ADELAIDE ruckman Ivan Maric says he’s adjusting his style of play to keep pace with the changing face of ruckmen in the modern game.

Over the past few years, players like Essendon’s Paddy Ryder, Brisbane Lion Mitch Clark and West Coast sensation Nic Naitanui have revolutionised the role of ruckmen.

The new breed of big men are athletic, versatile and sometimes undersized compared to their two-metre-tall counterparts, giving them midfielder-like capabilities.

Maric, 24, is from the old school of ruckmen.

The 198cm Victorian makes up for his lack of pace with his aggression and has the strength to match it with the bigger bodies in the competition.

He is also hoping to contribute more in general play after wiping eight seconds off his three-kilometre time trial over the summer, and adding an extra three minutes to his time for repetitive sprints.

The results of his pre-season focus were on show at the MCG on Sunday.

Maric picked up a career-best 18 disposals and nine marks in the loss to Melbourne.

“I’m only 24. Most of the good ruckmen in the competition are older than that, so I think I’ve still got heaps of improvement to come,” Maric said.

“I can improve in all areas of my game, but I’m concentrating on my running and finding the ball around the ground. I deliberately did less strength work during the pre-season and focused more on my speed and endurance.”

The days of clubs playing two, bona fide ruckmen appear numbered.

In round one, the Crows opted to pit Jon Griffin and utility Scott Stevens against Fremantle man-mountain Aaron Sandilands, while their cross-town rivals Port Adelaide have experienced success playing forward Justin Westhoff as back up for lead ruckman Dean Brogan.

Teams like Geelong and the Sydney Swans get away with playing two big men because Brad Ottens and Mark Seaby are also capable forwards.

Maric chimed in with a goal against the Dees and said it was important he continued to develop his goalkicking.

“With the way the rotations are going you can’t afford to have a ruckman sitting on the bench all the time,” he said.

“It’s important for me to go up forward and contribute in the forward line and it’s important for James Sellar, or whoever the other ruckman might be, to do the same thing as well. You can’t be stuck just playing in the ruck.”

Maric blossomed with two, standout games in the club’s finals campaign last season and said he was determined to recapture that form this year.

“This year I’ve got to make sure I don’t forget about doing the things that got me to where I was last year,” Maric said.

“It’s a bit weird and scary because when I first came to the club I was the young guy and there were a whole heap of older guys ahead of me. There’s a bit more pressure on me now and I’ve got to perform and make sure I’m doing everything right.”