Yep paddy, I'm 100% with you, but I don't have the answer for this problem.
I strongly believe once Sandilands hangs up his boots, Freo will not see a top 4 finish for a long time. This is why I cringe when I currently hear the word rebuild. While Freo have Sandilands, they still have a small window of opportunity to sneak in another Grand Final and a chance for the big reward. He gives Freo a massive advantage over the opposition and we need to maximise that advantage while we have it.
Once he is gone, we won't find another who can do what he can, but we will still need to find something better than our current Griffin/Clarke/Hannath and rucks take a while to develop and gel with the midfield. Your better ruckmen are generally in their late 20s. Recruiting a quality in form ruckman isn't going to be easy, so I see a big compromise in this area of Freo's game in the few years post Sandilands.
Without a quality ruck, we'll need at least another couple of quality inside mids to help reduce the damage and here is another area that could get ugly on us very quickly (ie. if; Neale leaves, Fyfe never fully recovers from broken leg, Barlow plays forward, Mundy's career ends ...). So far Blakely is the only young one that fills me with some hope for our future inside mid stocks. Meanwhile, everybody is publicly screaming that Freo needs KPP's, which I think will further lead to Freo's ruck and midfield getting far less attention than it requires.
