Darcy Wilson is incredibly quick to slip back to the well-worn footy cliché of “credit to the boys” when asked about his own blistering outing over Geelong on the Saturday night stage.
True as it may be that St Kilda’s wild swing which overturned a 33-point half-time margin and yielded a 13-goal second half was built off a cohesive team-wide performance, it shouldn’t diminish the impact the young Saint had himself in his side’s emphatic second half from the clouds.
Wilson finished the night with a career-best 25 disposals and two goals (almost three had the Sherrin not brushed the post following a sizzling, opposite-foot snap) to instigate his side’s pulsating third quarter, but true to form it was his running numbers which leapt off the page.
The 19-year-old from Wangaratta covered off a game-high 15.5km at Marvel Stadium to complete his full siren-to-siren performance, also squeezing in 33 individual sprint efforts which were unsurpassed by anyone on the ground.
RD23 | 'Up and about' Wilson relishes prime-time win, career-best night
Darcy Wilson speaks in the thrilling minutes post-game in the wake of a career-best performance and sensational Saints win.
“It was pretty cool. I got on the end of a few lucky ones, but it was a good team effort,” Wilson told saints.com.au post-game.
“That one that hit the post I thought was going through! The other two… Stocker gave it to me and I fired off at the goals and it went through.
“But honestly, it’s got to go back to the boys. I wouldn’t be kicking those goals if it wasn’t for the hard work of Stock and the mids, so definitely credit to them.”
With one game against Carlton left to play and Wilson a certainty to feature that game, his debut season is one that will go down in the club’s history books once he officially takes the field next Sunday afternoon.
Wilson will achieve the rare feat of playing in every match in his debut season, following on from Mattaes Phillipou who did the same last year and Callum Wilkie in 2019. Prior to Wilkie, Stephen Sziller was the last to notch up such an achievement all the way back in 1995.
While coming into an AFL environment as a teenager can be daunting, Wilson backed in his work ethic to put himself in selection considerations early in his career, ensuring that output never wavered across the course of the year.
“I suppose coming in (I knew) the Saints were a bit of a running side and I kind of backed my ability to do that,” Wilson said.
“We’ve got some really good coaches, so if I had my ears open to them and learned from them I thought I’d be a chance, but it’s back to hard work really. I’m pinching myself sometimes when I’m working with Ross and the others.
“I’ve been a bit lucky having a bit of an athletics background… 800 metre runner and a bit of hurdles, so that’s carried into my footy. The modern game’s a bit more of a running game and that’s definitely helped, so I just go to work in pre-season, I run hard and it pays off towards the back-end of the year.”
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01:30
RD23 | Prime-time Wilson delights in breakout display
Relive some of Darcy Wilson's most impactful moments from Saturday's win over Geelong.
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08:00
RD23 | All the goals v Geelong
Re-live all 16 goals from our comeback win against the Cats.
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01:08
RD23 | Wilkie all kinds of class over Cats
Callum Wilkie was impeccable in defence to earn this week's Red Rosoter Sainter of the Round.
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15:03
RD23 | Mini-Match: St Kilda v Geelong
Extended highlights of the Saints and Cats clash in Round 23.
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08:12
RD23 | 'We were keen to test ourselves': Lyon post-game
Watch St Kilda’s press conference after Round 23’s match against Geelong.
Press Conference -
02:53
RD23 | 'Up and about' Wilson relishes prime-time win, career-best night
Darcy Wilson speaks in the thrilling minutes post-game in the wake of a career-best performance and sensational Saints win.
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04:58
RD23 | Running machine Wilson on breakout game, team success
Darcy Wilson speaks to the Channel 7 post-game in the aftermath of his breakout game against Geelong.
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04:23
RD23 | Wilkie breaks down Saints' blitz, 'finishing the season strong'
Callum Wilkie speaks to the Channel 7 panel post-game in the wake of St Kilda's 18-point win over Geelong.
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01:26
RD23 | 'We couldn't have done it without them': Steele salutes Saints fans
Jack Steele speaks to Channel 7's Erin Phillips as he, the Saints and their supporters soak in a sensational win at Marvel Stadium over Geelong.
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01:17
RD23 | Marshall's 'changing tactics' paves way for Saints' surge
Rowan Marshall speaks to Channel 7's Erin Phillips following St Kilda's stunning second half which Geelong stunned.
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00:43
RD23 | ‘Miracle goal’ from Owens has Saints dreaming
St Kilda’s remarkable comeback continues with a stunning finish from Mitch Owens,
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00:38
RD23 | Wilson’s double treat gets fans off their seats
Darcy Wilson provides some much-needed spark for St Kilda with two superb goals early in the second half.
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03:29
Lucky Sainter gets experience of a lifetime!
Watch as Saints fan Justin receives the ultimate game-day experience with his heroes, thanks to Chery Motor Australia.
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02:52
Singalong surprise! Saints stunned by Aisle 29
Ahead of Saints Say Thanks Round, we invited one of our most passionate supporter groups to the club.
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09:55
Lyon on finishing season strong, picking a 'team to win'
Ross Lyon speaks to the media to preview Saturday night's contest against Geelong for Saints Say Thanks Round.
Press Conference -
03:01
Undercover Rob! Harvs surprises our cheer squad
Thanks to our coaches' partner Westinghouse, Robert Harvey makes a surprise visit to the St Kilda cheer squad's banner-making night to show the club's appreciation for its incredible volunteers ahead of Saints Say Thanks Round.
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St Kilda’s victory was witnessed by 31,945 attendees at Marvel Stadium in what was the club’s final home game of the year; the red, white and black faithful roaring to life as their side hit their straps after half-time.
It comes as the club surpassed its all-time membership record for the fifth consecutive year earlier this week, registering 60,332 members.
“It (the win) was huge for the boys. Everyone was celebrating pretty hard and the crowd was getting around us which was awesome,” Wilson said.
“That’s why you watch footy (these) types of games. We’ve been up and down throughout the year, but it’s awesome to finally get on the end of a close one against a really good side.
“Packed house, home crowd, it’s unbelievable.”
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