Tara Murray
Sometimes it’s about just finding a way and that is what Darley did on Saturday to claim back-to-back Ballarat Football League women’s premierships.
Facing Redan in a third straight grand final, it was anything but simple of the Devils on Saturday.
Co-captain and newly crowned league best and fairest winner Lilli Condon was a last minute withdrawal due to illness.
In windy conditions, both teams struggled to hit the scoreboard. The Devils couldn’t get their game style going either.
It meant little when under-16s player Evie Johnson, scored for the Devils to put them in front by seven points with less than two minutes to go.
The Devils would hold on to win 3.4 (22)-2.3 (15) sealing their second premiership
Devils coach Brett Faulkhead was so proud of his playing group.
“It was a hard fought game,” he said. “We were hoping to play our set way to play our game and ended up not being able to do that.
“Redan like to play congested footy and that is not what we like. We were stuck playing it the whole game.
“The girls fought it out hard and we got a goal late in the game.”
The Devils’ day didn’t start well with Condon withdrawing after the warm up.
Faulkhead said she hadn’t been well the night before and they had one of their under-16s on standby to come in if they were needed to.
He said Condon made the call to withdraw for the game.
“She could have been selfish and played crook,” he said. “She could have played at 75-80 per cent, but she stepped aside and gave up her spot.
“It was a fairytale finish.”
Johnson was the player to come into the team.
She would be the hero, scoring the final goal to give the Devils the win.
Johnson was one of two under-16s in the Devils premiership side, the other 14-year-old Charli Parsons-Jones,
“She had played seven games during the season and was in our final team,” Faulkhead said of Parsons-Jones.
“She is not fazed by the bigger bodies and she was close to being our best on ground.
“Evie played some difference roles. Defensive, midfield and then up forward where she kicked the winning goal.”
Faulkhead said they had to dig deep in the final minutes to ensure that they came out on top.
Kim Bessell kicked the other two goals for the Devils.
Trinity Skenderis was named best on ground by the umpires, while Jaye Dalgleish was awarded the AFL Victoria best on ground medal.
Faulkhead said full credit went to whole the playing group who didn’t stop all day and all year.
“Redan had 17 players from last year’s grand final team, we had nine,” he said. “They hadn’t lost all season and then lost to us twice in finals.
“We had to settle in and gel as a team. We got some players back towards the end of the season.
“It was perfect timing. All that hard work and we finish like this with a fairytale.”
Faulkhead said it was pretty special to go back to back after breaking through for their first premiership last season.
He said the bond had continued to grow in the group.
“To pull it off again ia an amazing feeling and I’m so proud,” he said. “Everyone played a role, the coaches, the players the support staff.”
Faulkhead said there were plenty of celebrations on Saturday night and they would continue for a few days.
Preparation for next season has already started.
Faulkhead will stay on as a co-coach with assistant coach Emmerson Hitch stepping up to take on the co-coaching role.
“We sat down a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “Her passion is to get into coaching.
“I’m quite happy to be coaching and let her play a more significant role. It’s a bit of a succession plan and the club is rapt.”
Faulkhead said he’d love to get more girls playing football at the club and in the league in general to continue to provide that pathway.
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