Rays face Cannons in final shoot-out

ONLY the resurgent Calder Cannons stand between Dandenong and its first TAC Cup premiership.
The Stingrays have been the runners-up three times in their 17-year history in the country’s elite junior competition, so Friday’s grand final represents an opportunity to shake the ‘bridesmaids’ tag.
Most recently, it was the Steele Sidebottom-led Murray Bushrangers that condemned the Rays to ruin with an 81-point drubbing in last year’s showcase event at the Docklands.
That loss will provide extra motivation for eight top-age Rays who will return to the big stage on Friday.
But coach Graeme Yeats is adamant that there is no psychological scarring from last season’s loss.
“We didn’t see it as a failure (last year),” he reflected, noting that the opposition was among the best sides he had seen in his six-year tenure.
“We saw it as a productive year, as we will this year, whether we win or lose on the weekend.”
Calder may not be the Bushies of ’08, but Yeats knows they will be a formidable opposition.
“I think it’s exciting, because both teams are in really good form,” he said.
“Last year we were a bit battered and bruised going into the grand final and I didn’t think we were in great form.”
The Cannons affected yet another upset in defeating the Eastern Ranges by 32 points in the early fixture at Visy Park on Saturday.
Calder finished the home-and-away season in sixth place, but accounted for both North Ballarat and Gippsland on their way to Saturday’s prelim.
Cannons’ spearhead Serhat Temel has been the buzz player in this year’s finals series, kicking bags of eight and seven in the first two rounds.
The 194cm giant booted five against the Rays at Shepley Oval in round 8, but the home side still won by 68 points.
Both sides were without several key players that day, so Yeats isn’t reading too much into the result.
The Cannons have quality all over the park, with six Vic Metro representatives, including key position star Jake Carlisle, on-baller Jake Melksham and small forwards Robbie Hicks and Sam Ezard. Fellow Big V reps Josh Toy (unavailable) and Daniel Talia (injured) will both be absent on Friday.