By Paul Pickering
DINGLEY issued an early warning to its Division Two rivals on Saturday, as last year’s runners-up pounded lowly Murrumbeena by 127 points at Souter Reserve.
In an ominous display, the Dingoes absorbed an early assault from the undisciplined Lions before booting 23 goals to three after quarter-time.
For Dingley coach and spearhead Adam Quinn, it was proof that his team is a more formidable unit than the group that narrowly lost the grand final to Springvale Districts in 2007.
“We knew Murrumbeena would come at us physically and try to wrestle us early on,” Quinn said.
“But we’ve got a lot of bigger bodies and more experienced heads this season – we’re a lot more solid.”
Having bolstered his engine room over the summer, Quinn has had the luxury of rotating as many as eight players through his on-ball division in the first two rounds.
That has allowed his accomplished ball-winners to push forward and hurt their opponents on the scoreboard.
On Saturday, the increased midfield rotations allowed Bret Lavars (three goals), Brett Gniel (3), Tolga Ayyuce (3) and Daniel Turcarelli (2) to float forward with devastating effect. For his part, Quinn booted four, while mobile forward Andrew Frost (3) was as lively as ever and talls Chris Morgan, Stephen Pitt and Clinton Brooks dominated the aerial contests.
Most promising, though, was the form of Ayyuce, who has returned to the Dingoes after a stint with the Moorabbin Kangaroos.
Ayyuce has settled back into the side seamlessly, while new recruits Steve Vinen and Turcarelli have also found their place in the Dingo pack.And while Quinn will be treating reigning Division Three premiers Black Rock with due respect this weekend, the Rockers will be hard-pressed to challenge a Dingley defence that has conceded just 12 goals in two games.
Meanwhile, Lyndale started promisingly at Caulfield, trailing by a solitary point at quarter-time.
From there though, the Pumas faded badly to go down by 90 points.
Adrian McCracken kicked four for the visitors, while Aaron Baldsing, Ryan Johns and Robert Morrice were among Lyndale’s best.
In Division One, Springvale Districts was outgunned by a much-improved Mordialloc side, going down by 73 points.
Without injured full-forward Mark Williams, the Demons failed to find a likely avenue to goal – booting just five majors for the afternoon.
After trailing by 29 points at quarter-time, the divisional newcomers proved to be no match for a Bloods team that finished second last in 2007.
Lukas Bray was the Demons best on the day, while hard-running quartet Brad Scott, Gavin Vassallo, Adam Nichols and Luke Woolrich also toiled admirably.
In Division Three, the Dandy Demons suffered a hefty defeat at the hands of Canterbury – despite commanding performances from ex-Springvale Districts pair Glenn Kemp and Darin Joyce.
The Demons had no answer for Canterbury spearheads Andrew Baker and Anthony Johnstone, who booted seven goals apiece to guide the Cobras to a 77-point triumph.
Pat Henderson led Dandy with three for the day.
Elsewhere, four goals from Sandown playing-coach Frank Yaman was not enough for the Cobras to avoid a 93-point drubbing from Skye at home.
Round 3 match-ups: Div 1: St Paul’s East Bentleigh at Springvale Districts. Div 2: Dingley at Black Rock, Heatherton at Lyndale. Div 3: Doveton at Dandy Demons, Sandown Cobras at Cerberus.
