Former Western Bulldogs coach Terry Wallace has questioned how the club will manage their plethora of tall forward and ruck stocks.
With the additions of Josh Schache and Jackson Trengove, the Dogs now have 12 players on their list who are 194 centimetres or taller.
The 2016 premiers impressed during their opening 22-point JLT Community Series win against Hawthorn, but Wallace, who coached the club in the late 90s, believes there will be plenty of disappointed players who wonโt be getting a game each week.
โPotentially you can play 2-3 at any given time, if youโre talking about two forward type players who can play ruck. Canโt play any more than that I think,โ Wallace said on SEN Afternoons.
โOn the weekend they played Jordan Roughead (200cm) and Trengove (197 cm) as their two ruck/forwards, (plus Josh Schache who is 199 cm), but theyโve got Tom Boyd (200cm), Tom Campbell (200cm), Tim English (205 cm)- who they got as a first round draft pick as a ruckman, (and) Jack Redpath (194 cm).
โI donโt know how theyโre actually going to be able to, even at the next level down, how theyโre actually going to be able to play and give them enough time to ply their trade.
โYou wonder did they go for Schache, because there were issues with Tom Boyd last year, how did that play out, weโve almost gone two to hopefully get one of them to actually come through and work.โ
Wallace thinks Dogs fans should be excited about the physical transformation of Schache, who played just 10 games for the Lions last year.
โDidnโt he strip as a better player? When I saw him on Saturday, no big thighs, big in the backside anymore. He looks like at least he can compete at the level,โ Wallace said.
โWhether heโs good enough, how that all plays out, that will still play its part, but he just looks a different player.โ
The Dogs play their final JLT pre-season game against Collingwood in Moe on Saturday.
