All Australian ruckman Paddy Ryder knows he's biased.
But he reckons the rise of the ruckman in the AFL is a beautiful thing.
"I'm pretty biased toward ruckmen," Ryder said.
"The ruck position is well and truly alive.
"You just look at some of the blokes, the impact they are having on games."
Melbourne's Max Gawn looms as the man most likely to take Ryder's All Australian ruck spot.
Gawn leads the competition for hitouts with 477 after 10 games and has been a key figure in Melbourne's surge to third on the ladder..
Aaron Sandilands (405), Stefan Martin (374) , Brodie Grundy (371) and Sam Jacobs (357) round out the top-five tap-men.
"You see a lot of teams do well and some people can look at midfielders, the goalkickers - but just have a look at some of the ruckmen," Ryder said.
"What they are doing around stoppages allows it all.
"There's a few good ruckmen out there that are playing some pretty good football."
Ryder, who has played three consecutive games after missing five with an achilles injury, meets Hawthorn's Ben McEvoy in Saturday's game in Tasmania.
"H'e just a competitive beast, a ruckman that is pretty respected by myself," Ryder said.
"It is always a good battle with him, he just competes and competes.
"He's not the flashiest ruckman going around but he's always hard to beat."
Port, after their bye weekend, boast a six-three win-loss record ahead of their trip to Tasmania.
"We have been able to win in China, we don't play there often, so its just another deck," he said.
"Footy players, you want to be able to play your style of football anywhere you go, and that is what we want to be - a team that travels well."
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