Report by Mitch Brown
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays conjured a miraculous 1-point victory over the Oakleigh Chargers in their VFA heritage match on Saturday afternoon.
After trailing all day, the Stingrays went into the three-quarter time huddle on the wrong end of a 40-point margin, having kicked a measly four goals across three quarters.
But with a seven-goal-to-zero final term, Dandenong managed to snare victory from the jaws of defeat to take out the match by the slimmest of margins, 11.5 (71) to 10.10 (70).
It was a win made particularly sweet by the presence of many past players and officials from the Dandenong Redlegs, the Stingrays’ VFA counterparts, who came out in droves to see the Redlegs guernsey being put to good use.
Ruckman Dylan Atkins was judged best Stingray afield, and received a commemorative trophy for his efforts around the ground and in the ruck contests.
Small forward Sam Fowler had a slow start, but worked his way into the game and booted three all-important majors in the last term to finish with four for the day.
Elsewhere, after returning from an excellent Vic Country campaign, defender Reece Piper was predictably terrific through the backline, while Jordan Stewart also continued to impress.
Though the result was obviously pleasing, senior coach Craig Black admits that not everything went his side’s way for most of the match.
“We were really disappointed with their effort early, I think in the third quarter there were some really critical times where [Oakleigh] just outnumbered us and worked a bit harder.
“At three quarter time, we challenged our boys to bring their effort, and take a few more little risks.
“I hope [wearing the Redlegs jumpers] meant a lot to them. We just asked for a little bit of respect, and they were able to come out and win.”
It was a very tough start to the day for the Stingrays, who right from the get-go appeared a little bit lost on the large open spaces of Warrawee Oval.
The Chargers kicked the first two of the day to take an 8-point lead into the first change, but probably deserved to be further in front for all their efforts.
Roused by their ordinary start, the Stingrays began applying more pressure to the attacking Chargers in the second term, bringing more intensity to the contests and using the ball more cleanly, but to their credit, Oakleigh responded.
Their pace through the middle was particularly noticeable, and after a pair of quick Stingray goals to begin the second term, Oakleigh managed to claw their way back to a 15-point lead at half time.
Though there were a handful of impressive individual performances, the third term carried on much as the first two did – the Stingrays giving an effort, but being outplayed comprehensively by the Chargers. Oakleigh slammed on another five goals to take a 40-point lead to the last break.
It had been a truly unimpressive display in the Redlegs jumpers thus far, but as the Dandenong coaches implored their charges to show some of the Redlegs spirit, the players responded.
Sam Fowler’s trio of final-quarter goals was instrumental, as was Dylan Atkins’ terrific work through the middle.
Dylan Morris’ courage to run back with the flight of the ball directly into a marking contest won him applause from the Stingrays’ bench, while Reece Piper’s cool-headed disposal through the back flanks was pivotal in setting up the Rays’ run.
In the end, Dandenong added seven unanswered goals to their tally in the last term, snatching a 1-point lead with several minutes to go, and managing to hold on until the final siren.
It was, truly, an inspiring win for the Redlegs.
Dandenong will now enjoy a well-earnt general bye, but the hard work is far from over, as an appointment with new ladder leaders Sandringham beckons.
The Dragons will host the Stingrays at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Saturday July 23rd. The match kicks off at 11am.
Last Modified on 20/07/2016 12:10