Dual ruck combination Jarrod Witts and Ned Moyle’s could save the Gold Coast Suns’ AFL season

For years, they’ve competed for spots, but on Saturday they ran out together for the first time. Jarrod Witts believes he and Ned Moyle can not just work in tandem, but star in it.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 04: Ned Moyle and Jarrod Witts compete for the ball during a Gold Coast Suns AFL training session at People First Stadium on April 04, 2024 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Gold Coast co-captain Jarrod Witts believes a burgeoning dual-ruck combination with Ned Moyle can help both players unlock their full potential as the Suns’ AFL season hangs in the balance ahead of a trip west to face the Eagles.

Gold Coast trialled two rucks for the first time in Saturday night’s QClash defeat to Brisbane, with Moyle retaining his place in the side despite Witts’ return from a back injury.

Former rookie draftee Moyle had been forced to bide his time behind Witts for a number of seasons but won more AFL minutes this year with the skipper’s intermittent absences through injury.

He played predominantly forward against the Lions, spelling Witts who returned as the established No. 1 ruck, but had much less impact on the contest compared to previous weeks.

While it was ultimately not the masterstroke move to swing the match in the hosts’ favour, Witts’ message to Suns fans was give the partnership time to grow.

“If you look at some of the ruck combinations at the moment – Fremantle, Collingwood to an extent – it doesn’t always have full effect straight away,” Witts told this masthead.

“It takes time to understand one another and what works best. There’s obviously room for us to develop and I think we both had our moments at stages on the weekend.

“Obviously we both want to impact the game so we’ll see what that looks like moving forward.”

Whether Hardwick persists with the dual-ruck system beyond this week remains to be seen. He gave little away when asked about it in the post-match press conference.

The decision to play both rucks was likely a combination of Moyle’s good form during Witts’ absence and the Lions’ lack of height in defence.

Can the combination of Ned Moyle and Jarrod Witts save the Suns’ season? Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

But Gold Coast clearly sees the ruck tandem as an option moving forward, or Hardwick would not have debuted the idea in such a crucial contest as the QClash.

The club successfully staved off rival interest to re-sign Moyle on a four-year contract extension last month in another sign the Suns want to give the 22 year old more AFL minutes.

Witts said the pair’s working relationship was “a little bit strange” given they were expected to work together even while fighting for what previously had been a singular ruck role.

But the captain has always been one of Moyle’s biggest supporters since he arrived at the club.

“In a way it’s a little bit straight because we’re developing each other and fighting for the one spot, until the weekend that is,” Witts said.

“We look at vision together and try to find intricacies in each of our games and where we can improve. We train pretty hard 1-on-1 together and I think overall it’s helping Ned develop and me to stay on top of my game.

“(The ruck combination) is an evolving thing. As we work through it we will find more ways that we can expose the opposition.”

The Suns now look unlikely to feature in September, given they sit on nine wins with just four rounds to go in a season where a team could even miss the top eight with 14 wins.

A loss to West Coast this weekend would almost certainly rule them out of the finals race.

Originally published as Dual ruck combination Jarrod Witts and Ned Moyle’s could save the Gold Coast Suns’ AFL season