The Dandenong Southern Stingrays had a hard fought and controlling win over the 5th placed Sandringham Dragons, which was played at Trevor Barker Reserve Sandringham on Saturday 26th July in wet and slippery conditions.
While the end margin of 42 points doesn’t seem that large, the conditions again were terrible enough to halt most transition running and make goals a precious commodity.
Dandenong held the home-side goalless through the first half as defenders Daylan Kempster, Dan Moloney and the run-and-carry of Narre Warren’s Matt Homfray proving too hard for the Dragons to pierce.
It was a season best measurement for the Stingrays defenders as they only conceded 12 scoring shots from 52 inside 50 entries, only allowing 2 goals for the entire game.
At the other end was another Narre Warren prospect starring as Aaron Wilson clunked hard contested marks kicking 3 for the day, whilst the mid-size brigade swooped on the loose and contested ball converting at will.
Relentless rain besieged the second half and kept the score low, but the hard-tackling, in-and-under Stingrays still persevered to get the ball out and into the hands of their transition experts Dan Moloney, Mitch White and AIS-AFL representative Tom Lamb- who in the past few weeks seems more settled playing down back as he clocking up another 20 plus game.
With two debutants in the side after a show showing in the Vic Country futures game the week before – Liam Hulett and 23rd man Brandon White – Dandenong showed off a little more depth and an desirable batch of players coming through for the 2015 AFL Draft.
A pair of captain’s goals from Jack Lonie and two for the crumbing Hulett sealed the 9.10 (64) to 2.10 (22) victory.
The triumph sets the third-placed Stingrays up for a hard-fought final month as it travels for another season-defining showdown – this week with ladder leaders Oakleigh on Saturday.
Some redemption from the visitors was found in the 3rd quarter as the rain settled in, keeping the Stingrays goalless for the quarter.
After the game Dandenong Stingrays Coach Craig Black was in high praise of his players for the over Sandringham. Black said, "The way the boys applied themselves in that first half – their commitment and attack on the footy – was second-to-none and easily our best," Black said.
"I think – like I said to the boys after the game – it’s a tough competition and you’ve got to look forward to the challenges.
With September action now all but confirmed the Dandenong Southern Stingrays have set themselves a challenge against the remaining three TAC Cup sides they face in the remaining home and away games- all will feature with the Stingrays in AFL Victoria’s TAC Cup finals in 2014.
Black added, "In the remaining 3 games we play against three highly rated TAC Cup teams and it gives our boys a great opportunity to go out against the best and see if they can perform at the top level."
The victory sets the third-placed Stingrays up for a hard-fought final month as it travels for another season-defining showdown – this week with ladder leaders Oakleigh Chargers on Saturday.
The match starts at 1pm at Warrawee Park, Oakleigh.
Last Modified on 30/07/2014 14:35
