GEELONG coach Chris Scott once said that the problem with kicking goals against West Coast was the fact that powerful ruckman Nic Naitanui would be waiting for the Cats at the next centre bounce.
Coaches haven’t expressed that same sentiment about Fremantle superstar Luke Jackson yet, but it is clear that the damaging Docker is quickly becoming a coaches’ nightmare as a high impact ruckman in the same way that Naitanui was in his prime.
Jackson produced arguably the best centre-square performance of any big man in 2026 with his ruck work against Carlton and ground-level follow-up leading to the Dockers’ best scoreboard return from centre clearances since 2019.
The Dockers booted a massive 5.1 from the source, with Jackson putting his own exclamation point on the performance with two thrilling goals on the run out of centre clearances.
Already established as a star of the competition, the 24-year-old is getting even better with more ruck time and cementing himself as a top-10 player and arguably the game’s in-form ruckman.
For Fremantle ruck coach and former Sydney and Richmond big man Sam Naismith, the hard work Jackson put in over the summer while training as a midfielder is starting to pay off.
“His running capacity improved by running with the midfielders and not being stuck with the taller guys, so he started running really well and flying across the ground,” Naismith told AFL.com.au this week.
“But also with his strength, he’s a little bit heavier than what he was last year and he’s been able to carry that weight and still be explosive and springy and agile with his footwork, so that’s been huge.
“I think that the gym program that we’ve got at the footy club has been suited to him hitting PBs and feeling good. He’s been growing and he’s going really well.”
Key forward Jye Amiss was an important teammate for Jackson over the off-season, with the pair organising to do a lot of gym and running work together, while also increasing their focus on recovery with regular ice bath and sauna sessions.
Both have clearly built into the season and laid the platform for big campaigns, with Amiss booting 16.8 across his past five games and dominating the recent Western Derby with a club-record nine marks inside 50.
For Jackson, a settled role in the ruck has seen him climb to No.9 in Champion Data’s AFL Player Ratings this year, up from No.11 last year and No.47 across 2023-24.
He has been part of the Dockers’ most successful centre-square combination for scores this year, alongside Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong and Murphy Reid, with the Dockers scoring from 33 per cent of ball-ups when that combination is used.
Darcy’s absence has contributed to the extended time that Jackson is spending in the ruck, with the big man playing career-high ruck minutes and then rotating forward for short bursts in recent weeks.
While Jackson’s ruck minutes are up this season and he is proving capable of carrying the demanding role for longer, his overall game time is slightly down with five players on the bench.
Coach Justin Longmuir this week said he was being mindful not to over-work one of his most important players.
“You saw him in the last quarter being able to follow up at ground level and bring that energy, and largely that’s because he gets a bit more of a rest during the game,” Longmuir said.
“If we treated him like some of the bigger ruckmen who are more bullocking types and use their strength, well then you probably don’t have that follow-up late in the game, and we certainly want that follow-up in round 24 and onwards.
“So we’ve got to think of ways to manage his game time in the ruck to some degree so that we don’t wear him out.”
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