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
1. Max Gawn
Max Gawn will go down in history as one of the best big men to ever play the game, and he continually adds to his resume every year.
He is a premiership captain, a six-time All-Australian, an AFLCA Champion Player of the Year, a two-time best & fairest at the Demons and the clear-cut best ruckman in the competition.
As the sole ruckman in previous years for Melbourne he would routinely top the league in stoppage numbers while proving his worth around the ground, forward and back.
With the recent emergence of Luke Jackson, he has been allowed to ease up on the heavy ruck-load and help out the Melbourne defence in a massive way.
He ranked elite in all marking categories for 2022 while leading all ruckmen in total marks, contested marks and intercept marks. He also topped all AFL ruckmen in clearances, contested possessions, inside 50s and score involvements, establishing himself as the unicorn of the competition.
While his pure ruck numbers are down from previous seasons given the presence of Jackson, he still won the fifth most hit-outs of the year with the third highest win-percentage in the AFL.
Like Sean Darcy, footy fans will wait and see what Gawn's role will look like come 2023 as Melbourne look to balance the addition of Brodie Grundy with the ruck prominence and dominance of Max Gawn.
Honourable Mentions:ย Toby Nankervis, Mark Blicavs, Darcy Cameron,
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.