Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir hopes Sean Darcy's big display against Adelaide and the imminent return of Luke Jackson will help drive the injury-hit ruckman to greater heights in the coming weeks and months.
Darcy was comprehensively beaten in Fremantle's 10-point loss to Melbourne in round six, with Demons ruckman Max Gawn racking up 28 disposals, 10 clearances and 31 hitouts in a monster performance.
In contrast, Darcy tallied just four possessions, 20 hitouts and one clearance, with his sole shining light being his two goals.
That match was only Darcy's second game back from lingering knee and ankle issues, but the 26-year-old rebounded strongly in Friday night's 18-point win over Adelaide.
Darcy tallied 36 hitouts and five clearances to go with his eight disposals against Reilly O'Brien (30 hitouts, one clearance and 14 disposals), with the display helping Fremantle win the clearance count 38-30.
Longmuir said Darcy was disappointed with his performance against Melbourne, and he praised the 26-year-old's response against Adelaide.
"He's had a long time off. He's put a lot of work into certain areas of his body to be more resilient," Longmuir said.
"It was good to see him bounce back and build his game. He's still only going to get better from that performance.
"But the pleasing thing is, he's pulling up well, and he's building that resilience in his body and getting fitter."
Longmuir believes Darcy's performance against Adelaide would prove to be an important mental boost about what he could achieve.
"It doesn't matter how many runs on the board you've got as a player, I'd imagine that you need to feel it and see it again," Longmuir said.
"It was good he was able to have some influence in the first probably five, 10 minutes of the game, which got him going a little bit.
"I think his fitness is getting there. I thought he moved around the ground really well.
"I thought his ruck craft and footwork and those type of things, which probably let him down last week, is building week in, week out.
"He's not the finished product. And hopefully we get Jacko in there, and he can start sharing a load a little bit, and Sean will take his game to another level."
Jackson is expected to return from a hamstring injury for Friday night's clash with St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
Darcy and Jackson are yet to play together this season due to injuries, but Fremantle have big hopes the duo can become a powerhouse ruck pairing of the competition.
"Jacko's got a couple of important boxes he needs to tick first, but it's all tracking well for next week," Longmuir said.
