A TRIO of Dandenong Stingrays have traded in their TAC Cup jerseys as the bright lights of the Australian Football League (AFL) beckon.
Stingrays’ captain Jack Lonie, Tom Lamb and Bailey Dale all received their tickets to the big time with their selections in Thursday’s AFL National Draft, held on the Gold Coast.Dandenong Stingrays coach Craig Black was thrilled to get the three players into the AFL and wished them the best of luck from everyone at Shepley Oval.
“It’s exciting for everyone involved in our program to let kids get half way to their dream,” Black said.
“The support staff and the coaching group at the Stingrays are proud of all the hard work the boys put in and their efforts around the club this year and we wish these boys the best in their AFL careers.”
Lamb was the first Stingray to hear his name called, with the West Coast Eagles putting the high-marking, elite utility onto its main-list with the 32nd pick, a lower number than Black predicted the Edithvale-Aspendale livewire would go, but as a consolation he thinks Lamb could become the steal of the draft.
“I think Tom was a really good pick for West Coast – everyone thought he might have gone a little earlier – so he might be a steal to come back in a few years,” Black said.
“Tom might have gone a little earlier, but that was just hearing the phantom drafts and the newspapers.”
On the hunt for another small forward, St Kilda also called out a Dandenong Stingrays’ name and changed Jack Lonie’s life as the Saints used its last pick – pick 41 – to secure the crumbing forward’s services in 2015 and beyond.
The final Stingray to hear his name called was another Edithvale-Aspendale emerging star as midfielder/forward Bailey Dale who will head to the Western Bulldogs with pick 45.
“It’s really good that Jack got an opportunity and to St Kilda… he’s only five minutes from home… Bailey to the Bulldogs, another club that’s looking for that sort of player (small midfielder/forward)… Bailey was great for us in our system for one season.”
To finsh off the 2014 season the Rookie draft took place 6 days later and we added another name.
We would also like to congratulate Mitch White who was taken by Melbourne FC with Pick 20 in Wednesday’s Rookie Draft. Defensive coach Wayne Siekman was over the moon as he believed he was one of the best talented players who missed out in the Draft.
Siekam said, “Mitch is a ripping young man, leadership qualities are evident and i know he will work his butt off for them.” He went on to say, “ He won our best and fairest on the string of 6 very consistent games in the run home when he was able to get his body right...a few injuries held him back throughout the two years but he was diligent in his rehab and never lost sight.”
The Stingrays 2015 campaign is well underway with 83 local identified players aiming to have their names etched in history in the following 2 years.
Stingrays Talent Manager Mark Wheeler thought the group had very good depth, adding a lot more height for 2015/2016. Wheeler said, “We currently into our 4th week of pre season and the coaches are excited about what were seeing. Most players have returned in ripping shape and the right attitude to get past stage 1.”
He added, “ with 7 players at the 200cm range we defiantly took care of our Ruck and Key position deficiencies we had last year, along with a deeper midfield running brigade hopefully we can take it a step further next year on the field and potentially produce 8-10 for the AFL in 2015 .”
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays pre season breaks for 3 weeks on the 21st December with a 3km time trail, returning in January with another 3km time trial and testing programs before hitting the track for a month as the prepare for practice games against the Sandringham Dragons, Murray Bushrangers and Gippsland Power.
The TAC Cup draw will be released in coming days, stay tuned.
Last Modified on 03/12/2014 18:59