Aaron Sandilands is the most daunting sight an opposition ruckman can see staring at him from the other side of the centre circle.

The League’s tallest player, Sandilands, 211cm, has dominated ruck contests all over the ground since he debuted for Fremantle in round one, 2003. 

But as good a tap ruckman as he is, Sandilands is more than a mere hit-out machine. Much more.

While his ruckwork has always stood out, the other facets of his game have grown consistently over the past seven seasons. Worse still for his opponents, they continue to grow.

Take his around-the-ground play, for instance. While he averaged 7.2 disposals a game in 2003, he has worked hard to improve his fitness ever since and this year is averaging a career-high 17.2 possessions. Of the League’s ruckmen, only West Coast’s Dean Cox and Collingwood’s Josh Fraser have averaged more this season. 

He has also become more of a goalkicker when resting in the forward line. Despite missing two games with a hamstring injury (rounds 15-16), he has kicked a career-high 12 goals this season. His previous best tally came last year when he kicked eight.

The defensive side of Sandilands’ game is also improving, the big man laying a
career-high 34 tackles this year, averaging almost two a game.

Admittedly, statistics only ever tell part of the story, especially in this era of possession football, when players’ possession tallies are often inflated by the soft touches on offer when a team transfers play or attempts to slow down the game.

Remarkably, 177 of Sandilands’ 310 possessions – or 57 per cent – this year have been contested. This ranks him 11th in the League, but the competition’s leading contested-possession winner Chris Judd (218) has won just 41.7 per cent of his possessions in contests.

Only two other ruckmen – Essendon’s Patrick Ryder (53.8 per cent) and the Western Bulldogs’ Ben Hudson (52.4 per cent) – win more than half their possessions in contests, while Cox (41.2 per cent) and Fraser (37 per cent) rely more on uncontested possessions. Of Sandilands’ contested possessions, 24 have come from contested marks – also the highest tally for a ruckman.

Sandilands, 26, is suitably modest when asked about his progression as a player, saying it’s due to experience and hard work.

“I’ve played more than a 100 games now (133) so I’ve just started to know and learn (how to play) AFL I suppose,” Sandilands said.

“I’ve always wanted to be able to push forward and spend more time out on the ground and (Dockers coach) Mark Harvey has given me that opportunity this year.

“My play around the ground is something I’ve had to work really hard at, positioning around the ground and getting my fitness up to a certain level to be able to run more.”

As much as Sandilands has improved the other areas of his game, he remains a formidable presence at ruck contests. Averaging the most hit-outs in the League, 32.4 a game, more importantly, Sandilands finds one of his teammates with 22.4 per cent of those taps. He has found a teammate with 131 hit-outs this season, second only to the Sydney Swans’ Darren Jolly (145).

His ruck dominance and continually evolving all-round game was recognised when he was named on the interchange bench of last year’s All-Australian team, with four-time selection Cox in the ruck.

It is a remarkable rise for someone who came to Fremantle as a 19-year-old rookie in 2002, but the NAB AFL Rookie Draft has a history of unearthing hidden ruck gems.

Cox, widely considered the best ruckman in the game, and Port Adelaide premiership player Dean Brogan were selected in the 2000 rookie draft, while Jolly, a member of the Swans’ 2005 flag-winning side, was selected the following year by his first club, Melbourne. 

But Sandilands says he had minimal expectations when he joined the Dockers.

“You dream about playing in the AFL but, to be honest, I never really thought I was going to be good enough to make it,” Sandilands said.

“It was a very daunting feeling to walk into Fremantle and meet all the guys you had watched on television. But over time you become used to it and it’s a very enjoyable place to be.”

The AFL Record spoke to Sandilands over the phone recently as another disappointing season for Fremantle neared its end. Friendly but not a big talker, Sandilands spoke of his pride at being elevated to Fremantle’s leadership group this season, his disappointment at the Dockers’ slide down the ladder since their preliminary final appearance in 2006 and his excitement at the potential of his club’s emerging young talent.

On a personal note, he revealed – with a chuckle – his superstitions include wearing the same pair of “lucky” speedos during every game.

He also outed himself as a blueberry muffin eater, a Geelong supporter while growing up in Mount Barker, 360km south of Perth (“I was a massive Billy Brownless and Gary Ablett snr fan”), an avid cricket follower (“it was good the Aussies had a win over the Poms in the fourth Test”) and a social golfer.
 
For the past two years, Sandilands has supported the Asthma Foundation of Western Australia’s Knockout Asthma campaign, with sponsors contributing money for every hit-out he wins.

“I’m fortunate enough not to have suffered from asthma myself, but when I was asked to help out, I was only too happy,” he said.

Before he was drafted, Sandilands worked for his father, Gary on a lawnmowing round he bought when the family moved from Mount Barker to Perth when Sandilands was about 15.

For four years, Sandilands helped out whenever he could: “I loved it. It was great to be outdoors in the sun.”

But his involvement in the family business cost him the second, or pointer, toe on his right foot.

“I was just mucking around and dropped a packet of engine blades on it and chopped it off,” he says matter of factly.

Yes, Sandilands reliably informs me, lawnmower blades are sharp enough to do that. 

Fortunately, the injury has had no effect on his football – and he can now see the accident’s lighter side.

“If you are going to lose a toe, that’s the best one to lose,” Sandilands said. “It’s also one less toenail to cut.”

As personally satisfying as his form has been in recent seasons, Sandilands longs to help lift Fremantle back into the finals. After last season’s exodus of senior players, including Heath Black, Josh and Matthew Carr, Jeff Farmer, Mark Johnson and Shaun McManus, Sandilands was elevated to the leadership group. It reflects his growing standing within the club and is a role he has enjoyed and takes seriously.

Having played in all four of the finals the Dockers have contested since their inception in 1995 – and been listed in their best players in three of those games – Sandilands wants the younger players to experience the wave of excitement the Dockers and the city of Fremantle rode in 2006, when the club finally won its first final and finished the season fourth on the ladder.

“It was a great time, especially that second half of the year, when we got a run on, winning a few games in a row (the Dockers finished the home and away season with nine consecutive wins),” he said.

“It was very exciting for the club and Fremantle in general. There was a good feeling around the place.

“It’s been very disappointing not to make the finals since. Finals are why you play the game.

“The pleasing thing this year is we’ve got some good young kids on board who are playing some really good footy.

“They’re a very exciting young bunch, who are willing to learn as much as possible. It’s going to stand us in good stead for the future.”

Sandilands is optimistic youngsters such as Stephen Hill, Nick Suban, Rhys Palmer, Garrick Ibbotson and Greg Broughton will develop quickly enough to enable the Dockers to return to the finals as genuine contenders, while their impressive array of experienced talls – Matthew Pavlich and Luke McPharlin (both 28 in December), Chris Tarrant (29 in September) and Sandilands – are still at their best.
  
“The way these young kids are coming along, if they keep improving the way they are, we’ll be in a good position sooner rather than later,” he said.

Better still for Dockers fans, Sandilands is keen to be at Fremantle when its fortunes turn around, despite recent speculation he may seek a trade to a Melbourne-based club at the end of this season.

“As I’ve said, I think we can have success in the near future and that’s something – having been through the past few seasons – I want to be part of. I’m looking forward to it.”