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Sport Nation
The two players who will set the 2025 ruck carousel in motion
Sam Edmund • May 30th, 2025 3:18 pm
The ruck carousel spins most years, as we know.
If you're going to be reborn as a player, it would probably be as a ruck.
Not only is it going to revolve this trade period, we're likely to get some big names on the carousel seats.
There's two ruckmen on either side of the country who are going to set it all in motion.
Tom De Koning here in Melbourne is increasingly likely to leave now. That's not an earth-shattering statement.
It’s gone from supreme confidence at the Blues initially that he would stay, to then hope. And now, it would be described as almost resignation that he will accept the big-money offer from St Kilda.
The longer it goes, well, we know how this movie plays out.
There's been no movement thus far over the Carlton bye period when these things generally progress. Nothing, tumbleweeds.
They could be surprised, but let's say he leaves for the Saints. Does Rowan Marshall have a decision to make?
He’s flirted with a move in the past, there's no doubt about that. He has signed until 2027, but if Tom De Koning comes in, is Marshall happy to stay?
The other point of conjecture is over in the west at Fremantle. It is now very, very unlikely that both of Luke Jackson and Sean Darcy will be at the Dockers next season.
My information is that one will go, and it's more likely to be Darcy.
Sean is signed until 2030. It was an enormous extension in that it was a six-year contract, but the money isn't enormous.
Certainly not insurmountable. Darcy's contract has a 7 in front of it. I feel like there's been a belief that he's on a lot more than that, but he's not.
By 2025, 2026 standards, it's not huge money. So, he's on somewhere between $700,000 and $800,000 a season until 2030.
Luke Jackson's family situation, which we won't elaborate on, has settled down in the last few months. He's changed managers in that time, and he's in a good spot, we're told.
As the number one ruck at Fremantle with Sean out, he found some real form, and he's steadfast in his heart of hearts that he wants to stay at Fremantle.
But that is with the belief that he's the number one ruck there. So with Darcy coming back and coming back this week, mind you, that's clearly, clearly going to be affected.
If Jackson is going to leave Fremantle, which is the less likely of the two, it will be because of the role. If he's shunted out of that ruck spot for meaningful periods of time, then I think the Dockers could have a problem on their hands.
Now, Melbourne, the Demons, would certainly love him. That's obvious, and have been active, in fact, behind the scenes on getting Luke Jackson back.
But for all the reasons we've just discussed, I really can't see how he goes back to working under Max Gawn for another couple of years, given Max is still at the peak of his powers.
So Sean Darcy, I'd be expecting Fremantle to look to trade him as the back half of this season rolls on.
And then the conversation turns, if you play along, to who takes Sean Darcy? Would it be someone like Carlton after losing Tom De Koning?
Would it be Geelong forever linked to another ruck? Rhys Stanley, punched above his weight forever and been great, but the clock is clearly ticking. Toby Conway, unfortunately, can't seem to get his body right consistently anyway.
Reilly O'Brien has pledged his future to Adelaide, but that's still to play out. Hasn't signed.
Sam Draper hasn't signed, linked to Adelaide, so there's a lot in this space with De Koning, with Marshall potentially, with O'Brien, with Jackson, with Darcy, with Draper.
