Adelaide Crows defender Daniel Talia reveals words of advice that lifted young star Darcy Fogarty
He trains against him on a daily basis. So Crows defender Daniel Talia knows more than most the extent of rising forward Darcy Fogarty’s talents. He reveals the ‘ripper chat’ which preceded his breakout game against the Eagles.
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Star Crows defender Daniel Talia says teenage teammate Darcy Fogarty has the tools to be the club’s next great forward and revealed his role in helping him finally showcase his prodigious talent on the big stage.
Nineteen-year-old Fogarty emerged from a tough season hidden away in the SANFL to bag five goals in a breakout performance against premier West Coast at Optus Stadium on Sunday and Talia was in awe of his standout display.
“When he first came into the system he was getting compared to Mark Ricciuto (they wear the same guernsey number 32), so that tells you how much talent he’s got,’’ Talia said.
“He has that booming kick, explosive pace and strength, which we saw in that contest that stands out in my mind where he pushed (Eagles captain) Shannon Hurn off, clunked the mark and kicked a goal from 50m.
“That’s what he can do and we love what the big fella offers us now and in the future.’’
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Adelaide’s first draft pick in 2017 (No. 12 overall), Fogarty played his first AFL game of the season against St Kilda last week after managing 10 in his debut season last year.
And he illustrated why he was once a contender to be a No. 1 draft pick by kicking five majors without a miss, including a couple from outside 50m, and hauling in seven marks against a strong backline.
He almost single-handedly guided the Crows to an upset win against the white-hot Eagles before they fell 10 points short to leave their finals hopes hanging by a thread.
“We know he’s got talent but it’s been a real battle for Darce this year,’’ Talia said.
“He’s come in as a highly-touted junior and played 10 games in his first year, which a lot of guys can’t do, and to not play (AFL) for most of the year has been really tough on him mentally.
“It just shows what he can do, how talented the kid is.
“I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago and said ‘just hang in there, mate, it turns’, that I didn’t play in my first year-and-a-half and that things can turn really quickly.
“I had a ripper chat with him and spoke to him after the game (against the Eagles) and said, ‘see what can happen’.
“You were great last week and now you’ve come out and kicked five goals.
“You’ve just got to hang in there sometimes and we loved what he did against West Coast, it was a real positive for the club and for him personally.
“It was a great game by ‘Fog’ and to do it against the reigning premiers with that backline was pretty special.’’
Talia, who was superb at the other end of the ground in holding star Eagles key forward Josh Kennedy to just one goal, zero marks and six disposals, trains against Fogarty on a daily basis.
He said Fogarty’s strengths were his powerful, 193cm, 94kg frame and strong leading patterns.
“He has great power and strength, he’s a physical guy and his movement is so good it makes him hard to play on,’’ Talia said.
“He’s able to really hit up at the ball and I’ve been doing some work with him on his leading patterns and aerial work.
“A lot of the guys have been trying to tell him to keep positive, and to come out and play like this in the AFL is unbelievable and I’m really proud of him.
“It’s one game but he’s definitely going to be a fine long-term player for the club.
“We’ve always known he’s had talent and he’s had to work on his fitness and a few other things this year but to do that was unreal from a young bloke.
“I know the fans have been frustrated that they haven’t seen him all year but sometimes it can take time for guys to develop and let’s hope he can keep going because that was an amazing game.’’