Geelong won the 2022 premiership with their system of using Rhys Stanley as a primary ruckman who dropped back in defence, at times utilising Mark Blicavs in bursts as their chop-out option while Tom Hawkins reinvented the forward 50 ruck-forward position while still kicking plenty of goals.
Melbourne used a similar tactic on their drought-breaking flag run, with Max Gawn taking fewer stoppages and playing as an extra man across half-forward and half-back, with Luke Jackson playing a dynamic hybrid role with key forwards Ben Brown and Tom McDonald also making forward 50 ruck cameos.
Richmond and Hawthorn did it on either side of the Bulldogs riding to their own unlikely flag, with some clubs emulating the pattern as others resolutely stuck to extracting the most from their solo ruck setups.
Fremantle made a huge move to pair young WA wunderkind Jackson with their emerging big man Sean Darcy, while the Demons parlayed that move into luring Brodie Grundy out of Collingwood to pair with the six-time All-Australian in Gawn.
Looking ahead to the 2023 season, which clubs are best placed to deploy two or more rucks and whose ruck depths will be healthy enough to aim for September?
Adelaide has an elite ruckman in Reilly O'Brien, but the next in the order is hard to identify. Kieran Strachan can halve the ruck contest against anybody, but not much of anything else, while only Riley Thilthorpe appears capable of a chop-out role from the forward line, although Elliott Himmelberg is a more developed ruck-forward who Matthew Nicks has used effectively.ย
The Crows are not set up to play with shared ruckmen, but whoever backs up O'Brien needs to be a goalkicker.
The Lions have one of the most impressive collections of 200cm+ units, having added Darcy Fort during the end of 2021 ruck merry-go-round, with Oscar McInerney transitioning from ruck-forward to main ruckman. They have options around who to partner with the 'Big O', with Joe Daniher a forward 50 option, but they will miss Dan McStay's ability to back up in the stoppages. Brisbane has invested in a deep ruck battery, with Henry Smith and Kalin Lane joining in 2020, while basketball convert Tom Fullarton has been used at AFL level.
Brisbane omitted Fort for the preliminary final and got creamed by Geelong after he and the McInerney had been one of the premier ruck duos in the first half of the season, but Chris Fagan lost faith in the ex-Cat in the final month.
Carton had one of the weakest ruck divisions in 2022, although on paper Marc Pittonet and Tom De Koning looked pretty good, if only they could get on the field together more than four times. 210cm Alex Mirkov, who converted from volleyball in 2021, was a standout in the VFL and could debut early in 2023 as he continues to develop his transition to the game. Hudson O'Keeffe is their late SSP signing as an undrafted free agent from the 2022 count.
The Blues were 4-7 after the bye with Jack Silvagni as their backup ruckman, despite being 6-2 when he deputised earlier in the season, so it seems Pittonet and De Koning or back to the drawing board. are their options.
Collingwood eventually returned to the dual ruck formula, having employed it as far back as the days when Mason Cox was fighting Grundy and Jarrod Witts, who were tried in various combinations that simply didn't work. Darcy Cameron will have the big American to pair with, while new arrival Dan McStay is a very competent chop-out option. The Pies have added SANFL greenhorn Oscar Steene through the SSP and also picked up journeyman Billy Frampton in the off-season.ย
The Pies have been exposed in their ruck depth with Cameron's pre-season injury, but his combination with Cox was inspired coaching.
Essendon has an ideal situation, with the serviceable Andrew Phillips, emerging Sam Draper, ruck-forward Peter Wright and young tall Nick Bryan. There will be games where three of those players are named, as the club did to good effect last year. Wright invariably plays better when he isn't in the ruck rotation, although his value in forward 50 stoppages can't be understated.
The Bombers have to work out their strategy this season under their new coach, who needs to find out if Draper and Bryan can form a winning partnership.
Fremantle have been searching for a ruck duo since big Aaron Sandilands started to slow down and they have paid big to put local boy Jackson beside Darcy. They have invested in ruck depth further this off-season, with VFL recruit Liam Reidy and young Max Knobel, son of journeyman ruck Trent. The loss of Rory Lobb has been mitigated by the recruitment of three new rucks.
Freo goes into this brave new world hoping that Jackson can play a hybrid role in support of Darcy, which shapes as being a dynamic pairing for years to come.
Premiers Geelong have a veritable stable of ruck options, with Jon Ceglar fighting Rhys Stanley for top spot and having drafted ruckmen annually for the fourth year straight, so clearly they are not abandoning the strategy. Toby Conway and Shannon Neale shared the load at VFL level, while Phoenix Foster was drafted as a ruck-forward out of South Australia's U18 side in 2022.ย
Geelong won't mess with a winning formula, although the luck of Ceglar being a better ruckman than Stanley and missing out on playing in so many premiership sides must build a mighty fire in his belly.
The Gold Coast Suns were a rucking disaster in 2021 when all of their tall timber went down within a month at the start of the season. They went for top mid-season ruck recruit Ned Moyle in 2021. In 2022, Moyle was hands down the best ruckman in the VFL, meaning that the 205cm prodigy will either join or replace Jarrod Witts in the future. The Suns have a very capable backup in Mabior Chol, while Levi Casboult and Sam Day both have plenty of experience chopping out.ย
The question is whether Witts and Moyle can play in tandem or if the status quo remains as they are a solo ruckman team: put this on the watch list as Moyle is a cracking good young prospect.
GWS has a handful of rucks without any of them being elite, although Braydon Preuss has the potential if he can stay healthy, while Matthew Flynn and Kieren Briggs have been developed for several years alongside the evergreen Lachie Keeffe. Academy recruit Nick Madden is one of the biggest players in the AFL already at 18 years of age, 204cm and 112kg, so expect him to feature as they continue to experiment with their lineup.
The Giants are a prime candidate to line up with dual rucks as new coach Adam Kingsley has come from the successful Richmond system that has used it to such success.
Hawthorn goes into 2023 with the most inexperienced rucks, but Ned Reeves, Max Lynch and new recruit Lloyd Meek are all 24 years old and entering their prime years, while young Max Ramsden will have time to develop.
The retirement of Ben McEvoy makes the Hawks a prime candidate for playing twin rucks, likely being Reeves and Meek.
The biggest dual ruck story of 2023 is Melbourne, who have been trying for years to find a foil for Gawn, first recruiting Preuss, then drafting Jackson and now trading for Grundy, so clearly they have faith in the tactic. The club also recruited the athletic Will Verrall and basketball convert Kyah Farris-White.
This is the test case for whether a tandem of elite ruckmen can co-exist in the same side, and the Dees are all-in.
North Melbourne has been operating a tandem ruck duo with Todd Goldstein and either Tristan Xerri or Callum Coleman-Jones, which seems to be set to continue under a third coach. Hamish Free seems an astute mature-age pick-up in the rookie draft, clobbering hit-outs in the WAFL for fun all year. 2021 Mid-Season Draft No.1 pick Jacob Edwards is still in development, looking more like a ruck than a forward, but still has time to develop.
'Clarko' was an early adopter of the ruck tandem in the age of the most dominant solo rucks in history, so expect to see this pattern continue, with Goldstein playing a supporting role to the emerging Xerri.
Port Adelaide has a premiership ruckman on their list in Scott Lycett, so one of Brynn Teakle and Sam Hayes, or any of the three young greenhorns they drafted recently needs to step up. Although vastly undersized ruckman Jeremy Finlayson could indeed be that chop-out option.
The Power's late-season resurgence revolved around losing hit-outs and trying to win the clearances, so expect to see them try to continue the tactic, albeit with a fit Lycett aiming to match it with opponents and Finlayson in support, freeing up Charlie Dixon to play forward.
Richmond still has multiple premiership duo Toby Nankervis and Ivan Soldo, who look to continue sharing the role. Although they have invested development into Samson Ryan, who had one of the most forgettable AFL debuts in recent memory, yet came back in 2022 to become one of the best emerging ruck talents in the VFL. Watch out too for Noah Balta's cousin, Mate Colina, who at 213cm became the biggest VFL player ever, getting a handful of games late in the year after graduating from a basketball scholarship at the University of Hawaii.
The Tigers have long been on a winning strategy with dual rucks and now they may have finally found some depth at the position even though they still have years left with their dynamic duo.
St Kilda has 2023's weakest ruck stocks, with Paddy Ryder retiring, leaving Rowan Marshall and veteran backup Tom Campbell as the only likely pairing. Max Heath is still in development, but was a high pick in the 2021 Mid-Season Draft and could be called upon early to chop out after showing signs of development for Sandringham.
Runners-up Sydney were clearly looking for a dynamic duo, but the Tom Hickey-Peter Ladhams combo never fired, while the luckless Sam Naismith has left. Interesting to note that the Swans' VFL side played four rucks in their rotation, including the retired Callum Sinclair and 208cm rugby convert Lachie McAndrew, so they will likely persevere. Rookie Tasmanian Cameron Owen comes in to fill the void left by Naishmith and Sinclair.
The Swans appear likely to try to make their ruck tandem work, though the option to go with one or the other as a solo was very successful.
West Coast has long given Nic Naitanui a ruck buddy, with Bailey Williams and Callum Jamieson having a chop out in recent times, but the Eagles picked the most highly-rated and AFL-ready ruck in the draft in Harry Barnett, who has some SANFL senior footy behind him. Oscar Allen has been a chop-out option in the past, but after an injury-ruined year and considering the Eagles' past record of conserving key forwards, he is an unlikely backup.ย
The Eagles will play two rucks as Naitanui has been on limited minutes for several years, with Williams the most likely partner, as Jamieson is not quite there yet.
The Bulldogs did not have faith in the Tim English-Jordon Sweet combination, despite them only failing to halve the ruck contest once out of four pairings which happened to be against the Dees with Gawn and Jackson. No matter though, as Rory Lobb has arrived at the Kennel and young Sam Darcy showed in a couple of VFL games that he can tap out against quality opponents.
The Bulldogs will spin the magnets on their big men, potentially playing all four and at least three in the same side, with English and Lobb the ideal combination to rotate through the middle.
