Sean Darcy is known as Hodor, and it's not for his sparkling repartee on the footy field. He shoulders the lone ruck duties for the second week in a row in the absence through injury of his usual partner Luke Jackson, a situation which one might think would lift his fantasy relevance. He has always been a tease for fantasy coaches, however, with obvious strengths at the contest in ruck but lacking pretty much anything in the way of mobility around the ground to get involved in transition. His lugubriousness holds him back from being fantasy relevant.
Sean Darcy is known as Hodor, and it's not for his sparkling repartee on the footy field. He shoulders the lone ruck duties for the second week in a row in the absence through injury of his usual partner Luke Jackson, a situation which one might think would lift his fantasy relevance. He has always been a tease for fantasy coaches, however, with obvious strengths at the contest in ruck but lacking pretty much anything in the way of mobility around the ground to get involved in transition. His lugubriousness holds him back from being fantasy relevant.
Sean Darcy is perhaps underappreciated as a premium fantasy ruck prospect in the 2023 AFL preseason. He has been held back at times in previous years by form, youth, fitness and a time-share with Lloyd Meek. The clearance of Meek to Hawthorn and the advent of Luke Jackson changes the mix, and it was certainly true that Max Gawn had no problem scoring with Jackson as second banana at Melbourne. Darcy is in the sweet spot for age; then again Jackson himself is also coming into his full powers. It would be risky, but there is no certainty in ruck stocks this year.
Sean Darcy is one of the few rucks anywhere near premium status left standing in this terrible season for beanpoles, falling left and right as they have all through a punishing campaign. Darcy has had his own lengthy injury history over the years so he is no sure thing to play out a full complement over the second half of 2022, though his status as #1 ruck at Fremantle is fairly assured if he maintains his fitness. It's his ground work that is the problem: he just doesn't mark enough. This is what held back his Freo predecessor Aaron Sandilands from fantasy greatness too.
Sean Darcy has been playing a tandem ruck role with Lloyd Meek in recent weeks but still putting up decent scores, a pleasing outcome for his owners who invested a fair bit of treasure to get him into their sides, especially those holding him in fantasy keeper leagues. He can hurt the opposition both on ball and up forward, with the latter part of his game perhaps with more potential than his mentor Aaron Sandilands. His long-term value is probably as lead ruck, but it's certainly a nice arrow to have in the quiver for a long career ahead of him.
Sean Darcy has always had the body shape to be a dominant ruckman in the AFL, though a combination of injury and rawness has held him back in his developmental years. 2021 might be the first season where he puts it all together, and he has seen off a tandem situation with Lloyd Meek to regain the #1 ruck role in the seniors. He looked quite dangerous up forward when sharing duties with Meek, so that's not a worry for his scoring ability. He hasn't really torn a game apart with pure ruck work yet though, that's the final piece of his puzzle.
Sean Darcy has set a record in becoming the fastest player to reach a thousand hit outs, beating even his old mentor Aaron Sandilands. Fantasy coaches know that rucks are measured in their competitions not just by the hit outs but the work around the ground, and that is the area of his game that is taking a longer while to match his tap work. He does not have the body size to be a mobile ruckman but his positioning is the key, getting forward like 211 used to to become dangerous as a target inside 50. He's coming along, slowly, as always with big men.
Sean Darcy is the sort of player who would be a star in a good team. Fremantle is not currently a good team. It can have decent runs, as can Darcy, but just as often he puts in a stinker when it all gets too much for Fyfe and Walters in carrying the midfield. With no Fyfe while he heals his hamstring, he is the sort of up-and-coming player who needs to get up and come on if the Dockers are to make anything of this season, or indeed of the rest of his career. As a fantasy asset, he is unreliable and probably left best to be an occasional DFS speculator.
Come hither, young Mr Darcy
Integral to the future of the Dockers, Sean Darcy enters 2020 assuming the number one ruck mantle following the retirement of Aaron Sandilands. A midseason ankle injury curtailed the youngster's involvement, with his best performance coming in round 22 against Essendon in collecting 21 hit outs and five tackles. Enjoying an injury-free preseason and the assistance of chop-out ruck Rory Lobb, Darcy is set to lead the ruck division. He has demonstrated fantasy scoring power in limited minutes, and may present as a value option in the latter half of the draft. An upside selection with a significant fantasy future.
Mr Darcy in Pride and Purple
Despite his age, Sean Darcy has not looked out of place in the handful of games he’s played over the past two seasons. The tap specialist broke into the Dockers’ starting line up in round 16 due to a PCL injury suffered early in the WAFL season, and his second year wasn’t quite as impressive as his first with a dip in disposals and tackles. He was named in the AFLPA 22Under22 team despite only playing seven matches. It’s no secret that veteran Aaron Sandilands is hanging onto his career by a shoestring, so 2019 looms as the year that the young brute Darcy eventually steps into the number one ruck role. Any setback to Sandilands opens that door almost immediately. The wise move would be to draft both Fremantle ruckmen to cover all bases. A late handcuff pick for Darcy should suffice.
Sean Darcy has come in late in season 2018 to play first ruck with Aaron Sandilands on the sidelines, and has delivered one startable score out of three so far, with that coming against a Port side with no recognised ruckman. He is obviously the prototype of the modern juggernaut, but it's a few years away from him delivering consistent scores. Today he comes up against the Eagles ruck tandem, no NicNat but Scott Lycett and Nathan Vardy are still a tough combo when you're flying mostly solo, with pinch hits by Cox and Taberner. A questionable start.
Hodor says Hodor
It doesn't seem fair, in a way. Just as Aaron Sandilands seemed ready to hang up the boots following a second LTI in two years, Fremantle discovered a ready-made 200-game replacement in Sean Darcy, who racked up 40 hit outs on debut in round 14 and averaged 34 for the season, with a respectable 12 disposals and five tackles as well. His mark totals were a lot less than one might expect of a man mountain, though. The Dockers felt enough confidence in Darcy to offload the perpetually underwhelming Zac Clarke and Jonathon Griffin in the off season. Why not? Hodor has enough athleticism to make a difference around the ground, though he’s a different kind of protoype to Dean Cox. The only catch is that Sandilands is hanging around on the list, so Darcy’s immediate job security and role are not certain. Watch in the JLT.
