The Dandenong Southern Stingrays overcame a slow start to overrun the highly talented Geelong Falcons by 29 points in the Round 2 TAC Cup clash at Shepley Oval, Dandenong last Sunday.
In perfect football conditions with the sun out and a gentle breeze and with the ground in excellent order, it was the visiting Falcons who got out of the blocks quickest. Creating plenty of run from half back and some good inside work by the Falcons midfield, the Stingrays backline was under extreme pressure. The Falcons undid a lot of their good work by missing some relatively easy set shots and this allowed the Stingrays to rally with a couple of late goals and only trailed by 8 points at quarter time.
The second quarter was a red hot affair with both teams kicking 5 goals. The work rate of the Falcons mid field remained high and had to be matched by the Stingrays. Ashley Smith was relishing his role in the Centre and the usual high returns from Marcus Dal Lago, Ryan Bastinac, Mark McGill and Ricky Ferraro were starting to balance the mid field ledger. Solid contributions from the Stingrays forwards with multiple goal kickers and a couple from Billy Hayes from the Wing had the Stingrays well in the game, down by only 10 points at the long break.
The third quarter saw the game start to turn in the Stingrays favour. Six goals to four had the Stingrays in front at the last break by a mere 3 points but were full of running. The move of Paul Rogasch and Shane Savage into the forward line and very good defensive pressure from Tom Gillies and Michael Hibberd all contributed the having the Stingrays in a winning position at ¾ time. The last quarter was dominated on the score board by the Stingrays who converted their opportunities kicking 7 goals 2 behinds whereas the Falcons were again well off line registering 2 goals 6 from their forward entries. A slight fitness edge by the Stingrays who train together 2-3 times a week during pre-season compared to the Falcons who get together only once per week was possibly the difference in the end.
Overall it was the work rate of the Stingrays and solid contributions across the board from first gamer Dan Wise to captain Ricky Ferraro that had the Stingrays win out. Coach Graeme Yeats way really proud of his players who kept giving and working and helping each other out to eventually wear down the Falcons who are an extremely talented and well coached team. Next Saturday the Stingrays head to Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo to play a twilight game against the Bendigo Pioneers starting at 5.00pm. It is part of a TAC Cup triple header which should be an excellent display of high quality underage TAC Cup football.
Last Modified on 18/07/2008 12:30