Rebel with a purpose: Darmody plots rival's defeat

MARCUS Darmody went to Ballarat with his school yesterday to watch the Robert Bolt play A Man for All Seasons.The title can be translated to a man with a sure purpose.At 17, Marcus is still a boy but when it comes to footy, he has a sure purpose.In his debut TAC Cup season with North Ballarat Rebels, he has mainly lined up at full-back or centre half-back."Every game I just try and beat my opponent and keep him goalless," he said. "I think I've been doing an alright job at it."(My toughest opponent) was John Butcher from Gippsland Power."They think he'll go top five in the draft."So did Butcher score a goal on Marcus?"No, he didn't, which I was pretty happy with," the Emmanuel College student said.Marcus will return to Ballarat on Sunday, when the fourth-ranked Rebels take on ladder-leader and rival Geelong Falcons."Obviously Geelong are the benchmark," he said. "It should be a pretty close game."Last time we played them we were five goals up and then we got ahead of ourselves and they got us."If everyone plays their roles, I think we have a pretty good chance against them."A victory for North Ballarat would help it maintain its spot in the top four."We need to win the next couple of games to get the double chance," Marcus said. "We've been a bit up and down but (Sunday's win against Gold Coast) showed we've really got back into form."Hopefully we maintain that going into the finals."The North Warrnambool Eagles footballer is in good touch, featuring in the Rebels' best on 10 separate occasions."I'm really enjoying it and it's a great opportunity to play at the highest under 18 level," he said. "I want to reach the highest level I can."I don't mind if I keep going or, if I end up in Hampden league seniors, I'm happy with that."The south-west will have a big hand in Sunday's round 17 clash, with both its feeder clubs being represented by a handful of the region's in-form players.With four rounds remaining the Geelong Falcons are 20 points clear on top of the ladder, effectively guaranteeing it the minor premiership.The Rebels' run home doesn't involve any big hurdles, with the side coming up against lower-ranked teams.Sunday's action at Northern Oval starts at 12pm.