By Jonty Ralphsmith
A hot-starting Oakleigh proved too much for Dandenong Stingrays to handle in its Coates Talent League preliminary final.
Despite stabilising in the third quarter, Oakleigh got the first major of the last which sealed the result, the Rays season ending with an 8.5 53 to 5.3 33 loss.
The Chargers, responsible for the Stingrays’ last loss back in April, had the wind in the first quarter which helped them dictate terms with their ball movement.
But despite having seven scoring shots and barely allowing the ball behind halfway, they only put two goals on the board, which was an excellent result for the hosts at Shepley Oval.
Jemma Ramsdale started on the right foot with some big marks, taps to advantage and spoils, and she would go on to play a skipper’s game in her last outing for the club.
Ramsdale was well aided by Eleanor Butler, with the collective will of the back six effectively keeping Dandenong in the game.
“The body of work she has put in over the last six weeks is undeniable after she played really well in the WA game (for Vic Country),” coach Josh Moore said.
Given the big wind advantage in the second quarter, the Stingrays, having typically been front runners on the scoreboard in 2023, were unable to turn it around.
Oakleigh showed how to play against the wind, linking up, using their leg-speed and moving the ball with confidence.
Three Chargers goals in the second quarter were dagger blows, but rucks Elli Symonds and Zoe Besanko kept their team in it with three collective second-quarter goals.
Symonds smashed the first hit-out of the day forward 10 metres, in a game where the Stingrays were always going to have the ruck advantage, and the pair took full toll.
They won the hitouts 52-14, with Besanko opening the scoring for Dandenong and Symonds’ two coming before halftime, including a long range set shot conversion.
Their ruck work allowed Mikayla Williamson and Meg Robertson to gel in the midfield as they have done all year, but the Chargers had better spread post-contest which was a barrier to generating momentum.
“Their ruck work and impact on the game was good,” Moore said of Symonds and Besanko.
“We just probably didn’t maximise the clearance work as well as we could’ve.
“That’s where we could’ve hurt them.”
Moore spoke at halftime about delivering in the premiership quarter, with the margin still at a manageable 16 points.
After conceding an early goal, his team was able to turn the tide for most of the third.
The Stingrays gave the defence a spell by having their share of the territory, but the wind wreaked havoc on scoring opportunities and robbed the Rays of efficiency.
The defence held up well when Oakleigh was able to slingshot; in between a big Georgia Templeton intercept mark, Jemaya Bressan’s run and Nikita Harris’ pressure were features.
A late Oakleigh goal against the grain was a dagger blow and meant the home team went into three-quarter time needing to kick four unanswered with the wind.
Early forward forays in the last quarter went unrewarded and when Oakleigh’s Jacinta Baxter banged one through against the wind nine minutes in, the game was over.
Jemma Reynolds, clean and lively all day, kicked a stylish late goal to trim the margin and lift her season tally to 10 goals.
Dandenong finished the season as clearly the best team in the Vic Country region, with 10 wins from 13 games in the home-and-away season, before comfortably beating GWV in the quarter-final last week.
Williamson, Robertson, forward Sophie Butterworth, injured defender Bianca Lyne and Ramsdale were all invited to the AFLW Draft combine, indicating strong draft interest.
The club also remains optimistic that running player Ruby Murdoch has AFLW attributes.
“It was a pretty emotional day on Saturday: it hits you when you invest so much into top-aged girls’ footballing journeys who won’t be back,” Moore said.
“It comes to a sudden end. I feel like we had a special group this year, the way the group came together and bonded; they’ll be friends for life.”
