Ruckman (Australian rules football position)
Encyclopedia
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
, a ruckman is typically a tall and athletic player who contests at centre bounces and stoppages (such as boundary throw-ins and ball-ups). The ruckman is one of the most important players on the field. They are often key to coaching strategy and winning centre clearances which result in the most goal kicking opportunities (inside 50s).
The role of the ruckman in Australian Rules is similar to a lock in rugby union contesting a line-out
Line-out
A line-out is the means by which, in rugby union, the ball is put back into play after it has gone into touch. It is the equivalent of the throw-in in soccer. Rugby league abolished line-outs in 1897...
. The key differences are that with the exception of boundary throw-ins, the ball is almost always thrown straight up high into the air rather than horizontally, so in this respect, the ruckman is similar to a basketball centre
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
. The ruckman needs to be able to control the ball by palm tap or fist with outstretched arms. Unlike rugby, the ruckman must rely on his vertical leap and is not assisted by teammates and Australian football rucking often involves vigorous mid-air collisions with the opposing ruckman.
With no offside or knock on rules, the ruckman can tap the ball in any direction. Before a bounce down or ball up, ruckmen confer with the onballers (rovers and ruck-rovers) to pre-determine the direction of the tap so that they can position themselves to best receive it to the team's advantage.
The ruckman is typically the tallest player on either team. A typical professional Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
ruckman is over 200cm or 6'7.
When a ruckman successfully beats his opponent by contacting the ball, it is called a hit out and measured as a statistic and performance indicator of effective ruckwork. Although the ruckman is the primary player to score hit-outs, sometimes tall key position players fill in for the ruckman around the ground if the ruckman cannot run the make the contest in time.
Rucking is one of the most physically demanding positions on the ground, both in terms of fitness and body contact. As a result of the high level of physical contact of clashing with opponents in the air, many ruckmen have large physiques or bulk up to prevent injury. As well, due to the use of knees when jumping, many ruckmen wear protective thigh and shin padding, whereas players in other positions rarely do. Coaches often field more than one ruckman and rotate them due to the physical pressure of the position and the endurance of having to run to ruck contests around the ground.
Ruck Styles
A tap ruckman (or palm ruckman) is the most skillful and high jumping of styles. Players using this style will deftly palm the ball directly down to the advantage of a smaller teammate or rover, often making their hitouts the most effective. WAFL
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
and VFL great Polly Farmer is considered to be one of the best all-time ruckmen of this style. The AFL's Aaron Sandilands
Aaron Sandilands
Aaron Sandilands is an Australian rules footballer. At 211 cm tall and weighing 122 kg , he is the heaviest and equal tallest player in the history of the game...
is a good current example.
A mobile ruckman (or mobile bigman) often describes a ruckman that covers a lot of ground. Sometime this type of ruckman is not as tall, as big, or effective at hit outs, but may possess a high leap and a greater athletic endurance. Against less mobile ruckman, this type of player can compensate with an ability to take more marks around the ground. VFL/AFL player John Barnes
John Barnes (Australian rules footballer)
John Barnes is a retired Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.-Playing career:Barnes' VFL/AFL career included two State of Origin games for Victoria.-Early career – from Essendon to Geelong:...
pioneered this style in the late 1980s. The AFL's Drew Petrie
Drew Petrie
Drew Petrie is an Australian rules footballer for the North Melbourne Football Club. Since debuting in 2001 he has played over 100 games for the club. He has played in a variety of roles for the Kangaroos including centre half-forward, defence and ruck...
and Dean Cox are good current examples.
A thump ruckman practices a more physical style of rucking. Typically, the player is of a larger and/or taller build and uses brute force (and a style often referred to as crash and bash) to take their opponent out of the contest and punch the ball forward, typically going for distance and penetration into their attacking zone. These players are typically slower around the ground, and sometimes referred to as dinosaurs and sometimes criticised for a lack of skill around the ground. This type of ruckwork is rarer in the modern game, more so at its highest level. As a result of trends in umpiring decisions, these ruckmen are more frequently penalised for rough play, and tend to give away more free kicks to their opposition. The physical style can often wear down or even injure their opponents during a game, creating a greater advantage, though the style can also make them more susceptible to long term injuries themselves. A well timed thump can sometimes gain as much distance as a kick, so their hitouts can be highly effective, although more often results in a contest at ground level than always to the advantage of a teammate. Also their hitouts also tend to get negated by mobile rucking opponents who are more dominant around the ground. However some players still use this style well. In the AFL, Dean Brogan
Dean Brogan
Dean Scott Brogan is a ruckman in the Australian Football League . He was also a former basketballer with the Adelaide 36ers.-Adelaide 36ers career :...
, Ivan Maric
Ivan Maric
Ivan Maric is an Australian rules football player of Croatian descent in the Australian Football League and was the number 20 of the Adelaide Crows Football Club. He currently plays for the Richmond Football Club.- Early career :...
and Jamie Charman
Jamie Charman
Jamie Charman is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League.-Overview:He was recruited as the number 29 draft pick in the 2000 AFL Draft from Northern Eagles in Queensland...
are such ruckmen.
Attacking Strategies
During kick-ins the ruckman can sometimes be a designated target. With extra height it is difficult for opposition players to take marks against them and they are an easier target to spot in a cluster.
In a contested situation, the ruckman may be instructed to bring the ball to ground, so that the smaller rovers or crumbers on their team know to attack the ball from front and square position to gain possession.
Ruckmen are sometimes dropped into the goal square during an attack on goals from outside scoring distance. This way they become a tall marking target if a player decides to bomb a kick into the goal square. The term resting ruckman is used when a ruckman is played in the forward line between stints in the ruck. As the ruck requires almost constant running, resting in the forward line gives the ruckman much needed breaks and with their heights they do not need to run or lead as much into space to contest marks when the ball does reach the forward line.
Defensive Strategies
Some coaches instruct ruckmen to drop back into the hole, which effectively is the open space in which a full-forwardFull-forward
Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals.Leading full-forwards of the Australian Football League are usually among those awarded with the Coleman Medal for the most goals in an AFL season....
might lead. This way the tall player can cut off a low pass designed to hit a full-forward. Standing in the road of a large forward leading out at full speed requires a lot of courage.
Ruckmen will sometimes be designated to stand the mark when an opposition takes a kick on goal. The extra height of the ruckman means that the player has to kick higher, meaning more chance of missing, dropping short or even the possibility of actually kicking into the man on the mark (called a smother).
When an opposition player is having a set shot at goal, particularly from a long distance or on an acute angle, the ruckman may be instructed to run all the way to the goal square to protect it, temporarily playing a similar role to a goalkeeper
Goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, a goalkeeper is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by intercepting shots at goal...
in soccer or gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
. Despite no height limit for the goal, the ball will always have a curved trajectory
Trajectory
A trajectory is the path that a moving object follows through space as a function of time. The object might be a projectile or a satellite, for example. It thus includes the meaning of orbit—the path of a planet, an asteroid or a comet as it travels around a central mass...
and many kicks tend to drop short. Being the tallest player, it gives the ruckman the best opportunity of any player to touch the ball before it goes through the goal posts and create an obstacle in area of goal to kick through. This can result in a behind instead of a goal and save 5 points, or can remain in the field of play with no score.
Ruck Rules
In 2004, a new centre circle rule was introduced to reduce the ruckman's run-up. The aim was to decrease the knee clashes and Posterior Cruciate LigamentPosterior cruciate ligament
The posterior cruciate ligament is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It connects the posterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the medial condyle of the femur...
injuries experienced by many ruckmen. The new rules favour taller players and those with vertical leap, and many mobile ruckman now find it difficult to contest.
During the 2008 AFL season
2008 AFL season
-Round 1 :-Round 2:-Round 3 :-Round 4:-Round 5:-Round 6 :-Round 7:-AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match:-Round 8:...
, the AFL introduced an additional two boundary umpires which many labelled the "quick throw-in" rule. Designed to make the game faster and more attractive for television viewers, this new rule had the unintended effect of many professional ruckmen no longer being able to contest boundary throw-ins.
Modern Ruckmen
Examples of modern day ruckmen in the Australian Football League include Michael GardinerMichael Gardiner
Michael S. Gardiner is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. He played for the West Coast Eagles from 1997–2006 and the St Kilda Football Club from 2007–2011.- Early life :...
, Dean Cox, David Hille
David Hille
David Hille is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.He debuted in 2001 with the Essendon Football Club and has been a solid ruckman for a number of years....
, David Hale
David Hale (footballer)
David Hale is an Australian rules footballer currently playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League...
, Josh Fraser
Josh Fraser
Josh Fraser is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League and formerly of the Collingwood Football Club....
, Darren Jolly
Darren Jolly
Darren Jolly is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League . Jolly has previously played for Melbourne, the Sydney Swans...
and Brad Ottens
Brad Ottens
Brad "Otto" Ottens is a former Australian rules footballer for the Geelong Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Richmond: 1998–2004:...
.
Aaron Sandilands
Aaron Sandilands
Aaron Sandilands is an Australian rules footballer. At 211 cm tall and weighing 122 kg , he is the heaviest and equal tallest player in the history of the game...
is the tallest current AFL ruckman and is considered to be the most dominant ruckman in the game. Standing at 2.11m (6 ft 11 in), he is also the equal tallest (along with Peter Street
Peter Street
Peter Street is a former professional Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.At 211 cm he is the equal tallest player in the history of the VFL/AFL ....
) in AFL history.