Report by Mitch Brown
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays suffered a devastating loss to the NSW/ACT Rams on Saturday, going down to the Rams by just two points.
The win was clenched by two successive 50metre penalties against Dandenong to hand NSW/ACT a point-blank conversion after the siren.
As a result, the Stingrays, now 3-2, have slipped from third to seventh place on the TAC Cup ladder, and must now fight to remain in the top eight.
In much more comfortable conditions than the sweltering heat of their win against Queensland in the previous week, the Stingrays began slowly, with the intense pressure from the Rams forcing several careless errors.
NSW/ACT managed to get their players loose, and the freedom afforded to their running midfielders led to them snaring the first two goals of the match.
Eventually Zak Roscoe got the Rays on the board with a set-shot from the pocket, and the Dandenong small forwards began to make an impact. A move forward for Lachlan Williams and Matthew LaFontaine created immediate opportunities, with the latter converting from 40 metres to bring it back to a two-point ball game. However the Rams struck back instantly, with two quick goals to re-establish their 14-point lead going into quarter time.
In the second term, the Stingrays continued with their aggressive brand of run-and-carry football, chaining plenty of handballs together, and it hit dividends. The swarm of attacking pressure around marking contests was noticeable, with James Freeman, Brad Kiely and Kurt Mutimer roving the ball well and stringing together three quick goals.
The Rams began to look hapless as the Stingrays took the lead for the first time of the match, courtesy of an unselfish centring ball from captain Lachlan Williams to hand James Freeman his second of the game.
The home crowd was getting fired up, as Liam McKay and Daniel Capiron also popped up for a couple of goals, while at the other end the terrific pack-presence from key defenders Bailey Rice and Harrison Prior kept NSW/ACT to just one goal for the quarter, compared to seven for the Rays, who took a 23-point buffer into the main break.
The atmosphere in the changing rooms at half-time was palpable, and the excitement amongst the playing group was infectious.
However as the third quarter began, it was the Rams who had all the play, with inaccuracy in front of goals the Stingrays’ saving grace.
At the sixth minute mark play was halted for several minutes after a bone-crunching collision between two Rams players, with one knocked unconscious and needing to be stretchered off.
It seemed to be a catalyst for his teammates, who finally converted one of their many opportunities a few minutes later. Daniel Capiron’s response was immediate and impacting, with some brave run-and-carry culminating in his second major of the day.
The Rams continued to fight though, lifting their intensity noticeably and finding a lot of space on the Shepley Oval wings, and suddenly it was Dandenong who were under the pump. Loose Rams were delivering some much-needed dash, and they managed to snare 4 unanswered goals (and a 5-point lead) before three quarter time.
The scene was set for a terrific final quarter, with less than a kick separating the two teams. Senior coach Craig Black urged his men to make better decisions and get more numbers at the contests, but as the fourth term began, the NSW/ACT midfielders were still dashing freely in space, and it really began to hurt the Stingrays.
The Dandenong key defenders were placed under immense pressure, but rose to the challenge, stopping certain Rams goals with their ferocity and cool heads.
However it couldn’t last forever, as the loose Rams players continued to rack up the inside-50s, and eventually they converted to stretch their lead to 10 points.
Yet again it was the roving work around the big contests that got results, with Travis Young, Lachlan Williams and Matthew LaFontaine combining for a very important goal halfway through the quarter, but the Rams negated that straight away with another major of their own.
Key forward James Freeman needed to stand up, and he did, claiming a big pack mark and nailing the goal from 30 metres to bring the Stingrays back to within a kick.
Dandenong did a great job of locking the ball into their half of the ground with desperate tackling and tough pressure, but two very costly 50m penalties allowed the Rams players to break free from their opponents once again.
With less than three minutes remaining, it was a two-point ball game, with the crowd looking on with bated breath. Eventually Darcy Warke managed to break away from the crowded contests and coolly slot a running goal from 35 metres to hand his team the lead in the dying stages.
But the Rams weren’t about to just roll over - they continually pumped the ball into their forward line and made necessary some brave intercept work from Jordan Rouse and Bailey Rice.
It wasn’t to be, however, with a very controversial double-50m penalty in red time for overstepping the mark and offensive language against Dandenong handing the Rams a point-blank set-shot after the siren to steal the victory.
Despite the disappointing loss, senior coach Craig Black was positive about his team’s performance. “I think we felt like we definitely could have won it,” he admitted, “but we just need to work on making better decisions in pressure scenarios.
“We turned the footy over a bit going forward, so we probably need to work on that at training this week too.”
Aside from these issues, Black was nonetheless pleased with most of the players’ performances, particularly that of Bailey Rice (10 rebound-50s, 14 marks and a match-high 27 disposals), Daniel Capiron (two goals and five inside-50s) and James Freeman, who kicked three goals in just his third match back from serious injury.
He was also confident that the Stingrays could recover for their Round 6 clash with Eastern Ranges in Box Hill next week. “Playing them is always a really tough game. The guys will have to be up for the challenge, especially over in Box Hill but we’re definitely capable of taking it up to them.”
Last Modified on 04/05/2015 22:22