Dandenong Demons midfielder Shane Mleczek works hard to keep the ball in the zone as his Skyeopponent attacks from the side.By Glen Atwell
DANDENONG has climbed to fourth on the Southern Football League Division Three ladder after a commanding 58-point victory against Skye at Greaves Reserve on Saturday.
The Demons, now with three wins and two losses, have the finals in sight after stealing the prized rung from the Bombers, who have slumped to sixth position.
Both teams entered the game with two wins and two losses, but Dandenong was the early aggressor and skipped out to a four-goal lead at quarter-time.
The shellshocked Bombers looked down and out when the Demons kicked two early goals in the second term, but Skye struck back, kicking four of the next five goals.
Tim Barr led the revival, winning countless contested possessions to begin feeding the starved Skye forward line with a steady stream of attacking balls.
At half-time Dandenong’s lead had been whittled to 11 points, but coach Mick Hawken said the message was to stick to the game plan.
“I thought we started to showboat a little bit,” he said.
“We needed to focus and execute the game plans and match-ups.”
The Demons heeded Hawken’s instructions and returned to the field the better side.
Goals to David Black and Shane Taylor extended the lead back to four goals at the end of the third term.
In the final quarter, Dandenong demolished its tired opponent, kicking five goals to zero, and turned a tight tussle into an important percentage-booster.
Hawken described the win as a great four-quarter effort.
“There’s still plenty of improvement to come, but we kicked away and gave our percentage a boost,” he said.
Danial Jarman spearheaded the Demons attack, booting five goals, while Black and Ben O’Donnell were best afield for Dandenong.
On Saturday, the Demons travel to Black Rock, another team vying for a Division Three finals berth.
“We’re quietly confident and look forward to getting the job done,” Hawken said.
