‘Collective effort’ the key for Devils in grand final, says Bewley

STAR midfielder Brett Bewley says Darley has embraced being the hunted this season.

As he prepares for another crack at a BFNL grand final, the two-time Henderson Medal winner said it was the Devils’ resilience and appetite for the contest that had put them on the brink of a second flag in three years.

They will look to cap a thoroughly dominant 2025 season with a premiership win over Sunbury on Saturday.

The Devils’ inspirational leader could not be prouder with the way his teammates have risen to every challenge this season and coped with being the hunted.

“We love it. Sides want to play well against us, but that’s what it’s all about,” Bewley said.

“We love being tested and we think that makes us a better team.

“(Against Sunbury in the second semi-final) there were a few nerves and a few young boys that haven’t experienced a lot of senior finals.

“But once we settled the nerves, the young boys realised it was just another game, but the stakes are a bit higher.

“It was up to us senior boys to take control and wrestle momentum back.”

On the back of a dominant season that has yielded 19 straight wins (17 home and away and two finals), Bewley – a former Darley junior – said there was a certain amount of relief attached to making it through to the premiership decider.

“We were in a similar situation in ’23 and last year we came into the second semi as an underdog, so to speak,” he said.

“We were flying and this year we came in as the favourite, being the winner of the 1v2 clash.

“It’s just relief that we have given ourselves a chance to win it.”

Of the aforementioned younger brigade with little senior finals exposure, Bewley pinpointed Mitch Gardiner as rock solid down back against Sunbury a fortnight ago, and Jack Crawford and Brodie Ward as mature and influential in the victory.

Their contributions sat comfortably alongside the like of five-goal forward Will Johnson, midfielders Luther Baker and Nick Hind, and 2023 premiership hero Billy Myers in defence on Lions livewire Jake Sutton.

“You could have made a case for anyone in our side – you don’t win finals with one or two blokes, it’s a collective effort,” Bewley said.

“It’s going to take that and a bit more on grand final day.

“We know we are going to have our work cut out for us. We’re not sitting back and smoking a peace pipe.

“We’re ready to go again.”

Asked what another grand final meant to him personally, Bewley, who played 25 games for Fremantle across three seasons from 2019-21, insisted ‘it means everything’.

“That’s why you play,” he said.

“We were lucky enough to salute in ’23, and we’ve given ourselves a shot to do it again.

“But the hard work starts again.”

Sunbury earned a crack at Darley with a 14-point win over Melton in last Saturday’s preliminary final.

It was the second year in a row the preliminary final has been decided in extra time, with Darley on the losing end in 2024 by seven points against East Point.