The fitness of Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy may be a deciding factor in this year's premiership race, with the Dockers big man ranking as the most efficient ruckman in the AFL this season.

Among the league's leading rucks in 2024, Darcy boasts the best return of Hitouts To Advantage (HTA) per Ruck Contest (RC) attended, managing a rate of 15.35%.

That figure - 91 HTAs from 593 RCs - places Darcy No.1 in the league among the 22 ruckmen to attend over 500 RCs over the first 19 rounds, giving him a 0.13% buffer over the next best in Port Adelaide recruit Ivan Soldo (15.22%).

Soldo and teammate Jordon Sweet (14.21%) both rank in the top four for HTAs per RC in 2024, with Richmond captain Toby Nankervis (14.36%) sitting between them in third place.

Set to return for Carlton in place of the sidelined Tom De Koning, Blues ruckman Marc Pittonet is set to offer a 2.36% increase for HTAs per RC for Michael Voss for the remainder of the season.

The second-string ruckman has recorded 63 HTAs from his 514 RCs (12.26%) to rank in the top 10, while De Koning (9.90%) has him 19th of the top 22 ruckmen for contests attended.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 21: Marc Pittonet of the Blues and Darcy Cameron of the Magpies contest the ruck during the round 23 AFL match between the Carlton Blues and the Collingwood Magpies at Melbourne Cricket Ground on August 21, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Pittonet led the competition for the same metric midway through the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and with a consistent run as the sole ruckman for Carlton he could see his figures rise back near the 20 per cent mark he held during those two campaigns - a benchmark that would have him head and shoulders above the rest of the league once again.

Carlton and Pittonet will come up against the two lowest-ranking ruckmen in the final two weeks of the season, with meetings against West Coast youngster Bailey Williams and Saints star Rowan Marshall scheduled for Rounds 23 and 24 respectively.

Williams, who is set to be alleviated by the incoming return of Matt Flynn, ranks 22nd for HTAs per RC this year at 7.95% - a deficit of 1.18% to the next worst in Marshall (9.13%).

Brisbane Oscar McInerney (9.54%), the aforementioned De Koning (9.90%) and Darcy's teammate Luke Jackson (10.47%) also rank in the bottom five.

The AFL's most efficient ruckmen in 2024

Player RC HO HTW% HTA HTA % HTA per RC%
Sean Darcy 593 293 49.4 91 31.1 15.35
Ivan Soldo 506 224 44.3 77 34.4 15.22
1149 574 50 165 28.7 14.36
591 292 49.4 84 28.8 14.21
Reilly O'Brien
 1337 663 49.6 189 28.5 14.14
1234 577 46.8 169 29.3 13.70
Lloyd Meek 1120 512 45.7 148 28.9 13.21
751 344 45.8 98 28.5 13.05
Max Gawn 1180 557 47.2 150 26.9 12.71
514 197 38.3 63 32 12.26
572 226 39.5 69 30.5 12.06
1188 529 44.5 143 27 12.04
846 392 46.3 100 25.5 11.82
Timย English
 1329 518 39 157 30.3 11.81
Ned Moyle 514 217 42.2 57 26.3 11.09
1278 541 42.3 140 25.9 10.95
1391 583 41.9 148 25.4 10.64
917 312 34 96 30.8 10.47
1010 349 34.6 100 28.7 9.90
1342 555 41.4 128 23.1 9.54
1281 477 37.2 117 24.5 9.13
1057 338 32 84 24.9 7.95

Ruckman rankewd for Hitouts To Advantage per Ruck Contest (min. 500 contests)