NEWLY-DRAFTED Cobden export Sean Darcy looms as the long-term replacement for 253-game ruck veteran Aaron Sandilands after signing a two-year extension with Fremantle.
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Darcy, who lived with Sandilands when he was first drafted last year, on Tuesday extended his stay with the Dockers until at least 2020.
"It’s a big boost in confidence knowing that Freo's wanting to stick with me, so I was really happy when they told me they wanted to sign me on," Darcy said.
"There's been a lot of learning - and learning really quickly - but you get used to it. You've got to adjust pretty quickly but once you’re used to it you can track along all right.
"I've found that there's as much physical work as there is mentally. You learn a lot about the game, whether it's about running patterns on the track or in the gym doing weights."
At 201cm and 111kg, Darcy has drawn comparisons to Greater Western Sydney ruckman Shane Mumford.
The 19-year-old is yet to break through for an AFL game, but he's said to be closing in on a senior debut following a series of impressive West Australian Football League performances with Peel Thunder.
Darcy has averaged 45 hitouts over his past two games, and he showed his goalkicking potential with a bag of four goals last month.
Darcy, who plied his trade with Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup before being selected with pick 38 in last year’s draft, has impressed coaches through an average of 30 WAFL hitouts per game.
