Rays’ day in the sun

By Jarrod Potter
THE Dandenong Stingrays maintained fourth place on the ladder when they beat Queensland at Shepley Oval – their second straight win.
After a tense first quarter, the Stingrays ran out comfortable 45-point victors.
Brett O’Hanlon and Piva Wright starred, with consistent contributions from Max Gearon, Robert Hill and Lachlan Wallace through the midfield.
Dandenong face the Northern Knights this week, a prospect Stingrays region manager Mark Wheeler is aware will challenge the boys, despite the Knights occupying 10th position on the TAC Cup ladder.
“They’re a bit of a nemesis of ours,” Wheeler said.
“They always give a good, tough competition, especially on their ground. It won’t be a blow out game, but will be decided by a kick or two.”
Returning from AIS duty are co-captain Matthew Buntine and top ruck prospect Todd Elton, while Lachie Whitfield, the other Stingrays AIS representative, plays private school football this week.
Wheeler said resting Buntine, Whitfield and Elton for the Queensland match has helped their recovery.
“It usually takes them (AIS representatives) a week or week and a half to get over jet lag and fatigue,” Wheeler said.
“They lost a full day because of the Gallipoli trip and the flight back, so it takes a toll.”
Jake Calvert impressed on debut, with three goals and a number of contested possessions working against Queensland’s two-metre ruck giants
“Calvert did really good in the ruck last week and will get another shot. He will be rotated with Stewart Damon and Todd Elton through the ruck,” Wheeler said.
The team effort from all the Stingrays is what has impressed Wheeler and the coaching staff most.
“In the review last night, everyone had at least 10 possessions. Every player had a minimum of two tackles, so we hit all our KPIs (key performance indicators).
“We’re really happy with everyone’s individual achievements, but the team effort as a whole has us most pleased.”
Wheeler thought the work of Dandenong’s unsung midfield heroes deserved mention, as well as the backline enforcer Piva Wright.
“Max Gearon, Dale Sutton and Billy Rolfe have been giving us a fair bit of drive, but are going under the radar a bit. Jimmy Jennings comes for a second game and he showed a bit last week.”
“Piva had 14 contested possessions and nine tackles last weekend and seven tackles the week before, so he’s stepping up to where he can be.”