Ranges runaway after weathering Dragons' hot start
By Marcus Uhe
A hard-working Sandringham have lost to an efficient Eastern outfit, going down by 49
points at Kilsyth Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
In slippery conditions, the crafty Tilly Mottram opened the scoring with an impressive kick off the ground, swooping on a clever tap from Abby Thompson in a marking contest.
A miserly Dragons defensive gave the Ranges early headaches, keeping them scoreless to quarter time.
Thompson and Ebony Angelopoulos were applying the heat to Eastern's defenders early, the latter providing a constant marking threat in the forward 50.
But the Ranges soon swung the momentum, kicking three goals to zero in the second stanza.
The dogged defending of Natasha Morris and Lucy Mitchell helped stem the Ranges' flow, and both backs were rock-
solid all day.
Mitchell saved a certain goal late in the term with a great run-down tackle, while Morris was not afraid to leave her opponent to intercept the ball.
Charlotte Ryan and Tayla Jones worked tirelessly on the wings, with their run and carry crucial to the
Dragons' surges forward, while Sofia Hurley's clean hands at stoppages impressed.
Eastern eventually ran out 49-point winners after three-goal final quarter to finish the game.
Despite the result, Coach Jackson Kornberg was proud of the girls’ resilience.
“I can’t question the girls’ effort, not just today but throughout the season,” Kornberg said. “Their intensity and effort at the contest is super."
Kornberg singled-out Angelopoulos as one player who went unrewarded for a strong performance,
despite her energy in the forward line creating opportunities for others.
The Dragons have a month off before their next game, but Kornberg says the girls need to continue to work on
their deficiencies.
“We’ve got four weeks off. We’ll continue to train throughout that period of time to keep working
on the areas that we spoke about around capitalising on inside 50s.
“It’s important to still train, but also to come back refreshed, so that we’re able to come back and hit the
ground running when we play on April 25 against Murray in Wangaratta.”
Sandringham Dragons 1.4 (10) defeated by Eastern Ranges 9.5 (59)
Best: S. Hurley, C. Ryan, A. Luca, E. Angelopoulos, N. Morris, S. Trim, A. Thomspon
Goals: A. Thompson