Darren Crocker
Australian rules footballer and coach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Darren Crocker (born 26 March 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer who is currently the coach of the North Melbourne AFL Women's team.[2] He formerly played for, and was on three separate occasions a caretaker coach of, the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
.jpg)
| Darren Crocker | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Crocker in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Darren Crocker | ||
| Born | 26 March 1967 | ||
| Original team | Belgrave[1] | ||
| Height | 189 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Weight | 88 kg (194 lb) | ||
| Position | Half-forward/Forward pocket | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1985–1998 | North Melbourne | 165 (119) | |
| Coaching career3 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (W–L–D) | |
| 2009; 2015; 2016 | North Melbourne | 15 (6–8–1) | |
| 2021– | North Melbourne (W) | 72 (54–16–2) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1998. 3 Coaching statistics correct as of Round 11, 2025. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Playing career
Crocker played in the 1996 AFL Grand Final against the Sydney Swans.
Coaching career
On 16 June 2009, he was appointed caretaker senior coach of the North Melbourne Football Club after the resignation of Danielle Laidley. On 17 August 2009 the North Melbourne Football Club appointed Brad Scott as their senior coach, thus Crocker was not retained as North Melbourne coach for the 2010 season. However, he remained as assistant coach at North Melbourne Football Club. In 2015, Crocker again served as acting coach when Scott underwent back surgery,[3] and again for one match in 2016 when Scott was ill.[4]
On 4 June 2020, Crocker was appointed as coach of the North Melbourne AFL Women's side, following the departure of inaugural coach Scott Gowans.[2]
During the 2024 AFL Women's season, Crocker would lead North Melbourne to an undefeated record, en route to the club's maiden premiership in the 2024 AFLW Grand Final against the Brisbane Lions AFL Women's side. For his efforts, Crocker was named AFLW Coach's Association Coach of the Year.[5]
In 2025, Crocker and North Melbourne would go one better, winning every single game and completing a perfect season, becoming the league's first side to win back-to-back premierships.
Personal life
He is married with four children.
Statistics
Playing statistics
G |
Goals | K |
Kicks | D |
Disposals | T |
Tackles |
B |
Behinds | H |
Handballs | M |
Marks |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 1985 | North Melbourne | 49 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 111 | 62 | 173 | 49 | N/a | 0.6 | 0.5 | 8.5 | 4.8 | 13.3 | 3.8 | N/a | 0 |
| 1986 | North Melbourne | 14 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 94 | 45 | 139 | 43 | N/a | 0.7 | 0.4 | 8.5 | 4.1 | 12.6 | 3.9 | N/a | 0 |
| 1987 | North Melbourne | 27 | 15 | 11 | 5 | 177 | 74 | 251 | 59 | 29 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 11.8 | 4.9 | 16.7 | 3.9 | 1.9 | 7 |
| 1988 | North Melbourne | 27 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 14 | 50 | 11 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 9.0 | 3.5 | 12.5 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 0 |
| 1989 | North Melbourne | 27 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 75 | 34 | 109 | 37 | 14 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 8.3 | 3.8 | 12.1 | 4.1 | 1.6 | 0 |
| 1990 | North Melbourne | 27 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 154 | 60 | 214 | 43 | 18 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 11.0 | 4.3 | 15.3 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 8 |
| 1991 | North Melbourne | 27 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 147 | 73 | 220 | 56 | 10 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 9.8 | 4.9 | 14.7 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 2 |
| 1992 | North Melbourne | 27 | 22 | 16 | 15 | 290 | 141 | 431 | 82 | 32 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 13.2 | 6.4 | 19.6 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 3 |
| 1993 | North Melbourne | 27 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 152 | 61 | 213 | 47 | 26 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 10.9 | 4.4 | 15.2 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 0 |
| 1994 | North Melbourne | 27 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 128 | 98 | 226 | 50 | 15 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 9.1 | 7.0 | 16.1 | 3.6 | 1.1 | 4 |
| 1995 | North Melbourne | 27 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 10 | 27 | 9 | 4 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 5.7 | 3.3 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 0 |
| 1996† | North Melbourne | 27 | 15 | 20 | 15 | 94 | 29 | 123 | 42 | 15 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 6.3 | 1.9 | 8.2 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 4 |
| 1997 | North Melbourne | 27 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 25 | 14 | 39 | 6 | 4 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 6.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0 |
| Career | 165 | 119 | 90 | 1522 | 735 | 2257 | 542 | 174 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 9.2 | 4.5 | 13.7 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 28 | ||
Coaching statistics
| Legend | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Wins | L | Losses | D | Draws | W% | Winning percentage | LP | Ladder position | LT | League teams | ||
| Season | Team | Games | W | L | D | W % | LP | LT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | North Melbourne | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 35.0% | 13 | 16 |
| 2015 | North Melbourne | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50.0% | N/a | N/a |
| 2016 | North Melbourne | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | N/a | N/a |
| 2021 | North Melbourne | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 60.0% | 6 | 14 |
| 2022 | North Melbourne | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 57.1% | 4 | 14 |
| 2022 (S7) | North Melbourne | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 61.5% | 8 | 18 |
| 2023 | North Melbourne | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 69.2% | 3 | 18 |
| 2024 | North Melbourne | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 92.8% | 1 | 18 |
| 2025 | North Melbourne | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | N/a | 18 |
| Career totals | 77 | 50 | 24 | 3 | 64.9% | |||
