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April 30, 2026 \u2014 5:30am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Oscar Steene was in his hometown of Adelaide when he heard the AFL had changed the ruck rules.<\/p>\n He\u2019d made strong progress in 2025, his third season with the Magpies, playing 18 VFL games after a dislocated toe had restricted him to just one VFL match the previous year after 18 VFL matches in 2023.<\/p>\n Mason Cox\u2019s delisting vaulted Steene forward as the Magpies\u2019 back-up ruckman to best-and-fairest winner Darcy Cameron.<\/p>\n The dream of playing AFL, which had slowly moved closer to reality for Steene, suddenly accelerated when the AFL abolished the centre bounce and introduced a line at centre ball-ups; changes that favoured spring-heeled rucks.<\/p>\n \u201cI definitely liked the [new rules]. I think jumping is a strength of mine, and I could see the rules were trying to bring the jump back into the ruck,\u201d Steene said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not only the rules which have, as Steene says, put the jump back into the ruck.<\/p>\n The likes of Steene and Hawthorn\u2019s Ned Reeves \u2013 who he will line up against on Thursday night \u2013 have been able to thrill crowds with their high-leaping taps to midfielders on the burst. The pair tops the table when it comes to the percentage of hit-out wins at centre bounces in 2026.<\/p>\n Steene\u2019s hop and tap on debut to Nick Daicos in the opening quarter of the round three match against GWS stands alongside Reeves\u2019 right-handed palm down to Jai Newcombe late in the Easter Monday clash against Geelong as two early-season highlights.<\/p>\n Steene, a West Adelaide product who attended Adelaide High School as part of its cricket program, recorded an 83cm running vertical jump at the 2022 state combine (West Coast great Nic Naitanui was measured at 102cm on the same test in 2008) doesn\u2019t know what put springs in his heels.<\/p>\n He knows he used to try to slam dunk a ball through his older sister Charlotte\u2019s netball ring in their backyard, but beyond that, he has no explanation. Steene didn\u2019t play basketball. He didn\u2019t do high jump or athletics in any serious way, either. His sports of choice were footy and cricket, where he played as a bowler, describing his pace as more medium than quick.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI have been playing in the ruck my whole life, I have always been semi-tall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n And this year, he has been able to draw on his younger days, when umpires routinely threw the ball in the air at ball-ups.<\/p>\n \u201cAll through my juniors that was how it was done. The umpire would just throw it up in the middle, and it would always be at a consistent height,\u201d Steene said. \u201cAnd then when I started playing some senior footy, that\u2019s when they were bouncing [the ball]. The [new] rules are similar to what they were when I played juniors, which helps a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n His potential partnership with Nick Daicos \u2013 who is only eight months older than Steene \u2013 has Magpie fans salivating. On Anzac Day, Daicos ran around the centre circle feasting on Steene\u2019s taps like a chicken picking at sunflower seeds.<\/p>\n Although Thursday night will be just their fifth match together, it is the fourth season they have spent on the list training together. Steene was doing his apprenticeship in the VFL while Daicos came close to winning three Brownlow Medals.<\/p>\n Although not afraid to contribute ideas when teammates put their heads together before a centre ball-up, Steene is smart enough to listen to what Daicos, Scott Pendlebury, Jordan De Goey and co. have to offer when applying their football brains to the science of the centre clearance.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty balanced discussion. They will ask me where I think the easiest spot is for me to hit, and then they will try to work something out to get there. If we are on top and we want to keep the momentum going, we might try to go for a forward hit,\u201d Steene said. \u201cThey know what they are talking about, so they will say, \u2018no we should try this hit or that hit\u2019. It\u2019s a real privilege to play with them; it\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Although he has leapt from obscurity to Magpies fan favourite, Steene is under no illusions.<\/p>\n The mentoring, advice and competition Darcy Cameron has offered him from the moment they became training partners in the summer of 2022 has been crucial in his development.<\/p>\n \u201cAll rucks have that competitive edge to them, especially in centre bounce, as you need to be pretty aggressive. It is a pretty scary thing to do when you are running into someone else,\u201d Steene said.<\/p>\n Minimising the impact of the Hawks\u2019 ruck pair, Reeves and Lloyd Meek is his next challenge. \u201cThey are obviously two elite players so it will be a great experience to play against them,\u201d Steene said.<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/21e06c4a5f891fd447d55fa8705718e6978a47a1.jpeg\")
Oscar Steene\u2019s leap has made Collingwood fans roar in 2026Alex Coppel<\/p>\n![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/8ef305a5dfb4c5419659fa805f58f19c7bd83b32.jpeg\")
Oscar Steene is at home in the centre circle Alex Coppel<\/p>\n![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/8364cf859acbd7cad64fda76ca7f95c20ef4df7a.jpeg\")
Oscar Steene impressed in the ruck on debut against Kieren Briggs.Paul Rovere<\/p>\n![\"Zak](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777503257_989_a6ce35bae68aa3bd8e854bf93fb466a60e224c0a.jpeg\")
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