Bridgetown product Darcy Craven to be retained by Brisbane after half a season with the Lions

Bridgetown product Darcy Craven has earned another year with reigning AFL premiers Brisbane, with the small forward to be retained by the Lions for the 2025 season. The club announced last week Craven had been delisted, but committed to bringing the 20-year-old back to the club through the preseason rookie draft. Craven — who played a starring role in Bridgetown’s 2021 Lower South West Football League premiership win aged just 16 — was the bolter of the mid-season draft earlier this year, being plucked out of East Perth after just three games at WAFL league level. He played 13 games for Brisbane’s reserves in the VFL after joining the Lions, kicking 16 goals as they exited in the preliminary final. Busselton junior James Tunstill, Brisbane’s other South West product who played some junior representative football with Craven, is contracted at the Lions until the end of next season.