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<\/p>\nIt was the distressing moment in a difficult week where a star collapsed and the footy world gasped, an instant where fans were united no matter the colours they were wearing and those who play winced with immediate understanding.<\/p>\n
The sight of Sam Darcy crumbling to the ground with a serious knee injury in Geelong last Friday silenced those at the ground, with Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge acknowledging this week it was a \u201ctraumatic moment\u201d.<\/p>\n
It is not just those in the cheap seats who are shattered when a top gun goes down. <\/p>\n
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Watch every match of every round of the Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n According to renowned sports medicine specialist Dr Peter Larkins, about 18 to 20 AFL players rupture their ACLs a year and, understandably, their peers feel the pain as well as they watch teammates embark on a lengthy rehabilitation process. <\/p>\n Adelaide champion Taylor Walker was a similar age to Darcy when he ruptured his ACL in 2013 and said he felt sick to his stomach watching the young star as he realised what had occurred.<\/p>\n \u201cI was watching the game and knew it straight away. When you do an ACL, you feel excruciating pain for a period of time, and then it goes away, and that was evident with what we saw with Sam,\u201d Walker told foxsports.com.au this week.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh. You poor bugger\u2019. You don\u2019t want anyone to go through that, let alone one of the best players in the comp. It is not great for Sam, and it is not great for the competition. And to think it is 20 years since his dad did it … it is crazy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all benefit from watching Sam Darcy play because he is in the ten best players in the competition, so we want him back out there playing and putting bums on seats, because he is a tremendous talent.\u201d<\/p>\n The despair is evident on the face of Western Bulldog Sam Darcy after he badly injured a knee in the loss to Geelong. (Photo by Michael Willson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/p>\n \u2018Ghastly\u2019 Bulldogs blow confirmed; \u2018Gasps across the football world\u2019 as star realises worst fears<\/a><\/p>\n Great\u2019s shock Bontempelli tip; How Bulldogs could fix worsening \u2018leak\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n As former West Coast premiership coach Adam Simpson noted this week, it was predicted the angular Bulldog would be footy\u2019s best player this season, given his immense talents. He was a pivotal pillar in the Bulldogs premiership push.<\/p>\n Instead, the 22-year-old is in the infancy of what shapes as an extended rehabilitation program with no guarantees – his surgery was delayed a few days due to swelling – and the Bulldogs face a new reality as they approach the rest of the season.<\/p>\n There is the irreplaceable individual to consider, one Simpson described as a \u201cunicorn\u201d given his weaponry, with a view to the future, and also the immediacy of readjusting the side in order to contend this year.<\/p>\n After a brilliant start to the season, the Bulldogs are back in the muck in seventh spot with key personnel either sidelined or under injury clouds heading into tonight\u2019s clash with the ladder-leading Sydney at Marvel Stadium.<\/p>\n Fox Footy expert analyst Jordan Lewis believes the Bulldogs can still challenge for a flag, such is the talent on their list, but the men from the west will need to reconsider how they go about it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will need to do it a bit differently without Sam there and it is a big challenge against the Swans,\u201d Beveridge said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have had time. We have spun out of that. By the time we get to the game \u2026 we will be ready and Sydney has been impressive. It is going to be no lesser task than what we have been facing. There won\u2019t be any concerns with the valour with which the players need to present to play against the Swans.\u201d<\/p>\n Fears for Darcy after suspected ACL | 01:55<\/p>\n WHO LEADS THE BULLDOGS UP FRONT?<\/p>\n Fox Footy pundits Adam Simpson and Jordan Lewis agree that while the challenge facing the Bulldogs, which have four wins from six matches, is more difficult now, they have enough talent on their list to contend.<\/p>\n During his tenure at West Coast, Simpson was forced to compensate for the loss of an \u201cirreplaceable\u201d talent like Darcy in champion ruckman Nic Naitanui, who dealt with significant knee problems, including ACLs.<\/p>\n In a positive, the powerhouse ruckman was able to return to footy to earn All-Australian status in 2020 and 2021 – he also made the nominal representative side in 2012 – but was sidelined during the Eagles\u2019 successful premiership bid in 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cDealing with (losing) your best player, you can\u2019t replace them, having been through that situation with Naitanui doing a knee,\u201d Simpson said on SEN this week. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is so much emotion at the Bulldogs. I think they live off it a little bit, they thrive off it, so when it tips over to the point where you lose your best player in that manner, it is harder than most for them to come back and get back into the game and show some resolve. It is almost like it breaks them. It is a badge of honour, that emotion. <\/p>\n \u201cBut what does Bevo and the team do going forward around strategy versus the system? It is going to be really interesting. But I am not writing them off, though. There is a good enough way they play \u2026 but they have to get to work.\u201d<\/p>\n Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said his side has \u201cspun out of\u201d the despair of last Friday and will tackle the challenge of facing the top-placed Swans with \u201cvalour\u201d at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night. (Photo by Quinn Rooney\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n The timing of the injury gives the Bulldogs time to identify a forward structure without Darcy that is effective and, while his absence is far from ideal, history shows they can perform even when he is absent from their attack.<\/p>\n Dating back to 2024, the Bulldogs have averaged more points per game and are more efficient in converting forward forays in matches when Darcy, who took the Mark of the Year in 2025, has been absent. <\/p>\n Aaron Naughton is a star as well and now carries a heavier burden. The three-time leading goal kicker has booted 18 goals already this season and is third in the Coleman Medal, with his average of three per match the highest of his career.<\/p>\n Rhylee West was the third most potent Dog last season with 39 goals, but has managed just one this season, while Laitham Vandermeer, who kicked 20 goals in 2025, is yet to play at senior level this year after Achilles issues in the pre-season.<\/p>\n THE WILDCARD<\/p>\n In a segment on Fox Footy\u2019s On The Couch on Monday, Lewis identified the backline as a significant area of concern for the Bulldogs – they have conceded more than 100 points three times in six games – and it is a familiar Achilles heel.<\/p>\n