Aaron Sandilands’ journey to mastering his craft as the AFL’s most dominant ruckman began after the then 19-year-old won a spot on Fremantle’s rookie list back in 2002.

With the arrival late last year of another 200cm-plus teenager on the scene, in Zac Clarke, certainly has the club’s ruck stocks looking in fine fettle for the future.

Speaking exclusively to Docker, Sandilands and Clarke share an insight with members and supporters into life as the "Master and the Apprentice" at Fremantle.

Within days of arriving at Fremantle from Victoria via the 2008 National Draft, Clarke learnt that he would spend a couple of weeks living with Sandilands.

Recruited from the Oakleigh Chargers, the 19-year-old 203cm former basketballer was excited as much as he was daunted by the prospect of living 24/7 with a new team mate who’d recently been named in the 2008 All-Australian side.

“I was pretty nervous and, not knowing Aaron, I was pretty quiet for the first few days,” he said.

“After a while I settled in pretty well and got to know the Big Guy… and basically whatever he did, I did.”

“Coming from over east, it took a while to get used to everything and Aaron helped me a lot in that regard. He gave me a lot of tips on what he used to do in his early days at the club.”

Clarke has since moved in with Sandilands’ parents, Gary and Trudi, who have taken on the responsibility of being one of the club’s host families.

“He’s pretty happy at mum’s now… she’s a much better cook,” Sandilands said.

“My parents saw it as a good opportunity to help out and they really enjoy it, plus my younger brother is still at home so there’s a fair bit of banter between him and Zac.”

But in those first few weeks, Fremantle’s 211cm ruckman made it abundantly clear what was required to succeed at the elite level.

“I just tried to set an example by the way I train and go about things in terms of preparation,” Sandilands said.

“It was more about leading by action rather than words and helping Zac get used to being at the club every day.

“How you prepare is really important, so when you first come into a club you really need to take stock of how other players prepare. You take bits and pieces from each one and work out what is best for you.”

Sandilands recalled when he first arrived at the club as a raw but highly motivated 19-year-old, much like his current day protégé.

“When I first came to the club I was on the rookie list, so it was a great chance to have a crack for 12 months and see if I was good enough to secure a spot on the senior list,” he said.

“Zac knows that he’s got a great opportunity here at Freo… he’s focused and knows where wants to go.”

As the ‘apprentice’, Clarke knows that studying how his mentor has mastered the art of rucking will ensure that he gets there and has all the right ‘tools of the trade’, too.

“I watch ‘Sandy’ at training and every game he plays, so there’s a lot I can take out of that and try to implement it in my own game,” Clarke said.

With five AFL games under his belt, Fremantle’s third round selection (pick 37 overall) at the 2008 National Draft dares to dream about securing a regular spot as second ruckman.

“I’d like to be doing it now but Kepler (Bradley) is playing the role pretty well,” Clarke said.

“Next year, after a full pre-season, I’d like to play a few more games in tandem with Aaron and then set myself for more games in my third or fourth year here at the club.”

According to ruck coach Earl Spalding, whose own AFL career spanned 11 years and included 109 games with Melbourne and 102 with Carlton, to be a really good footballer, regardless on what position you play, you need to be thinking about the game all the time.

“Zac certainly shows those signs. He’s very competitive and his second efforts are really good. He’s got a good tank… good aerobic capacity, so that means you know he works hard,” Spalding said.

“He hasn’t been daunted by anything we’ve thrown at him and he takes everything on board when you are coaching him, and gives it a lot of thought.

“He’s got a confidence or a brashness about him that is a positive, and it will hold him in good stead down the track plus help him adjust to life at a football club.”

When he arrived at the club, Clarke topped the scales at 83kg and while his condition has increased since then, Spalding said that increasing his size will be important to his progress as a ruckman.

“Ruckman and key position players take longer to emerge as players because they are still developing the body size required to have an impact on the game,” he said.

“Whereas if you are an outside player or an onballer it helps to have a bigger frame but, generally, for an outside player you don’t need it.

“That’s why those type of players can have an impact early on as opposed to a ruckman or key position player who needs more time to increase their body size.

Clarke, according to Spalding, is probably five games ahead of where his ruck coach thought he would be at this stage of his career.

“So it’s important that his expectations don’t go beyond the reality,” he said.

“But instead allow his body to mature and then play another five or six games next year and see what happens the year after that.

“Long-term though the prospect of Zac in the ruck and Aaron pulling down marks in the forward line and kicking goals is a very positive prospect for every Fremantle fan to ponder.”

As published in Docker: Final Siren (Edition 3, 2009).