Darren Hulme (born 19 July 1977) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton. Hulme played junior football for the Frankston Bombers, and the

Dandenong Stingrays The Dandenong Southern Stingrays are an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. 1992 saw the birth of the Southern Stingrays, developed under the leadership of Steve Kennedy (Regional M ...

in the

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Vict ...

. He was recruited to the AFL with the 8th selection in the 1997 AFL Preseason Draft. Very small in stature, but tough and hard at the ball, Hulme played primarily as a midfielder and/or tagger with stints in the forward-line. His kicking was the biggest deficiency in his game, but this improved as his career progressed. When he arrived at the club, both his playing style and his hairstyle were similar to that of ten-year veteran Fraser Brown; Brown's nickname had been "Dog", and Hulme accordingly received the nickname "Pup", which stayed with him throughout his time at Carlton.Blueseum
Darren Hulme
Retrieved 25 April 2011. Hulme played eight games in his debut season. He went on to be a solid contributor for Carlton over a career spanning eight years, including a fifth-placing in the 2003 Best and Fairest, and tying with

Craig Bradley Craig Edwin Bradley (born 23 October 1963) is a former Australian rules footballer and first-class cricketer. He is the games record holder at Carlton in the AFL/VFL, and in elite Australian rules football (the AFL/VFL, SANFL and WAFL). Earl ...

and

Adrian Hickmott Adrian Hickmott (born 30 March 1972) is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He is currently an assistant coach with the Hawthorn Football Club. As a player, he played with the Geelong Football Club and Carlton Football Club i ...

for the Peter Sullivan Memorial Trophy (most votes in the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the "best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by t ...

by a Carlton player) in 2001. His career was plagued by injury: a

quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

injury ruled him out of the 1999 finals series, a knee injury meant he could only play the first 3 games of 2002 and he missed the second half of the 2004 season with a groin injury. He was delisted at the end of 2004. Since being delisted, Hulme has continued to play state and local football for a wide range of teams: Mansfield ( GVFL) in 2005; Karingal ( MPNFL Peninsula Division) in 2006 and 2007; Clayton ( SFL) as playing coach in 2008; Bendigo ( VFL), as playing assistant coach in 2009; a return to Karingal in 2010,Peninsula & Nepean Record, 9 April 2011, p. 30. and then back to his junior team, Frankston Bombers ( MPNFL Nepean Division) in 2011 and 2012.

Sources

* Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hulme, Darren 1977 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Carlton Football Club players Living people Dandenong Stingrays players Bendigo Football Club players Mansfield Football Club players Frankston Bombers players