Player Watch #27: Jack Darling

[Yeahnahmate]

I don’t think you can just look at stats with JD. He absolutely takes a defender when in the 50, has good pressure inside 50 with tackling when on also. Has a decent tank for sure.

What Darling will do at North;

• Elite trainer, will set standards and look a million bucks at all times
• Take a decent defender. You absolutely have to man this guy up or he will mark it. Not as much a lead up as a strength / outmuscle for position marking target
• Annoy supporters at times that just look at the stats sheet and not the above positives he provides the forward structure. Waterman was brilliant this year, and JD gets at least some credit for working up the ground and dragging a decent defender around when on the park

 

[the big lebowski]

I don’t think you can just look at stats with JD. He absolutely takes a defender when in the 50, has good pressure inside 50 with tackling when on also. Has a decent tank for sure.

What Darling will do at North;

• Elite trainer, will set standards and look a million bucks at all times
• Take a decent defender. You absolutely have to man this guy up or he will mark it. Not as much a lead up as a strength / outmuscle for position marking target
• Annoy supporters at times that just look at the stats sheet and not the above positives he provides the forward structure. Waterman was brilliant this year, and JD gets at least some credit for working up the ground and dragging a decent defender around when on the park

Yes I think the overall contribution to an increase in forward line output will go beyond his actual goals and goal assists. We actually haven’t had 2 key forwards that know what they are doing together since 2019. It was brown and larkey, then just larkey.

As a team we have looked way better when we have had a second genuine key forward. We’ve tried guys that are ok but don’t really know what they are doing or are wingmen (walker, Teakle, pink, comben (given time I think he will be great), sellers, xerri/goldy, ccj)

Darling is just a much better forward than all those guys.

With he and larkey, and the growth of our medium talls (Zuhaar, Dursma) and smalls (Curtis, Simpkin, Parker, Sheezel) it looks well balanced finally.

Plus we can always swing comben forward if needed.

 

[Devington]

Welcome aboard. May your tenure be filled with long leads, tough tackles, and shouting at shitters to run their opponent away from Larkey.

 

[giantroo]

 

[The Dingrel]

He's one of us now. Get behind him.
Pick 67, a throw at the dartboard.
If nothing else will offer leadership & improvement in standards across the team.

 

[Possession]

IDK, I'm looking forward to having him out there. Welcome.

 

[Event Horizon]

That headline could probably be true for any player that we trade in from another team. I'm sure both Parker and Darling will be unpleasantly surprised at our team's work ethic

If 2 years of Clarko and Viney have not fixed that, what chance do a couple of new players have?
What I find interesting is the comment that has been mentioned a few times, but seemingly not picked up by most people - the comment around the fact that Darling played the "sacrificial" tole in his last couple of years at WC to help Allen and Waterman. But implying that this won't need to be the case, so he may surprise plenty of people if he's allowed to be the focal point.
Interesting implication regarding our development of young forwards

 

[King Corey]

If 2 years of Clarko and Viney have not fixed that, what chance do a couple of new players have?
What I find interesting is the comment that has been mentioned a few times, but seemingly not picked up by most people - the comment around the fact that Darling played the "sacrificial" tole in his last couple of years at WC to help Allen and Waterman. But implying that this won't need to be the case, so he may surprise plenty of people if he's allowed to be the focal point.
Interesting implication regarding our development of young forwards

What young forwards?

 

[Event Horizon]

What young forwards?

Well, that's my exact point. But presumably, we will draft one this year and Comben could be classified as one

 

[giantroo]

 

[giantroo]

 

[giantroo]

 

[King Corey]

"I still feel like I can have seasons where I kick 40 or 50 VFL goals."

"VFL?"

"Yeh state league bro"

<BradyDropCoffeeCup.gif>

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

"I still feel like I can have seasons where I kick 40 or 50 VFL goals."

"VFL?"

"Yeh state league bro"

<BradyDropCoffeeCup.gif>

There are prisoners in Russian Gulags that have more chance of kicking 50 goals in the AFL than Darling.

 

[Caracas]

I don’t think you can just look at stats with JD. He absolutely takes a defender when in the 50, has good pressure inside 50 with tackling when on also. Has a decent tank for sure.

What Darling will do at North;

• Elite trainer, will set standards and look a million bucks at all times
• Take a decent defender. You absolutely have to man this guy up or he will mark it. Not as much a lead up as a strength / outmuscle for position marking target
• Annoy supporters at times that just look at the stats sheet and not the above positives he provides the forward structure. Waterman was brilliant this year, and JD gets at least some credit for working up the ground and dragging a decent defender around when on the park

Sounds a lot like Drew Petrie in his last couple of seasons. I’ll take that every day of the week right now in our forward setup.

 

[Westend]

look after him kangas

reckon he will kick 30 goals for you next year

good luck jack

 

[giantroo]

NEW North Melbourne forward Jack Darling

27

Jack Darling

Age

33

Ht

191cm

Wt

95kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.1

3star

K

7.9

3star

HB

4.2

3star

M

5.0

5star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.9

5star

D

8.0

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

3.7

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.4

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

14.6

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.0

5star

M

6.0

5star

T

4.0

5star

G

1.4

5star

says he didn't leave West Coast just to extend his career at the top level by a season or two and collect a paycheque.

The 298-game Eagles great was traded to the Kangaroos for pick No.67 in the second deal of the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period and said he was looking forward to having a serious on-field impact in North's rebuild.

"I still feel like I've got those seasons in me where I can kick 40 or 50 goals, and put on tons of pressure, and bash and crash," Darling told Gettable on AFL Trade Radio.

"I'm not just there to help young guys, I'm there to be a focal point up there with (Nick) Larkey and help the other guys out like (Zane) Duursma and (Cam) Zurhaar – I don't want name everyone but the list goes in – but I'm there to not just help the young guys.


"I want to lead the way and have a very strong finish to my career."

Jack Darling

27

Jack Darling

Age

33

Ht

191cm

Wt

95kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.1

3star

K

7.9

3star

HB

4.2

3star

M

5.0

5star

T

3.0

5star

G

1.9

5star

D

8.0

2star

K

4.3

2star

HB

3.7

3star

M

2.7

3star

T

2.4

3star

G

1.3

5star

D

14.6

4star

K

7.6

3star

HB

7.0

5star

M

6.0

5star

T

4.0

5star

G

1.4

5star

looks on during West Coast's clash against Geelong in round 24, 2024. Picture: Getty Images


Darling, 32, was left out of West Coast's side at the end of the season, leaving him just shy of becoming the second Eagles player behind Shannon Hurn

25

Shannon Hurn

Age

38

Ht

187cm

Wt

95kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

20.9

5star

K

15.7

5star

HB

5.2

4star

M

7.0

5star

T

1.6

4star

MG

389.5

5star

D

16.1

4star

K

12.1

5star

HB

4.0

3star

M

5.3

5star

T

1.0

2star

MG

271.6

4star

D

19.0

5star

K

11.6

4star

HB

7.4

5star

M

6.8

5star

T

1.6

4star

to reach the 300-game mark.

"I could have got there in the last round this year but it wasn't to be," he said.

" I think the writing was on the wall for my football career at West Coast. I felt like to get two (years) and possibly a third at North was the best option for me.

"I feel like I've still got three seasons left of good footy in me, the way the body feels. If I'd stayed at West Coast, it was sort of maybe coming to an end quicker than that.

"For me, to extend my career as well, I felt like this was the best option and I'm looking forward to giving absolutely everything to the North Melbourne Football Club, as I have to West Coast for 14 years, fully committed." – Michael Rogers

 

[7577969923]

I would think if we played Larkey, Teakle and Pink in our "purple patch" last season (yes, I know everything's relative) then it would be Darling for Pink

Possibly more of a mauve patch...

 

[shinboner spiggs]

Love those comments from him RE not being here purely to help out. The young guys can help themselves by being better than him, kicking a truck load of goals and forcing themselves in the mix.

Think this is a smart move by us and look forward to seeing it in action.

 

[Psicosis]

Really good interview I thought. Great balance of supporting the young guys, driving standards & still wanting to contribute gameday.

 

[Rod Stroker]

What Darling will do at North;

• Take a decent defender. You absolutely have to man this guy up or he will mark it. Not as much a lead up as a strength / outmuscle for position marking target

So the anti-Larks. Works for us.
Larks is a better lead up forward, struggles 1:1 when stationary.

 

[speedy]

The cynics amongst us would say he's only motivation is extracting the maximum coin out of his career.

Massive watch for me on how many chins he’s sporting after the Xmas break. Sounds like the main reason we brought him in is for his professionalism. So let’s see it.

 

[zoomba23]

40-50 he reckons. Very very fine line between self-belief and delusion, but I'm actually glad he said that. **** all self-belief in this group at the moment. Maybe some of that can rub off on others

 

[Black Diamond]

The cynics amongst us would say he's only motivation is extracting the maximum coin out of his career.

Jarrad Waite was quite transparent that this was his reason. Also called us “Kangaroos” for a very long time yet became a fan favourite.

 

[Horace]

I liked to see him use the word "us" in one of those earlier posts. He sees himself as a North Melbourne man now and that's good enough for me. Go Jack.