A STUNNING captain's goal by Ben Beams and the steely determination of his teammates earned the Tasmanian Devils their second win of the season over finals contender Frankston in Melbourne on Saturday.
The Devils' skipper punched the air in jubilation after his long bomb from the boundary line in time-on sealed the hard-earned seven-point victory, 13.4 (82) to 11.9 (75).
The Tasmanians came close to letting another game slip through their fingers, but the Devils produced a stirring fighting effort to claim the points over the sixth-placed Dolphins.
A miserable winter and the prospect of claiming the wooden spoon were temporarily forgotten as the Devils walked arm-in-arm from Frankston Oval and belted out the club song in the changerooms.
Coach Mathew Armstrong told the boys how proud he was of their grit and shortly after shed a tear as he described his relief at winning.
"I'm ecstatic, over the moon," Armstrong said.
"It is great for the players because they've put in a lot of hard work and they really deserved it.
"I'm very happy for the boys today and full credit to them.
"That's why I'm a bit emotional."
Having dominated the first half, the Devils watched their hard work flushed down the drain as Frankston launched a seven-goal rampage in the third quarter to gain an 18-point lead going into the final term.
While the backline tightened the screws on Frankston's forwards, keeping the Dolphins goalless, the Devils managed four unanswered goals.
They grabbed a one-point lead in time-on with a 55m goal from onballer Matthew Geappen, then Beams sealed Frankston's fate with a corker from the boundary.
It was Tasmania's first win since the round-six victory over Sandringham in Hobart.
It will be a game that Devils ball magnet Ben Atkin will remember for numerous reasons.
He copped a bucket of abuse, as did all of his teammates and most of the support staff, from Frankston's loud and often insulting fans on the hill.
No one on the field set the standard higher than the hard-running Tasmanian, who had 27 possessions, one goal and five tackles in a superb game and a fascinating face-off with Frankston star Byron Murphy.
Beams was right behind Atkin for courage and tenacity and his 21 possessions, three goals and five tackles spoke highly of his leadership.
Key defender Mathew Jovanovic was back to his best form at full-back and rising star Nathan Grima and speedster Nick Paine were both outstanding in the back half.
A tally of 19 handpasses was an indication of the hard work rover Ben Setchell did inside and at the base of packs, while Ken Hall and Luke Shackleton provided the perfect balance of pack-busting and quality "gives" to release their teammates on a fast break.
Utility tall Tim Geappen was reported for charging and will face the VFL tribunal on Tuesday.
In his third game of VFL football, full-forward Daniel Archer finally broke his duck by kicking two goals in the first half, but was grounded by a hamstring strain that threatens to sideline him for Tasmania's clash with Springvale at Aurora Stadium on Saturday night.
By: JAMES BRESNEHAN
Final Scores
TASMANIA 3.1 9.3 9.3 13.4 (82)
FRANKSTON 0.4 4.6 11.9 11.9 (75)
Goals: Tasmania: Beams 3 Archer 2 Brown 2 Atkin Savage T Geappen Callinan Hall M Geappen.
Frankston: Berry 5 Marigliani 2 Hynes Pollard Ablett Robertson.
Best: Tasmania: Atkin Beams Ronaldson Jovanovic Setchell Hall.
Frankston: Anstey Molan Berry Murphy Ablett Goddard.
Reports: T Geappen (Tasmania) reported for charging A Roberts (Frankston) in the second quarter. At Frankston Oval.
Last Modified on 20/06/2005 16:44