SAM DARCY wasn't expecting another miracle when his dad drove him back up the M1 from GMHBA Stadium late on April 17. They rarely occur twice. For the second successive year, his season looked over at round six.

Last year, despite every test inside Marvel Stadium indicating that Darcy had done his knee, he hadn't. A scan on Easter Monday, 2025 cleared him of a rupture. He missed only six games, then kicked 34 goals from the final 11 games of the Western Bulldogs' season. 

This year, the morning-after scan didn’t surprise him or the club. This time, the 208cm spearhead had actually ruptured his anterior crucial ligament and would miss the rest of 2026. 

Ten weeks have now passed since Darcy underwent a knee reconstruction. The 22-year-old is making slow, early progress in a long rehab process, but determined to use this time to not just bulletproof his body, but come back better than he was. 

Speaking for the first time since the injury, Darcy said he knew he wasn't going to dodge the same bullet twice and is now focused on ticking off the milestones in his rehab program as he works towards a return at the start of 2027.

"I pretty much knew straight away that I that I'd done it. There was probably the 1 per cent chance because of what happened last year when I thought I did it and that didn't happen, so that was the only little bit of hope. Every sign was saying that I did it," Darcy told AFL.com.au.

"So yeah, it is strange, two years in a row I've had an issue with the same knee. So hopefully it's all repaired now and I can just build a really strong base now and, touch wood, have a good run at it starting from next year I reckon."

When Darcy was cleared of a torn ACL last year, the hyperextension had still damaged his left knee. Scans revealed an impaction fracture at the front of his left knee and ligament damage behind it. Surgery was explored, but opted against, which is a decision the third-generation Bulldog still stands by.  

"No regrets at all not having surgery last year. That was definitely the right decision, and there's no evidence or anything to suggest that the incidents were related or anything," Darcy said.

"The knee was a bit looser just because it was loose anyway before the injury last year, because I had some surgery that tightened it up. But all my strength numbers and everything from that injury last year recovered really well and I got back to playing some decent footy last year. So I wasn't worried about it at all heading into the year, and then just that innocuous incident in that shitty pocket got me."

Sam isn't the first Darcy to do his knee in that pocket of Kardinia Park. His dad Luke suffered the same season-ending injury in the same spot on the same ground in the same round back in 2005. 

Luke Darcy is now the football director on the Western Bulldogs' board, but when he did his knee 21 years ago, he had won a Leigh Matthews Trophy for MVP, a Charles Sutton Medal and been named All-Australian ruckman. He knows exactly what his son is dealing with and the route back to the top.

"It was a weird coincidence," Sam Darcy says. 

"That, and bizarre it was the same round two years in a row that he did it that year. Nothing more to it than a weird coincidence. He's just been great to have in my corner because he's been through the same thing.

"I moved back into home that first week and a bit post-surgery and just having mum and dad and family support was everything, so I am super grateful that I can pick his brain whenever; I was having some little hiccups at the start, he was like, 'yeah mate, I was doing the same stuff'. So it's just nice having that reassurance. 

"Then the guys at the club that have done two knees, like 'Libba' and Connor Budarick have been great. I'm just planning on only doing one, not doing another one, but yeah, there's plenty of support for me."

Darcy appeared destined for big things from even before he was selected at pick No.2 in the 2021 Telstra AFL Draft, but the game has never been more physically challenging. 

The father-son recruit was held back when he arrived at the Whitten Oval due to a navicular stress fracture, then produced a breakout 2024 campaign. His 2025 season was brilliant, albeit interrupted, then he required a shoulder reconstruction as soon as it finished.

Darcy will enter his sixth season with 51 games to his name and a fair, but frustrating question mark regarding his body: can his unique physique handle the rigours this game demands?

"Yeah, 100 per cent, I believe for sure that my body can withstand the demands of an AFL game and AFL season. I'm not worried about it at all," he said.

"Obviously, it hasn't been an ideal a couple of years, and a lot of injuries I've had in the past have just been kind of a bit unlucky and having recurring injuries around them. 

"I know the probability with my body type and frame that these things are probably more likely than a shorter stumpy person. But so many athletes and people now have been through this injury and I know how good the medical team is and modern science and wisdom around physio and recovery and rehab is around ACL. So I'm fully confident that I can get back to being a better player than I was before."

Darcy entered this season as one of the most hyped players in the AFL. The unicorn with the phenomenal blend of athleticism, contested marking and foot skills was supposed to rip the competition to shreds this year. He has accepted the cards he has been dealt, rather than feel sorry for himself.

"Probably the hardest part is watching the boys run out every week. I think that's the toughest. But I think I’ve done a good job of just accepting it pretty quickly; there is no point feeling sorry for yourself," he said.

"I've just accepted it now that I won't play again this year. From there, just click into solution mode and do what I can to get the body as equipped as possible for next year and obviously try and be as good a teammate as I can be around the place and be a positive influence on everyone around me."

The Western Bulldogs won the first four games of the season and were humming. They were 4-1 when Darcy went down against Geelong. They have drifted from that point and have been out of the top four since that loss, rarely looking like premiership contenders. Watching on from afar has been difficult for Darcy.

"I feel like pulling my hair out at times," he said, "especially when it's not going our way. You just have that itch watching; I'm such a competitive person, I want to compete, so when it's taken away from you it can be tough at times, but I've accepted it."

One thing is different for Darcy this year: he isn’t the only Darcy in the building. His younger brother Will was drafted by the Western Bulldogs with the final pick (No.60) in last November's draft.

They call him 'Spindle Shanks' at the club, which is what Jarrad Grant was called when he was at the kennel. Will arrived with less exposed underage form than his brother, but is slowly building a case for a debut across 10 VFL games for Footscray.

"I've loved having him here," Sam says.

"He's settled in really well. He's turned into a bit of a cult figure; all the boys call him Spindle Shanks. I've loved watching him play at Footscray. It’s been pretty cool. Both of us wanted to play for the Dogs growing up, so, it is still amazing having your brother and you at work every day.

"He's an extremely driven kid. He just wants to get the best out of himself. He was a really late developer at school and he's still probably got to put on a fair bit of weight, but he runs really hard, he attacks the contest and has got the appetite to get better. That's all he can ask for a young kid. I think he does have a big future in the game."

Sam Darcy's career has stalled for now, but his ceiling remains as high as anyone else in the game right now.

Before you see him in action next, he will have been to see Dr Enda King in Dublin or Bill Knowles in Philadelphia. Or both reconditioning gurus. 

Darcy is doing everything he can to be back by round one next year and will look under every stone to regain his status as one of the most destructive forces in football.