What prompted Darcy Chirgwin to give VFL a second crack?
02/06/2026
Across the first nine rounds of Darcy Chirgwin’s 2026 VFL campaign with Sandringham, his first proper crack at the level, the Zebras midfielder has produced some prolific numbers.
A proper contested ball bull, Chirgwin, who stands at 191cm, has averaged 23.7 disposals and 6.4 clearances per game - he was ranked 12th and sixth league-wide in those metrics, respectively, prior to the bye - while opposition players often find themselves wrapped up in one of his strong, full-chested tackles, of which he has laid 53 total, just shy of six per contest, the ninth most across the competition.
With those sort of stats behind you, especially with less than 10 VFL games under your belt, you’d be forgiven if your walk into the club began to morph into a bit of a strut.
But Chirgwin is as down-to-earth as they come, and any mention of his personal success on the field is quickly deflected to praise for his teammates.
“Yeah, that’s probably my thing, I guess,” he said when asked about his on-field contested work to start the year.
“It's not all about touches and numbers though, I've just mainly been enjoying playing with these guys.”
That Chirgwin is able to contribute in such fashion in his maiden VFL campaign should come as no surprise, given there has been big wraps on him since putting together a highly touted junior career.
Throughout the under-18s talent pathway, Chirgwin, originally from Geelong, was dominant, putting his name forward as a potential draftee following a strong campaign with Sandringham Dragons in the Talent League.
Draft guru Kevin Sheehan described him as a “midfielder with excellent football nous who reads the play exceptionally well,” and AFL.com.au’s Callum Twomey had Chirgwin as a projected late-round pick in the 2019 AFL National Draft.
What made that remarkable, though, was the fact that Chirgwin had suffered a brutal leg break in January of that year, missing a chunk of football in his top age season.
Caught between two Dragons teammates in a tackle at a preseason session, Chirgwin fractured his fibula twice and dislocated his ankle in a horrific accident and was sidelined for five and a half months.
His class shone through upon return, lining up for Vic Country in the final game of the Under-18 National Championships and racking up 32 touches, barely missing a beat in what was a stunning declaration of both his natural aptitude and resilience.
Despite all the hardship he overcame, Chirgwin would ultimately not hear his name called out on draft night, and while many would hold onto that disappointment given how close he was to realising his dream, the Geelong product’s outlook sums up his unpretentious approach to both life and the game.
“It was a long time ago now, I don't really think about it too much,” he said.
“It was a pretty bad injury and it probably didn't help my draft chances, but I don't think it was the be all and end all with that.
“It just didn't fall my way, regardless, so it is what it is, really.
“It wasn't the end of the world, but, yeah, it's not ideal looking down and your leg’s pointing the wrong way.”
That was 2019, though, and most elite juniors who go undrafted seek an immediate spot at VFL level to keep their name fresh in the minds of AFL clubs.
Chirgwin did that too, winning a development list spot at Werribee in 2021 after the 2020 season was wiped out due to COVID, and in a bizarre twist debuted for Sydney that year, helping the Swans out as a top up player.
But it would be his only taste at the level, turning his back on the VFL competition at the end of 2021 in favour of local football for a period.
2022 saw him return full time to his home club, St Mary’s in the AFL Barwon competition, before a stint at another St Mary’s, this time in the Northern Territory Football League in 2024, while 2025 saw Chirgwin emerge as one of the best players in the highly competitive VAFA Premier competition.
Turning out for Uni Blues, Chirgwin put his name up in lights with a standout season, claiming the club’s Best-and-Fairest award, earning VAFA Team of the Year and Big V representative honours, while also finishing as the competition’s leading disposal winner and helping his side avoid relegation.
He also caused headaches for Sandringham Head Coach Daniel Ward, then coach of Old Haileybury, posting a 35 disposal, three goal performance against the Bloods in a breath-taking display.
So what prompted Chirgwin to give the VFL another crack?
“I just hadn’t done it properly before, to be honest,” he said.
“It was COVID when I last played VFL, so, I just decided to give it a go.
“‘Wheels (Sandringham CEO Mark Wheeler) gave me a call and said, ‘do you want to come down?’
“I thought, ‘why not?’, and that's basically all there was to it.”
Inviting Chirgwin to the Zebras has proved an astute move by Wheeler, with the big-bodied midfielder starring across the first half of the year.
While his impressive statistics speak for themselves, Chirgwin has continued to improve as the season has worn on, and it isn’t going unnoticed, earning coaches votes in each of the Zebras’ past three outings, including seven of a possible 10 for his 28 disposal, eight tackle, 10 clearance effort in the loss to the Saints in Round 7.
But Chirgwin isn’t getting caught up in any of the numbers or individual performances, instead focussing on the team aspect, with the internal competition for a spot in the side, and the collective motivation to win, spurring him on.
“It's just good fun,” he said.
“Everyone gets along really well, and everyone's very competitive.
“You can sort of see that, coaches pick the team sort of based off that, and everyone comes here to compete and wants to win games.
“That’s been an enjoyable part of rocking up Tuesday and Thursday, knowing that everyone's here trying to get a win on the weekend.”
Photo: Archie Edelsten
Written by Alexander Dabb - Sandringham FC Media