Lyons, who was part of Strathmore’s 2014 Essendon District Football League premiership side, will come across to the Ballarat Football League for 2015.

The star midfielder will bring a wealth of experience to the role, having previously played at South Adelaide in the SANFL, where he was also a midfield coach.

He has been recruited to add extra firepower to an already-talented Darley midfield.

Devils coach Jarrod Edwards said Lyons had long been on the radar, having previously played in the TAC Cup at Western Jets with his brother Jake.

“We’ve tried to get him for a couple of years actually so it was good to finally get him across,” Edwards said. “We’ve been targeting the midfielders so he should really help us out there.”

Also in the sights of Darley recruiters is Geelong and District Football League 2014 best and fairest winner Andrew Challis.

Challis, of East Geelong, has been one of the best midfielders in the GDFL for years but has moved to Darley Park to pursue a higher level of football.

The additions, coupled with the fact Darley has not lost anyone, gives the Devils a realistic chance of progressing beyond the second week of finals, where they have bombed out in the last two seasons.

“We haven’t set any real goals as yet other than that we want to finish higher than last year, that’s a given,” Edwards said.

Gun midfielder Nathan Jackel is also set to play a key role, having played just two games this year after appearing in reality television show The Recruit.

Darley finished fourth in 2014 and lost to Redan in the semi-final.