Stingrays reap bountiful harvest

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG Stingrays region manager Darren Flanigan has resisted the temptation to hail his 2010 group as the “most talented” of his time at Shepley Oval.
Flanigan, who watched a club record-equalling six players find AFL homes via last week’s draft, prefers to see that result as reward for effort rather than sheer ability.
“Talent only gets you through the front door,” he explained this week.
“You’ve got to work hard to maximise that talent, and these guys have done that.
“But to have six drafted and two to Greater Western Sydney (Adam Treloar and Dylan Shiel) is a pleasing result for the club. That’s about the best we’ve had.”
There were no real surprises among the six Stingrays to have their names called during the selection meeting at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, with draft camp attendees Tom Lynch, Jake Batchelor, Mitch Hallahan, Luke Parker, Andrew McInnes and Arryn Siposs all graduating to the elite level.
The order of selection didn’t quite go to script though, with Batchelor – Dandenong’s best-and-fairest winner – vaulting above a few of his more highly credentialed teammates into pick 30.
The rebounding half-back’s penetrating left-foot kick clearly appealed to recruiting staff at Richmond, who have made footskills a priority in Damien Hardwick’s tenure at the club.
And, while the Gold Coast was chuffed to get mobile tall-forward Tom Lynch at pick 11, Stingrays co-captains Mitch Hallahan and Luke Parker were the real steals at pick 38 (Hawthorn) and 40 (Sydney) respectively.
Hallahan and Parker both played key roles in Vic Country’s successful national championships campaign and, as Flanigan noted, have taken their leadership cues from 2009 skippers Tom Scully and Ryan Bastinac.
“We’ve been fortunate the last couple of years, with such strong and determined leaders,” he said.
“Mitch and Parks have led them extremely well this season and their work ethic has been outstanding – that’s one of the great aspects of this group.”
Meanwhile, McInnes, who Flanigan describes as the “quiet achiever” of Dandenong’s draft crop, seems to be an ideal fit for a Carlton outfit looking to shore up its defensive half.
The former Devon Meadows junior plays bigger than his 191cm frame and claimed plenty of high-profile scalps on his way to TAC Cup Team of the Year honours this season.
A handful of other Stingrays will be hoping to press their case for selection at next month’s rookie draft, with leading TAC Cup goal-kicker Corey Buchan and midfielder Tom Curren topping the list. Buchan has already been invited to train with Melbourne.