View source for Luke Darcy

{{short description|Australian rules footballer, born 1975}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Luke Darcy
| image = Luke Darcy.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Darcy at the celebrity race at <br>[[Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix]] in [[Melbourne]]
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|7|12|df=y}}
| birth_place = 
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| originalteam = [[South Adelaide Football Club|South Adelaide]] ([[South Australian National Football League|SANFL]])/[[Rostrevor College]]
| debutdate = Round 21 1994
| debutteam = [[Footscray Football Club|Footscray]]
| debutopponent = [[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]]
| debutstadium = [[Waverley Park]]
| nickname = Darce, Duke
| height = 197&nbsp;cm
| weight = 100&nbsp;kg
| position = Ruck
| statsend = 2007
| years1 = 1994–2007
| club1 = [[Western Bulldogs]]
| games_goals1 = 226 (183)
| sooyears1 = 1996–1999
| sooteam1 = [[South Australia Australian rules football team|South Australia]]
| soogames_goals1 = 2 (0)
| careerhighlights = *[[Leigh Matthews Trophy]]: 2002 (shared)
*[[Charles Sutton Medal]]: 2001
*[[All-Australian]]: 2002
*[[South Australia Australian rules football team|South Australia team Representative]]
*[[AFL Rising Star]] nominee [[1996 AFL Rising Star|1996]]
}}
'''Luke Darcy''' (born 12 July 1975) is a former [[Australian rules football]]er who played with the [[Western Bulldogs]] in the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL) and now works for the [[Seven Network]] and [[Triple M]] covering the AFL and the Olympics.

==Early life==
Luke Darcy was born in [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]], the son of [[David Darcy]], who had played with Footscray (as the Western Bulldogs were then called) and played for and coached [[South Adelaide Football Club|South Adelaide]] in the [[South Australian National Football League]] (SANFL).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/why-darcy-mk-iii-is-on-the-outer/2008/05/06/1209839651258.html|title = Why Darcy Mk III is on the outer|date = 7 May 2008}}</ref> David, originally a Victorian, moved his family to Adelaide where Luke attended [[Rostrevor College]].

==AFL career==
Luke Darcy started his career with South Adelaide before his recruitment by the Bulldogs in 1993.

Debuting in [[1994 AFL season|1994]], Darcy became known as one of the Bulldogs' most successful [[ruckman (Australian rules football position)|ruckmen]]/forwards. In [[2001 AFL season|2001]] he took out the Bulldogs' Best and Fairest award, the [[Charles Sutton Medal]], and continued to play well in the following seasons. in [[2002 AFL season|2002]] Darcy and the [[Brisbane Lions]]'s [[Michael Voss]] were the first players to be awarded the [[Leigh Matthews Trophy]] as the [[AFL Players Association]]'s Most Valuable Player (MVP)[[#Note|<sup>1</sup>]]. In [[2004 AFL season|2004]] he was the [[Western Bulldogs]]'s leading goalkicker.

In a [[2005 AFL season|2005]] match against [[Geelong Football Club|Geelong]], Darcy suffered a season-ending knee injury when he twisted it, depriving the Bulldogs of a quality tall-forward option, something they missed during the year.

On 20 December 2005 during the final pre-season training session before the Christmas holidays, Darcy re-injured the [[anterior cruciate ligament|ACL]] during a fall which dislocated his knee, which meant that he would miss the entire [[2006 AFL season|2006 season]]. The Bulldogs finished the season in eighth place, the first time the club had made the finals in six years. He had been part of a Bulldogs casualty list that included four ACL injuries during the season (up until only the Round 9 mark).

During his time on the sidelines, he provided [[special comments]] for [[Network Ten]]'s AFL coverage, and continued to do so after his playing retirement which he announced on 2 August 2007, the end of the [[2007 AFL season]]. Darcy was officially added to [[Network Ten]]'s AFL commentary team in 2007 (despite still playing football until the end of that season) and remained an Expert Commentator right up until the end of the [[2011 AFL season]], when the network lost broadcasting rights.<sup>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070920212633/http://www.westernbulldogs.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/4112/Default.aspx?newsId=48473]</sup>.

==Statistics==
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/L/Luke_Darcy.html|title = AFL Tables - Luke Darcy - Stats - Statistics}}</ref>

{{AFL player statistics legend}}
{{AFL player statistics start}}
|-
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1994 AFL season|1994]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Foo}}
| 40 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 2.0 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 1.0
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1995 AFL season|1995]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Foo}}
| 14 || 3 || 0 || 1 || 10 || 5 || 15 || 4 || 2 || 0.0 || 0.3 || 3.3 || 1.7 || 5.0 || 1.3 || 0.7
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1996 AFL season|1996]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Foo}}
| 14 || 20 || 12 || 8 || 160 || 78 || 238 || 92 || 15 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 8.0 || 3.9 || 11.9 || 4.6 || 0.8
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1997 AFL season|1997]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL WB}}
| 14 || 23 || 24 || 13 || 208 || 92 || 300 || 131 || 14 || 1.0 || 0.6 || 9.0 || 4.0 || 13.0 || 5.7 || 0.6
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1998 AFL season|1998]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL WB}}
| 14 || 24 || 13 || 8 || 187 || 88 || 275 || 107 || 15 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 7.8 || 3.7 || 11.5 || 4.6 || 0.6
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1999 AFL season|1999]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL WB}}
| 14 || 24 || 19 || 15 || 221 || 104 || 325 || 136 || 17 || 0.8 || 0.6 || 9.2 || 4.3 || 13.5 || 5.7 || 0.7
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2000 AFL season|2000]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL WB}}
| 14 || 17 || 10 || 5 || 172 || 99 || 271 || 106 || 17 || 0.6 || 0.3 || 10.1 || 5.8 || 15.9 || 6.2 || 1.0
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2001 AFL season|2001]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL WB}}
| 14 || 21 || 14 || 8 || 237 || 145 || 382 || 118 || 30 || 0.7 || 0.4 || 11.3 || 6.9 || 18.2 || 5.6 || 1.4
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2002 AFL season|2002]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL WB}}
| 14 || 22 || 23 || 8 || 249 || 211 || 460 || 149 || 63 || 1.0 || 0.4 || 11.3 || 9.6 || 20.9 || 6.8 || 2.9
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2003 AFL season|2003]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL WB}}
| 14 || 21 || 9 || 7 || 211 || 165 || 376 || 129 || 46 || 0.4 || 0.3 || 10.0 || 7.9 || 17.9 || 6.1 || 2.2
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2004 AFL season|2004]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL WB}}
| 14 || 22 || 30 || 13 || 216 || 136 || 352 || 127 || 59 || 1.4 || 0.6 || 9.8 || 6.2 || 16.0 || 5.8 || 2.7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2005 AFL season|2005]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL WB}}
| 14 || 6 || 11 || 3 || 51 || 30 || 81 || 43 || 7 || 1.8 || 0.5 || 8.5 || 5.0 || 13.5 || 7.2 || 1.2
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2006 AFL season|2006]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL WB}}
| 14 || 0 || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2007 AFL season|2007]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL WB}}
| 14 || 22 || 18 || 8 || 141 || 87 || 228 || 91 || 43 || 0.8 || 0.4 || 6.4 || 4.0 || 10.4 || 4.1 || 2.0
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3| Career
! 226
! 183
! 97
! 2063
! 1242
! 3305
! 1233
! 329
! 0.8
! 0.4
! 9.1
! 5.5
! 14.6
! 5.5
! 1.5
|}

==Honours and achievements==
{| style="margin-right:4px; margin-top:8px; float:right; border:1px #000 solid; border-radius:8px; background:#fff; font-family:Verdana; font-size:8pt; text-align:center;"
|- style="background:#fff;"
| colspan="2;" style="padding:3px; margin-bottom:-3px; margin-top:2px; font-family:Arial; "| '''[[Brownlow Medal]] votes'''
|-
! style="width:50%;"| Season
! style="width:50%;"| Votes
|-
| [[1994 Brownlow Medal|1994]]
| —
|-
| [[1995 Brownlow Medal|1995]]
| —
|-
| [[1996 Brownlow Medal|1996]]
| 2
|-
| [[1997 Brownlow Medal|1997]]
| 7
|-
| [[1998 Brownlow Medal|1998]]
| —
|-
| [[1999 Brownlow Medal|1999]]
| 5
|-
| [[2000 Brownlow Medal|2000]]
| 3
|-
| [[2001 Brownlow Medal|2001]]
| 11
|-
| [[2002 Brownlow Medal|2002]]
| 16
|-
| [[2003 Brownlow Medal|2003]]
| 6
|-
| [[2004 Brownlow Medal|2004]]
| —
|-
| [[2005 Brownlow Medal|2005]]
| 5
|-
| [[2006 Brownlow Medal|2006]]
| —
|-
| [[2007 Brownlow Medal|2007]]
| —
|-
| '''Total'''
| '''55'''
|-
| colspan=2| <small>Key:</small>
|- style="background:#d9f9e9; border:1px solid #aaa; width:2em;"
| colspan=2| <small>Green / '''Bold''' = [[List of Brownlow Medal winners|Won]]</small><!--
<br />* = joint winner</small>
|- style="background-color:#FFCCCC; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:2em;"
| colspan=2| <small>Red / ''Italics'' = [[Brownlow Medal#Ineligibility|Ineligible]]</small>
-->
|}

*'''Individual'''
**'''[[Charles Sutton Medal]]''': 2001
**'''[[Leigh Matthews Trophy|Leigh Matthews Trophy (AFLPA MVP Award)]]''': 2002 (tied with [[Michael Voss]])
**'''[[All-Australian team|All-Australian]]''': 2002
**'''[[Australian Football Media Association Player of the Year|Australian Football Media Association Player of the Year Award]]''': 2002
**'''[[Herald Sun Player of the Year|Herald Sun Player of the Year Award]]''': 2002
**'''[[List of Western Bulldogs leading goalkickers|Western Bulldogs Leading Club Goalkicker Award]]''': 2004
**'''[[Australian international rules football team|Australian Representative Honours in]] [[International rules football|International Rules Football]]''': 2002
**'''[[List of Western Bulldogs captains|Western Bulldogs Captain]]''': 2005–2006
**'''[[AFL Rising Star|AFL Rising Star Nominee]]''': 1996 (Round 3)

==Post football career and personal life==
Darcy is married to wife Rebecca and has four children. He is also the son of former Footscray ruckman [[David Darcy]].

In 2008, Darcy became a member of the AFL rules committee while 2011 joined the AFL's All Australian selection panel filling this role for nine years until 2020. Darcy resigned as an All Australian selector to join former club, Western Bulldogs as a director.

In 2021, Darcy's son [[Sam Darcy (footballer)|Sam Darcy]] was drafted by the [[Western Bulldogs]] at pick number 2 in the [[2021 AFL draft|2021 AFL Draft]] under the [[father–son rule]].

Darcy met the former [[Leader of the Opposition (Australia)|Leader of the Opposition]] [[Peter Dutton]] through mutual friends, and became close friends. He is reported to have introduced him to meditation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dutton's power networks: Mix of mates 'the real Peter' keeps close|url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/duttons-power-networks-mix-of-mates-the-real-peter-keeps-close/news-story/31832050f9cdc3eb0bd6a6cf93efbf01|date=25 September 2022|accessdate=25 September 2022|website=The Australian|language=en-AU}}</ref>

In June 2023, Darcy was inducted into the Western Bulldogs Hall of Fame.

===Media===
Late in his AFL career, Darcy was an expert commentator for [[Network Ten]], doing this while injured then filling in around his playing commitments. Darcy was part of the team full time once his retirement came at the end of 2007. His roles expanded on Ten becoming a [[netball]] commentator as well as becoming a panellist on AFL panel shows ''One Week at a Time'', ''[[Thursday Night Live (TV series)|Thursday Night Live]].'' and ''The Fifth Quarter.''

Darcy also joined radio station [[Triple M]] in Melbourne to provide match commentary for its [[Australian rules football]] coverage on Friday nights. He co-hosted Triple M Melbourne's ''[[The Hot Breakfast]]'' with fellow AFL personality [[Eddie McGuire]] until November 2020.

Following the 2011 season, [[Network Ten]] lost the rights to broadcast [[Australian rules football]] matches; he subsequently joined the [[Seven Network]] as part of its expanded AFL coverage. He mainly commentates on the station's Saturday night coverage while maintaining his work at [[Triple M]] on Friday nights.<ref>[http://www.sportsnewsfirst.com.au/articles/2011/07/21/new-boys-with-seven-s-cometti-mcavaney/ New boys with Seven's Commetti, McAvaney - Sports News First] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420230423/http://www.sportsnewsfirst.com.au/articles/2011/07/21/new-boys-with-seven-s-cometti-mcavaney/ |date=20 April 2012 }}</ref>

In 2014, Darcy became the new host of Seven's AFL chat show ''[[Talking Footy]]''. Darcy has also been a fill in sport presenter on ''[[Seven News Melbourne]]'' and has served as a [[tennis]] commentator for Seven, covering the [[2014 Brisbane International]].

In February 2019, Darcy was announced as co-host of the [[Seven Network]]'s lifestyle program, ''House of Wellness'' alongside [[Jo Stanley]], [[Rachael Finch]], Luke Hines and Jacqui Felgate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.houseofwellness.com.au/lifestyle/healthy-living/new-the-house-of-wellness-tv-team-2019|title=House of Wellness: Rachael Finch, Luke Hines, Jo Stanley, Luke Darcy|date=2019-02-08|website=The House of Wellness|access-date=2019-06-30}}</ref>

Darcy hosted Seven's coverage of the [[2020 Summer Olympics|2020 Tokyo Olympics]] alongside [[Johanna Griggs]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}<!--added above External links/Sources by script-assisted edit-->

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Wbplayer|ref=14604}}
*{{AFL Tables|ref=L/Luke_Darcy.html}}

==Note==
<sup>1</sup><small>The AFL MVP award dates back to 1982, when the league was still the Victorian Football League (VFL), but the Leigh Matthews Trophy was only created in 2002. All prior VFL/AFL MVPs were retrospectively given the Leigh Matthews Trophy in 2005.</small>

{{Western Bulldogs captains}}
{{AFL MVPs}}
{{Australian Football Media Association Player of the Year}}
{{Herald Sun Player of the Year}}
{{Charles Sutton Medal}}
{{Western Bulldogs leading goalkickers}}
{{2002 All-Australian team}}
{{2002 Australian international rules team}}
{{1996 South Australia State of Origin players}}
{{1999 South Australia State of Origin players}}
{{1996 AFL Rising Star nominees}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darcy, Luke}}
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People educated at Rostrevor College]]
[[Category:All-Australians (AFL)]]
[[Category:Leigh Matthews Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Western Bulldogs players]]
[[Category:South Adelaide Football Club players]]
[[Category:South Australian State of Origin players]]
[[Category:Charles Sutton Medal winners]]
[[Category:Australian rules football commentators]]
[[Category:Australia international rules football team players]]
[[Category:Australian netball commentators]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from Adelaide]]
[[Category:Triple M presenters]]