MaherShalalHashBaz star ruckman Paddy Ryder is set to miss some time with an Achilles injury sustained in the first round of the Ultimate Footy season. Asked about the injury, head coach Jordan Burgess expressed his disappointment in the recruiting star for their lack of planning in the ruck department.
“Yeah disappointed to see Paddy go down as this really hurts our rotations and depth in that area. The ruckman is an important role and to only have 4 first-class ruckmen in your squad was really disappointing from our recruiting team.”
With only Max Gawn, Paddy Ryder, Billy Longer and Tom Hickey as start up ruckmen, and Justin Westhoff, Charlie Dixon and Tom McDonald as pinch hitting ruckmen, coach Burgess is feeling the pinch himself at the recruiting oversight, in light of the latest injury setback.
“In such a vital position, you can never have too much depth. At the end of the season I plan to have a chat with List Manager, Jordan Burgess, to ensure we have at least 6 sole ruckmen on our list at any one time.”
Asked if they were looking at calling Will Minson out of retirement, Burgess responded they were “seriously considering it.”