As a dominant junior footballer Darling's potential had encouraged comparisons with some of the game's best centre half-forwards, but he slid rapidly down the pecking order leading into last year's draft.
The talented young forward had stopped growing at 191cm - four centimetres short of one comparison, Brisbane Lion Jonathan Brown - and he went from being a likely top-two pick to West Coast's second selection overall at No.26.
But rather than an undersized key forward, Darling has emerged this season as a big-bodied utility, applying ferocious defensive pressure in the forward line and roaming up the ground in a high forward role.
The 18-year-old is glad the Eagles saw the glass half full at the draft table and have let him play his natural game in the club's 2-1 start to the season.
"I think that's why the Eagles had faith in me and drafted me, and I'm just glad to do it every week," Darling told afl.com.au this week.
"I think they really see my athletic side. In the past I've been a pretty good long-distance runner.
"I don't feel like too much is on my shoulders and I'm just enjoying the role I'm playing at the moment. I just go out there and play footy.
"At the start they just want to leave me up forward and see how I go there. Maybe not this year, but I might have a few runs in the midfield."
The NAB Cup and Challenge competitions proved an accurate guide to Darling's likely impact in 2011, particularly the club's final practice match against Fremantle at Fremantle Oval.
The burly youngster all but secured his place in the round-one side with a performance complete with defensive pressure, strong marks and a chase and tackle on Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich to round it off.
He would have been among the best few players on the ground that day if he'd kicked straight, and set shots have since been a focus on the training track.
"Goal-kicking and marking are the main ones," Darling said. "I'm used to trying to out-body players being a bit bigger in my younger years, so I'm trying to attack the footy and mark the ball at the highest point."
Darling's pre-season wasn't without a hiccup, with the youngster dropped for one practice match after arriving 30 seconds late to a beach training session.
It was a valuable lesson to learn for the recruit, who prides himself on the effort he puts in on the track.
"I like to go into every training session like it's a grand final," he said. "It was a good lesson."
Midfielder Matt Priddis and forward Josh Kennedy are two players Darling has learned plenty off in his first four-and-a-half months at the club and he says he's made a smooth transition to life as an AFL footballer.
He debuted in round one, has quickly picked up the tempo of the game and is now aiming to hold his spot in the side. Overall, it's been everything the West Perth product had hoped for.
"It's been fun coming in every day and just playing football, which is what I always wanted to do growing up," he said. "I'm enjoying every day of it."
Nathan Schmook covers West Coast news for afl.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_NSchmook
