By Hayley Wildes
There’s such a thing as sending a message to the competition, and then there’s quite simply blowing away the competition. The Dandenong Stingrays did both in their elimination final against the Greater Western Victoria Rebels on Saturday afternoon at IKON Park.
On a perfect day for football, the Rays – who finished top of the ladder after dropping just one game all season – were a class above with superb defence and pinpoint forward 50 entries that made life extremely difficult for the Rebels’ defence.
After a couple of misses, the Rays broke through for the first goal of the game at the six-minute mark when Lachlan McDonnell finished off a great link-up passage of play through the middle of the ground with a fine running goal.
Despite dominating play and not allowing the Rebels the ball, it was over 10 minutes until Dandenong kicked its second goal; courtesy of great run and carry play by Zac Foot, followed a Ned Cahill crumb and goal.
It was the start of a truly dominant game from Cahill. He was involved in everything up forward and the Rebels simply couldn’t contain him.
On the stroke of quarter-time, Cahill crumbed another pack and snapped truly to give the Rays a 28-point lead.
Dandenong’s pressure was smothering and when the Rebels did get what seemed like a rare disposal, the pressure – either perceived or real – rushed them into poor decisions and execution.
The second quarter was owned by Cahill. The classy forward assisted on the first two goals of the quarter before heading to the bench for a well-earned break. After a couple of minutes of rest, he headed forward and immediately kicked his third goal of the game; a mid-air soccer kick amongst a large scrum in the goal square.
Goals to Finlay Bayne, Campbell Hustwaite and Bailey Williams before half-time saw Dandenong hold a dominant 11.11 (77) to 2.2 (14) lead at the main break..
The Rebels came out much-improved in the third quarter, but the Rays’ defence held up well and Jake Frawley made the Rebels pay with a goal at the 10-minute mark.
The work of co-captain Campbell Hustwaite around the stoppages was again a highlight as his tackling ferocity set the tone for his team.
The amount of intercept marks – both in defence and in the forward half – saw Matthew Gahan, Matthew Cottrell and Will Hamill enjoy a day out.
A five-goal to one final quarter powered the Rays to a massive 110-point win, 19.20 (134) to 3.6 (24).
What really stood out throughout the entirety of the game was Dandenong’s unselfish play – many players passed up good shots on goal for great ones. It’s this mindset that has powered the Rays all season.
Ned Cahill typified this unselfish play with an incredible game that included four goals and six goal assists. Sam Fletcher, Toby Bedford, Campbell Hustwaite and Jai Taylor were impressive in the middle, while Matthew Cottrell, Matthew Gahan and Daniel Frampton powered the Rays from defence.
The Stingrays take on the Sandringham Dragons on Saturday at IKON Park from 11:30am for a spot in the TAC Cup grand final.
The Dragons boast dominant forward and possible top-five AFL draft pick Ben King – a challenge the Rays’ watertight defence will relish. Stopping King will demand a team effort and plenty of help defence – something the Rays have been producing since Round 1.
The 2018 Morrish Medal winner (competition best and fairest), Liam Stocker and Team of the Year midfielder, Bailey Smith form a tough midfield duo for Sandringham and Dandenong’s Campbell Hustwaite, Sam Fletcher and Toby Bedford will need to be on their game.
Dandenong defeated Sandringham in both meetings this season – by 78 points in Round 8 and by 47 points in the final round – and will enter the contest as raging favourites to advance to the clubs first grand final since 2013.
