The club has sent its first round draft pick (No. 14 overall) and its third round draft pick (No. 46 overall) to Sydney in exchange for the 27-year-old, who has played 166 games in nine AFL seasons with Melbourne and Sydney.
Originally drafted onto the Demons’ rookie list with the 31st overall pick in the 2000 rookie draft, Jolly made his AFL debut in round two, 2001 against Adelaide and earned elevation to the senior list at the end of 2001.
Jolly is from Lexton in Victoria, about 160 kilometres north-west of Melbourne. Before joining the Demons he played for the North Ballarat TAC Cup under 18 team, and then spent one season with North Ballarat’s VFL team.
He played 48 games in four seasons with Melbourne before being traded to Sydney at the end of 2004 in exchange for the 15th overall pick in the 2004 AFL Draft.
Jolly, who stands 200 centimetres and weighs 105 kilograms, played 118 games for Sydney in five seasons, including the 2005 premiership victory and the 2006 grand final loss.
His durability and toughness have been features of his career, having played 113 consecutive matches for the Swans, a streak that began in round eight, 2005. He finished fourth in the Sydney club champion award in 2009.
Jolly said he is delighted to be wearing the black and white stripes in 2010 and beyond.
“It will be good to get out onto the MCG in front of some big crowds in blockbuster games, so I’m really looking forward to getting back to Melbourne, where it all started,” Jolly told collingwoodfc.com.au.
“I’ve come off the best year of my career so far, and I’m feeling good. The body is sound, and I’m ready to get into it at Collingwood.”
Jolly has two daughters with wife Deanne (Scarlett who has just turned three and Lily who is nearly one), and said that family played a big part in his decision to leave the Swans and return to Melbourne. His parents are still in Lexton while his wife’s family is in Melbourne.
“Family was the major reason for requesting a move. We have two little ones, and we wanted to be closer to our families, so they can enjoy being around them, it would make it a lot easier.”
A meeting with senior coach Mick Malthouse and chief of football Geoff Walsh a couple of weeks ago convinced Jolly that he wanted to be at Collingwood.
“I sat down with my manager a couple of weeks ago and mapped out who might need a ruckman, and we instantly had a chat with Mick and Geoff.
“It was a really good meeting, and I came away from it feeling great about the situation, and the rest is history. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Collingwood’s national recruiting manager Derek Hine said it’s very satisfying to bring a player of Jolly’s quality to the Lexus Centre.
“We were able to give him an opportunity to return to Melbourne. It obviously wasn’t easy for Darren to make the decision because Sydney is a great footy club and he’s very well respected by the management and players at Sydney, so it was very difficult for all parties,” said Hine.
“It was a unique opportunity given Darren indicated that he wanted to return to Melbourne for family reasons, and he’d already communicated that to Sydney. They were really understanding of his situation with his family.
“Fortunately we were able to work something out that was beneficial for both parties, and we’re really confident that he’s going to be a terrific player for us.”
Hine said Jolly will complement Collingwood’s existing crop of ruckmen, comprising vice-captain Josh Fraser and emerging players Cameron Wood and Lachlan Keeffe.
“Darren fills a need, where both Josh Fraser and Cameron Wood need support, and when you look at what Darren’s achieved in his career to date, he’s certainly in the top bracket of ruckmen in the competition.
“We know that both Cameron and Lachlan are emerging, developing ruckmen. Both players have taken some really significant steps this year.
“Now we’ve got Darren, who will support Josh, and hopefully provide a terrific platform in that particular area of the ground.”
