YOU WOULD think that because only two rucks are required in your AFLW Fantasy team, that they would then take up a comparatively small part of your pre-season preparation.
That assumption couldn't be further from the truth, with your ruck picks and strategy often anchoring a successful (or less than successful) season.
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Last year was the year of the rookie ruck, with coaches being gifted three rookie-priced rucks with good roles to pick in their starting teams.
That strategy is in the rear-view mirror this year, with far fewer options with No.1 ruck roles available, so get ready to stretch those projection muscles!
Premium options
Ally Morphett (Sydney, $1,138,000)
In both a Fantasy and 'actual' football sense, Morphett had arguably the biggest breakout of any AFLW player last season. At only 20 years old, she averaged four more Fantasy points and five more disposals than any other ruck and led the competition in hitouts per game. It is hard to see how another full pre-season won't consolidate Morphett as the best ruck in the competition, and the top candidate for anyone looking to lock in a set-and-forget ruck.
Alice Edmonds (Western Bulldogs, $1,044,000)
Edmonds was the breakout ruck of 2022, and she didn't take a backward step in 2023, managing to up her disposals and tackle numbers, and increase her Fantasy average by 10 points per game (ppg), from 69.8 to 80.6. As an added bonus, with Celine Moody no longer at the Dogs, Edmonds is the standalone best ruck option in an inexperienced Dogs squad. With a soft set of match-ups to start the year (Greater Western Sydney, Port Adelaide, West Coast) and the round four double game round, Edmonds is my pick for anyone wanting to start with a premium ruck who presents some early upside.
Mim Strom (Fremantle, $1,027,000)
An important adage to keep in mind for Fantasy is that improvement isn't always linear. That being said, Strom has improved in each of her five seasons, and 2023 was the year that we saw her become a premium ruck with a 100+ ceiling. She's a great tackler, averaging five per game, and could be in line to increase her tackles even further with Freo's two best tacklers (Kiara Bowers and Ange Stannett with 12.2 and 6.8 tackles per game respectively) missing in 2024. I can't argue with anyone who wants to pick this incredibly consistent scorer in their side for 2024.
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Under-priced premium plays
Matilda Scholz (Port Adelaide, $979,000)
It is hard to have a better debut season than Scholz did as Port Adelaide's sole ruck in 2023. The priority signing broke out immediately on her introduction to the AFLW, managing to be top 10 for average hitouts and finish third in Port's best and fairest. It'll take a monumental effort for Scholz to have the same kind of breakout again but given what she managed last year with a persistent finger injury, don't be shocked if the 19-year-old becomes an 80+ averaging ruck this season. If you are picking Scholz, be wary of an opening schedule that includes tough match-ups against Jess Allan's Adelaide and Alice Edmonds' Western Bulldogs.
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Tahlia Hickie (Brisbane, $847,000)
Some were predicting a breakout for Hickie in 2023, but that never came to pass. Hickie is extremely athletic and has the ability to play like a midfielder when the ball hits the ground. If Hickie is able to show some increased ability to accumulate disposals in the Lions' pre-season matches against Gold Coast (against veteran Lauren Bella) and Richmond (Gabby Seymour, Poppy Kelly and Montana McKinnon), 2024 might be the year to pick her.
Lucy Wales (Hawthorn, $840,000)
Wales spent much of last season playing with veteran Tamara Luke as a fairly prominent second ruck, meaning that she wasn't able to score as well as twin sister, Steph Wales (Essendon, $943,000), who rucked solo for the Bombers for an average of 72. Luke has since retired, so it stands to reason that Lucy should be able to score more with the extra time as solo ruck.
Top three rucks
- Ally Morphett
- Alice Edmonds
- Mim Strom
I am going to be shocked if Morphett isn't the highest averaging ruck again in 2024. The experienced players will notice the conspicuous absence of Breanne Moody (Carlton, $1,083,000), who has been a top-two scoring ruck for the last three seasons. However, with her younger sister Celine Moody (Carlton, $437,000) joining the Blues to add to an already crowded ruck group of Breanne and Jess Good (Carlton, $919,000), I don’t feel confident that Breanne can repeat her dominance and may drop her scoring on account of increased forward time.
We need to talk about Richmond
For many seasons, Gabby Seymour (Richmond, $853,000) has defied her comparatively diminutive stature to be among the competition's best rucks and an elite Fantasy scorer. However, there has long been talk that Richmond would love to see Seymour spend more time playing as a defender, and this off-season, the Tigers traded for the talented but underutilised ex-Crow Montana McKinnon (Richmond, $662,000), who is a great Fantasy scorer on a points per minute (ppm) basis. Currently, the answer to the question 'Who will lead the ruck line at Punt Rd?' remains a mystery. Richmond starts the season with the best run for ruck match-ups, meaning finding out what the ruck balance will be for 2024 is one of this pre-season's top priorities!
Mid-priced madness
Jess Allan (Adelaide, $693,000)
On the topic of McKinnon, her departure from the Crows should free up Allan to score better as a sole ruck. The difference in Allan's averages with McKinnon in the side (48.9) and without her (72.3) is pretty telling, and a clear indication that Allan has substantial potential value.
Sarah Lakay (West Coast, $686,000)
Lakay has been a good scorer on a ppm basis the last two seasons but hasn't been able to lock down the No.1 ruck spot after the Eagles drafted Lauren Wakfer in 2022, or stay healthy. After missing most of 2023, Lakay is priced at only 53, a discount on her 63.5 average last year. Word on the street is that Lakay is looking very good on the training track, so she'll remain in contention for starting sides based on her pre-season performances.
Fleur Davies (Greater Western Sydney, $517,000)
Seen by many pundits as the best ruck in her draft class, 2023 was Davies' first season after her start was delayed by unfortunate injuries. She was a very highly owned rookie in 2023, but thanks to a combination of low time on ground, a low possession game style at GWS, and a myriad of other rucks chopping in and out, she failed to score well. Starting Davies in your side requires a leap of faith, hoping that she will be able to both up that time on ground (with improved conditioning and the departure of Rene Caris and Teagan Germech as ruck competitors) and tap into the potential that so many saw before she was drafted.
Rookie radar
I need to give all readers a big warning, the cupboard is pretty bare for rookie rucks this year. For a large portion of the community, myself included, comfortably the most popular structure last year was starting two or three of Fleur Davies, Matilda Scholz and Erin Hoare. For good reason too, with the highly regarded draft talents of Davies and Scholz both having what appeared to be clear No.1 ruck roles, and the experienced Hoare looking to have the Geelong spot to herself. This year, however, we have no rookie rucks who fit into the 'highly regarded draft talent' OR the 'experienced vet' categories who look at all likely to see a lion's share of their team's ruck contests, so be wary that low scoring might be likely if you plan on running with a rookie ruck on field!
Lilly Pearce (Geelong, $300,000)
Geelong was already light on for ruck depth in 2023, with only two recognised rucks on their list, Erin Hoare and Liv Fuller. Since the end of the season, Hoare has retired from football, and Fuller is taking a year away from the game for work, meaning the Cats were in DESPERATE need of a ruck before the pre-season started. In stepped Pierce as a replacement player, and she appears to be on the track for the bulk of the Cats' ruck time. The 21-year-old was playing in the QAFLW before being added to the Richmond list in 2023, where she failed to feature in an AFLW game and was delisted at the end of the season. Pearce played half of the VFLW season for the Collingwood VFLW side, where she looked to be high hitout (32.8 per game average), low disposal (6.2 per game average) ruck, averaging 62 Fantasy points with a high of 92 (four disposals, 38 hitouts, 12 tackles) against the Southern Saints.
Eilish O'Dowd (Greater Western Sydney, $300,000)
The second rookie ruck option is 25-year-old ex-Gaelic footballer for Dublin, O'Dowd. Having only signed to play in February, the 180cm utility has clearly made an impression, managing to average 13 hitouts per game in the VFLW, and even garnering coaches' votes in just her third ever VFLW game. O’Dowd averaged 60 in the VFLW, with a high of 74, and was a low mark player with highly volatile disposal numbers. Given her inexperience, O'Dowd is certainly a risky starting option, but as I don't think that anyone can be sure if other rookie options will pop up, she may be necessary to start with anyhow. The GWS ruck situation is one to watch in earnest this pre-season!
Liam's rucks
As much as I am desperate to go with a super cheap ruck set up for 2024, I'm just not sure I can run with the risk with two very inexperienced and unheralded options. I am wholly on board with the idea that Alice Edmonds can get a boost in scoring with Celine Moody leaving and has an incredible run to start the season. I'll run with Pearce as my R2, as I am more confident in her role at Geelong compared to the uncertainty of O'Dowd's at GWS.
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