Sam Darcy - Hype v Output

[Aido97]

Sam Darcy is a very promising young player and he has played a handful of excellent games over the last 12 months. Having said that his hype is astronomically higher than his current output. Beaten comprehensively again tonight and has been serviceable at best so far this year.

Is a reality check needed on where he is currently at and what his ceiling may be or am I just listening to SEN too much?

 

[Sentinel]

There's a lot of hype and he's definitely not the best player in the game right now. He was also pretty poor tonight. He did miss the last month of preseason following State of Origin with injury.

At the same time, he missed 6 H&A games last year and still took more contested marks than any other player in the competition (including those who played finals) whilst coming 8th in the Coleman, at the age of 21. Pretty easy to see why the hype exists.

 

[Crow till I die]

Butts held him well tonight. A quality tight checking nullifier type player might be the answer for sides trying to curb his output

 

[Some Idiot]

He's out of form but still kicked 7 goals in 3 games. Now just wait and see if finds his form from last year.

 

[Del239335]

I still think there's a chance Shannon Neale ends up better than Sam Darcy.
Darcy is pretty good he's just overrated by the media.

 

[bzparkes]

Great young player but probably a good example of how a small set of champion data rankings can skew the opinions of the media.

A few in the media claiming he's the best player in the game(he's clearly not) when he doesn't hold a candle to his own captain, let alone Nick Daicos.

And that's totally fine. He's a 4th year forward ruck, who's well ahead of schedule in his development, and he does benefit by having Naughton as a huge threat up forward also.

If you were to pick between Darcy or Thilthorpe for 2026< I'd personally take the latter as he's just more consistent but doesn't seem to get the same recognition playing for a non-Vic team.

Darcy will obviously get better than he currently is though. He's far from the finished product.

 

[Kobe Gryant]

I still think there's a chance Shannon Neale ends up better than Sam Darcy.
Darcy is pretty good he's just overrated by the media.

Barring a drastic injury, there's next to no chance whatsoever.

Neale projects to be the type of key forward who might snag an AA or two across his career if he's playing in a good side. More Cam Mooney than Hawkins if you catch my drift.

Darcy is the type of key forward that defines his era. On what we know right now, one would have to assume it's either him or Thilthorpe jostling for the #1 title once Cameron and Gunston retire/decline.

 

[Osho]

I still think there's a chance Shannon Neale ends up better than Sam Darcy.
Darcy is pretty good he's just overrated by the media.

Absolute Roar!

No offense to young Neale.

But, ROAR!

 

[00Stinger]

He's out of form but still kicked 7 goals in 3 games. Now just wait and see if finds his form from last year.

What his goal average will go from 2.3 to his career best 2.8

Oh look out....

 

[Some Idiot]

What his goal average will go from 2.3 to his career best 2.8

Oh look out....

2 extra contested marks per game
2 less turnovers, 2 more score involvements and 15% more disposal effiiciency would be nice

 

[TiAn_]

Darcy will get marked hard because of the hype. He’s finding form after the end of his pre-season was impacted by injury, but is still doing all the hard work. Last night:

8 CPs, 10 hit outs, 4 tackles and 14 pressure acts.

Thilthorpe last night for comparison:

8 CPs, 7 hit outs, 1 tackle, 9 pressure acts

 

[mattwa]

Little bit banged up atm. The week off for him is going to be great. I reckon he will kick 6 or 7 against the dons

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Out and out gun

 

[who_let_the_dogs_out]

Would be great to see the output if defenders weren't hanging off him in every marking contest and having the arms chopped. Gets paid a lot less than it should.

 

[TheUnicorn]

I still think there's a chance Shannon Neale ends up better than Sam Darcy.
Darcy is pretty good he's just overrated by the media.

When you wake up after what was obviously a massive night, you should delete this.

 

[BallaratBulldog]

I was kind of happy that Darcy blew up last night when he gave away the 100m. I think it should be a wake up call that he has to remove the whinging thats been creeping in and work through the game.

 

[T2B_]

He's already shown the ability, just not at his best right now, form, injury or otherwise.

Needs to temper his attitude side of things though

 

[Leather Poisoning]

Last night reminded me of some of Buddy Franklin's early games where he was off the boil. Every now and then a defender would really own him. He had to add a few strings to his bow, especially after his thumb injury that really made his one grab marking significantly worse.

People are bery quick to bag out a young KPF that's in a patch of poor form (and the media love pumping a guy up enormously so they can cut him down later) - but opposition coaches are definitely putting a LOT of time and effort into stopping this guy. He's seriously good.

He can kick goals in a very short amount of time and change a game. He's a great mark and if he was on the market everyone woudl be falling over themselves to pick him up. Absoliute game changer and point of difference. But he's inconsistent for now.

Seeing him slot that goal from 50 after losing his cool a minute earlier shows the guy has some serious skill and mental fortitude.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Sam Darcy is a very promising young player and he has played a handful of excellent games over the last 12 months. Having said that his hype is astronomically higher than his current output. Beaten comprehensively again tonight and has been serviceable at best so far this year.

Is a reality check needed on where he is currently at and what his ceiling may be or am I just listening to SEN too much?

I was thinking when watching him last night and last week, that he's grown a bit?

He seems to have drifted into that zone where you're simply biologically out of whack and unable to maintain your agility.

He's starting to look and move like Robert Bobroczky...



His great strength was his agility for his height - but he doesn't look particularly agile at all this year.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

There's not a team in the AFL who wouldn't want him. 6'10", 22 years of age, and can play.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

There's not a team in the AFL who wouldn't want him. 6'10", 22 years of age, and can play.

I reckon he's taller than that now.

Did you see him standing next to Aaron Naughton last night! Towered over him.

 

[ceebsaf]

Darcy can mark because he’s taller than most key defenders. He also gets kissed on the dick by the umpires. But when the ball drops below his knees, he can’t do shit.

Thilthorpe can ruck, can mark, and even push into the midfield. He’s also very solid below the knees.

Darcy is so overrated it’s not funny

 

[TiAn_]

Darcy can mark because he’s taller than most key defenders. He also gets kissed on the dick by the umpires. But when the ball drops below his knees, he can’t do shit.

Thilthorpe can ruck, can mark, and even push into the midfield. He’s also very solid below the knees.

Darcy is so overrated it’s not funny

Losing makes me say dumb stuff too sometimes.

 

[SC_Power]

Darcy can mark because he’s taller than most key defenders. He also gets kissed on the dick by the umpires. But when the ball drops below his knees, he can’t do shit.

Thilthorpe can ruck, can mark, and even push into the midfield. He’s also very solid below the knees.

Darcy is so overrated it’s not funny

So let’s get this straight, is this a vibe judgement thing or an output thing?

Darcy at 205 cm, is tall yes. Thilthorpe, at 200cm isn’t?
Darcy at 2.3 Contested marks per game against Thilthorpe’s 1.7?
Darcy +11 on Frees for v against, as opposed to Thilthorpe’s +10? Wow, umpires favorite!
Darcy at 4.9 hit outs per game vs Thilthorpe’s 4.8? But Thilthorpe can ruck and Darcy can’t.
Darcy at 7.5 contested possessions per game vs Thilthorpe’s 6.8?
Darcy 2.0 goals per game vs Thilthorpe’s 1.5?

I’m not saying that Thilthorpe isn’t a tremendous weapon that I wouldn’t kill to have at my club. But if your gonna state that Darcy is overrated….. hmmm.

 

[SC_Power]

Losing makes me say dumb stuff too sometimes.

Yep, it does. See above.