Port Adelaide are yet another AFL club considering playing two rucks to begin the 2026 season, with the league's new rules and extra man on the bench opening the door for taller line-ups and greater positional flexibility for more dynamic big men.
Power ruck Jordon Sweet highlighted the increased push for the strategy as the battle within the ruck ranks at Alberton heats up, particularly between him and 22-year-old Dante Visentini.
While Sweet comfortably established himself as the Power's number one option in 2025, ranking fourth in the AFL for hitouts per game, his mid-season injury allowed a breakthrough from Visentini, with the pressure mounting on him to be at his best into the pre-season.
"I'd say it's a good chance [that multiple rucks will be selected]," Sweet said.
"[The internal ruck battle] is going to make us better footballers, and we're all learning from each other.
"It's really good to have the three of us out there in the park, as well as Jack Whitlock and Ollie Lord, who give us a bit of a chop out there as well.
"[Visentini] is definitely a lot stronger, which is good to see. I think he told me he's put on at least four or five kilos of muscle, so he's done a great job with his development this preseason.”
Sweet also spoke about the looming rule changes, and how particularly the last touch rule and the new ruck rules will impact the role of the AFL's big men.
He believes it could see the emergence of the use of two rucks as the AFL hopes the significant changes to the game will speed up the tempo of play.
"It's an interesting change of rules, but I do think it works well for me," Sweet said.
"I've got a good idea of how I can work with the changes; it's going to be interesting to see how it plays out.
"Two rucks is probably going to help, because we're going to be trying to get around the ground as quick as possible, with the short break between balls getting thrown up or thrown in. I think there will be a lot of difference in the speed of the game.”
Port Adelaide aren't foreign to the idea of playing multiple talls. Sweet played in three games last season with a secondary ruck; one with Ivan Soldo and two with youngster Visentini. In his pair of matches alongside Visentini, Sweet lined up as a forward in Round 15, and returned to the middle in Round 16 while Visentini took Sweet's spot deep inside forward 50.
The experiment didn't last long, with Visentini ruled out for the season after suffering a syndesmosis injury during a ruck contest 13 minutes into the Power's Round 17 clash against Brisbane. However, the pair demonstrated positive signs of working as a tandem in the small sample size, notably combining for 45 hitouts in Port Adelaide's 50-point win over Carlton in Round 16.
Ultimately, Port Adelaide's potential positional calls will be something to keep an eye on heading into the new season, first taking on Adelaide in a scratch match on February 20 before officially playing Fremantle in the Community Series on February 28.
