Darcy Fogarty gets a rare opportunity to show us what he is capable of as the undisputed premier target inside the Adelaide Crows attack, with Taylor Walker rested. The Texan has tended to start deeper and the Fog higher as the older man isn't getting any younger, which makes it uncertain where Fogarty's final position is going to be. He was tried on-ball early in his career which did not work at all, and the Crows haven't had a lot of success using him as a link man. Is he just a full forward, or does he have the tank to do anything else? Maybe being a goal machine is enough.
Darcy Fogarty gets a rare opportunity to show us what he is capable of as the undisputed premier target inside the Adelaide Crows attack, with Taylor Walker rested. The Texan has tended to start deeper and the Fog higher as the older man isn't getting any younger, which makes it uncertain where Fogarty's final position is going to be. He was tried on-ball early in his career which did not work at all, and the Crows haven't had a lot of success using him as a link man. Is he just a full forward, or does he have the tank to do anything else? Maybe being a goal machine is enough.
Darcy Fogarty has been the understudy to Taylor Walker at Adelaide for his entire career and has underwhelmed at times in that role, to the point where he was tried as a central midfielder for weeks at a time this year with very little effect. Walker's six-match suspension for racial abuse could be the catalyst for Fogarty to finally take over the mantle of the Big Man in the Crows forward line, and he has been showing signs across the last month that now is his time. He has the job in front of him, and he could be the next big thing.
Darcy Fogarty has been groomed as the long-term replacement for Taylor Walker at CHF for the Adelaide Crows, but with Tex enjoying an Indian summer he has been used at times during the season as an inside midfielder in the manner of Jake Stringer or Matthew Pavlich. His results in this role have been completely underwhelming, as he has no powers of accumulation and only rarely makes an impact at the coalface. He should return to that role today, and he needs to work on all aspects of this side of his game if he is to become fantasy-relevant.
Darcy Fogarty is to be the new focal point of the once-dominant Adelaide attack, if reports of Taylor Walker moving up the ground are true. This makes him an interesting prospect for fantasy, albeit it's probably a year or two too early for him to hit his peak.
Future hazy for Fogarty
Continuing a positional shift from late in 2018, Darcy Fogarty started last season in defence at SANFL level then reverted to his more familiar forward role during the year, eventually leading to a call-up in August to play full forward where he again showed a glimpse with a haul of five goals away to the Eagles, which is the only occasion among 14 senior games so far where he topped the forward baseline. His averages of a dozen disposals and half a dozen marks disguise a lot of variability. The fantasy value of Fogarty is not necessarily in his own scoring, which would be frustratingly unreliable even if he lifted his ratings. It is in whether he can arrest the malaise of what was not long ago the most fearsome attack in football, and help the scoring of more startable teammates. If he is to replace Josh Jenkins coming out of the square, he needs more of those big bags to justify his spot. As it is, he looks like a CHF-sized square peg being rammed into a FF-sized round hole.
Gorilla in the Fog
After a much-hyped preseason, Darcy Fogarty only showed glimpses at senior level in his first campaign, ending the year in the SANFL with a shift to defence. He did not reach the forward baseline score across ten senior games, mostly as a third tall forward going at less than a goal per game with limited opportunity. The departure of Mitch McGovern gives Fogarty more opportunity this season, and his potential is part of why the Crows were willing to make that trade. Time in defence will teach him some of McGovern's skill set. That role is not useful for draft leagues at this point in his development, nonetheless.
Murky role for Fogarty
A knee meniscus tear dogged and eventually ended his last junior year, but Darcy Fogarty showed enough glimpses playing in a variety of different positions to see him picked in the first round. Contested marks, high disposal efficiency and pack grunt are some of his many strengths, a mix that saw him play third tall and inside midfield at times. He did not manage to average more than 12 disposals at any level. There are three reasons not to pick Fogarty before next season: that injury might mean a managed preseason; his uncertain role means he will almost certainly start in the SANFL seniors as the club works out where to put him in their structure; and he does not seem to be a natural accumulator in any case. He may turn out to be an excellent player for the Crows, without exciting much fantasy interest.
