A stunning six-goal haul to Dandenong Stingrays forward Alice Cunnington has led Dandenong to a 15.7(97) to 4.2(26) victory over Bendigo at Shepley Oval on Saturday.
It continues a trend of improving performances at the level for Cunnington, who juggles her footballing commitments with netball.
The bottom-ager had 11 goals from just four games coming into the match, after averaging a goal per game in eight outings last year.
“She was fantastic, playing the game as a deep forward,” Dandenong coach Nathan Boyd said.
“She looked super clean and evasive in the forward line.
“As well as finishing with 6.2, she gave three or four off, so she had one of those games where she was in a bit of everything.
“She’s almost a complete package – she does it on the ground, she does it aerially, she has a beautiful kick and she has clean hands.
“She does a lot of things right so she’s pretty exciting.”
Cunnington kicked 3.1 in a 41-0 first quarter which put the ‘Rays in a commanding position to run away with the game.
Having spent time in defence this year, Kiara Triep had a breakthrough performance, kicking 3.2 and laying seven tackles to play a major part in Dandenong’s dominance.
Marlee Black and Nikita Harris helped the Stingrays win it out of the middle, with the pair both recording a team-high 19 disposals.
“Marlee had a neat game as an inside mid so it was cool to see her in that role, Nikita Harris was strong defensively for us as well which was important,” Boyd said.
“Bridget Koczek as a key defender had some important moments and looked nice and composed.”
Debutant Frankie Shepard also caught the eye despite having just four disposals, competing well in the ruck against Bendigo’s Sasha Pearce who has 32 games of Coates League experience under her belt.
