The role of the ruckmen has continued to evolve over the past decade, with the need to be more than just a dominant hitout player now demanded.
The 2025 season saw a range of different ruck archetypes take centre stage in the middle of the field, with some household names, and others entering career-best form, both catching the eye.
In the final part of our positional rankings for 2025, we name and rank the top 10 ruckmen of the year.
SEE ALSO:
THE TOP 10 DEFENDERS OF 2025
THE TOP 10 MIDFIELDERS OF 2025
THE TOP 10 FORWARDS OF 2025
10Tim English
The Western Bulldogs big man sneaks into our top 10 after another strong season at the Kennel.
English’s ruck metrics pale in comparison to others on this list, but his intangibles as a tall who covers the ground nicely don’t go unnoticed.
That work rate led to 13 goals for the Dogs this year, which is the second most for any ruckman in the competition, and first in the league for uncontested possessions.
English’s aerial dominance was also on show, with his 6.1 marks per game seeing him top the list among rucks this year too.