Rob Hill drags in a huge mark for the Stingrays. 83912 Pictures: JARROD POTTER
By JARROD POTTER
THE traditional Princes Highway TAC Cup rivalry lived up to its top-billing as the Gippsland Power narrowly scraped home by four points against the Dandenong Stingrays at Shepley Oval.
After going off with an ankle injury in the third quarter, Power’s Josh Scott rallied and came back on to seal the match with three crucial goals in the final term. The Lakes Entrance key forward pulled down a pair of match-defining contested marks inside-50, which he converted into majors to help seal the Stingrays’ fate.
From the get-go the two sides were raring to make inroads on the scoreboard – Stingrays’ captain Jason Pongracic kicked the first two behinds of the day before drilling an emphatic running goal from 40 metres out.
From there it was a shootout – Simon Deery put in an impressive four-quarter effort deep from the square, snaring two goals in the first quarter from textbook lead-out play only for Josh Newman and Jack Sorocynski (Narre Warren) to pull two back for Dandenong leading into quarter time, before Matt Northe played on after an over-the-shoulder free kick and ran into an open goal to grind Gippsland back to within a point at the first break.
Northe’s second kick started the second quarter for Gippsland, followed by goals to Daniel Jackson Deery and Alex Carr pushed the Power ahead, before late Dandenong goals from Tim McGenniss and Sorocynski brought the margin back to 15 at half-time.
Dandenong came out revved up in the third quarter, kicking back the lead with a five-goal term.
It took a freakish snap goal from Shannen Lange to break the Power’s scoring rut with the visitors trailing by 10 at the final change.
The last quarter belonged to Gippsland, in particular the lead out work from Scott. His three goals clinched the match for the Power and
Brenton Hillard’s (ROC) tackling pressure was impressive, considering it was only his second TAC Cup match, while for Dandenong – the midfield trio of Pongracic, McGenniss and Jordan Bastinac generated countless clearances to give first option to the Stingrays’ talls.
Both sides had run through the depth of their list on account of the under-18 national championships, opening the door for under-age players like Dandenong’s Jack Soroczynski (three goals) and Gippsland’s Ben Vardy, who was solid all day in the ruck.
Dandenong coach Graeme Yeats conceded Gippsland was hungrier for the ball – putting over 90 tackles on the Stingrays throughout the match to set the standard.
“They were the better team, no question about that,” Yeats said.
“They were more committed – they had 90 plus tackles, so it showed their intent right from the start.”
“We had our chances to win and they were just a bit too good in the final quarter.”
Dandenong’s missed opportunities sealed their fate – unable to put away the crucial goals in the first quarter or run out the match at the end.
“The first 10-15 minutes when we had all the play we couldn’t score and seal our chances,” Yeats said. “We probably could’ve gone in 3-4 goals up at quarter time and we went in square.
“If you look at the stats – it was a pretty even game across the board and it just came down to the last three to four minutes.
“We panicked under pressure and couldn’t defend our back half and they subsequently went on to kick a couple of goals.”
Yeats said Matt Rennie (Rowville), Pongracic and McGenniss were the three standouts from his charges, who each put in strong four-quarter performances.
Dandenong are likely to field their strongest side of the year this week when they face the Sandringham Dragons at home on Saturday morning, with their Vic Country representatives back from state duties.
It is a must-win match for Dandenong, who sit on the precipice of the finals, only a game clear of missing out.
Gippsland coach Nick Stevens was full of praise for the maturity and determination shown from his young players in the come-from-behind win. He told the boys that given the context it was their best win all season.
After the match Olympian and Australian Opals basketball stalwart Belinda Snell, from Mirboo North, addressed the Power in the rooms and said the way Gippsland worked for each other, their determination and team work was impressive.
Gippsland sits in second place and hosts the Western Jets on Saturday.
