Jack Darling brings up 300 AFL games at North Melbourne
Few people know Jack Darling’s game as well as his former forward line partner. And Josh Kennedy says footy’s newest 300-gamer doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Ed Bourke finds out why.
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Jack Darling doesn’t watch much footy, but the busy father of three caught snippets of the West Coast game on his phone last Sunday.
There is a parallel universe where the veteran forward notched his 300th game for the Eagles late last season, perhaps chaired off after a home game by his longtime teammates Jeremy McGovern and Jake Waterman.
Instead, he might leave the field at Marvel Stadium today on the shoulders of Tristan Xerri and Nick Larkey, as blue and white-clad supporters stand and applaud a champion of the modern game they are only just getting to know.
One thing Kangaroos fans should already know is Darling has not arrived at Arden Street just to “pad his super”, as Bulldog-turned-Saint Jack Macrae framed it in October.
The 32-year-old believes the impeccable conditioning which laid the foundation for his run to 300 games has not deserted him, and he can still keep pace well enough to be an effective centre half-forward.
Round 1 often tosses up the fastest-flowing games of the season, and his 15 disposals, two goal assists and major of his own against the Western Bulldogs indicate why Darling and North Melbourne are both confident their move will work.
“I still feel really good with my body, and GPS-wise – last year and this year – I still have a fair bit of speed. I don’t think I’ve fallen too far off the cliff just yet,” Darling smiles.
UNSUNG HERO
It is remarkable to think that a player with more than 500 goals under his belt could at several different points of his career divide a fanbase.
But when he was dropped for the first time in his career in the wake of premiership coach Adam Simpson’s mid-season departure, Darling again found himself the whipping boy for his beloved club’s troubles.
Time will be kind in terms of how is 14-year tenure at West Coast is remembered, but former teammates and coaches say they have been frustrated by how Darling is perceived externally.
“He was the best player in the comp for half a year there in 2019,” Simpson says on SEN.
“You’d just kick it to him … he was a bit like (Wayne) Carey.”
A special milestone for Jack Darling.
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) July 17, 2023
Congratulations on goal 500, Jack! pic.twitter.com/vRQeYav1P9
Between round 11 and a semi-final defeat to Geelong in 2019, Darling booted 40 goals to finish third in the Coleman Medal with a ruthless 59.18 for the season, also earning an All-Australian blazer.
It came after he kicked 48.26 in 2018, including 10 majors in the successful finals campaign he capped with a brilliant seven-disposal, one-goal third term in the decider.
That quarter had been crucial for Darling to conquer any demons from the 2015 grand final disaster against Hawthorn, where he spilt a chest mark deep inside 50 in the third term which the Hawks turned into a goal the other way.
Former teammate and Eagles legend Josh Kennedy says on-field gaffes like that one affected Darling’s standing with supporters more than they should have.
“We all make mistakes on the field … it seemed like Jack would do nine things right and then one thing wrong, and that’s what people would get angry about,” Kennedy says.
“There’s been times where he’s really excelled in that position and been one of the really dominant forwards in the competition. The consistency he’s had, it gets overshadowed I think.
“But he’s been able to push through all of that and just keep taking marks, kicking goals, and even just levelling contests … if he didn’t think he could mark it, he’d always bring it to ground in front of him.
“That consistency over the course of time really helped us excel, especially in 2011 (Darling’s first year) when we went from the wooden spoon to a preliminary final.”
DRAFT STEAL OF THE CENTURY
That Darling’s arrival was one of the main reasons for the Eagles’ steep rise would still eat at rival club recruiters, who let the Perth “man-child” slide all the way to pick 26 in his draft year.
If he had been six months older, Darling would likely have gone inside the first two rounds of the 2009 draft, but instead he slid down the order while he spent the year in purgatory, having finished year 12 but still waiting for his football career to begin.
He had infamously brought alcohol to a school camp, earning him a suspension, and just weeks before the 2010 draft was hospitalised with a fractured skull after he was attacked outside a pub in Subiaco.
He also stopped growing in 2010, which turned some clubs away amid concerns he would not be able to hold down a key position at 191cm.
But by the time Simpson arrived at West Coast in 2014, the second-round pick had played 68 of a possible 71 senior games for 119 goals.
“I don’t think he’d had an operation until last year, he had something done with his arm,” Simpson says.
“His durability is a real strength for a key position, and he’s not tall … when he started his career, he burst on the scene as a pressure player.”
Kennedy said it was immediately obvious to the Eagles that they could dismiss the questions over Darling’s character that had been raised in his draft year.
“There was a bit of noise, but then he came straight into pre-season training already fit and was one of the hardest trainers,” he says.
“He fitted right in alongside Quinten Lynch and myself as the third tall, and was really able to dominate that role, whether it was on the lead or on the defensive side of things.
“His speed was always massive for us – if one of us was shut down, he could either draw the attention away or bob up himself and do the damage.
“He was just a massive influence in making two grand finals, and then winning one together and getting the medal around our necks.”
TOO SELFLESS TO SURVIVE?
As he grew in strength and power, Darling became more of an aerial presence, but with his spot on the line last year he took pride in knowing when to give up on a marking opportunity and cut his losses.
“I don’t have much of an ego … I just want the team to do well, and if there’s a kick long down the line, then I’m looking to get the best result,” he says.
“So if that’s taking a body, and letting a jumper like Bailey Williams or Oscar Allen fly for the ball, then that’s what I would do.
“As you get older, you just care more about winning, and doing that by making your teammates better.
“I’m happy to sacrifice, and you just hope it’s a two-way street. As far as being maligned, I just know I tried my hardest every single week.
“Sometimes you don’t make the most of your opportunities and you’re a bit dirty with yourself … there’s definitely been games where I’ve left a few goals out there, but it’s not for a lack of effort.”
Darling says he does not want to “go into the details”, but it is clear he was left upset by the circumstances of his omission when Jarrad Schofield replaced Simpson as interim coach and swung the axe ahead of his first game at the helm.
The Eagles took the unusual step of releasing a club statement in advance of their team being released, aware of the sensitivity given the veteran had never previously been dropped.
He says he feels no bitterness now towards the rebuilding side, which even compared to six months ago looks starkly different.
“Mate, I looked at a team photo the other day and there’s so many faces in that club I haven’t played with … the (list) turnover is just huge,” he says.
“I don’t watch much footy because of the kids – footy is never on our TV – but I saw bits and pieces of the game (the loss to Gold Coast) on my phone.
“I don’t think we had enough inside 50s, but I think Jake (Waterman) and Oscar (Allen) did what they could.
“It was disappointing (to be dropped last year), but some change needed to happen, so I guess I was part of that.”
SETTLING AT ARDEN STREET
Darling has never won a Coleman Medal, but he helped Kennedy win two, and if round 1 is anything to go by, then he is well placed to help Nick Larkey etch his name into the league records.
He says the “sky is the limit” for 26-year-old, who he thinks plays similarly enough to Kennedy to give their new partnership a familiar feel.
“To do what he did on the weekend, when he had the cork and his prep wasn’t the best going into the game … it’s pretty special,” Darling says of Larkey’s five-goal haul to open the season.
“His leading patterns are so clever, and he’s got a great blend of midfielders and half-forwards who know him pretty well. There’s a great connection with the kickers there for him.”
Darling’s presence could also unlock the potential of Cam Zurhaar, who threatened to rip the game away from the Bulldogs but finished with a wasteful 1.4 from 20 disposals.
“I don’t know how much of an impact I’ll have … I’ll let the experts talk about that,” Darling says.
“But I feel like I know where he (Zurhaar) and ‘Larks’ want the ball already, and it’s not too dissimilar from what we did in that West Coast forward line with Kennedy and (Mark) LeCras.”
Darling has lived in Perth his whole life, so he expects the adjustment to his new Arden Street surrounds to take some time.
He arrived in November and spent three weeks here in pre-season training before his wife, Courtney and their three kids: Max, 7, Leo, 6 and Rosie, 1, were able to join him in their new home.
“It’s hard to pin down what it is, but it’s just so different living here,” Darling says.
“But I’m enjoying it, especially forming new relationships at the club. It’s refreshing to have new faces and new personalities around you every day, and it’s nice to get a fresh start with everyone.
“Everyone knows who you are (in Perth), and when you go to your usual spots you’re recognised and have to chat to everyone … it isn’t a bad thing obviously, but I can go under the radar a bit in Melbourne and it’s a nice change to feel a bit incognito.”
CLARKO’S NICE TOUCH
At the end of January, Darling was preparing to travel to Shepparton for a North Melbourne intraclub game at the same time his boys were gearing up for their first day at their new school.
When his new coach Alastair Clarkson caught wind of the milestone, he insisted the new recruit stay at home.
“He said ‘don’t play, have a holiday, be there for your son and be a good father, that’s really important’. That was quite touching, because I hadn’t considered that was an option until he suggested it,” Darling says.
“I didn’t have a preconceived notion of what (Clarkson) would be like. But he’s great to talk to about life, and he’s very caring.
“He puts the game quite simply, and I like that – with a young side, you don’t want to fill their heads with too much stuff.”
Darling says he was blown away by the running power on display when he arrived for pre-season training.
Add to that the fleet of top-end talent led by Harry Sheezel, Luke Davies-Uniacke and Colby McKercher and he believes the Roos are on the cusp of “something special”, even after the disappointment of the Bulldogs clash.
“There’s this picture of a man with a hacksaw, and he’s digging to try and find gold,” he says.
“The gold is there on the other side, but he stops when he’s just so close to striking it.
“I feel like we’re not far off right now … if we just keep chipping away, soon we’re going to get to that spot.”
Originally published as Jack Darling brings up 300 AFL games at North Melbourne
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