First Crows defector’s journey from villain to ultimate hero

THE Crows can turn a hero into a villain very quickly. On the odd occasion they can turn him back into a hero as well, writes Chris McDermott on the club’s first defector.

THE Crows can turn a hero into a villain very quickly.

On the odd occasion they can turn him back into a hero as well.

Over their 28-year history they have had many, but one stands head and shoulders above the rest albeit may have forgotten his history.

He will always be known as “ The one that got away”.

Darren Jarman.

How good would he have looked in a Crows jumper in 1991 instead of the brown and gold?

Mind you, for Hawthorn fans he looked pretty good.

‘Fud’, as he was known back then, was a perfect 24 years of age at the start of the 1991 season.

Darren Jarman soars over Hawthorn teammate Gary Ayres.

Premiership hero Darren Jarman celebrates beating North Melbourne in the 1998 AFL Grand Final.

He was already a best-and-fairest winner at North Adelaide. A premiership player. A leading goalkicker. A South Australian representative, with 144 games and 256 goals to his name.

The attraction of football in Melbourne for a superpower like Hawthorn could not be ignored, but some friction with the Crows hierarchy in the late part of 1990 didn’t help ..

For Jarman it was a deal-breaker, and a move interstate to one of the biggest clubs in the game far more attractive than to be part of the first ever team from South Australia.

He went.

He defected.

We all still loved him and didn’t hold him responsible. Somehow the powers that be had messed this one up, big time.

Darren Jarman gets a handball away for North Adelaide in 1987.

Darren Jarman and Andrew Jarman after the SA team beat Victoria in the 1994 State of Origin clash at Football Park.

There was only going to be one loser - the Adelaide Football Club.

Within 10 months we were.

How one bad decision can change the shape of an entire football club.

The Hawks were premiers in 1991.

Jarman would go on to win an All-Australian jumper the following year and a Peter Crimmins Medal as the Hawks’ best and fairest in 1995 before returning home in 1996 to win premierships with the Crows in 1997 and 1998.

All sins were forgiven, but history could never be changed.

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