East Point’s Sam Cooper and Darley’s Chris McGill have their eyes on the ball, but cannot quite manage to get it into their hands.
SIX goals from Brendan Porter and inaccurate kicking from the opposition enabled Darley to defeat a disappointing East Point side by 38 points at High Mountain Eastern Oval on Saturday.
The Devils established a five goal break in the second quarter and then held it for the duration of the match to record their fifth win of the Red Onion Ballarat Football League season.
Darley coach Rod MacPherson said his team’s pressure on the opposition was the most pleasing aspect of the Devils’ victory.
“We built our win on a really strong tackle count,” MacPherson said.
“In the second quarter we had the highest amount of tackles in one quarter for the year, and we were rewarded with our second highest score for the year.
“So, considering what the conditions were like, we thought that we were really effective.”
Although the Red Lion Kangaroos were first to hit the scoreboard courtesy of Chris Carson, it was obvious Darley had come to play early. Porter was a standout up forward in the first term for the Devils, and proved to be too quick on the lead for the East Point defenders.
Jake Dunne managed to keep the Kangaroos in the contest by converting two goals, however, his side was hindered by inaccurate kicking, handing Darley a slender three point advantage at quarter time.
The second term belonged to the visitors as they managed to pile on five goals to East Point’s six behinds.
Harley Inglis proved to be a handful up forward for the Devils as the Kangaroos failed to make the most of their own opportunities in front of goal.
East Point showed some fight as the third term began and the heavens opened, whittling the margin to13 points, but a steadying goal from Brendan Porter brought Darley out of its slumber, the Devils taking a commanding 27 point lead into three quarter time.
There was a flicker of hope at times for the home side in the last term, but the Devils were able to answer any challenge thrown at them, including the weather. Brad Inglis was terrific for the Devils, as was Harley, while the Darley defence was terrific in limiting the impact of Dan Jordan and Hayden Walters.
Jake and Jarrod Edwards were also terrific for the Devils, while Jason Delaney was the clear standout for the Kangaroos.
While praising Darley’s performance, East Point coach Dan Jordan suggested fatigue was a factor for his side’s flat effort.
“The boys have been up for seven or eight games now and we are starting to cop a few injuries which hurts you as a side,” he said.
“But full credit to Darley, they wanted the win more and we were very sluggish in the first half.”
Darley 16.10 (106)
East Point 9.13 (67)