Darke steps up to realise his premiership dream
IT wasn’t going to be anyone else other than James Darke (pictured).
The Torquay midfielder shrugged off a couple of Geelong Amateur tackles on the outer wing, found space and released the ball forward. It hit David Allitt, who charged in and kicked the goal.
Two minutes into the third quarter and Torquay had just taken any momentum Ammos were looking to build after the main break.
The margin was out to 40 points. It was a big nail in the coffin.
And while Darke didn’t walk off with the best-on-ground medal despite being a dominant presence in his team’s win, he did walk off with a premiership medal. That’s all he wanted. “Nothing else is like this. I can’t describe the feeling,” Darke said.
“It’s a great feeling to win one for the town. Everyone is behind us, it’s amazing.
“We knew what we had to do and if we could employ that then we would win. We just had to play positive, move the ball positive and go from there.”
What the Tigers star lacks in size he makes up for in heart. And that heart bleeds Torquay.
Darke claimed his second Les Ash Medal last month, recording a stunning victory on his return to the BFL from GFL club St Albans.
He spoke straight after being crowned the league’s best player about his desire to become a premiership player at Torquay.
He will cherish his Les Ash medals, but his hunger was only for that premiership medallion.