By JARROD POTTER
YOUTH GIRLS ACADEMY CHALLENGE- ROUND 2
TAKING a big win over Geelong-Western, Dandenong Stingrays Youth Girls kept their challenge campaign alive with an emphatic 44-point victory.
The only downside to the triumph was Dandenong’s woeful goal-kicking, spraying its way to six-goals-16 as the big sticks proved a bigger challenge than the Jets/Falcons combination team.
Dandenong’s worst enemy was its shonky kicking as the second term reaped two-goals-six and the last one-goal-seven to cut down the potential percentage that might have proved useful heading into next week’s final home-and-away round.
As opportunities flew frequently for the Stingrays’ girls, Jas Greirson reaped the rewards and showcased her all-round attributes.
She stormed forward this week, after featuring last weekend as centre-half-back against Issy Huntington, but this time around it was Grierson’s turn to shine in the forward-50 on Saturday.
Greirson cut a path through Geelong-Western’s defence in a three-goal best-on-ground haul while Sophie Phillips was just as potent up forward, as the Cranbourne flanker carved up the arc towards the victory.
Defensively the stand-in skipper Jordy Allen was superb – negating just about all attacks Geelong-Western could throw at the Stingrays – while midfielders Courtney Jones (Cranbourne), Emily Browning (Lyndhurst) and Georgia Gee (Beaconsfield) flourished.
Geelong-Western fought to stay alive, booting their only major in the third term with some solid work in the centre rewarded, but in the end Dandenong was a class above in the 6.16 (52) to 1.2 (8) triumph.
Stingrays coach Scott Gowans was pleased with everything except the goal-kicking as he hoped the girls can straighten up and cash in on chances in front of goals.
“Very inaccurate – I think it’s probably a result of playing early games, I have a bit of a belief that the early mornings really affect girls’ footy and especially the goal-kicking,” Gowans said.
“Nothing you can do, everyone is in the same boat, but I’m just happy they got the opportunities to have those shots on goal.”
The win keeps Dandenong’s chances of qualifying first in the Southern conference alive, now sitting second behind Sandringham heading into the last round against Gippsland this Sunday at Garfield from 5pm.
“The way I predict it I think every team is going to lose one game and that’s why I was a little bit frustrated with the goal-kicking,” Gowans said. “But our percentage today will go right up and as long as we finish one or two, which is the goal, it will be right.”
