“The feeling is of the shin falling away from the knee. That’s why players grab their shin, it’s a telltale sign of an ACL.”
Birch also said a 2022 study showed that a family history of ACL injuries left an athlete two and a half times more likely to suffer a rupture. Darcy’s father Luke suffered two during his playing career.
The 21-year-old went straight to the change rooms after he hobbled off the field, visibly in pain and accompanied by medical staff.
Birch explained why the club doctors would have said they feared the worst for the young forward, even without having done scans.
“They would have done the ACL test in the rooms, and the reason they’re suggesting it’s an ACL is because there [would have been] way too much movement in the knee, suggesting the ligament is not intact,” she said.
Darcy emerged from the clubrooms to sit on the sidelines about halfway through the second quarter, without ice or strapping on his knee.
Tom Liberatore lays a superb chase-down tackle on Brad Hill.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
He’s a pillar of the Bulldogs’ forward line and has been particularly crucial due to the prolonged absence of Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.
But it was after Darcy went down that the Dogs took over the game, kicking seven consecutive goals en route to their demolition of St Kilda.
They held the Saints to a goalless second quarter, whereas the Bulldogs’ Aaron Naughton and returned captain Marcus Bontempelli kicked two apiece. By half-time, the Saints trailed by 26 points.
From then on, the Bulldogs dominated the stoppages and territory game. The St Kilda defence was under siege, facing 68 inside 50s and recording only 31 of their own.
Bontempelli booted two goals and had 30 disposals in his first game for the season. Credit: Getty Images
Stepping up in Darcy’s absence, forward Aaron Naughton was the beneficiary of many of the Dogs’ inside-50s, kicking three goals, which could have easily been more if he’d kicked accurately.
The Bulldogs were also bolstered by the return of Bontempelli, who made his season debut after recovering from a calf injury. He finished with 30 disposals and two goals, looking like he hadn’t missed a beat
Sorely missed by Bulldogs supporters, he was given an almighty cheer when his name was announced pre-game. The Bulldogs move to 3-3 for the season and creep inside the top eight.
Loading
St Kilda, after an impressive opening 10 minutes, looked lethargic around the stoppages and were squarely outworked around the ground. This was encapsulated when speedy Saints’ winger Bradley Hill was caught in a chase-down tackle by Tom Liberatore in the final term.
The few inside 50s they tallied in the second half were largely squandered. Mitch Owens (3) and Jack Higgins (2) were the only multiple goal scorers for St Kilda. Naughton (3), Rhylee West (3), Bontempelli (2), Matthew Kennedy (2) and Joel Freijah (2) were the most damaging for the Dogs.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
