Rays show sting

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG has booked a preliminary final meeting with its 2009 nemesis, Calder, after cruising to a 71-point win over North Ballarat on Saturday.
On a weekend of TAC Cup upsets that claimed flag contenders Geelong and Northern, the Stingrays looked invulnerable on their way to a crushing semi-final victory at Visy Park.
They bounced out to a 19-point quarter-time lead and extended the margin at every change, thanks largely to bottom-age midfielders Dylan Shiel and Adam Treloar and key forwards Tom Lynch and Arryn Siposs.
The Rays’ complete midfield dominance was evidenced by a 75-32 advantage in inside-50 entries for the afternoon.
Experienced stopper Riley Heddles led a stingy defensive unit, which conceded just five goals for the match.
Dandenong coach Graeme Yeats was, not surprisingly, chuffed with his side’s continued form, following the previous weekend’s emphatic win over Oakleigh.
“We went out there and executed very well,” he said.
“We’ve had a 60-point win and a 70-point win in finals, so that shows that we can really hit the scoreboard and also deny the opposition scoring opportunities.
“We’ve been able to get the balance right, but we’re going to have to defend really well and attack with real venom on the weekend.”
Yeats and the Rays are all-too-familiar with the danger that lies ahead, having succumbed to a red-hot Calder in last year’s premiership decider.
The Cannons also got the better of the Rays at Shepley Oval in round two, before Dandenong claimed some measure of revenge via a win at Coburg in round 14.
Calder upset a highly-rated Geelong side by 25 points on Saturday, with Yeats and his coaching staff watching on as they prepared their own troops for battle.
“To dismantle Geelong the way they did … they’re a pretty hot team,” Yeats said, drawing parallels with Calder’s barnstorming run through last year’s finals series.
The Cannons look to be less potent than last year, but boast one of the competition’s most dangerous on-ball units.
Tom Liberatore, Mitch Wallis – both likely father-son selections for the Western Bulldogs – and Dion Prestia will go up against Dandenong’s Luke Parker, Mitch Hallahan and co. in what shapes as an enthralling midfield war.
“They’re very much the key to their structure,” Yeats said of the Cannons trio.
“The ability to get first hands on the ball is important in any game of footy, and those three probably get it about 70 or 80 times between them.”
Yeats said he would resist the temptation to assign run-with roles through the middle, preferring to back his players in if it becomes a shoot-out.
The Stingrays seem to have the edge in the key posts at either end, particularly if centre-half-back Andrew McInnes can return from a hamstring injury suffered in the qualifying final.
Yeats rated McInnes a 60-40 prospect early this week.
The Stingrays-Cannons clash will begin at 11.30am on Saturday, with the winner to play either Oakleigh or Gippsland in the grand final.