Outgoing Richmond assistant coach Justin Leppitsch has named what he believes to be the most and least important positions in the modern game.
The question was also posed to Brisbane coach Chris Fagan last week, who stated he feels the most valuable position on the ground is defensive intercept markers.
Leppitsch found it tougher to narrow down, but feels the elite on-ballers are most valuable.
“I believe you need a well-balanced mix of everything. One thing that Richmond does pretty well and when you talk about the balance of the team, there’s 360 disposals in a game,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“So if you take out Dustin Martin’s 30 and you roll it down someone’s going to get five or 10 possessions every week across two or three players.
“You need to give them certain roles like a Kamdyn McIntosh on the wing. It doesn’t matter if he gets 12 possessions so long as he slides back, slides forward and does all the right things that connects the group.
“Intercept markers are great, but you can’t have five of them in the backline because the ball is going to be on the ground a lot and if you can’t pick the ball up that’s no good either.
“If anything the most important player is your gun midfielder, to be perfectly honest, to transfer the ball from one end to the other and lock the ball in. That’s the most important thing.”
As for the least important position on the ground…
“It’s too difficult just to say one position, but I can give you a position that’s the least-most important and that’s probably the ruck,” Leppitsch said.
“People are going to hate me for saying that.
“One thing at Richmond we’ve been able to do is play with undersized rucks and pretty much no-name rucks.
“Even my time in Brisbane Beau McDonald wasn’t a full-time ruckman or even Clark Keating coming in late in the season.
“Of all the positions that were filled in the two dynasties I’ve been a part of, the ruck’s probably always been the no-name position.
“(Toby Nankervis) is going to kill me now, he’ll come around and punch me.”