By Ben Pollard
It’s almost a cliché to hear a team ‘didn’t come to play’ in football these days.
You can turn up to the ground, but you still need to show your intent to be there.
It’s fair to say the Dragons have started their 2013 TAC Cup campaign with intent, just a week after a slightly lacklustre practice match performance.
Sandringham Head Coach Justin Plapp was impressed with the Dragons’ improved intensity in defeating the Western Jets by 23 points at Visy Park on Sunday.
“I would say that walking out on the ground at the start of the first quarter, they were definitely there to play,” Plapp said of his players. “That’s something we really challenge them to bring to the game.
“As coaches, we can put everything in place and we can teach them all the set plays and what we want to do with the footy, but at the end of the day the players have to bring that effort.”
After taking a few minutes to find their feet, the Dragons then found that effort.
Western’s pressure on Sandringham’s midfield brigade earned the Jets early goals, but the Dragons soon gained controlled of the ball, the game and the scoreboard.
Plapp said Sandringham controlled the football enough through the late first and second quarters to have built a nine-goal lead at half time, but opportunities to convert inside 50 were squandered.
Instead, the margin was 34 at the main break and Western soon loomed with a four-goal-to-three third term, but the production of several Dragons midfielders ensured the Jets didn’t fly over the top.
Wingman Karl Amon was the team’s best, winning plenty of his own football, making sharp decisions and hitting the scoreboard with three majors.
Plapp also praised the half-forward role played by Zach Merrett, Christian Salem pushing forward for two goals off a wing and the classy performance of Will Hayes in his first game at the top level.
Haydon Whitehead, Lachlan Ritchie and Lachlan Howes held up the fort in defence, while the new co-captains also starred, with Max Hayes’ four goals as a key forward and Tom Langdon’s defensive prowess impressing their coach.
“(Hayes’) first three quarters were very, very, very good,” Plapp said.
“(Langdon) played forward early, then went through the midfield and went back later, so he’s a real utility for us.”
Aside from a couple of cases of cramp late in the match, the Dragons emerged unscathed and will take a strong list into a tough test against Eastern Ranges at Visy Park on Sunday.
Eastern exploded out of the blocks on the weekend with a 48-point victory over the reigning premier Oakleigh Chargers.
“From what we can gather, they aren’t the team they were last year,” Plapp said of the Ranges, who finished 2012 with a 3-14 record.
“Their talent is pretty deep this year and I reckon it’s a great test for us second-up to come up against them.”
The Dragons had better come to play.
Sandringham Dragons 5.2 10.6 13.7 16.9 (105)
Western Jets 4.1 5.2 9.8 12.10 (82)
Goalkickers: M.Hayes 4, A.Spencer 3, K.Amon 3, C.Salem 2, L.Marchetti, S.McLaren, J.Kelly, C.Cathcart
Best: K.Amon, H.Whitehead, Z.Merrett, W.Hayes, M.Neiwand, C.Salem
Last Modified on 22/04/2013 14:23