‘Gave us nothing’: Luke Darcy’s ice cold reaction to son’s match-sealing goal
Luke Darcy’s son kicked the matchwinner in Friday night’s AFL game, but you wouldn’t have known by his dad’s ice cold reaction.
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Sam Darcy kicked the match sealing goal in the Western Bulldogs win on Friday night, but you wouldn’t have known by his dad Luke’s reaction in the commentary box.
The Bulldogs produced one of their best performances of the year to defeat an undermanned Magpies outfit 15.10 (100) to 12.10 (82) at Marvel Stadium.
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Collingwood opened up a slender lead in the first term but the match turned into a tight contest.
But the Pies didn’t score a goal in the fourth quarter, while the Bulldogs piled on five majors to claim an 18-point win.
Sensing another late Collingwood comeback, Darcy put the result beyond doubt with a few minutes remaining with a superb passage of play in the forward pocket.
Darcy smothered Pies skipper Darcy Moore’s kick, then received a handball from Rory Lobb and snapped a curling goal from the pocket.
Channel 7’s cameras immediately flicked to his dad Luke Darcy, who was commentating the game for radio on Triple M.
But instead celebrating wildly at his son’s goal, Darcy Sr was stone-faced and didn’t give so much as a smile as he maintained his professionalism.
The Triple M AFL account wrote on X: “Sam Darcy kicked the miracle sealer but Duke GAVE US NOTHING!!!”
Mark Howard quipped in the Triple M box: “Smile big Duke.”
Footy fans compared Darcy’s reaction to Carlton legend Stephen Silvagni, who has been ice cold whenever a camera panned to him after his son Jack kicked a goal for the Blues.
It’s certainly a contrast to Pies legend Peter Daicos, who went berserk when Nick Daicos kicked the matchwinning goal against Carlton last month.
One fan wrote on X: “Bloody hell Luke Darcy is the new SOS! Cracking goal from his son and absolutely nothing. I know you’re working but get excited!”
Another said: “Not a huge Luke Darcy Fan. BUT. He got canned by the general public for his commentary of doggies games, so he’s had to reign it back.
“I’d prefer to see and hear a father proud of his son than having to show nothing to not get canned on social media. He can’t win either way.”
Sports presenter Nick Quinn said: “If I am ever playing poker against Luke I am simply going to fold my cards and give him my money!”
Earlier this season, Darcy called his son in action for the Bulldogs against Fremantle in Perth — switching to the expert commentary role for Channel 7.
Darcy was noticeably quiet when his son touched the ball in that game but did offer some insights when Sam took a mark and lined up goal on the stroke of three quarter time.
“(He) has a habit of getting a little bit close to the man on the mark,” Darcy said of his son’s routine.
“Maybe go back another two steps.”
Co-commentator Alister Nicholson joked: “Stop giving his secrets away Darce”, while Jason Bennett said Darcy was showing off “20 years of research on your part”.
Darcy is a Bulldogs board member.
Sam Darcy may find himself in hot water for a bump on Brayden Maynard in the opening stages of the game, which sparked a melee.
The 20-year-old, who is one of the contenders for the AFL Rising Star Award, said coach Luke Beveridge gave him a spray on the bench for giving away a 50m penalty early.
“He gave me a good little bake,” Darcy told Seven. “Said ‘pull your head in and move on’.”
The Bulldogs are now 10th on the ladder as the win kept their finals hopes alive.
Originally published as ‘Gave us nothing’: Luke Darcy’s ice cold reaction to son’s match-sealing goal
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