Report by Mitch Brown
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays endured swirling winds and a host of injuries to come home with a comfortable 62-point win over the Western Jets on Saturday, 17.17 (119) to 8.9 (57).
The Stingrays were menacing from the get-go and, save for a couple of momentary lapses in the second quarter, controlled the match all day, never allowing the Jets to get a sniff.
Dandenong benefitted from a wide spread of goalkickers, with Tom Jok, Sam Fowler, Tom Murphy, Chad Harris and first-gamer Jacob Boyle all managing a pair of majors each, with seven other Stingrays also slotting goals.
Fowler and Harris were the pick of the forwards, with both applying significant pressure across the half-forwards to force the Western defence into making errors. Tom Murphy also had a great day out, playing as the primary lead-up key forward and clearly relishing the opportunity.
Through the middle, Myles Poholke showed off more of the terrific form that this week earned him an invite to the NAB AFL draft combine, with brilliant support from the likes of Nathan Scagliarini, Lachlan Gill-Renouf and Tommy Glen.
Down back, however, was where the Stingrays really shone. Hunter Clark gave his best performance of the year across the back flanks, while Matthew LaFontaine’s move into defence continued to be one of the masterstrokes of the year. And after a best-on-ground performance last week, Mason DeWit would have undoubtedly put his hand up for back-to-back honours with another gritty performance from centre half-back.
The only negative from the day is the toll it may have had on a couple of its key players. Tom DeKoning sustained a thumb injury in the third term, did not return to the field and was sent to have scans.
Hunter Clark was also managed throughout the final stages of the game as a precaution after some soreness late in the match.
But injury aside, stand-in coach Nathan Harris (who this week took the reigns to further develop his coaching skills) was pleased with the final result.
“In tricky conditions, like today with the wind blowing to one end, it was always going to be a challenge.
“The Jets came at us, particularly in the second quarter. And so it was good to see how they responded – our second half, I thought, was fantastic.
“We outscored them and we outworked them.”
That was the theme for most of the day – the Rays burst out of the blocks early, with a 7-goal first quarter to set the tone of the day.
The Jets were made to look second-rate as the Stingrays swarmed the footy and benefitted from cleaner disposal and better decision-making.
Debutant Jacob Boyle won’t forget the first term for a while, booting his first TAC Cup goal with his first TAC Cup kick – even the Rays’ defenders scurried down to the forward line to ruffle his hair in congratulations.
But to their credit, the Jets refused to give in. A majority of the second quarter was played on their terms, while a couple of the Stingrays could have been accused of taking their foot off the accelerator marginally.
That couldn’t be said about Dylan Atkins or Luke Paynter, however – both were escorted from the field with blood pouring from their noses after hard attacks on the footy.
It was efforts like those that ensured a 27-point lead at the main break.
After half-time, the Stingrays lifted their game up another gear, leaving the Jets in their wake. Western simply couldn’t keep up with the ferocious Rays, who gave their opponents no mercy.
By the time the final siren rang, Dandenong had kicked away to a 62-point win – another timely reminder that the Stingrays are the genuine 2016 premiership threat.
They will now enjoy a week off for a TAC Cup general bye, with the penultimate game of their home-and-away season against the Murray Bushrangers on Saturday August 13 from Shepley Oval at 2pm.
“These next two games are really important for us, for our finals preparation,” Harris admitted.
“The wheels are in motion, we’ve been training hard, the boys have been doing their conditioning work, so we know that they’re going to run out games really well come finals time.”
Last Modified on 01/08/2016 15:45