The exciting Dandenong Stingrays prospects to watch in 2025

The Dandenong Stingrays are gearing up for 2025 on the back of a fairly successful 2024 campaign.

They finished third on the Coates Talent League ladder, played in a Preliminary Final and had four players drafted onto AFL lists.

Harvey Langford at Pick 6 to Melbourne, Cooper Hynes at Pick 20 to the Bulldogs, Noah Mraz at Pick 35 to Hawthorn and Riak Andrew at Pick 55 to Sydney made up the quartet of ‘Rays who were selected after impressive seasons under coach Nick Cox.

But who are the players to watch in the Dandenong setup in 2025?

On SEN’s Future Stars, Cox provided a rundown of the key three consisting of co-captains Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves and Max Lee, as well as the powerful Tairon Ah-Mu.

On Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves:

“Noah Higgins-Hagreaves had an opportunity at the National Championships last year. He played (for Vic Country) in Western Australia and was really good as a bottom-ager,” Cox said

“He’s a 185-186cm half-forward. He plays the modern game very well, up and down, getting involved in offence and defence. He’s quite classy with his decision-making and execution. He’s very good in the air as well.

“He’s had a real emphasis over the summer to be a lot better in his leadership qualities. We made him co-captain on the back of being really good at that.

“He’s one that is going to stand out for us.”

On Max Lee:

“Max Lee, the other co-captain, is a little but unknown.

“He did his collarbone and missed the back end of last year. He won the 20m sprint at the Rookie Me testing the either week, the best out of the Coates League.

“He plays with real power and speed across half-back. He’s quite brave in the air and he’s probably got a mechanism that not many kids have got and that’s defensive. He’s got to learn to be a little bit better with his offensive stuff.

“But he’s going along nicely.”

On Tairon Ah-Mu:

“Big Tez Ah-Mu is a key forward/ruck who is nice and strong and can be a real presence on the ground.

“He’s improved in some of the areas he needed to in the off-season. Hopefully he can produce some excitement throughout the year.”

The Stingrays, who were beaten by eventual premiers Sandringham Dragons in last year’s prelim, kick off their 2025 season against the Geelong Falcons this Sunday.

The match takes place at Trevor Barker Oval in Sandringham from 12:30pm AEDT.

Some other Stingrays players who are likely to be around the mark when it comes to draft conversations include Josh Granger, Louis Hodder, Archie Le Clerc, Sam Lewis and Toby Sinnema.

For a snapshot of the key Dandenong kids in 2025, read below.

Noah Hibbins-Hargreaves
A member of the Vic Country hub & AFL Academy, Noah featured for Vic Country as a 17-year-old in 2024 and had a terrific season for Dandenong Stingrays. Co-captain alongside Max Lee for 2025, Noah will look to build on his form from last year where he was mainly used as a high half-forward and on the wing. Good overhead and a terrific one-touch player.

Max Lee
Co-captain for Dandenong and a Vic Country hub member, Max experienced a great start to the season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Blessed with explosive speed, Max topped the recent 20m testing and has the ability to use this attribute in games dashing off the half-back line.

Tairon Ah-Mu
A hulking 198cm key forward/ruck, Tairon is also a Vic Country hub member primed for a big year. An explosive athlete who is clean below his knees and overhead, he also has a reliable shot for goal. He will split his time between Dandenong Stingrays and Haileybury College.

Josh Granger
A developing tall who can play at either end of the ground, Josh is a member of the Vic Country hub and Brighton Grammar. Having only featured once for Dandenong in 2024, Josh will juggle his footy in the Coates Talent League (CTL) and APS at Brighton where they will look to go back to back.

Louis Hodder
With limited CTL opportunities in 2024, Louis focused a lot of his time and energy in the Haileybury College program under the tutelage of Matthew Lloyd. Predominantly used forward last year, Louis has had a strong pre-season and will look to make an impact in the midfield. Terrific user of the footy and is very agile.

Archie Le Clerc
Burst onto the scene in 2024 after breaking into the team toward the back end of the season. Kicking nine goals from eight games, Archie will likely be used forward of the footy where he has shown great goal craft.

Sam Lewis
A big-bodied inside mid, Sam missed a lot of footy last year due to injury. With the ability to win the ball inside and out, plus push forward, Sam will be a player to watch this season.

Toby Sinnema
A Melbourne NGA prospect who is also a member of the Vic Country hub, Toby has been part of the Dandenong Stingrays program over the last few years after making his debut as a 16-year-old in 2023. A classy left-footer who covers the ground well, Toby has mainly be used on the wing.

A few bottom-agers to also follow who are eligible for the 2026 draft are Gus Kennedy, Darcy Szerszyn, Marcus Prasad and Mitch Toner.