Training 2026 Preseason

[WilloTree]

Hindsight brigade, Meek wasn't half the player he is now.

Yeah, we acknowledged that we're looking at it in hindsight at the outset.

I think the discussion is more how good Meek is AND how far Darcy fell off a cliff. Both.

Perfect storm of Hindsight Hero LM howlers. I'm surprised we don't cop more shit for it from the guys up the road. Mind you, it's pretty hard to hang shit on anyone after a 1 win season.

 

[thistimeforsure]

You know the old yank saying “ they were one injury away from being a good team “

 

[BREATHLESS_987]

Yeah, we acknowledged that we're looking at it in hindsight at the outset.

I think the discussion is more how good Meek is AND how far Darcy fell off a cliff. Both.

Perfect storm of Hindsight Hero LM howlers. I'm surprised we don't cop more shit for it from the guys up the road. Mind you, it's pretty hard to hang shit on anyone after a 1 win season.

I guess the counter point is there are 17 other teams that will have their own cutlery set of fork in the road moments, where hindsight has made a fool of them. Walls and Co have nailed so many shots in the darks that it seems disproportionate how often this Meek/Darcy outcome keeps being raised with ire, (especially given it was a solid list making decision at the time).

But we’re wired to be loss averse and it’s a football forum so here we are

 

[Dockeroo]

The Sean Darcy

4

Sean Darcy

Age

27

Ht

203cm

Wt

111kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.1

3star

K

3.4

1star

HB

6.6

4star

CL

2.4

4star

HO

28.8

5star

D

6.8

1star

K

2.0

1star

HB

4.8

3star

CL

1.8

4star

HO

20.3

5star

D

11.4

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

6.8

5star

CL

2.6

5star

HO

32.0

5star

injury is disappointing but all too predictable. Hardly a bold statement to predict that players like Darcy will get regular injuries nowadays, Stevie wonder could see this one coming at this stage. We are stuck with him for the next couple of years regardless now and we just have to try extract what value we can from Having him on the list. If we can get 12 games out of him a season I’d take that to be honest.
Can fully understand why the club have Mason cox

18

Mason Cox

Age

34

Ht

211cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

F/R

Career

Season

Last 5

D

8.7

2star

K

5.2

2star

HB

3.5

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

1.6

4star

G

1.2

4star

D

6.0

1star

K

3.0

1star

HB

3.0

2star

M

2.3

2star

T

0.3

1star

G

1.0

4star

D

9.0

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

3.6

3star

M

2.6

3star

T

2.4

4star

G

1.8

5star

on a 2 year deal now. It’s mostly about risk mitigation.

On a broader note - someday an AFL club will take a different strategy to managing these high quality players that are perennially injured.
Nearly every club has them and my sense is that over a long number of years holding on and on to them in the hope they will get fit and reach their performance ceiling is mostly a poor strategy.
Will Day a classic example at Hawks. Fantastic players but how can you build a flag winning side when he is such a pivotal player to their B22 yet he’s missed every big game through injury they have played since their window of premiership contention opened 2 years ago?

Whatever you say about guys like brayshaw and Serong - they basically never miss a game. That’s huge and generally undervalued.

 

[theGav56]

The Sean Darcy injury is disappointing but all too predictable. Hardly a bold statement to predict that players like Darcy will get regular injuries nowadays, Stevie wonder could see this one coming at this stage. We are stuck with him for the next couple of years regardless now and we just have to try extract what value we can from Having him on the list. If we can get 12 games out of him a season I’d take that to be honest.
Can fully understand why the club have Mason cox on a 2 year deal now. It’s mostly about risk mitigation.

On a broader note - someday an AFL club will take a different strategy to managing these high quality players that are perennially injured.
Nearly every club has them and my sense is that over a long number of years holding on and on to them in the hope they will get fit and reach their performance ceiling is mostly a poor strategy.
Will Day a classic example at Hawks. Fantastic players but how can you build a flag winning side when he is such a pivotal player to their B22 yet he’s missed every big game through injury they have played since their window of premiership contention opened 2 years ago?

Whatever you say about guys like brayshaw and Serong - they basically never miss a game. That’s huge and generally undervalued.

Building a winning side is more about system than elite individual performances. Both are important factors, but relying on the elite individual is the easier of the two to strategize against. It is what justifies a specialist tagger.

Young for us is in the Will Day category, and we are clearly better with him. But what I like about what the club is doing is creating a system and depth that doesn't rely on his availability.

 

[Docker82]

Yeah, we acknowledged that we're looking at it in hindsight at the outset.

I think the discussion is more how good Meek is AND how far Darcy fell off a cliff. Both.

Perfect storm of Hindsight Hero LM howlers. I'm surprised we don't cop more shit for it from the guys up the road. Mind you, it's pretty hard to hang shit on anyone after a 1 win season.

It's not hindsight that Meek would become an AFL level ruck. Before we traded him he was every time he took the number one role. He looked average the few times we played him with Darcy.

There's a fair chance Meek would've been average whilst playing in the same team as Luke Jackson, especially if the club had decided that Jackson was the no.1 ruck.

Hindsight is talking about Darcy's injuries and/or resulting drop in form as if anyone could've seen it coming.

 

[Count Moriarty]

Cox The Bigger has been quite impressive in the match sims I have seen. Appears very enthusiastic and has plenty to say.
Chapman was good early, on Friday but had a really horrid turnover later.
As others have mentioned Murray was quite prominent. Swaed was also a bit more involved than I have observed previously.
Am I wrong but I thought Darcy joined in the match sims early after not taking part in the warmup exercises?
Good to see Walker in match sims. Performed well.
Freddy put on a clinic, clean ball handling, pressure, working up and down the ground at speed.
Seemed to be a lot of glare emanating from the sandhills.

 

[rgauci]

Pretty unflattering picture of Sean Darcy

4

Sean Darcy

Age

27

Ht

203cm

Wt

111kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.1

3star

K

3.4

1star

HB

6.6

4star

CL

2.4

4star

HO

28.8

5star

D

6.8

1star

K

2.0

1star

HB

4.8

3star

CL

1.8

4star

HO

20.3

5star

D

11.4

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

6.8

5star

CL

2.6

5star

HO

32.0

5star

doing the rounds, not sure if it’s old or new.

Can anyone confirm?

 

[s_wd6]

Pretty unflattering picture of Sean Darcy doing the rounds, not sure if it’s old or new.

Can anyone confirm?

View attachment 2519402

It's at least over a year old. Was in an article in The West in Nov 2024.

 

[BREATHLESS_987]

That's from late 2024. He looks fantastic at the moment

 

[Cesoir]

Pretty unflattering picture of Sean Darcy doing the rounds, not sure if it’s old or new.

Can anyone confirm?

View attachment 2519402

Isn't that Sam Sturt?

 

[Superkoops]

Pretty unflattering picture of Sean Darcy doing the rounds, not sure if it’s old or new.

Can anyone confirm?

View attachment 2519402

I went through the pictures on the club website from training on 23/01 and 30/01 and doesn’t look anything like that. He looks in ripping nick. I’ll find one and post it.

 

[Count Moriarty]

Darcy is now a shadow of his former self.

 

[anchor man]

I went through the pictures on the club website from training on 23/01 and 30/01 and doesn’t look anything like that. He looks in ripping nick. I’ll find one and post it.

I think someone bored and stirring.Or making an attempt at humour.

 

[Superkoops]

 

[Count Moriarty]

More random training observations.
Worner performing very well.
Simpson just running laps.
Ryan played match sims. Looking rather stout.

 

[Paracleet]

Pretty unflattering picture of Sean Darcy doing the rounds, not sure if it’s old or new.

Can anyone confirm?

View attachment 2519402

It is a new shot. He has Valente on his back

 

[Ysaye]

It is a new shot. He has Valente on his back

Yeah he is really weighing him down these days....

 

[Piggy Smalls]

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That last picture, you can see the difference in his face. He looks leaner than he ever has since he got here. He also looks like he's put on some serious muscle.

 

[King Huskii]

More random training observations.
Worner performing very well.
Simpson just running laps.
Ryan played match sims. Looking rather stout.

Is stout code for fat? Because he's far from looking fit and firing.

 

[Piggy Smalls]

Is stout code for fat? Because he's far from looking fit and firing.

Yep stout is kinda like calling someone rotund.

 

[lint]

View attachment 2519459View attachment 2519460View attachment 2519461View attachment 2519462View attachment 2519463View attachment 2519464

I mean, lets not get ahead of ourselves...

In the first two pictures (particularly the second) you can clearly see some mini-spare tyre padding in the middle and excess man boobage...

I'm not denying its the best he's looked pre-season, but I'd argue the bar in relation to Sean is pretty low.

He's now beginning to look like a professional AFL player who is on 650K+ a year, with a history of knee and soft tissue issues should look.

Patrick Voss quit booze last year and earned himself a lucrative contract. Look at the nick he is in this year.

I don't think we should all be popping the Dom Perignon just because Sean has finally pulled his finger out and looks like an AFL player.

I think there is more work for him to do, especially if he wants to play the majority of a season.

 

[Sully90]

Think people are over-catastrophising the Darcy situation tbh.

 

[Piggy Smalls]

Think people are over-catastrophising the Darcy situation tbh.

Darcy and Ryan are the gifts that keep on giving in this department. Rinse and repeat every pre season.

Over time, I've learned from Big Footy that Ryan (our most experienced AA) is perpetually a fat, lazy slob that reeks of stale ciggies, and Darcy eats a bucket of KFC and drinks 12 beers every night because he's unprofessional.

 

[AstonSouffle]

Does a minor calf injury and you'd be think he's been inhaling 40 mega pints of beer a week, and living off nothing but short cut bacon the way everyone has gone at him.

As for the Meek chat, Jackson was obviously coming, Darcy was first choice at the time, and so Meek leaves in anticipation. Feel anyone saying otherwise just wants to have a giant sooky sook.