TAC Cup 2018: Dandenong Stingrays rout Greater Western Victoria Rebels

NED Cahill kicks four goals as Dandenong Stingrays blitz Greater Western Victoria Rebels in the TAC Cup elimination final at Ikon Park.

RECENT results suggested the Greater Western Victoria Rebels might give the Dandenong Stingrays some trouble in the TAC Cup elimination final at Carlton.

There was not a hint of it. It was a walk in Ikon Park for the Rays on Saturday, routing the Rebels by 110 points.

They had 13 goalkickers, a string of strong contributors and doubtless a few more admirers as they gained their 12th consecutive victory.

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Stingrays coach Craig Black wasn’t expecting a winning margin of three figures.

“We played them (Rebels) twice during the year and won both games convincingly, but they played in the wildcard round and beat the Northern Knights by 69 points and we’d played Northern about four weeks ago and got over the line by 17 points, so we thought it would be a pretty tough game for us,’’ he said.

“Obviously it didn’t pan out like that. We started pretty well, we kept the pressure on for the majority of the day and it was a bit of a blowout in the end.’’

Fin Bayne of Dandenong Stingrays surges runs forward against the GWV Rebels.

Black said his team appreciated playing at the Carlton ground.

“We’re used to Shepley Oval, which is pretty small and tight, and I think with our make-up this year, we’ve got some really good talls and some unbelievable runners who link up pretty well, so I think the bigger ground suits us.

“If you couldn’t get excited about playing footy on a day like yesterday — no breeze, about 17 degrees, the sun was out, an unreal ground, the ground has come unbelievably good after the resurfacing …’’

Nippy small forward Ned Cahill, a bottom-age player, kicked four goals and had a deft hand in six others, and the fast-rising Lachie McDonnell booted three goals and had 15 possessions.

Sam Fletcher led the disposal count with 31, followed by Fin Bayne and co-captain Campbell Huswaite with 25.

Stingray Toby Bedford puts boot to ball.

Black said Hustwaite’s form had been outstanding since his disappointment of missing out on an invitation to the state combine.

“The way he’s handled himself since not getting a nomination … shows the character of him. He’s an outstanding young man,’’ Bl ack said.

Riley Bowman, Bailey Williams and Stephen Cumming shared the ruck load, and Bowman was a forward threat with his marking when the match was there to be shaped in the first quarter.

Draft prospect Sam Sturt suffered a corked hip, went off before half time and didn’t appear in the second half.

“They (medical staff) thought it would be best to make sure he’d definitely be right to play next week,’’ Black said.

Co-captain Mitch Riordan (hamstring) and Bailey Schmidt (shoulder) missed the match.

Black said his players enjoyed singing the song, but were quick to switch their attention to preparing for the preliminary final, presenting at Seaford at 4pm for a recovery session.

“Just shows how focused the group is and what they want to achieve,’’ he said.

Stingray Sam Sturt shoots out a handball.

Dandenong Stingrays 19.20 (134) d Greater Western Victoria Rebels 3.6 (24)

Stingrays goals: E. Cahill 4, L. McDonnell 3, F. Bayne 2, S. Cumming, S. Fletcher, R. Bowman, C. Hustwaite, B. Williams, J. Frawley, T. Bedford, J. Taylor, M. Cottrell, L. Goonan.

Best: S. Fletcher, E. Cahill, M. Cottrell, M. Gahan, D. Frampton, C. Hustwaite

GWV Rebels goals: H. Jennings, D. McEldrew, C. Wilson

Best: B. Helyar, J. Wright, S. Carlin, L. Dawson, I. Wareham, J. Ugle-Hagan