Dragons stall against the Jets
By Marcus Uhe
Sandringham’s unbeaten start to 2021 has come to an end, going down to the Western Jets by 15 points at Trevor Barker Oval on Saturday morning.
An eight-goal-to-one third quarter was the difference in the game, with Western going on to record their second win of the year, 11.12 78 to Sandy’s 9.9 63.
It was a tight opening quarter, with neither side making the most of their opportunities inside 50. Blake Howes opened the scoring early with a set shot from 40 metres, before Western kicked their first late in the term, to take a two-point lead into quarter time.
Nicholas Grech and Luke Cleary were stalwarts in defense, repelling a number of attacks and taking the game on with handball chains and aggressive ball movement.
Finn Callaghan relished the opportunity to play as an inside midfielder winning plenty of the ball at the contest, having spent the majority of his season on the wing.
The game opened-up in the second term and Sandy managed to create some separation on the scoreboard, kicking four goals to Western’s one.
Howes bagged a second from distance, his kick hanging high in the air coming back nicely in the breeze. Ollie Lowe got on the end of some run-and-carry from Tom Blamires in the middle of the ground to kick his first for the club, before an electric cameo from Eren Soylemez pushed the margin to 14 at the long break.
The crafty forward turned his defender inside-out and snapped truly from a tight angle to grab his first, then added a second with a textbook front-and-square crumb off a marking contest.
He was denied a hattrick in the space of 10 minutes by the woodwork when he was unable to convert a set shot late in the term.
It was the third quarter where things went south for the Dragons. A Luke Nankervis snap from the boundary was the only highlight as the Jets kicked eight, including the final five of the term, to create a 28-point lead at the final break.
The Dragons needed a fast start to the last quarter and they got it through Nankervis’ second goal in the first minute.
Soylemez grabbed a third and Joe Nowell his first for the day as they pressed hard for the win, but ultimately the deficit was too much for an inexperienced squad to overcome.
Nicholas Grech and Luke Cleary were stalwarts in defense, repelling a number of attacks and taking the game on with handball chains and aggressive ball movement.
Whilst disappointed with the result, Coach Jackson Kornberg was quick to put the outcome into context.
“The main message that I said to the boys was that it’s only round five; it’s not the back end of the season and we’re not in finals,” Kornberg said. “It’s really important to have some perspective on what point of the season it is.”
“In saying that, there were some key areas we got beaten in pretty significantly, around the ball, particularly stoppage and ground ball, and their ability to spread offensively was something that we anticipated.
We knew that that was their strength but we certainly didn’t combat it as well as we would have liked to.”
It was a new-look side for the Dragons with several key players unavailable for selection through VFL call-ups, injury and school football commitments.
Seven players represented the club for the first time, and a number of players were required to play different roles, the likes of Howes, Finn Callaghan and Lachie Benton shouldering the responsibility of more time in the middle.
Kornberg was pleased with his squad’s ability to fill gaps and play their role, while also blooding a number of players to the level for the first time.
“To have 12 changes this week, seven of them debut and two of them are under 17, it’s a really cool thing for the program to be able to blood some young kids as 17-year-olds, but also some kids who have played NAB League before, five existing guys who played NAB League come in for their first game for the year.
I think the majority of them held their own and certainly pushed themselves up for the rest of the year, which is super.
“I think Finn was outstanding in the midfield. I think it was his first game playing inside-mid, we’ve seen him play at St Bede’s with ACC footy on Wednesdays playing inside-mid and going forward so we know he can do that, so I was really happy with his game.
“Blake Howes as well, coming up onto the wing after playing the first three games forward, he showed his marking power and his ability to go forward after that, that was really positive from Blake.”
The Dragons look to get back on the winners list next Sunday against the Gold Coast Suns Academy in Brisbane.
Sandringham Dragons: 1.2 8 – 5.3 33 – 6.4 40 – 9.9 63
Western Jets: 1.4 10 – 2.7 19 – 10.8 68 – 11.12 78
Best players: Finn Callaghan, Blake Howes, Dante Visentini, Charlie McKay, Eren Soylemez, Ben Hempel
Goalkickers: Eren Soylemez 3, Luke Nankervis 2, Blake Howes 2, Ollie Lowe, Joe Nowell.
Club Debuts: Ben Mansfield, Ben Hempel, Harry Sheezel, Felix Flockart, Jack Forer, Lewis Castle, Nicholas Salmon.