Darley’s return to home ground delayed ahead of undefeated blockbuster

Darley’s “anywhere, anytime, anyone” mentality has propelled it to an undefeated start but it will miss the chance to host Melton in a clash of undefeated teams.

Darley's Shane Page. Picture: Damian Visentini

Darley’s “anywhere, anytime, anyone” mentality has propelled it to an undefeated start despite not playing a game at home.

Darley Park’s rooms have been undergoing renovations since last year, meaning the Devils have been on the road for the opening seven rounds of the BFNL season.

It will be nine rounds by the time North Ballarat visits on June 17.

The return game was scheduled for this weekend’s top-of-the-table blockbuster against fellow undefeated Melton but unfortunately for Darley it will be another fortnight before the facilities are ready.

It will see the game switched to McPherson Oval with the Round 17 bout at Darley Park.

Darley’s Daniel Lalor stretches for the ball. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Despite the travel, the Devils playing group has embraced the challenge and taken some big scalps in an outstanding first half of the campaign.

The Devils have knocked off Ballarat, East Point and Lake Wendouree in Ballarat as well as eastern rivals Bacchus Marsh, Sunbury and Melton South.

Coach Dan Jordan said road success was critical if the club wanted to achieve finals success.

“We’ve got an anytime, anywhere, anyone mentality, we know we’ve got to beat good teams either at home or away,” he said.

“We want to take the stigma out of having to travel and fortunately through circumstance that was taken away from us.

“I know in previous years people have looked at the draw and we’ve got x amount away and so-and-so away but there wasn’t any talk of that this year, it was just ‘let’s go and get them’.

“Most finals are played in Ballarat so if you have an aversion to going to Ballarat, for our boys its 30 minutes, there just seems to be a mental barrier there.

“If you struggle on the road then you’re going to struggle in finals, but fortunately we’ve still got some guys around who have played in premierships and had good success.”

The Devils will face their biggest challenge of the season against undefeated reigning premier Melton.

Darley coach Dan Jordan. Picture: Andy Brownbill

The Bloods have been impressive winning their opening seven games, including thrilling eight-point triumph over East Point on Saturday.

Talismanic skipper Brett Bewley is expected to return for the clash after being rested in the 72-point win over Lake Wendouree.

Yet to have its bye, Melton sits a game clear on top of the ladder with Darley second – two games ahead of a clutch of four teams headed by Sebastopol.

Asked if a stretch of home games would boost the Devils’ run home, Jordan downplayed the fact they would play nine of the last 10 games at home.

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“I think it’s irrelevant to be honest,” he said.

“We knew we weren’t going to be at home for a while so it hasn’t really been spoken about, we’re just looking at the opposition.

“We lost some games at home that we probably would have backed ourselves to win and similarly we probably won some away that we potentially thought we might get done.”

In other results, Sunbury was too good for Bacchus Marsh, recording a 41-point win, Ballarat cruised to a 126-point victory over Melton South and North Ballarat secured a 30-point win over Sebas.