Inside the plans for Darley to continue being on top in the Ballarat league
Darley secured its second premiership in three years but in the hours following the success, the Devils’ leaders were already planning the flag defence. This is how they aim to get stronger.
Within hours of Ballarat league premiership success, Darley’s captain and coach Brett Bewley and Dan Jordan were already planning how to defend the crown.
And in a scary prospect for the rest of the competition, the building blocks are already in place.
Darley claimed its second premiership in three years with a commanding 34-point win over Sunbury.
The contest was over in the first term as Darley kicked seven goals to zero with a strong breeze before holding off challenges from the Lions.
“We went in with a plan and executed it really well,” Jordan said.
“The last few times against Sunbury we’ve had to chase our tail a little bit.
“So we needed to see if we could execute hard and early.
“If we could get in front of the game we knew it would make it a hell of a lot easier for us.”
Led by Bewley, Luther Baker and Lucas Impey in the midfield and the dashing run of Nick Hind, the Devils got the momentum and couldn’t be stopped.
Now the plans are in place to go back-to-back.
They had the chance in 2024 but fell short.
Jordan said a lot of lessons were learned from last year.
“Brett and I have already sat down two hours post game and worked out what does it look like to give ourselves an opportunity at the same stage next year,” Jordan revealed.
“After the emotion of 23 as well, we switched off as well and it took us a long time to get the motivation back.
“We learned a lot from last year coming off the back of 23 and changed our preparation and pre-season accordingly.”
It also helps the club has retained this year’s squad, who won 20 games in a row to win the premiership.
“They have all re-signed, we did that a month ago,” Jordan said.
“They are keen to go around again and sometimes there is no motivation like success.
“Hopefully we can kept that hunger and drive up.”
Jordan said while the top players will be the focus, the growth will come from the under-19s coming through.
“We had four or five guys coming out of under-19s being exposed to a senior grand final (this year),” he said.
“Grand final are won by the bottom five or six and their ability to be able to execute their roles.
“The ability to play their role and do what was asked of them was terrific.
“There’s another good group coming through next year.
“It’s important we provide those opportunities for the long term sustainability of the club.”
Originally published as Inside the plans for Darley to continue being on top in the Ballarat league
Rising stars make their mark on country cricket rep tournament
