At just 18 years old, Daisy D’Arcy is one of Queensland’s most exciting young talents.
After a stellar debut season in defence, playing every game for the Gold Coast SUNS, D’Arcy has put pen to paper and signed on to play for the next two seasons of the NAB AFL Women’s Competition.
“I’m so excited to be a part of it and love the culture at the SUNS, it’s like a second family to me,” she said.
The re-signing comes after D’Arcy finished third place in the SUNS Club Champion Top 10 on 201 votes and took out the Players’ Player award which is voted on after each game by the playing group then allocated on a 3, 2, 1 basis.
“It was a huge shock; I definitely was not expecting it at.
“To receive an award voted by my teammates is incredible, I thought I had played alright on the field, but I must have made an impact off the field as well.
“It’s an honour and I’m very grateful to the SUNS for the opportunity to play this year.”
It’s remarkable to think that D’Arcy had only been playing football for three years before she was drafted from Townsville to the Gold Coast SUNS with pick 60 in the 2020 NAB AFLW Draft.
D’Arcy said she was pretty reluctant to play, as she was already involved in several other sports.
“Mum took me to a girls ‘come and try’ day. I was not a fan of the idea at the time, but as soon as we started going, I feel in love with it,” she said.
With the AFLW boots hung up for the season, Daisy is focussing her attention as a full time trainee for AFL Queensland, based out of the Gold Coast office.
“I absolutely love working in footy and having the ability to teach younger kids how to play the game I love,”she said.
“There are plenty of opportunities and pathways now for girls to start learning and playing footy which isn’t something I ever had growing up in Townsville.
“When I go umpire the junior girl competitions it great to see fantastic participation numbers and how excited they are to be playing footy alongside other girls.
“I’ve only been playing the game for a few years so my goal is to continue to improve and see how good I can get, while working hard off the field at a grassroots level. “
