It was a day of close shaves when Freo faced Geelong at Simonds Stadium, as 19-year-old ruckman Sean Darcy came within reach of breaking an AFL record.
With 40 hitouts on debut, Darcy fell two short of the mark set by Richmond’s Ivan Soldo on his debut earlier this season against the Western Bulldogs in round seven.
While the 21-year-old Soldo sets the bar, especially considering the Tiger has only been playing football for three years after coming into the game from basketball, Darcy set his mark just a fortnight after tuning 19 while plying a trade that is considered a lot more challenging to first-year players.
At half-time, with Darcy already on 24 hitouts, broadcaster Fox Footy showed a graphic that compared Darcy’s efforts to that of other notable ruckmen on their debut.
Darcy had already eclipsed the totals set by the likes of Dean Cox (15), Aaron Sandilands (13) Max Gawn (10) and Shane Mumford (5).
While many of the above players would have been a back-up ruckman on debut, Darcy’s hitout win percentage of 54.1 per cent would place him fourth in the AFL in 2017, with Sandilands leading the stat at 68 per cent.
The 34-year-old Sandilands, who has missed the past month with a hamstring injury, remains undoubtedly Freo’s first choice ruckman, but Darcy’s numbers show fans can hope for a smooth transition between the pair in the coming seasons.
Based on their most recent performances, Darcy compares favourably.
Against Geelong, Darcy collected five clearances and 14 disposals to go with his 40 hitouts.
These numbers better that of Sandilands for his past two appearances – collecting 35 hitouts, three clearances and 13 disposals against Essendon in round eight and 39 hitouts, four clearances and 11 disposals against Carlton in round nine.
Darcy can expect to improve with time, too. Even at 202cm, Darcy may have some more growing left in him as he continues to drop kilos and add muscle to his frame - which weighted in at 110kg for the 2016 NAB AFL Draft.
Experience will also help Darcy improve. While winning plenty of the tap, he still needs time to gel with Freo’s midfield with five hitouts to advantage from his 40 on the day.
For comparison, Sandilands is averaging 14.5 hitouts to advantage per game in 2017 but it’s clear the foundation has been set for Freo to build their future around their next big ruckman.
