He was one of the most talked about players in the competition heading into the year, and the 208cm son of a gun did not disappoint.

Entering 2025 as a key part of the Dogs’ key forward line-up, the young forward would hit the ground running in the opening rounds of the year.

In a somewhat new-look forward structure, Darcy alongside Aaron Naughton found their rhythm in the first five rounds.

With his ability to cover the ground, strong contested-marking ability and – of course, goal sense, Darcy would cause major problems for opposition defenders.

Bags of four goals against Collingwood in Round 2 and another haul of five against Freo would bring Darcy’s total to 15 goals from the first five rounds of the season.

However, the young star’s year would be somewhat derailed when a knee injury in the early stages of the Dogs’ Round 6 clash with the Saints.

Sidelined for until Round 14, Darcy did not miss a beat in his return. Fittingly, getting a second opportunity against the Saints.

From then on, scoring goals became a formality for Darcy finishing the season with a career-best 48 finishing ninth in the entire competition and second at the Club for goals scored.

Darcy’s on-field courage was another area of his game which was a true highlight of the 2025 season.

A willingness to put his body on the line was arguably best demonstrated in the Dogs’ crucial win over the Demons in Round 22.

With the game on the line and the Demons surging to steal a win, Darcy threw caution to the wind and flew back with the flight of the ball to take a game-saving mark late in the game.

The efforts would be rewarded not only with the win, but saw the 22 year old named as the winner of the Virgin Australia 2025 Mark of the Year – the first Bulldog to have ever collected the award.

Averaging 2.8 goals across the year, 3.1 contested marks, 7.7 score involvements and an outstanding 63% goal accuracy putting Darcy in the ‘elite’ category of AFL ratings across the competition.

A win at the 2025 Charles Sutton Medal would signal the true arrival of Darcy and see him join his father, Luke, in the Bulldogs’ history books.

Charles Sutton Medal History:

Chris Grant Best First Year Player - 2022