The Dandenong Southern Stingrays headed to Morwell Recreation Reserve to kick off their 2011 TAC Cup season against local rival the Gippsland Power for the Inaugural UV Truck and CMV Truck and Bus Cup. It turned into a nightmare event when the charged up and physically tougher Gippsland Power led at every change to hand the Stingrays a very disappointing 1 point defeat, even though the Stingrays had the ball in their hands for most of the day.
With both teams close to full strength and the ground looking an absolute treat, the scene was set with both sides keen to see where their pre-season efforts had them placed. Both teams took their turn in winning the ball from stoppages and rebounding effectively from across half back. Robert Hill, Travis Bravo, Lachie Wallace, Lachie Whitfield and Dale Sutton created plenty of opportunities for their virtually brand new forward line but conversion would turn out to be the demise of the Stingrays on the day. Two goals in the first came from great forward pressure from Jason Salopek and Jason Pongracic who marked and kicked truly for the second goal, but 11 other opportunities were wasted with 5 points and 6 out of bounds from shots from within inside the 50.
With eight first gamers a brief chat from Coach Graeme Yeats at quarter time seemed to settle the nerves and the second term was better for the Stingrays as they matched the Power through the mid field with goals to Lachie Whitfield and Adam Giobbi. There was plenty of spark from the players but the leadership from the top ages was missing, apart from Alex Benbow and the very hard working Piva Wright. The half time margin saw the Stingrays trail by 7 points with too many players well below the standard. With 35 inside 50’s for 4 goals the major focus in the long break from Yeats was all about delivery and kicking truly when you had the chance.
The third term was mainly one way traffic for the Stingrays but the conversion was once again poor. The Stingrays had racked up another 14 inside 50’s but only managed to convert that to 8 points, shared by 7 individual players by the end of the 3rd quarter. There were also many shots missing the goal line all together allowing the Power to easily rebound out. The Power reasserted their mid field dominance in the Ruck and kicked truly it seemed every time that went inside 50. Yeats was getting more and more frustrated with the kicking and decision making of his players. The end of the quarter saw the margin same as the half time break, 7 points in favour of Gippsland Power.
The final term was a chance for the Stingrays to get some respectability on the scoreboard as the Powers high pressure, high intensity style started to take its toll. The ball seemed to rebound between the arcs at either end, yet the delivery by foot to the forwards was the deciding factor of the game for the Stingrays. The Stingrays converted a few goals by pure hard work and great contested marking from Todd Elton and Nick Haynes who was moving a lot better as the game progressed. The last 7 minutes the ball was at the Stingrays end, yet great defensive work from the Power let them win the game by 1 point.
As Yeats said after the game “You get opportunities to learn from every game but this one has shown us that not only we must play hard edged, hardnosed football for every minute we must convert all the hard work on the scoreboard with goals. We seemed to have more of the play, we ran hard in the transition running and were over all pleased on how we defended.”
Next Sunday, April 10th the Stingrays head to Eureka Stadium in Ballarat to take on the North Ballarat Rebels. The Stingrays game starts at 1.00pm with the Under 16 Carnival match starting at 11.00am. Entry is free.
Last Modified on 05/04/2011 22:41