The 'ridiculous contraption' that is symbolic of Sean Darcy's road to redemption

COREY Wagner likes to joke that good friend Sean Darcy wouldn't know a screwdriver from a spanner, despite his country upbringing. But that didn't stop the pair from getting on the tools as Darcy searched far and wide for solutions during a run of repeated knee and ankle injuries.

Darcy had decided he wanted regular access to an ice bath to help the management of a troublesome left knee that had been stalling his career, so he imported materials from the United States and called in former housemate Wagner to help build it in his backyard.

It took a handful of visits to Bunnings for the tight-knit pair to finish the job, but it was a demonstration of Darcy's determination to take control of his career and overcome the injuries that had plagued him since an ankle operation late in 2023.

The past 18 months have included two knee operations and a second round of ankle surgery, with Darcy finding himself in the spotlight as his position and value to the Dockers was heavily scrutinised.

However, in the second half of this season, the powerful big man has emerged as a clutch player for Fremantle and a pivotal figure leading into the club's first finals series since 2022.

AFL.com.au spoke to past and present teammates, family, and coaches to detail the challenges the 27-year-old has overcome and how they have shaped him, with his allies painting the picture of a ruthless competitor who has matured significantly and relished doing the hard work when nobody is watching.

Those close to Darcy have been inspired by his ability to turn adversity into opportunity and reignite his career. Building an ice bath was just one symbolic example of the hard labour he has taken on.

"It's a ridiculous contraption in the backyard, but he was in there every day just to try and help with his recovery and help with his knee," Darcy's mum, Ann-Maree, tells AFL.com.au.

"The two of them built it together and said, 'Look what we made, we're tradies now'.

"But he's absolutely diligent with all that sort of stuff, and I think that helps to have some control and know that you're doing the best that you can do.

"Initially with the injuries he would get very frustrated, but as he's got more into his career he doesn't seem to ride the highs and the lows as much as he did. He follows the process now, rather than getting really distressed about it."

Darcy's resurgence in the second half of this season has been one of the unheralded stories in Fremantle's charge towards hosting a home final against Gold Coast on Saturday night, coming after the No.4's career hit a fork in the road at the end of last year.

Knee and calf injuries plus a concussion had restricted him to 12 games in his eighth season, and he was unable to get up for the final three games of the campaign as the Dockers slid out of the top eight.

The ruckman underwent his second round of knee surgery in six months and knew something had to change. He stripped everything back and took a more patient approach to his rehab with a focus on strengthening his leg muscles and fixing his running gait.

It was a period that the Dockers believed would dictate Darcy's longevity in the game, and the 203cm powerhouse threw everything at it, effectively walking out of surgery and into the club, where he trained through the off-season and transformed himself physically.

He didn't join football drills until well after Christmas and used a players' break in January to fly to Qatar with strength and conditioning manager Jackson Dennis, with the pair working with world-renowned rehabilitation specialist Enda King and returning with new methods that Darcy has integrated into his training and preparation.

Teammates now note that he spends more time in the gym than any player, completing a tailored set of clinical exercises with purpose as well as the rest of his strength program.

He has also worked with the Dockers' dietician and educated himself on nutrition, contributing to his re-emergence this season as a trimmed down and more mobile version of himself.

For star midfielder Caleb Serong, the ruckman's past year has been inspiring.

"His off-season last year - he didn't really have an off-season, to be honest. He was at the club every day training, working with our strength and conditioning and physio staff just to get himself to the point where he is now," Serong tells AFL.com.au.

"That's how much work it took, every day in the off-season. When guys were overseas in America and Europe and enjoying their off-season, he went straight from surgery into rehab into trying to get his body right again.

"The way he's been able to pick himself up off the canvas time and time again is really inspiring for the group. Just to understand and appreciate his commitment to being the best version of himself for him, but also for the team and the club."

There have been other factors besides the injuries that would have made the past 18 months a "humbling" period for Darcy, according to those who work closely with him.

A high achiever who won Fremantle's club champion award in 2021, he was a top three ruckman in the AFL by the time he was 23 and looked capable of becoming the best big man in the game.

He welcomed the arrival of Luke Jackson at the end of 2022, but his injury issues and Jackson's ability to star as the No.1 ruck whenever he has been given the chance have led to a long period of scrutiny on the Dockers' set-up.

That scrutiny was at its highest early this season after Jackson made a barnstorming start to the year, and again mid-season after Darcy suffered a jarred knee and missed two weeks.

A turning point in their partnership came against St Kilda in round 16, however, after the Dockers had been smacked around at stoppages for three quarters at Optus Stadium and needed a spark in the final term.

Darcy stepped up and produced a brilliant 30 minutes in the ruck, while Jackson pushed forward and kicked two critical goals, highlighting the value of the tall pair.

"We looked at each other in the three-quarter time huddle and said, 'We've got to do something to change this momentum'," Darcy said immediately after that crucial game on the Purple Reign podcast.

"We started being better around the contest, got the ball moving forward, started hunting them, and the big fella (Jackson) coming out of the square was huge."

It was a performance that caught the attention of champion Melbourne ruckman Max Gawn, who commented in the aftermath on X: "That's a double ruck special in the last."

Darcy and Jackson have not looked back since, making a habit of working over their opposition ruckman physically for three quarters and then spearheading a run of strong fourth quarters.

They've rewarded coach Justin Longmuir for his faith in the tall structure, as well as the coach's long-held belief that Jackson could play as a big-bodied midfielder when he is not in the ruck.

Serong has paired brilliantly with both this season, ranking No.1 in the AFL for centre clearances (3.8 a game) and No.3 for overall clearances (8.0).

He has won the clearance 7.9 per cent of the time when Darcy is in the ruck (No.4 in the AFL for a pairing) and 8.9 per cent alongside Jackson (No.3). He believes his towering teammates are a barometer for the Dockers going into finals.

"When he (Darcy) is on, it just has a massive impact on the whole group from a footy point of view, but also from a belief point of view," Serong says.

"He's the biggest bloke out in the field, so when he's approaching the ruck contest and contests in general with how ferocious he can be, the boys feed off of it.

"Both him and Luke, in completely different ways, are massive barometers for us and we feed off their energy."

Serong says his own connection with Darcy on-field is built on years of trust and accountability.

They combined exceptionally in the Dockers' last finals win in 2022, with Darcy amassing 47 hitouts against the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium, and Serong dominating with a game-high 10 clearances.

"I trust Sean wholeheartedly. If he says he's going to get the ball somewhere, the ball is getting there. My part of the situation is to get there and make sure I'm in the right spot," Serong says.

"I love the accountability between us. If he doesn't get it done, I can hold him accountable and he responds to that really well, and it's the exact same the other way around.

"It fuels our relationship and our connection out there, just that understanding of where each other needs to be and what's required from the other one.

"As a midfield group, our connection with Sean is really strong and when he's up and going, I don't know if there's many better tap ruckmen.

"He's very enjoyable to rove to. His tap work is extremely generous and it's nice to run through. That's why I love playing with him."

Darcy's importance to the Dockers extends off the field, where his loyalty and generosity with teammates makes him a popular member of the squad.

He has driven regular dinners and catch-ups among the ruckmen to help younger teammates improve and fit in. And as Wagner found out, he has a "perceptive" knack for knowing what teammates might need at any particular time.

"The off-season when I first moved here at the end of 2022, I hadn't really had a beer with anyone for a while and Sean said, 'want to go for a beer?'. We did and we sort of just clicked since then," Wagner tells AFL.com.au.

"He's pretty good like that. He's softy spoken in that initial period, but once you break the big hard surface, he's a very generous bloke. He's very loyal and would do anything for you if you need anything.

"You find the people you connect with at footy clubs, and me and big 'Swag' sort of did."

Determined, competitive, humorous and quietly confident are other ways Darcy is described by people close to him, while he "refuses to put up with rubbish" and commands attention when he speaks up around the club.

Away from football, he has been a passionate support worker with disability support service What Ability and has recently sought an expanded role with the Dockers' charity partner, Starlight Children's Foundation.

While his off-field personality is warm and generous, his on-field persona is one of a ruthless competitor, according to Hawthorn ruckman and ex-Fremantle teammate Lloyd Meek, who spent five years and "hundreds" of training sessions going head-to-head with Darcy.

"For me, it was always about trying to catch him. I spent so much time on 'I'm going to catch him, I'm going to catch him', but I couldn't do it. He's a special player and he's very good with his role in the team," Meek tells AFL.com.au.

"We were good mates off the field but then you knew on the field that it had to be competitive. And we knew that as long as we were both trying as hard as we could, we were making each other better.

"I feel like we both made each other better over the course of our journey together, then off the field we were really good at being able to put that aside and go back to being teammates."

One of the books that Darcy has read during his climb back to prominence in the AFL was The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday, which sets about giving readers a framework to "flip obstacles into opportunities".

There have been significant obstacles for Darcy, but his coaches and teammates have seen his resilience grow through adversity to the point now where there is a big opportunity in front of him.

He is a ruckman who is "absolutely suited to finals", according to one coach, with the increase in stoppages suiting his strengths as he builds momentum alongside Jackson.

There is also excitement at Fremantle around what he could do next year with a proper pre-season, given he only joined the main group this year in late March.

"I feel like every week he's adding another string to his bow and he's finding things again with his body and with his performance. So that's so exciting for us, not just for the next few weeks but also for the next couple of years," Serong says.

"I'm just so proud of him. He's grown in so many ways as a footballer, as a professional, and as a person.

"He's definitely the best version of himself today that he's ever been."

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