Carlton is a significantly better clearance team when Marc Pittonet is in the ruck, as opposed to Tom De Koning.
The Blues have struggled to work out their best balance between the pair, with Pittonet the preferred number one ruck, but with De Koning needing development and offering more around the ground.
Neither excel as forwards, meaning Carlton has to commit to two pure ruckmen, or go with the much smaller Jack Silvagni as the backup.
Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne has revealed that the difference between the pair in the ruck is one of the biggest on record between two ruckmen at the same club in recent memory.
“It’s an interesting debate for the Blues with what they do with the two rucks. When Marc Pittonet attends a ruck contest, Carlton wins the clearance seven per cent more than their opposition – a really good return,” Hoyne told SEN’s Sportsday.
“When Tom De Koning attends a ruck contest, they lose the clearance seven per cent more often than their opposition.
“That’s a gap of 14 per cent between the two rucks and the second biggest gap on the record between one ruck to the second ruck within a club over our time.
“Pittonet getting that four-year contract raised a few eyebrows, but having a look at this you can understand why – and then what they do with De Koning will be interesting because his ruck returns this year have been quite disappointing based off that.”
Pittonet ranks fifth in the AFL for hit-outs to advantage (10.2 per game) and number one among pure rucks for hit-out-to-advantage percentage (36.5 per cent).
De Koning averages 5.4 hit-outs to advantage per game at 30.4 per cent per hit-out.
Carlton will likely play both once again when they take on Hawthorn this Sunday afternoon.