A GRAND final rematch that lived up to all expectations, unbeaten Dandenong Stingrays sought revenge on reigning premiers Eastern Ranges by coming away with an impressive 21-point win at Shepley Oval. The Stingrays advanced through to the grand final in just under a fortnight’s time thanks to a blistering 4.4 to 0.2 first term, leading to an 8.7 (55) to 5.4 (34) victory in a hard-fought, contested battle.

We took a look at some of the players who caught the eye in the contest.

DANDENONG STINGRAYS:

#1 Sophie White
Ruck | 184cm | 18/03/2008

Stats: 10 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles, 32 hitouts, 2 clearances, 6 inside 50s

It was one of White’s most commanding performances for the season, with her impact-per-possession at a sky-high level. Not only did she dominate the hitouts as she so often does with her height advantage and huge leap, but she impacted around the ground providing a target, and was clean below her knees. She applied pressure when required, was generally effective with ball in hand, and as a whole got into good positions to intercept. In one instance where she kicked the ball out on the full in the forward pocket, she made up for the mistake by staying active on the mark and smothering the ball to lock it inside forward 50.

#3 Scarlett Marsh
Midfielder | 162cm | 03/04/2008

Stats: 21 disposals, 2 marks, 5 tackles, 7 clearances, 3 inside 50s, 2 rebound 50s, 3 goals

It was a performance to remember from Marsh, with her first term in particular yielding an incredible six disposals at 100 per cent disposal efficiency, four clearances and two goals. The Dandenong top-ager then kicked one of the goals of the year under immense pressure on the boundary, dribbling it home on the edge of half-time. She was a clear best on ground in the win, and her performance was one of those ‘jump on my back’ legacy games. Rarely made a mistake and continually set up scoring opportunities.

#10 Evi Irving
Defender | 167cm | 18/12/2008

Stats: 16 disposals, 4 marks, 3 tackles, 1 clearance, 3 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s

While a little rough with her execution under pressure, few can deny that Irving’s move to defence has been a good one. Strong in the air and at ground level, she continually thwarts attacking plays by reading the ball in flight, intercepting and then dishing off. Her vision and decision making is usually very good, and with continually work on tidying up the final product, is definitely one who should be considered outside the Draft Combine invites. A tough defender who can also roll through the middle.

#11 Lily Brittain
Forward | 161cm | 26/01/2009

Stats: 12 disposals, 1 mark, 4 tackles, 2 inside 50s

With Black back in the side, Brittain spent her time almost exclusively forward, and while she still worked up the ground, was deployed in a distributor role across half-forward. She gathers at speed exceptionally well, puts it into dangerous spots and is clean with her hands in close. She can sometimes be a touch erratic by foot going forward, but has plenty of tricks, outstanding defensive pressure and looks made for the big stage.

#12 Zoe Zach
Midfielder | 165cm | 09/12/2008

Stats: 13 disposals, 2 marks, 5 tackles, 3 clearances, 3 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50, 2 behinds

Another industrious performance from Zach who cracks in and plays an important role around the stoppages, extracting it from congestion and being an intercepting force at half-forward when the ball goes in deep. She reads the taps well at stoppages, and had a couple of chances on goal that just missed in the first term. Busy and contributed, hungry to play in that grand final she missed 12 months ago due to a school camp.

#13 Marlee Black
Wing | 164cm | 14/05/2008

Stats: 17 disposals, 6 marks, 4 tackles, 3 clearances, 1 inside 50, 2 rebound 50s, 2 behinds

An incredible performance from Black to even make the game considering at quarter time it looked dire after landing awkwardly in a marking contest during the quarter final clash with Geelong. She not only took the field, but played a full game in her trusty wing spot, and was one of the more productive players across the ground. No doubt dreaming of being a premiership skipper in a fortnight’s time, Black showed off her two-way running by impacting neatly offensively, while bring the heat defensively. Like Zach, had a couple of looks on goal that resulted in just two behinds.

#26 Ella Bologa
Defender | 161cm | 10/09/2009

Stats: 14 disposals, 4 marks, 1 tackle, 1 clearance, 1 inside 50, 4 rebound 50s

A real headache for the Eastern coaches with her intercepting capabilities, particularly in the second term where she clunked three intercept marks in quick succession, and mopped up a couple more times as well to have six of her 14 touches in the quarter. She is such a lovely ball user that a rare turnover when switching play is noticeable, and while her kick went out of bounds missing the uncontested target, most of the time she was able to drill bullets to teammates further afield, or buy time by going backwards to loose numbers.

#45 Amelia Hamod
Key Forward | 186cm | 03/09/2009

Stats: 8 disposals, 1 mark, 4 tackles, 11 hitouts, 1 clearance, 1 inside 50, 2 goals

Played out of full-forward and presented consistently, having the extra height advantage on Maeve Gill. While not getting a lot of easy looks against the Vic Metro defender, Hamod was very nimble at ground level, making the most of a dropped mark by her opponent near the big sticks to pounce and stretch the margin out to 27 points late in the third term. That was her second goal after launching a ripping major right on quarter time from a forward stoppage gree kick that bounced over hands to be given the all-clear.

EASTERN RANGES:

#3 Scout Semple
Midfielder/Forward | 162cm | 03/10/2008

Stats: 15 disposals, 2 marks, 9 tackles, 3 clearances, 3 inside 50s

The big-game player capped off her year as one of the more damaging Ranges players in the contest, rotating between midfield and attack, and constantly trying to break through tackles and feed the ball out to free runners. Not often afforded too much space herself, Semple showed her dual-sidedness by foot, and set up some scoring chances through the game including a goal to Isabella Lord in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. Oozes X-factor and while not a massive ball-winner consistently, just impacts with each touch.

#6 Alira Barnard-Rossely
Forward/Midfielder | 167cm | 05/10/2009

Stats: 11 disposals, 1 mark, 5 tackles, 2 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s

Cracked in for four quarters, and while the efficiency was lower – like many players in what was ultimately a hotly contested scrap – Barnard-Rossely fought the good fight and gave as good as she got. Starting forward and rotating around the ball at different points, she worked up the ground and showed a nice sidestep inside the defensive 50 at one point, with only that final execution letting her down at times. An exciting prospect with plenty of upside though, and will be one to watch in 2027.

#12 Emily Rankin
Midfielder/Forward | 166cm | 11/05/2008

Stats: 21 disposals, 1 mark, 5 tackles, 6 clearances, 1 inside 50, 2 rebound 50s

The usually composed Rankin was a symbol of the incredible pressure Dandenong applied in the match, with the neat ball-user making some rushed errors trying to free the ball to space. She was still effective in close, sensational by hand, but rarely got time to settle when exiting stoppages by foot and was forced to just get the ball forward at all costs. She never gave in, and continually worked to extract the ball with a team-high six clearances to close out her top-age campaign. A whopping nine hardball gets in the loss.

#22 Kyra Simmons
Tall Forward | 177cm | 28/09/2009

Stats: 8 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles, 1 rebound 50, 1 goal

Not a lot of touches for Simmons, but liked the impact she had, which included one goal and a direct goal assist. Her brilliant tackle in the last few minutes of the second term earned her a free kick and a set shot in the pocket which she nailed, then her lovely low bullet inside 50 during the third quarter provided April Dye with an important major. Looked busy, worked hard in that pure forward role, but having had her stints on the wing later in the season, expect her to spend time there, or on-ball in 2027.

#35 Brylee Anderson
Midfielder/Forward | 173cm | 25/03/2008

Stats: 26 disposals, 1 mark, 7 tackles, 5 clearances, 6 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s

Anderson finished her Talent League Girls campaign in style the last three weeks, with her 26 touches coming after back-to-back 30-plus disposal weeks. She was the standout Ranges player in the contest, with her defensive pressure and coalface work crucial elements in her game. She too had a tendency to go for distance or clear the ball at all costs, but she and Rankin racked up hardball gets for fun as they did all they could to try and drag their side over the line. Will be highly sought after in the AFLW Draft.