Devils are finals bound

By Todd Whelan – Bacchus Marsh v Darley

The local derby thriller saw Darley coach Dan Jordan with his feet firmly on the ground, after securing his new club a memorable finals berth with an entertaining 10-point win over Bacchus Marsh at Maddingley Park. The derby is touted as ‘one for the ages’, and the match failed to disappoint in front of arguably, the biggest crowd of the BFNL season.

“(I) was pleased with the win,” Jordan said. The Devils (5th) banked an all important ninth win of the season to move two games clear of North Ballarat (6th) and Bacchus Marsh (7th). The result for the club is significant, a return to finals on the back of a winless 2021.

Leading Devils goal kicker Nick Rodda, booted five majors for the winners while the run and carry of the Devils midfield (Luther Baker, Dylan Landt, Brett Bewley) between the arcs, was paramount. Devils’ key defender Matthew Brett endured a classic tussle with Jake Owen (2 goals) before the Cobras Captain was laid heavily concussed following a head collision with teammate Michael Culliver. Owen will miss Saturday’s all-important meet with Redan. In the absence of Owen, came the emergence of 17-year old Joel Freeman (5 goals), who near stole it for the Marsh late after the game looked a foregone conclusion for the most part, after quarter time.

While you’re likely to find Nick Stuhldrier and Michael Culliver top the stats list for the Cobras, it was the run of Cobras Harry King and Jack Parente late that had the Devils a little nervous. Mathew Brett saved the day in the final term for the Devils with a number of intercept marks as the ‘Owenless’ Cobras fought tooth and nail adding six goals to three in the last quarter.

But it was often the response of the Devils’ three mids that proved decisive. The ‘lefties’ – Baker, Landt and Brett Bewley were instrumental orchestrating the win. While it did get a little tight late in the game, it was the second highest score kicked against the Cobras for the season. Given the Devils inaccuracies and some 31 shots on goal, the tally could well have been more. The Cobras were very efficient on the goal front booting 15.6, including 9.2 in the second half.

The Cobras must win their last two games and rely on North Ballarat losing one of theirs, if an unlikely finals berth comes to fruition.