Devils’ stellar season over

By Todd Whelan

Darley’s 13 goals to six second half wasn’t enough to progress to a Preliminary Final meeting with Sebastopol, after going down to Ballarat by one point at City Oval on Sunday.

The game looked shot to pieces when the Swans led the Devils a ‘merry dance’ by 43 points at half time after six unanswered goals blew the game open. But the Devils had other ideas, launching an inspirational fightback as they piled on nine goals to two in the third term, stunning the Swans in the process, reducing the lead to just three points at the final change. Devils Coach Dan Jordan and his support crew nearly pulled off the masterstroke of the season as the willing Devils responded to a significant shuffling of the magnets.

The final stanza went goal for goal before the Devils hit the front by as much as 10 points, 20 minutes into the last quarter. But as they have done so often this season, the Swans showed the poise, resilience, and character to arrest the deficit, before hanging on to win by one point. Former Hawthorn champion Josh Gibson (five goals) was instrumental in the clutch moments for the Swans with three telling, one-on-one marks in the goal square to assure the narrowest of margins, and with it, progress to the penultimate week of the season. And what a game it was, near matched only by the drama witnessed in the hours and minutes ahead of the opening bounce.

Illness to valuable Devils trio Matthew Brett, Shane Page and Will Johnson proved a major blow for Jordan’s camp before extraordinary scenes in the warm-up saw young defender Duncan Cadman withdrawn after a blindsided head collision with umpire Semmens who too, would take no part.

The game itself, lived up to the billing despite a dominant opening half from the bigger bodied Swans. The six-point advantage to the Swans at quarter time felt like more and was confirmed in the second term as Joe Carmody’s boys went to work. Marcus Powling, Sam James (2 goals), Aiden Domic (2 goals) and Lachie Dawson (2 goals) were influential setting up the 43-point halftime lead while Gibson and Andrew Hooper (1 goal) looked threatening each time the ball went inside 50. The weight of forward 50 Swans entries in the second term amounted to six goals, while the Devils could manage just one point. Game over? Not quite.

Jordan moved Darren Leonard (3 goals) and Mace Cousins (2 goals) forward, Nick Rodda (1 goal) into the ruck and asked more of his top end players to impact. Dylan Landt (4 goals) and Brett Bewley (1 goal) led the revival and found some aerial presence with Brady Wright (3 goals), Joel Cadman and Leonard.

While the Devils courageously fought back to hit the front, full credit must be given to the Swans who were able to respond once headed. Another belter witnessed in week two of the BFNL finals. The Devils fell on the wrong side of a close one while the Swans hung on for a third win by one point, and seventh win by seven points or less in 2022.

There’s every indication we can expect a close one again on Saturday. Both Swans and Burra meetings this year have been decided by one and three points – in favour of Carmody’s men.

For Jordan’s exiting Devils, they lost no admirers and will bounce back in ’23. Their young group will be a preseason older and hungry for another crack at the business end after an agonising sample in 2022.