AFL Draft 2021: Sam Darcy was shaping as one of the best key forwards in this year’s pool until an unexpected twist

Sam Darcy is about to make his own way in the AFL as a likely top-three draft pick. But he can always turn to his dad – an ex-AFL star and current commentator – for help.

Sam Darcy was up for the idea from the get go.

At the start of the season, the Bulldogs-bound goal kicker was already shaping up as one of this year’s best key forward prospects with a reach and a leap that has drawn comparisons to St Kilda star Max King.

But what few people saw coming was the early-season switch into defence that has showcased the father-son gem’s enormous AFL potential at both ends of the ground.

Darcy’s NAB League coach, Jason Davenport, took a leaf straight out of Luke Beveridge’s premiership playbook when he raised the unexpected change-up with the Oakleigh and Scotch College product in the pre-season, in a bid to help grow his game.

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And Beveridge would have loved what he saw as Darcy, who is beautifully-balanced and still growing at 205cm, began to dominate matches from the back half with his intercept marking and sweet rebound kicking.

It means the Bulldogs’ next prized addition will be another ultra-versatile weapon, not forgetting he also bagged six goals as Vic Metro spearhead in a trial game against Vic Country at Werribee mid-year.

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Sam Darcy, son of ex-Bulldog Luke Darcy, is expected to be a top-five pick in the draft. Picture: Michael Klein

Davenport said Darcy surpassed everyone’s expectations in the new defensive role earlier in the season, solidifying his standing as a top-three pick in Wednesday night’s AFL national draft.

“He just intercepted a couple of balls and from a timing and footwork perspective it was really, really impressive,” Davenport said.

“Just that co-ordination and fluency. How he can get in the right position and time things so he marks the ball at the highest point.

“It is as good as I have seen from someone his age.

“We saw the move as an opportunity for him to develop, but at the time we didn’t realise how quickly his ceiling was going to elevate. It was a scary rate.

“At 205cm, the young guys that big can move a bit like baby giraffe, but this kid is pretty special.”

On the day he kicked six majors in the trial game, Darcy showed the many ways he can win the footy and snag goals, reaching high for marks, diving low to ground, and then casually slotting them from tight angles across his body.

Sam Darcy (right) in action for Vic Metro. Picture: Michael Klein

“That game he was picking up ground balls with his opposite hand and snapping with his opposite foot from 40m out,” Davenport said.

“So he is someone who can truly play at both ends and, as a secondary position, in the ruck as well.

“When you look at the Bulldogs’ list with (Aaron) Naughton and Jamarra (Ugle-Hagan) and these sorts of players, there might be an opportunity for him as a defender in his first few years.

“It will be a great problem to have deciding which end (to play him at).”

BULLDOGS IN HIS BLOOD

The Dogs will hit the key-position jackpot for a second year in a row when Darcy starts his new life as a third-generation Bulldog, following in the footsteps of his father and club great Luke, and late grandfather, David, who sadly passed away last year.

With Bulldog in his blood, Darcy, who is the eldest of four siblings, says he has loved the red white and blue for as long as he can remember, and relished the 2016 premiership triumph.

“I don’t remember too much of Dad playing because he retired in 2007 when I was about four, but I grew up a mad Doggies supporter,” he said.

“I always went to the footy, loved going with mates and sometimes with family.

“I loved watching Liam Picken, the ‘Bont’, Bob Murphy, those guys. Aaron Naughton, and the way he goes about it, Alex Keath as well.

“I have always been extremely passionate about footy, and always tried to train hard and work at my game and enjoy watching it, so I have always been a footy-head like that.

“It has always been in the back of my mind growing up, just that dream to make it to the Dogs. That was (the goal).”

Father-son draft prospects Jackson Archer (with dad Glenn), Sam Darcy (with Luke) and Nick Daicos (with Peter) at the MCG. Picture: Michael Klein

That dedication has shown throughout the past two seasons, stacking on about 10kg from his home gym.

And his smooth moves around the ground for a big man can, in part, be attributed to the running and sprint coaching he has undertaken since about grade six.

Darcy, whose godfather is GWS Giants’ coach Leon Cameron, said that running work has helped him learn how to pay “high and low”.

Occasionally, he will also pick his dad’s brains during a kick at the park across the road, but club great and director Luke Darcy has been conscious to let his son do his own thing.

“Dad has always been a great support for us, and always just said, ‘I’m there if he needs me,” Darcy said.

“He has always let the coaches run the show, but if I ask for it (help) when we are going for a kick or something he will say practice this or that, and helped me out with a few things.

“So, he’s great to have around.”

COVID COMEBACK

Sam Darcy also got a taste of what life will be like at the kennel earlier in the year when he spent a week at the club as part of the father-son program.

There, he enjoyed the locker room chat, the team meetings and being on the end of Marcus Bontempelli and Jackson Macrae passes in training drills.

While the past two years weren’t easy coming in and out of Covid-19 lockdowns, having seasons wiped out and schooling from home, the stint at the Bulldogs was definitely a highlight.

“It was pretty crazy the first time I walked in, just being in the change rooms and in the gym with everyone. Talking to the players and being in their meetings,” he said.

“It felt pretty surreal.

“The skills were very high level and pretty awesome to be a part of that, but by the end of the week it was feeling a bit more normal.”

Sam Darcy is set to continue a family tradition at the Bulldogs.

Not that you will hear Darcy talk himself up. The humble and hardworking big man is as coachable as they come, according to Davenport.

But behind the friendly veneer is a fiercely-driven teen who can’t wait to complete his recovery from a foot problem, which put him in a moon boot for three months late in the year.

Soreness turned into a micro-fracture, but Darcy is on the mend and will be ready to play again next year.

Davenport raved about Darcy’s character and work ethic.

“Because of his calm demeanour people might not fully understand just how competitive he is,” Davenport said.

“He carries a great level of maturity already, but boy he loves to compete.

“The football world could potentially become his oyster very quickly.”