There are more than 300 men and women in the Australian Football Hall of Fame, and dozens of what could be loosely termed “rucks”. Of the 34 elevated to Legend status, six were ruckmen – Roy Cazaly, Jack Dyer, Merv McIntosh, John Kennedy Sr, Polly Farmer and John Nicholls.
There was a footballer running around on the weekend who is worthy of being spoken about in that company. On all the measures that matter, Max Gawn has legitimate claims as the greatest ruck in the history of the sport. He’s been the premier ruck in the competition for a decade now. In that time, his team has rebuilt, broken a curse, self-sabotaged, fallen away and spiked again. In that time, the league has implemented rule changes that have redefined the role of the ruck, and rendered several of them redundant. Every opposition coach targets him. Ken Hinkley’s Port Adelaide always sought to rough him up. Chris Scott’s Geelong seeks to circumnavigate him. Every year, there’s a new challenger to his status as the premier ruck in the country. Every year, it’s Gawn wearing the All Australian blazer.
