Search for Rucks in America

The Age newspaper reported earlier this week that the AFL will launch the competition's first US-based draft combine during August, 2012 in a bid to lure more tall young North Americans into the game as ruckmen.

The draft camp will be held over two days in either Los Angeles, Chicago or Texas.

The experiment follows the success of Canadian-born ruckman Pyke and the Swans' recent signing of 22-year-old US college basketballer Alex Starling. The Florida-based Starling will be rookie-listed by Sydney in 2013 under the international scheme.

The American leg of the AFL's search for international athletes is expected to cost the competition close to $100,000. It follows similar initiatives held in Ireland and New Zealand earlier this year with the league also initiating next month a search for ruckmen with a draft camp in China. 

The final details of the camp will be put in place in the coming weeks by the AFL's Tony Woods and Kevin Sheehan and will be run in the US by the competition's AIS Academy manager, Michael Ablett.

The Swans' US approach has been pushed by former coach Paul Roos who invited Starling, a 196-centimetre, 93-kilogram potential forward/ruckman to a two-day camp in California, last June.

Photo: Mike Pyke of the Swans marks in a match against Essendon last month. Photo: Getty Images