NAB League 2019: Hugo Ralphsmith sparkles as Sandy Dragons see off Calder Cannons

The Dragons advance to a preliminary clash with Oakleigh Chargers as the NAB League season comes down to the last four.

Hugo was the go-to man.

Sandringham Dragons confidently moved through to the NAB League preliminary finals and a meeting with Oakleigh Chargers when they swept aside Calder Cannons in the semi-final at Carlton on Saturday.

Hugo Ralpsmith had a big hand in the 8.7 (55) to 1.12 (18) victory in the testing conditions.

The Vic Metro representative kicked three goals in the first quarter and finished the match with 3.3, 19 possessions, eight marks, best-afield accolades and a boost from coach Josh Bourke.

Andrew Courtney of the Dragons and Joshua Hotchkin of the Cannons contest a boundary throw-in.

“He got a match-up that we thought was pretty good for us,’’ Bourke said.

“When you stack the forward line with a little bit of talent, there was always someone who was going to get a favourable match-up, and he got it.

“He’s been on the wing most of the year but he’s played forward for his school and he’s very good above his head and on the ground. He’s got a good mix of athletic attributes. We thought he might be dangerous there — and he turned out to be really dangerous.’’

Bourke said Ralpsmith had had an “up and down’’ season and was searching for a performance like he delivered against the Cannons.

Skipper Ryan Byrnes had 32 possessions in another splendid outing, and Finn Maginess (32), Angus Hanrahan (32), Louis Butler (25), Harry Loughnan (21) and Nick Burke (20) saw a lot of the ball too. Burke also applied eight tackles.

Dragon Jake Bowey under pressure from Cannon Harrison Minton-Connell.

The Dragons were also pleased with tall Charlie Dean’s work at both ends of the ground.

Bourke was looking for a response from his team after its loss to Eastern Ranges the previous week. He said he got it.

“We were happy with the combination of the attitude and the way we played,’’ he said.

“We looked like us. Really pleasing.’’

The Dragons now come up against Oakleigh, which finished with two more wins and one place higher on the ladder than them.

The Sandringham team took a 10-point victory over the Chargers in Round 3, but the Chargers won by 18 in the Round 12 Futures fixture and by seven in Round 17.

Bourke said he had great respect for the Chargers, who have in their ranks highly rated pair Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson.

“Our challenge is that they’ve got some super high-end talent … if Rowell and Anderson get off the leash they’re going to be very, very hard to stop,’’ he said.

“For us it’s about keeping the footy off them to a degree, winning our own ball and making them defend. We think if we can make them defend we might be OK.’’