JUST when Fremantle was looking to build Sean Darcy’s game time in 2026, the ruckman has entered concussion protocols and won’t face West Coast in next Sunday’s Derby.
Darcy exited the game late in the second quarter after failing a head injury assessment after a collision with Collingwood midfielder Ned Long in Friday night’s win at Adelaide Oval.
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The 27-year-old missed a block of pre-season due to a calf strain but made it back in time for the start of the season, following ankle and knee injuries in the past two seasons.
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir revealed post-game that the Dockers had planned to increase the 27-year-old’s game time after playing just 45 per cent in round one, 54 per cent in rounds two and three and 43 per cent last Friday night.
But now Darcy will be sidelined again.
“Of course it’s disappointing. It’s an unlucky incident that’s going to cost him a little bit of time. I feel bad for him,” Longmuir told reporters after the six-point win over Collingwood on Friday night.
“We want to make sure we look after him as well; he’ll enter the protocols; we had a focus to try and build his game time tonight. He’ll bounce back.
“It is frustrating, of course, he missed most of pre-season last year and has had injury interruptions early this year, which is frustrating.
“Footy throws challenges at you that you’ve just got to work through; we will all work through it, just like Youngy [Hayden Young] is working through his challenges, just like Freddy [Michael Frederick] is working through his challenges; he is just going to have to deal with this.”
Former Collingwood ruck-forward Mason Cox will come under consideration for his first appearance for Fremantle next weekend after joining the Dockers via the pre-season supplemental selection period in November.
Cox is set to play for Peel Thunder on Saturday in the WAFL, but could get his first game for the Dockers next Sunday, although Longmuir wasn’t ready to think about it post-game.
“I’m trying to enjoy the win,” he laughed. “We’ll see about that. I haven’t really dove into West Coast and their ruck (situation), but they have some height across their team.”
Collingwood also lost Jordan De Goey to concussion midway through the second quarter, ruling the midfielder out of next Thursday night’s fixture against Carlton at the MCG.
Magpies coach Craig McRae said Fremantle made the most of the key moments, while Collingwood didn’t in the final quarter on Friday night.
Dan McStay, Lachie Schultz and Nick Daicos all missed opportunities to put the game away, before Jye Amiss, Matt Johnson and Josh Treacy made key plays.
“(We) didn't take our chances. In a low scoring game in tough conditions, even just decision-making stuff like what are we doing?” McRae said in his press conference.
“We have traditionally been really good at managing these moments. We just didn't manage ours tonight. Sometimes you got to live it to go through it to grow and who knows, that could be our story. I'm not sure, but we just didn't manage those moments at critical times.”
After being a last-minute withdrawal at the Gabba on Easter Thursday, Nick Daicos returned on Friday night and starred for Collingwood, despite still being impacted by the corked calf.
The 23-year-old amassed 31 disposals – the most on the ground – and 638 metres gained, but McRae said Daicos is still battling with the lingering concern.
“I think he's still sore. He doesn't quite have the same gait as he usually does. You see how hard he works and then gets up sore and gets treatment on the bench,” McRae said.
“He's super critical to us, that's stating the obvious. But hopefully he's got through this game well and obviously we've got six days before we play the Blues.”