Saints young gun Darcy Wilson working on the mental side of his game as he prepares for his second season in the AFL
Young Saints star Darcy Wilson played every single game in his first season, and now it is mental not physical preparation he is focusing on to avoid the second-year blues.
AFL
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As Saints players pushed through a tough running session to close out their pre-Christmas training, one player flew past the gassed runners.
Like Max Verstappen moving through a Formula 1 field, Darcy Wilson picked off players that started running their laps 30 seconds after him, as the second-year tyro cruised through the field and went past his teammates.
Even though he is running alongside elite professional athletes, Wilson moved like a young Cathy Freeman roaring past amateurs on the grass at Stawell all those years ago.
There can hardly be a better time trialler in the AFL than Wilson, but after playing every single game in his first season, it is mental not physical preparation he is focusing on to avoid the second-year blues.
Like Wilson, Saint Mattaes Phillipou played every game in his first season in 2023, but in his second year he was dropped and played in the VFL six times.
Struggling to back up a debut campaign is a problem Wilson is well across and is hoping psychologist work can help him solve the ago-old conundrum.
“I think it is talked about a lot with the boys, having a good first year in the system and then struggling a bit in the second and third,” he said.
“I have chatted to people about that and I think the big one is just the mental side of the game, backing yourself in. I work closely with our psychologist Sean Richardson and just work on having a good mindset going into the year and having a strong focus on my role and how I am going to play that.
“There will be that expectation that I hold on myself and the outside people kind of perceive on me but as long as I work with the psych and work with the coaches to have clear focuses each week, even if I do have a poor game I can bounce back.”
Where some teens learn they need more meat on their bones, to get fitter, or understand the game plan better in their first year thrown into the AFL fire, Wilson walked away with a different lesson.
“For me I think the biggest thing in the AFL system that I have learned is it is 90 per cent mental,” he said.
“As a first-year player I think the mental side of the game was pretty eye opening and the best players really back their own ability in and do a lot of mental practice to be the best players they can.
“Even in American sport, it is pretty big over there. Not necessarily having the ego but just having the confidence in their ability and doing the reps mentally. That has probably help me in good stead and I still have got a lot of work to do.
“At the end of the day, most players in the league are very good players so to get that one per cent extra, I think it is mental.”
There is likely never going to be a doubt about the psychical work Wilson is putting in – nobody at Moorabbin has fears the No.22 will tuck into one slice of pavlova too many at Christmas lunch.
He won the St Kilda 2km time trial in his first week at the club last year and dominated it again this pre-season.
An athletics prospect before leaning towards footy, the 19-year-old just works on running harder and harder.
It’s a trait that will hold him in good stead if he earns a step off the wing and into the centre square.
“It is just trying to beat my times all the time and just try and run PBs all the time and push myself to run hard every training session,” he said.
“Whether that is in a drill or a running block, just try and get the best out of it.”
THE NEXT MIDFIELD
Taken at pick 18 in the 2023 draft, Wilson is the poster boy for St Kilda’s efforts to build a second premiership side without bottoming out.
Under the strategy, the Saints will likely not have a chance to draft a top-five calibre kid, but must hit on players in the mid-to-late first round.
They think they have hit with Phillipou (pick 10), and 2024 pair Tobie Travaglia (pick 8) and Alix Tauru (pick 10).
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (pick 11, 2021) has been a big tick and the Saints think they nailed Mitch Owens (pick 33, 2021), Hugo Garcia (pick 50, 2023) and Angus Hastie (pick 33, 2023).
Tauru is a tall but the others have all flashed some hope of running through the St Kilda midfield in the future, whether as shock-value additions (Owens and Hastie) or as Rolls Royces.
A big visualiser, Wilson can see something special building.
“The young group at the moment is really driven to be the next best midfield or the next best side,” he said.
“We are all eager to work against each other and keep improving each other’s game to eventually be in one of the sides that hopefully play finals and the rest.
“It is really exciting for St Kilda fans at the moment, having such a young group in that is motivated to keep pushing. Internally and externally, even though we wouldn’t have had the year (2024) that Saints fans wanted, we are still excited about what the future holds.”
DARCY WILSON ON …
His contract status after given his draftee deal ends in 2026: “I will just go out and play footy next year. It is kind of in the back of my mind at the moment, I am sure my manager will have a chat to me maybe next year and see what happens.”
Having Saints legends and midfield champions Robert Harvey and Lenny Hayes as coaches:“First walking in to the club I definitely had stars in my eyes. They are the type of people that make you feel welcome and don’t really make you feel like they are better than you.”
Being the man to catch in 2km time trials:“I don’t really feel like it’s put a target on my back. At the end of the day you are there to play footy. It was obviously good to run OK but I just bring it back to training hard and working hard.”
Missing the top eight in 2024: “We are looking to play finals every year and win a premiership every year. I think every team is looking to do that. But for us, it is just continuing to build a really successful team and overall be the best Saints ever. That is kind of our motto at the moment.”
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