| Sean Darcy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Darcy in April 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Sean Darcy | ||
| Born |
12 June 1998 South Purrembete | ||
| Original team | Geelong Falcons (TAC Cup)/Cobden Football Club/Xavier College | ||
| Draft | No. 38, 2016 national draft | ||
| Height | 203 cm (6 ft 8 in) | ||
| Weight | 110 kg (243 lb) | ||
| Position | Ruck | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Fremantle | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2017– | Fremantle | 127 (49) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2025 season. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Sean Darcy (born 12 June 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). At 203 centimetres (6 ft 8 in) tall and weighing 110 kilograms (240 lb), Darcy competes in the ruck as well as the forward line.
Early life
Originally from South Purrumbete, a farming area near Cobden, Darcy is the youngest of four children and attended Xavier College as a boarder. As a junior, Darcy played for the Cobden Football Club and was also a talented swimmer. In 2016 he played for the Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup Under 18s competition, his school and for Victoria Country in the 2016 AFL Under 18 Championships.[1] He grew up supporting Geelong and is a nephew of former Geelong and Essendon player Tim Darcy.[2]
AFL career
He was recruited by Fremantle with their second selection, 38th overall, in the 2016 AFL draft. He made his AFL debut in Round 14 of the 2017 AFL season, against Geelong at Simonds Stadium, after playing well for Fremantle's reserves team, Peel Thunder, in the West Australian Football League (WAFL). Darcy amassed 40 hit-outs in his debut game.[3] Due to his physical size and playing style, he is often compared to Shane Mumford.[4]
A breakout performance during the 2021 AFL season saw Darcy win his first Fremantle best and fairest award, the Doig Medal.[5] Darcy played every game in 2021, establishing himself as a premier ruckman. Western Derby 55 saw Darcy amass a derby record 56 hit-outs during Fremantle's 24-point win over the West Coast Eagles. He was awarded the Glendinning–Allan Medal for best on ground.[6]
Darcy started the 2023 AFL season in brilliant form, and as of 21 April led the league for both total hitouts (204) and hitouts to advantage (56).[7] Darcy’s strong form was cut short with a hamstring injury in Round 11 against Melbourne.[8] He made his return in Round 15 during Fremantle's 32-point win over Essendon.[9] He tallied a record 58 hit-outs during Round 17 against Carlton at Optus Stadium.[10] Darcy suffered an ankle injury during Round 18 against Collingwood, which required surgery.[11] He was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season.[12] Already contracted until 2024, Darcy signed a six-year contract extension in December 2023, tying him to Fremantle until at least 2030.[13]
He was ranked the third best ruckman in the league by Nine's Wide World of Sports in February 2024.[14] Darcy suffered a knee injury in the off-season during Fremantle's practice match against Port Adelaide,[15] and as a result missed the first five games of the 2024 AFL season.[16] Sean made his return during Western Derby 58 collecting 13 disposals and 30 hitouts.[17] He played his hundredth game the next week against the Western Bulldogs.[18] He kicked two goals both courtesy of 50-metre penalties and collected 12 hit-outs against Richmond in round eight at the MCG, before being substituted out of the game in the third quarter with a tight calf.[19] As a result he missed Fremantle's next two games before returning in round eleven against Collingwood. He was ranked the most efficient ruckmen for hitouts to advantage in the competition as of July, with a return of 15.35%.[20]
Statistics
Updated to the end of the 2025 season.[21]
G
|
Goals | K
|
Kicks | D
|
Disposals | T
|
Tackles |
B
|
Behinds | H
|
Handballs | M
|
Marks | H/O
|
Hit-outs |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | |||||
| 2017 | Fremantle | 4 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 62 | 98 | 12 | 36 | 272 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 4.5 | 7.8 | 12.3 | 1.5 | 4.5 | 34.0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Fremantle | 4 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 45 | 65 | 15 | 29 | 233 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 6.4 | 9.3 | 2.1 | 4.1 | 33.3 | 0 |
| 2019 | Fremantle | 4 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 44 | 78 | 122 | 20 | 30 | 300 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 4.0 | 7.1 | 11.1 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 27.3 | 0 |
| 2020[a] | Fremantle | 4 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 42 | 92 | 134 | 24 | 25 | 330 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 6.1 | 8.9 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 22.0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Fremantle | 4 | 21 | 12 | 12 | 156 | 193 | 349 | 90 | 64 | 599 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 7.4 | 9.2 | 16.6 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 28.5 | 7 |
| 2022 | Fremantle | 4 | 21 | 10 | 9 | 147 | 150 | 297 | 51 | 55 | 712 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 14.1 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 33.9 | 6 |
| 2023 | Fremantle | 4 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 95 | 112 | 207 | 51 | 48 | 587 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 13.8 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 39.1 | 2 |
| 2024 | Fremantle | 4 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 63 | 86 | 149 | 19 | 36 | 374 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 5.3 | 7.2 | 12.4 | 1.6 | 3.0 | 31.2 | 0 |
| 2025 | Fremantle | 4 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 83 | 84 | 167 | 25 | 52 | 449 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 9.8 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 26.4 | 0 |
| Career | 127 | 49 | 49 | 686 | 902 | 1588 | 307 | 375 | 3856 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 5.4 | 7.1 | 12.5 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 30.4 | 15 | ||
Notes
- ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Honours and achievements
Individual
- Doig Medal: 2021
- Glendinning–Allan Medal: 2022 (round 22)
- 2× 22under22 team: 2018, 2020
References
- ^ McCullagh-Beasy, Justine (10 November 2016). "AFL draft contender Sean Darcy rates Warrnambool swimming career a plus".
- ^ BackChat Studios (2 August 2022). THE SEAN DARCY STORY | Will Schofield & Dan Const | BackChat Sports Show. Event occurs at 11:00. Retrieved 20 July 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ O’Donoghue, Craig (25 June 2017). "Sean Darcy steps up to as Fremantle's ruckman of the future". The West Australian.
- ^ Chadwick, Justin (13 June 2017). "Fremantle hopes ex-Geelong Falcons ruckman Sean Darcy will soon become long-term replacement for Aaron Sandilands". Geelong Advertiser. AAP. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ Quartermaine, Braden (2 October 2021). "Doig Medal: Sean Darcy claims Fremantle Dockers' best and fairest, beating David Mundy". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ Quartermaine, Braden (14 August 2022). "Fremantle Dockers coach Justin Longmuir praises Sean Darcy's 'aggressive' performance in western derby win". The West Australian. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
- ^ Schmook, Nathan (21 April 2023). "On the up: What the numbers say about Freo's ruck duo". afl.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ Schmook, Nathan. "Freo's BIG blow: Ruckman to miss weeks with hamstring injury". afl.com.au. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ Schmook, Nathan. "Freo finds form to outclass Bombers and keep finals in reach". afl.com.au. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Brayshaw: Freo's Midfield plans without Serong". fremantlefc.com.au. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- ^ Cotton, Ben (15 July 2023). "Pies explode as 'pinball' star sets 'fanatical' approach; Freo's grim double blow – 3-2-1". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ Barrett, Jackson (24 July 2023). "Sean Darcy and Nat Fyfe ruled out for rest of 2023 in major Fremantle Dockers blow". PerthNow. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ Zita, David (13 December 2023). "Star Docker signs mega deal, turns back on AFL rivals". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Pavlou, Anna (26 February 2024). "Who is the best big man in the game? The top 10 ruckmen who will stamp their authority on 2024". Nine's Wide World of Sports.
- ^ AAP. "Knee surgery blow for star Docker, wingman also out". afl.com.au. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ Barrett, Jackson. "Fremantle Dockers hold fire over Sean Darcy's return as Neil Erasmus replaces injured Michael Frederick". The West Australian. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Rogers, Samantha (2 May 2024). "Fremantle Dockers star Sean Darcy reveals 'confronting review' was foundation for Western Bulldogs response". The West Australian. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ Barrett, Jackson (2 May 2024). "Ultimate Sean Darcy career ranking: Every one of Fremantle Dockers ruckman's games ranked 1-99". The West Australian. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ Bastiani, Gemma (5 May 2024). "Dockers power past Tigers to consolidate top-eight spot". Australian Football League.
- ^ Keating, Mitch (May 2024). "The AFL's most efficient ruckmen of 2024 revealed". zero hanger.
- ^ "Sean Darcy". AFL Tables. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
External links
- Sean Darcy's profile on the official website of the Fremantle Football Club
- Sean Darcy's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Sean Darcy at AustralianFootball.com
- Sean Darcy's WAFL playing statistics at WAFLFootyFacts.net
