Darley’s assault on the Ballarat Football League finals has been given a boost by some guest coaches.
But this time it wasn’t about the senior Devils, with the youngsters claiming centre stage as Richmond Football Club’s Daniel Jackson and Sam Lloyd took junior training last Wednesday.
The pair ran the young Devils through some drills before a question-and-answer session to round out the night.
Darley junior president Ross Bewley said it was a great night for the club.
“The kids loved it,” he said.
“We had a pie night and there were probably 100 to 150 kids out there.
‘‘The boys from the Tigers came along and hung around for about an hour afterwards.”
It was the second time in a month that Darley had a special guest at training, with Heath Scotland also putting the under-10s through their paces in July.
Scotland played his junior football at the Devils before going onto the Western Jets in the TAC Cup and Collingwood and Carlton in the AFL.
Bewley said the junior branches of Darley’s football and netball clubs were doing well.
“The juniors are probably going to have three or four football sides in the finals this year, and then out of the netball they’re probably going to have four teams in,” he said.
“It’s great to have a lot of our sides in the finals and a lot of those teams are dominated by bottom-age kids.
“It really looks bright for a good year next year.”
With Darley’s senior side charging towards September action, Bewley hopes a number of the club’s young stars will represent the Devils at the top level.
“That’s always the goal. You always want all your juniors to go through and play senior footy at your club,” he said.
“It doesn’t always happen. We are lucky we hang on to quite a few of the guys who come from the under-16s to the under-18s.”y
