Chris Judd and Matthew Lloyd split on Chris Scott's controversial ruck call against Collingwood
AFL greats Chris Judd and Matthew Lloyd are split on whether Geelong coach Chris Scott's decision to play without a ruckman against Collingwood on Friday night.
Scott raised eyebrows by dropping his only selected ruckman Rhys Stanley on the eve of the qualifying final, a questionable call due to the presence of All-Australian ruckman Brodie Grundy in Collingwood's team.
Despite the loss, Carlton great Chris Judd praised Scott for his decision, citing eventual ruckman Mark Blicavs' endurance.
"It's a team balance thing," Judd told Footy Classified.
Grundy was dominant once again as Collingwood comprehensively won the ruck battle Getty
"If you look at Collingwood's forward line, they've got a lot of mid-to-small sized players.
"I actually liked the decision, I thought it was the right decision. I didn't think Blicavs had a logical match-up in the back line. I thought he could run with Brodie Grundy.
"Even though they scored some goals from stoppages, they weren't because Grundy put it down (the midfielders') throats.
"I liked him on Brodie Grundy because I thought he had the running power to go with Brodie around the ground."
Rhys Stanley is likely to be recalled to Scott's side to match-up with Eagles star Nic Naitanui Getty
However, Essendon great and Footy Classified co-panellist Matthew Lloyd disagreed, saying that the decision weakened two areas of the Cats' game.
"I think what Chris Scott did was take away from an All-Australian centre half back," he said.
"To me, he looked all at sea and so suddenly you've got a weakness in the ruck, and you took away one of your best defenders out of the backline."
Up against Nic Naitanui and the West Coast Eagles this week, the Cats are highly likely to recall Stanley while dropping Blicavs back into its defence.
