Darcy Gardiner might be one of the most under-rated players in the competition but his value to the Lions is appreciated by coaches, teammates and fans alike.
The rugged 25-year-old makes his opponents earn every single possession and his ability to play on tall or small opponents gives coach Chris Fagan invaluable flexibility with how he sets up the Lions’ defence.
His best games of the season came in big wins against West Coast and Greater Western Sydney but it was another season where his consistency was the feature.
The coaches know what they will get from Gardiner every week and his performances have been at a consistently solid level for several seasons but he showed by increasing his average for contested marks per game that he is still striving for improvement in his game.
His reliability was evident with a seventh-place finish in the Merrett-Murray medal, second only to All Australian Harris Andrews among the defenders.
It was a second top ten finish for Gardiner.
Gardiner played every game until the last where he was a last- minute withdrawal from the side to take on the Cats in the preliminary final with a knee injury.
