FOOTBALL
Seniors
Darley 15.11.101 def Bacchus Marsh 11.11.77
Best players: Brady Wright, Brett Bewley, Billy Myers, Joel Cadman, Harley Inglis, Jack Crawford
Goal scorers: B. Wright (4), B. Bewley (3), B. Myers (3), J. Cadman (2), J. Crawford, H. Inglis, W. Johnson
We travelled over the highway to take on cross town rivals at Maddingley.
After our somewhat standard slow start the boys started to find their momentum and were able to hit the scoreboard late in the first to take a two goal lead into the first break. Brady Wright looking ominous on his return with 2 first quarter goals.
The midfield battle was enthralling. Bewley, Denham and Cadman were getting their hands on the footy for forward momentum despite the dominance of BM’s ruckman and went in at the main break with a comfortable 30 point lead.
As often happens in these rivalry games, the pressure really lifted in the second half and our boys knew they were in for a challenge. Myers (3g), Wright (4g) and Bewley (3g) stood up in some big moments supported by the likes of Inglis, Spiteri and Jack Crawford in defence.
We were able to hold on and bank the win despite being challenged and run out the day 24 point winners, with plenty of areas for improvement as we look to take on the ladder leaders Melton next week in the final round before finals.
Go Devils!
DJ
Reserves
Darley 11.11.77 def Bacchus Marsh 6.6.42
Best players: Brodie Ward, Liam Noonan, James McNair, Ryan Densley, Jackson Vella, Dylan Beecham
Goal scorers: D. Bishop (3), K. Coghlan (2), N. Baker, D. Beecham, C. Growcott, C. Murley, J. Vella, B. Ward
WE DID IT!!!!
There’s a couple of opponents that as a club and a team you really want to beat….and Saturdays game against the Cobras was one of those if not the most important.
In our first game against them we threw away a three quarter time lead and allowed them to kick a goal after the siren to draw the game.
We were determined to set the record straight and set it straight we did by the tune of 35 points. It didn’t come easy in the first half with us trailing by three points at half time and a forward line with more wounded players than we would’ve liked, but as I’ve written many times this year, I will never question the commitment of the Darley reserves team.
My troops stuck at their task and grinded the Cobras into submission, it was a great team effort and finally gave us reward for efforts.
Well done Team and be proud of yourselves.
I’m extremely proud…and by jingos we sang the song loud and proud!
Good ole Darley for EVER….
Coach Cam
Under 19s
Darley 2.5.17 def by Bacchus Marsh 20.12.132
Best players: Rhys Younger, Cooper Growcott, Mitchell Gardiner, Cayden Hewett, Liam Steegstra, Chase Sanders
Goal scorers: C. Growcott, L. Steegstra
We headed across the bridge to face our cross town rivals, but were unfortunately undermanned and out matched against a quality opponent.
The highlights were created by two of our Under 17 players who played up in Rhys Younger and Liam Steegstra.
Rhys offered a relentless effort all game and did everything he could to help drive us forward and cover defensively. Liam used his pace and silky skills and kicked one of our limited amount of goals.
While the game didn’t go our way, it is great to see good individual performances and efforts.
Josh Baker, coach
Womens
Darley 15.15.105 def Bacchus Marsh 1.1.7
Best players: Emmerson Hitch, Madalyn Clarke, Lilli Condon, Mia Otutaha, Kim Bessell, Jaye Dalgleish
Goal scorers: K. Bessell (6), M. Clarke (4), L. Condon, E. Hitch, M. Lister, M. Otutaha, B. Joynson
It was the Second Semi Final; a big game between the cross-town rivals with the stakes being high and the winner going straight through to the Grand Final.
The scene was set as our opposition would have been feeling a bit confident having beaten us in our previous encounter, however, they were not prepared for what was about to happen.
The first quarter was a bit of an arm wrestle with both teams applying pressure and the game being a little congested, and by quarter time both teams were on the scoreboard with us kicking 2.3 and Bacchus Marsh kicking one goal.
At quarter time we had a bit of a discussion as we thought our minds were not on the game. We made a few adjustments and the players were sent back out to get to work and be creative by playing our brand of football – little did we know that our opposition would not score another goal for the game.
The second quarter was a stronger performance as we felt the game was more in our control as we had plenty of the ball but our accuracy in front of goal was letting us down, especially after all the hard work being done up the ground, we missed some easy shots kicking 3.7 for the quarter.
Bessell, Clarke and the returning Dalgleish saw plenty of the ball up forward but just could not finish. Our midfield was getting on top led by Hitch, Condon, Tabone and the returning Lister who fed the ball out to our runners in Skenderis, Killeen and Le Huray and our backline worked hard led by Pearce, Johnson and the returning Oughtred thwarting off any forward moves our opposition tried for the quarter, keeping them scoreless.
The halftime discussion in the rooms was interesting, even though we had a comfortable lead we identified areas of our game we could improve on to ensure (1) we would win this game and (2), that we would realign our style of play with our brand of football we have been a custom to playing.
The second half was a much stronger performance as we finally got our game going. After kicking 5.10 in the first half, with our adjustments and change of play we kicked 10.5 in the second half running out comfortable winners by 98 points.
It was great to get a few players back after some long stints on the sidelines with Oughtred missing last six games, Lister and ‘Spud’ missing last five games, Dalgleish and Johnson missing last three games, and Clarke-Hill returning after one game out playing with a couple of broken fingers.
It was an overall strong display by everyone on the day, and even though we won comfortably in the end, we are definitely walking away with some areas we need to address.
We would like to thank all those that came to the game to support our team as I am sure you witnessed a great brand of football even though it took us half a game to get our style of game going.
It is an exciting time for everyone involved as we now have two weeks to prepare for the Grand Final with the possibility of going ‘Back2Back’ flags.
Brett Faulkhead, Coach
NETBALL
Under 19s
Darley 67 def Bacchus Marsh 9
Best players: Alyssa Normington, Sarah Mason
Goal scorers: E. Closter, S. Mason
The 19s had a terrific win in wet conditions against the marsh 67-9.
Although we didn’t get the higher score that we wanted due to the rain, we were able to implement defensive tactics that we worked on at training. This was the perfect game to practice our structures and game play just before we head into finals.
Everyone played so well, no matter what defensive or attacking combinations were put on which is incredibly important as we near finals.
We will look to finish off the season strong with melton bloods next week.
Sophia
E Grade
Darley 34 def Bacchus Marsh 9
Best players: Tiarna Di Mieri, Isabella Di Mieri
Goal scorers: I. Di Mieri, L. Kight
The derby is always a great match and tends to bring out the best of everyone.
We had one of our most consistent games of the season even with the remnants of wet weather that have been a challenge for us previously.
Everyone stood up in their roles with the defensive end applying continuous pressure and pulling off some amazing intercepts and the attack end gelling together and setting up some great plays.
Whilst we won’t be making finals this year we have grown so much as a team this season and are hoping to finish on a high against melton.
Lisa
D Grade
Darley 32 def Bacchus Marsh 19
Best players: Caitlin Bewley, Ash Byron
Goal scorers: S Johnston, M. Jackson, L Kight
What a win for the D Grade girls this week.
Everyone played their part and the connection on court was palpable as continued throughout the four quarters.
The defensive pressure from Ash, Mikala and Jess was incredible and a huge reason we walked away with the win.
One last game for the season and we’re off to the finals. I’m so proud of how far we’ve come and can’t wait to see how far we can go!
Caitlin
C Grade
Darley 42 def Bacchus Marsh 21
Best players: Ebony Raudino, Lauren Martin
Goal scorers: E. Raudino, B. Ellis, A. Harris
Another great win for the C grade girls this week against Bacchus Marsh 42-21.
The girls played a great game and it thankfully helped us secure a spot in the top six.
Our shooting combo Alex and Ebony played an awesome game and the movement shown within the ring was seamless.
Our midcourters and defenders also displayed some great plays that really paid off with our 21 point lead.
Well done this week girls, let’s secure another win against Melton next week.
Brittney
B Grade
Darley 62 def Bacchus Marsh 21
Best players: Kaylee Smith, Sarah Mason
Goal scorers: A. Nagle, S. Mason
Such a strong game across all thirds of the court this week for B grade.
Even with different combos throughout the game everyone was working so well at reading the play and off each other.
We were able to implement some important defensive work from training into a game scenario with everyone playing their role.
Team defensive effort was a massive standout this week and credit to all the girl working so get some gains across the court.
Well done girls.
Kaylee
A Grade
Darley 82 def Bacchus Marsh 21
Best players: Olivia Cawthray, Chelsea Mason
Goal scorers: E. Closter, O. Cawthray
It was great to see our A grade girls bounce back after their loss the previous week.
The girls were able to put into practice a range of structures and systems comfortable and with ease, regardless of what combination of players were on.
The result was a 63 goal win, with an excellent touch of purple ribbon in support of Tracey Taylor.
Excited to see what the girls bring to their final round, before finals, against Melton next week.
Monique