By Jonty Ralphsmith
The Dandenong Stingrays boys were outclassed 8.16 64 to 5.1 31.
Nick Cox’s team managed only one goal after halftime but remained in the game for a long period thanks to GWV’s inaccuracy, with bottom-aged player Harvey Langford continuing his meteoric rise in 2023.
Vic Country players Harry DeMattia (17 touches, seven tackles), Kade De La Rue (15 touches, eight tackles), Kobe Shipp (19 touches) and Billy Wilson (19 touches, 10 rebound 50s) each tried to get things going at different stages.
The Stingrays girls picked up an expected win as part of that double header at Mars Stadium in Ballarat, winning 9.3 57 to 1.3 9.
Bottom-aged key-position player Zoe Besanko had a breakout game, combining four goals with 17 disposals, five tackles and seven hitouts as she used her frame to stamp her authority on the game.
Mikayla Williamson was typically classy and hard runner Nikita Harris found more of the footy than she has in recent weeks, finishing with 19 possessions and 11 tackles.
Meanwhile, Inverloch-Kongwak draft prospect Archer Reid pieced together an impressive performance for the Gippsland Power on the weekend.
The key forward kicked four goals in what loomed as an intriguing match up against an undermanned Sandringham Dragons.
It had the Power leading at Morwell by a goal entering the final quarter before they were ultimately overrun, losing 9.10 64 to 15.9 99.
Reid, the brother of Essendon’s Zach and a first round draft fancy, also finished with eight marks and 17 hitouts while Zane Duursma racked up 22 touches and a goal.
Captain Seb Amoroso was effective as a half-forward rotating into the midfield, finishing with 25 disposals and a goal, and smooth mover Xavier Lindsay also played a role.
The girls were also overrun in the first match of the double header, surrendering a lead which stretched to 19 points when Jas Sowden kicked a goal early in the second quarter.
Sowden combined 21 touches with 11 tackles to continue a vein of good form, while 15-year-old Abby Hobson took six marks for two goals in arguably her best game of Talent League footy.
Ella Stoddart’s rebound and Ash Centra’s star-power were typically on show but the Dragons hit the front halfway through the final quarter and held it thereafter, winning 7.4 46 to 5.2 32.
