THE RETURN of Sean Darcy for Saturday's important clash against Gold Coast shapes as a critical step for Fremantle's dual-ruck structure as the club plots the takedown of a Suns midfield led by powerful big man Jarrod Witts. 

Coach Justin Longmuir has preached a 'horses for courses' approach with his ruck selections and has recalled Darcy after a minor knee injury, backing his two big men to get the job done together despite the excellent solo form of Luke Jackson. 

It's a bold call but a calculated one given the strength of Witts, who leads the League for average hitouts (41.3) and hitouts to advantage (11.5), with 206cm sidekick Ned Moyle also coming into the team as support for his second game this season. 

The Dockers have been hungry for more evidence this year that their two rucks can flourish in tandem, particularly given the structure has worked well for them over the past two seasons. 

But Jackson's ability to grab his opportunity as a No.1 ruck so emphatically, particularly in the past fortnight, would surely have the Dockers interrogating their options. 

The evidence across 2023-24 is clear that Fremantle's midfield performs better at the coalface when Darcy and Jackson play together, enjoying significant spikes in stoppage wins and points from clearance. 

The Dockers had the League's No.1 midfield in 2024 for clearance differential (+7.1), playing 12 games with both of their star rucks, nine with Jackson as the No.1 man, and two with Liam Reidy leading the ruck late in the season.  

Fremantle's ruck combinations 2023-24

While the Dockers' best midfield results came from the Darcy/Jackson combination last year, Jackson's performances this season as a solo ruckman have flipped the script and left the club with a different set of statistics to consider.

With Darcy injured for the first four matches after knee and ankle surgeries, and Jackson then ruled out for three games with a hamstring setback, the Dockers have been at their best when using a solo ruckman, with support from competitive key forward Pat Voss.

Jackson has thrived in wins against West Coast, Greater Western Sydney and Port Adelaide, and he was important against the Western Bulldogs before injury struck.

In his absence, Darcy had his best game against Adelaide with 36 hitouts and five clearances, giving the Dockers a 38-30 clearance advantage and a consistent scoring source.    

The problem has been the small sample size of games against St Kilda and Collingwood when Jackson and Darcy combined. The first was a horror loss and the second saw Darcy injured.

Fremantle's ruck combinations 2025

The match committee this week has clearly put more stock in the extensive dual-ruck evidence of 2023-24, rather than the small two-game sample size of 2025. 

The decision to play both against the Suns, however, has been debated because of what it means for Jackson's individual performances.  

With more opportunities to be around the ball, the young star has averaged more hitouts (33.7), hitouts to advantage (12.5), clearances (4.3) and score involvements (7.2). 

His AFL Player Ratings Points have spiked from 11.2 to 19.4 when playing as a solo ruck and his four goals have come when playing as the No.1 big man. 

The Dockers must base selection on what is best for the team rather than individuals, and they would have all the evidence to tell them why two rucks is their best option this week. 

The two big men have the opportunity to prove again that their combination can work against one of the best rucks in the game. How they perform could be significant in what approach the Dockers take after their mid-season bye.