Rookie Darcy Craven (2024 MSD-)

[dlanod]

From WAFL bolter to Brisbane Lions, Craven proves mettle

Darcy Craven has proven he’s not too small for the big time, going from WAFL league bolter to unlikely Brisbane forward in the space of a month.

thewest.com.au

 

[FitzroyPete]

Good luck to young Darcy Craven with the Brisbane Lions.
Darcy made a big impact in his three senior games for East Perth.
The Mighty Royals will miss him.

 

[McIvor]

Joins new teammate Rhys Torrent in being the last player selected. Also joins our growing Darcy club.

 

[FitzroyPete]

Yes, the Brisbane Lions is very much "Darcyville", with Darcy Craven being Darcy # 4, after Fort, Gardiner and Wilmot.
Darcy Craven is also the third former East Perth player at the Lions, after Brandon Starcevich

37

Brandon Starcevich

Age

25

Ht

187cm

Wt

90kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.2

2star

K

6.5

3star

HB

2.6

2star

M

2.8

3star

T

2.0

4star

MG

185.3

3star

D

9.5

2star

K

7.3

3star

HB

2.3

2star

M

3.6

4star

T

2.1

3star

MG

187.9

3star

D

8.6

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

3.2

3star

M

1.4

2star

T

1.8

4star

MG

181.2

3star

and James Tunstill.
Jaxon Prior's father, Michael (ex-Essendon and West Coast Eagles), is a former East Perth player.
Alas, Jaxon was recruited from the "enemy" (West Perth).

 

[Lionwest]

East Perth’s Darcy Craven headlines WA prospects in 2024 AFL mid-season draft​

East Perth legend Craig Wulff told the Royals to look at Darcy Craven, now the young gun is on an AFL list as one of five WA-bred young guns headed to the top level.

East Perth forward Darcy Craven is off to Brisbane.
When East Perth legend Craig Wulff finished his 283 game career at the Royals at the end of 2016, he spent a couple of seasons playing in the Lower South West Football League.
At one point he told the Royals that there was a teenager in the competition from Bridgetwon who they should be taking a long, close look at.
The kid’s name was Darcy Craven and on Wednesday night he made it onto an AFL list after just three senior WAFL games.
Craven, now 20, was picked in the third round of the mid-season rookie draft by Brisbane, the 21st pick overall.

He was one of five West Australians to have their names called – Peel Thunder’s Jacob Blight was taken at pick two by Richmond, West Perth’s Jasper Scaife at pick five by Hawthorn, Subiaco’s Luker Kentfield at pick 11 by Melbourne and East Fremantle ruckman Brynn Teakle has found his way back into the AFL system at North Melbourne who took him at pick 15.
Craven’s WAFL senior coach Ross McQueen described Craven as a “typical country kid” – quietly spoken but with a very high football IQ.
“It is great for the young bloke. I am rapt for him. We spoke briefly at the club the other day and a couple of clubs had expressed some interest in him but we thought it might have just been what clubs do when a kid pops up and kicks four goals in his first game and they are asking who is this kid?.”
Three weeks ago Craven had made his senior WAFL debut against West Coast’s WAFL team and booted four from 17 disposals with a couple of tackles thrown in for good measure.
Playing as a pressure forward he has had goals and tackles in both the games he has played since against strong WAFL outfits Subiaco and East Fremantle.
“He is a very composed young footballer,” McQueen said.
“He moved to Perth last year to play footy after he had finished his schooling in Bridgetown. He started last year in Colts as an over ager and we brought him up to reserves for a few games at the back end of the year.”

Darcy Craven is off to Brisbane.
“If I am put on the spot about what sets him apart I would say he’s a very good decision maker – he just knows how to play football. He gives the first option, he gets to good places to receive the ball and he is really coachable.”
“He is clever. He had to wait his time to get his chance.

“In the colts last year they played him at half back a fair bit because he is such a good decision maker. We play him as a small forward.”
‘He just pops up. He finds a way to take a mark even as a small kid and he is very selfless. On the weekend he passed a couple off – one when he was only about twenty metres out himself.”
“His parents drive up from Bridgetown every game to watch him. He hardly says boo. We gave him an award after his four goals against West Coast and he said about five words on stage.”https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/e...t/news-story/b6f2068a87e2274b1a2a57fd8db1b0db

 

[Freezin]

Watched Craven play in the WA U/21 v WA U/18 trial match a few weeks back....impressed with his silky left foot, more quality then quantity possession wise, good footy IQ. Kicked a great goal from the forward pocket in that game.

Last week in the WAFL for EP, Craven took a great hang at CHF, then played on, and provided EP FF with an elite weighted kick, for the FF to mark on the run in the forward pocket without breaking stride.

Brisbane have done well here, skinny lad, but definitely doesn't shirk the contest....

 

[Lionwest]

https://editions.thewest.com.au/cci..._3bD2vV-O2TuCn9UCLzhgle231pqIFqCIRKB21p-OfsE9

READY TO ENTER THE LIONS’ DEN
Rapid rise nothing new for country kid
Rourke Walsh

At age 16, Darcy Craven was already playing country footy against grown men literally twice his size.

Despite his small stature and slight frame, the crafty left footer was simply too good not to. And after kicking five goals on senior debut for the Bridgetown Bulldogs in 2021, it was clear he was destined for big things.
On Wednesday night, Craven, now 19, was the shock selection of the AFL’s mid-season draft, picked by Brisbane at No.21 despite only making his senior WAFL debut for East Perth three weeks earlier.

Craven’s most senior teammates at Bridgetown in 2021 was East Perth games record holder Craig Wulff — a then 38-year-old veteran of 286 WAFL matches, who continued his playing career in the South West town three hours south of Perth where he had friends and family after ending his tenure with the Royals.

Wulff, a former East Perth captain, best and fairest and two-time State representative — who made his own debut for the Royals two years before Craven was born — admits he was awestruck the first time he saw the teenager in action. And he was quickly on the phone to his old WAFL club to let them know this was a kid to keep an eye on.

“He’s obviously a very special talent,” Wulff said. “With the frame he’s got and being so light, it was quite amazing to see. But what really caught my eye was how physical he was for such a small kid. He wasn’t scared to tackle big guys or stand in their way and then obviously his cleanness, evasiveness and decision-making.

“It was almost like he’d played 50 or 70 games and he’d probably played less than 10 at that stage. He just seemed to have one of those real footy brains that you don’t come across too often, it’s like he was ahead of the game and yet he’s is so young.”

Later that year, Craven kicked two spectacular final-quarter goals in just his 11th senior game to help Bridgetown win the Lower South West Football League premiership. The first was a snap after crumbing a scrappy kick inside 50 and the second an opportunistic kick off the ground after roving a forward 50 stoppage and smartly padding the ball to himself.
“I’ve never told anyone this but at three-quarter-time in that game I actually said to him, ‘Mate, if we are going to win, you’ll be the reason, can you please win us the grand final’,” Wulff said.

“He kicked two amazing goals and we won the game. I knew he was the sort of guy you could put that pressure on and he would respond, and he did. There are obviously guys with better physical attributes, but there’s something about him. It’s not just the talent. He’s just able to do the right things at the right times.”

Still at school and living in Bridgetown, his next year of footy involved a lot of driving with six-hour round trips to Perth with dad Jarran or mum Sherrie for training and games with the East Perth colts.

When Craven arrived at at the Royals just 165cm tall and barely 60kg, he knew he had work to do if he was going to realise his AFL dream. Despite a promising season in his draft year, 2022, he had no enquiries from AFL clubs and the next season he started in the colts again as an “over-ager” before moving up to the reserves for final six games of the season.

He started 2024 in the East Perth reserves again before breaking into the senior side in round six against West Coast, kicking four goals from 17 disposals. That was all Brisbane recruiting manager Steve Conole needed to see before requesting a meeting when in town for the WA v SA State game a fortnight later.

“I knew there were areas I had to improve,” Craven told The West Australian of his development at East Perth.

“Putting on size has always been a focus, it’s something I’ve worked pretty hard on and will continue to work hard on because I think getting bigger and stronger will obviously help my game.
“I’ve grown about 10cm since I started playing colts up here and put a few kilos on but I still need a bit more. I’m building all the time but I’m still only about 66kg right now. I’m looking forward to getting a program when I get over there and getting into it.”Craven admitted to being a little daunted stepping onto the country footy field against much bigger men as a teenager but believes it is part of what helped him develop his craft.
“I always knew I had the agility and evasiveness,” he said. “People probably think I’m small but I think those things definitely helped me to play senior football against the bigger bodies. Crumbing is what I pride myself on and being able to hit kicks that maybe other people don’t see.”

When he arrived in Brisbane on Saturday, Craven knew one familiar face, 2021 draftee James Tunstill, who is a year older but crossed over in South West development squads and at East Perth colts for a few games.

East Perth coach Ross McQueen is in no doubt about the kind of player Craven could be at AFL level.

“We were wrapped with him in the pre-season and there were times when he was dancing around a couple of senior players and they couldn’t lay a glove on him,” he said. “It was a matter of trying to get him into the team. An opportunity came up and Darcy did the rest. Sometimes you’ve just got to be in the right place at the right moment.’’

 

[dlanod]

He'll be one to watch. The small quick forwards are one lottery ticket that hits more often than others.

 

[ZoBlitz]

Mid Season Draft: Darcy Craven

Brisbane Lions welcome Darcy Craven to The Den after he was selected at the Mid Season Rookie Draft. A quick, elusive small forward, Craven possesses a potent left foot and has illustrated this through his ability to hit the scoreboard

www.lions.com.au

 

[McIvor]

Will wear the #50

 

[ZoBlitz]

Welcome to the Den: Darcy Craven

We catch up with our newest recruit Darcy Craven, taken at Pick 21 in the 2024 Mid-season Draft. An elusive small forward, Darcy possesses a potent left foot which he has proven to use to hit the scoreboard, something Lions fans will be eager to see

www.lions.com.au

 

[Crusha]

AFL Debut

 

[Crusha]

VFL Round 19 vs Carlton

Darcy Craven #50

 

[Crusha]

VFL Round 20 vs GWS

Darcy Craven #50