DANDENONG Stingrays went three from three to open the 2026 Talent League Girls season, holding off a late Oakleigh Chargers charge to claim a four-point win at Kinetic Stadium. The Chargers led by 14 points at quarter time but were kept goalless across the second and third terms as the Stingrays turned the game on its head, building a 10-point buffer in the final quarter before a late Cleo Barbakas goal cut the deficit to four and made for a nervous finish.

We took note of some of the players who caught the eye in the clash.

DANDENONG STINGRAYS:

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

Stats: 16 disposals, 4 marks, 6 tackles, 5 clearances, 4 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s

Marsh was active and influential through all four quarters, doing her best work at the centre bounces and in transition. Her natural feel for the ball showed up repeatedly – a superb touch on the wing off the bounce, a well-timed break forward to kick to a dangerous spot, and a composed mark in space before going long inside 50. Five clearances in a contested game reflects the value Dandenong is getting from her new on-ball role, and while there was one errant kick on the opposite foot from defence in the third, her ability to recover and keep contributing late – reading the ball off hands perfectly from a centre clearance in the final term – is a strong sign of her development.

#5 Gabrielle Mehrmann
Key Defender | 180cm | 11/09/2008

Stats: 12 disposals, 1 mark, 5 tackles, 3 rebound 50s

Mehrmann did the unglamorous work that keeps a back half ticking. Rarely losing a contest she was involved in, quick hands under pressure, strong tackling and even taking a composed mark as part of a well-executed switch were the highlights of a consistent afternoon. The Dandenong captain leads by example.

#10 Evi Irving
Wing/Midfielder | 167cm | 18/12/2008

Stats: 14 disposals, 4 marks, 3 tackles, 1 clearance, 8 inside 50s

Dabbling on-ball while still predominantly playing wing gave a taste into Irving’s versatility. She was a chaser and harasser from the first minute and it never let up, and her run and carry was the Stingrays’ most consistent forward transitioning weapon across the middle quarters. An intercept mark at half-forward set up a dangerous inside 50 entry early, and her ability to release teammates under pressure, including a lovely hands-off to Brittain in the third, showed how dangerous she can be both with and without the ball. A consistent performer who keeps generating no matter how the game is going.

#11 Lily Brittain
Midfielder/Wing | 161cm | 26/01/2009

Stats: 18 disposals, 1 mark, 4 tackles, 2 clearances, 4 inside 50s

The liveness Brittain brings to a contest is immediately apparent. She broke away with the first handball out of the middle, followed up with a tackle on Godfrey to win a holding the ball free, and didn’t stop competing from there. Her ability to extract cleanly under pressure – be it via hand or foot – is a real trait. One of Vic Country’s most exciting bottom-agers without a doubt and packs a punch for a player of her size.

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

Stats: 15 disposals, 8 tackles, 3 clearances, 1 inside 50, 1 rebound 50, 1 goal

Eight tackles is the headline, but Zach’s pressure was relentless all day. She accumulated well around the stoppages in the middle terms and was right place, right time at the top of the goalsquare two minutes into the final quarter, throwing it on the right boot to put her side up by 10. That ability to turn pressure work into scoreboard impact from a midfielder-defender is exactly the kind of contribution that wins tight games.

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

Stats: 19 disposals, 4 marks, 5 tackles, 1 inside 50, 6 rebound 50s

Bologa’s read of the play is consistently ahead of where you expect a bottom-ager to be. A smother on an attempted shot on goal in defence was a highlight of the first half, and the final quarter showcased her best – a lovely wing mark followed by a well-placed long kick, then a perfect intercept of a handball converted into a pinpoint delivery into the forward half. She sees options others don’t and executes them cleanly. A real star of the future.

OAKLEIGH CHARGERS:

#3 Cleo Barbakas
Ruck/Forward | 182cm | 07/01/2009

Stats: 16 disposals, 1 mark, 6 tackles, 14 hitouts, 7 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50, 1 goal

Barbakas was Oakleigh’s most dangerous player for most of the afternoon and her late goal made for a tense finish. Her athleticism – leaping high at contests, thumping a long kick inside 50, winning the ball cleanly at ground level – set her apart throughout. The connection with Mazzei through the ruck in the first half was excellent. Her defining moment came in the dying minutes: she ran forward as Oakleigh’s deepest player, gathered cleanly against two opponents and snapped high – just bending inside the post to cut the deficit to four. She then won the next ruck tap and laid a great tackle in follow-up. The complete package in a tough game, and one AFLW clubs will be tracking closely in the years ahead.

#5 Isabelle Godfrey
Wing | 162cm | 11/08/2008

Stats: 19 disposals, 4 marks, 1 tackle, 2 inside 50s, 3 rebound 50s

The dancing feet that define Godfrey’s game were on show all afternoon. She forced turnovers with her movement, found space in the front half when others couldn’t, and delivered her best individual moment in the third – a change of direction on the last line of defence where she checked, saw no options, darted back toward goal and switched play to save a certain turnover. Her ground coverage was terrific. A dependable two-way wing who does her best work in motion.

#11 Isabella Mazzei
Midfielder | 169cm | 06/06/2008

Stats: 24 disposals, 7 tackles, 5 clearances, 9 inside 50s, 1 rebound 50, 1 goal

There is something relentlessly competitive about Mazzei that makes her such a compelling player to watch. Nine inside 50s and seven tackles emphasise how she is impacting both offensively and defensively, while her clean hands in congestion throughout are her standout trait. Her goal from a 50-metre penalty got the team up and about, and the sequence in the second term where she broke through a tackle at a centre bounce, kicked inside 50, then immediately after a Stingrays goal won the next ball, laid a tackle to earn a holding the ball free and delivered to Bown on the lead was elite football. The front-on tackle on the half-time siren – refusing to let an opponent escape at half-forward – summed her up perfectly. A big start to the year and really took that number one on-ball spot in the absence of Zoe Curry.

#17 Scarlett Bown
Tall Forward | 179cm | 22/09/2009

Stats: 15 disposals, 3 marks, 1 tackle, 1 inside 50, 5 behinds

Playing deep forward in the absence of Bailee Martin, Bown had one of those days where the scoreboard did not do her justice. The craft and positioning were there throughout – great leads, strong marks – but five behinds from shots that were on target and well-structured will frustrate. A chance in the final term after a good mark was touched on the line. The underlying forward game is clearly developing well. Still a bottom-ager with enormous potential ahead of the 2027 AFLW Draft.

#20 Ruby Douglas
Midfielder/Defender | 166cm | 10/07/2009

Stats: 9 disposals, 1 mark, 4 tackles, 4 clearances, 3 inside 50s

Four clearances from nine disposals tells the story – Douglas is compact, well-positioned and instinctively smart around the stoppages. Her reading of the ruck taps is a clear trait, and her centre clearance work in the final quarter – a burst forward and clean kick inside 50 to a leading target – caught the eye. One of those players who does not need a lot of it to tell the story, because each touch is recognisable.

#31 Sophia Green
Midfielder/Defender | 170cm | 22/11/2008

Stats: 22 disposals, 4 marks, 9 tackles, 4 clearances, 4 inside 50s, 4 rebound 50s

Green was a most prolific ball-winner alongside Mazzei and Phillips, and her defensive work around the ground was superb. She finds the ball in volumes and generates at both ends – charging out of defence repeatedly and finding good targets going forward, while also laying big tackles and competing fiercely. A risky corridor kick from the wing in a 1v2 in the final quarter that came off was a highlight of her offensive instinct. With father-daughter ties to Carlton, there is plenty of interest to see how her season develops.

#36 Molly Phillips
Forward | 165cm | 01/10/2008

Stats: 22 disposals, 5 marks, 3 tackles, 1 clearance, 4 inside 50s, 1 goal

Phillips was busy and effective across multiple roles, doing her best work in space and on the spread. She reads the play well – marking in the corridor and keeping her run, reading the play in the middle to go inside 50 cleanly – and her spreading on the outside was a consistent feature. Her goal from a brought-back free kick after being pushed was executed neatly under pressure. A player growing in confidence week-on-week.