BALLARAT put up a gutsy fight against Darley at Alfredton Oval but were simply outclassed in the end by the Devil’s high-quality midfield to the tune of 30 points on Saturday.
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Devils Shane Page and Steve Kennedy were brilliant and brutish in Ballarat Football League.
Page did not making a discernible mistake for the match. Kennedy was breaking packs open through sheer strength.
The Swans began the better of the two sides. Liam Youl was racking up possessions at will.
From the outset, Ballarat bottlenecked the Devils into the deep wings of the ground, forcing turnovers and scoring on the fast rebound.
The Devils quickly woke up to this though, attacking through the middle of the ground to trail by only a point at the first change.
Devils’ forward Jake Edwards was well-held by Daniel Kennedy for most of the match. But Edwards booted two goals in five minutes to kick-start his team and enable a six-goal to two quarter for the Devils.
In the third term the Devils extend their lead to 38 points at, but it was also littered with injuries for the Devils.
Nathan Lyons, Jake Ancrum, Dane Grenfell and Jarrod Edwards all came off looking sore, playing little part further in the match.
Jake Edwards booted his third goal from long range and the game looked finished. To their credit the Swans hit back hard, kicking three goals in a row to challenge the Devils.
But standing tall down back, Jacob Zeestraaten and Mark Hansen held up against repeat pressure – otherwise the game would have been much closer.
A full ground transition from a turnover late in the game allowed Devil to Ryan Closter ice the victory, taking the final score to 14.8 (92) to 9.8 (62).
Devil Harley Inglis kicked four goals while Zane Thompson led the Swans with three majors and was in the Swans’ best along with Youl and Shane Hutchinson.
Zeestraaten earned Devil best on ground honours.
Devils’ playing-coach Jarrod Edwards was pleased with the win but excited that his charges still had “so much improvement left in them.”
The Devils need to work on starting stronger after staging a second-half comeback to catch out fellow finals contender Lake Wendouree last week and taking time to settle against Ballarat.
They enter a bye round and will return for a couple of massive tests, starting with a rivalry bout against an in-form Bacchus Marsh then a rematch against the Lakers, who will vie to take the Devils’ coveted third spot on the BFL ladder while the Devils are resting nest week.