Bombers youngster Nick Bryan will be out to shake up selection at Essendon in 2025 as he potentially emerges as a contender for the No.1 ruck role under Brad Scott.
Bryan is entering his sixth season on the club's list, and despite coming off a five-game campaign, will be eyeing the top ruck spot this summer.
The athletic 203cm talent has been Sam Draper's understudy since first stepping foot through the Hangar doors, with Bryan often earning his senior chances in the absence of his more experienced teammates.
Under Scott's gameplan, the Bombers have worked with a two-ruck system on most occasions - with the partnership of Draper and veteran Todd Goldstein the preferred choice to start last season.
No Essendon ruckman played more than Draper's 16 matches last year however, with Goldstein eventually fading out of the selection conversation while Bryan's first appearance wouldn't come until Round 12.
Heading into 2025, Bryan looks to be pressing his case for a starting role in Scott's side early into the home and away campaign off the back of a strong pre-season, relying on his mobility and size in the middle to take the next step in his burgeoning career.
A factor in the equation that could end with Bryan as an incumbent in Scott's side is the mystery surrounding the club's tall forward stocks, with there being no certainty that either Peter Wright or Harrison Jones are starting options.
Kyle Langford will lead the attacking ensemble - likely alongside second-year forward Nate Caddy - with the third target slot either to go to Wright, Jones or the secondary ruck option if Scott looks to run with the twin setup full-time in 2025.
Bryan and Draper shared the ruck duties in the final month of last season, with the apprentice bettering Draper for hitouts as the latter spent more time as a forward - recording eight goals in his final six games to complement Langford and Caddy.
Draper has again been training forward this summer and could balance his time in attack while Bryan looks to steer the ruck work early. The young Bomber can also be swung forward, creating a threatening tandem with Draper.
Essendon's selection committee will have to weigh up and see if that mix as a greater benefit than what Wright can offer as a supporting ruckman who would spend a large majority of his game in the forward line, leaving Draper to carry on in the ruck for most of each match.
Wright's impact and consistency as a forward were more formidable as a full-time attacking asset rather than a dual-position one in 2024, with Essendon potentially needing their two-metre man to spend all of his time in the forward line if they want to get the same output from him as they did in 2022.
He could be left on the fringes of selection and instead utilised as a backup to accommodate the growth and development of Caddy, with Wright stepping in to aid the former top 10 pick's development while also allowing Draper or Bryan to find rest through the middle third of the season.
Bryan is yet to play more than eight games at the top level in a single season despite Draper's history of injury woes, with Goldstein stepping in for 14 games in his first year at Tullamarine, however was only sighted twice after Round 13.
Goldstein, who has been a valued addition in his efforts to mentor Bryan and uncapped tall Vigo Visentini, will likely be on standby for any setbacks to those ahead of him in the pecking order in what will likely be his last season in the AFL.
As he weighs up retirement, both Bryan and Draper have decisions of their own to make as they enter 2025 without contracts for the subsequent season.
With Visentini also unsigned, the Bombers enter the coming campaign with no ruckman listed for 2026, adding to the intrigue surrounding the position of their first-string option.
It's expected both Bryan and Draper would fetch interest on the open market should they remain unsigned in the second half of the season, with the latter eligible for free agency and able to exercise his rights.