Darebin vs Diamond Creek: The women’s football rivalry where AFLW was born
Before AFLW, there was Darebin vs Diamond Creek. It was the bitter rivalry fought in Melbourne’s northern suburbs which culminated in seven Grand Final battles across nine years.
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In many ways, AFLW as we know it was forged in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
Women’s football powerhouse Darebin Falcons are located about 30 minutes north of the MCG at Preston’s AH Capp Reserve.
It is the ground where trailblazers including Daisy Pearce, Lauren Arnell and Darcy Vescio helped turn the Falcons into the envy of every other women’s side in Victoria.
“You won’t see it if you don’t know where it is. It’s one of the smallest, most unique grounds in Victoria,” former Falcon Jess Dal Pos says.
Drive a further 30 minutes northeast and you’ll come across Plenty War Memorial Park, the country oval Darebin’s fiercest rival Diamond Creek called home.
Now Sydney coach Scott Gowans was in charge of the Creekers in 2017 and remembers being blown away by the size and passion of the club’s supporter base.
From 2009 to 2017, the year before AFLW clubs took charge of VFLW sides, Darebin and Diamond Creek squared off in seven Grand Finals.
Little could they have known in 2009, when the Falcons triumphed by 44 points to claim their fourth straight VWFL premiership, they would be at the forefront of a revolution which would change women’s football forever.
“I grew up playing at Yarrambat where I was the only girl playing at the club,” Diamond Creek product Kirsty Lamb said.
“Naturally, as it was back in my day, I got to that 13, 14 years old and got kicked out. Wasn’t allowed to play boys footy anymore.
“Diamo will forever hold a real special place in my heart because it was the first women’s team I ever played in. I was super young. I’m pretty sure I was 15.
“I was the youngest player in the comp I reckon at that stage when I was first started and they made me wear a helmet because I was so young.”
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Few people watched the Darebin and Diamond Creek rivalry explode as intimately or as often as radio commentator Peter Holden.
Holden called his first VWFL match in 2013, the year after Diamond Creek stunned Darebin in the VWFL Grand Final.
“First of all Darebin, there was only one way about them in the VWFL,” Holden said.
“You either loved them or you hated them. It was as simple as that.
“And I think that just came with success and because they were in 13 Grand Finals in a row. Lost their first one, then won five, lost two and won five.
“Diamond Creek slipped into the underdog role nicely. Yes, (Darebin had) rivalries against the other teams.
“But the other teams probably silently cheered them on thinking they were the most realistic chance to knock off Darebin.”
The Falcons had long established themselves as the dominant force in women’s football before Holden ventured to Preston to commentate his first match involving Darebin.
“Most games that you called Darebin it was a case of fait accompli. It was going to be Darebin and Darebin by how far,” Holden said.
Under the guidance of women’s football pioneer Peta Searle, Darebin won five consecutive premierships from 2006-2010.
“As a girl that was a bit younger I always took footy really seriously because it was important to me. But I never saw that mirrored anywhere else,” Jess Dal Pos said.
“When I got to the club I was like, ‘oh wow, this means as much to them as it does to me’.”
From 2008 to 2017 the Falcons won 152 of their 161 VFLW games — an incredible win rate of 94 per cent.
Holden describes their rivalry with Diamond Creek as “two different worlds colliding — and that included the players.”
Darebin was semi-professional before its time.
Diamond Creek was akin to a local footy club which batted well above its means.
“I think when you’re coming up against a quality outfit so often you tend to envy them a little bit,” former Creekers captain Steph Chiocci said.
“Darebin were probably the first to be real professional, I think, off the field. That’s what set them apart from the rest of the competition.
“We were known for being a club that had a bit more fun, I suppose, and enjoyed their footy and (were) real connected and really close — like a second family.
“I absolutely loved our battles against Darebin. We played against some absolute superstars.”
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One of Darebin’s nine losses in its decade of supremacy was against Diamond Creek in the 2012 VWFL decider.
That day was supposed to be Lamb — and her teammates — to the slaughter.
Darebin had prevailed by 21 points and 23 points during the regular season, holding the Creekers scoreless in the penultimate round.
But buoyed by three goals from Chiocci, who shook a heavy tag from Natalie Wood, the Creekers turned the tables when it mattered most.
“It was one of the most amazing wins of my career. Probably my most cherished win I would have to say, including AFLW,” Choicci said.
“That particular game was something that I will never ever forget. We always went into it with the mindset we were going to win but we loved the underdog title. I think we thrived on that. And they were just too good.
“They were just really well-rounded. They had played together for however many years.
“They had a lot of continuity in their list, there wasn’t a lot of turnover, and they were really experienced footballers.
“It was always a challenge and we’d always try and find ways to pick them apart, but they were just too good. We always thought we were a chance and thankfully we got one in 2012.”
Lamb, then 18 years old, was named best afield.
“I’ve got quite a few friends now (who) were from Darebin back in the day, they often say ‘you Creekers have a reunion once a year don’t you?’ But it was that one year where we finally beat (Darebin) after all those years of losing,” she said.
Desperate to avoid a repeat of the previous year, Richard Dal Pos plastered photos of Diamond Creek’s jubilation around the Falcons’ Coburg City Oval changerooms before the 2013 decider.
Darebin’s 49-point demolition of its arch rival that day would prove the first of another five premierships in a row.
Ultimately, losses in the 2011 and 2012 Grand Finals were all that stood between the Falcons and an awe-inspiring 12 premierships without blemish.
“After six years of coaching there, I really started to understand — I won’t say the word hatred for each other — that’s too strong,” Falcons premiership coach Richard Dal Pos said.
“But it was like there was nothing better for us to beat them. They didn’t beat us often at all but when they did it was like they’d won the World Cup.”
Jess Dal Pos said: “We still talk about that (2012) Grand Final and how much it broke our hearts. We genuinely looked at those pictures on the wall and were like, ‘never again’. We were never going to let them win another game ever, no matter what.”
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2017 was supposed to be the year when Darebin’s aura of invincibility faded.
The VFLW season was played after the maiden AFLW campaign and most players were mentally and physically drained by the time they returned to their local clubs.
It showed when Diamond Creek toppled Darebin by 25 points in the second semi-final.
The Falcons just avoided a straight-sets exit against St Kilda Sharks in the preliminary final, earning a shot at redemption at Marvel Stadium in the decider.
“I think we probably played our best game two weeks too early. Darebin were actually lucky to beat St Kilda Sharks in the prelim. They just got through,” former Creekers coach Scott Gowans said.
“Who knows? If we had have played the Sharks maybe we would have won the premiership. Darebin were a mighty side. They were well coached, well structured and highly talented.”
Two weeks after they were stunned at Coburg City Oval, Darebin arrived at Docklands still smarting.
“If you really watch it, Darebin has got maybe a quarter and a half of football in them in that 2017 Grand Final. They were cooked,” Holden said.
“And again, it’s because their players, accounting for finals and AFLW, had played a lot of bloody football.”
The Creekers finished the better of the two sides, kicking four goals to three after halftime.
But the damage had been done as Darebin — led by Pearce, Paxy Paxman and Katie Brennan — drew on all its reserves to seal a seven-point victory.
“I remember before the game, we were on the concourse below Marvel Stadium and we could hear some of the Diamo players — they didn’t know that we could hear them,” Jess Dal Pos said.
“They were singing the song, their team song, and carrying on pregame. That was a three-goal motivation, minimum.
“That really, really, really annoyed us and it was the moment in the day where we were like, ‘nah, not today. This is ours again’.”
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Richard Dal Pos says it wasn’t hatred.
But, there’s no denying the animosity the Darebin-Diamond Creek rivalry engendered.
They clashed 34 times from 2008-2017, with Darebin claiming a 31-3 win-loss record during that decade.
Wins and losses only explain a small part of the fervour which matches between the Creekers and Falcons stirred up though.
Lamb says Diamond Creek called Darebin the ‘dirty Falcs’.
In response, they became the ‘dirty Creekers’.
Jess Dal Pos says: “We genuinely hated each other across every level.”
“Still to this day for me, I don’t like Diamond Creek and I never will. They still get under my skin. Everybody has their own stories of the rivalry but I can tell you it’s still thriving,” she adds.
Diamond Creek had no option but to try and unsettle Darebin and would often attempt to do so verbally.
Shae Audley and Millie Barden were the chief antagonists, unleashing a fearsome verbal barrage to try and break the resolve of their Falcons opponents.
“I remember thinking, ‘far out, they never stop’. Even when we were up by 60 points in the last quarter they still had something to say and it used to drive us crazy,” Jess Dal Pos said.
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Darebin still operates a VFLW team eight years on from that Marvel Stadium decider and fields sides in the Northern Football League.
Diamond Creek exists as a local club in the Northern FL, with its Division 1 side set to figure in finals.
The Falcons are the benchmark for stand-alone female clubs in Australia, boasting the biggest girls and gender-diverse soccer program in the country and fielding cricket sides in summer.
The impact of both clubs has not only shaped the first decade of AFLW but is set to have a significant influence on the next era of women’s football.
Former Darebin players Arnell (Port Adelaide), Pearce (West Coast) and Natalie Wood (Essendon) are AFLW head coaches, while Aasta O’Connor and Jess Dal Pos are part of Carlton’s coaching set-up.
Ex-Creeker Emma Grant is forwards coach at Richmond, while Alison Downie is on Nick Dal Santo’s coaching panel at St Kilda.
Chioicci works as a player development manager at the Saints, while her former teammate Tanya Hetherington is part of Gowans’ coaching team at Sydney.
Darebin premiership great Jane Lange also spent six years with Melbourne.
The number of AFLW players remaining from Darebin and Diamond Creek is dwindling.
Vescio is still a key player at Carlton, Lamb has been added to Port Adelaide’s leadership group and Katie Brennan will lead Richmond for the seventh year running in 2025.
North Melbourne ball magnet Ash Riddell is another Diamond Creek product, while Darebin graduate Meg McDonald is set for her sixth campaign as Geelong captain.
“We were very, very competitive with each other and then AFLW provided an opportunity for us to actually really get to know these people,” Lamb said.
“It turned out they’re just like us — they love their footy, they’re very passionate about it and they love their club, where they grew up and where they came from.”
When the last of the Creekers and Falcons call time on their AFLW careers, it will mark the end of an era for women’s football.
But what happens next will be heavily influenced by Darebin and Diamond Creek as several key figures from their great rivalry shape the next decade of AFLW.
THE GRAND FINALS
2017 – Darebin def Diamond Creek by seven points
2015 – Darebin def Diamond Creek by 63 points
2014 – Darebin def Diamond Creek by 30 points
2013 – Darebin def Diamond Creek by 49 points
2012 – Diamond Creek def Darebin by five points
2010 – Darebin def Diamond Creek by 32 points
2009 – Darebin def Diamond Creek by 44 points
Originally published as Darebin vs Diamond Creek: The women’s football rivalry where AFLW was born
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