Parker is Stingrays’ best

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG Stingrays prodigy Luke Parker added a club best-and-fairest award to his extensive list of 2009 accolades on Friday night.
The 16-year-old midfielder/forward polled 138 votes in the count at Dingley International, edging out 19-year-old big man Levi Casboult (121) and co-captain Ryan Bastinac (118).
The club championship victory capped a stunning season for Parker, who also made the TAC Cup Team of the Year and finished equal third in the Morrish Medal.
The Langwarrin junior, who is sure to be part of the Rays’ leadership group next season, polled votes in 13 of his 21 games to establish an unassailable lead heading into the finals series.
Casboult was a dominant performer in the ruck or up forward consistent, polling in 15 of his 20 outings after returning the club as a mature-age player in 2009.
Bastinac and fellow skipper Tom Scully, who finished sixth with 69 votes, figured prominently despite missing games due to representative commitments and school footy.
Astonishingly, Scully finished his TAC Cup career having polled in all but two of his 20 matches over the space of three seasons.
Gun defenders Dylan Roberton (86) and Jarryd Amalfi (75) rounded out the top five placings, while James Hallahan (65), Matt Shaw (65), Madison Andrews (57) and Will Petropoulos (53) also polled well.
Meanwhile, Bastinac and Roberton were among the standout performers at the AFL Draft Camp last week.
Bastinac further highlighted his endurance capabilities, finishing second overall in the beep test by registering a 15.1. He backed that up with another second placing in the 3km time trial, running a blistering time of 10.03min.
Roberton wasn’t far behind in either test, finishing ninth in the beep test (14.6) and fifth in the 3km time trial (10.13min).
Scully, who was unable to participate due to his cracked kneecap, had been widely tipped to smash the records in both of the endurance tests.
Fellow Rays Casboult, Hallahan, Amalfi and Rohan Kerr participated in the Victorian state screening session on Sunday, but results were not available in time for publication.