New Fremantle cult hero Sean Darcy will be thrust into the lead ruck role for the rest of the AFL season after Aaron Sandilands was cut down by a serious hamstring injury.
Sandilands won't play again until next year after re-injuring his right hamstring during the opening term of Sunday's nine-point loss to St Kilda in Perth.
The 34-year-old had been sidelined for the previous five weeks with a hamstring issue, and he lasted just 18 minutes against the Saints before suffering the serious tear.
Darcy is just two games into his AFL career, but he's already being touted as a future star.
The 19-year-old tallied 40 hit-outs in his debut against Geelong in round 14, and he backed it up with 33 hit-outs, 16 disposals, and a goal against the Saints.
Darcy is still raw, but he's proven more than capable of leading the ruck.
The Dockers have lost their past 10 matches when Sandilands has been absent, and they'll be aiming to turn that record around in Sunday's clash with North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.
Darcy was a steal at pick No.36 in the 2016 national draft.
Fremantle were so pleased by his progress in the WAFL this season, they re-signed him until the end of 2020.
Fans have been quick to embrace Darcy as well.
The 201cm, 111kg ruckman has been nicknamed Hodor in reference to the Game of Thrones character.
"He clearly competes doesn't he? He has some attributes that we like and he is working hard," Dockers coach Ross Lyon said.
"He has plenty of growth in front of him and that's the exciting bit."
Fremantle have now lost five games on the trot to slip out of the finals mix.
But their fighting performances against Geelong and St Kilda has left Lyon feeling optimistic about what the future holds.
Midfielder Connor Blakely is available for selection after serving his club-imposed suspension, but he's no guarantee to be picked.
Blakely went into Fremantle's bad books when it was discovered he headed down the West Australian coast on Wednesday for a surf trip - just hours after he was allowed to leave the club early because of illness.
Lyon said there weren't any "gory details" in the situation.
But he said Blakely had made the wrong decision, and now had to work his way back into favour.
"There were plenty of good performances (against St Kilda), so if you give up your spot there's no guarantee your coming back in," Lyon said.
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