Sean Darcy (born 12 June 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). At 203 centimetres (6 ft 8 in) tall and weighing 110 kilograms (240 lb), Darcy competes in the ruck as well as the forward line.

Sean Darcy
Darcy in 2019
Personal information
Full name Sean Darcy
Date of birth (1998-06-12) 12 June 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth South Purrembete
Original team(s) Geelong Falcons (TAC Cup)/Cobden Football Club/Xavier College
Draft No. 38, 2016 national draft
Height 203 cm (6 ft 8 in)
Weight 110 kg (243 lb)
Position(s) Ruck
Club information
Current club Fremantle
Number 4
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2017– Fremantle 110 (44)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 24, 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

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Originally from South Purrumbete, a farming area near Cobden, Darcy is the youngest of four children and attended Xavier College as a boarder. As a junior, Darcy played for the Cobden Football Club and was also a talented swimmer. In 2016 he played for the Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup Under 18s competition, his school and for Victoria Country in the 2016 AFL Under 18 Championships.[1]

AFL career

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He was recruited by Fremantle with their second selection, 38th overall, in the 2016 AFL draft. He made his AFL debut in Round 14 of the 2017 AFL season, against Geelong at Simonds Stadium, after playing well for Fremantle's reserves team, Peel Thunder, in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Darcy amassed 40 hit-outs in his debut game.[2] Due to his physical size and playing style, he is often compared to Shane Mumford.[3]

A breakout performance during the 2021 AFL season saw Darcy win his first Best and fairest award, the Doig Medal.[4] Darcy played every game in 2021 establishing himself as a premier ruckman. Western Derby 55 saw Darcy amass a derby record 56 hit-outs during Fremantle's 24 point win over the West Coast Eagles. He was awarded the Glendinning–Allan Medal for best on ground.[5]

Darcy started the 2023 AFL season in brilliant form, ranking third in the AFL for average hitouts with a career-high 39.2, and fourth for hitouts to advantage (11.0). Darcy’s strong form was cut short with a hamstring injury in Round 11 against Melbourne.[6] He made his return in round 15 during Fremantle's 32 point win over Essendon.[7] Darcy tallied a record 58 hit-outs during round 17 against Carlton at Optus Stadium.[8] Darcy suffered an ankle injury during round 18 against Collingwood, which required surgery. He was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season. Already contracted until 2024, Darcy signed a six-year contract extension in December of 2023, tying him to Fremantle until at least 2030.[9]

He was ranked the third best ruckman in the league by Nine's Wide World of Sports in February of 2024.[10] Darcy suffered a knee injury in the off-season during Fremantle's practice match against Port Adelaide,[11] and as a result missed the first five games of the 2024 AFL season.[12] Sean made his return during Western Derby 58 collecting 13 disposals and 30 hitouts.[13] He played his hundredth game the next week against the Western Bulldogs.[14] He kicked two goals both courtesy of 50-metre penalties and collected 12 hit-outs against Richmond in round eight at the MCG, before being substituted out of the game in the third quarter with a tight calf.[15] As a result he missed Fremantle's next two games before returning in round eleven against Collingwood. He was ranked the most efficient ruckmen for Hitouts To Advantage in the competition as of July with a return of 15.35%.[16]

Statistics

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Updated to the end of round 17, 2024.[17]

Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
H/O
Hit-outs
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T H/O G B K H D M T H/O
2017 Fremantle 4 8 1 2 36 62 98 12 36 272 0.1 0.3 4.5 7.8 12.3 1.5 4.5 34.0 0
2018 Fremantle 4 7 2 3 20 45 65 15 29 233 0.3 0.4 2.9 6.4 9.3 2.1 4.1 33.3 0
2019 Fremantle 4 11 4 7 44 78 122 20 30 300 0.4 0.6 4.0 7.1 11.1 1.8 2.7 27.3 0
2020[a] Fremantle 4 15 5 6 42 92 134 25 26 330 0.3 0.4 2.8 6.1 8.9 1.7 1.7 22.0 0
2021 Fremantle 4 21 12 12 156 193 349 90 64 599 0.6 0.6 7.4 9.2 16.6 4.3 3.0 28.5 7
2022 Fremantle 4 21 10 9 147 150 297 51 55 712 0.5 0.4 7.0 7.1 14.1 2.4 2.6 33.9 6
2023 Fremantle 4 15 4 6 95 112 207 51 48 587 0.3 0.4 6.3 7.5 13.8 3.4 3.2 39.1 2
2024 Fremantle 4 9 6 1 49 60 109 12 33 259 0.7 0.1 5.4 6.7 12.1 1.3 3.7 28.8 TBC
Career 107 44 46 589 792 1381 275 320 3293 0.4 0.4 5.5 7.4 12.9 2.6 3.0 30.8 15

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ McCullagh-Beasy, Justine (10 November 2016). "AFL draft contender Sean Darcy rates Warrnambool swimming career a plus".
  2. ^ O’Donoghue, Craig (25 June 2017). "Sean Darcy steps up to as Fremantle's ruckman of the future". The West Australian.
  3. ^ Chadwick, Justin (13 June 2017). "Fremantle hopes ex-Geelong Falcons ruckman Sean Darcy will soon become long-term replacement for Aaron Sandilands". Geelong Advertiser. AAP. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Sean Darcy wins the 2021 Doig Medal!".
  5. ^ "Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir praises Sean Darcy's 'aggressive' performance in western derby win". thewest.com.au. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  6. ^ Schmook, Nathan. "Freo's BIG blow: Ruckman to miss weeks with hamstring injury". afl.com.au. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  7. ^ Schmook, Nathan. "Freo finds form to outclass Bombers and keep finals in reach". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  8. ^ "Brayshaw: Freo's Midfield plans without Serong". fremantlefc.com.au. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  9. ^ Zita, David. "Star Docker signs mega deal, turns back on AFL rivals". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  10. ^ Pavlou, Anna (26 February 2024). "Who is the best big man in the game? The top 10 ruckmen who will stamp their authority on 2024". Nine's Wide World of Sports.
  11. ^ AAP. "Knee surgery blow for star Docker, wingman also out". afl.com. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  12. ^ Barrett, Jackson. "Fremantle Dockers hold fire over Sean Darcy's return as Neil Erasmus replaces injured Michael Frederick". The West Australian. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  13. ^ Rogers, Samantha (2 May 2024). "Fremantle Dockers star Sean Darcy reveals 'confronting review' was foundation for Western Bulldogs response". The West Australian. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  14. ^ Barrett, Jackson (2 May 2024). "Ultimate Sean Darcy career ranking: Every one of Fremantle Dockers ruckman's games ranked 1-99". The West Australian. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  15. ^ Bastiani, Gemma (5 May 2024). "Dockers power past Tigers to consolidate top-eight spot". Australian Football League.
  16. ^ Keating, Mitch (May 2024). "The AFL's most efficient ruckmen of 2024 revealed". zero hanger.
  17. ^ "Sean Darcy". AFL Tables. Retrieved 25 May 2022.}
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