A desire to be more than a tap ruckman has helped first-year player Sean Darcy hold his own on a “brutal” evening against Hawthorn at Domain Stadium.
The Hawks raced out to a four-goal lead early and built their lead late to win the contest by 52-points.
Darcy did his best to help give Freo a fighting chance, winning the hitouts against his direct opponent Ben McEvoy 31-29, as Freo won the clearances by 12 and the contested possession count by five.
But Darcy said the group was disappointed to not live up to senior coach Ross Lyon’s pre-game expectations - warned that Hawthorn would come out firing for Alastair Clarkson’s 300th game as coach of the Hawks.
“They scored well with their first six entries of the game so we were on the back foot straight away. It was really tough to get back from there,” Darcy said.
“Ross spoke about it before the game, that Clarkson’s a four-time premiership coach so of course they’re going to try and send him off with a good win, so we should have been better.”
Darcy laid some bone-crunching tackles, totalling six on the evening, while following up his ruckwork well with nine contested possessions.
The 19-year-old still knows he has room for improvement, wasting opportunities with poor disposals after impressing with two contested marks.
“I was happy, I just needed a little bit more composure on the mark,” Darcy said.
“(I need to) get off the mark and hit some kicks, but other than that I tried hard and (McEvoy’s) a pretty good player.”
Darcy said he was pleased to be able to apply pressure on Hawthorn in what was a physical contest.
“It’s been a focus on my game lately, following up and not just getting the hitouts, so I’m happy with that,” Darcy said.
“I like the physical side of the game, tackling and following up, so I was happy.
“They were a bit physical with me and checking me, so I thought I needed to get back at them and try to slow them down somehow.
“Every game I feel I’m improving. I’m learning the ropes.
"It’s a tough sport, it’s brutal. I’m learning fast.”
