The Courier |
DARLEY has paid the ultimate price for inaccurate kicking yet again by coming up short by 14 points against an impressive Ballarat at Alfredton Oval on Saturday.
A strong first-quarter performance set up the victory for the Simonds Swans, with James Quayle the standout, kicking four goals in the first term.
Ballarat eventually held on to win 10.6 (66) to Darley's 6.16 (52).
The Devils showed more fight in the second term, kicking three goals to one, although positive performances from Luke Brennan, Josh Crawford, Daniel Kennedy and Mitch Rodd kept them at bay in order to hold a 10-point lead at half-time.
The third quarter told the story of the day, with Ballarat converting four goals from six scoring shots, while Darley, which came into the game in third place on the Red Onion Creative Ballarat Football League ladder, could only manage two goals from 14 scoring shots.
Harley Inglis was gallant for the Devils while the decision was made to send star player Jake Edwards forward to generate a bit of momentum.
It was a similar Darley outfit in the final term that had graced the field for the first three quarters, with the Devils managing two goals from eight scoring shots.
However, Ballarat, led by playing coach Ash Baker, Crawford, Brennan and Rodd, held sway to get the side over the line, while Sam Caldow in defence played an admirable game in which he was rarely beaten by an opponent all day.
Brennan capped off an impressive performance by taking a certain contender for mark of the year in the dying minutes of the contest .
Ballarat coach Ash Baker said he was extremely happy with the victory .
"Last week our consistency dropped off after half-time so we were looking for that four-quarter effort," he said.
"I thought we were very consistent with all of our efforts."
