Ranking the top 10 ruckmen of the 2023 AFL season

We’re up to the big men of the game, with some breakout seasons shaking up the top few names.

EDITOR | December 15, 2023 - 4:30pm

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In the third instalment of our 2023 positional rankings, we've dissected the ruck crop of the past season to name the 10 best big men of the competition.

The likes of Max Gawn and Brodie Grundy have dominated the top of these lists for the best part of the past decade, however the past 12 months have seen a shift among the highest echelon of ruckmen, perhaps due to the new combination of Gawn and Grundy at Melbourne this year.

The new age era of the ruckman sees the towering talls of the competition needing to widely expand on their games beyond hitouts and contests, with ground coverage, aerial impact and endurance among the leading traits for the competition's current crop of ruck stars.

After a season that saw ruck records shattered once again, we rank the best 10 ruckman of 2023...

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5. Sean Darcy

While the Fremantle ruckman endured a battle with injuries this year, he remained a key cog in Justin Longmuir's system when on the field to be one of the game's best ruckmen.

Off the back of his strong 2021-2022 form, Darcy took on a more shared tole in partnering new recruit Luke Jackson this year and would get back to his best after a slow start to the season.

Darcy averaged 42.5 hitouts per game when you remove the two fixtures where he sustained injuries, with that figure seeing him go No.1 in the competition as the only player to record an average north of 40 hitouts from each outing.