Jordan lauds ‘disciplined and connected’ Devils in win over Cobras

DARLEY coach Dan Jordan says he is looking forward to seeing how his team’s young talent cope with the challenge thrown at them by top-of-the-ladder Sebastopol this Saturday.

The injury-stricken Devils will enter the one-versus-three clash on the back of a strong run of form, winning five in a row – the latest a 29-point win over crosstown rival Bacchus Marsh at Maddingley Park last Saturday.

An arm-wrestle early, Darley led by just eight points at half-time before gradually asserting their authority in an 11-goal-to-eight second half.

Under pressure from the Devils, Bacchus Marsh had just eight straight behinds to show for their early toil midway through the second quarter, before producing a couple of majors to round out the half.

In the end, it was the brilliance of Nick Hind, who led all players on the ground with four goals, and the diligence of Chaz Jones, Jayven Tanner, Justin Runge, Jet Darcy and Matthew Brett that saw them through for another win under adversity.

“It was just a grinding display to be honest,” Jordan said.

“We worked our way into the game and were able to overrun them late.

“It was an arm-wrestle early on, but we expected that. They always come out pretty hard against us … that crosstown rivalry.

“We expected that early on. The main message was we were just going to have to absorb that for a bit, but if we kept playing our way, it would open up in the second half at some stage

“I was happy how they stuck to the plan.

“I thought it was a pretty disciplined and connected performance.”

Mirroring much of their season to date, the Devils had just 10 of last year’s premiership players in the lineup due to injuries and unavailability.

With injuries to Brett Bewley, Billy Myers and Joel Cadman among others taking a weekly toll, Jordan could not be more impressed with how his young charges in particular have stood up.

 

“With the calibre of outs, the great thing is a lot of our younger guys are getting exposure and proving they can come in and play the roles we are asking of them,” he said.

“It’s real important we are doing that, but still being able to get wins on the board – and we have a really big one this week – has been fantastic.

“Our plan is if we can continue that momentum through and get a fair few of our soldiers back … we have about 12 out … that could hopefully put us in a pretty good space at the end of the year.

“But as we know, it’s a week-to-week proposition.

“To be honest, I’m pretty happy with where we are at. It’s just been one of those challenging years.

“But what I am pleased with is our ability to be able to deal with it and not fall off a cliff potentially like a couple of other sides.”

Similarly hard hit, Bacchus Marsh had 13 of its troops on Saturday under 21 years old.

There is no inclination from Jordan to rush players back, with the coach giving an “at least a couple of weeks” timeline on Bewley and Myers’ returns.

Jordan said his side would fully embrace a test against the league leaders, who won their earlier season contest at Marty Busch Reserve by 22 points, coming from 10 points behind at three-quarter-time.

“I thought we played some good footy when we played them up there, but they got us late. Full credit, they deserved to win,” he said.

“Both sides are looking a bit different, perhaps, from that clash to now.

“It should be a belter. It will be a great experience for our young guys – really hard and physical.

“They (the Burra) ask questions of you. They play a really challenging brand of footy and we’re looking forward to that challenge.”

Sebastopol will regain playing coach Tony Lockyer after serving a two-week suspension.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Sebastopol staved off a menacing Redan to claim a tenacious eight-point win at City Oval. Scores were tied at 52-apiece at three-quarter-time, with a lone last-quarter goal enough to see the Burra through.

Jack Bambury, Bailey Medwell, Ben Hutt, Felix Henderson and Connor O’Shea all shone for the Burra, which maintained its one win advantage at the top of the ladder.

A brave loss continued a terrific run of form for the Lions, who were coming off a win over highly fancied Sunbury, which followed a near-miss in a six-point loss to Darley.

Jake Connolly, Jacob Werts, Will Madden, Daniel Bond, Lachlan Bond and Brody Pope led the charge for the Lions, who will look to make life tough for North Ballarat this weekend.

 

Redan coach Marc Greig said it was another good game of footy for his side to be a part of.

“We learnt plenty again from a good organised footy team,” he said.

“I thought we were a bit off our game for the first quarter, but after that we played our method and gave ourselves opportunities to win the game.

“Fourteen of our lads 21 or under, to experience the heat from the ladder leaders and play some good footy was very pleasing.”

North Ballarat held sway over East Point for much of their contest, with the Roos flying home with a four-goal-to-nil final term to turn a 45-point deficit at three-quarter-time into a 19-point margin at full-time.

Elliott Lamb, Oscar Stone, Sam Glover, Max Faulkner, Josh Morris and Dominic Penny were the catalysts for the Roosters. For East Point, Sam Lucas, Joe Dodd, Mickitja Rotumah-Onus, Liam Canny, Liam Howard and Cooper Glenwright-McGuane stood out, with Howard’s three goals the most from players on either side.

Sunbury joined Melton at 6–7 with a gritty nine-point win at Macpherson Park.

Ballarat held firm in second spot, defeating Lake Wendouree, under the guidance of interim coach Jake Lohmann for the first time, by 73 points.

Fraser Perkins, Luke Gray, Patrick Graham, Brad Crouch and Paddy Simpson all played major roles for the Swans, with Biggie Nyuon leading the way on the scoreboard with five goals.

Alfred Jarnestrom again led the best players list for the Lakers, with Bailey Ryan, Archie Todd, Corey Rich and Kynan Raven all prominent.

Addressing his appointment for the final six weeks of the season, Lohmann paid credit to outgoing coach Rohan Brown for everything he had given the club over the past three years.

“The impact he has had on the people around him has been inspiring, and we’re all better for having had him at Lake Wendouree,” he said.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead this group.

“Our focus is simple – teach, develop, compete and continue building strong foundations for the future.

“Over the next six weeks you’ll see a connected, proud football and netball club, with our footballers and netballers united behind one another.”

The Lakers’ quest for their first win of the season leads them to Eastern Oval this Saturday for a showdown against East Point.