Stingray Dale Sutton puts out the “don’t argue” to Gippsland midfielder Jack Johnstone in the Stingrays’ loss against the Power. 65410
By Jarrod Potter
DANDENONG will need to find some impetus leading into Saturday’s match against the Eastern Ranges, after falling short to the Gippsland Power by 38 points.
A last quarter surge from Gippsland saw it home in the battle of the south-east against a Stingrays outfit which only fell away at the last hurdle.
The back-and-forth struggle for supremacy was eventually won by the Power, but not without the Stingrays constantly nipping at their feet, trailing by only 14 points at three-quarter-time. One highlight was the match-up between Dandenong forward Brett O’Hanlon and Gippsland backman Sean Marusic, in a struggle reminiscent of the Wayne Carey/Glenn Jakovich clashes in the AFL of yesteryear.
Power’s Shaun Wyatt was clearly best on field, with 29 kicks, 14 marks and 18 handballs with Dandenong’s O’Hanlon, and hard-running half-back Nathan Wright was best for the Stingrays.
Stingrays coach Graeme Yeats thought the loss came down to Dandenong’s inability to keep Gippsland out of the contest for prolonged periods of time.
“We got it in there (up forward). We looked reasonably dangerous, but they were good at getting their numbers back quickly and stifling and stopping any of our free possession going forward,” Yeats said.
“On the scoreboard we were reasonably close. The stats will probably reflect we got enough of the ball and enough inside fifties, but didn’t convert.”
Yeats had high praise for Gippsland and their ability to overrun the Stingrays when it mattered most.
“They (Gippsland) were clearly the better team in all facets of the game, their pressure, ball use and transition were good and they were just more competitive all over the ground.”
All these factors culminate in the match against the Eastern Ranges, which becomes a do or die encounter for the Stingrays.
Mark Wheeler, region manager of the Stingrays, says the positives from the Power match came from their experienced players.
“Dale Sutton, Brett O’Hanlon, Nathan Wright were all good for us last week,” Wheeler said. “Robert Hill has been one of our most consistent backmen and Damien Johnston is another back who has been the most consistent and held up the backline.”
Wheeler says Dandenong will get some key returns against the Ranges, which will bolster the backline.
“A couple coming back from injuries will help us. Aaron Lees, Corey Buchan and Corie Intveen should all play, and they definitely improve our backline,” Wheeler said. “Buchan will get his chance to get back to familiar territory instead of being up the other end of the ground.”
Dandenong will debut Josh Westerman from Frankston, who played for the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League in their under-18 interleague match against the Ovens and Murray Football League over the weekend.
Both teams have outs to Vic Country or Vic Metro, which puts a strain on the depth of the playing list. Dandenong has eight players in Vic Country’s final 22, the most of any country team.
“It’s good for us to develop our list, so it’s a great opportunity for the eight Stingrays in Vic Country, so it’s a good time to work what type of list we’ve got,” Wheeler said.
“They’ve got a couple out to Metro, such as the touted number one draft pick, Jonathon Patton. Eastern have been like us; similarly riddled with injuries and unavailable players. They have six players with less than three games, so it should be close.”
