A CLEAN ruck tap hitting a midfielder on their chest as they charge out of a stoppage is one of the best sights in football, but does it correlate to a strong clearance team?

And does a strong clearance team equal a winning formula? The answer in 2024 could well be no.

The two standout sides of the season so far, Geelong and Greater Western Sydney, have thrived this year despite sitting in the bottom three in the League for clearance differential.

The ladder-leading Cats (-34) are above only injury-hit Richmond (a traditionally poor clearance side at the best of times) when it comes to clearance differential this year. It's simply not a key part of the Cats' game, yet they have surged to a 7-0 start and are flag favourites in the eyes of many.

Young GWS pair Kieren Briggs (24 years old) and Tom Green (23) have created a close chemistry and are second in the AFL for gathers from hitouts so far this year. But aside from that pair, the third-placed Giants have not been a dominant clearance side overall; they sit third-last on clearance differential (-21) and have instead sourced their wins from turnover and rebound.

Fremantle (+55) and Essendon (+39) have the best clearance differentials at this point of the year, with both clubs playing two frontline rucks for much of the year. Both currently sit in the top eight (as do Port Adelaide, who sit fourth when it comes to clearance differential) but are winning games in a vastly different way to the Cats and Giants.

Clearance differential

On an individual level, Melbourne pair Max Gawn and Christian Petracca lead the AFL for gathers from hitouts, which is what Champion Data registers as a hitout to advantage.

Such is Gawn's strong connection with his midfielders, he features twice in the top 15 combinations, also linking up well with Jack Viney.

But Melbourne currently sit mid-table when it comes to total clearance differential this season, having recorded 10 fewer than their opponents over the first two months of the year.

For the most part, Adelaide has been unable to capitalise on the connection Reilly O'Brien has with both Matt Crouch and Rory Laird, with the Western Bulldogs in a similar boat with Tim English, Tom Liberatore and Marcus Bontempelli.

Gathers from hitouts

When it comes to first possession from the stoppage (regardless of who wins the hitout), it's unsurprising that Gold Coast midfield bull Matt Rowell leads the way.

The rucks of the competition aren't afraid to throw their weight around, either, with a number featuring among the top rungs as they follow up at ground level.

First possession from the stoppage doesn't always come directly from a hitout, given the sheer number of other players who can knock the ball around while attempting to take possession themselves, as well as ruck taps that don't exactly hit the mark.

Interestingly, Caleb Serong rates highly in this category, despite the more common ruck-rover combination at Fremantle so far this season being Jackson and Nat Fyfe. The lightly-built Serong is also even an outlier among the mostly big-bodied midfielders who make the cut.

There has been an uptick in rucks featuring in this category this season, with Nic Naitanui (2021) the only tall having managed to crack the top five in the previous three years.

First possession from stoppages
Matt Rowell (Gold Coast, midfielder) – 73
Caleb Serong (Fremantle, midfielder) – 70
Tristan Xerri (North Melbourne, ruck) – 68
Kieren Briggs (GWS, ruck) – 67
Elliot Yeo (West Coast, midfielder) – 62
Paddy Cripps (Carlton, midfielder) – 61
Max Gawn (Melbourne, ruck) – 61

Ruck hard-ball gets have increased slightly from an average of 2.8 to 3.2 year-on-year.

When individual players are then looked at, it's clear some are now making a marked effort to grab the ball out of the stoppage and give the quick hands or belt it forward by foot, with the stat dominated by 2024 seasons.

And yes, that's not a typo – Luke Darcy's 2002 season was definitely one out of the box, unmatched for nearly 20 years.

Average ruck hard-ball gets (first measured in 2002)
Tristan Xerri (North Melbourne, 2024) – 5.1
Marc Pittonet (Carlton, 2024) – 5.0
Max Gawn (Melbourne, 2024) – 4.7
Kieren Briggs (GWS, 2024) – 4.6
Kieren Briggs (GWS, 2023) – 4.4
Nic Naitanui (West Coast, 2021) – 4.2
Luke Darcy (Western Bulldogs, 2002) – 4.0
Toby Nankervis (Richmond, 2024) – 3.8