AustraliaAfter being drafted to the Eagles as pick 26 in the 2010 National Draft, the Eagles marksman came straight into the side making his senior debut for the West Coast against North Melbourne in round one of the 2011 season.
And he immediately impressed, kicking 2 goals on his debut and wowing fans and selectors alike as he just wouldn’t stop running!
Making an impressive 23 appearances in his opening season, Darling scored 24 goals and he went on to better that in 2012 taking the reigns from an injured Josh Kennedy to rack up a whopping 54 goals in 24 games, to become the youngest player to ever win the club’s golden boot for that season.
Darling has maintained his accuracy throughout his time at the club with perhaps his best season coming in 2019 where the half-forward kicked a career-high 59 goals and showed the versatility of his game making a whopping 64 tackles. He was well rewarded in 2019, receiving an All-Australian call-up and finished in the top ten in the John Worsfold medal race that year.
Darling has again impressed in 2020, coming 8th in this year’s Coleman Medal race, while scoring 30 goals and coming 4th in the league for total contested marks.
The mobile forward has stood up as a leader this season. With the West Coast suffering from a series of injury woes and with a series of new players transitioning into the midfield, Darling has helped guide the forward line through the coronacoaster of a season we’ve had
With Darling now coming into his prime, the Eagles have wasted no time in securing the services of the 28-year-old half-forward until the summer of 2025.
