It’s not exactly original material. The 'big boys' of the competition have been copping it unmercifully for years. Getting stuck into ruckmen is the equivalent of telling a ‘blonde’ joke. It’s kind of funny, but let’s be honest, we can do better than that.
It hasn’t always been easy defending the big men. The lumbering two metre-plus dinosaur, who couldn’t kick the ball or play any meaningful part on the ground, aside from winning the occasional hit-out, has survived in the game for a lot longer than many expected.
Besides the fact that a few generations of ruckmen built careers on floating across half-back without an opponent, there are good reasons for this.
Take a close look at the top-eight sides in 2011 after eight rounds- the numbers alone suggest that quality ruckmen are playing a more vital role in the game than ever.
Darren Jolly’s recruitment to Collingwood was a vital factor in the Pies' premiership success last year. In the four games that he has played this year, Collingwood outscored their opposition in the clearances by a massive 76. In the three games in which Cameron Wood assumed the number-one role, the Pies only enjoyed a differential of six.
Brad Ottens' big presence around the stoppages on Friday night consistently gave the Cats first use of the ball, and he played a critical part in Collingwood’s first loss the year.
I still have a question mark over Cameron Wood and his ability to compete against the elite big men. But compete is exactly what Leigh Brown does in his pinch-hitting role for the Pies.
He is aggressive enough at stoppages to give bigger opponents something to think about and capable enough as a forward to make ruckmen very nervous when the ball hits the ground.
Adam Goodes won the Brownlow Medal in 2003, playing as an unbelievably mobile ruckman. Matching up against him that year was a daunting prospect. Most of us tried to use our height and weight advantage to intimidate him at the centre bounce in the hope of dominating the clearance.
Whilst getting your hand on the ball first wasn’t a huge problem, the headache followed shortly with trying to run with a midfielder whose aerobic ability is on par with Chris Judd’s.
A knee injury at the centre bounce saw Paul Roos declare that he would never use him in that role again. I have always felt the rewards would have outweighed the risks, particularly in the centre circle. How nervous do you think Damien Hardwick would be watching Angus Graham go head to head with Goodes?
Jarryd Roughead, with 20 disposals, six tackles and 13 contested possessions last week, confirmed my belief that he is a natural ruckman. He is a fantastic competitor who would benefit enormously from more time around the football.
It would be possible to get 40-plus goals out of 'Big Rough' in a 60-40 ruck-forward role and still have all the advantages of an athletic big man who, I feel, has the ability to be an All-Australian ruckman.
Ask Brent Moloney if he is enjoying Mark Jamar’s evolution into one of the game’s gun big men. Jamar has directly provided him with a competition-leading 26 clearances so far this year. Jamar missed his first game for the year last week, which coincided with Moloney’s numbers dropping from an average of 26 disposals and eight clearances to 16 disposals and five clearances.
Dean Cox has clearly been the best ruckman of the last decade. He must love sharing the role with Nic Naitanui, who had a lazy 10 tackles in West Coast’s win over Freo last week. An increasingly in-form Cox, working in tandem with the young gun, has become a massive part of the Eagles’ resurgence.
The substitute rule hasn’t been the death of the second ruckman, as many predicted. Essendon is sitting third on the ladder and consistently playing three big men in David Hille, Paddy Ryder and Tom Bellchambers.
Carlton is also benefitting enormously from Robbie Warnock’s improved output. He ranks sixth for contested possessions, fourth for hard-ball gets and fourth for clearances for the Blues this year.
Maybe I’m still scarred from Tony Liberatore calling me ‘Bambi’ when I first arrived at the club - on the grounds of me falling over so much. I will concede that we ruckmen may not always be the most graceful players on the field, but as this year is proving, when you get a good big man, he’s worth his weight in gold.
The opinions expressed in this article are that of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or the clubs
