Report by Mitch Brown
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays have braved horrendous conditions to maintain their undefeated 2016, victorious over the Western Jets by 54 points on Sunday afternoon.
With howling sea breezes wreaking havoc for most of the match, clean and efficient disposal was nearly impossible for many, as the footy bounced around the ground haphazardly all day.
But in spite of some inaccuracy in front of goal, the Stingrays again proved too strong for their opposition, the final score reading 2.6 (18) to 9.18 (72).
The Dandenong backline was nothing short of superb: Liam McKay was terrific across half-back, and Mason DeWit again proved instrumental for the Stingrays to set up their run-and-carry footy. Small defender Brenton Wells had his best game yet, and crumbing midfielder Matthew LaFontaine’s move into defence proved a fruitful one, collecting many disposals, but more importantly doing a lot with them.
Danny Allsop and Sam Fowler exhibited their trademark forward line pressure, while engine room veterans Tommy Glen, Thomas Jok and Myles Poholke continued to show why they are one of the best midfields in the competition, despite the shocking conditions.
“We really wanted our boys to understand where the ball was going to go with the wind,” said Craig Black after the match. “We knew that if we could be really strong in the contests, we’d give ourselves every opportunity to win the game.”
“Our workrate was there – in the last quarter, against the wind, we outscored them. And that’s just really pleasing for us to see.”
With the benefit of the wind in the first quarter, the Stingrays came out blazing, but had to work hard for their goals around the ground. Daniel Hughes, Thomas Jok and Sam Fowler all troubled the scorers, while the Jets could not even register a single score against the wind, and went in to the first break at the wrong end of a 21-0 scoreline.
Of course, this couldn’t, and wouldn’t, last. The roles were reversed in the second term – now with the wind behind them, Western looked the more dangerous team, but were unable to really make the Rays pay on the scoreboard.
The Rays gave their all, but overcoming the swirling gale winds proved too difficult at times, and they too failed to score against the wind, going into half-time with their lead cut to 12.
Knowing that their opponents would once again have the benefit of the wind in the final term, the Stingrays simply had to pile on the scoreboard pressure in the third to make a last-quarter triumph from the Jets impossible.
They certainly had all of the play in the third, and the ball spent most of its time in their forward 50, but shocking kicking in front of goal cost the Rays dearly, finishing the term with just 3 goals and 9 behinds from 13 scoring shots.
With the margin 33 at the last change, the Jets had their work cut out for them in the final quarter. As luck would have it, the wind had settled down a little by this stage of the match, leaving Western with an incredibly tough ask.
This proved insurmountable for the struggling Jets, who registered their second goalless quarter for the day, while the Stingrays, even with the wind swirling against them, looked far more comfortable, booting another couple of goals to seal Western’s fate for the day.
The Stingrays’ 2016 charge towards glory will continue on Saturday at Shepley Oval, up against the Northern Knights, fresh off their first win of the year, at 11.30am.
Last Modified on 02/05/2016 20:59