Report by Mitch Brown
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays have shown no signs of letting up their charge towards the TAC Cup finals, with a comfortable win over the Oakleigh Chargers at Shepley Oval on Saturday.
The Stingray backline was instrumental, with defensive stalwarts Brandon White and Daniel Capiron keeping the Chargers to just seven goals for the day from their 58 inside 50 entries, while team leaders Lachlan Williams, Mitch Cox and Lachlan Batten continued to assert their dominance around the ground.
The already-impressive Stingrays outfit was further bolstered by the addition of Josh Battle and Zak Roscoe, who snared three goals apiece in the 42-point victory.
“Oakleigh are a super team, they’re not 4th on the ladder for no reason,” senior coach Craig Black said post-match. “I feel like we were able to apply a lot of pressure, and that was really the difference.”
Black was also complimentary of his team’s accuracy in front of goal, ending the match with 15 goals and only 6 behinds. “I feel like we were able to apply a lot of pressure, and take our chances when we got them. In saying that they did- Oakleigh went inside 50 fifteen more times than the Stingrays.
“Our forwards and mids have taken some real ownership of that, and they’re here early before training having shots at goal. Being accurate in front of goal is a critical part of the game, and it’s great to see such a result.”
Unfortunately, the triumph was marred what looked like a serious injury to 16-year-old debutant Reece Piper, who collided with a bordering fence late in the first quarter and had to be stretchered off the ground. Piper was taken to hospital with a suspected break in his back vertebrae, but was cleared late Saturday night with only ligament damage around the posteria facet.
Despite the end score line, it was in fact the Chargers who burst out of the blocks, dominating possession and locking the ball into their half. Several fumbling possessions from the Stingrays didn’t help matters, and Dandenong were simply struggling to get the footy past the wing, no matter how they tried.
Eventually it was Zak Roscoe who broke through with the first major of the day after 12 minutes of goalless football, and the flowing momentum gave Josh Battle the opportunity to kick the second, courtesy of a pressure clearance
from vice-captain Mitch Cox who had his best game for the year notching up 10 clearances and having involvement in four goals.
At the other end of the ground, Oakleigh were struggling to capitalise upon their chances, finally responding with the first goal after the 19-minute mark of the quarter. Daniel Capiron, Brandon White and Jacob Weitering were the rebound kings, supported heavily by livewire midfielder Jake DiPasquale.
Dandenong’s overuse of the ball was looking like a major issue, but the Chargers seemed unable to really make the Stingrays pay where it matter the most with the margin at quarter time a measly 6 points in favour of the home team.
Harrison Prior fresh from his 3 games for the Frankston Dolphins ensured that the Stingrays started the second quarter well, slotting two setshots from practically the same spot on the field within a couple of minutes.
The Stingray disposal was still an issue, and Oakleigh capitalised with a running goal from 50 metres, which infuriated Craig Black.
While Gach Nyuon seemed to be at practically every contest, Brandon White and Lachlan Batten continued to mop up around the backline, and Dandenong tightened up significantly, giving the Shepley crowd what they expect – high-octane, attacking football.
Travis Young opened his tally with a simple coast into the goal square, while the shortest man on the ground, Shannon Gladman, claimed a huge pack mark and converted the kick to make it a 22-point ball game.
And when Zak Roscoe added his second goal, it seemed as though Dandenong would just run away with the game. At the other end, Oakleigh seemed to have no answers, and the few chances they did create were ruined by their inaccuracy in front of goal. In the end the Chargers went into the main break 28 points down, and in need of a big lift in intensity.
But the start of the premiership quarter the Stingrays refused to let their foot off the accelerator, with danger-man Shannon Gladman piling on two goals in quick succession to push the lead to 40 points.
Oakleigh did manage to stem the bleeding with just their third goal for the game, but when Josh Battle ran down a Charger midfielder for a holding-the-ball decision and converted the setshot from 55 metres, and Lachlan Batten drilled another outside-50 shot to bring the margin to 43, the writing seemed to be on the wall for Oakleigh for a day they would rather forget.
A momentary lapse from an otherwise excellent Dandenong defence allowed the Chargers to claim two more goals, but Zak Roscoe’s third, Travis
Young’s second and Kurt Mutimer’s over-the-shoulder snap ensured a 49-point buffer for the Stingrays at the last change.
With a lead of that magnitude, it was hard to see a side of Dandenong’s calibre letting the game slip, but to Oakleigh’s credit they refused to submit.
Oakleigh claimed the final quarter’s first goal, and managed to lock down the ever-dangerous Stingray forward line with a level of pressure that had not yet been seen.
A second goal cut the lead to 37, but the Chargers’ wastefulness in front of goal hurt them again, with three very gettable shots going begging. Jacob Weitering was swung back into defence after enjoying sometime as a key forward stemming the flow.
The Stingrays forward line struggled in the last under Oakleigh’s pressure, but a 50metre penalty handed Josh Battle his third major of the day to bring his team to a 42-point lead at the final siren.
The convincing win serves as a warning message to the rest of the competition – with just two matches of the season proper to go, the Stingrays are charging towards the finals sitting on equal points with competition ladder leaders the North Ballarat Rebels, who lost to the Gippsland Power.
This week they meet the Western Jets at Burbank Oval, Williamstown on Sunday at 11.00am which is always a danger game for any visiting team as the Jets are a more dominant side at home.
Last Modified on 17/08/2015 22:40