The Dandenong Southern Stingrays staved off a dogged Gippsland Power outfit to emerge victors by sixteen points on a cool Saturday afternoon in Morwell.
Boasting 8 debutants and only a handful of regulars from last year’s TAC Cup campaign, the Stingrays’ fresh new squad led for the entire day, but a determined second half from the Power threatened to derail the Rays’ best-laid plans. In the end the first half margin was too much for the Power, with an exhausted Stingrays group hanging on 12. 12 (84) to 10. 8 (68) opening round one with a win.
AFL Victoria TAC Cup veterans Luke Davies-Uniacke, Oscar Clavarino, Mason deWit and Bailey Morrish all led from the front, collecting plenty of disposals and having a widespread impact.
Equally impressive were the efforts of Dylan Morris, who finished the day with four goals and gave the Rays plenty of run through half-forward, equally supported by Riley D’arcy who set the day up with two first quarter goals.
Down back, Captains Oscar Clavarino, Josh Bateman and the much improved Angus Paterson were pillars of defence, standing firm against Gippsland’s worthy forward line.
Both Dandenong and Gippsland announced themselves as attacking, fleet footing running teams for the 2017 TAC Cup, resulting in a well-matched and entertaining contest to kick off what is sure to be an exciting season.
“The game really could have gone either way in the end, we were fortunate enough to get across the line today due to the work rate in the first half, and that gives the boys some confidence, that hard work in the off-season pays off.” Stingrays’ senior coach Craig Black said post-match.
“Through our training and pre-season, we wanted to set really high standards, and if we can achieve them, like we did today, we’ll set ourselves up well for the year.”
“We know we’re in for a tough encounter in Round 1 each year, Gippsland are always tuff at home...they also play a brand of football similar to ours.”
The first quarter saw the visiting side come out and attack immediately, with Riley D’Arcy opening the scoring after an arm wrestle within the first 5 minutes. The Stingrays were dominating through the middle, continually peppering inside 50’s allowing goals to DeKoning, Morris and D’Arcy for his second before leaking a goal on the siren to the Power allowing to come into the huddle with a little bit of confidence.
Eight first-half goals set the tone for the attacking Stingrays, who looked dangerous when they committed to their run-and-carry style of play.
Gippsland had patches of controlling the disposal, but in front of goal were unable to capitalise, going into the half-time break down 3.6 (24) to 8. 9 (57).
The third started with neither side willing to allow the opposition to gain the first score, with the deadlock broken at the 7 minute mark through 17 year old Mitch Riordan showing his class and composure to extend the lead to 31 points.
Gippsland looked ready to run away with the match with not one, but two quick goals in the early stages to bring the margin to within 4 goals. The Power was allowed to use their pace a lot more in this quarter, as the Stingrays’ dropped off in the intensity and pressure.
Dandenong needed their leaders to stand up in the face of the Power momentum – and the likes of Josh Bateman, Oscar Clavarino, Luke Davies- Uniacke and Bailey Morrish did just that.
DeKoning added his second goal through the steadfast work of the back six, lead strongly by Clavarino which allowed the running brigade in William Hamill, Josh Bateman, Jamie Plumridge, Mitch Riordan, and Lachie Young to give the forwards opportunities. Luke Davies-Uniacke was simply everywhere in the last quarter, collecting disposals throughout the midfield.
After a disappointing third quarter, the Rays managed to recover, kicking the first two goal of the quarter through Morris, his fourth of the day. The hard running started taking its toll on the Stingrays Players who were dropping like flies, with up to a dozen requiring time off the ground with severe cramping.
Gippsland took control owning the last 15 minutes of the game kicking four unanswered goals, but time ended up being their enemy the final siren sounding on a typical Power versus Stingrays TAC Cup encounter.
The win puts the Stingrays in good stead for the season to come, with another road trip this coming Saturday at Simonds Stadium in Geelong.
Last Modified on 27/03/2017 22:02