Battle of the bigs: How every AFL club as adapted to new ruck landscape after sweeping rule changes

The AFL added sweeping rule changes ahead of the 2026 season, which have dramatically changed the landscape for ruckmen. With players not allowed to cross the centre circle line, ruckmen are encouraged to jump rather than wrestle with their opponents, while replacing the bounce with a ball-up promotes a more even aerial battle. The addition of an extra player on the bench has seen some teams carry an extra tall or ruck in their team, allowing them to blood younger options, while others have backed in their sole option to dominate with mixed results. Here’s how every AFL club has adapted so far this year. ADELAIDE The Crows have heavily favoured the more athletic Lachlan McAndrew, who has played every game so far this season. With an impressive vertical leap on top of a 210cm frame, the 25-year-old has kept one-time club champion Reilly O’Brien out of the side in all bar one game. O’Brien was brought in to assist McAndrew against Fremantle’s first-choice combination of Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson. But while the Dockers duo had a relatively even split of ruck contests in that game, McAndrew was favoured 81-32. In other matches, McAndrew has operated primarily as a solo act, attending 436 ruck contests, assisted intermittently by forwards Finnbar Maley and Riley Thilthorpe. BRISBANE The reigning premiers clearly prefer the dual ruck combination of Darcy Fort and new recruit Sam Draper but have had little continuity with the pair. After Draper missed their season opener and was eased in through round one, the pair split duties through the middle against St Kilda, Collingwood and North Melbourne — the club’s three wins this season. Fort missed against Melbourne, as Draper was forced to ruck solo and was dominated by Max Gawn. CARLTON After picking up Liam Reidy from Fremantle, he lasted just one game as the Blues reverted to a one-ruck set-up around Marc Pittonet. Pittonet was having a strong season while also becoming an unlikely goal-kicking option, but a hand injury to Pittonet could see Reidy return to face his former side. COLLINGWOOD The Pies started with a singular ruck set-up with West Australian Darcy Cameron, but the strong debut of Oscar Steene against Greater Western Sydney in round three has seen them shift towards a dual model. Steene hasn’t quite been able to replicate the heights of his debut, with Cameron still the No.1, averaging about a 60/40 split with Steene, still well down on taking nearly 80 per cent of contests in the opening two rounds. ESSENDON Having gone through a Rolodex of options in 2025, the retirement of Todd Goldstein had East Fremantle product, Lachlan Blakiston, start the year as the Bombers’ main option. But Peter Wright’s struggles up forward saw him move into the ruck, and he has excelled, starring in their upset over Melbourne and pushing Gold Coast all the way to the line last weekend, while he’s still impacting the scoreboard. FREMANTLE The Dockers have always backed a two-ruck set-up, with Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson sharing the load through the opening rounds before Darcy’s concussion saw Jackson dominate in the second half against Collingwood in round five. Despite calls for Fremantle to leave Jackson as a sole ruckman, Mason Cox made his debut in the western derby and will have a chance to push his case to be the regular No.2 option following Darcy’s subsequent calf injury. GEELONG The Cats have rarely operated with an elite ruckman under Chris Scott’s tenure, but there has been a changing of the guard with West Australian Mitch Edwards becoming the No.1 option over the poster boy for versatility in Mark Blicavs and keeping Rhys Stanley out of the team. Sam De Koning has also been used with limited success, while Shannon Neale has been effective in the forward-ruck role. GOLD COAST Jarrod Witts remains one of the most dominant ruckmen in the competition, leading the league in hit-outs and is behind only Ned Reeves with a win percentage of 52.7 per cent. Despite being 34, he shows no signs of slowing down, as Mac Andrew has overtaken Ethan Read in recent weeks as the No.2 option when needed. GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY Kieren Briggs has been an undoubted loser of the ruck rule changes, with his inability to get involved outside of stoppage, seeing Adam Kingsley move him aside for 21-year-old Nicholas Madden. He dominated Richmond’s makeshift outfit before the Giants switched tactics, employing a dual set-up with Leek Aleer to try and overcome Sydney’s Brodie Grundy to no avail. HAWTHORN The added spot on the bench has worked wonders for the Hawks, who have had more freedom with their rotating ruck set-up. Since round one, Lloyd Meek (203cm) and Ned Reeves (210cm) have split duties evenly, spending roughly half of the game on the pine each week. MELBOURNE The ruck rules might have changed but the sheer dominance of Max Gawn remains, with the Melbourne premiership captain on track to claim a ninth All-Australian blazer. The Demons brought in rookie ruckman Max Heath to assist against Brisbane, while Harrison Petty and to a lesser extent, Jacob van Rooyen have also given him a chop-out. NORTH MELBOURNE A three-week suspension to No.1 ruckman Tristan Xerri forced the Roos to rethink their set-up, with Callum Coleman-Jones assisted by Jack Darling and Cooper Trembath in recent weeks. With his return this week, North could revert to their original plan of Xerri shouldering 80 per cent of the ruck load. PORT ADELAIDE After missing round one, Jordon Sweet has returned strongly and is ranked fifth for hit-outs to advantage, with Jack Whitlock his back-up, as the Power have struggled to start the season. Dante Visentini returned to face Hawthorn as the Power tried to form their own combo against Hawthorn’s ruck duo, but they will likely revert to a solo ruckman, with Visentini ineffective in the tight loss. RICHMOND The Tigers’ ruck plan unravelled just two games into the season, with Toby Nankervis still another 3-4 weeks away with a hamstring injury, forcing Samson Ryan into the No.1 role. He’s been serviceable, standing at 206cm and winning about 42 per cent of contests, but also got himself suspended, opening the door for former Perth Wildcat Oliver Hayes-Brown to debut. Hayes-Brown was well beaten against the Giants. Campbell Gray and Mykelti Lefau have been the second options within games but have been winning less than 20 per cent of contests. While Ryan has not had much impact off the ball, he will need to hold station until Nankervis can return. ST KILDA The Saints made the big move to acquire the younger and more versatile Tom De Koning from Carlton as part of their recruiting blitz in the off-season. Despite having 2023 All-Australian Rowan Marshall on their books, De Koning immediately took over the mantle as the No.1 ruckman as part of a dual set-up. De Koning has attended nearly 300 ruck contests this season, compared to Marshall’s 181, though the former Blue hasn’t quite reached the heights of last year. Marshall is producing similar numbers in a lesser role, but the one game he missed saw Max Gawn dominate De Koning as Melbourne produced an upset, while he lifted to be one of the Saints’ best against Adelaide after De Koning went down early with a back injury. SYDNEY The Swans are a one-man show with Brodie Grundy operating at career-best levels to help his side sit atop the AFL ladder. The two-time All-Australian is attending an average of 74 contests per game, his most since 2019, while his hit-out to advantage rate of 35.2 per cent is the best of his career. Grundy is also a threat off the ball, averaging more than five tackles per game and kicking 4.3 to impact the scoreboard while racking up nearly 20 disposals per game. WEST COAST The Eagles have struggled regardless of who they have put out on the field in recent seasons, but Andrew McQualter has made a clear shift to back the more athletic Bailey Williams, following his recovery from a groin injury, over Matt Flynn in the past fortnight. Williams had a decent return against Geelong, but struggled against Fremantle’s premier duo. However, his versatility up forward will likely keep him in, particularly with Archer Reid going down, while draftee Cooper Duff-Tytler is carefully managed in building his loads. WESTERN BULLDOGS The Bulldogs are in crisis with both their first choice and backup options picking up significant injuries to seriously damage their premiership credentials. Tim English started the season dominantly and was attending more than 70 per cent of ruck contests across the first three rounds before a knee injury forced them to rely on a mix of options. Recent draftees Louis Emmett and Jordan Croft have struggled, winning just 18 per cent of contests, while their more experienced alternatives in Rory Lobb and Sam Darcy are also injured.