By JARROD POTTER
TAC CUP – ROUND 4
BATTERED, bruised but most importantly, not beaten.
Every obstacle was thrown at the Dandenong Stingrays, as unavailable players and injuries forced them to run it out two-men down .
With its depth well and truly tested in a trying day on-field, the result speaks for itself as Dandenong fought back against NSW/ACT to take its fourth win from as many TAC Cup starts in the 15-point win.
Callum White (hamstring) and Mason De Wit (finger) left the game early and tested the fitness limits of the Stingrays’ cadre.
But it didn’t affect the Stingrays’ surge through the opening stanzas, but smooth sailing to rough seas in the blink of an eye at Frankston Park,
Dandenong was coasting at times as the challenges proved minor distractions through three-quarter-time as Dandenong built a 13-point lead on the back of exceptional work from the three Toms – Thomas Jok, Tom De Koning and Tommy Glen.
Starting 2016 even better than he finished 2015, Glen in particular showed the full extent of his range and versatility. Now a fixture inside the Stingrays’ centre, Glen had countless clearances and racked up the stats to give the gaggle of recruiters plenty to jot down and take back to their AFL clubs.
One passage in particular in the third term was awe-inspiring as Glen battled two Rams opponents on the boundary line, keeping it alive through third and fourth efforts to set up a crucial inside-50 and leave no question to the 19-year-old’s exceptional credentials.
Glen in tandem with Mitch McCarthy, Max Kleverkamp and Myles Poholke, led from the front as the centre-four had it on a string for the most part against the Rams,
The visitors seized on a brief lapse across the Dandenong ranks through the fourth term though – setting the stage for a thrilling finish.
The back-line faced the brunt of the Rams’ force as mistakes piled up and gave the visitors the lead.
But as he’s done throughout the first month of his TAC Cup career, Sam Fowler (five goals) once again captivated the crowd.
Pound for pound one of the most exciting footballers in the TAC Cup, the small forward dove on anything in the forward half and slotted another bag of five to take him to 16 for the year, sitting second behind Geelong’s Brett Blair in the league goal-kicking.
Never tiring throughout a brutal afternoon copping double-teams and a few stray elbows and fists, Josh Battle (four goals) made his TAC Cup return count. After a week off from school football, the big forward gave his all for the Rays attack and helped the side overcome the Rams.
“They’re a really good footy team and knew coming into this week that we’d have to be at our best,” Stingrays coach Craig Black said. “They had a really good game against Vic Country then beat Calder last week, so we were just hoping that our boys were up for the challenge.
“I think the boys felt the pinch going from six on the bench, back to four on the bench with the 23rd, but we’re really happy and knew if we could stick in there long enough it would be close.
“I wasn’t quite sure through that fourth quarter, but we found our second wind and we kicked a couple of really important goals.”
Dandenong heads across to Western Jet’s territory on Sunday as the Stingrays look to keep pace with Sandringham Dragons, Oakleigh Chargers and Murray Bushrangers atop the TAC Cup ladder.
TAC CUP SCOREBOARD
DANDENONG STINGRAYS 3.1 6.3 10.5 15.5 (95)
NSW ACT RAMS 1.1 4.3 8.4 12.8 (80)
DANDENONG Goals: S. Fowler 5, J. Battle 4, T. De Koning 2, M. Poholke, N. Scagliarini, D. Allsop, L. Gill-Renouf. Best: N. Scagliarini, D. Atkins, J. Battle, S. Fowler, R. Piper, T. Glen. NSW ACT Goals: J. Turner 4, J. Hardman 3, C. Byrne, M. Maguire, B. Davis, H. Macreadie, L. Meline. Best Players: H. Perryman, J. Hardman, J. Turner, L. Robertson, H. Macreadie, S. Fisher.
