Nathan Phillips commences as Club Development Officer - SEJ

AFL South East would like to welcome Nathan Phillips to the team, appointed as Club Development Officer - South East Juniors. Nathan commenced his role on Monday and after a short induction period, will commence familiarizing himself with club officials over the coming weeks.

Nathan joins the team after spending three years with St Kilda FC within their community department. His role has been dually funded by AFL South East and South East Juniors and will focus on the training and development of SEJ Member clubs and provide assistance with club planning, volunteer management and stakeholder relationships.

Please find below a link to an article on the South East Juniors website providing some more background on Nathan and his contact details are below.

http://bit.ly/1Qr85oQ

AFL SE Club Development Officer (SEJ)

Nathan Phillips n.phillips@southeastjuniors.com.au 0430 520 577

Board elected at SEFNL General Meeting

A new 6 member Board has been established following an historic first Special General Meeting of the SEFNL held last night.

Kahl Heinze, Silvio Marinelli, Damien McKenna, Gerard Kelly and Cliff Donegan, along with League Manager Liz Triffitt make up the new Board which will oversee the future direction of the league and its member clubs.

The SGM also provided the opportunity to ratify the League's By-Laws for 2015 and for the AFL South East Commission to step down as caretaker manager of the SEFNL.

Here is brief snapshot of the newly created Board:

Kahl Heinze - former Narre Warren President, Kahl has been the official spokesperson for the clubs throughout the process of withdrawal from the MPNFL and has also been a leading figure in the interaction of presidents over the past two years. Kahl is currently the State Manager for the TNT Group.

Silvio Marinelli - a partner in accounting firm Highview Accounting, Silvio has had a long history of involvement in community sport. Current Treasurer of the Cranbourne Turf Club, Silvio brings a wealth of financial expertise to the SEFNL along with his passion for the development of the sport

Damien McKenna - a partner with Simon & Duffy Lawyers in Pakenham, Damien not only brings his legal expertise to the table but also as a member of the well know McKenna family, a wealth of local football knowledge and involvement with it. Damien played senior football at Pakenham and TAC Cup at Gippsland Power.

Cliff Donegan - Cliff was appointed to the MPNFL Board in 2014 to provide greater focus and attention on the needs of the Casey Cardinia FNL and its member clubs. Cliff has had a long history of involvement with the league and in particular the Berwick FNC (54 years) and was keen to continue to serve SEFNL clubs.

Gerard Kelly - The former President of the Cranbourne FNC, "Gerry" is well-known in local football circles. A self- employed primary producer, Gerry has achieved significant outcomes over the years for the CFNC through business relationships, dealings with council and club stakeholders.

The Board of the SEFNL will convene in coming weeks to elect a Chairman.

Picture (from left): Gerard Kelly (SEFNL Board), Liz Triffitt (SEFNL Manager), Jeremy Bourke (Region General Manager) & Kahl Heinze (SEFNL Board) at the SGM.

Keep the conversation going

Drugs, alcohol and violence are all problems of society. We live in a community which is full of society's problems. We provide an opportunity for people to gather and play sport and it is well documented that where people meet, so do society's problems.

If you need help or know of anyone who does, please view the attached document which has been redistributed by AFL Victoria. It outlines the AFL's stance on performance enhancing drugs and provides links to key resources which are available.

There is also a great resource issued by the Australian Drug Information Network: http://tinyurl.com/oobqunn

Take care of each other, SEFNL!

RESPECT!

In all too traumatic circumstances, lives were lost far too soon. Teams across SEFNL were invited to unite to show their respect by wearing black arm bands and/or doing a minutes silence. This was left to each club to decide whether they would do so and we were blown away by the care, desire and levels they went to.

This photo was captured at the Berwick v Hampton Park game with the Reserves, Seniors and umpires all embracing, standing united.

The netball clubs did the same.

Gotta love our clubs!

Setting SEFNL's Future Direction

The Board and Clubs of SEFNL are about to embark on the single most pivotal moment of our history.

The newly appointed Board is undertaking two workshops which will set the ground rules of how they will work together.

The next step is for the Clubs to attend their own workshop which will be held on Sunday 21st June. The joint workshops will determine the future direction of SEFNL.

The workshops are being facilitated by Brendan Mason, Same Page Cultures. Brendan has worked with Carlton FC, AFL Umpiring Department, AFL, AFL Vic, Community Sporting Clubs, Councils, State Sporting Associations to name a few and is well qualified to lead SEFNL through this journey.

This is an important step in the journey that was started by the Clubs in 2014. So far they have sketched out the outline of the SEFNL picture. Now they get to choose the colours and determine what SEFNL will become.

This is a very exciting time!

AFL SOUTH EAST ANNOUNCEMENT

COMMISSION INSTALLED AS CARETAKER GOVERNING BODY FOR MPNFL July 9, 2015

Following a notice of “no-confidence” and the subsequent resignation of the entire MPNFL Board last week, members club approved a motion put forward at an MPNFL Special General Meeting held last night to install the AFL South East Commission as the league’s caretaker governing body until the next Annual General Meeting. Member clubs also approved motions directing the Commission to undertake immediate reviews into the governance, administration, finances and rules of the MPNFL.

The respective reviews, due for completion by early October 2015, will involve in-depth consultation and open reporting with all stakeholders including (and most importantly) member clubs. The working party for the respective reviews will involve key management staff from AFL Victoria and AFL Legal, as well as Commissioners and local stakeholders.

AFL South East Commission chairman Roger Hampson said the move by the member clubs of the MPNFL is a watershed moment for the league. “The clubs have expressed their collective desire for change and they now have the chance to be part of that conversation in the framework of these reviews. The Commission will provide the governance and administrative function under MPNFL rules until the Annual General Meeting, allowing recommendations emanating from the reviews to be discussed and adopted. This is truly a watershed moment, providing member clubs with the opportunity for significant input into the future structure.”

Whilst the Commission will oversee the governance function, the administration of the league will be overseen by AFL South East’s region general manager Jeremy Bourke. The current MPNFL administrative staff will remain in place until the completion of the administrative review, which will determine that structure under a regional administration framework.

Following the adoption of motions at the SGM, Roger Hampson announced that the first order of business was to conduct a full financial audit to ascertain the league’s current position. Former Western

Bulldogs and AFL Victoria financial controller Stephen Smith will commence work on this process starting from Monday and report to Commission Audit Committee chair Ted Turner.

It is important to stress that AFL South East are committed to the maintenance of the identity, independence and history of the MPNFL. The league is one of the most prestigious in Victoria with a proud history of playing strength, community engagement and leadership. All decisions concerning the future direction of the league will be done in full consultation with the clubs and will be done with respect to that prestige and history, but with a firm focus on the long-term sustainability of the league and its clubs.

Vic Country Under 16 Squad

Huge congratulations to Aaron Darling (Balnarring), Hunter Clark (Mt Martha), Luke Davies-Uniacke (Rye), Jake Frawley (Pearcedale and Angus Patterson (Mt Martha) on being selected in the final Vic Country Under 16's Squad. They will compete in the Division 1 at the AFL NAB Championship from 3rd - 10th July on the Gold Coast.

Dandenong Southern Stingrays VIC COUNTRY U16s players bio:

Hunter Clark - A hard running backman, who’s silky skills at time mask his uncompromising attack on the footy. Strong in the air and a beautiful kick on both sides of his body. Hunter will play through a number of roles in the back line, including playing tall when required. A player to watch with a great all round game.

Aaron Darling - a mature bodied player who is relentless in his attack on the ball and opposition. Extremely clever and knows how to find the ball and move it on quickly, expect him at the bottom of every contest. Aaron has great penetration on his kicks and will look to break the lines as a midfielder. His leadership and faultless attitude will enable him to provide a great example for those around him.

Luke Davies-Uniacke - big, strong, quick and clean. Since the completion of the U16 carnival in Bendigo Luke has worked extremely hard and is improving his game every time he takes the field. He has exceptional ability to win the ball in close and then exit the contest at speed, using his quick feet and side step to set up those around him. Definitely a player to watch, who has captained the side during their warm up games and final trial game against Metro 16’s.

Jake Frawley - tough and uncomprisimising in his approach, a defender who can compete above his size due to his willingness to commit body to the contest. Jake has improved immensely and is learning to be offensive, running hard to create for teammates making him a challenging opponent for any forward. Jake will be ‘Mr. Fix It’ playing a range of roles to assist the team.

Angus Paterson - a developing tall at 195cm, who can play either in the ruck or down back. His ability to learn and improve has only enhanced his impressive versatility. Angus will generally ply his trade as a tall mobile ruckman, whose running ability will enable him to cover to the ground to support his teammates. At times Angus will be called onto play in the back 6 and is developing a great understanding of how to play as a key defender.

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Check out the article in the Leader Newspaper about Sam Fletcher from Balnarring. Congratulations Sam

Keep Your Cool Round

The Keep Your Cool round for 2015 was a huge success with over 3000 players, 153 teams from 30 clubs across the MPJFL and FDJFL taking part this year. Each home team decorated their club with Keep Your Cool signage making it a festive day for everyone. Coaches gave speeches at the start of each game sharing their thoughts on the importance of respect, fair play, sportsmanship and the spirt of football. At the end of each game both teams remained on the ground as Keep Your Cool medals were presented by coaches to the player on the opposing team who best demonstrated the Keep Your Cool attributes. It was wonderful to see the proud faces of the worthy recipients and to witness the spirit between the two teams has they acknowledged each other at the end of each game.

We had AFL royalty join us for some of the medal presentations with Leigh Matthews the AFL’s "best player of the 20th century” and Legend in the AFL Hall of Fame making the kids (and parents) day. Both Billy Hartung from Hawthorn and Jack Lonie from St Kilda also presented medals, spoke with teams before they played and mingled with the crowd putting smiles on the faces of lots of young

fans. Billy played his junior football with Mt Martha and Red Hill and was able to be part of the presentations for these two clubs. Jack played his junior football with Seaford and both Billy and Jack played Stingrays together.

Thank you Leigh, Billy and Jack for being part of the Keep Your Cool round 2015 and to all of the Keep Your Cool Club Representatives who contributed so much to make it such a successful day.

NZ WRAP

The U16 Peninsula Saints travelled to Wellington over the Anzac weekend to play 2 matches against the New Zealand national U16 team. The matches were played around the St Kilda v Carlton Anzac Day clash also being played in Wellington.

The Peninsula Saints was made up of U16 players from the FDJFL and MPJFL, which each club within the respective leagues able to nominate one player to join the team.

The side was coached by the MPJFL's Andrew Souter.. The players assisted with on-ground activities during the St Kilda-Carlton match and assist with the St Kilda superclinic.

The tour proved to be a fantastic experience and was proudly supported by the St Kilda FC and Watersun Builder's Footy Foundation.

NZ wrap Round 1

Friday 24th April 2015 3.30 Hutt Park NZ 1st Peninsula Saints 1.6. 12 NZ Hawks 1.2.8 2nd Peninsula Saints 3.7.25 NZ Hawks 1.5.11 3rd

Peninsula Saints 6.10.46 NZ Hawks 1.6.10 4th

Peninsula Saints 7.10.55 NZ Hawks 2.7.19 GOALS B.Galley 2 J.Thomas 1 L.Avery 1 J.Field 1 A.Jackson 2 BEST PLAYERS Tim Susovich, Aaron Jackson, Lachlan Avery, Joel Hepner, Zac Aide Round 2

Sunday 26th April 2015 11.00 Hutt Park NZ 1st Peninsula Saints 6.2. 30 NZ Hawks 0.0.0 2nd Peninsula Saints 8.2.50 NZ Hawks 3.0.18 3rd

Peninsula Saints 14.3.87 NZ Hawks 3.0.18 4th

Peninsula Saints 14.4.88 NZ Hawks 8.1.49 GOALS J.Bailey 4 L.Willey 2 T.Susovich 2 L.Avery 1 J.Field 1 A.Jackson 1 S.Mitchell 1 L.Fewster 1 L.Sparks 1

BEST PLAYERS Jack Bailey, Jack Fields, Tim Susovich, Aaron Jackson, Zac Aide, Storm Bobridge, Player of the series Tim Susovich __________________________________________________________________________________

Well done to Vic Country #NABAFLU16s MVP Hunter Clark @DandyStingrays #TACCup pic.twitter.com/AHVq64vumF

The Road Less Travelled

By Jarrod Potter Berwick News Posted on 9 July 2015

WHILE he misses playing for Berwick Junior Football Club with his mates, up-and-coming footballer Oscar Clavarino knows it is what he has to do to progress.

The Berwick dynamo is on the pathway to the peak of junior football – as he’s already in the Haileybury firsts side and also making a wave with the Dandenong Stingrays under-16s.

Add onto those achievements the peak of under-16 football – making the Vic Country National Championships’ side – it means he’ll be away from Arch Brown Reserve for a little bit longer.

It’s a a tough thing for Clavarino to be away from his mates and plying his craft in the South East Juniors, but he knows it’s important to his football to make the transition.

“It was a massive step up from club obviously, as you’re just playing with a few mates, but when you get into Stingrays it’s really good to be a part of that kind of footy,” Clavarino said.

“They (mates at Berwick) understand I might not be able to play many Berwick games with them, but I’m trying to get the best out of myself and they understand that.

“We played in a grand final and it’s always good to create bonds with your mates – winning games and best and fairest there.

“Then moving into the Stingrays squad and I thought that was a really good achievement.”

A tall utility, adept at playing either end of the field, Clavarino is currently clashing against the rest of the country at the under-16 National Championships, on the Gold Coast this week.

“Really exciting, just don’t get this opportunity too many times so to be able to make the squad and get my name out there at an early age is a good feeling,” Clavarino said.

“We want to get the win… we’ve created some good bonds over the last month we’ve been training and play well enough to be happy.”

Clavarino’s under-16s featured in a match on Saturday against Western Australia and one on Tuesday against Vic Metro before the final round-robin clash against South Australia on Friday.

All he wants to get out of himself at the championships is to improve and make it clear to the coaches that he’s always keen to learn.

“Just to keep developing – taking on new things from these coaches that are obviously there for a reason and to be able to learn and be coachable,” Clavarino said.

“I want to keep making these kinds of teams as that’s where you’re going to make the most of your footy career.”

Clavarino wanted to thank his parents and grandparents for watching and supporting him throughout his footy journey so far.

Rays set the standard for Vic Country

By Jarrod Potter Pakenham Gazette Posted on 19 May 2015

IT WILL be a Dandy campaign for Vic Country with 15 selected in the final National Championships roster.

The 54-man squad was announced on Tuesday afternoon with Stingrays from across the entire region selected for Vic Country state duties at the coming 2018 AFL Under-18 National Championships.

The six-game series is the benchmark of junior football in Australia and a breeding group for future AFL draftees. Dandenong Stingrays region manager Mark Wheeler said the likes of Jacob Weitering – who some have touted as the number one draft pick – Kieran Collins and Gach Nyuon lead the way for the Stingrays and will definitely impress on the big stage.

“You’d have to say our three AFL academy prospects – Collins, Weitering and Gach,” Wheeler said. “Collo and Gach are showing some really good form with us – Collo against Eastern Ranges showed he’s not just a deep full back player, but can come up and play multiple positions and (AFL Academy head coach Brenton) Sanderson was impressed with him. “Gach, the longer he plays, the better he’s going to be – he’s going to get into the draft and have played 35 games all up.”

Wheeler also though the Beaconsfield connection was supremely impressive as Bailey Rice, Thomas Jok, Thomas Glen and Brandon White were set to star at the carnival.

“Bailey Rice definitely – he’s exceeding our expectations and taken his game to the next level. He’s taken a fair bit of interest from the recruiters to see who’s who,” Wheeler said. “He’s proven himself that he can play in multiple positions and will be a good choice between Carlton and St Kilda if he goes father-son or everyone if he goes into the main draft.” “Beacy has been really good for us with White, Jok – those two boys have been outstanding, and from around the south-east (Kurt) Mutimer has been exceptional – 20 plus possesions a game and lots of clearances – and Coxy (Mitch Cox) as well.

The Stingrays believe their mercurial forward Jimmy Freeman – who returned from a horror trot of injuries throughout 2014 – has been overlooked by the selectors, especially considering how his swag of goals continues to fill up.

Also the untimely bicep injury for Lachie Batten will leave the prime midfielder to battle it out in the TAC Cup and go the long way around to get into the Vic Country line-up.

“There’s always an unlucky one and while some would say we always want the whole Stingrays team to be picked, you’d think Jimmy Freeman is unlucky,” Wheeler said. “Fifteen goals and coming back from a double break and doing what he’s got to do, he’s been one of the unlucky ones. “Lachie Batten is a hard-luck story – was doing really well, then tore the bicep off. “A 5cm bicep tear doesn’t help him, but he’ll have to do it the hard way and get best-on-grounds through the TAC Cup while the national championships are on.

Vic Country will battle Vic Metro in the national carnival opener on Sunday morning, from 11am, at Geelong’s home ground – Simonds Stadium.

VIC COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES – DANDENONG STINGRAYS

Thomas GLEN – Beaconsfield/Hallam SC/Dandenong Stingrays Thomas JOK – Beaconsfield/St Kevin’s College/Dandenong Stingrays Brandon WHITE – Beaconsfield/Dandenong Stingrays Bailey RICE – Beaconsfield/Hallam SC /Dandenong Stingrays Josh BATTLE – Doveton/Haileybury College/Dandenong Stingrays Mitchell COX – Narre Warren/Dandenong Stingrays Kurt MUTIMER – Narre Warren/Hallam SC/Dandenong Stingrays Gach NYUON – Narre Warren/Hallam SC/Dandenong Stingrays Jake LOVETT – Frankston YCW/Dandenong Stingrays Daniel CAPIRON – Caulfield Grammarians/Dandenong Stingrays Myles POHOLKE – Sorrento/ Padua SC/Dandenong Stingrays Jacob WEITERING – Mt Eliza/The Peninsula School/Dandenong Stingrays Kieran COLLINS – Langwarrin/Haileybury College/Dandenong Stingrays Travis YOUNG – Mornington/Dandenong Stingrays Lachlan WILLIAMS – Somerville/Dandenong Stingrays

Click here for the Pakenham Gazette article.

Two of the Same Story by Mitch Brown

Zachary and Jordan Rouse don’t get much alone time.

The twin brothers, both key defenders for the Dandenong Stingrays, seem to do everything together.

They work night fill at the local Officeworks together, they have overlapping social circles, they both study physiotherapy via correspondence at Charles Sturt University and both were up-and-coming basketballers in Mt Eliza as well, thanks largely to their father.

“I’ve been playing basketball since I was in Grade Prep,”Jordan explains. “Dad got me into it, he’s ex-NBL, was in the first Melbourne Tigers NBL team.

“So we were doing that, playing basketball for Frankston, and then doing representative teams until Under-18s.

“While that was happening, we were also doing a bit of athletics down in Mornington, running cross-country events.”

It was obvious to everyone around them that Zac and Jordan were excellent athletes and could both thrive as basketballers or as runners, but then the twins decided on another course of action.

“In my last year of basketball, I wasn’t really enjoying it much anymore, so I decided to see what else I could do.

“We’d always kind of wanted to play footy, but with basketball and running, it took up all of our time. I saw it as a great opportunity, once basketball ended, to give footy a go.”

A friend recommended to the twins’father that he contact Dandenong Southern Stingrays Talent Manager Mark Wheeler and send in some of the twins’basketball and athletics highlights. Soon after, both Jordan and Zac were invited to a Stingrays induction day at the start of 2014 - at which one of the main events was a two-kilometer time trial.

“Yeah that was pretty lucky,”Jordan admits, laughing. “We couldn’t have had a better start.

Both of the brothers impressed the Stingrays staff, particularly Wheeler, who drew obvious comparisons between the twins and Geelong Cats ruckman Mark Blicavs, due to the shared basketball and athletic background, and the lack of substantial football experience.

Zac and Jordan’s performances throughout the pre-season culminated in playing two games each for the Stingrays in just their first year of playing football, and being listed as 19-year-olds for season 2015.

Stingrays Talent Manager Wheeler said, “Both boys have exceeded expectations on where we thought they might get to. To have never played a game of Australian Rules before and to hold a spot each week in the TAC Cup or VFL is a huge achievement.”

“They would have to be the most coachable I have seen, along with coming into a program without any bad habits, that has helped.”

“When the squad had running, Jordan and Zach would spend all their time honing their foot skills, marking has always been their strength. They have progressed from the looping kick to hitting low and long targets.

“To be able to play a couple of games in our first season was just incredible, and we were ready to get stuck into this year,”says Jordan.

This season has certainly been a fruitful one for both the Rouse brothers, even though there has been a bit of divergence between Zac and Jordan’s football careers - while Jordan continues to be a stalwart in the Stingray defence and play an occasional game locally in Mt Eliza, Zac has been absent from the Dandenong program for most of the season as a result of his involvement with the Frankston Dolphins VFL squad.

Their obvious success is credited largely to the boys’sporting background, according to Jordan.

“When we were doing basketball and running at the same time, it was a 7-day-a-week sort of thing. It was our lives. And it’s really helped us to get into that mindset of making the commitment with [football] as well.

It’s a commitment that certainly makes a typical week for the Rouse twins a hectic one. “We’ll do three to four hours of school study a day, just watching lectures, doing assignments and practice exams, quizzing each other. Obviously footy on Tuesdays and Thursdays, matches on Saturday, and in between that we have a couple of night shifts a week at Officeworks.

“We also do a thing from our running background called a long run, basically whenever we have a Sunday off, like if we play local or have a bye. We used to do them every week last year, but with Stingrays and VFL this season it’s been a bit harder - but basically it’s a 16 kilometre run, so we do those whenever we can as well.”

What with football, running, work and university, it’s easy to imagine that Zac and Jordan would get sick of each other constantly being around, but in actuality it’s something that is appreciated by the boys.

“We use it as a bit of a competition sometimes to keep us driving forward - for example at University we’re always just a few marks off each other, so we’re constantly battling to one-up each other, but we always benefit from it.

“When we’re playing I know that he’s always there to pick me up, and I’m always there to pick him up and give him support when he needs it too.

“It’s sort of like a twin-sense, we don’t even need to communicate with each other, we just know what the other is doing and feeling, it definitely works for us out on the footy field.”

Jordan is listed as 193cm/86 kg and Zachary 191/84kg. Both players hold the Stingrays 3km time trial record (Jordan 9 minutes 12 seconds and Zach 9 minutes and 4 seconds), but have PB’s of 8.54. At this years AFL Victoria testing day both equaled the current beep test held by Stingrays own Billy Hartung at 16.6.

Wheeler concluded by saying, “We always say, its not about the talent you have been gifted with its about how hard you work improving that gift and keeping ahead on the opposition or fellow team mates, both boys tackle everything they do giving it their all leaving no stone unturned on what if.”

Round 13 - Rays At Home In The Wet Report by Mitch Brown

The Dandenong Southern Stingrays comfortably accounted for the Murray Bushrangers on Saturday, handing the second-placed Bushrangers defeat to the tune of 30 points.

The Stingrays benefited from having a full-strength team back on the park, with All-Australian U18 Nationals representatives Kieran Collins, Jacob Weitering and Gach Nyuon returning and having immediate impact.

Mitch Cox led from the front, with 20 disposals, 6 clearances and a couple of goals, while Kurt Mutimer collected 29 touches and 9 inside-50s for the day. James Freeman proved yet again to be the Stingrays’ most dangerous target up forward, booting 3 goals and piling on the forward line pressure, laying 9 tackles.

Dandenong are now a game clear from the Oakleigh Chargers, Eastern Ranges and the Bushrangers, sitting comfortably in second place going into the Futures bye.

Yet again Mother Nature was not kind to the Stingrays, with freezing temperatures and heavy rain greeting the players as they ran out onto a soggy Shepley Oval.

From the get-go it was obvious that the match was going to be a scrappy, low-scoring one, with plenty of tackling pressure and low disposal efficiency owing to the terrible weather.

However the conditions didn’t seem to bother the Stingrays talls, with key forward Travis Young booting the first goal within a few minutes under heavy pressure deep inside the Rays’ forward line, followed by a 55metre roost from Jack Holden and a superb set shot from leading goalkicker James Freeman.

At the other end of the field, the Dandenong defence, led by Brandon White, Jacob Weitering and Kieran Collins, asserted dominance over the Bushranger attack with several big spoils and terrific pack marks stopping Murray from kicking a goal.

The torrential downpour continued, and the wet, heavy ball became harder and harder to use effectively, with miskicks and fumbles becoming more and more prevalent.

Murray’s only saving grace was Dandenong’s accuracy in front of goal. After a horror first quarter last week (booting 1 goal and 9 behinds), the Stingrays had the same problem with capitalising upon their opportunities. Very gettable misses kept the goalless Bushrangers in the hunt, and they went into the quarter time huddle just 22 points down.

With the commencement of the second term, it became apparent that the ball had gotten, if anything, even harder to handle as the rain continued to bucket down.

There was a lot of loose ball around with marks extremely tough to come by, and the Dandenong forward line was yet again able to convert, with Jake DiPasquale and James Freeman each claiming their own bending snap to push the lead out to 35.

All the momentum belonged to the Stingrays - forwards James Freeman and Travis Young looked dangerous, while Kurt Mutimer, Jake DiPasquale and Mitch Cox were roving the packs well, and Jacob Weitering and Brandon White held firm in defence.

And when Jack Holden’s soccer goal in the square handed his side a 43-point lead (while their opposition remained without a goal), the Stingrays were in a very enviable position at halftime.

We saw a predictably scrappy start to the quarter, with neither team permitting the other any opportunities. The rain had stopped and been replaced with subzero winds, and this seemed to suit the Bushrangers better, finally registering their first goal of the match 7 minutes into the third quarter.

The Bushrangers quickly followed this with two more majors, cutting the margin to 26 and striking a bit of fear into the Stingrays’ hearts for the first time all day. For the first time in the game Murray were playing like the second-placed team that they were.

However, like all good teams do, Dandenong lifted, courtesy of a Thomas Glen/James Freeman combination to hand the latter his third goal for the day, stemming the Murray flow.

The ship was further steadied by Vice-captain Mitch Cox, who delivered a terrific specky, a conversion and another outside-50 bomb in the space of a few minutes.

The Stingrays went into three-quarter time 45 points up, with the game all but won.

The Bushrangers came out firing in the last term, again claiming the first goal and seemingly unwilling to give into their opponents. Both teams were piling on the pressure around the footy, as good teams should, and the result was a low-scoring, high-intensity quarter of footy.

Although they did concede consecutive goals in the last term (something to avoid, according to the coaching staff), Josh Battle’s first goal of the day made the win a certainty, with the final margin 30 points.

After the match, Coach Craig Black was full of support for his team and the way they performed.

“To be honest, we were rapt with the result. We really love playing these great teams because it gives a chance to see where we’re at in the competition, and the way we played this game of footy was terrific.”

In spite of the great result, it was the team’s depth that drew the most compliments from Black.

Despite the return of several crucial players in the lineup, it’s worth noting that the Stingrays are still missing draft prospect Bailey Rice and captain Lachlan Williams, along with key defenders Daniel Capiron, Jordan Rouse, Zachary Rouse and Harrison Prior, who are currently occupied with VFL commitments.

“We’re really starting to see a very talented playing group with a lot of depth. Obviously it’s great to have the boys back from Nationals, they came back with a great attitude and set the tone early. What it’s going to mean is that every player is under the pump to keep their spot, and so they’ll work even harder.”