Fremantle great Paul Hasleby thinks Sean Darcy deserves his new six-year contract extension that was announced by Fremantle on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old is now contracted until the end of the 2030 season, given he was already tied up for the 2024 campaign.
Given Darcy has excelled in purple across his 98 games so far for the club, Hasleby thinks the ruckman is the type of player who is worthy of a long-term deal.
Hasleby’s only concern with the deal is that Darcy would have demanded premium money, which could cause salary cap issues given they already have a ruckman in Luke Jackson on a long-term big-money deal.
“Sean Darcy has signed a six-year contract extension at the Fremantle Dockers,” Hasleby said on SEN WA The Run Home.
“That's six years over and above next year, so it’s essentially a seven-year deal.
“He's 25 now, that'll take him to the age of 32 in 2030. He’s a Docker for life.
“I've had a bit to say about the Sean Darcy contract saga and it's a great deal for Sean and his management, he deserves a big payday, he’s played well for a long time.
“But I do have some fears from the Fremantle Dockers’ point of view, this is what free agency does to a player. It makes the club really have to make a decision on which way they go.
“Do they want to keep the player? If you do, then at what cost? It's a significant cost, and it's going to come at some risk to Fremantle, given what we've seen from Luke Jackson and also Sean Darcy.”
Assuming that Darcy would have re-signed on more than $800,000 a season, Hasleby isn’t sure that the club is best allocating their money given so much is now tied up in the ruck department.
At this stage, Darcy and Jackson both look best when playing in the number one ruck role and Hasleby says the challenge now is for the duo to become more versatile and continue living up to their price tags while playing in other roles.
“We don't know the financial terms around this, but let's just assume it's up around the same as what Jackson received,” Hasleby said.
“That’s $800,000 or $900,000 (a season). That is a lot to have tied up between two players who I believe are both best suited when they're in the ruck.
“Now, we know they can't play the ruck together. One's got to play forward, and I just can't see them both realising their potential splitting the time in that number one ruck position.
“That becomes the challenge because, for the wage that you're paying both of these players, you want great players that are going to dominate consistently across the game.
“That now is the challenge for these guys, and there is the slight risk that there's a bit of Brodie Grundy about this contract.
“It could go well, but it could go pear-shaped, and the Fremantle Dockers could be the loser in time.
Fremantle kick off their 2024 campaign with a Round 1 clash against Brisbane at Optus Stadium on Sunday, March 17.
