Devils delight: Three-peat for Darley

DARLEY has completed a fairytale BFLW premiership three-peat, defeating Redan by twenty points in last Sunday’s grand final at City Oval.

The Devils, co-coached by Brett Faulkhead and Emmerson Hitch, withstood a spirited challenge by the reigning premiers to prevail 7.2 (44) to 2.11 (23).

Despite Darley booting the opening three goals of the game in the first seven minutes, the margin was only nine points at half-time, before the Devils opened the contest up with a two-goal-to-nil third quarter.

Their accuracy in front of goal proved telling, with the Lions adding only five behinds for the term.

The only goal of the final quarter was more than enough for Darley to put the seal on a dramatic victory.

Co-captain Lilli Condon (three goals) and Charli Parsons-Jones (two) led the charge on the scoreboard and on the field of battle, claiming the best on ground medals.

Only 15, Parsons-Jones won the AFL Victoria Medal, while league best and fairest winner Condon was awarded the umpires medal.

It was a brave performance by Condon, who was in some doubt leading into the clash after injuring ligaments in her foot in the Devils’ qualifying final loss to Bacchus Marsh.

She missed the Devils’ preliminary final win over East Point, which was pushed back from semi-finals week following Bacchus Marsh’s withdrawal from the competition after week one.

In her first season as joint playing coach after two years as an assistant to Faulkhead, Hitch was glowing in her praise of her teammates.

“It just means so much to the club and to the girls to get a three-peat,” she said.

“It’s so rare. Only 1 to 2 per cent of sporting teams can ever achieve that type of opportunity.

“To get a win on the board and then to see the reaction on the girls’ faces and what it meant to so many people was fantastic.”

 

Hitch said it had taken something special to rebound from not only a loss in the first week of finals to Bacchus Marsh, but a final round defeat to Redan, which ultimately cost the Devils the minor premiership.

“Credit to Bacchus Marsh, they played a harder brand of football on that day,” she said.

“We reflected on that game and said, let’s learn a lot from it and come back bigger and stronger.

“We definitely did that (on Sunday).

“The rivalry with Redan is a well-known one now. It definitely brings the passion and adrenaline and the purpose out a lot more when we come face-to-face with Redan.

“Moments like that are why we play the game.

“We love our rivalry with Redan.”

Behind Parsons-Jones and Condon, Hitch was among her side’s best players, as was Hannah Davis.

Lauren Drabsch, Rose Russell, Carly Twaits, Madison Hayes, Chantelle Whiting and Ingrid Duffy toiled hard for the Lions.

Hitch praised the performance of 15-year-old Parsons-Jones as dominant. “She was so clean – every time she had the ball in hand, you knew something good was going to come out of it,” she said.

“She capitalised with two goals and set up some amazing passages of play.

“She is a real superstar coming through and will definitely have a huge impact over the next few years.”

All three of Darley’s three straight premierships were won against Redan.

The Lions were crowned the BFLW’s inaugural premiers in 2022.

The under-19 youth girls premiership was won by Bacchus Marsh, which put the seal on a dominant season with a 33-point win over Ballarat.

The Cobras’ Dakota Simo and Jazmine Dalli claimed the best on ground medals.

In the under-16 youth girls, Ballarat White defeated North Ballarat by 33 points in a reversal of their semi-final encounter two weeks earlier.

White co-captain Abbey Burke was best on ground.

In the under-14s, North Ballarat completed an unbeaten season with a 51-point win over Ballarat White.

This year’s league under-14 MVP, North Ballarat’s Sadie Harris, was the best on ground medallist.