BY COLIN MacGILLIVRAY

A chapter of the storied rivalry between Horsham Saints and Horsham Demons will be written on the national stage this weekend when Jarrod Berry and Jake Lloyd square off in the AFL grand final.

Berry, a former Horsham Saints junior, and Lloyd, a Demons product, will line up for the Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans respectively in the grand final.

While both players have appeared in football’s biggest game before, neither has earned a coveted premiership medal.

Lloyd has appeared in losing grand finals for Sydney in 2014, 2016 and 2022, while Berry and the Lions lost a thrilling premiership decider against Collingwood last season.

Lloyd, 31, has become one of Sydney’s most-decorated players since being taken with pick 16 in the 2013 AFL rookie draft, winning the Bob Skilton Medal as the club’s best and fairest twice in 2018 and 2020, as well as finishing runner-up twice.

Saturday’s grand final will be his 249th AFL game.

Berry, 26, has also won renown at the Lions after being taken with pick 17 in the 2016 national draft, establishing himself as one of the team’s toughest and hardest-working players.

Horsham Saints president Scott Bond said the club was excited to watch Berry play in another grand final.

He said the Saints had maintained a connection with Berry despite his relocation to Brisbane.

The club welcomed Jarrod and his fellow AFL-listed brother Tom back to the region in late 2023 when they completed a run from Dadswells Bridge to Horsham to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research in honour of their late mother Jedda, who died of the disease.

“We try to maintain a connection with all of our players,” Bond said.

“We’ve got the likes of Jarrod and Tom Berry, Darcy Tucker, Joel Freijah, Rene Caris and Ella Friend all playing at the top level of football at the moment.

“We often have our AFL-listed guys record little clips for us and we play them at the Auskick break-up. They give a lot of encouragement.

“We’re very proud of all of them, and to have one of them get through to a grand final – well, that’s the ultimate, isn’t it?”

Bond admitted that as a Geelong supporter, his loyalties were torn when Berry’s Lions played the Cats in Saturday’s preliminary final, but with the Lions advancing, he said his full support would be behind Brisbane.

“Isn’t it ironic that we’ve got such competition between the Saints and the Demons in town and here they are playing each other at the highest level of competition?” he said.

“It’s fantastic for both of them. We’re proud of Jake too – he’s had a stellar career as well.”

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