THE POTENTIAL landing place for the most talented ruck in next week's Telstra AFL Draft holds a significant element of intrigue.

There is little doubt about Harry Van Hattum's talent; the Vic Metro and Northern Knights ruck showcased his athleticism throughout the year, working as an extra midfielder at times to be the best ruck prospect in the 2026 pool by some margin, ranked No.7 in Cal Twomey's recent Phantom Form Guide.

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The debate is not centred around Van Hattum's talent, but rather whether clubs will be willing to invest a high pick in a ruck having been traditionally reluctant to do so.

The predicted No.1 rucks in the competition for each team in 2027 – via AFL.com.au's best 23s – show clubs have found other ways to secure their leading big men.

Only five of the 18 leading AFL rucks arrived at their current clubs via the draft; Max Gawn at Melbourne, Tim English at the Western Bulldogs, Tristan Xerri at North Melbourne, Bailey Williams at West Coast and Nick Bryan at Essendon.

And the highest pick of those five was English, selected by the Bulldogs with pick No.19 in 2016.

Most clubs have landed their No.1 ruck through trades, with eight of the 18 coming via that mechanism.

Luke Jackson was the No.3 pick in 2019, selected by Melbourne and winning a premiership with the Demons before being traded to Fremantle at the end of 2022.

While Van Hattum is already 205cm tall, Jackson – often dubbed the game's true 'unicorn' – stands at 199cm.

Since 2000, 29 players standing at 199cm or taller have been drafted in the top 10, but many of those were highly rated key-position players.

Of those 29, only eight have played at least 50 AFL games and averaged 10 or more hitouts per game in their career; David Hale (pick No.7, 2001), Hamish McIntosh (pick No.9, 2002), Matthew Leunberger (pick No.4, 2006), Matthew Kreuzer (pick No.1, 2007), Ben McEvoy (pick No.9, 2007), Nic Naitanui (pick No.2, 2008), Billy Longer (pick No.8, 2011) and Jackson.

It is likely too early to tell if Gold Coast's Ethan Read (pick No.9, 2023) or West Coast's Cooper Duff-Tytler (pick No.4, 2025) end up playing more ruck minutes as their careers progress.

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More recently, the likes of Mac Andrew (pick No.5, 2021) and Riley Thilthorpe (pick No.2, 2020) were looked at as potential rucks during their draft years, but have settled predominantly in other positions at AFL level.

This recent history highlights just how rare it has been for rucks to be taken so high in the draft. However, the game is ever-changing, with another layer of importance placed on centre clearances in recent years, particularly after the removal of the centre bounce and introduction of the 6-6-6 rule.

It means plenty of eyes will be on just when the ultra-talented Van Hattum gets picked next week, and how he'll shape his new club's ruck stocks.

Every club's No.1 ruck for 2027 – and how they arrived

Adelaide: Lachlan McAndrew (pre-season supplemental selection period)
Brisbane: Sam Draper (unrestricted free agent)
Carlton: Marc Pittonet (trade, first drafted at pick No.50*)
Collingwood: Darcy Cameron (trade, first drafted at pick No.48*)
Essendon: Nick Bryan (pick No.38)
Fremantle: Luke Jackson (trade, first drafted at pick No.3*)
Geelong: Rowan Marshall (trade)
Gold Coast: Ned Moyle (Mid-Season Rookie Draft)
Greater Western Sydney: Nick Madden (Category B rookie)
Hawthorn: Lloyd Meek (trade, first drafted at pick No.69)
Melbourne: Max Gawn (pick No.34)
North Melbourne: Tristan Xerri (pick No.72)
Port Adelaide: Jordon Sweet (trade)
Richmond: Toby Nankervis (trade, first drafted at pick No.35*)
St Kilda: Tom De Koning (restricted free agent, first drafted at pick No.30*)
Sydney: Brodie Grundy (trade, first drafted at pick No.18*)
West Coast: Bailey Williams (pick No.35)
Western Bulldogs: Tim English (pick No.19)

*included for national draftees only