South Spotlight | Shelley hits game winner for Blues

Featured image: Trent Moore Sports Photography

It was a tense NBL1 South battle all evening with neither team ever going up double-figures and it was a big late one-legged floater from Austin Shelley that was the winner as the Frankston Blues beat the Dandenong Rangers 88-86.

The Rangers arrived at Jubilee Park Stadium on Anzac Day eve sitting on top of the NBL1 South having won four of five games so far in 2026 while Frankston were back home fresh off a last up win over the Kilsyth Cobras.

The biggest lead of the game was the nine points that Dandenong were up by in the second quarter, but no more than six separated them through the entire second half.

In the end, a huge shot in traffic from Shelley gave Frankston the two-point lead which they held to the end after Harry Froling was fouled with time running out and couldn’t convert for Dandenong at the free-throw line.

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The Blues made it back-to-back wins to improve to 4-2 on the season with Austin Shelley not only hitting the game winning shot but ending up with 23 points on 10/17 field goal shooting.

Jack Stanwix also worked himself into the ground on his way to 22 points, four rebounds and two blocks with 8/14 shooting from the floor and 3/7 from downtown.

Dibaji Walker ended up with 16 points, five rebounds and three steals, Daniel Trist 10 points, nine boards and six assists, and Tom Garrett seven points, six rebounds and three assists.

It's just a second loss on the season for Dandenong with Joe Palmer finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds while Harry Froling had another 19 points, six boards and three assists but he'll be kicking himself over going 3/10 at the free-throw line.

Sam Davidson added 14 points, two assists and two steals, Joe Lubarsky 12 points and four rebounds, and Ryan Rapp nine points, six boards and two assists.

Both teams came into the Anzac Day eve match up in winning form and they put on an entertaining and high-scoring opening quarter combining for 58 points.

Dandenong ended up leading 31-27 by quarter-time with 10 of their points from Joe Palmer while the Rangers shot 65 per cent from the floor to 53 from the Blues to have the narrow lead after one.

The scoring rate dropped away in the second frame but the combativeness of both teams didn’t and by half-time it was the Rangers just clinging to the 47-46 advantage.

Palmer and Harry Froling had combined for 24 of their points with Jack Stanwix and Dibaji Walker having 27 for Frankston in the opening half.

Dandenong did push back out to a six-point lead in the third quarter before nine straight points from Frankston saw them grab the lead back, and by three quarter-time it was the Rangers narrowly in front by a solitary point.

That set up a big finish and after Austin Shelley scored to return Frankston to the one-point lead with just under two minutes to go, Froling responded with a huge three ball for Dandenong.

Tom Garrett and Stanwix then scored the next two buckets to give the Blues a two-point lead with 30 seconds on the clock only for Michael Meadows to make his only field goal of the game for Dandenong to level scores up.

The game's biggest shot was then a one-legged floater in traffic from Shelley to give Frankston the two-point lead, but coming out of a timeout there was still time for Dandenong.

The Rangers got the ball inside to Froling and he was fouled, but he missed the first and then intentionally missed the second to try and give his team the shot at an offensive rebound, but it wasn’t to be.

Dandenong now don't play again until hosting the Ringwood Hawks next Saturday while Frankston are on the road to the Ballarat Miners this Sunday.

NBL1 SOUTH 2026 SEASON | ANZAC ROUND

FRANKSTON BLUES 88 (Shelley 23, Stanwix 22, Walker 16)

DANDENONG RANGERS 86 (Palmer 21, Froling 19, Davidson 14)