Gawn v Madden: Garry and Tim engage in the great ruck debate

Welcome to a heavyweight rumble in the ruck!

Is Melbourne’s modern marvel Max Gawn the greatest big man of the modern era, or does Essendon legend Simon Madden still wear the crown?

Demons great Garry Lyon has seen up close Gawn over the years — does 'Big Maxy' rule the roost?

Tim Watson played alongside Madden in those powerhouse Bombers teams — does the old master still reign supreme?

Tim Watson representing Simon Madden:

“378 games, 575 goals, four-time All-Australian, Norm Smith Medal back in 1985 in the Premiership destruction of the Hawthorn Football Club,” Watson told SEN Breakfast.

“The performance was described by Sam Newman with a tear running down his cheek as one of the greatest exhibitions of ruckwork in the history of the game.

“He captained the club in ’80, ’81, 20 finals games, a magnificent left foot kick. He destroyed ruckmen during that period of time.

“He was beautifully balanced, and this is the thing that’s often forgotten about Simon; one of the great competitors. A fierce, aggressive competitor. He kicked 575 goals!

“Occasionally, in this modern era, ruckmen go forward but with little impact. He always had impact. He was a prodigy of Sam Newman – he taught him how to jump early, he used great leverage in his ruck work.

“Having been a beneficiary of his ruckwork at ground level, the ball would land like a snowflake on a hot bonnet of a car! It was just a beautiful thing to grasp in your hands when it landed there.

“He was a great technician of the artistry of ruckwork.”

Garry Lyon representing Max Gawn:

“AFL football is a taxing industry,” Lyon said.

“The average career length is over five years. Playing as a ruckman ensures that the number is optimistic. Jumping into each other relentlessly, the physical demands of the game are brutal.

“Just to exist is incredible. To play senior footy regularly is incredible. To play and be the best of your club in any given year is incredible.

“To be recognised as the best ruckman in the entire country for eight of the last 10 years is simply freaking mind blowing and will never be repeated in our lifetime!

“It’s an achievement that recognises brilliance and longevity, a testament to outrageous physical capability and greater mental resilience. This achievement has never, never, in the history of our great game, been achieved before, but by one man playing in the most demanding of positions.

“Gawn is that man! One-time cheeky darter on the way to training, now the benchmark of toughness and professionalism, stood at the summit for more than a decade, seeing off contender after contender.

“Just marinate for a moment. He was adjudged the best ruckman in footy for the first time in 2016. The best ruckman.

“And here we are, in 2026, eulogising about the dominant match winning performance he put on on the weekend, against a man eight years younger than him, and he did it without taking a breather in the last quarter.

“Eddie Betts was in that 2016 All-Australian team. He’s nearly a grandfather, yet Max just charges on, carrying his club on his shoulders as he has done forever!

“It’s beyond comprehension, it’s beyond reach for any modern-day ruckman that’s played the game because there’s been no modern-day ruckman capable of fronting up, year after year, for as long as Max has, as the premier big man of the competition.

“The best ruckman of the modern era; that is what we are debating. Let’s not get lost in the weeds about this. No more, no less.

“Not a ruckman that spent enormous amounts of time masquerading as a forward. That’d fall into the category of best ruckman/forward of the modern era! In which case, my colleague would have a compelling case, but no! That’s not the debate.

“My man Max has not moved to luxury in the comfort of the goal square. My man spent his entire career in the furnace that is the centre square, eyeballing and engaging brutal warfare like the gladiator that he is!

“Not accepting Joe the Gooses and padding his goal stats! There is no doubt, had he taken that option, he would have completed the most astonishing set of football; 10 years in a row as All-Australian.

“But, unlike Simon, he rejected the easier path and remained in the cauldron. He is no hybrid ruckman forward, looking for an available charging port to prolong his career. He runs on diesel, 100 per cent ruckman, the best the game has ever seen!

“Simon was great, but he was a hybrid. More of a follower, and now he can follow Max Gawn, the greatest ruckman of the modern era.”

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