By Nicholas Creely
With the rejection of a 2017 VFL licence, the Frankston Dolphins Football Club has happily agreed for the Dandenong Southern Stingrays to make Frankston Park their home base of the 2016/17 summer pre-season.
Throughout their long and successful partnership, current AFL stars, such as Michael Hibberd, Nic Newman and Matthew Boyd, have graduated from the Stingrays ranks and played with Frankston in the VFL.
Dolphins steering group spokesman Peter Geedes believes the move will go a long way in re-establishing the club in the VFL come the 2018 season.
“The Frankston Football Club is the next step in the pathway for Stingrays players who don’t initially get drafted, and the 2017 group of Stingrays will play a key role for our club’s aspiration to return to the VFL in 2018,” he said.
“We are also intending to broaden community use of the facilities at Frankston Park in 2017 and beyond.
“This is a good first step and we hope to make some other exciting announcements in the near future.”
In what has been a constant issue over a number of years, the Stingrays currently share their Shepley Oval home base with Dandenong in the Victorian Premier Cricket over summer, meaning the Rays are without an elite training venue for pre-season.
Dandenong Southern Stingrays Talent Manager Mark Wheeler said the club is looking forward to relishing the opportunity to have full access to the venue.
“To have the ability to train at a venue three days a week with full access to showers, whiteboards, gym and oval without a cricket pitch and the beach across the road for rehab is something the club hasn’t had in a pre-season for over 20 years.”
