Darcy Cameron has a habit of filling his boots against lowly opponents and, while his fantasy stocks are nowhere near high enough to put him in the top two rucks in the competition in 2025, he has an opportunity to get those wellies filled today against the lowly Eagles. In draft leagues where the fixture continues through bye weeks, Cameron should be starting in someone's team because he is capable of scoring both at stoppages and when drifting forward, with West Coast still searching for their first-choice tall combo.
Darcy Cameron has a habit of filling his boots against lowly opponents and, while his fantasy stocks are nowhere near high enough to put him in the top two rucks in the competition in 2025, he has an opportunity to get those wellies filled today against the lowly Eagles. In draft leagues where the fixture continues through bye weeks, Cameron should be starting in someone's team because he is capable of scoring both at stoppages and when drifting forward, with West Coast still searching for their first-choice tall combo.
Darcy Cameron had a big opening round in a losing side, taking advantage of an early injury to Kieren Briggs to dominate Lachie Keeffe. He gets Jordon Sweet today, who is a decent tap ruckman but can be left in a trail of dust around the ground by a ruckman with mobility. Cameron's ability to drift forward and get dangerous as a marking option will be of particular interest to fantasy owners who would like him to post another juicy socre, regardless of the result on the scoreboard between the two teams this evening.
Darcy Cameron was the subject of a lot of conjecture going into last week as Brodie Grundy loomed large at the selection table and fantasy owners might have gotten cold feet due to his short-term value as lead ruck for Collingwood was about to dry up. Grundy didn't end up playing but Mason Cox took most of the ruck work which destroyed Cameron's scoring. With Cox now out for this week as well are we to see another spike in his scoring after the blip last week? If you have the luxury of trading him out, you probably have already. Others may deathride him to the end.
Darcy Cameron replaced Brodie Grundy in the Collingwood side due to long-term injury, and in retrospect he could very easily have slid his way into a heap of fantasy sides the same way as his statistical output has been more than adequate as a replacement. His record playing as a ruck/forward was much less than impressive but it appears this was his time and he has taken the chance with both hands, holding his own in ruck and being more dangerous than Grundy when moving forward. One wonders if he will seek a contract elsewhere.
Darcy Cameron has finally, after a long wait, been given the lead ruck mantle for a senior AFL club. That he is filling in for Brodie Grundy is not particularly important for his potential fantasy owners, as his numbers are all they care about. He may not be as elite as Grundy as picking up possessions around the ground as an extra midfielder, but he knows how to run to dangerous spots inside forward 50 and can clunk a big pack mark to get those juicy plus-twelves. With the ruck stocks around the league taking a battering, he is a valid trade-in option over the bye period.
Double the Darcy damage
Flying down from Sydney, ruck/forward Darcy Cameron will bolster Nathan Buckley's reverse stocks. With eight goals from 11 games, Cameron has proven at NEAFL level that he can impact the scoreboard when rotating through the forward line. Since Brodie Grundy is an immovable object, Cameron will be eyeing Mason Cox's role. Should the big Pie struggle with form or injury, the ex-Swan could get his chance. Expect Cameron to appear at some stage.
Lurker Cameron's growing pains
Big man Darcy Cameron averaged a colossal 142 points in the NEAFL last season and will be pushing hard for senior selection this year, giving Callum Sinclair something to worry about. In his solitary AFL game, Cameron was utilised as a forward and had minimal impact. If Sinclair goes down with an injury or has a poor run of form, Cameron could get his chance and pounce. At best, he’d be useful as a free agent pickup, but the bottom line is that he should not be drafted.
Shirk away from Cameron
The big man Darcy Cameron is still yet to debut for the Swans, despite a very promising 2016 NEAFL run. The mature-aged tall fell behind Sam Naismith in the pecking order, meaning that even with Kurt Tippett out with injury, he still wasn’t given an opportunity. If he can impress during the preseason and get his nose in front of Naismith, Cameron may be able to scratch a few games together, but that’s a big if. There are better fantasy options out there at this stage. Pass.
