The ruck role has caused much confusion for footy experts in recent seasons. Some sides seem to benefit from a pure tap-winner type, while other sides require the around-the-ground type of big man.
It is hard to judge ruckmen against each other in 2022; one player might record the most hit-outs but provide less value than his versatile opponent.
Mark Blicavs may be one of the most valuable players in the competition, but does most of his damage as an onballer or lockdown defender, not necessarily as a ruckman.
Conversely, Oscar McInerney was a quality ruck stoppage player in 2022, but wasn't as versatile in general play as someone like Tim English.
With all nuance considered, here is our top five ruckmen of 2022:
SEE ALSO: Top Defenders of 2022
SEEL ALSO: Top Midfielders of 2022
3. Sean Darcy
Sean Darcy is another young ruckman proving to be one of the superstars of the future after back-to-back quality years at the Dockers.
He broke out in 2021 by averaging over 28 hit-outs in a full year to go with 17 disposals and 4 marks per game. His around-the-ground numbers would not improve in 2022, but he has risen to become the third-best hit-out ruckman in the competition with 34 per game and a near league-best hit-out win percentage of 53.4%.
These stats make him a dangerous midfield matchup for opposing rucks as he gets first hands on the ball more often than not and gives the likes of Brayshaw and Serong quality service.
It will be intriguing to see what his role looks like with the addition of Luke Jackson into the Fremantle ruck lineup, but the extra help around the ground may allow Darcy to prioritise stoppage dominance.
It is also possible, however, that Darcy will be required to work on his around-the-ground ability for when Jackson is taking the reins as the primary ruckman as he did under Simon Goodwin and Max Gawn.
It will be very interesting to observe the ruck tactics of teams like Fremantle come 2023.
Jarrod Witts was the best ruckman in the AFL this year. The metrics are simple – how many ruck contests attended, how many hitouts won, how many hitouts to advantage and how many individual clearances from stoppage.
Max Gawn played a hybrid role in 2022, which allowed him to play across defence or go into attack while Luke Jackson went onball. That is why Freo wanted Jackson so badly in order to pair him with Sean Darcy, which pushed Melbourne to recruit Brodie Grundy because Max Gawn cannot carry the truckload any more.