Terry Wallace ranks AFL’s top five ruckman

Published by
Ben Cotton

Former Western Bulldogs and Richmond coach Terry Wallace has listed the league's top five ruckman.

The big man's return to prominence has been a major talking point this year in AFL circles after some star performances.

Here is Wallace's top five:
1. Brodie Grundy

2. Max Gawn

3. Stefan Martin

4. Sam Jacobs

5. Ben McEvoy

He had particular praise for Grundy following his fantastic start to 2018.

“He could’ve got six Brownlow votes in the last two rounds, he’s been outstanding,” Wallace told the AFL Nation pregame show.

“He’s taken rucking to a new level.

“He gets after the ball at ground level better than anyone that I’ve seen playing that type of role maybe ever.”

Wallace excluded West Coast star Nic Naitanui from his list, claiming that the big man was still building towards his best form after missing all of 2017 with a ruptured ACL.

“I’m only talking about this season and if I was talking about impact to his team, I’d have him in there, but if you remember to the early parts of this season he was only playing 50 per cent of ground time,” Wallace said.

“He could get there with a bullet by the end of the year."

Wallace said he included McEvoy due to his impressive aerobic ability.

“The one thing with Ben McEvoy is he can seriously, seriously run,” Wallace said.

“He will finish in the top five in all the endurance work at Hawthorn.”

 

 

 

Published by
Ben Cotton