By JARROD POTTER
TAC CUP – ROUND 10
The baby Rays had to wake up from an early nap to prove their potential on the TAC Cup stage.
You could almost make another elite TAC Cup side just from Dandenong’s first-choice exclusions for Saturday’s clash against Gippsland – Tom Jok, Tommy Glen, Josh Battle, Myles Poholke, Liam McKay, Oscar Clavarino, Ryan Gains, Mason de Wit, Tom de Koning, Reece Piper, Luke Davies-Uniacke and Sam Fowler.
Injuries, private school commitments and Vic Country duties left the side decimated and forced the heavy lifting to an experienced few while the depth was further tested with three new players – Riley D’Arcy, Lachlan Young and previously unlisted Beau Bailey – added to the line-up.
Dandenong’s first half was haphazard; nothing seemed to click for the Rays in the first term as the down-on-their-luck Power started to believe in its chance to upset.
Run-and-carry and ultra-fast transitions across half-back and the wings left both sides disoriented in defence, but to their credit, Dandy’s dour defenders Jake Frawley and Jordan Stewart kept it out of harm’s way for most of the afternoon.
With the usual tall suspects missing in action, Kirk Dickson and Kyle Beveridge starred as the go-to forwards for the Rays. The Cranbourne-Devon Meadows one-two punch left the Power dizzy at the back – especially with Dickson’s last-term heroics.
In the meantime proceedings for both sides remained heavily in check. A one point lead to Gippsland at half time was at the behest of Dandenong’s woeful goalkicking – 3.7 (25) to 4.2 (26).
Neither side claimed a massive lead, or really put an impact on the game until the dying minutes of the fourth, but not for a lack of highlights.
Ben Ainsworth’s one-handed grab in the goal-square over Frawley, leading to another Gippsland goal, kept the score deadlocked at the final change.
The elastic went back and forth as neither side could boot two on the trot to stitch up the game.
Stingrays stand-in captain Max Kleverkamp flew the flag through the centre as Charlie Martello and Danny Allsop got on the end of the centre clearances to hit up the Dickson-Beveridge combo.
Dickson’s efforts didn’t go without reward on the scoreboard as he jagged two monster goals in the last 10 minutes to put the Rays back in front.
Bodies flew everywhere in a chaotic race to the finish – with Pakenham goalsneak Jai Rout memorably crashing into his Gippsland bench before getting back up to make a crucial smother.
Gippsland’s Nathan Voss was brought within the square after a Stingray went over the mark, cutting the lead to two, but that would be as close as the visitors would get.
Coming back on with a heavily strapped knee, Chad Harris flew back with the ball, earned the free kick and slotted the match-winner to help the Rays get out of jail with the eight-point triumph.
“I said to the boys after the game in this program ladder positions are really irrelevant cause on any team you don’t make a TAC Cup list at any region if you’re not a good footballer,” Stingrays coach Craig Black said. “We knew Gippsland was going to challenge us – as they always do – I think over the time I’ve been here, ladder positions against these teams are even more irrelevant as it’s always a hard contest.
“We’ve played 48 players now and today we had three debutants play and that’s the exciting part of the program.
“We had to dig deep throughout the day – we never got away and they never got away from us, and it was just an old fashioned solid game of footy.”
In-and-under types Aaron Darling, Hunter Clark and Frawley showed they’re ones to watch in next year’s competition with best afield performances in the centre and deep down back.
“They’re 17 year olds and we throw them in the deep end because they’re good players and we’re not going to shield them because they’re 17,” Black said. “We want them to be really good players next year and draftable in two years’ time – If we didn’t think they were up to these challenges we wouldn’t give them these roles.”
Dandenong – sitting second behind Geelong – hosts Calder Cannons on Saturday and both sides will be renewed with the presence of its private school legion for the round 11 clash.
“We’ll get our schoolboys back and so will they – so once again ladder positions won’t matter,” Black said. “If we can keep rising to the challenge and if we can play good footy we’re half a chance.”
The Stingrays will unleash Nick Cox as head coach for a day in the clash, starting 1pm Saturday.
TAC CUP SCOREBOARD
DANDENONG STINGRAYS 0.4 3.7 6.10 10.16 (76)
GIPPSLAND POWER 2.0 4.2 7.4 10.8 (68)
DANDENONG STINGRAYS Goals: K. Beveridge 3, K. Dickson 3, R. D’Arcy 2, C. Harris, C. Martello. Best: J. Frawley, K. Dickson, A. Darling, L. Gill-Renouf, N. Scagliarini, M. La Fontaine. GIPPSLAND POWER Goal Kickers: J. Rout 3, N. Voss 2, T. Armour 2, B. Ainsworth, R. Hearn, C. Walsh. Best Players: S. Masterson, D. Costigan, C. Timms, K. Hughes, J. Rout, C. Porter.
