Bundoora’s dwindling ruck continues to take a hit as the club’s injury list grows.
The Bulls entered their round two Northern Football League division 1 match against Montmorency with no one on the field taller than 186 centimetres, and their cause was not helped when they lost stand-in ruckman Luke Simpson to a knee injury.
Bulls’ football manager, Darryl Richards, said the club was struggling in the ruck and looking for someone to help fill the spot.
Richards said star ruckman Matthew Dennis, who was named in the Vic Metro squad during the week, would miss three to six weeks from a round one injury
“Matthew has a bruised kidney, which bled, so he’ll need at least three to six weeks out to recover. Our back-up ruckman needs a shoulder reconstruction and Luke Simpson, who pinch-hit at the weekend, hurt his knee and could be out for the rest of the year.”
Richards said the lack of tall players contributed to his side’s slow start to its match with the Magpies on Saturday.
Six goals down at half-time, the Bulls hit the front in the final minutes only to succumb, 16.20 (116) to 17.12 (114).
“The pressure of Montmorency early made us make silly errors. Their big men were dominant early. Our tallest player was six-foot-one, while they had four to five players six-foot and over.”
At half-time, coach Phil Plunkett emphasised to players to get back to what they do best.
“Being a small side we have to beat them with speed. We played better and Montmorency started to slow. We nearly pinched it. Once we had the lead, we had two shots to ice the cake, but we missed them and couldn’t hold on,” Richards said.
Richards said Ned McKeown was best for the Bulls after he went into the ruck in the second half; he also kicked five goals.
He said McKeown would pinch-hit in the ruck over the next few weeks if he wasn’t selected in Collingwood’s VFL side. Jordan Galea, out of the under-19s, would also get some time in the seniors in the ruck.
Youngsters Beau Moorcroft, 16, and Brent Marshall, 17, were singled out by Richards as his best players. “They showed the senior guys the way.”
In division 2, Lalor and Thomastown both secured their second victories of the season, against Fitzroy Stars and Diamond Creek respectively. Mernda went down to Hurstbridge, while Whittlesea lost in a thriller to Panton Hill.
