11-05-2025
Motormouth Mitch: The Swan Districts midfielder West Coast should consider for mid-season rookie draft
From mid-season draft options to the problem with Sean Darcy's future at Fremantle, The West Australian's football reporter takes a no-holds-barred look at the week's football action.
Eagles Mid-Season Must
West Coast's clearance troubles have been the bane of new coach Andrew McQualter's early coaching tenure.
And it's why many fans and experts believe they will target former Geelong midfielder Brandan Parfitt in the mid-season rookie draft this month.
Parfitt was recruited by Perth and has starred but is already 27 and doesn't fit their rebuild strategy.
If the Eagles do want to recruit a mature-age prospect to help with their clearance woes, then they could do a lot worse than Swan Districts star Jye Chalcraft.
The Eagles have shown previous interest in the tough midfielder and he's making name for himself as one of the best clearance players in the WAFL.
Chalcraft joined Swan Districts last year and was an instant star as they made a preliminary final.
And it should be no surprise given he won consecutive fairest and best awards for Geelong in the VFL, before finishing second behind Sandover medallist Nik Rokahr in the Swan Medal last year.
Chalcraft has only just turned 24 and in arguably career-best form. In Swans' destruction of Subiaco on Saturday night he had a whopping 16 clearances to with 38 disposals and nine score involvements.
Making it even more impressive is the fact he had them against a Lions side that had former Eagle Greg Clark, who is normally a beast in the middle but struggled to keep up with Chalcraft.
Darcy Dilemma
Fremantle's reluctance to accept that the two-ruck system doesn't work earlier may cost them more than a year of premiership contention.
It could hurt them at the draft table. And see arguably their most important player walk out the door.
As Paul Hasleby wrote in The Sunday Times, the Sean Darcy-Luke Jackson combination isn't gelling.
And to make matters worse Darcy is injured once again, which is a big concern no matter how minor.
For a long time, experts and fans have questioned the strategy to spend so much money on two ruckmen, but the Dockers have been adamant they both fit in the team.
In reality, Fremantle should have off-loaded Darcy a few years ago when they acquired Jackson, cashing in at the trade table.
Now if they decide to make a move on Darcy, they're unlikely to get as good a return on their investment.
Darcy is contracted for another five years. The size of this contract, combined with the recent troubles with injuries is likely to mean that clubs are going to be reluctant to hand over a heavy price at the trade table.
A few years ago, you could argue that Darcy would be worth at least one first round draft pick and a little bit more. Now, you wonder if a club would be willing to risk more than a third-round draft pick.
Jackson fits the role of a modern-day ruckman more than Darcy and is younger, so he is the obvious choice to keep if the Dockers do decide to move one on.
But there continues to be rampant speculation that other clubs are targeting Jackson, who is playing a combined role as forward-ruck when Darcy is in the team.
Jackson is an All-Australian calibre ruckman at his best, but he's not going to get to that level parked in the goalsquare.
He needs to be playing about 80 per cent ruck and taking a break on the bench.
If another club comes with more money and the promise of more time in the ruck, then why wouldn't he move?
Fremantle have gone so far down the two-ruck path it might be too late to get out. And it could be the legacy of what should be a time where they're contending for a flag.
Umpiring Farce
The game has never been more over officiated than it is right now and it's ruining our game.
I am always hesitant to criticise umpires. They're so valuable to the game and from grassroots level to the AFL there is a struggle to get people to take up the role.
And to be fair the modern problem is not the umpires' fault. The AFL as an organisation has changed the rules and interpretations to try to speed the game up
As a consequence they've ensured that a feel for a game has gone out the window and instead the whistle dominates.
Take the start of Essendon against Sydney at Marvel Stadium. The Bombers kicked the first three goals of the game - all from 50m penalties.
And while you could argue that each was there by the letter of the law, it was to minor a price to pay for such simple indiscretions as moving when manning the mark.
That rule is already ridiculous but when it is put in focus so much it is then over officiated and it ruins what could've been a good contest.
Then there was the Showdown on Saturday night. Too many times the umpires were involved in what is one of the best games of the season.
It was a great contest and just needed to flow. The AFL needs to fix this situation, make the game easier to umpire and more fluent.
