Dragons Battle Hard Against Ranges in Round 1
By Alannah Crowhurst
In strong windy conditions, our Sandringham Dragons girls, coached by Martha Cantwell, took on the Eastern Rangers for the first hit out of the 2024 U18 Girls Coates Talent League at RSEA Park. It was an exciting first round for 7 prospective debutants: Margot Whitney, Milly Nankervis, Macy Watkins, Hannah Foran, Lucia Turnbull, Tora Fagan, and late in Cyan Vandermerwe.
The Rangers were dominant in this first term, with much of the ball kept toward their 50. However, with strong pressure from Daisy Flockhart with a strong run out of the pack down the center, the Rangers were limited to 0 goals the first quarter. Alexandra Calogero also contributed lots of half-back pressure in the first term, getting her body into the pack and creating lots of contested turnover possessions through handballs. This first term warmed up the Dragons, with Rangers leading by 4 points at quarter time, 0 to 4.
Sandringham’s strength in the second quarter looked promising with a big centre bounce tap from debutant Margot Whitney. Sandringham put up a tough fight in defense, limiting the Rangers ball flow but ultimately not their score, as they managed to put 3 goals on the board by the end of the quarter. The rangers also seemingly got under Sandringham’s skin, as little errors resulting in held balls and free kicks proved costly for Sandringham’s time with the ball in their forward 50. Scout Howden (29 disposals) displayed another excellent effort with an intercept mark at half back, demonstrating Sandringham’s immense strength in the backline against a fierce attack from the Rangers. Half time saw the Rangers up by 27 with Sandringham yet to score, 0 to 27.
A slow start in the third quarter for the Dragons was warmed up by first gamer Macy Watkins with an impressive handball out of pack on the boundary in the backline, setting the motion for Sandringham’s smooth transition down the field to their forward end. In the midfield stoppage, an impressive clearance from Olive McLean to Gabi Trajer who kicked it down the line demonstrated Sandringham’s connective ability to move the ball precisely and quickly under pressure. With a few points on the scoreboard for Sandringham, Rangers were up by 34 at three-quarter time, 2 - 36.
The first goal of the fourth term was greatly awarded to Sienna Sharp as Sandringham managed to make a much-needed impact on the scoreboard. This quarter demonstrated a final push from Dragons, who had significantly more ball time in their forward 50 compared to all other quarters in the game. Georgia Zuchowski slotted an impressive set shot goal for Sandringham, rewarding the girls’ hard work for the game with proof on the scoreboard, however, ending the game in a 35-point loss to the Rangers. The Dragons girls will now reset and focus on preparing for round 2 against Western Jets this Sunday 14th April, 1:30 at Trevor Barker Oval.
SCORES Q1 - 0.0. 0 - 0.4. 4 Q2 - 0.0 0 - 3.9. 27 Q3 - 0.2. 2 - 4.12. 36 Q4 - 2.4. 16 - 6.15. 51
GOALS: S.Sharp, G. Zuchowski.
BEST ON: S.Howden, J.Goldman, D.Flockart, G.Zuchowski, M.Watkins, S.Sharp