Demon Visal Walallawita boots his side forward.By Paul Pickering
AFTER a gutsy away win at Doveton the previous week, the Dandy Demons’ soaring spirits were dealt a reality check by the Canterbury Cobras in Southern Football League (SFL) Division Three action at Greaves Reserve on Saturday.
Dandy coach Mick Hawken was pragmatic about the 25-point loss after the match, suggesting his Demons weren’t too far off the benchmark set by the Cobras and Mount Waverley.
“It was a bit of a learning curve for our guys,” Hawken said. “If we truly believe that we’re a good side, that’s the standard that we need to play at every week.”
The signs were promising for the Demons at half-time after they eroded a three-goal quarter-time deficit to draw level.
But a momentary lapse in the third term allowed the Cobras to gain the ascendancy, kicking 5.6 to 1.1.
For Hawken, the episode spoke volumes of the maturity of the sides.
“Our concentration levels just dropped off and you can’t do that against good sides,” he said.
While the Demons defence, led by Brad Rae and Daniel Jarman, battled admirably throughout the match, Canterbury proved more efficient going forward and managed to stave off a late Dandy rally.
Despite the lost opportunity, there was no shortage of promise from some of Dandy’s fresh faces.
John Beirouti played his best game since joining the club mid-season, slotting through two goals and looking lively in a forward pocket.
First-year footballer Visal Walallawita claimed another prized scalp in Cobra match-winner Daniel Pearce, and is fast developing into one of the division’s emerging run-with midfielders.
Walallawita was not the only winner in Dandy’s engine room, with Ben O’Donnell and Vaughan Geddes owning their respective wings, and O’Donnell surging forward for three goals.
While the Demons have already shown their best is good enough to compete with the Division Three heavyweights, they are yet to cement a spot in the top four.
“It was a very winnable game and we’re not that far away,” Hawken said.
“We know we’re quite capable of playing well in finals, but we’ve just got a few areas to work on.”
However, Hawken isn’t expecting this week’s away match against a struggling Skye outfit, which has a win-loss ration of 4-9, to be a training run.
The drenched Steve Thompson Oval has bogged down some free-flowing opponents this year, most notably the Cobras, who split the points with the Bombers in round nine.
With a month to run in the home and away season, Mount Waverley and Canterbury look to have the top two spots sewn up, leaving Dandy in a three-way squeeze with Black Rock and Doveton for the remaining two finals berths.
Grounded Eagles spread their wings
STUNG by a lacklustre loss to Dandy Demons at home, Doveton hit the road in search of redemption at Sandown’s Edinburgh Reserve on Saturday.
Coach Jason Salerno’s Eagles predictably jumped the Cobras at the opening siren.
Teenaged forward Cameron Van-nes, who received a reality check of his own in being benched for an extended period against Dandy, booted four quick goals to help open up a 23-point quarter-time margin.
Doveton’s return to form was short-lived, though, as it surrendered the lead at the main break on the back of a dismal second quarter.
While his team managed to effect a minor tidal shift in the third term – regaining a three-point lead at the final break – the signs were worrying for Salerno.
“We went to sleep for a couple of quarters,” he said. “We dropped the bundle a bit and let Sandown get on top of us.”
But Salerno’s call to arms was heeded by the flighty Eagles in the last quarter as the team kicked 10 goals in a canter towards a 38-point win.
Spearhead Michael Gorman booted eight for the match, while Stephen Paynter contributed four from a half-forward flank to secure best-on-ground honours.
Salerno was far from impressed by his team’s performance, noting that his charges “made hard work of it”.
Adding injury to insult was the loss of Kevin Mottau, who left the field after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in his knee for the second time in three seasons.
While Mottau will be absent for the remainder of the season, his team-mates will have this weekend off to rest up for a crucial clash with Canterbury on 11 August.
The Cobras, meanwhile, will travel to Canterbury this Saturday for a stand-off with their namesakes.
