Report by Mitch Brown
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays have kicked off their 2016 campaign in great style, notching their second consecutive win on Saturday against the North Ballarat Rebels in Bendigo.
After a spirited first half in which neither side really managed to pull away from the other, Dandenong came out firing in the third, while North Ballarat’s inaccuracy in front of goal would be their undoing. The Stingrays took a 26 point lead into three quarter time, by which stage the game was already won, with the final scores reading 10.11 (71) to 5.11 (41).
With Josh Battle and Myles Poholke out of the team to fulfil their commitments to the AIS AFL Academy, plus utility Reece Piper having a week off to fully recover from a concussion sustained in last week’s win over Gippsland, the Stingrays welcomed three more debutants to the fray, bringing the total to 16 first-gamers in the first two rounds.
Thomas Freeman, Charlie Martello and Nathan Scagliarini were all brought into the side for their first taste of TAC Cup action, and all three immediately slotted in well, much to the delight of the Stingrays coaching staff.
“It so happened this week that an opportunity opened up for those boys, and we just want players who can play their role,” admitted assistant coach Wayne Siekman after the win. “For us, it’s all about the Stingray on the front of their jumper, and playing together as a group – and I think [Freeman, Martello and Scagliarini] did that today.”
Ryan Gains was again terrific at full-back, and alongside defensive lieutenant Bailey Morrish, ensured that the Rebels ended the game with just five goals, and no multiple goalkickers.
Sam Fowler continued to prove how truly dangerous he can be up forward, booting another three goals to add to his tally of four last week, while Mason DeWit and Lachlan Gill-Renouf seemed to have the ball on a string, unleashing devastating impact on many contests around the ground.
It truly was a game of two halves, with the Stingrays pouncing in an excellent third quarter that set them up to take home the four points.
“At half time, we addressed a couple of areas where they were getting on top of us, and I think we really nailed down and got on top of [the North Ballarat] midfield in the second half,” said Siekman.
“I think that’s a massive positive for the group, getting a result like that today.”
It certainly wasn’t a terrific start to the day for the Stingrays, with North Ballarat claiming first blood with two goals in quick succession to put Dandenong on the back foot immediately, but to their credit they responded in kind, with goals from Sam Fowler and first-gamer Charlie Martello bringing the quarter time margin to 3 points.
Both teams struggled to capitalise upon their opportunities, with efficiency inside the forward-50s noticeably down. North Ballarat had the luxury of more key numbers around the footy, but still went into the half-time break 11 points down.
The third quarter, however, was the most telling, with both sides managing five scoring shots for the term – the Rebels finished with 0.5, the Stingrays with 3.2.
The Rebels continued to fight bravely in the last term, but the damage was already done - that key third quarter the difference in the end, after the two teams only registered one more goal each in the last quarter.
The club will now enjoy a TAC Cup bye to allow for the AFL Vic Country trials, for which no fewer than 14 of the current Stingrays’ U18 squad have been invited.
The game will be played against Queensland on Sunday the 10th April at IKON Park, Carlton North starting at 10.30am
For Dandenong, their next assignment is to try and maintain their excellent start to the season in their first home game for the TAC Cup season, on April 16th against the Bendigo Pioneers at Shepley Oval starting at 2.00pm with the Under 16’s playing in the curtain raiser at 11.30am.
Vic Country Invitees:
FIRST
|
SURNAME
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AVAILABLE
|
JOSH
|
BATTLE
|
AFL Academy Game
|
HUNTER
|
CLARK
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
OSCAR
|
CLAVARINO
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
AARON
|
DARLING
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
LUKE
|
DAVIES-UNIACKE
|
TBC- FITNESS TEST
|
MASON
|
de WIT
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
SAM
|
FOWLER
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
RYAN
|
GAINS
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
THOMAS
|
GLEN
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
THOMAS
|
JOK
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
Mitchell
|
McCARTHY
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
LIAM
|
McKAY
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
BAILEY
|
MORRISH
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
REECE
|
PIPER
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
MYLES
|
POHOLKE
|
AFL Academy Game
|
TRAVIS
|
YOUNG
|
Playing 10.30am Game
|
Last Modified on 05/04/2016 18:26