The annual cross-town rivalry between Hepburn Burras and Daylesford Bulldogs will be played out this weekend on the footy oval and the netball courts.
The Hepburn senior football side has dominated in recent years but the Bulldogs are hoping to make amends this weekend. Daylesford had a great season opener last weekend with a dominant 25.12-162 win over Beaufort 9.5-59. Cameron and Trent Lee each kicked five goals. Chris Molivas and Sam O’Brien contributed four each. Beaufort finished in last place last season so the game wasn’t a real test for Daylesford.
The Burras had a tough start to season 2024 going down to Bungaree 6.2-38 to 17.14-116 with Mitch Banner contributing three goals. Bungaree finished fourth last season behind third place Hepburn. The Hepburn side will be looking to set things straight in the derby this weekend.
The Daylesford v Hepburn game is arguably the biggest home and away game of the season. This clash of traditional rivals has been a feature of the footy season since 2006 when Daylesford Football Netball Club (DFNC) left the Ballarat Football League and joined the Central Highlands Football and Netball Leagues.
The Daylesford senior team had considerable success soon after joining the CHFL playing in six grand finals in the first six years, winning 3 in 2007, 2009 and 2012. Hepburn had wins during this period in 2008, 2010 and 2013. The clubs played three grand finals in a row against one another from 2008 to 2010 with Hepburn winning two and Daylesford winning one.
Bill Malone
The clubs will play for the Bill Malone Cup. The Bill Malone medal is awarded to the best-on-ground player in the derby match.
Bill was a brilliant footballer with Daylesford in the 1950s and early 1960s. He played in the centre or as a rover. When he was in the army, he played for South Sydney in the New South Wales Australian Football League. He came back to Daylesford and, at the age of 40, played in the 1961 Daylesford premiership side. He then went on to coach Hepburn. Bill’s son Glenn is a three time premiership player at Hepburn and his grandson Joe is also a senior premiership player with Hepburn. Bill played in two grand finals, but never coached a premiership side. He remained passionate about his footy for the rest of his life and watched games nearly every week.
Daylesford A Grade netballers also got off to a great season start with a 59-41 win over Beaufort. The Hepburn side also had a big win 64-34 over Bungaree so both sides will go into the local derby full of confidence.
Hepburn has the home ground advantage for this year’s derby. Junior netball gets underway at 9:20 and junior football starts at 9:50. The seniors footy sides will clash at 2:30pm and the Grade A netball sides at 3:05pm. Get down to Laurie Sullivan Reserve and support our local teams.
