Hind snares elusive premiership medal and adds another

WHEN the end of Nick Hind’s time in the AFL came last August, it came abruptly.

While shattered, it did eventually fill him with a sense of purpose – to rediscover his love of the game.

Having signed with BFNL club Darley in pre-season, it did not take long for the passion to reignite.

On Saturday, it reached its crescendo when he became a premiership player for the first time in his life.

Hind was one of the chief architects in Darley’s 34-point win over Sunbury at City Oval, earning the AFL Victoria Country Medal as best on ground, as voted by the umpires.

It seemed that at every key moment, the 31-year-old was in the thick of it.

 

His two goals off half back were poetry in motion; his countless possessions sweetly executed and predominantly precise.

It’s how the former Bombers defender had hoped things would pan out, but as he was not afraid to later admit, albeit not without some doubts in the lead-up.

“I’ve never won a granny and never played in a senior granny, so I was shitting myself this week to be honest,” Hind said post-match.

“It was the longest week of my life.

“But to come out and perform … we had a little plan where I was going to go to half back.

“I think it might have thrown them out a bit.

“It caught them by surprise and I was able to get on the end of a few.”

 

Hind hailed the decision to join his good mate Dan Jordan, a major influence on him in his Essendon days, as one of the ‘smartest’ in his life.

“The decision gets taken out of your hands when it’s time to leave the AFL, but what a place to turn up at and enjoy your footy and get the love back,” he said.

“I just turned up here and knew so many boys here before I got here.

“This is one of the best days of my life.”

Coming into grand final day as the beneficiary of a week-off following their second semi-final win over Sunbury, the Devils hit the ground running.

A seven-goal to nil opening quarter laid the foundations for a stirring triumph, as the game evolved into a defensive struggle from quarter-time onwards.

 

While the Lions fought hard in the final three quarters, their 6.9 (45) contribution for the day fell two points shy of the Devils’ opening term tally.

Hind declared it a ‘pretty complete’ performance by the Devils.

“It was nice having the week off to be honest. We’ve got a few old bodies, but we’ve been putting it together all year, really,” he said.

“Teams have challenged us at times, but when the whips were cracking, we knew how good a brand of footy we can play.

“The (first) three times we’ve played this year, Sunbury has got the jump on us, so we wanted to come out and set this up early.

“I thought we did that.

“We set the game up early, but I thought that was a pretty complete game from us.

“The way we stood up and ground them down, it was pretty professional.

“We shut down the stoppages and grinded the win out.

“I’m very proud of the boys.”

 

The Devils’ second flag in three years capped a near perfect season.

Only once did Darley taste defeat in 2025, in round one against Melton, by 12 points.

With two medals draped around his neck – premiership and best on ground – Hind’s decision to join the Devils in pursuit of an elusive premiership was granted final vindication.

After a year in which they were tested more often and fiercely than reflected in their 20 straight wins to end it, Hind backed the club to be resolute in its premiership defence.

“The challenge is always there; this is a great league of footy,” he said.

“Brett (Bewley), our senior boys and coach – there have been a lot of guys at the senior level, especially at AFL level.

“We know we can’t be complacent; you have to keep getting better every week.

“If the challenge isn’t in the wins and losses, the challenge has got to be in the week.

“If in periods of games we are not playing good footy, there’s the challenge and the chance to learn from it.

“I love this club – I absolutely love it.”