Australian Football

Recruited, like his older brother Andrew, from Gaza, Darren Jarman made his league debut for North Adelaide, aged 18, in 1985. After just three games in his inaugural season he became an automatic selection in 1986, and was a key figure as the Roosters made the semi finals of the VFL's night series, beating Melbourne and Collingwood along the way, and reached their second grand final in succession, only to lose to Glenelg.

The following season saw North make amends in spectacular fashion with a crushing 23.7 (145) to 9.9 (63) revenge win over Graham Cornes' Glenelg in the Grand Final, with 'The Wizard' as he was known (brother Andrew was always 'The Magician') in irrepressible form on the ball and across half forward. Rooster ruckman Mike Parsons won the Jack Oatey Medal as best afield, but most media observers tended to give the nod to Jarman, who was continually in the thick of the action, as well as contributing three telling goals.

Jarman made his interstate debut for South Australia in 1987, and would go on to be a regular state league and later state of origin representative for the better part of a decade. He won the Roosters' best and fairest award in 1990 and the following year embarked on a new phase of his career with AFL club Hawthorn. Initially somewhat inconsistent, he went on to give the Hawks excellent service, playing a total of 109 games in five seasons including the triumphant grand final of 1991, earning AFL All Australian selection twice, and securing the club's best and fairest award in 1995, the same season in which he finished runner-up in the Brownlow Medal. 

In 1996 he returned home to South Australia where he joined an Adelaide team that was on the verge a somewhat overdue emergence as a power. In both 1997 and '98 the Crows achieved magnificent Grand Final wins over St Kilda and North Melbourne respectively, with Darren Jarman heavily instrumental in both. 

Equally damaging in the centre, across half forward, or at the goal front, Jarman was an extraordinarily difficult player to contain, as if beaten in one position he could always move to another, with a strong likelihood of then succeeding to damaging effect. In the 1997 Grand Final, for instance, he seemed out of sorts early while playing in the centre, but when shifted to full forward in the last quarter he responded with five immaculate and decisive goals for a match tally of six.

Darren Jarman retired at the end of the 2001 season after a career total of 347 league games in 17 seasons, which included 117 with North Adelaide, 109 at Hawthorn and 121 at the Crows. That same year saw him included in North Adelaide's official 'Team of the Century'.

Author - John Devaney