Star West Coast Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui believes recent changes to the third man up rule has revolutionised the way in which the position is played. Ahead of the 2017 season, players were banned from interfering with any ruck contest, allowing the two competing ruckman more time to win the ball at a stoppage.
Naitauni, who this week turned 30, admits he now feels he’s got more freedom to “do what we want” around ruck contests.
“During my time being on and off (through injury), there’s been a few rules changes,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“Dean Cox actually called me a couple of weeks ago was getting into me saying he would’ve played a lot more footy if there was no third man up.
“What teams used to do - especially if you played two ruckman – you’d jump into blokes and (someone else) would come over the top which someone wrestles.
“We’ve got a bit more leverage to do what we want and I reckon ruckman are becoming a bit more athletic and there’s not as much physical and wrestling each other around like the Brendon Lade’s and Dean Cox’s used to do back in the day.
West Coast have plenty of ruck options, including the likes of Nathan Vardy and Tom Hickey who coach Adam Simpson has used to complement Naitanui’s ability to win the ball out of the centre.
Naitauni believes that the modern game means clubs can’t afford to play multiple ruckman in the one team without the ability for them to drift forward and provide a credible marking target.
“I don’t think too many ruckman will be playing in the one team (together),” Naitanui said.
“You would’ve be playing too many talls because of the nature of the game – it’s a lot shorter now and unless you can go forward and kick goals and have a presence and justify your spot over a tall forward then a lot of teams will probably go with a singular ruckman.
“We’ve traditionally gone with two (ruckman) but as long as you can play elsewhere as well, we’ll probably stick with that format.
The season shutdown would’ve hit Naitanui hard, who is only just returning from injury after playing just five games in 2019.
The much-loved Eagles ruckman has missed large chunks of footy over the last four years but remains as determined as ever to make his mark when the season does resume in the coming weeks.