It’s 20 long years since the Darley Devils tasted premiership success.
But the longer the current Ballarat Football League season goes on, the more it looks as though the drought could be about to break.
Darley is ticking all the boxes, with the club in outright third spot.
The Devils have found the perfect balance between attack and defence. They sit in the top three for points scored and the bottom three for points against.
The form of the senior side has the Darley supporters up and about, thinking back to their last premiership.
Going into the 1995 Riddell District Football League season, not much was expected of the Devils.
They had a first-year coach in Craig Baker and a host of young players who were expected to be unknown quantities against the RDFL’s toughest clubs.
At the time, cross-town rival Melton was all the rage.
The Bloods had gone through the home and away season unbeaten and were an imposing force going into the finals.
“It was my first year as coach and I thought we had a fairly good side,” Baker said this week.
“But I didn’t know if we had a side good enough to win the premiership.
“As the year went on, there were only two sides that could really win the flag, us and Melton.”
Darley didn’t wait until the final day of the year to highlight its premiership credentials.
The Devils fired the first shots in the semi-finals when they got over Melton with the last kick of the day to progress straight to the grand final.
The pair met again in the biggest match of the season two weeks later.
Once again, the Devils produced their best when the moment called for it, coming back from five goals down at quarter-time to secure a famous win.
“It’s your last six players who win you a grand final,” Baker said.
“Our bottom six in that side were all good players … we didn’t have anyone who couldn’t play. That’s why we won. We had 20 who could actually play and were good blokes.”
The premiership victory has shaped the club Darley has become.
Baker remained coach for a further three years before moving onto the committee and his two sons now play for the Devils.
The youngest player in the grand final side was Grant Wright, who is now president.
Darley also created a strong ‘culture’ before it was a football buzzword. “It was a very tight group,” Baker recalled.
“They all got on really well. If ever we went to functions during the year at the footy club, everyone was there.
“And it wasn’t just the 20 who played on the day, there were another five or six who were part of it as well.”
The premiership side also had an incredible four sets of brothers. The Barnes’s (Dave and Matt), Hehirs (Darren and Brendan), Ward (Rod and Shayne) and Whelans (Clark and Heath) all played on grand final day.
Darley will host its formal 20-year recognition luncheon at Darley Park an noon on Saturday, August 1.
It will coincide with the club’s home match against local rival Melton South. The club will also host two other events, with details available on its website: www.darleyfnc.com.au.
Wright believes it’s time for another Devils side to reach the pinnacle of local football.
“Our club has compiled a fantastic win-loss percentage over the last two decades and has won 19 senior premierships in our history, but we haven’t saluted at the final hurdle since 1995,” he said.
“This year we believe that we can give it a good shake.
“It will be fantastic for our young players of today to see that premierships are never forgotten and how they can forge lifelong bonds and friendships.”
