EFNL Division 3 2023: Young gun Jay Rankin best afield as Fairpark snaps losing streak

The 18-year-old son of a club great produced a best-afield performance while a gun forward fired as Fairpark snapped a five-match losing streak on Saturday ...

An under-19 talent led the way while a forward kicked a bag, as Fairpark snapped a five-match losing streak in the Eastern league’s Division 3 on Saturday.

Emerging ruckman Jay Rankin – son of club great Leigh – turned it on in a best-afield display as the Lions held off the Whitehorse Pioneers, 14.13 (97) to 11.18 (84), after leading by just six points at three-quarter time.

Forward Ben Gilling bagged six majors in the club’s first win since Round 3.

Fairpark senior coach Sean Stanton said Rankin had recently turned 18 and had lit it up in the under-19s this season.

The young tall stood ex-Montrose champion and Whitehorse playing-coach Andrew Haining for parts of Saturday’s match, splitting his time between the ruck and the half-forward line.

Fairpark coach Sean Stanton. Picture: Davis Harrigan

“He’s an incredible talent,” Stanton said of Rankin.

“He’s one of the players where you sort of scratch your head as to how he hasn’t been picked up in the TAC Cup.

“He’s played three games for us … and he’s been in our top players on every occasion. In two of those games he actually played a full game in the under-19s and came up and got in our best.

“He was outstanding again (on Saturday), playing across half-forward and going through the ruck – he took some real telling marks and his follow-up work was second-to-none.”

Rankin was joined by fellow under-19 talents Ben Ogley and Jett Williams, with the pair impressing in respective roles between the arcs.

“Their ability to cover the ground and crack in for the duration of the game was so impressive … they stood up yesterday when it really counted,” Stanton said.

Fairpark had been close to victory in recent weeks – Warrandyte edged it by six points in Round 5 before falling to Coldstream by 20 points the next week.

A 23-point loss to 2022 runner-up Donvale followed, before pushing ladder-leader Ferntree Gully for three quarters last round.

Dealt two less rotations for much of the second half on Saturday with the loss of Josh Allison and Jason Want, the enormity of the victory certainly wasn’t lost on the coach.

A number of experienced players also missed the match.

Stanton described the result as a “relief”, as the Lions denied the visitors the lead in the final term.

“It was one of the more pleasing victories I’ve had in my six or seven years at the club to be honest,” he said.

Fairpark 5.4, 9.7, 12.10, 14.13 (97)

Whitehorse Pioneers 3.2, 8.4, 11.10, 11.18 (84)

Fairpark

Goals:

B. Gilling 6, M. Nied, R. Williams 2, B. Dadswell, B. Nied, O. Sharpe, K. Church

Best:

J. Rankin, B. Gilling, M. Nied, O. Sharpe, J. Waldon, R. Williams

Whitehorse Pioneers

Goals:

T. Young, D. Horvat 2, L. Morando, J. Taylor, J. Fabris, E. Sim, L. Wooding, M. McDougall, D. Violi

Best:

E. Sim, J. Fabris, L. Morando, M. McDougall, D. Violi, R. Sheldrick