Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir admits that he needs to resolve the best way to handle the Ruck position after changing the plan to play Luke Jackson as a striker on Saturday after Geelong began to dominate.
Jackson started the game in the middle, but only had another rebound center for the first quarter and became a striker when the Dockers turned to Reidy to fulfill the paper generally occupied by Sean Darcy.
But Jackson quickly found himself in the Ruck in the second quarter after Geelong ran to a comfortable advantage.
Jackson finished the game with 22 central rebounds and 67 Ruck competitions compared to the 12 Central Reidy rebounds and 39 Ruck competitions.
Reidy only had six provisions for the day, two of which were within 50, achieved only one brand and did not score.
Longmuir said that solving the right plan for Ruck when Darcy is not available is still a job in progress.
“It was not the plan to enter the game,” he said.
“We want Jacko where he can help us influence the game. As the game escaped from us, we needed to put it in the ball.
“I thought it was quite influential when we put it more around the ball. But we need a second ruck and we need someone to give it a cut.
“We will work on that with the balance of the team and the balance of its onball time, understanding that it is a long year. If we put it in the ruck, we could burn it, so we need to find balance with that.
“I thought Reidy competed well. He could half of the competitions, but he probably couldn’t win many. ”
Dockers face a great test in the center of the soil this weekend when they face Sydney Ruckman Brodie Grundy. He receives support from Joel Amartey and Tom McCartin around the ground, but rarely delivers responsibility in the rebounds of the center.
Fremantle has previously used Josh Treacy as the backman Ruckman when Darcy has not been available and faces a great decision about the best way to handle the position.
