In a scrappy and wildly fluctuating game, the Dandenong Southern Stingrays easily defeated the Sandringham Dragons by 43 points last Sunday at Trevor Barker Oval, Sandringham in the Round 9 TAC Cup clash.
As part of a TAC Cup double header the Stingrays jumped the Dragons and to lead by 4 goals at the first break. Levis Casboult was on top in the Ruck and was providing plenty of the football to the small on-ball brigade of Riley Heddles, Madison Andrews, Matt Clark, Ricky Ferraro, Shane Savage and Ryan Bastinac. The only thing holding the Stingrays back from really opening up the game was some overpossessing of the ball and as a result wasted some goal scoring opportunities.
The second quarter started with the Stingrays repeatedly pumping the ball forward but the number of missed shots, poor decisions inside 50m and wasted chances saw the Stingrays only convert 2 of their 17 inside 50m entries into goals. On the rebound the Dragons made the most of some poor manning up in the midfield and a couple of defensive skill errors to kick 4 late goals and reduce the Stingrays half time lead to 13 points. Coach graeme Yeats reminded his players that to win a game of football, players needed to do the simple things well. He urged them to stop over using the ball and to follow the teams rules and structures to maximize their mid field dominance.
The third quarter was controlled by the Stingrays and they got due rewards for their work. The Stingrays kicked a season high 9 goals 6 for the term and they took the game right out of the Dragons reach. Ferraro kicked 3 for the term to take his personal match tally to five as a total of 12 different Stingrays players got on the goal kicking scoreboard throughout the game. The ten goal ¾ time lead of the Stingrays had the game result guaranteed but the last term drop off set a worrying trend. The Dragons outscored the Stingrays by 6 goals to 2 and showed how fickle form is with many of the Stingrays who dominated early found it difficult to find the ball. Players not manning up in 50-50 situations, relying on teammates to feed the ball out and a drop off in work rate all lead to the Dragons kicking repeated goals and closing the final margin to 43 points.
Next week is a bye for the third round of NAB AFL Under 18 Championships where Vic metro travel to Adelaide to take on SA then the Stingrays play the top of the ladder Western Jets at Shepley Oval on Sunday 29th June at 2.15pm and entry is free.
Last Modified on 18/07/2008 12:40