By ROY WARD
DANDENONG lost to Mount Waverley on Saturday but the Redlegs will take some vital lessons from the match against the undefeated Mountain Lions.
The Redlegs trailed for much of the day but fought manfully against Mount Waverley, pressuring their opponents into many uncharacteristic errors and some inaccurate kicking in front of goal.
Mount Waverley won 18.14 (122) to 13.12 (90) to establish a 6-0 win-loss record for the Southern Football League division 3 season. The Redlegs have lost two matches, both to finals contenders in the Mountain Lions and Doveton Eagles.
Redlegs assistant coach Paul Forsyth said his side had learned how important it was to use the ball well against the top sides.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for Mount Waverley. We competed especially well with them and were on a level footing in contested possessions. But it was their spread, their run and their execution — actually take-aways probably — [that were] better than ours and superior on the day,” Forsyth said.
He said the Redlegs would bounce back from the loss and still took confidence from the fact their only losses have come against top sides.
“Preceding today, we had lost just one match and that was by a point to Doveton Eagles, who will be a powerhouse this year.
“We came in confident we could compete and we were up for it. I don’t think it was truly a five-goal difference between the two sides. I think we slowed down a bit at the end.”
Jimmy Farrugia in defence and classy midfielder Matt Van Schajik were best players for the Redlegs. Small forward Matt Doggett looked dangerous when he got the ball.
Dingley took its undefeated start to the SFL division 1 season to six straight games with a 38-point win over East Brighton on Saturday.
The Dingoes were down by a point at half-time but stormed home to maintain their undefeated start and show more signs of their determination to stay in the top two. Travis La Rocca, Luke Walmsley and Andrew Frost were named best players for the Dingoes.
SFL division 3 ladder: Doveton Eagles 24 points, 215.95 per cent; Mount Waverley 24, 180.25; Dandenong 16, 123.76; Sandown 12, 164.29; Ashwood 12, 110.83; Lyndale 12, 99.59; Carrum Patterson Lakes 12, 90.74; Black Rock 4, 52.18; Hallam 4, 49.20; Endeavour Hills 0, 47.37.
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