Stingrays

By Jarrod Potter
TWO last-quarter goals by Gippsland Power vice-captain Clay Smith saw the Power sneak home by a point over the Dandenong Stingrays in the opening match of the 2011 season at Morwell on Saturday.
Inaccurate kicking from the Stingrays cost them the match. They kicked 18 behinds – two more than the number of scoring shots the Power had – and squandered opportunities in front of goal.
The Stingrays’ midfield took advantage of the strong wind in the first quarter to deliver many chances to Dandenong’s key forwards, Piva Wright and Todd Elton, but none were converted.
The Power capitalised on the Stingrays wayward ways by opening up a one-point lead at quarter-time, with goals from Matt Northe and Sean Marusic before Tim Membrey marked and goaled after the quarter-time siren.
Neither side pressed for advantage in the second quarter, with Power midfielders Nicholas Graham and Danny Butcher getting a lot of possessions and placing heavy tackling pressure on the Stingrays.
Dandenong added goals through Adam Giobbi and Lachlan Whitfield, before the Power stabilised with Clay Smith and Tim Membrey goaling to wrestle back the lead.
A strong pack mark from Shaun Marusic resulted in another Power goal after the siren to finish the second term with a seven-point advantage.
The third quarter – in all aspects bar the scoreboard – belonged to the Stingrays but they missed many shots and the opportunity to build a lead was squandered. Dandenong kicked no goals in the quarter but eight behinds went through.
Forwards Brett O’Hanlon and Wright missed multiple shots as the Stingrays failed to kick into the lead.
Despite being relatively quiet up forward, Gippsland held on to the lead through an early third-quarter goal to Nicholas Graham.
Smith ramped up his game in the last quarter, scoring two goals and gaining many high-quality touches.
He turned his long runs through the midfield into scoreboard success. His first was a crumbing goal after sustained pressure on the Stingrays in the Power forward line, only to better it with a running goal after a passage of handballs with Matt Northe and Anthony Tipungwuti on the wing.
The Stingrays fought back late and two quick goals in the last five minutes brought the margin back to a point. Alex Benbow and Corey Buchan snapped goals close to the end, but it was not enough and the Power won by a point.
Best on ground for the Power were Graham and Danny Butcher, with their hard tackling and high-possession style of football, Haydn Hector in his link-up role through the backline/midfield and Smith for his three match-winning goals and enormous engine built for running the wings.
Gippsland faces Sandringham at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday.