By JARROD POTTER
TAC CUP – preliminary final
HARDER, better, faster, stronger.
Dandenong could not match Calder Cannons in any area and were left to lick its wounds and bow out of the TAC Cup premiership race following a 53-point preliminary final defeat.
From the opening bounce the Cannons had control of the clash.
Dandenong trailed in every facet – on the stat-sheet or the scoreboard – as the minor premiers showed exactly why they earned top spot in the TAC Cup this season.
The Stingrays struggled to maintain possession as Calder forced turnovers and intercepted seemingly at will.
Dandenong’s run-and-carry – a highlight of its prior pair of finals’ victories this season – was also absent and it left Calder with free reign to take possession and charge of the match.
Calder trio Josh Cauchi (4 goals), Damien Cavka (3 goals) and Hisham Kerbatieh (2 goals) shredded the Dandenong defence leaving a lot of problems for the Stingrays to counteract.
Through the midfield the Stingrays could not stop Cannons’ mighty ruckman Mark Kovacevic, who towered over Dandenong ruck’s Aaron Pawel and Harrison Prior. To their credit the Dandenong duo had the hardest job of the day and toiled in the ruck to negate Kovacevic from getting even more of the football.
Only a couple of back-to-back goaling efforts from the Stingrays in the second and third terms kept the match from blowing out early.
The last chance for Dandenong was from the first bounce of the final term, but Calder found its way to the goals and kicked truly via Cavka to seal the game and book its grand final ticket.
Captain Jack Lonie kicked three goals to keep the Stingrays’ scoreboard ticking over.
Leading the charge for Dandenong were its defenders – Mitch White (24 disposals) racked up possessions while Kyle Gray (21 possessions) was exceptional as one of the Stingrays’ tall defenders.
Dandenong coach Craig Black said the cannonball run from the Stingrays through the finals started to tire the troops, while Calder remained fresher following a weekend off, but he was impressed by his defenders who stood strong all afternoon.
“They’re a really good footy team, I think that’s why they finished on top… I think the last couple of weeks really caught up with us,” Black said.
“Mitch White was really good for us, Kyle Gray, Daylan Kempster and our skipper Jack Lonie kicked three goals and worked pretty hard.
“He’s (Gray) really stood up when we need him in important games… its really good for the kid to hopefully get an opportunity… he showed just how good he can play.”
Looking back on his first season at the helm of the Stingrays, Black was excited to get through to a preliminary final and hoped it would help a couple of his charges get their names called at the draft.
“It’s an absolutely fantastic program to be involved in,” Black said.
“To actually be the coach is even better, but we have wonderful staff and we made a prelim, so it’s still probably a good year, we just hope they get taken in the draft.
“The boys – the 60 we have on the list – are really good, compete really hard so I’m proud that we got this far – good luck in their journey whether they play VFL or they get drafted.”
Calder will face Oakleigh Chargers in the TAC Cup grand final, held at Etihad Stadium on Sunday from 10.30am.
