Report by Mitch Brown
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays have produced another blistering final quarter on their way to a spirited win against the Geelong Falcons on Sunday afternoon, 12.9 (81) to 9.13 (67).
The victory cements the Stingrays as minor premiers for the 2016 TAC Cup season, and sends out the most menacing message yet to the rest of the competition that the Rays are the side to beat this year.
What began as a low-scoring slog between two of the best pressure teams in the league was blown apart in the last term, where a whopping ten goals were added in a heart-racing finish.
But the Stingrays were good enough to hold their nerve in the face of the ever-dangerous Falcons, and reaped the final rewards.
It was a game very much won in defence, with ever-present defensive stalwarts Mason DeWit, Reece Piper and Hunter Clark again playing instrumental roles in getting their side’s attacks started from the back half.
Up forward, Chad Harris and Tom Murphy had a lot of the footy and had the Falcons backline worried, but perhaps most impressive was first-gamer Jarrod Smith, who slotted three majors, including one to give his side back the lead with just two minutes to go.
But despite the brilliant win, senior coach Craig Black was careful not to let his charges get ahead of themselves.
“It’s probably just another step on the way,” Black admitted post-match. “But it was still brilliant to see the competitive edge in all of the boys.
“When we were behind, with a few minutes to go, they wanted to win.”
Black was also quietly pleased with his team’s stamina to run out the match, despite some unfortunate circumstances.
“We could have easily dropped off, we were down three players at three-quarter time.
“But the effort we saw…it was just really great from a coaching perspective.”
The slog began much as you would expect a 1v2 clash would – with plenty of bone-crunching tackles, mountains of pressure and limited scoring. Dylan Atkins unloaded a 70-metre bomb to open the scoring for the Stingrays, but it would be their only major for the quarter, as the Falcons slowly worked their way into the game.
The second term carried on much the same way, with both teams having their chances. The Falcons were unable to really capitalise on the scoreboard, while the Rays managed three goals to have their noses out in front at half-time, 28 to 24.
In what is becoming a bit of a tradition for Dandenong debutants, Jarrod Smith’s first TAC Cup goal in his first match was met by a swarm of his teammates, triumphantly high-fiving in celebration.
The Rays’ coaches swung some changes at half-time to try and break apart the low-scoring affair, including moving noted defender Mason DeWit forward.
The move paid dividends immediately, with DeWit registering just his third goal for the season.
A Tom Murphy goal before the three quarter time siren allowed the Rays to hold onto their 4-point lead going into the last change, with the game well and truly in the balance.
After three scrappy quarters, the game finally broke open, and all of a sudden there were goals aplenty.
Each side continued to leapfrog each other, trading goals until the Falcons managed to string two together to take a 10-point lead with eight minutes left.
It was then that the Stingrays showed exactly what they were made of. The Rays’ defence, led by tall timber Oscar Clavarino and Jordan Stewart, held firm as the Falcons challenged, Tom DeKoning’s ruckwork was nothing short of brilliant, and it was clear that Dandenong just wanted the win more.
Danny Allsop, Myles Poholke, Jarrod Smith, Reece Piper and Tom Murphy all nailed awe-inspiring goals to regain the lead by the time the final siren blared out to claim the win.
It was, by and large, a terrific day for the 2016 minor premiers, however the Stingrays’ coaching panel will now wait with bated breath on the prognoses for Sam Fowler and Chad Harris, with both small forwards copping injuries during the hard-fought victory. With a little luck, they should both return to the squad in time for their qualifying final.
The Rays will take on the Murray Bushrangers at IKON Park in two weeks’ time, with time and date to be confirmed.
Last Modified on 22/08/2016 16:14