Report by Mitch Brown
The Dandenong Southern Stingrays have asserted their dominance over the Western Jets on Saturday with an emphatic 78-point win at Shepley Oval.
The match was controlled by the Stingrays from the get-go, with Dandenong claiming the first goal, courtesy of Thomas Glen, and never giving up their lead.
Brad Kiely, Kurt Mutimer, James Freeman and Lachie Williams all added goals in quick succession, with the Jets players panicking all around the ground, giving up careless errors. The Stingrays pounced on these opportunities, maintaining cool heads and good decision-making to cultivate their lead.
A blistering sixty-metre run from the backline through the corridor, finished with a goal from 45 metres, from vice-captain Mitch Cox, featured on the quarter’s highlight reel, with the Jets shell-shocked from the early Stingrays dominance.
Every time Western looked like scoring, Dandenong were able to shut it down quickly and effectively - smothered set shots from 25 metres the perfect metaphor for a quarter the Jets would rather forget.
To their credit, however, Western came out after quarter time with two quick goals to scale the margin back to a not-so-insurmountable 16 points. Suddenly it was the Jets who had the momentum, while Dandenong had to scramble to hold onto their lead.
It was certainly a more decisive and confident Western team in the second term, and while the Stingrays had their chances, three costly posters in the space of five minutes kept the Jets in the hunt.
Eventually captain Lachie Williams provided the breakthrough, roving the pack to steady the ship, which opened the floodgates - James Freeman’s second for the game, Darcy Warke’s neat inside-out banana, Jake DiPasquale’s roving snap and 17-year-old first-gamer Jordan Stewart’s first TAC Cup goal soon followed. The pressure once again got to Western, who went into the main break 42 points down.
At half time, the message from the Dandenong coaching staff was simple - keep the pressure on.
But once again, it was the Jets who burst out of the blocks to kick off the third quarter, claiming first blood. The Stingrays were being outnumbered at contests, however the Western forwards were unable to truly capitalise.
After another slow start, Dandenong’s intensity lifted noticeably and they continued to effectively lock down the Western attack. Meanwhile at the other end, James Freeman’s third and Myles Poholke’s second extended the lead to 48 points, and it was beginning to look like a tall order for the Jets to stage a comeback.
The Stingrays showed no mercy however; a move forward for utility Bailey Rice reaped instant rewards, claiming two goals in the final stages of the third quarter, while James Freeman added two more goals to his own tally. Despite several last-ditch chances from the Jets, a 66-point deficit was what awaited them at three quarter time.
The Stingrays went into the final quarter, determined to end with a four-quarter performance and send a threatening message to the rest of the TAC Cup competition. There were no signs of relaxation from Dandenong - the onslaught of goals just kept on coming. A sixth goal from James Freeman, a third from Myles Poholke and a second from Kurt Mutimer continued the Stingrays’ dominance.
The Western Jets were determined not to just lay down, and they did continue to push for goals right up to the final siren, but at the end of the day it was too little too late as Dandenong ran out the day comfortable 78-point victors.
Despite the pleasing result, coach Craig Black’s post-match warned his men that there is always room for improvement, and that they should not let the result get to their heads. “I think that in terms of our consistency in our efforts, we can always work harder. We have to maintain our structures and make sure that we’re all playing the team game.”
Black spoke positively about the wide range of goal kickers for the Stingrays, with thirteen players scoring at least one major. “I think it’s especially pleasing that our midfielders hit the scoreboard too.
“As a coach, if I look at the opposition and last week they had 13 goalkickers, I’d be worrying about which ones we have to shut down. It’s a good position to be in.”
Black and his men will now enjoy a week off, with a TAC Cup general bye for the Nationals matches this weekend. The Stingrays will face the Northern Knights at home in two weeks time.
Last Modified on 23/03/2016 16:49