Officials decided this team was too good for the comp, so they moved them. Now they're on the cusp of history
But he didn't expect the Nelson Bay Marlins to be competing in the first-grade competition, let alone challenging for a finals berth in the Black Diamond Cup.
The Marlins started the year in the second-division Black Diamond Plate, but after three huge victories - posting 200-point scores in two of them - they opted to move up to Cup.
The rare in-season elevation forced a change to how Cup teams will now qualify for finals, given the Marlins come in late, but it has proved the right move for the Port Stephens club.
They've won four of six games, and beaten the likes of 2024 grand finalists Cardiff twice, 2022 premiers Killarney Vale and pushed Warners Bay all the way in a five-point loss.
"We were in second grade and ... beating teams by a decent margin, and we just thought it wasn't great for competition, both ways. No one gets a lot out of beating teams like that," Blackburne, a Nelson Bay local who took over as Marlins coach this year after playing several seasons in Sydney, said.
"We had a meeting after a big win and said: 'Do you want to go up and try and challenge ourselves?', and the group said: ''Yes'."
"We got off to a really good start with three wins and people buying in.
"We've come up against some good sides and had a couple of losses, but we had a good win on the weekend again and are sitting OK."
Nelson Bay's latest triumph, beating Cardiff 10.8 (68) to 5.14 (44) on Saturday, has them placed fourth ahead of their remaining seven games.
A team's wins divided by matches played - rather than competition points - will determine their ladder position.
The Marlins have a mixed run home, facing some of the struggling sides but also second-placed Terrigal Avoca, who beat them by 85 points a fortnight ago, and leaders Newcastle City twice, including this Saturday.
"There's a couple of winnable games there, but we're definitely thinking about it, I wouldn't say we're not, that's for sure," Blackburne said of whether the Marlins were targeting a top-four finals spot.
"We went 3-0 and then when you lose a couple you think you're back to the pack a bit. We knew we had to win on the weekend against Cardiff.
"For us, yeah you want to play finals, but it's more about growing the group.
"With Nelson Bay, we're so out of area compared to other clubs. We only have 30 on our list and only have one team. Sometimes people are missing out on games, and sometimes we're struggling to get 22, 23 players a week.
"We make do with what we've got, and always give it a red-hot crack."
Blackburne becoming player-coach helped lure the returns of Jayden Baldwin-Rymer, Billy Barton and Jason Carey.
"Blokes like that who had played previously but had some time off," he said.
"The Grant brothers [Zane and Adam] have been unreal, Mitch Walls up front ... The Blyth boys are always really good - the three brothers [Adam, Lachlan and Matthew] ... we're very grateful for them."
The Marlins, who were last in first grade in 2023 after winning the 2022 second-grade flag, have not made finals in the top division since 2017.
Their best finish to a first-grade season in the past decade was when they ran third in 2016, advancing to the preliminary final. Nelson Bay also sit fourth in the women's second division.
"The club's in a really good spot," Blackburne said.
"To go up to first grade and be competitive, that was the main thing for us ... there's some really tough games there and that will sort us out. But if we can stay competitive and be in games, we will give ourselves a chance."
In other games on Saturday, Terrigal Avoca 14.6 (90) beat Newcastle City 7.12 (54), The Entrance-Bateau Bay 12.5 (77) held off Maitland 9.8 (62), and Wanrers Bay 13.15 (93) rolled Killarney Vale 9.4 (50) to record their fifth consecutive win.
MEN'S CUP LADDER: Newcastle City (MR 80.00), Terrigal Avoca (77.77), Warners Bay (77.77), Nelson Bay (66.66), Cardiff (40.00), Killarney Vale (33.33), The Entrance-Bateau Bay (20.00), Maitland (11.11)
Wayd Blackburne knew he had a fair side ahead of the 2025 Hunter Central Coast AFL season.
But he didn't expect the Nelson Bay Marlins to be competing in the first-grade competition, let alone challenging for a finals berth in the Black Diamond Cup.
The Marlins started the year in the second-division Black Diamond Plate, but after three huge victories - posting 200-point scores in two of them - they opted to move up to Cup.
The rare in-season elevation forced a change to how Cup teams will now qualify for finals, given the Marlins come in late, but it has proved the right move for the Port Stephens club.
They've won four of six games, and beaten the likes of 2024 grand finalists Cardiff twice, 2022 premiers Killarney Vale and pushed Warners Bay all the way in a five-point loss.
"We were in second grade and ... beating teams by a decent margin, and we just thought it wasn't great for competition, both ways. No one gets a lot out of beating teams like that," Blackburne, a Nelson Bay local who took over as Marlins coach this year after playing several seasons in Sydney, said.
"We had a meeting after a big win and said: 'Do you want to go up and try and challenge ourselves?', and the group said: ''Yes'."
"We got off to a really good start with three wins and people buying in.
"We've come up against some good sides and had a couple of losses, but we had a good win on the weekend again and are sitting OK."
Nelson Bay's latest triumph, beating Cardiff 10.8 (68) to 5.14 (44) on Saturday, has them placed fourth ahead of their remaining seven games.
A team's wins divided by matches played - rather than competition points - will determine their ladder position.
The Marlins have a mixed run home, facing some of the struggling sides but also second-placed Terrigal Avoca, who beat them by 85 points a fortnight ago, and leaders Newcastle City twice, including this Saturday.
"There's a couple of winnable games there, but we're definitely thinking about it, I wouldn't say we're not, that's for sure," Blackburne said of whether the Marlins were targeting a top-four finals spot.
"We went 3-0 and then when you lose a couple you think you're back to the pack a bit. We knew we had to win on the weekend against Cardiff.
"For us, yeah you want to play finals, but it's more about growing the group.
"With Nelson Bay, we're so out of area compared to other clubs. We only have 30 on our list and only have one team. Sometimes people are missing out on games, and sometimes we're struggling to get 22, 23 players a week.
"We make do with what we've got, and always give it a red-hot crack."
Blackburne becoming player-coach helped lure the returns of Jayden Baldwin-Rymer, Billy Barton and Jason Carey.
"Blokes like that who had played previously but had some time off," he said.
"The Grant brothers [Zane and Adam] have been unreal, Mitch Walls up front ... The Blyth boys are always really good - the three brothers [Adam, Lachlan and Matthew] ... we're very grateful for them."
The Marlins, who were last in first grade in 2023 after winning the 2022 second-grade flag, have not made finals in the top division since 2017.
Their best finish to a first-grade season in the past decade was when they ran third in 2016, advancing to the preliminary final. Nelson Bay also sit fourth in the women's second division.
"The club's in a really good spot," Blackburne said.
"To go up to first grade and be competitive, that was the main thing for us ... there's some really tough games there and that will sort us out. But if we can stay competitive and be in games, we will give ourselves a chance."
In other games on Saturday, Terrigal Avoca 14.6 (90) beat Newcastle City 7.12 (54), The Entrance-Bateau Bay 12.5 (77) held off Maitland 9.8 (62), and Wanrers Bay 13.15 (93) rolled Killarney Vale 9.4 (50) to record their fifth consecutive win.
MEN'S CUP LADDER: Newcastle City (MR 80.00), Terrigal Avoca (77.77), Warners Bay (77.77), Nelson Bay (66.66), Cardiff (40.00), Killarney Vale (33.33), The Entrance-Bateau Bay (20.00), Maitland (11.11)
Wayd Blackburne knew he had a fair side ahead of the 2025 Hunter Central Coast AFL season.
But he didn't expect the Nelson Bay Marlins to be competing in the first-grade competition, let alone challenging for a finals berth in the Black Diamond Cup.
The Marlins started the year in the second-division Black Diamond Plate, but after three huge victories - posting 200-point scores in two of them - they opted to move up to Cup.
The rare in-season elevation forced a change to how Cup teams will now qualify for finals, given the Marlins come in late, but it has proved the right move for the Port Stephens club.
They've won four of six games, and beaten the likes of 2024 grand finalists Cardiff twice, 2022 premiers Killarney Vale and pushed Warners Bay all the way in a five-point loss.
"We were in second grade and ... beating teams by a decent margin, and we just thought it wasn't great for competition, both ways. No one gets a lot out of beating teams like that," Blackburne, a Nelson Bay local who took over as Marlins coach this year after playing several seasons in Sydney, said.
"We had a meeting after a big win and said: 'Do you want to go up and try and challenge ourselves?', and the group said: ''Yes'."
"We got off to a really good start with three wins and people buying in.
"We've come up against some good sides and had a couple of losses, but we had a good win on the weekend again and are sitting OK."
Nelson Bay's latest triumph, beating Cardiff 10.8 (68) to 5.14 (44) on Saturday, has them placed fourth ahead of their remaining seven games.
A team's wins divided by matches played - rather than competition points - will determine their ladder position.
The Marlins have a mixed run home, facing some of the struggling sides but also second-placed Terrigal Avoca, who beat them by 85 points a fortnight ago, and leaders Newcastle City twice, including this Saturday.
"There's a couple of winnable games there, but we're definitely thinking about it, I wouldn't say we're not, that's for sure," Blackburne said of whether the Marlins were targeting a top-four finals spot.
"We went 3-0 and then when you lose a couple you think you're back to the pack a bit. We knew we had to win on the weekend against Cardiff.
"For us, yeah you want to play finals, but it's more about growing the group.
"With Nelson Bay, we're so out of area compared to other clubs. We only have 30 on our list and only have one team. Sometimes people are missing out on games, and sometimes we're struggling to get 22, 23 players a week.
"We make do with what we've got, and always give it a red-hot crack."
Blackburne becoming player-coach helped lure the returns of Jayden Baldwin-Rymer, Billy Barton and Jason Carey.
"Blokes like that who had played previously but had some time off," he said.
"The Grant brothers [Zane and Adam] have been unreal, Mitch Walls up front ... The Blyth boys are always really good - the three brothers [Adam, Lachlan and Matthew] ... we're very grateful for them."
The Marlins, who were last in first grade in 2023 after winning the 2022 second-grade flag, have not made finals in the top division since 2017.
Their best finish to a first-grade season in the past decade was when they ran third in 2016, advancing to the preliminary final. Nelson Bay also sit fourth in the women's second division.
"The club's in a really good spot," Blackburne said.
"To go up to first grade and be competitive, that was the main thing for us ... there's some really tough games there and that will sort us out. But if we can stay competitive and be in games, we will give ourselves a chance."
In other games on Saturday, Terrigal Avoca 14.6 (90) beat Newcastle City 7.12 (54), The Entrance-Bateau Bay 12.5 (77) held off Maitland 9.8 (62), and Wanrers Bay 13.15 (93) rolled Killarney Vale 9.4 (50) to record their fifth consecutive win.
MEN'S CUP LADDER: Newcastle City (MR 80.00), Terrigal Avoca (77.77), Warners Bay (77.77), Nelson Bay (66.66), Cardiff (40.00), Killarney Vale (33.33), The Entrance-Bateau Bay (20.00), Maitland (11.11)
Wayd Blackburne knew he had a fair side ahead of the 2025 Hunter Central Coast AFL season.
But he didn't expect the Nelson Bay Marlins to be competing in the first-grade competition, let alone challenging for a finals berth in the Black Diamond Cup.
The Marlins started the year in the second-division Black Diamond Plate, but after three huge victories - posting 200-point scores in two of them - they opted to move up to Cup.
The rare in-season elevation forced a change to how Cup teams will now qualify for finals, given the Marlins come in late, but it has proved the right move for the Port Stephens club.
They've won four of six games, and beaten the likes of 2024 grand finalists Cardiff twice, 2022 premiers Killarney Vale and pushed Warners Bay all the way in a five-point loss.
"We were in second grade and ... beating teams by a decent margin, and we just thought it wasn't great for competition, both ways. No one gets a lot out of beating teams like that," Blackburne, a Nelson Bay local who took over as Marlins coach this year after playing several seasons in Sydney, said.
"We had a meeting after a big win and said: 'Do you want to go up and try and challenge ourselves?', and the group said: ''Yes'."
"We got off to a really good start with three wins and people buying in.
"We've come up against some good sides and had a couple of losses, but we had a good win on the weekend again and are sitting OK."
Nelson Bay's latest triumph, beating Cardiff 10.8 (68) to 5.14 (44) on Saturday, has them placed fourth ahead of their remaining seven games.
A team's wins divided by matches played - rather than competition points - will determine their ladder position.
The Marlins have a mixed run home, facing some of the struggling sides but also second-placed Terrigal Avoca, who beat them by 85 points a fortnight ago, and leaders Newcastle City twice, including this Saturday.
"There's a couple of winnable games there, but we're definitely thinking about it, I wouldn't say we're not, that's for sure," Blackburne said of whether the Marlins were targeting a top-four finals spot.
"We went 3-0 and then when you lose a couple you think you're back to the pack a bit. We knew we had to win on the weekend against Cardiff.
"For us, yeah you want to play finals, but it's more about growing the group.
"With Nelson Bay, we're so out of area compared to other clubs. We only have 30 on our list and only have one team. Sometimes people are missing out on games, and sometimes we're struggling to get 22, 23 players a week.
"We make do with what we've got, and always give it a red-hot crack."
Blackburne becoming player-coach helped lure the returns of Jayden Baldwin-Rymer, Billy Barton and Jason Carey.
"Blokes like that who had played previously but had some time off," he said.
"The Grant brothers [Zane and Adam] have been unreal, Mitch Walls up front ... The Blyth boys are always really good - the three brothers [Adam, Lachlan and Matthew] ... we're very grateful for them."
The Marlins, who were last in first grade in 2023 after winning the 2022 second-grade flag, have not made finals in the top division since 2017.
Their best finish to a first-grade season in the past decade was when they ran third in 2016, advancing to the preliminary final. Nelson Bay also sit fourth in the women's second division.
"The club's in a really good spot," Blackburne said.
"To go up to first grade and be competitive, that was the main thing for us ... there's some really tough games there and that will sort us out. But if we can stay competitive and be in games, we will give ourselves a chance."
In other games on Saturday, Terrigal Avoca 14.6 (90) beat Newcastle City 7.12 (54), The Entrance-Bateau Bay 12.5 (77) held off Maitland 9.8 (62), and Wanrers Bay 13.15 (93) rolled Killarney Vale 9.4 (50) to record their fifth consecutive win.
MEN'S CUP LADDER: Newcastle City (MR 80.00), Terrigal Avoca (77.77), Warners Bay (77.77), Nelson Bay (66.66), Cardiff (40.00), Killarney Vale (33.33), The Entrance-Bateau Bay (20.00), Maitland (11.11)
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