The Sapphire Coast Stingrays outdid Canberra by a strong margin during representative Aussie rules on Saturday and coach Luke Taylor couldn’t be happier with the effort.
“It was a great feel before the game, there was just an aura about the boys and they came out flying,” Taylor said.
The Sapphire Coast had complete dominion over the game for three quarters with just a slight area of flat play in the third quarter to win 17-19-121 to 5-6-36.
Early play was frantic with a series of hand-ball sprints out of the midfield to charge into the attacking line and post big early scores.
Taylor praised the efforts of the team that kept the ball flat and fast throughout the opening quarter.
“100 per cent we wanted to train like that; a real attacking style of footy and if you can get the handballs going you can break the game wide open,” he said.
Out of the flanks, Scott Hay, Justin Burch and Kel Evans were providing great service and an exceptional marking game.
Particularly, Evans who earned himself the title of best-on-ground from a dominant display.
The side boasted exceptional size with some of the league’s big men filling important roles, while the speed demons had lots of room to move on the large Berrambool Oval.
“We had a good look at the squad to include a mix of speed and balance,” Taylor said.
“You need to have those guys like Luke Moresi, Scotty Proctor and Sean Smith who can just win the ball in the middle and clear it out.”
The team was also well served on the front lines with the likes of Will Dickinson and Dylan Jordan, but they were in a comfortable position with plenty of support from the roving midfielders.
The coach said a good mix of scorers showed the ability through the mid to support the front line.
“DJ got four one the board and Will had three, but we had blokes like Evans and Proctor hitting the scoreboard as well as Moresi,” he said.
“You don’t always want to rely on the big forwards to take those high marks, but most of the time the ball was coming in low and hard and they had a big day out.”
The visiting Canberra side got a taste of favourable momentum in the third quarter to post about 20 points, but the hosts were already leading by 70.
“We tried not to have any lapses, but there is always ebbs and flows in a footy game and times where the opposition has momentum.
“My message was simple at the final break, to run the game out hard and I can’t fault the boys, they ramped it up to finish off with a bang.”
The match played out in front of an exceptional crowd until a last-minute icy drenching of rain sent many running for shelter.
Taylor now hopes rep play can alternate with the coast as SCAFL continues to develop the rep program.
Jacob McMaster, Bega District News.
Last Modified on 20/01/2017 10:37