FREMANTLE giant Aaron Sandilands hopes the AFL sticks by its decision to ban the 'third man up' ruck rule, saying it has created a better spectacle for the sport.

A number of current and former players have criticised the rule change, saying it causes more confusion at ruck contests.

Under the new rule, only one ruckman from each side can nominate to compete at a ruck contest, meaning no other players can jump over the top to compete for the tap.

But it hasn't been smooth sailing so far this year.

Adelaide's Dean Gore was penalised after being struck on the back by the ball after a boundary throw-in fell short of the two competing ruckmen.

And there have been other occasions where only one of the teams have nominated a ruckman for a contest, giving that nominated ruckman an uncontested hit-out.

But Sandilands has given the rule change a big thumbs up, and hopes it's here to stay.

The AFL is set to fully assess how the rule change worked at the end of the season.

"I just like the fact you can see two genuine ruckmen competing one-on-one, and I think that's been a positive for the game," Sandilands said on Monday.

"No one else can have an influence on the contest.

"It's a pretty good spectacle of the game."

The new rule has helped favour players like Sandilands, who at 211cm and 118kg is hard to budge at ruck contests.

Sandilands has averaged 46.8 hit-outs per game this season, with his hot form helping catapult Fremantle back into finals contention.

The 34-year-old will notch his 250-game milestone in Saturday night's clash with West Coast, and it appears increasingly likely Sandilands will play on for at least another year.

"I would have been happy to play one game, let alone 250," Sandilands said.

"It will be something I look back on in years to come.

"I've had a lot of support along the way from family and friends, and people from the footy club."