Darcy’s long wait for 150 games

By ZAC MILBANK

The stars didn’t quite align for Darcy Bailey’s 150th Hostplus SANFL League match.

In an ideal world, the triple Glenelg premiership player would have reached his milestone in last year’s Grand Final against Norwood.

Instead, the 30-year-old was forced to wait throughout summer before Friday night’s season opener against Port Adelaide at Alberton.

Speaking on SANFL Radio, Bailey said he couldn’t be too fussy given he experienced the joy of being on the right side of one of the most memorable SANFL Grand Finals in history, as his Tigers upset the Redlegs by five points.

Asked to nominate his favourite premiership alongside 2019 and 2023, Bailey nominated last year’s thriller while hailing the stunning performance of his captain Liam McBean.

Glenelg’s No.9 admitted to contemplating retirement over summer but the condition of his body, coupled with the opportunity to create club history by playing in three flags in succession, was motivation to continue on in 2025.

Starting as a crumbing forward and playing more recently as a small defender – where he also featured for the West End State team last year – Bailey flagged that his role could be variable in 2025.

The first glimpse of this could come on Friday night against the Pies, where he’s expected to be supported by family and his partner Ellen Tyminski, the vice-captain of the Bays’ SANFLW side.