By JARROD POTTER
HE WANTED to keep it low-key, but Reece Piper couldn’t hide a big smile as he sang the Dandenong Stingrays song.
There was plenty of reason to smile as he finally finished a TAC Cup match without incident or injury in his third match.
Life in the TAC Cup hasn’t been at all easy for Piper, 17, from Berwick, who has been badly injured twice in his first three matches.
For his debut in 2015, Piper lasted only four minutes as he went back with the flight and slammed head-first into the Shepley Oval fence – injuring his spinal ligaments and ending his season early.
Piper’s start to 2016 didn’t fare much better as his strong tackle on the Power’s Chang Jiath resulted in a concussion that took him out of the match once again.
Playing once again at Shepley Oval nearly eight months after his TAC Cup debut, there were nerves and concerns after what happened there the first time, but the Berwick/Dandenong Stingrays defender put his head back over the ball to continue what he does best.
Piper was available for selection this week and made the most of the chance as he excelled across the final line of defence.
His kick-ins set up the Stingrays’ passage play as he barrelled them long onto the wings, plus his rebound-work helped drive a lot of link-up football in Dandenong’s 61-point win over Bendigo.
He was concerned with getting back to Pultney Street after what happened there the last time, but once he ran out onto the field and got his hands on it, he could only focus on the task ahead.
“Obviously coming back to Shepley Oval was a worry at the start, but I just kept positive went out on the field and just played my game,” Piper said.
“I was pretty happy – good win today and good to go for next time.”
Keeping it all about the team, as great team-first players tend to do, Piper said it was brilliant to be part of a strong backline that got the job done and then some against the Pioneers.
“It was good being deep down in the backline with all the boys down there,” Piper said. “Just working hard and keeping it all together and communicating down there was working well.
“Good group going on, and there’s not much more to say – we were just playing well today.”
Stingrays coach Craig Black said it hadn’t crossed his mind that Piper was yet to sing the song after playing out a full match but said his influence in the back-six was pivotal.
“I actually didn’t even think of that,” Black said. “But it’s his third attempt at it, and he was really good today – he was super with his pace and his kicking.”
