CARLTON ruckman Robert Warnock has only ever yearned for two things: continuity and opportunity. Now he has both.
At the business end of yet another injury-hampered season, Warnock has been presented with the biggest opportunity, and challenge, of his eight-season AFL career.
With fellow big man Matthew Kreuzer sidelined with a lower leg injury, Warnock will shoulder the bulk of the ruck duties alone in the sudden-death semi-final against the Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
Awaiting Warnock, and ruck relief Levi Casboult, are Swans premiership monsters Shane Mumford and Mike Pyke.
Warnock has faced the pair just twice – in the Blues' five-point elimination final loss at ANZ Stadium in 2010, and in a 16-point win on a wet SCG the next year.
He wasn't the Blues chief ruckman on either occasion, playing a support role for Sam Jacobs (now a Crow) the first time and sharing duties with Setanta O'hAilpin on the other occasion.
The 26-year-old has great respect for the Swans duo but isn't daunted.
"It's always a massive challenge taking on two quality ruckman like those guys because they're great competitors, they're strong, smart, they work hard, they work well together, and they're good at giving their mids first use," Warnock told AFL.com.au.
"But I'm really looking forward to it. It's exciting testing yourself against two of the best ruckmen in the competition on the big stage in finals."
According to Champion Data, purely in terms of ruckwork, Warnock is among the AFL's best-performed big men this season.
In his 11 games, he's third in the AFL for average hit-outs (34.5), behind only Western Bulldog Will Minson (39.1) and North Melbourne's Todd Goldstein (37.4).
Warnock is also ninth in hitouts-to-advantage percentage (27.4 per cent), comfortably clear of the likes of Mumford (23.6 per cent), Pyke (25.9 per cent) and Fremantle giant Aaron Sandilands (25 per cent).
Kreuzer is 13th and 15th in these categories respectively.
Asked how confident he was that he would give the Blues the ascendancy in the ruck, Warnock said: "If you don't go out there with confidence, there's not much point showing up. We think we can do the job, but we know it's not going to be easy."
However, Warnock believes that winning the ruck will merely "help" his team's cause.
"We have to make sure our structures are set up because there's no point winning the ruck if our mids aren't getting it. And if we're losing the ruck and our mids aren't set up, we can get cut open," he said. "It all goes hand in glove."
If the Blues win, Warnock will play his 50th game for Carlton – and 71st overall – in a preliminary final against his former club Fremantle in Perth. The No.42 pick in the 2005 NAB AFL Draft, he spent 2006-08 with the Dockers, playing 21 games.
Warnock has recaptured the form he showed during his breakout year of 2011 when he played 20 games. He has strung together five successive, impressive games.
He believes the knee issue that flared mid-season, and the hamstring and shoulder injuries that plagued him last season, are things of the past.
"It takes some time to find your feet, but the only way you improve is through continuity," he said. "I've had my fair share of interruptions along the way, but it feels like I'm going in the right direction. It's like a natural progression."
Warnock wants to progress further in areas including stoppage work, contested marking, link-up work around the ground and forward play.
He hasn't taken a contested mark in his past seven games, while averaging more than 80 per cent game time. In that period he has taken just four marks in total.
"It'd be handy to pick that up a bit," he admitted.
Warnock still has two years to run on a contract he signed only last year, but that hasn't stopped some suggesting the Blues should consider trading him. But he's staying put.
"I'm definitely keen to stay, otherwise I wouldn't have signed on again. I'm not sure where that talk comes from. It's just media speculation, and not very factual I wouldn't have thought. I'm happy, I'm enjoying it there, Mick (Malthouse) is a great coach, we're going places and I want to be part of that."
