Building relationships the key for Hipwell

26/07/2022

Talented midfielder-forward Darby Hipwell talks about his studies, footy career, developing relationships plus plenty more.

There are plenty of things that Darby Hipwell enjoys in life, however what he enjoys the most in both his studies and at Sandringham is developing new relationships.

“After two years of training and seeing each other three to four times a week you get to know these people, develop relationships and hear different stories from people,” Hipwell said.

“When you go to school you’re around the same people all the time and have your core group of mates but with this degree it’s brought in people from all over Victoria that (I) probably wouldn’t usually meet”.

On the footy field his camaraderie with his teammates has paid dividends having played consistent footy since joining the Zebras last year.

“I think we’re creating a really inclusive group and a group that’s driven to succeed. There’s a lot of young players and everyone’s keen to stick around and get the best out of themselves.

“The coaches are making it an awesome place and a lot of us are still keen to achieve that AFL goal so they’re really putting all the steps and effort in to help us get there and at the same time making it a fun environment.

“A lot of that credit goes to the coaches, having that balance between fun and seriousness, we’ve got a good balance there so I’m really loving it.”

Hipwell has now played 19 games at VFL level across 2021 and 2022 and has started to play some of his best footy in Zebras colours.

“You go out each week with the intention to have a personal-best game, but the more games I play the more confidence I’ve got to back my ability against these AFL-listed players and VFL players.

“I guess with a few more games my confidence has risen and my teammates around me have really helped me play some good footy.

“Tom Campbell in the ruck has been amazing and the Saints boys have really brought us Zebras into the game, I don’t think I could play good footy without everyone around me so I attribute my good form to them.”

Before joining the Zebras, Hipwell was part of the Dragons program, thoroughly enjoying his time with them.

“I think the top age aspect of it was a lot more enjoyable. As a bottom-ager you’re in and out of the team a little bit and you’re not playing every week so you feel a little left out of it.

“But as a top-ager our group made a real conscious effort to become pretty tight knit and get those younger boys on board and create a real club atmosphere.

“Also with COVID, pretty much all of us got invited back so it was the same group for two years (and) I felt like that really helped us have a lot of fun and not be solely on footy the whole time.”

During his time there he had plenty of great teammates, including one drafted last year and another the son of an ex-AFL star.

“Luke Cleary got drafted at the end of last year (to the Bulldogs). I was Captain and he was Vice-Captain in our top-age year and he was really good, a really good leader and just a great mate off the field. I thought he was awesome.

“Another one is Charlie McKay, son of Andrew McKay from Carlton. He put the seriousness out of it a little bit and had a lot of fun with it, he was a good teammate to have for sure.”

At the moment Hipwell is also studying a double degree similar to Ollie Lowe, with Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) one degree and Law the other.

“Bachelor of Law is a pretty challenging degree; I’m doing it though. It fits well into my strengths as an academic in terms of the analytical skills and writing (plus the) problem solving.

“PPE comes into that as well, which is Politics, Philosophy and Economics so they intertwine a bit. I enjoy that stuff. Global Politics was my best subject at school and I’m still really enjoying studying that at university as well.”

He has also found a nice balance between the degree and his budding VFL career.

“If you play a bad game on the weekend, on Monday you’re at university with a whole new group of people and learning about something that’s completely unrelated to footy. (The double degree) is definitely a release from footy and something I can work towards outside of football.

“Vice versa as well, when I’m at training or gameday I’m focusing on that and it’s a release from the pressure of uni so they balance each other out really well and help one another, which is good.”

5 Rapid Fire Questions

Any hobbies?

“I love surfing.”

Favourite movie?

“Hustle, the new movie on Netflix.”

Favourite snack/food?

“Strawberries.”

Who do you support in the AFL/AFLW?

“Richmond (in the AFL) and Hawthorn in the AFLW now because my sister Bridie just got drafted there.”

Favourite AFL/AFLW player(s)?

“I like Jack Graham from Richmond.”

Written by Joshua Ward - Sandringham Football Club Media