The Dandenong Southern Stingrays had a disappointing loss by a determined but undermanned Oakleigh Chargers in very heavy and slippery conditions at Warrawee Park, Oakleigh in the Round 6 TAC Cup contest.
With only a slight wind effecting the game, it was always going to be the team which worked hardest at controlling the ball at stoppages, defending stoutly and using the ball intelligently when going forward that was going to prevail. Jason Pongracic, Nathan Wright, Harry Czarnecki and Robert Hill were all out injured and the skies opened up shortly before play started. It was the Chargers who started fastest and looked very dangerous, but couldn’t penetrate deep inside their Fifty. It took 5 minutes of heavy contested play before Taylor Garner kicked truly which was set up from Nathan Foote from the backline. The Stingrays were controlling most of the play, especially off the half back line through Ryan Morrison, Nathan Foote and Jack Kerr but found it hard to kick goals, wasting many opportunities that would deny them of the win at the end of the day. Just before the siren through some smart body work, small forward Clayton McCartney kicked the Stingrays second. At quarter time the Stingrays led 2-5-17 to 1-0-6 but had a lot more of the ball than the Chargers.
The second term was probably one of the worst quarters of football for the year for the Stingrays. The Chargers wanted the ball more and were hard at the contested ball. They also played smart wet weather football, whilst the Stingrays players were handballing the ball around like it was a dry day. The Stingrays defenders had their hands full as the Chargers started to win plenty of ball through the centre of the ground and with little pressure used it well going forward and the Stingrays defenders were not playing close enough to their direct opponents. When the ball was in the Stingrays hands they didn’t use it effectively, apart from a clever piece of play from Nick Newman who found the goals. At the end of the long break the Stingrays had been inside 50 numerous times for a return of 2 scoring shots while the Chargers had gone in with similar numbers yet kicked 3 goals, 4 points. Dandenong Coach Graeme Yeats was measured but pleaded with the team for a better effort with 12 players with less than 5 effective stats up until half time and no real impact on the game. Individuals were challenged to lift and contribute. It was time to go back to basics and give the forwards more of a chance when delivering the ball in and to stop handballing around in circles.
The third term it took 13 minutes of play before the first major was scored, some nice play and deep entry kick from Matt Rennie led to an opportunist goal of the deck to Garner for his second goal of the day. Most players had accepted the challenge and lifted their work rates and started having more of impact. There was still a lot of sloppy play due to the conditions but the ball was moving inside 50 a lot better, but Oakleigh were completely dominating the stoppages. The Stingrays kept the Knights to 2 points and limited their inside 50’s, whilst scoring a valuable goal against it. Both sides had lifted by the time the siren sounded. The end of the 3rd Quarter saw the Stingrays trail by 1 point, but there was a beat in everyone’s step with the Stingrays yet again controlling most of the play but the rain had truly set in and the centre had become a skating rink. The only sourer note was an injury to Jack Kerr which would keep him from taking part for the rest of the day.
The last term saw the ball stay inside the Stingrays half for more than two thirds of the quarter, yet wasteful play, too many handballs once again and a lift in defensive pressure from the Chargers denied the Stingrays many times to add to the scoreboard, in the end the Stingrays would be kept goalless for the quarter. Three very silly free kicks gave Oakleigh a shot on goal and the lead at the five minute mark. The day will be seen as one that got away, the second time this year where the Stingrays have lost the game due to inefficient use of the ball when attacking. Next weekend the Stingrays fly to Queensland to take on the AFL Queensland’s Under 18 team in Brisbane, which will be a huge challenge for the undermanned Stingrays.
Last Modified on 09/05/2012 16:22