Top four spot in doubt as Rays fizzle

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG’S promising TAC Cup campaign is unravelling on the eve of the finals.
The Stingrays were deplorable in the first half of their clash with the Northern Knights at Princes Park on Sunday, falling seven goals behind before rallying to lose by just 17 points.
After spending most of the season in second spot on the ladder, third-placed Dandenong has now lost three of its last four games and could finish as low as sixth unless it bounces back against Oakleigh this weekend.
Rays’ young gun Luke Parker booted the opening goal five minutes into Sunday’s match, but the hard-working Knights – led by Anton Woods, Kane Lambert and Taylor Veal – quickly gained the ascendancy around the stoppages.
The Knights, who got under Dandenong’s skin and took the points in their round 13 visit to Shepley Oval, completely dominated the first half, setting up 16 scoring shots to the Stingrays’ four.
Meanwhile, Parker and midfield maestro Ryan Bastinac were among few winners for the Stingrays and, as coach Graeme Yeats later admitted, the game was effectively over at halftime.
Key forward Levi Casboult moved into the ruck in the third quarter and sparked a belated comeback, but the lift in intensity around the ground only highlighted Dandenong’s comparatively lacklustre opening.
Yeats had expected some fireworks from his charges after the previous weekend’s loss to Gippsland, so he was baffled by another flat start.
“It was a really good opportunity to bounce back and show a bit of Stingrays’ spirit, but if they were hurting after the game last week, they didn’t show it,” he said.
Yeats was quick to highlight a “superb” performance from Bastinac (26 disposals) and another impressive outing from Parker (19, four goals), but that was the extent of his praise.
The exasperated coach has asked his players to be brutally honest in their personal performance reviews this week, knowing that Saturday’s final-round clash with the Chargers is their last chance to regain some confidence for the post-season.
“I told the group that they need to demand more from each other and trust each other, because we look like we don’t trust each other at the moment,” he said.
The Rays will travel to Oakleigh’s Warrawee Park for an 11am start on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Bastinac, Scully and Dylan Roberton have been invited to attend the AFL Draft Camp beginning on 29 September, while Casboult, Myles Pitt, James Hallahan, Jarryd Amalfi and Rohan Kerr will attend the Victorian state screening session on 4 October.