Breaking: AFL confirms Soldo retirement—Port’s ruck shake-up as Power selects
Ivan Soldo has officially retired after an ACL rupture, leaving Port Adelaide to reshuffle its ruck stocks ahead of the 2026 season.
Port Adelaide has confirmed the end of Ivan Soldo’s AFL career, with the premiership ruckman retiring after 66 games across two clubs. The decision lands as the Power looks ahead to 2026 with a fresh ruck puzzle to solve.
The immediate trigger was an unfortunate right ACL injury suffered at training in February.. At 30 years old. Soldo has called time on his career. turning what should have been another comeback chapter into a farewell.. For supporters. the news brings a familiar mix of sadness and respect—because ruckmen are rarely noticed until they’re gone.
Soldo arrived at Richmond in 2014 as a Category B rookie, making his way from the reserves into the AFL spotlight.. He debuted in Round 7 of 2017 and steadily carved out a role over multiple seasons.. The breakthrough moment for many fans came in 2019. when he worked alongside Toby Nankervis at times as a second ruck. culminating in a premiership against GWS—an achievement that continues to define his legacy at Punt Road.
In his club statement. Soldo framed his retirement as gratitude rather than drama. thanking the players. coaches. staff and supporters who shaped his journey.. He also highlighted the scale of his Richmond chapter. noting it spanned almost a decade and helped determine who he became both as a player and a person.. That kind of reflection matters in AFL culture: careers often end in public moments. but they’re built through routines most fans never see.
The next chapter moved to Port Adelaide, where he was traded after Richmond’s decade-long partnership.. His time at Alberton was slower to find consistency—he played eight AFL games in season 2024.. After requesting a move back to Victoria. his return didn’t translate into a sustained run at the top level. with only one match played last season.. The contrast across his career is stark. and it’s part of why this retirement feels especially final: it wasn’t just one unlucky season—it was a long stretch of trying to regain traction.
Now, Port’s list management problem is not theoretical.. Jordan Sweet currently occupies the Power’s ruck duties. while 23-year-old Dante Visentini remains on the fringes after being dropped one match into the season.. With Soldo ruled out for the season due to his ACL rupture. the club’s planning has a hard deadline—especially with ruck stocks being limited and the role requiring peak mobility. durability and confidence.
This is where the “next move” becomes crucial.. Port Adelaide has two available list spots ahead of this year’s mid-season draft. and Misryoum understands that Soldo’s situation has already narrowed the options for the Power’s selection calculus.. Key forward Ollie Lord’s ACL rupture in the SANFL last weekend has opened a second vacancy. turning Port’s mid-season thinking into something more urgent than a typical replenishment.. When injuries pile up across positions, AFL recruiting shifts from “best available” toward “best able to plug gaps immediately.”
The wider AFL story here is about how quickly team plans can flip—even for players with real pedigree.. Ruckmen operate in a specialist ecosystem: one injury can ripple across matchups, structure and rotations for weeks.. ACL setbacks also tend to carry a long recovery timeline. and clubs now plan as if the body won’t be back on schedule.. That reality forces football departments to think in contingency layers, not just year-by-year ambition.
For fans watching Port, the retirement is both a tribute and a signal.. Soldo’s premiership years with Richmond are part of the league’s shared memory. while his Port period reflects the grind that follows when form. fitness and opportunity don’t align.. Looking ahead. the Power’s mid-season draft selections—and what they do with Sweet and Visentini in the meantime—will show how serious the club is about solving the ruck issue before the season compounds.. In a league defined by momentum, the ruck clock doesn’t pause.