Vandals a ‘pane’

By Lachlan Ellis

A local sporting club has been hit with a mindless act of vandalism, just two weeks before it faces its cross-town rival at home.

The Darley Football Netball Club (DFNC) hired temporary portable buildings to use while the new pavilion at Darley Park is being built, but last week the club found all the portables’ windows had been smashed.

The Devils will face Bacchus Marsh at Darley Park on Saturday April 23, and while DFNC President Mark Shelly said the club was optimistic about having the repairs done soon, the cost is still unknown.

“Because they’re a specific shape of glass, we don’t know yet what it’ll cost…we’ve had the glazier out, we’re just waiting on him to come back to us with a quote on it. We hired the portables for the season, so the responsibility around them is effectively up to us,” Mr Shelly told the Moorabool News.

“It’s very annoying…we’re a community-based club, working under different circumstances with not having our pavilion change rooms this year. To get these temporary arrangements in place and paid for, and then have this happen…it’s very disappointing.”

A police report has been filed, and the club believes the incident occurred over last weekend.

“We believe it was either Sunday night [10 April] or the early hours of Monday morning, that seems to be the timeline. We’re working hard to try and get the repairs done so we’re ready to operate come Saturday,” Mr Shelly said.

“We operate to be a benefit to the community, and having to deal with this sort of drama as well is certainly pretty frustrating.”

The club is offering a $500 reward for information that leads to an offender being charged or reprimanded for the damage to the portables.