By Tyler Lewis
NAB LEAGUE
PREVIEW – ELIMINATION FINAL
CALDER CANNONS v DANDENONG STINGRAYS
LAST WEEK:
The Stingrays shook the monkey off the back at the right time of the year, defeating the Murray Bushrangers 13.13 (91) to 10.10 (70).
Ned Cahill was at his damaging best as the Rays sent a shiver down the spine of every NAB League coach in the competition.
Contested bull Luca Goonan was named in the best for Dandenong while Hayden Young turned heads yet again.
Last week the Calder Cannons snuck home in a brilliant final term to punish the wasteful Tasmania Devils, 9.9 (63) to 7.15 (57).
Three goals in the space of 10 minutes secured the win for the Cannons as they moved into the next stage of the finals series.
Harrison Minton-Connell booted two last quarter goals to reward his side with another week in the NAB League.
Dandenong players to watch: Hayden Young, Ned Cahill and Cody Weightman
Hayden Young is always a player to watch, but in finals time the Stingrays captain will be watched closely to how he reacts on the big stage.
He performed well at the Nationals and for the Academy in the big games but finals time has a different feeling.
Will no doubt cop a tag or two but has proven he only needs five minutes of his best football to win a game for the Rays.
In the big games, the zippy small forwards are the ones to do miraculous things in front of goal.
Cody Weightman has returned from school footy and in recent weeks has been a bit quiet, but it didn’t stop the Haileybury College student from making the team of the year during the week but the more the livewire is kept quiet, the more threatening his explosion becomes, and it will come.
Ned Cahill was the most damaging player on the ground last week, with raw speed and natural forward craft – the small forward will be looking to slot a few at the venue of the Rays inaugural premiership last year.
Calder players to watch: Brodie Newman, Daniel Mott and Sam Ramsay
Brodie Newman was named in the back pocket of the team of the year and will be patrolling the backline trying to prevent any easy penetration to the Stingrays forwards.
Can drift up the ground and take a big mark at 193cm, which may cause a headache for the Rays with a relatively smaller side.
Clearances often come thick and fast for Daniel Mott, was named best on for the Cannons in their narrow loss to the Ranges that was decided after the siren.
Although weighing approximately 76kg, the midfielder doesn’t shy away from the contested stuff, averaging almost four tackles a game this year.
Sam Ramsay is one of the most exciting wingmen in the competition – with raw pace, he can often collect a large amount of the ball in a matter of minutes.
Ramsay loves to take the game on and drive the metres gained, a huge task for Lachlan Williams from Dandenong who has been playing on the wing as of late if he is to line up on Ramsay.
LAST TIME THEY MET:
The two sides met during the National championships carnival, neither side were at their best but Calder had a significant win, 17.5 (107) to 5.9 (39).
The Cannons piled on seven unanswered majors in the last term to rub salt into the wound of the weakened Stingrays.
Jack Toner was named the best for Dandenong for his 28 disposals and a goal while bottom-ager Ashton Williamson slotted three.
For Calder, Mason Fletcher filled his boots with four majors while Sam Ramsay had it on a string with 32 possessions.
PREDICTION:
This game will be won and lost at the Dandenong forward end; the Cannons will hurt the Rays in transition if they don’t apply the scoreboard pressure.
The Cannons have a very sound all round 23, but the stars of both sides are outweighed in the Rays’ favour.
Dry conditions should mean for a high scoring affair – Dandenong to go another week into September and Weightman to explode.
GAME DETAILS
VENUE Ikon Park, North Carlton
DATE Sunday 1 September
TIME 11am
*All matches are streamed on the NAB League app*
