Report by Mitch Brown
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays have continued on their winning way with a 19-point win against the Northern Knights on Saturday.
In spite of extremely windy conditions at Shepley Oval, Dandenong managed to register the four points and consolidate its place in the top four going into the TAC Cup general bye this weekend.
Vice-captains Lachlan Batten and Mitch Cox led the way for the Stingrays, both kicking three goals, while Brandon White was instrumental at the other end, collecting 32 disposals and 10 marks. Harrison Prior also proved his utility all around the ground, registering 29 hit-outs and 10 tackles.
The Stingrays were notably without a number of its rising stars, with the likes of Kurt Mutimer, Bailey Rice, Myles Poholke, Thomas Glen, Kieran Collins and Jacob Weitering all unavailable for selection due to Nationals. In the end there were 23 Unavailable players for the weekend, most short term injuries.
This did, however, give the Stingrays the opportunity to blood some more youngsters, with Mason De Wit and Kyle Beveridge getting their first taste of TAC Cup action.
The Knights had the strong wind in the first term, and made the most of it early, slamming on three goals in quick succession, leaving the Stingrays shell-shocked. The swirling winds wreaked havoc with disposal efficiency, and made life particularly difficult for the Dandenong defence, who were struggling to read the play.
The Rays managed to settle through goals to Darcy Warke and Mitch Cox, but the Knights were still looking the more dangerous side as they pulled out to a 15-point lead. To make things worse Vice Captain Lachlan Batten was taken from the ground after a heavy knock and would go through the 20 minute concussion testing before returning in the 2nd quarter to star.
The latter part of the quarter was much tighter, with plenty of stoppages and lots of pressure around the ball, however the Northern side were still able to claim their fifth of the quarter on the eve of quarter time.
With the wind now working for them, Dandenong reaped instant rewards, with James Freeman registering his first for the day, but it was inaccuracy in front of goal that prevented the Stingrays from really hurting the Knights early.
It was vice-captain Lachlan Batten, in his first match back from a bicep injury, who led by example in front of goals, coolly slotting a running goal from 30 metres to bring the margin back to one point, which was then followed by another two goals to bring his tally to three for the quarter.
At the other end of the ground, the previously-dangerous Knights forward line was kept silent by the likes of Brandon White, Jordan Rouse and Zachary Rouse, allowing their forward line to continue the attack.
Zak Roscoe also chimed in with a goal, while first-gamer Kyle Beveridge registered his first TAC Cup major to make the Stingray lead 20 at the main break.
At half-time, the message to the Stingrays was simple - keep the pressure on! The Knights had the benefit of the wind once more in the third quarter, so it was important to ensure that they got no easy opportunities.
The third quarter saw several errors from both teams, and the game became considerably scrappier as it went on. Darcy Warke and Mitch Cox were both able to snare their second goals, but the Knights would not capitulate, and continued to push the Stingrays.
Dandenong began to blaze away without thinking or looking, and the sloppy play enabled Northern to keep in touch.
Philip Raso’s move forward yielded a much-needed goal late in the term, and after a hard-fought contest, Dandenong managed to hold onto a 20-point lead at the last change.
We saw a high-intensity start to the fourth quarter, with the desperation from both teams readily apparent. The Knights burst out of the blocks, cutting the Stingrays lead to 13 after just a few minutes, and suddenly it was anybody’s game.
The Stingrays needed to lift if they had a chance of holding onto this game, and a much-needed goal from Zak Roscoe helped to steady the ship, but it was by no means a game-finisher, with 13 minutes left to play and just three kicks in it.
Dandenong looked like they were panicking with the knights lifting their intensity and pressure, which lead to several costly fumbles and poor decisions allowing the Knights to bring the lead back to 13 points.
Again it was the Stingrays leaders who stood up, this time vice-captain Mitch Cox who claimed his third goal in heavy traffic, with assistance from James Freeman, who kicked his second goal.
In the space of two minutes, those two quick goals wrapped up the game for Dandenong. It was by no means a decisive victory, with plenty of things to work on - a sentiment echoed by coach Craig Black.
“We were fortunate enough to still come away and win the game by 20-odd points, but I think that’s a great little scare for the boys to have - about running games out and having the right intensity for the entire game.”
“It’s always hard, especially with so many of our boys selected for the Vic Country team. We had seven changes to our team from our last game, so it’s a different team and a different personality.”
While the AFLNAB U18 Nationals selection process continues, the Stingrays will enjoy the general bye this week before taking on the Gippsland Power in the rematch of their Round 1 clash next Saturday at Shepley Oval.
Last Modified on 03/06/2015 17:04