# Sean Darcy

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.

## 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. Due to his physical size and playing style, he is often compared to Shane Mumford.
A breakout performance during the 2021 AFL season saw Darcy win his first Best and fairest award, the Doig Medal. 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.
Darcy started the 2023 AFL season in brilliant form, ranking third in the AFL for average hitouts with a career-high 39.2, and fourth for hitouts to advantage (11.0). Darcy’s strong form was cut short with a hamstring injury in Round 11 against Melbourne. He made his return in round 15 during Fremantle's 32 point win over Essendon. Darcy tallied a record 58 hit-outs during round 17 against Carlton at Optus Stadium. Darcy suffered an ankle injury during round 18 against Collingwood, which required surgery. He was subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season. Already contracted until 2024, Darcy signed a six-year contract extension in December 2023, tying him to Fremantle until at least 2030.
He was ranked the third best ruckman in the league by Nine's Wide World of Sports in February 2024. Darcy suffered a knee injury in the off-season during Fremantle's practice match against Port Adelaide, and as a result missed the first five games of the 2024 AFL season. Sean made his return during Western Derby 58 collecting 13 disposals and 30 hitouts. He played his hundredth game the next week against the Western Bulldogs. 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. 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%.

## Statistics

Updated to the end of round 17, 2024.
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Averages (per game) | Votes |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | H/O | Votes |
| 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 | Fremantle | 4 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 42 | 92 | 134 | 25 | 26 | 330 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 6.1 | 8.9 | 1.7 | 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 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 49 | 60 | 109 | 12 | 33 | 259 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 5.4 | 6.7 | 12.1 | 1.3 | 3.7 | 28.8 | TBC |
| Career | Career | Career | 107 | 44 | 46 | 589 | 792 | 1381 | 275 | 320 | 3293 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 5.5 | 7.4 | 12.9 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 30.8 | 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