Jumping for joy: Why some ruckmen will thrive under this new AFL rule
High-leaping ruckman Oscar Steene’s performance at the centre ball-up in his Collingwood debut last week has attracted the attention of several AFL clubs as well as the Tassie Devils as he showcased the future of rucking.
The 22-year-old pre-season supplementary selection, who is contracted until the end of next season, has the athleticism to take advantage of the new ruck rules.
He is among a cohort of ruckmen, including Hawthorn’s Ned Reeves, Geelong’s Mitch Edwards and Adelaide’s Lachie McAndrew, who have risen in value since the league changed the rules to encourage players to leap at centre bounces and reduce secondary stoppages.
St Kilda’s Tom De Koning, Docker Luke Jackson and the Bulldogs’ Tim English are also players with the physical attributes suited to thriving in the new conditions.
The Devils can sign players who are out of contract at the end of 2027 and 2028, and are in a position to develop a list that reflects the increasing speed and athleticism required to play the game.
Other big young men who have contracts expiring next year include McAndrew, Cats pair Edwards and Toby Conway, Essendon’s Nick Bryan and Port Adelaide’s Dante Visentini.
Tasmania are therefore monitoring the progress of a large collection of players suited to the modern game, and in the case of Giants midfielder Tom Green, those with the characteristics to potentially lead a new club.
Steene shares ruck duties with Darcy Cameron, the Magpies’ reigning club champion, who played a vital role in the club’s 2023 premiership as a ruckman who could take marks playing a kick behind play and occasionally drift forward to kick goals.
Cameron’s hitouts-to-advantage ratio is at 20.8 per cent this season, which is the lowest of his career. It was 23.5 per cent against the Giants on Friday night, compared to newcomer Steene’s 35 per cent.
The abolition of the substitute this season means teams now start each game with five players on the bench, which has so far encouraged teams to combine the old and new style of ruckman. Hawthorn has played Reeves and Lloyd Meek, St Kilda has paired De Koning and Rowan Marshall, and Fremantle has used Jackson and Sean Darcy to cover both the centre-bounce duel and around-the-ground skills.
Marshall’s hitouts-to-advantage ratio has plummeted to a career-worst 19.2 per cent in 2026 as he adjusts to the rule adaptations and sharing the field with ex-Blue De Koning.
On the flip side, Richmond used makeshift options Campbell Gray, Mykelti Lefau and Ben Miller on Saturday against Jackson and Darcy, in injured skipper Toby Nankervis’ absence. The Tigers were demolished 57-9 in hitouts, and lost the clearance battle 41-26.
Recruiters are in the assessment stage – wary not to jump to conclusions from a small sample size – but already on alert for how it might change the types of players they need to unearth and prioritise.
They are also monitoring the real impact of hitouts to advantage to winning clearances, the change in the numbers of secondary stoppages and throw-ins, and the way the best ruckmen counter their opposition and adapt to the shift.
Six recruiters emphasised that ruckmen still needed all-round football skills, and it was too early to elevate or put a line through anyone, but all conceded the rules tilted the advantage to athletic and supersized ruckmen.
Eight-time All-Australian Max Gawn is fresh from a starring role in Melbourne’s come-from-behind win over Carlton, but even his numbers have suffered, and he is concerned for what the changes mean for his brethren.
“After watching the [pre-season] games, what’s actually happened is what I didn’t really want,” Gawn said in February. “It’s literally two players jumping into each other and no real ruck craft at all.”
Adelaide’s Reilly O’Brien started a three-year contract in 2026, but hasn’t played a game since the advent of the new rules. He signed his deal before the rules were introduced, while the Hawks locked Meek into a four-year deal mid-last season after his career took off under the previous ruck rules.
Players such as O’Brien, who relied on wrestling in tests of strength, must now find new ways to make an impact or face becoming extinct. At least he has the security of his contract.
“It [suits] the jumpers. I think that’s what it’s designed to do; to help guys like Tom De Koning, Luke Jackson [and West Coast’s] Bailey Williams,” O’Brien said.
“It gives them a chance to show their strengths in there and not get wrestled out of it, so against those guys, it will certainly be a challenge … I’m still trying to work it out.”
Unlike O’Brien, Giant Kieren Briggs does not have a contract beyond this season when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The new rules could reduce his value, although he has still managed a hitouts-to-advantage percentage of 37.7 per cent. The Hawks’ Reeves leads the competition at 50 per cent.
The very best ruckmen, such as Gawn, English, Brodie Grundy and Jackson, can earn close to $1 million dollars per season, but clubs are reluctant to spend too much of their salary cap on a ruckman unless he is outstanding.
Most earn an annual salary of $500,000-$750,000.
The lure of basketball riches in the American college system is further complicating the situation for AFL recruiters, who remain concerned about the lack of ruck options in the development pathway, from the under-18s to the state leagues.
Indiana Pacers guard Johnny Furphy is playing in the NBA after making football his back-up plan. His older brother, Joe, was a category B rookie at Geelong before being delisted and signing with Coburg in the VFL.
University of Florida standout Alex Condon previously committed to Collingwood as a category B rookie, but is also NBA-bound.
Countless others are also chasing their hoops dreams, leaving Talent League clubs to often use undersized players in the ruck.
AFL recruiters have enjoyed their own wins against basketball, from the likes of Jackson to Eagle Cooper Duff-Tytler, St Kilda’s Alex Dodson, Eagle Jake Miles-Wrency, Melbourne’s Oscar Berry, Crow Indy Cotton, Richmond’s Oliver Hayes-Brown and most recently, North Melbourne’s Lachie Brewer.
There are three high-quality candidates in this year’s draft class, headed by 204-centimetre, potential top-five prospect Harry Van Hattum, of the Northern Knights.
Demon Jacob van Rooyen’s younger brother, Claremont’s Benji, and North Adelaide’s Ethan Herbert are the other two big men who could be top-30 selections in the 2026 draft.
However, at least one talent scout believes Herbert, who has dominated at SANFL under-18 level, may end up in a key-position post down back instead.
The ruck rules have changed the rucking landscape and the names at the forefront of selectors and recruiters’ minds. It’s a shift akin to any industrial revolution.
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