Darley’s efforts pay off

Former Giant can see light at end of tunnel

GRINDING away for little reward is nothing new for Sam Darley but the North Hobart star hopes last weekend’s upset of Launceston can be the catalyst for a swift rebuild.

Darley was one of a dozen 17-year-olds who were plucked by Greater Western Sydney as priority access picks in 2010 — alongside now-AFL stars Jeremy Cameron, Dylan Shiel and Adam Treloar — and saw first-hand some of the hidings the Giants received in their formative years in the competition. It is an environment not too dissimilar to the one he returned to when he rejoined the Demons at the start of this year, and Saturday’s stunning performance shows there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Up against arguably the form team in the TSL — the Blues trounced ladder leader Lauderdale the previous week — North Hobart kicked six goals clear at one point before holding on by seven at the final siren.

The victory lifted the Demons off the bottom of the ladder, and Darley hopes it will instil the belief all the hard work behind the scenes is reaping dividends.

“When you are not getting results I think sometimes they start to doubt whether they are getting reward for effort,” Darley said.

“I think our boys more than anything believe we can match it now.

“And when you start to believe you can match it and you see results for the work you put in, that’s when clubs can turn things around quickly. Having a young group and seeing so much potential, but then seeing us go through plenty of losses, and sometimes heavy losses, it does make the year hard and it does feel like the year drags.

“At GWS we were getting pumped by 100 points most weeks and no one saw the work you put in during the week.

The confidence you get from wins is comparable to when I was at GWS, we knocked off Gold Coast for our first ever win and that group has grown pretty rapidly since then.

“I hope that in some ways the win on the weekend is a catalyst to us.”

While he was judged best afield in the victory, Darley was full of praise for a Launceston midfielder who extended his lead at the top of the player of the year leaderboard.

“I have gone head to head with the guys that are considered the best and for me he [Fletcher Seymour] is a standout.

“His workrate and ability to find the footy stands out for me.”