DARCY UP FOR GAME BUT RULES STOP HIM
DIMINUTIVE Darcy MacPherson certainly has the runs on the board to warrant a return to the AFL with the Gold Coast Suns.
Unfortunately the Suns cannot use one of their form players because of rules and regulations – MacPherson is rookie-listed and therefore ineligible to be selected for this weekend’s Indigenous Round clash against Melbourne in Alice Springs.
It is a frustrating situation but one that coach Rodney Eade has to accept.
Under AFL rules, rookielisted players can be elevated to the main list only in the event of long-term injuries to senior-grade players.
At the moment the Suns have only one long-term injury victim, Sam Day, whose place on the primary list has been taken by tall defender option Keegan Brooksby.
Eade said MacPherson would have been playing against Melbourne as a reward for his form in the NEAFL.
“We certainly would play Darcy MacPherson but we can’t because he’s not on the (primary) list and we haven’t had a spot for him,” Eade said.
“But his form has been exceptional for the last four weeks. He had 39 possessions last game and that’s three 30s in a row for him.
“I know what the rules are and they’ve been like that for a long time.”
MacPherson played four AFL games last year when elevated to the main list.
The irony is that, two years back, the Suns had so many serious, long-term injuries that they promoted five rookies for their AFL debuts.
MacPherson, selection 21 in the 2015 rookie draft made his AFL debut in Round 7 of 2016.
He played three games but injured a knee and missed nine matches before returning for three games in the NEAFL and the Suns’ final round AFL match.