Recent incidents during the AAMI Community Series practice matches have thrown the AFL’s new ruck rules into the spotlight, with many predicting significant shifts in how centre stoppages will be contested this season. A knee injury sustained by Shannon Neale and a free kick awarded to Brodie Grundy in separate matches have fuelled debate and highlighted potential loopholes in the revamped regulations.
The AFL’s intention with the new rules is to encourage a return to the dynamic, aerial ruck contests of yesteryear. At every centre ball-up, competing rucks are now prohibited from crossing the centre line before engaging their opponent. This change aims to prevent the wrestling and congestion that had become commonplace, with the league hoping to see the return of the spectacular leap.
The Grundy Loophole and the ‘Game’s Gone’ Chorus
A particularly telling moment occurred when Sydney Swans’ All-Australian ruckman, Brodie Grundy, appeared to feign an attempt to jump against his opponent, Nick Madden, of the GWS Giants. Instead of leaping, Grundy held his ground. Madden, anticipating a jump and committed to his own, crossed the centre line and was subsequently penalised with a free kick. This manoeuvre was widely seen as a blatant exploitation of the new rule, prompting a strong reaction online. One user succinctly summed up the sentiment, declaring, “Game’s gone.”
Understanding the Ruck Rule Change
The core of the rule change revolves around the centre ball-up. Unlike the previous centre bounce, where the ball could travel in unpredictable directions, the ball-up provides umpires with more time and a clearer vantage point to assess the rucks’ positioning. The AFL maintains that this predictability is crucial for the new rule to be effectively implemented. The aim was to address concerns about predictability at centre stoppages, a criticism that had been levelled against the game for some time.
However, early pre-season games have seen a rise in technical free kicks. Reilly O’Brien, among other rucks, has expressed concern about the “greyness” of the interpretations in the early stages of the season. Historical precedent suggests that players and coaches will adapt, and the current confusion is likely a temporary phase as the league adjusts.
Concerns Over Skillset and Player Balance
Former Port Adelaide ruck, Matthew Primus, a standout of the late 1990s and early 2000s, has voiced concerns that the rule shift might unduly favour one type of player. He argues that ruck craft involves more than just jumping ability, encompassing positioning, using the arm to fend, and strategically hitting the ball. “There’s craft to your position and ruck craft isn’t just jumping the highest – you have to learn to jump into guys, use your arm to fend and hit the ball,” Primus stated. “I know they want two guys to jump in the middle of the circle, but it doesn’t always work that way.” Primus hopes for a balanced approach that doesn’t allow one player type to dominate another unfairly.
The Shannon Neale Incident and Injury Concerns
The injury to Shannon Neale, which occurred when his knee clashed with an opponent’s knee during a ruck contest, has reignited calls for ball-ups to replace centre bounces, a sentiment that has been voiced for years. This type of injury, particularly to the PCL (Posterior Cruciate Ligament), had been a concern even during Primus’s era. The AFL had previously introduced measures in 2004 to mitigate PCL injuries. Carlton’s backline coach, Ash Hansen, commented after Neale’s incident, “Hopefully, if they’re up vertical and not in, that could maybe prevent the PCL — because that’s the one we’re probably worried about.”
Umpiring Benefits and the Downside of Predictability
The transition to ball-ups also presents significant benefits for umpires. The physical toll of executing a centre bounce has, in the past, deterred some from pursuing umpiring careers or reaching higher levels, contributing to a dwindling pool of adjudicators. The ball-up offers a less physically demanding alternative.
However, the increased predictability of where the ball will go from a ball-up has, according to some, elevated the risk of contact injuries. Former Fremantle and Melbourne ruck, Jeff White, who played 268 games, expressed a preference for the unpredictability of the bounce. “I always was a fan of the bounce because it creates unpredictability for the rucks and also, you might have a set play, but the ball stops and bounces over your opponent’s head so then you just hit it forward,” White explained. “By knowing where the ball will go as a ruck it becomes even more important for them to understand their opposition and the angles to hit them at, and how do you combat them? So you’ve got to do your homework because it’s a fixed spot now. You’re removing a layer of unpredictability.”
The Unanticipated Immediacy of the Rule Change
One significant concern raised about the ruck rule change is its unanticipated immediacy. By rewarding players who jump, the rule fundamentally alters the skillset required of rucks. This raises questions about how clubs that have invested heavily in developing specific ruck profiles might be affected. Would clubs have committed to long-term contracts with players like Sean Darcy if they had anticipated a rule change that could nullify his primary strengths? Similarly, clubs that drafted young rucks with the expectation of an increasingly combative position might now face a different landscape.
Rucks typically require a longer development period than other positions, necessitating significant foresight from clubs. The argument is that shifting the goalposts so dramatically at the eleventh hour is unfair.
The Rise of the Serviceable Ruck?
Proponents of the rule change point to recent premiership teams as evidence that the importance of dominant ruck craft may be diminishing. Players like Oscar McInerney, Darcy Fort, and Rhys Stanley, while dedicated competitors, may not be remembered as the generation’s elite rucks. Brisbane and Geelong, the dominant teams of the early 2020s, have showcased the ability to succeed with midfield groups that can thrive with merely serviceable rucks. This trend has encouraged clubs to emulate the model of Geelong’s Chris Scott, who has built a remarkably consistent team over 15 years without a standout ruckman.
The Future of Ruck Craft and Strategic Play
Advocates for the traditional ruck game, such as Jeff White, express concern about the future of the position without intervention. He recalls the excitement of watching Nic Naitanui in his prime, a spectacle driven by his dynamic leap at centre bounces. White notes a significant decline in rucks jumping at centre stoppages, from 63% two years ago to just 21% in 2025, with players opting to wrestle instead, leading to increased congestion.
White believes a dominant ruck can still put opponents on the back foot and create unpredictability. He anticipates that players who excel at bursting from the centre, like Nick Daicos, Marcus Bontempelli, Ed Richards, and Hayden Young, will become even more influential. He also highlights the potential for increased strategic play, with decoys and blocks becoming more prominent. “I love that the AFL has brought this back rather than six midfielders going to a spot in a small area. It makes players more proactive and on the run so they can attack opposition on the ruck,” White commented.
The rule change is expected to reward teams that can secure first possession, with a greater variety of hit zones potentially opening up centre stoppages and creating more space for players to launch attacks. Last year, Carlton, North Melbourne, Gold Coast, and Brisbane led in first possession rates, while the Western Bulldogs, Suns, Lions, and Adelaide excelled in first possession to clearance percentages.
Coaching Adaptations and Strategic Adjustments
Primus, now coaching the VFL side Southport, which boasts a dominant ruck in Brayden Crossley, acknowledges that the rule change will influence coaching strategies. “It depends on your ruck. If you have rucks that can only hit it in a certain area because of the new rules, that will change how you setup,” he said. Primus believes that coaches will observe the first few weeks of umpiring closely before making adjustments. He is not convinced it will inherently make the game more exciting but acknowledges that clubs will need to find new ways to gain an advantage.
Max Gawn and the Rule’s Impact
Jeff White believes that veteran ruckman Max Gawn will remain a dominant force, not only due to the ruck rule changes but also the ‘lasso’ rule, which he feels will reward Gawn’s strong off-ball running. While these plays might be infrequent, their potential speed and impact could encourage rucks to deny opponents goal-side positioning.
However, Gawn himself has been a critic of the rule change, echoing Primus’s sentiment that it is an overcorrection that potentially undermines ruck craft and is too heavily skewed towards a specific player type. “I agree wrestling is not the best look, but AFL is famously a game that caters for all shapes and sizes,” Gawn stated. “If we just say we don’t want wrestlers and we only want people who can jump, I feel like that doesn’t cater for all shapes and sizes.” Gawn expressed hope for further refinement of the rule, suggesting that the league was already self-correcting towards the end of the previous season.
Draft Patterns and the Unattractive Ruck Prospect
Draft patterns reveal a clear trend of clubs prioritising other positions over rucks. In 2026, only three of the top 30 picks were allocated to rucks: Brodie Grundy, Tim English, and Tom De Koning. Last year’s National Draft saw virtually no rucks selected. While players like Cooper Duff-Tytler, Zac McCarthy, and Louis Emmett played ruck in the talent pathways, their long-term prospects at the top level remain uncertain. Even highly-rated talents like U18s All-Australian ruck Sam Ainsworth and AFL Academy member Taj Murray received only modest draft interest.
The reluctance of clubs to draft teenage rucks is not a new phenomenon, exacerbated by the reintroduction of the Mid-Season Draft in 2019. This allows clubs to gather more data on younger players before committing. However, clubs are increasingly favouring mature-aged rucks, viewing the development of a young ruck as a less appealing investment. The argument is that the resources and time required to develop a ruck player for the most “unglamorous” position are often not deemed worthwhile, akin to prioritising a laundry renovation over the main living space.
The Athletic Ruck Advantage and Creative Tapping
Rucks expected to benefit significantly from the new rules include Tom De Koning, Ned Moyle, Lachie Blakiston, and Lachie McAndrew. Their athleticism will be a key advantage, but equally important will be their ability to direct taps to various parts of the stoppage. With the predictability of the ball-up, creative tapping will become even more crucial, rewarding rucks who can vary their hit zones.
White elaborates, “The athletic rucks have gone from being not in a position to use creativity in the last couple of years to having an advantage in the air by having different taps through the strength of their wrists and forearms to push the ball in different spots. If you can hit it to 2 O’Clock, work on hitting it to 6 O’Clock or 10 O’Clock. Once clubs see you push it here and there, they will start doing things to nullify that.”
Conversely, players like Reilly O’Brien, Jarrod Witts, Toby Nankervis, Tristan Xerri, and Sean Darcy are anticipated to face greater challenges. White suggests that these rucks can still remain competitive by focusing on jumping across the line rather than directly over an opponent. “Non-athletic rucks who don’t feel like they can jump over an opponent need to jump across the line,” White advised. “When I was playing, it was the ones who wouldn’t try to out-jump me, but they could jump across the line, get me on different lines and try to jump through me that would be most difficult.” He reiterates the need for rucks to do their homework and understand their strengths and weaknesses, which will lead to more varied hit-zones and exciting set plays from the centre square.
Rekindling the Spectacle
Ned Moyle, widely considered one of the best rucks not consistently playing senior football, believes the rule change will help rekindle the excitement of the centre stoppage. “Overall I think the rules are a good change, you lost a bit of that fun of the big jump in the middle and I think that’s a good spectacle for the game so it’s good to have that,” Moyle told Zero Hanger. He recalls a time when centre bounces were more focused on jumping, timing, and contact, a dynamic that had diminished in recent years due to players being able to cross the line early. Moyle believes the new rules will bring back good ruck craft and the “big clash in the middle” that fans appreciate, rather than the wrestling that occurs elsewhere on the field.
The question remains: if this “big clash” increases injury risks and potentially compromises the fundamental essence of ruck contests, is the spectacle worth the potential cost?
