Building a bridge set to pay off for Devils

NORTHS Devils have united their senior and junior entities in a move vice president Jamie Faint described as the most significant in the club’s 34-year history.

Founded in 1988 as a junior club, Norths added seniors in 2011 with a separate committee managing shared facilities.

That disconnect between the clubs has seen just 35 per cent of its current senior base progress through from juniors

– a number Faint hopes to double by uniting the clubs.

“This is definitely the biggest move the club has made and it is the best move the club has made,” Faint declared.

“We’re a club on the rise, we’re hungry for success, and we think this is going to push Norths forward into the future.”

The move is more than just branding but that is a key part of it too. Juniors and seniors will share the same logo and jerseys, which Faint described as a powerful symbol of unity.

Another critical step has been the creation of a bridging grade between junior and senior ranks.

A lack of numbers had forced the Devils to abandon the critical Under-17 age group in recent years, forcing juniors keen to play on past Under-15s to find a new club until they become eligible for Norths’ Under-19s.

That will change in 2023, Faint said, with the first Under-17 boys side in years to bridge the leak that pushed talented juniors to leave Peggy Banfield Park, with some only returning for away games with their new senior clubs.

“Now we have a pathway from Under-6 to A Grade, we are a family club again,” Faint said. “We want the community involved in our club and we want to be involved our community again.”