Fremantle great Paul Hasleby says Dockers ruckman Sean Darcy should come back through WAFL after latest injury

Fremantle great Paul Hasleby has urged the Dockers to take a conservative approach for luckless ruckman Sean Darcy by bringing him back through the WAFL after his latest injury setback. The Dockers revealed Darcy would have surgery on Thursday to remove a screw in his right ankle which he had operated on in July 2023 to clear an infection. It is set to further delay the 26-year-old’s start to the season, with a serious left knee injury that ended his 2024 after only 12 games already putting him in doubt for their round one clash against Geelong in 38 days. Darcy, 26, has been battling a knee injury which ended his 2024 campaign after only 12 games. He only recently returned from Doha, where he worked with Dr Enda King at the world-renowned Aspetar Sports Medical Clinic to ensure his career longevity. Hasleby said the Dockers should take a cautious approach and consider giving the Doig medallist a stint in the WAFL to make sure when he comes back he’s “cherry ripe”. Peel Thunder have a pre-season clashes against Perth (March 15), West Coast (March 22) and Subiaco (March 29) next month before their season opener against Claremont in Mandurah on April 5. Hasleby said the Dockers could give an opportunity to two-game ruckman Liam Reidy to partner Luke Jackson in the ruck to start the season while giving Darcy time to ensure he is fully fit for a premiership push. “Given the latest setback and he has a long-time deal in place they need to take their time, play the long game to make sure he finally gets over his injury concerns,” Hasleby said. “A fully-fit Sean Darcy is vital for the Dockers’ premiership hopes. The positive is he’s got himself in ripping condition which will help him to get to the required fitness levels once his body allows him to. “It also provides the Dockers a chance to get a better look at Liam Reidy and I would suggest he has some up side. And a bit of competition between the two can only benefit Fremantle long-term. And it provides some important information around their long-term ruck scenario.” Fremantle football boss Joe Brierty said the minor operation would delay Darcy by at least a couple of weeks, but they remained hopeful he’d play football early in the season. “He saw a specialist (on Wednesday) because he had an infection around an old ankle injury on his other leg,” Brierty told TABRadio. “So we’re going to send him in to remove a screw in that other ankle. We don’t want to have an infection that delays him any further or longer-term anyway. “He will continue to do his knee exercises and with that procedure he’ll have a little bit of time — probably a week or two — where he’s not able to sweat around that other ankle. “There’s nothing from a structural concern perspective it’s just making sure there’s no ongoing infection. In that time he’ll continue to do his knee exercises and build back into his footy. “I expect that we’ll see him playing some footy in the early rounds of the season.” It comes as the Dockers face a wave of criticism around the six-year deal they handed Darcy in late 2023 that has him tied to the club until the end of 2030. Darcy has played only 27 games in the past two seasons and the Dockers have invested heavily in a two-ruck combination that included the recruitment of Melbourne premiership star Luke Jackson. Should he miss round one, Darcy will have featured in just one of Fremantle’s past five season openers Brierty said the trip to Doha had helped Darcy as they play the “long game” with their 203cm ruckman. “Sean had a really good trip over in Doha. The way he’s approached his pre-season even during the injury and we’ve talked at length about playing the long game with Sean and making sure that we can get the stability back in his knee that he needs,” Brierty said. “The way he tracked that time over in Doha with the specialist was great to see and he’s brought back some really important exercises that will assist in his function and movement and he’s really excited about implementing those.” Brierty said recruit Shai Bolton would return to full training next week and was a “test” to play limited minutes for the Indigenous All Stars against the Dockers next weekend.