Darley gave Melton South a harsh 122-point lesson in the Ballarat Football League at Darley on Saturday.

The Devils shrugged off the Panthers with ridiculous ease to not only confirm that it is shaping up as the premiership favourite, but also remind Melton South just how far off it is from being a contender.

Darley gave a masterclass in the opening half to lead by 100 points. It was game over.

Melton South struggled to get its hands on the football and when it did repeatedly broke down across half forward from where the Darley machine slipped into gear.

With Melton South wanting and needing to make a statement, Darley coach Heath Scotland expected the Panthers to go hard at the Devils.

It never eventuated, with Darley confirming Scotland’s belief in the Devils being the best defensive team in the competition.

Scotland said he was not too concerned about taking the foot off the pedal in the second half - particularly the last term when Melton South had the better of the scoreboard.

He was particularly impressed by his back six, which featured Geelong VFL-listed and Darley premiership player Jake Edwards for the first time this season. Darren Leonard was also to the fore again.

Melton South joint coach Sean Triplett said it had been an extremely poor effort. Not much more could be said.

Melton South indicated early it was concerned about the drive Darley’s midfield would provide by dropping an extra player into defence.

All that did though was make it easier for the Darley backline, which pushed forward with ferocity.

From there the likes of brothers Chris and Brian Graham did the rest. Chris Graham dominated close to goal with five goals as Darley put on six goals in the first term and a crushing 12 majors in the second.

Brian Graham finished with four goals in another best-on-ground performance.

Kyle Docherty was another dominant player in attack. While he kicked three goals, it was aerial strength which made him such an influential player.

The undefeated Darley went into the game without the likes of Dan Roy, Matt Inglis and Leigh Spiteri. Youngsters Tom Evans, Jackson Carrick, Jordan Spiteri and Matthew Young (Western Jets) made the most of their opportunities as did the returning Jacob Zeestraten.

Mark Lynch was easily Melton South’s best, but the onballer was often left with few options once he had possession.

Ben Sortino was also tireless in a ruck tussle with Abe Cameron, but there were few other Panthers who were able to work their way into the game.

Melton South went to Darley well below full strength, but this was no excuse.

The Panthers were without Tayte Pears, Matt Notman, Daniel Leggett, Dan Hillier, Tom Derickx and Mozz El Houli.

Then during the game they lost Adam El Houli (groin), Angus Storey (leg) and Daniel Vasjuta (lower leg).

DARLEY assistant coach Mark Pedersen was in a much more favourable position on Saturday than last time these teams met at Darley Park. It was the opening game of last season. Pedersen was head coach  of Melton South, which found itself on almost the same scoreline –  25.18 (168) to 6.13 (49).    

Lake Wendouree 11.19 (85) d Sunbury 9.8 (62)

Lake Wendouree needed a dominant last quarter to hold out Sunbury and remain unbeaten in the Ballarat Football League at Wendouree’s CE Brown Reserve on Saturday.

Sunbury was on the verge of a claiming a major scalp, but not for the first time this year the Lions fell short after an effort full of promise.

The Lakers distanced themselves from Sunbury with a five-goal to two final term.

Lake Wendouree remains second on percentage to Darley, while a luckless Sunbury is seventh.

Lakers coach Tim Malone said he had been ready for a big last quarter with just one point in their favour.

“We knew it was going to be ugly. We were kicking against a pretty strong wind. 

“I just told the boys to keep playing the footy that we want to play. We were trying to do the right things.”

Sunbury coach Ben Jordan was frustrated with the last term effort.

“We can’t take much out of that. It was really disappointing. That’s probably the third game of footy we’ve been in the mix and you just can’t get away with playing three quarters.

“The guys have to be better than that so then message from me was pretty clear.”

Jordan said the ease with which Lake Wendouree was able to move the ball late was not good enough. “It is nowhere near good enough.” 

Lake Wendouree burst out of the blocks with three of the first four goals, but Sunbury worked hard to get back into the contest to only be three points adrift at the main break. 

Bailey Edwards and Tom Nijam were effective for Lakers throughout the day, while Jack Elkington bagged four goals to allow Lucas Anderson to play in a range of positions. 

Grant Valles showed why he is so important to Sunbury, finishing with three goals for the afternoon. 

The win sets up Lake Wendouree for another intriguing test against a struggling North Ballarat City before facing Darley and Bacchus Marsh.

Sunbury is away to Sebastopol next round.

MEANWHILE, Sunbury premiership coach Rick Horwood has been sacked as head senior coach by Avondale Heights in the Essendon District Football League.

They parted ways late last week with one win in six rounds in the premier division.

Horwood finished up at Sunbury after losing last year’s grand final.

East Point 13.17 (95) d North City 12.13 (85)

East Point reaped the full benefit of putting it all together for the first time in the BFL on Saturday.

The Kangaroos produced their first win and with it put a massive question mark over North Ballarat City at Eureka Stadium.

North has had just the one win in four games and finds itself in eighth spot with clashes with Lake Wendouree and Bacchus Marsh in the next two rounds.

For East Point, the 10-point win was a reward for some encouraging efforts.

Coach Jake Bridges said for the first time the Kangaroos had been consistently good across four quarters.

While there were ebbs and flows, he said East Point had set the tone by making the most of a breeze with five opening quarter goals and then being able respond with goals when North Ballarat threatened late.

Brothers Steven and Daniel Tung were influential for the Kangaroos, as was veteran ruckman Paul Koderenko in a game when there was a wider spread of contributors.

Under-18.5 players Tom Hotchin and Tom Bromley-Lynch each made their senior debuts for North Ballarat.

Bromley-Lynch joined his brothers, twins Sam and Josh, in the line-up.

Unfortunately there was no joy for the first-gamers or captain Simon McCartin and vice-captain Ryan Luke, who reached significant milestones.

Luyke made his 150th senior appearance and McCartin his 100th.

Each has progressed through North's junior program and played in City's 2013 and 2014 senior premierships.

Ballarat 15.16 (106) d Sebastopol 12.11 (83)

Ballarat came from seven goals down early in the second quarter to overrun Sebastopol by 23 points in the BFL at Alfredton on Saturday.

The Burra had a flying start with a seven-goal opening quarter and was equally impressive in the second term, restricting an inaccurate Ballarat to 1.6 to retain a 33-point lead.

However, Ballarat then turned the game on its head. The Swans worked much harder to keep possession, taking the visitors away from the game-style which had allowed them to make the running.

Sebastopol coach Shane Snibson said it was disappointing to left the match slip. “It was one which got away.”

He said the damage was done in the third term when Ballarat closed the gap. “We lost our composure...didn’t man-up. They got away.” 

Sebastopol’s cause was not helped by the loss of James Grills (ankle), who had kept Swans match-winner Shane Hutchinson quiet early.

Ballarat finished the day fullk of running with a seven-goals last quarter.

Daniel Kennedy continued his consistent form, capping off his outing with three goals.

The Swans' leading goalkicker Nick O'Farrell was again a contributor in attack with three majors.

Ballarat climbs into sixth position with two wins and a draw, and now prepares to face an out-of-sorts Melton South at Melton.

Bacchus Marsh 14.15 (99) d Melton 6.12 (48) 

Bacchus Marsh needed just two quarters seal the points against Melton in the BFL at MacPherson Park on Saturday.

The Bloods did not kick a goal until well into the second quarter and by that time Cobras were away and well on the way to a 51-point win.

Bacchus Marsh’s dominance was highlighted by its spread of goalkickers.

The Cobras have shown a substantial reliance on Jarrah Maksymow in attack, but he had a quiet time as one of 11 goalkickers.

Hamish Coulton provided a different option with four majors.

BFL representative Jackson Bolton was the standout player for Bacchus Marsh, working across half back.

Scott Sherlock and Tyson Shea also had big says on-ball.

Port Melbourne VFL-listed Dillon Viojo-Rainbow was serviceable on debut.

Riley Walker, Ben Archard and Lachlan Walker led the way in another disappointing day for Melton, which sits on one win.