'SENA
um Yeah, I think roll, as you said, but I would probably have it a bit less than you at 60% or 55% or something like that because I think, was it Matt Kennedy had about that last year and still scored really well and pushed the 100 mark. So that would be it for me.
00:10:04
Holmesy
Yep, fair enough. um A couple of rookie things just to touch on. So in the same team, the Dogs, Lockie Carmichael, syndesmosis injury, that's been news for a while now, but that's come out since we recorded last. So unfortunately, he's not going to be a rookie option for us. But on the flip side, at the Eagles,
00:10:23
Holmesy
Brady Hough has an ankle injury. Some reports are that it's three to four weeks. Some reports are that it's going to be longer than that. You combine that with Stasevich, who has a bit of a knee injury going on at the moment as well. Maybe that opens up an opportunity for for Josh Lindsay, who we thought, they are talking to Ryan Daniels for the Marrera's Magic season guide, that Josh Lindsay probably wasn't going to be best 23 at the start with all their all their players fit and healthy, but this probably, not probably, potentially opens up a spot there for him to play as a bit of a distributor in the back line, although Starsevich and Hoffa, two completely different players.
00:11:00
Holmesy
Lastly, Lou, before we get on to the rucks, this one is not sitting right with me. Nick Newman, still not back full training, hasn't been getting involved in the match sims. Now, he's a seasoned pro, and of course, they're just easing him back so that he peaks come round zero, round one.
00:11:19
Holmesy
But he's a bit of a template pick where we've all just kind of chucked him in. He sat there. We haven't really thought too much about it. But is there any concern for a Nick Newman?
00:11:29
Lew
I think you've got to be a little bit concerned. We always preach a full preseason and that's far from it. What I would hope is that due to his age, it is a management thing like you suggested and that he should hopefully be 100% as the season is starting. But um I think that is a really relevant one, Holmesy. That's one we have to really keep an eye on and Look, if he plays the practice game and looks the goods, I think that would be enough just to calm my worries a little bit.
00:12:00
Lew
But full well knowing as well that the opening round score is probably going to really dictate what we do around Nick Newman and as well as the role. But I think if he dishes up a stinker, obviously, that's when we'll start to have to panic a little bit and perhaps look for other options.
00:12:19
Jon Harmey
Lou, you checked the big footy training reports from Carlton on that one yet?
00:12:25
Lew
No, mate.
00:12:26
Jon Harmey
All right, we'll get on it tonight and we'll we'll have look, eh?
00:12:27
Lew
What do they have to say?
00:12:29
Jon Harmey
I don't know either.
00:12:30
Holmesy
Louis, when we finish recording here, we need you to go deep in the weeds of Bigfooty just to to get us some information, mate.
00:12:30
Jon Harmey
yeah
00:12:37
Holmesy
Just relive your heyday, get the get the fingers out and go deep, please.
00:12:43
Lew
right, I'll see what i can ah I can dig up, but I wouldn't be hanging my hat on that information.
Ruck Strategy Insights
00:12:50
Holmesy
Beautiful. All right, before we get into the rucks, just first off, just have to mention as part of Morera's Magic that the Slider draft platform is live again once live again back for 2026. It's bigger and better. So last year we had the Slider Survivor game, which was like a draft comp.
00:13:09
Holmesy
For AFL Fantasy, that was best ball against the rest of Australia. So you pick your your draft team, you draft live against a lot of other people, and then you have your team for the rest of the year. And it's like a classic knockout comp to see who's the best drafter in Australia. So that's back again for 2026.
00:13:27
Holmesy
And then there's also the mock draft platform that allows solo drafting or against others for all different draft leagues, whether you're a single season keeper or existing keepers. You can go back in and you can reactivate or set up your draft leagues from last year as well. So enter via the app or at slider.team.
00:13:44
Holmesy
Really keen for Slider Survivor again in 2026. I think it was a massive addition to the AFL Fantasy draft space last year. But boys, let's get into our strategy and structure for the rucks first. And I don't know about you, but...
00:13:57
Holmesy
So much is going to change between now and round one, but it's so crucial for the rest of our sides in terms of whether we spend up for two big rucks, whether we go one ah one at the top and one value or whether we go pure value.
00:14:10
Holmesy
It has such a big, massive flow on effect for the rest of our squad. So, Jordy, I'll start with you Let's talk a little bit about structure first and how you're seeing the ruck at this point in time in the preseason, given it's the start of February.
00:14:24
JORDAN D'SENA
Yeah, well, right now I've actually gone with two. I've gone a set and forget structure. So I've gone one of Grundy or English and Chariot r two Now, I would love to have a cheapie.
00:14:29
Holmesy
Way.
00:14:35
JORDAN D'SENA
I think that's one that would love to present themselves. And we might talk a bit later about like a Dante from Port. I think that's the way I'd like to go. But if there's not one there, I'm not really that keen on searching for a Briggs or a Sean Darses who talked about. And I think I'm going to pay up.
00:14:52
JORDAN D'SENA
at the moment so that's just how i'm sitting at the moment obviously one of those guys has a buy um i'm not 100 sold on cherry yet either but i just think with that run to the start of the year it's a bit scary to maybe not start him and i can reassess um maybe around round five or six but yeah i mean like as you said lots to play out still and we probably might see how it's going to look in those pre-season games
00:15:18
Holmesy
Yeah, and we've we've done a lot of speaking on this podcast already in some of our earlier pre-season episodes about the new rule changes and how we believe the the new rule changes are going to affect the Ruckman and AFL fantasy. So if you haven't listened to those, go back and check those out. But long story short, Lou, I think the general consensus at the moment is that We are quite unsure of how the new rules are going to affect AFL Fantasy. We're sort of stipulating that stoppages are potentially going to drop with the the last touch out of bounds rule combined with the umpires not waiting for the Ruckman to wait anymore in terms of the nomination. They're just going to throw it up.
00:15:55
Holmesy
So does that make you nervous about paying for some of these top end guys, which we're going to get to in a second. But I mean, in years gone by, we typically have paid up for for one of these guys. But if we're paying up and they're coming back in price, that seems like a bit of a waste of money and a bit of a killer for team value.
00:16:11
Lew
Yeah, it does. I suppose the the positive is every ruck is in the same boat, but the negative is you know every ruck is in the same boat here. and i' I'm fully expecting that there's going to be an adjustment period to start the year.
00:16:23
Lew
I think there could be lots of free kicks given against. I think there's going to be a lot of experimentation. and Off the back of that, ah I basically think that a lot of these ruckmen, at least to begin with, regress a little bit as they try and work their way through these ruck rules, which if you're paying top dollar, that is really what starts to worry me.
00:16:40
Holmesy
Thank you.
00:16:44
Lew
um ah set and forget obviously is a tried and true method and I think the cream is always going to rise to the top so when you do talk about a Tim English Brodie Grundy Tristan Sherry I'm expecting these guys to be towards that upper echelon this year as well but it's kind of a massive question mark on their starting price on how close they can actually get to that because um yeah that it's it's unknown waters and uh i think that yeah it's just going to be a really experimental period to begin the year uh are you sort of mirroring those thoughts at the moment homesy
00:17:25
Holmesy
Yeah, yeah. Look, I mean, I'm always trying to make sure I pick players that are valued. it's It's tough. I think at this stage in the preseason without seeing any footy, I think there is a clear top four in terms of if we're looking at draft rankings and tiers. I think there's ah a clear top four with ah a Grundy, English, Gorn and Cherry.
00:17:44
Holmesy
And then obviously it gets a bit dicey from there. So I think at this stage, I'd like to pick one of those players. But at the same time, i can I can kind of poke holes in all of them as to why I could potentially start them or or why not. So I suppose we'll start there. And Jordy, we sat here in December when we drew when we did our draft podcast and you picked Brodie Grundy right off the bat.
00:18:06
Holmesy
And he's not getting any love in the fantasy community at the moment. And a lot of that comes down to the fact that he has an early buy. But let's rattle off some stats here about Brodie Grundy because it' it's fascinating, right? So priced at 107, he went at basically 120 post-buy.
00:18:23
Holmesy
And that was with the injured game in his second last game and then coming back against the Eagles in the last game of the year where he didn't really have anything to to gain and just kind of cruised through it. So if you take out the two injured games...
00:18:36
Holmesy
that's actually closer to 130, 129.4. And it's actually 127.4 from round nine last year, which was a 12-game sample size. So he was back to being the ruck pig. We haven't seen that for many years.
00:18:50
Holmesy
And I suppose for me, it's like, why didn't we see more of that in his first year at Sydney? Why did it take until midway through last year for him to really break out back to what we've seen him do in the past?
00:19:02
Holmesy
That's my my kind of flag. But at the same time, Went at 129 for 12 games. He was the the best player best fantasy player in the comp. His super coach numbers were off the charts as well.
00:19:13
Holmesy
If he regresses a little bit off that, you're still looking at a 115, 120 guy. So is it is it the early buy that the community is off him for? Like, what are they seeing? Talk me through Grundy.
00:19:24
JORDAN D'SENA
Yeah, I think it is definitely the early buy. And that's probably the reason why people are off him. But I'm with you. And I was, was yeah, in December, he is my first pick just because of what he did that back half the year. And we get to see him again opening rounds.
00:19:39
JORDAN D'SENA
And also in the preseason. So I'm tracking it quite closely. If he looks like he is, I find it hard not to start him. And he's going to have some value, even with the new ruck rules.
00:19:49
JORDAN D'SENA
The thing last year was, The only thing I can sort of picture from the year before to this year was the coaching change. So Dean Cox is now his coach and he was obviously at Unreal Ruckman back in his day. So,
00:20:04
JORDAN D'SENA
I don't know whether that help is is a factor. Last year also, like obviously Errol Goulden was missing. So i thought, oh, maybe there's some points spread around that midfield. But when he did this 127 from round nine, that's when sort of Goulden started to come back in and he went at 102. So that doesn't really correlate there. So, ah yeah, I'm keeping a close eye on him. And I think if he's,
00:20:26
JORDAN D'SENA
yeah, doing anything like he did back up in 2025, I think we put him in and we leave it at that. You save yourself a trade and try and, um yeah, work around that R3 buy.
00:20:38
Holmesy
Yeah, I mean, it's all going to come down to if you do decide to go Grundy, which by the way, at this point in the preseason, I will not talk anyone out of going Brodie Grundy. Like the numbers are there.
00:20:48
Holmesy
You've got reasons to pick him and not pick him. It will depend on how many of these other round three by guys you're also wanting to put in your side, whether it's an Errol Gould and whether it's ah in the forward line, Petrarca, Treloar, C-Mac, Jamari Ugo-Hagan, whatever it is. Because a lot of the rookies are also on that round three buy, like your Jai Sarongs, Zeke Eulins. There's a lot of guys there that have that round three buy. And I just don't want to get to a stage where you might be only fielding 16, 17, 18 players and really struggling in that buy around time. So that's the Brodie Grundy argument.
00:21:23
Holmesy
I really like it, to be fair. And it's something I'm going to be toying with moving forward. But the flavor of the fantasy community at the moment is Tristan Cherry being underpriced. So 105 based off the 115 he did before. Now we are predicting that he's the the brute type of ruckman where the new rules will affect him. But once again, you know points off that 115 that we know he's capable of.
00:21:46
Holmesy
you know is ah Is there scope for him to be that 110 guy? He has a great run to start. Talk me through Tristan Cherry.
00:21:54
Jon Harmey
Well, that's right. I mean, he's got the best run out of these rucks and no early buy. So certainly um makes us more interested in what he could do.
00:22:05
Jon Harmey
i was actually thinking about it earlier today. Like, we're sort of thinking some of the rucks are going to go down um and Cherry, what is he, 105, I think he's priced at his new homes a year. So...
00:22:15
Holmesy
Yep.
00:22:15
Jon Harmey
You know, is is is he coming down a bit from that or is he coming down a bit from the 150 that he averaged in the last couple of games of the season? So it is a little bit hard to predict with him. But another thing that we like is solo ruck. I don't really see Taylor Goad jumping in there to pinch hit. So I think that, yeah, it's likely that he will be a good pick for us. So certainly I'm interested in in watching what he's doing pre-season.
00:22:44
Holmesy
Louis, I'll go to you here because me and you did the same thing last year where we actually traded off Tom DeConing early to get onto one of the ah other ruckmen that had fallen in price. Now, in years gone by, you'd never be advocating trading out one of your premium rucks in round six or round seven when you're trying to get these rookies off field and and all that kind of stuff. Could you potentially foresee, well, it's like we're unsure of how the ruck rules are going to affect everyone,
00:23:11
Holmesy
We picked Tristan Cherry to start because he's popular, but he has a great run. That gives us that sort of four, five, six weeks to have a look at the rest of the comp. And could you foresee ah a situation when the tougher run starts to come a bit later on, where maybe Cherry goes up in price and some others come down and and we look to pivot there? What do you think?
00:23:29
Lew
Oh, look, with that move that we made, there was definitely a bit more nuance and and context to what we were trying to achieve there. I think ultimately when you're spending up this much, you're you're trying to select a guy that you're going to keep for the rest of the season. Now, that's not to say that these ruck rules aren't going to throw us for a loop and all of a sudden we're we're trying to figure out or trying to jump onto someone who really excels because of it.
00:23:53
Lew
But ah I'd probably avoid that, to be honest. Yeah. What I think we probably haven't mentioned about Tristan Sherry is that even though he played 20 games last year, he went down really early with hamstring tightness and that turned into hamstring tendonitis. So um despite missing very little little football last year, he was carrying that for the full season and and still able to achieve that 105 average. So I'd probably give him a little bit of a pass mark there. I think, um you know, he's done a full preseason now and,
00:24:27
Lew
um I can see a world where, yes, the stoppages are probably going to affect him a little, just being that he's so stoppage reliant in terms of his points. But I also think that he's probably the guy i look at as the next number one ruckman in the comp. um not just in a fantasy sense, but in a football sense, I think he's a very, very good Ruckman. And I think, um you know, that's going to come to fruition for us. So I wouldn't be surprised if he can land somewhere in between what he was able to do last year and the year previous where he went 115.
00:25:05
Holmesy
Yep. Yeah, nah, fair enough. I suppose the before we move on, that the one caveat would be hopefully North Melbourne improve this year. And if LDU starts getting more points, Sheasel goes into the midfield, hopefully you see Wardlaw break out.
00:25:17
Holmesy
you know Maybe they're less reliant on him as they were two years ago when it was basically him and Sheasel and no one else in that in that midfield or or racking up the ball. But yeah, um pretty big on Pretty big on Tristan Cherry. Jordy, I'll throw to you, you've got something to say about Cherry, but I'll throw you Max Gorn at the same time. Now, this time last year, Gorn was priced at 112.
00:25:37
Holmesy
No one was talking about him in the preseason. It was only when... ah kefe went down kefe sorry Briggs went down and Keefe was named round one that we all jumped on Gorn thinking that he had a nice run and and a nice soft matchup to start.
00:25:52
Holmesy
He ends up being the number one averaging rock, goes on a massive tear for the first half of the year, albeit started slow in the first four games. Is he not getting enough love this preseason? He is turning 35.
00:26:04
Holmesy
Saints in the first game, then Frio, then Carlton, Gold Coast and Essendon. So there are some very nice matchups in there, um squished in there. There's obviously Gold Coast, who he traditionally doesn't score well against. But is there not enough love for Max Gorm with no bye?
00:26:19
JORDAN D'SENA
Yeah, i'm I'm not writing Gorn off either. i think the biggest thing for him is that no early buy. So depending on your team's structured, he is priced very highly. But even Louis, the other day you you messaged me and said, is Gorn, we're writing Gorn off?
00:26:34
JORDAN D'SENA
You know, we it's Gorn. He's probably the best ruck of our generation. So look, at this point, I'm not writing it off.
00:26:39
Holmesy
Hang on, hang on. are these Are these little secret DMs between you guys going on here? Are these not being put in the the group chat? What's going on here?
00:26:47
JORDAN D'SENA
No, I think it actually might have been in that group chat with Louis. But anyway, I do see Louis yeah for coffees every Saturday. So one of them.
00:26:57
Holmesy
yeah Yeah, it's so hard, man. We've been saying he's going to be human for years now, that he's going to start to regress being the age that he is, but he just keeps getting
Ruckman Prospects and Potential Upsides
00:27:07
Holmesy
it done. I think at some stage they are going to have to look at life after Gorn and start to start to think of a plan for the future. But I think this year, being such a proud club too, they are going to rely so heavily on him and he's that type of captain, that player that he just wants to be out there for every minute that he can.
00:27:25
Holmesy
Gawain comes out going 115-120 for the first half of the year again. He would not shock me, Lou, but he's not someone I'm looking to start at this stage.
00:27:32
Lew
Yeah, well, we know what Max Gorn is. He's an absolute star. I do question whether or not maybe with the umpires throwing the ball up immediately that Gorn might suffer from that. We know that he liked to drop back quite a bit and take those marks along the wing and especially across halfback.
00:27:51
Lew
he He might not be able to, you know, sort of do both now potentially.
00:27:57
Holmesy
Yeah, and the last Ruckman that we have in the tier is is Tim English. and It is that echo chamber in the the podcasting community, but it does make sense that if the game is going to speed up, there's going to be less stoppages and the ball is going to be flying around, that ah ah Tim English, who is very good on the transition, acts as that fourth midfielder and and gets his points around the ground, would make sense that he's at least probably the best chance to maintain his average, if not...
00:28:21
Holmesy
increase it. He was a 118 averaging player just two seasons ago before the the rule got introduced that you could body the Ruckman at the CBAs and and push them away.
00:28:33
Holmesy
Jordy English, he's he's getting a lot of love without it being like putting into a starting squad. What do we what do we say for Tim English? Clearly it's it's English or Grundy if you decide to start one of those guys. You can't start both of them with the early buyer. That wouldn't that wouldn't make sense and I think that would be a bit of a disaster. But talk to me talk to me about Tim English.
00:28:54
JORDAN D'SENA
Yeah, I think Tim English is just that, he's like an extra midfielder, isn't he, for the dogs and completely mobile ah player. We've seen him take, you know, kickouts before. He he can roam pretty much everywhere.
00:29:06
JORDAN D'SENA
I have seen some training reports that they tried him as a key position player it in defence. There's talk that does he start to do what Max Gorn do and sort of try and roll back and try and get some intercepts as well. So it'll be interesting to see. But he is that ruck when that just adds...
00:29:23
JORDAN D'SENA
So much to the midfield. He doesn't rely on hit outs. As we saw probably last year, he didn't win that too many hit outs. So that's a positive coming in as one of our top T-Rocks.
00:29:32
Holmesy
probably Probably room for growth there, right? Like if it's now jumping, there's probably scope for his hit outs to improve a bit, I would have thought.
00:29:36
JORDAN D'SENA
Yep.
00:29:40
JORDAN D'SENA
Definitely. Like he, yeah, again, he's one I'm looking at him or Grundy. I'm looking at set and forgetting if we don't have a GP. So again, has opening rounds. we We'll be able to tell, I think, and just weigh up whether we start one of those guys with a bye.
00:29:57
Holmesy
did go at 118 post-buy and was a fantastic selection for anyone that got in got on him at some point throughout the season. Once again, started slow, but really finished the year strongly. So that's the sort of top four.
00:30:09
Holmesy
Darcy Cameron is a little bit under that. And I think there probably is scope for Darcy Cameron to to maybe improve and and be on the heels of that top tier with no Mason Cox now. Dan McStay really struggling in the preseason.
00:30:22
Holmesy
I just think Darcy Cameron probably has to take more of a load in that team and It wouldn't surprise me if he can elevate a little bit, but he's got that round two buy and I could never see myself starting Darcy Cameron.
00:30:33
Holmesy
So if that's the big boys that we're talking about, then we need to start to look at, if we're only starting one of them, we need to look at some R2 value options. Now, Jordy, I don't think there's a day goes by where you don't put the unicorn emoji in some group chat around Twitter or WhatsApp, whatever it is.
00:30:51
JORDAN D'SENA
Yes.
00:30:51
Holmesy
The floor is yours. Sell me Luke Jackson because priced at 95 in that free-o side, I'm not sure the ceiling's there to push that 105, 110 that we'd need in the ruck line now that he's not forward eligible, but you are keen, so sell me.
00:31:06
JORDAN D'SENA
Yeah, I'm just not um writing him off. Like he's 24 years old and i was listening to your pod with Footy Rhino, Holmesy, and he said the team start needs to start working around Jackson and you can see a world where he's a multi-All-Australian player. And if you think about it, like, is there any other player in the comp that can do what Luke Jackson does? There's not many.
00:31:30
JORDAN D'SENA
And I guess it does rely on Sean Darcy, but... Even as a midfielder, ruck, he's priced at 95. Can he go 100, maybe 105 as Sean Darcy's calf does linger?
00:31:43
JORDAN D'SENA
I'm not writing it off. They've got a good run to the start of the year. Do you put him in? Can he get some other positions? Don't know. But I just love him as a player. I think he's he's a gun.
00:31:55
JORDAN D'SENA
I want to see him elevate into that top tier, all Australian sort of ruck midfielder. And I think it could be this year. So I'm not writing him off as a R2 option.
00:32:08
Holmesy
Lou, his role was it was sensational last year, if being honest. Now, it was missed by a lot of people in the the fantasy community. But being a Frio supporter, I was watching it quite closely. From that Gold Coast game where he murdered Jared Witts, he was starting in the ruck to start the quarter.
00:32:25
Holmesy
He'd do his five to seven-minute burst as the main ruck. He'd then be on ball when Darcy came in as the ruck. So you're looking at 12 minutes straight of being around the ball. Then he'd come off for a rest. And when he came back on, he'd be back in the ruck again. Now that started to fade off a little bit towards the end of the year when maybe Darcy got a bit fitter. Maybe he was starting to tire. He has stated that you know his tank hasn't always been up to being able to to be around the the ball for a full game.
00:32:53
Holmesy
Jackson, he's he is the here's the unicorn, right? And if he's got a full-time midfield role combined with some ruck time, that is the perfect role for fantasy. It's just what can he get to? Jordy's bullish.
00:33:04
Holmesy
Can you give me a projection as well?
00:33:07
Lew
Yeah, I can see him giving 100 a nudge for sure. I think we've spoken about these ruck rules a little bit now and he's probably one that should really suit them and his versatility and ability to just be around the football should be really advantageous to them and As Geordie sort of mentioned, Freo clearly highly rate him and they want him to be um the man in there that's going to sort of lead them to that first flag potentially. So ah I'm expecting Luke Jackson to to have some improvement this year. He's probably one where I can actually point to could um put himself up in lights, maybe even into that upper echelon of ruck tier. And that combined without the buyer, I'm really starting to like this as a starting pick. Granted,
00:33:53
Lew
um Sean Darcy's not there. um I think if he is going to be with Sean Darcy, it would still make me a little bit nervous, personally. um i think, you know, Sean Darcy will have that bench stint, but I still think they want him rucking more than what a Luke Jackson will if they're going to share time.
00:34:15
Holmesy
Yeah, no, fair enough. The one thing I will say is if you are picking a Luke Jackson, I personally wouldn't be starting either an Andy Brayshaw or a Caleb Sorong because you're picking him to break out and take more ball in the midfield and through the ruck.
00:34:29
Holmesy
And those points have to come from somewhere. I would find it very hard to see... both of a Luke Jackson and a Brayshaw a Luke Jackson and a Sarong, both average well over 100, which is what you'd need for those starting picks. So that's one one flag is that, that's yeah yeah, I wouldn't be starting both of them.
00:34:47
Holmesy
Harmi, another value ruck, Kieran Briggs, priced at 70 after going 92 and 94 the two years prior. And he actually went at 100 post-buy in 2024 just
00:35:02
Holmesy
Has the early bye. We've seen him score above 90 in the past. Jordy's a bit worried because he's been managed a little bit this preseason, but I think that's normal at this time of the year. Not every player has to do every session.
00:35:14
Holmesy
We just need to make sure that they're not injured. And I suppose the the tricky thing about GWS is even if he is injured, we're not really going to know because we don't get much information out of GWS. has an early bye, has the Hawks in opening round and then goes the Dogs, which is English, which hasn't traditionally been too tough, into St Kilda, which we don't really know, probably a dual ruck setup, which is tough, but then goes Pies, bye, Richmond and then Sydney. So it's not the easiest of runs, is Briggs someone you're considering for your starting squad.
00:35:46
Jon Harmey
Yeah, considering, ah i think we had a question last week or the week before of who are the underpriced rucks and gave a few names and Briggs was definitely one of them and I just say that because, um i mean, there's a few reasons for his lower average last year, getting concussed in round one, I think it wasn't it. So that brings his average down a bit. We like players who have averaged a higher average before. He's gone at 94 average.
00:36:15
Jon Harmey
you know, in the past. So i think that there is upside with Briggs. um I think you'd have to agree that the... changes to the ruck rules don't really advantage Briggs. But, look, these guys will be training for that anyway. He's 26 years old. It's not as if he's over heel and cooked, is it? So, ah look, I think that um there are more positives than negatives when we look at Briggs. If you can manage the early buy and are happy to sort of be a bit patient with him, I think he's better than the averages coming in priced at.
00:36:52
Holmesy
What would you need to see in opening round, Harmi?
00:36:55
Jon Harmey
wouldn't matter. but I mean, his price is 70, right? I think that a 70 is actually probably fine for him, but I expect that we'll see bit more than that.
00:37:06
Holmesy
Jordy, Briggs?
00:37:09
JORDAN D'SENA
Yeah, I just, like last year, he looked, obviously all those injuries, but he looked slow and um just didn't look right. And now he's obviously being managed. And I'm just really unsure about him.
00:37:19
JORDAN D'SENA
I don't think he can get back to 90. I think with the new ruck rules, he can maybe go 80. I think he's an 80 ruck. And I just think Price at 70 and he's got the buy.
00:37:31
JORDAN D'SENA
ah just am worried about him. That's just my opinion.
00:37:35
Holmesy
All right then, Lou, let's get really spicy. We've got some Port Boys on the podcast here. lot of love, lot of pre-season love from Dante Vicenti. So Vicenti, Vicenti, priced at 51.
00:37:50
Holmesy
Last year, averaged 65 in five games in a main ruck roll. It's interesting. Louie, you're gonna have to sell me this one as well because I am looking for a value ruck and you told me he's a gun. So talk me through this.
00:38:04
Lew
Yeah, well, he is a gun and he's clearly rated by Port Adelaide. He's, by all reports, wrestled that number one ruck role out from Jordan's suite at this point. And I think opportunity is there for him to go into that ruck one role. And as we know, if he's going to be the solo ruck, then he should be able to smash that priced at 51% Out the park, he's been biding his time in the sand for, he's actually been sharing with Ivan Soldo, um but his numbers when he's been the sole ruck in the sand for have actually been really, really good.
00:38:40
Lew
And I also think that his um numbers for what's a really young ruckman coming in last year were actually quite decent as well. So um certainly not suggesting that he's going to, you know, go up,
00:38:56
Lew
like 80, 90 sort of areas, but he could be a nice one to start, save a little bit of cash while the dust settles in the ruck line. And maybe you can use that elsewhere to get some more bonafide points in other areas of your field.
00:39:13
Holmesy
So Jordy, as the other Port boy on the podcast, let's talk a little bit about this run for Port Adelaide because lot of buzz in the community that it's a great midfield run to start.
00:39:24
Holmesy
But let's let's look at this. So you pick Dante Vicenti, Vicenti, thanks, Harmi. And you have to sit through round one against Tristan Cherry. So he's going to get murdered by Tristan Cherry.
00:39:34
JORDAN D'SENA
That's tough.
00:39:36
Holmesy
That's real tough. But then he has Essendon. So probably coming up against, it's either going to be Blackiston or, his is it his brother? The other Vicente?
00:39:47
JORDAN D'SENA
Yes. Yep.
00:39:48
Holmesy
Vigo. So he might get the the family battle from the backyard. Probably the older brother wins that one. The older brother always does. Then into the Eagles, really easy ruck matchup and that's at Adelaide Oval as well, so at home.
00:40:02
Holmesy
Then he has Richmond, who you'd think is a good matchup. You know, Nank always gives up points, pretty easy around stoppages and he's a jumper. And then he goes into St Kilda, which is probably a little bit tougher now with Tom De Koning and Marshall.
00:40:19
Holmesy
Then he has Hawks. Typically hasn't been a tough matchup for Rucks. And then he goes into Geelong. So you're really banking on him getting ah a big string of games because if he gets dropped in a couple of weeks, you' you're in trouble. It's going to be a restructure to get rid of him unless you've got a Ruck forward sitting in your forward line. So it is risky, but it sounds like you're potentially in on him as well.
00:40:42
JORDAN D'SENA
Yeah, I'm pretty keen on him if he's got the the number one ruck role. And I think I would take the punt on him. I have been down to training a couple of times. And Jordan Sweet, i don't know, he just seems like he's struggling a bit with the rule changes.
00:40:54
JORDAN D'SENA
I know it's early. He's got preseason to figure it out. But at the center bounce, he's giving away a lot of free kicks to Vicentini. Around the ground, though, Sweet, obviously, bigger body. He is sort of doing quite well at the at the stoppages. But obviously, they're going to be reduced.
00:41:12
JORDAN D'SENA
um there was something in the week Dean Brogan was interviewed and he knows Josh Carr really well and he said that Josh Carr loves Vicentini and he's spoken to him you know directly about it so I wouldn't be surprised if he's number one it looks like he is right now he' still got the preseason to play out but if he is um I think he's a real option there at it as an R2 but we'll see how the desk the dust settles I think
00:41:42
Holmesy
Harmi, I'll throw you a loose one here. Has been getting no love in the community and for for good reason. We don't like Ruckman playing in a dual Ruck setup. If there's a world where... So TDK, from all reports, it sounds like he is the main Ruck at Saints and that Marshall is going to be that forward Ruck that probably Rucks in the forward line and and gets a little bit of Ruck time when TDK rests on the ground.
00:42:07
Holmesy
Is there a world if TDK is that 80-20 ruck and he takes the ruck sort of through the midfield and in the back line and Marshall kind of stays up forward, he's the prototypical ruckman where these rules are going to benefit him getting around the ground.
00:42:21
Holmesy
Is there any world where a coach could start TDK? Because it's just been he's just been shut away. No one's talking about it. But we all got in him at this time last year because he was breaking out and we saw it early before he got injured and they started to play pit net again.
00:42:35
Holmesy
Are we just forgetting him?
00:42:37
Jon Harmey
Is there a world? Yes, there is a world. He goes 1.30 opening round because they play, yeah?
00:42:45
Holmesy
Yep.
00:42:46
Jon Harmey
So i think that that's the thing. Look, last the ruck rule changes are in theory geared to benefit a ruck like him. So that's great. I think last year when we all picked him, we felt he was bit underpriced, but we're also banking on him being in the team and Pitten at not being in the team. So it is a little bit different having an excellent ruck in Marshall there to share the ruck. um But yeah, I mean, you're right. There is a world, mate.
00:43:17
Holmesy
Yep. No, I just wanted to flag it. we we We are the pod pod. We need to talk about these points of difference. And yes, we don't like the dual ruck setup, but I just want to put it out there that still still watch him, I think. if If Marshall goes down or we see that he's got that main ruck role and Marshall's more forward because Max King's not back, I think there's a world where he could still be a scorer, albeit probably more suited in that super coach format, but definitely one to monitor. Louis, I'll throw you a i'll throw you a scenario.
00:43:46
Holmesy
Round zero, Liam Reedy's number one ruck. Pit net's not in the side. Is there any world where you'd start Liam Reedy at R2?
00:43:56
Lew
Oh, no, I think you'd have to be a brave coach. And I think having that forward status, he might be a little bit of a silly coach to to play him in that R2. I think he's going to be a nice little parachute option potentially if he is named as that solo ruck.
00:44:11
Lew
And we're really struggling to to pick some forwards. So I think I would take the opportunity to select him there. But... His numbers when he's, and it's only a really small sample size, he's only played three AFL games as that second ruck, but his numbers are actually really quite poor and I'm not sure he's going to be getting ahead of Pitnett unless Pitnett is going down injured. So he might be a little bit of a forward relief. I'm not sure he's going to score too much past his 38 unless he can kick a couple of goals.
00:44:44
Lew
because Pitnett will presumably be taking the majority of the ruck contests there. The rules certainly don't favour Liam Reedy either, I don't think. I think he's a bit of a big lug of a man. And he's, you know, at this point, even though he's a couple years older, he is still a developing AFL ruck. So for me, I'd be steering clear, certainly in the R2 position.
00:45:07
Lew
um But that being said, I think my ears would be to the ground in terms of where he sits now Versus Pitnett, because if he is named as that solo ruck or if Pitnett does go down injured, I think Liam Reedy can really capitalize on that.
00:45:21
Lew
And if that's the case, can probably smash that 38 out of the park.
R3 Strategy Debate: Red Dot or Playing Option?
00:45:27
Jon Harmey
We haven't quite got to the R3s yet, i don't think, but I mean, yeah, there's certainly, he's cheap enough that um you could put him at R3 and yeah, consider him in that spot.
00:45:37
Holmesy
Yeah, that was that was going to be the next point, Harmi. So the last little bit of strategy and structure is to red dot R3 or to not red dot R3. With the new time on ground threshold rule, I know some coaches want to play their red dot in the ruck line as it's safer for their vice-captaincy, captaincy loops.
00:45:56
Holmesy
Harmi, if Liam Reedy is the second ruck, so he's playing forward and only getting that sort of 20% to 30% ruck contest, as Louis said, he probably can't see him doing much more than that sort of 50%, 55%, maybe 60%.
00:46:11
Holmesy
Is that 38% price tag too much to pay up for R3? Or do you think it's just we need to find the cheapest option that will make some cash so that we're making cash from all 30 positions and...
00:46:22
Holmesy
Touch wood, if there's an injury, at least a Liam Reedy could come on to cover rather than copying a donut.
00:46:27
Jon Harmey
Yeah, it could be could be f eight though, couldn't it? You put him at F8, if he's ticking over at 50, he's making cash and then you have a red dot as Kalani White or you know a ruck forward and you'll be able to flip him up if you really need him as coverage. So I think that that's probably the spot for him if you're confident that he's going to be playing regularly and getting your 55-60 average. I think that would probably be a win for us.
00:46:53
Holmesy
Yeah, yeah, no, I agree with that. It's once again, as Louis keeps saying in the group chat each day, we just need to see footy now to see how it all lines up. Enough of these preseason fluff plo fluff pieces, sorry, where everyone's flying and everyone's everyone's having the best preseason of their life.
00:47:08
Holmesy
Boys, before we wrap up, Harmi, you want to add something before we go to the next part?
00:47:10
Jon Harmey
Yep. Just on those fluff pieces, Holmes, yeah i don't know if you saw about three stories today about what the players are going to be wearing when they turn up to the game. So that was a good one to have a read of.
00:47:22
Holmesy
Well, I'll get right into that at the same time Louis is getting into the big footy feeds. Boys, what I want to do before we wrap up is I just want us to give what our current ruck structure is looking like.
00:47:33
Holmesy
So Louis, I'll start with you. Where are you at with your rucks?
00:47:37
Lew
Oh, geez. This genuinely changes just about every single day. i'm I'm currently on Sherry and Jackson, having heard that Sean Darcy news. But the last couple of days, I have had Dante in there sitting at R2 as well. So that's probably where I'm at. Briggs and Darcy did spend a lot of the early preseason in that R2 spot, but certainly not ruling out Briggs, but Darcy is definitely one that I'm putting a line through to to start now.
00:48:07
Holmesy
Yep, so at this stage of the preseason, you're looking to pay up for one of those top-tier rucks, try and find a bit of value there, and you're trying to hunt a bit of value on that second ruck pick.
00:48:16
Lew
Yeah, pretty much. I think Sherry is one that without the buy and based on what he did last season, he's one where I can point a little bit to some upside there, even despite the new rules. So yeah, I really rate Tristan Sherry as a starting pick and that fixture really helps drive it home.
00:48:34
Holmesy
And you have Reedy at R3 or you've chosen to go the red dot rookie?
00:48:38
Lew
No, I'm a red dot rookie. um If Reid is named solo, then I'll definitely be selecting him. hope still might be in the forward line though.
00:48:49
Holmesy
Jordy, give us your rucks.
00:48:52
JORDAN D'SENA
Yeah, so Grundy R1 and then R2 is Cherry at the moment. um And i have I am actually paying up at R3 with Reedy. So don't I'll sort of see if you can make money in every position. I sort of think I'm sort of going that way to start with.
00:49:09
JORDAN D'SENA
But yeah, we'll see what happens.
00:49:10
Holmesy
bit of a Bit of set and forget back on the pod, Jordy. You're talking my language. yeah that Get me all tingly. I i love it.
00:49:16
JORDAN D'SENA
Yeah.
00:49:16
Holmesy
Harmy, what are your rocks?
00:49:19
Jon Harmey
I've sort of been floating between two Good Rucks or a Good Ruck and Briggs um sort of combinations interested in Byzantini based on the boys' discussion.
00:49:31
Jon Harmey
And then with my R3, sort of float between a Red Dot or Reedy or Cooper Duff as well. So, yeah, I'm still a bit undecided at the moment.
00:49:43
Holmesy
Yep. So I'm, I'm brigg art Briggs, I'm Cherry R1, a bit like you boys. I just think the popularity of him, but he has that nice, really nice run to start point to prove after last year, North on the,
Closing Thoughts and Social Media Plugs
00:49:55
Holmesy
hopefully on the charge. I think he hopefully goes from that sort of 105 price tag up towards that 110 mark. And he's a,
00:50:01
Holmesy
around the mark of those top two rucks. I think that's what we'd be needing him to do as that pick. Hopefully the other guys come back a little bit while we get a chance to look. And I've actually got Vicentini sitting there at r two At the moment, it has been Briggs for a large part of the preseason. And to be honest, I probably do like the idea of Briggs sitting there if he's fit and healthy. Can always go down to Vicentini if you need to, if he if he pops a good score.
00:50:24
Holmesy
But once again, it's going to be dictated by what other mid-prices and rookies we get. towards the towards round zero and and round one. Jordy, just backing over your rucks. So if you're starting Grundy at R1, how many of these other premium options do you have in the rest of your squad with that same buy?
00:50:46
JORDAN D'SENA
Oh, that's a good question. um I'd have to have a look. I think probably one of those forwards. So you got the Petrarca, Treloar. um I've sort of got Connor McDonald there. I've got Goulden.
00:50:59
JORDAN D'SENA
I've got, there might be one other. So there's probably four maybe.
00:51:02
Holmesy
but it
00:51:03
JORDAN D'SENA
Yeah.
00:51:04
Holmesy
We did say premiums.
00:51:04
JORDAN D'SENA
not writing Butterick off. Oh, yeah, premiums. um Maybe four at the moment. I don't know what a good number is at all. But, yeah, it probably needs a bit more fleshing out. But <unk>m keen to sort of dive into the Holmes files as well, see if there's a number based on last year. But, yeah, I am keen to pay out for a couple of guys, I think.
00:51:25
Holmesy
Yep, no, fair enough. Just wanted to get bit a bit more of an insight there. Lads, that's going to wrap us up for the Ruck episode. We've talked through a ah number of players. I suppose the important thing to remember this time last year, we had no idea. And once again, we got Max Gorn on the eve of round one. So it's really important to be, as I said, flexible and agile and don't get too caught up in the the players and the structures that you have now as this game can change very, very quickly and you need to make sure you can adjust on the fly.
00:51:54
Holmesy
Lou, thanks for jumping on as always. We haven't done this for a while, but where can the listeners find you on X?
00:52:00
Lew
I'm Louis AF on X and then PodPod AFL, of course, to follow all of us.
00:52:06
Holmesy
Beautiful. Jordy, you've been doing a lot of good work for us over on our PodPod AFL X page and then also our new Instagram. If you haven't given that a follow yet, please go and do that. But where can the listeners find you?
00:52:19
JORDAN D'SENA
Yep, just Jordan DeSena on X. Been putting some port training notes out there. So if you want to check them out, you can. Hopefully Cancorns doesn't get hold of one soon.
00:52:29
JORDAN D'SENA
But um ah yeah, if you're posting that as well.
00:52:31
Holmesy
If you're listening, Cain, good friend of the show, we'd love to have you on, mate. Harmi, where can the listeners find you?
00:52:36
Jon Harmey
Yep, I'm just John Harmy on X. I'm going to probably do a bit this year on that.
00:52:43
Holmesy
Beautiful, love that from you. I'm at Holmesies Heroes. in the In the season guide, so we've got the Holmes files there. As it was touched on in the show, I caught up with Ryan Daniels last week for some WA team updates.
00:52:56
Holmesy
I interviewed VAMS for some Holmes files. There's also DT Lemon there, so go check those out. a bit of a Bit of a spoiler, but I'll be sitting down with... Who am I sitting down with? Drew Jones this week for some Melbourne team updates over on the guide. So that'll be really, really important to listen to. So if you haven't checked out the Marrera's Magic Season Guide, head over to marrerasmagic.com.au to check that out. Super, super good. And Selby's doing some great stuff over there.
00:53:23
Holmesy
Make sure you are subscribed on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcast to make sure you ah get the notification when we release all of our podcasts. And if you wanted to give us a five-star rating and review to get that all going again, that would be much appreciated.
00:53:39
Holmesy
We'll be back next week for our final positional preview, which will be the forwards. We've deliberately left it till last to make sure we have as much information as possible. But lads, I will talk to you then.
00:53:50
Lew
Bye.