By JARROD POTTER
TAC Cup – Round 13
POURING rain and ankle-deep mud could not halt the Stingrays’ charge as a five-goal third-term shoot-out proved the difference over Murray Bushrangers.
With the centre-square resembling chocolate pudding, the best efforts of the centres was to get it away from the quagmire fast. Elliott Hunt and Aaron Pawel thumped the ball out of the ruck and down to a myriad of midfielders – led by Sam Geurts and Bailey Dale.
Intent was shown on the jumpers at the breaks as anyone truly fighting for the ball came off drenched and caked in mud.
Experience was low- due to unavailability of Dandenong’s Vic Country representatives Aaron Wilson, Tom Lamb, Gach Nyuon and co-captains Daniel Capiron and Jack Lonie – but Dandenong’s underage contingent stood up in the sorry conditions.
Showing some coaching cunning, Craig Black switched perennial defender Kyle Gray forward and reaped immediate reward as Gray drilled two goals in the first term.
With Dandenong’s tall defenders Daylan Kempster, Jake Wilson, Keiran Collins and Jacob Weitering holding down the fort, Murray struggled to pierce the zone and only mustered three goals to the main break.
After half-time Dandenong cherished a little wind and the skies clearing up to slam on five goals, seven behinds. Dale was phenomenal in the third term- clunking marks, scrounging ground balls and kicking his two majors in a quick passage that netted four Stingray goals in as many minutes.
Some redemption from the visitors was found with the wind in the final term, but it was all to no avail as Dandenong captured a 20-point win off the Bushrangers.
Black said bouncing back onto the winners’ list was important but thought there remained further improvement to unearth in the group’s goal-kicking.
“After dropping two games it’s been rare in the last five or six years to lose three in a row… it was really important to get back on the winners list,” Black said.
“The way that we competed for the first three-quarters and the first-10-minutes of the last quarter was really good.
“It was a great third quarter, but I don’t think we got the reward for the effort as we missed a few goals too, but to win the clearances around the centre bounce in those conditions, we had a lot of inside-50s which was promising.”
Blake Mullane’s return to the side was praised by Black, with the midfielder slotting in for injured hard-nut Alex Harnett (broken hand) as well as Mitch White returning to the side and Dan Moloney’s efforts throughout the defensive end.
Dandenong sits above the fold on the TAC Cup ladder in fourth place with a clash against wooden spoon contenders Bendigo next up on Saturday at Shepley Oval.
