The ruck battle between Fremantle huge males Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson is already heating up, with the duo eager to push one another to even higher heights.
Fremantle’s bid for premiership success in 2023 obtained an enormous double increase after they secured Jackson and Jaeger O’Meara through the commerce interval.
Jackson received a flag at Melbourne in 2021 and is touted as a future famous person, whereas O’Meara brings a wealth of midfield expertise following stints at Gold Coast and Hawthorn.
Darcy has been one of many competitors’s finest huge males over the previous two years, however the arrival of Jackson has raised questions on who will assume the lead ruck function.
Fremantle are nonetheless formulating a plan about how Jackson and Darcy will cut up their time between the ruck and ahead line, and the pair have been having fun with the coaching battles towards one another.
“It’s good fun. Lukey’s a character. He’s an extremely good athlete. He pushes me in training,” Darcy stated.
“He’s a really good runner. He covers the ground extremely well. If I’m ball watching a little bit, he’s spreading out wide. It’s really helping me a lot.
“He’s pushed me day-after-day.”
Darcy said it would take time for him and Jackson to build their on-field chemistry.
“It’s see and really feel in the intervening time. It’s coming alongside actually properly,” Darcy stated.
“We’re discovering what he likes and what I like (with) working patterns and issues like that collectively.”
Another player who is effectively a new recruit is captain Nat Fyfe, who was restricted to just seven underwhelming games last season.
The two-time Brownlow medallist is injury free and primed for a big 2023 campaign, and Darcy can’t wait to see the 31-year-old work his magic again on the field.
“It’s thrilling having a full Nat Fyfe again,” Darcy stated.
“And with Jaeger coming in … we have got mainly two new recruits with Nat and Jaeger, so it is actually thrilling.
“They’re two A-graders of the competition.”
Fremantle broke their six-year finals drought final season, however Darcy is not glad.
“We haven’t achieved anything,” he stated.
“Our goal is to hold the cup up. That’s our goal every day, so we’re training really hard and going after it each day.”