Marc Pittonet | 2021 Season Review

Written by Ari Stamatakos

SEASON SYNOPSIS

Pitto started this year as the number 1 ruck, after playing a surprisingly good year in the absence of Kreuzer and proving to be a very shrewd pickup. While limited in his ability and athleticism, he is more than a valuable commodity as he throws his weight around and provides a presence for the Blues. He started the year very, very well and by the bye round, he was in the top 3 for Ruckman for Score Launches (starting a scoring chain). For a so-called ‘limited’ ruckman, he performed way above his ability. However, his year was struck down by injury as he didn’t play a game from Round 14. He added plenty of layers to his game this year, most notably going forward. Kicking 5 goals this year. Pitto was having a surprisingly good season prior to getting injured, ranking above average for Hitouts To Advantage% (34%) Total Clearances (4), Hitouts (29.2) and Score Involvements (4.5)

BEST PERFORMANCE

A ruckman job is simple, tap the ball down from a ruck contest. While the lines have been blurred, especially as the game is progressing, in essence, this is how a ruckman game is judged. He probably had an overall better game against the Doggies, you can’t go past the domination that Pitto displayed against The Suns in round 4. 

57 hitouts, 20 Hitouts To Advantage, 5 clearances, 5 score involvements and 10 disposals. An utterly dominant display and took advantage of the Jarrod Witts-less Suns. Despite this, the Blues lost the clearances handily, 46-39, which says alot of the Blues midfield, and not about Pitto’s dominance. On a slippery and rubbish night at Metricon, Pitto gave the Blues first use nearly every time and asserted his dominance over the Suns. 

OFF-SEASON & 2021 OUTLOOK

What’s next for Pitto, well, it all depends on the new coach. You can debate forever about who is the number 1 ruck. Pitto and TDK both offer very different assets. Pitto is the more physical, traditional ruckman who has experience on his side. Whereas TDK is the more athletic, modern ruckman, who can go forward but is still very raw on the big AFL stage. As we all know, key position players always take longer to develop, so this isn’t something to be concerned about, yet. Pitto’s position in the team is all dependent of the new coach. Whether he wants to play a 2-ruckman team and leave the likes of Harry McKay and Jack Silvagni forward, or whether he picks a single ruckman, alternating between deputies. For Pitto’s sake, he should desperately want the 1st option, as TDK athleticism around the ground and his ability to go forward more efficiently, as well as the youth on his side should make him the clear number 1. While Pitto is never going to be an ‘elite’ ruckman, especially in the modern game, TDK has more of a chance to do that. With that saying, Pitto is a fantastic deputy and give the Blues a similar amount of ability, just in a different way. You would prefer him against a ruckman like Sean Darcy or Todd Goldstein, however against a Brody Grundy or Nic Nat, TDK is the ruckman to go with. Pitto should have a considerable contribution for The Blues in 2022.

2021 REPORT CARD RATING

C

STATUS HEADING INTO 2022 

Fringe 22