Player Watch Pick #52 (2013) - Darcy Byrne-Jones

[Chrizzt]

Don’t think I’ve ever hated a port player more than I do this ****ing fraud. Embarrassment of a player.

 

[Long live PAFC]

harsh, unfair and untrue.

But I’ll agree he hasn’t been at his best this season.

 

[TazD]

He's another for the "lets see what a new coach can do" group.

 

[TeeKray]

I think his second half to the season has been significantly better than his first.

 

[Blinky Nyland]

If we are going to improve we need to have someone who plays in Darcy's role who can read the play and get to the right spots like Darcy but doesn't panic and waste the ball. Fortunately, Jase Burgoyne is that player and he defends well.

 

[JakeNeadeFan]

He's had a strong year.

 

[Chrizzt]

He's had a strong year.

Can't see how anybody remotely familiar with football would think this.

He's useless one on one. Never wins them, never even neutralises them.
He always guards space 5m further away from a player than what he should - so there are at least half a dozen occasions per match with an opponent taking an uncontested mark within 5-10 metres of him.
He always rushes kicks and just slams it forwards - rarely ever uses his pace and agility to take the game on like he used to.
Never puts his body on the line anymore, and frequently squibs a contest to just sit out back and wait for the handball receive.

I couldn't give a flying **** how many touches he gets, because he's not all that dangerous with ball in hand, and his direct opponent will always kick a small bag on him due to his complete lack of defensive contributions.

 

[It Just Is]

His disposal and decision making is poor and he isn’t good enough defensively, particularly in the air.

We are 11th (maybe soon 12th) on the ladder and need to build around a core of 21yr olds. Move him on.

 

[Coobk001]

DBJ would be playing SANFL next year if I was coach.

I'd be building around Aliir, Burton, Houston, Burgoyne, Jones. + Bergman and Sinn.

 

[JakeNeadeFan]

Can't see how anybody remotely familiar with football would think this.

He's useless one on one. Never wins them, never even neutralises them.
He always guards space 5m further away from a player than what he should - so there are at least half a dozen occasions per match with an opponent taking an uncontested mark within 5-10 metres of him.
He always rushes kicks and just slams it forwards - rarely ever uses his pace and agility to take the game on like he used to.
Never puts his body on the line anymore, and frequently squibs a contest to just sit out back and wait for the handball receive.

I couldn't give a flying * how many touches he gets, because he's not all that dangerous with ball in hand, and his direct opponent will always kick a small bag on him due to his complete lack of defensive contributions.

In the Collingwood game he had 30 touches at 80% DE. He had 14 contested possessions which was the most in our team. He had 9 intercepts which was second most behind Jonas. So he found plenty of the ball. He won plenty of his own ball. He used it reasonably well. And he positioned himself well enough to intercept.

He's also a key member of one of the better defences in the league over the past few years. And a defence that is particularly good at defending against small to medium players which is his role (and decidedly less good at defending against taller players).

I'm not sure how anyone can look at the facts and say that he played a bad game against Collingwood. And he has been reasonably consistent throughout the year, with a few poor games in the mix.

I think some people must conflate their opinions on the coaching with their opinion on DBJ. Same with Jonas. Because otherwise I can't understand the low opinion of him when the facts clearly point in the other direction.

 

[Portmagpies36]

He's had a strong year.

This is Ken Hinkley isn't it.

 

[Portmagpies36]

In the Collingwood game he had 30 touches at 80% DE. He had 14 contested possessions which was the most in our team. He had 9 intercepts which was second most behind Jonas. So he found plenty of the ball. He won plenty of his own ball. He used it reasonably well. And he positioned himself well enough to intercept.

He's also a key member of one of the better defences in the league over the past few years. And a defence that is particularly good at defending against small to medium players which is his role (and decidedly less good at defending against taller players).

I'm not sure how anyone can look at the facts and say that he played a bad game against Collingwood. And he has been reasonably consistent throughout the year, with a few poor games in the mix.

I think some people must conflate their opinions on the coaching with their opinion on DBJ. Same with Jonas. Because otherwise I can't understand the low opinion of him when the facts clearly point in the other direction.

He has been well below average since 2020, his disposal for a rebounding half back flanker is way below average.
I have literally seen him pull out of a contest more than once.

 

[dirty2]

I would accept a late 2nd round pick for him.... Doesn't do it for me.

 

[Powerage]

Can't see how anybody remotely familiar with football would think this.

He's useless one on one. Never wins them, never even neutralises them.
He always guards space 5m further away from a player than what he should - so there are at least half a dozen occasions per match with an opponent taking an uncontested mark within 5-10 metres of him.
He always rushes kicks and just slams it forwards - rarely ever uses his pace and agility to take the game on like he used to.
Never puts his body on the line anymore, and frequently squibs a contest to just sit out back and wait for the handball receive.

I couldn't give a flying * how many touches he gets, because he's not all that dangerous with ball in hand, and his direct opponent will always kick a small bag on him due to his complete lack of defensive contributions.

In 2022 has only 33% contested defensive losses which is a long way from never even neutralises them which is just a ridiculous statement.

Granted hasn't had a great year in some respects. I'd like to see his disposal improve and if he got traded I wouldn't lose sleep. But a lot of the criticism of him on here is way over the top. He didn't start the year well and some seem determined to write him off based on that.

 

[Power Raid]

DBJ, Wines and Duurs have shown in the past they can play the game and play it well

Something has happened to all three.

Injury, confidence, the coach, the 666; who knows. I'd back DBJ to turn things around

 

[bomberclifford]

Durry Bong-Cones cops a lot of unwarranted flack on here. I don’t think he’s as bad as some posters make out. It’s not like he’s a Pittard.

 

[all seeing eye]

Seems to have lost a bit of poise and run. Tendency to bang it onto his boot and not working to receive on the run. Confidence bit complacent? However least of our probs.

 

[ExpectToWin]

Don’t think I’ve ever hated a port player more than I do this ******* fraud. Embarrassment of a player.

Hated, maybe time to take a break from footy

 

[Jonts]

The amount of times he shorts steps before a contest annoys me

 

[JohnHinckleyJr]

His best asset is his hair all he does is choke and dump kick ..

Would rather play skinner

 

[tswizzle]

Darcy Byrne-Jones

33

Darcy Byrne-jones

Age

29

Ht

181cm

Wt

77kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.0

4star

K

11.8

4star

HB

6.2

4star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.8

4star

G

0.1

2star

D

25.0

5star

K

16.0

5star

HB

9.0

4star

M

5.0

5star

T

1.0

2star

G

0.0

1star

D

19.8

5star

K

10.4

4star

HB

9.4

5star

M

3.0

3star

T

2.2

4star

G

0.4

3star

reminds me of Jasper Pittard

17

Jasper Pittard

Age

33

Ht

186cm

Wt

84kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.8

4star

K

11.7

4star

HB

6.1

4star

M

4.7

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

388.2

5star

D

14.0

3star

K

9.9

4star

HB

4.1

3star

M

3.0

3star

T

1.8

3star

MG

310.9

4star

D

19.6

5star

K

14.6

5star

HB

5.0

4star

M

2.6

3star

T

2.2

4star

-McMillan.
The double barrel hyphenated surname, both looked like guns for a yard, then went back to error prone ways

 

[longdonkey]

I think he plays the role Hinkley gives him quite well however he is suffering in the same way Clurey is with the amount of defending he needs to do one on one this year.

A lot of the hate he gets on here is completely unjustified and is bordering on Pittard hatred.

Players aren't the problem Hinkley is.

 

[Janus]

In the Collingwood game he had 30 touches at 80% DE. He had 14 contested possessions which was the most in our team. He had 9 intercepts which was second most behind Jonas. So he found plenty of the ball. He won plenty of his own ball. He used it reasonably well. And he positioned himself well enough to intercept.

He's also a key member of one of the better defences in the league over the past few years. And a defence that is particularly good at defending against small to medium players which is his role (and decidedly less good at defending against taller players).

I'm not sure how anyone can look at the facts and say that he played a bad game against Collingwood. And he has been reasonably consistent throughout the year, with a few poor games in the mix.

I think some people must conflate their opinions on the coaching with their opinion on DBJ. Same with Jonas. Because otherwise I can't understand the low opinion of him when the facts clearly point in the other direction.

I can.

7 rebound 50s, 30 disposals for 199 meters gained. That's 6.6 meters per disposal. Meaning his kicks went backwards more than they went forward.

By comparison:

Farrell - 6 rebound 50s, 20 disposals for 538 meters gained. 26.9m per disposal.
Burton - 5 rebound 50s, 17 disposals for 425 meters gained. 25m per disposal.
Finlayson - 5 rebound 50s, 20 disposals for 429 meters gained. 21.45m per disposal.
Burgoyne - 3 rebound 50s, 17 disposals for 386 meters gained. 22.7m per disposal.
Butters - 3 rebound 50s, 25 disposals for 441 meters gained. 17.64m per disposal.
Rozee - 2 rebound 50s, 35 disposals for 472 meters gained. 13.48m per disposal.
Duursma - 2 rebound 50s, 21 disposals for 215 meters gained. 10.2m per disposal.
Bergman - 2 rebound 50s, 14 disposals for 353 meters gained. 25.21m per disposal.

Byrne-Jones padded his stats with rubbish disposals that didn't go anywhere to maintain that 80% DE.

In fact, if you look at his past three games there's a bit of a pattern:

Against Melbourne - 24 disposals for 184 meters gained. 7.6m per disposal.
Against Geelong - 15 disposals for 149 meters gained. 9.93m per disposal.

And going back a bit further:

Against Hawthorn - 20 disposals for 153 meters gained. 7.65m per disposal.

I reckon opposition sides have worked out that if you pressure him, his preference is to make it somebody else's problem with a dinky little kick or a handpass. He's not 22 years old anymore. He's 26 and should be in his absolute prime, which is why he's probably getting more attention now.





Where's the guy who pushes up the ground and delivers inside 50 that we see in these videos? That was the guy who came 2nd and 1st in our Best and Fairest over those two seasons. I don't think he's playing bad, but for what he's shown in the past, he could have played a lot better this year. He's averaging 1.4 inside 50s per game which is literally the worst return for inside 50s he had per game for his entire career.

If Byrne-Jones isn't pushing forward, that means our defence isn't rolling up to lock the ball inside 50. Against the Dogs in the prelim:

13 disposals, 2 rebound 50s, 1 inside 50 for 84 meters gained. 6.46m per disposal.

Byrne-Jones, more than anyone else on our team, is the barometer for if we are going to have a good season or not, or a good game or not. Your statement of 'he's been reasonably consistent with a few poor games in the mix' could be said about the team as a whole - not great, not good, just consistent...with some horror show performances.

 

[longdonkey]

But..... that's his role. They defend with the ball. That means that they keep possession of the ball by going sideways which these metrics confirm.

 

[Granny Duurs is Lovely]

Think there's a lot of people not understanding DBJ's role. He's clearly playing as that sweeper just off the back off stoppages to stop clean clearances to the opposition and providing the outlet for the handball when our guys are under pressure and unable to move the ball forward. That's where he's playing.

The problem is he doesn't take the game on with pace and agility or offer any line breaking any more. It's like instead of taking the handball from the player under pressure he feels like he's immediately under the same pressure - hence the dump kicks forward.

More importantly though I feel like he's just not been clean this year. Not clean with tackles, gathers, or disposal. Maybe lost confidence? Maybe not seeing it as well, but something's just not clicked for him this year I feel. Doesn't mean he can't bounce back of course and I'd like to see what a new coach could do with him.