By Hayley Wildes
In a back and forth battle of NAB League football at Blundstone Arena in Hobart, the Dandenong Stingrays continued their unbeaten start to the season against the Tasmania Devils.
In an enthralling contest, the Rays skipped out to a quick start, kicking the first three goals. A late goal to the Devils gave them some life and they hit the lead, 22-19, when they kicked the first two goals of the second term.
The Rays responded with two goals of their own courtesy of Darius Popa and Luca Goonan. After what was a great first half of football, Dandenong entered the main break with a two-point lead, 31-29.
The third quarter was an epic battle as both teams found it tough to get scores on the board, but that didn’t take away from the intensity and quality of game.
The lone goal scored in the term came three minutes in when Jai Nanscawen kicked truly to give the Rays a 10-point lead. With a quarter to play, the Rays held an eight-point lead.
With the game in the balance, it was Dandenong’s Clayton Gay who came to the fore in the opening stages of the fourth quarter. The classy forward booted two goals in two minutes to have the Rays boasting a 21-point lead after six minutes of play.
To Tasmania’s credit, they didn’t go away. In possibly the most impressive five-minute patch of football in this young NAB League season, the Devils scored four goals in emphatic fashion to stunningly take a two-point lead with 10 minutes left on the clock.
The final 10 minutes were frantic, but it was Declan Gould who, after being awarded a questionable free kick, calmly stepped up and delivered a set shot goal with four minutes to play to give Dandenong a four-point lead.
That was the eventual game-winner as Dandenong claimed a hard-fought four-point win, 9.6 (60) to 8.8 (56).
Reece Orchard (24 disposals) found plenty of the football for Dandenong, while Mitch Riordan (23 disposals and one goal) was dynamic across the ground. The play of Bailey Schmidt, Nathan Heath and Clayton Gay (three goals) was vital as the Rays remained on top of the ladder with a 6-0-1 record.
The Rays have a bye in Round 9, before a league-wide week-off the following weekend. They will return to action against the Northern Knights on 8 June at Shepley Oval from 10.30am.
