A review of all the action from Round 4 of the 2024 Smithy’s VFL season.
FRANKSTON vs NORTHERN BULLANTS
FRANKSTON 2.5 5.9 9.15 11.19 (85)
NORTHERN BULLANTS 1.1 3.2 4.4 4.10 (34)
FRANKSTON climbed into the top six with its second consecutive victory after overwhelming the Northern Bullants by 51 points in an error-riddled but entertaining Smithy’s VFL clash at Kinetic Stadium on Friday night.
The Dolphins have long had an issue with their goal kicking, and so it proved again as they sprayed shots all over the place on their way to 11 goals from 30 scores, plus several others that missed altogether.
Missing two of their best players in suspended pair Liam Mackie and John Roumeliotis, the Bullants took the contest up to the Dolphins gamely and probably had four of the top six players on the ground, but they didn’t have the depth to sustain it for the whole night and also missed out on several clear scoring chances.
Jean-Luc Velissaris (43 disposals, seven marks) and Patrick Fairlie (37 disposals, 11 clearances) knocked up winning the ball through the middle for the Ants, Saad El-Hawli (31 disposals, six marks) never stopped across half-back and Sam Hayes was tireless in defence, shutting down Noah Gown and racking up 26 disposals, 12 marks and 12 rebounds of his own.
Other Bullants to impress included Caleb Franks, who was also strong with 19 touches, 11 tackles and a goal and John Jorgensen who threw himself at the ball in a game that was better than his numbers suggest.
But Frankston simply had a more even spread as it kicked 6.10 to 1.8 in the second half to ease away to the comfortable victory.
The Dolphins were led by some terrific work down back from Tyson Milne (28 disposals, seven marks), George Grey (21 disposals), Tom Murphy (30 disposals, seven marks, 12 clearances, eight tackles, seven inside-50s), Seb Quirk (21 disposals), Blake O’Leary (25 disposals) and Matt Johnson (five marks, three goals).
Tomo Owens was quiet but provided the highlight of the night with a wonderful double-back baulk and goal late in the game, while Trent Mynott was about to explode after 14 disposals and two goals when he injured his hamstring midway through the third term.
ESSENDON vs SOUTHPORT SHARKS
ESSENDON 2.3 4.8 5.8 8.10 (58)
SOUTHPORT SHARKS 2.4 3.4 5.11 7.17 (59)
SOUTHPORT came from the clouds in time-on of the last quarter to steal a one-point triumph over Essendon at the NEC Hangar on Saturday.
The Sharks trailed almost exclusively from Jayden Davey’s goal two minutes into the second quarter and never really looked like winning despite taking a narrow lead into the final term after Brayden Crossley kicked a goal just before the siren.
Essendon draftee Vigo Visentini stepped up to kick back-to-back goals early in the last term and when Tex Wanganeen put the Bombers 14 points up at the 22-minute mark of a game that Southport had kicked just five goals in, it appeared the home team would break through for their first win of the year.
But the Sharks, who had done everything in their power to lose with some ordinary kicking for goal, responded with Hugh Dixon and then Jackson Edwards hitting the target to level the scores as the clock ticked past 30 minutes.
They stormed forward again and recruit Keegan Gray scrambled a behind to pinch the lead, with the siren sounding seconds after the kick-in to give them their 50th NEAFL/VFL away victory.
Missing star midfielder Jacob Dawson, the Sharks were beaten in disposals (-49) but were still able to fashion more opportunities than the Bombers with a 55-39 inside-50 count.
Boyd Woodcock (32 disposals, eight marks, one goal) starred again and Matt Shannon (22 disposals, one goal), Ben Jepson (25 disposals) and debutant Brock Aston (22 disposals, five clearances, six entries) stepped up to cover Dawson’s absence.
Sam Weideman put in a terrific shift in defence for Essendon, plucking eight marks and delivering six rebounds from 22 disposals, with Lewis Hayes (26 disposals, nine marks) also terrific.
Ex-AFL players Xavier O’Neill (28 disposals, one goal) and Jackson Hately (28 disposals) fired through the middle alongside Matt Foley (2 disposals 5, one goal) underneath the dominance of ruckman Nick Bryan (22, four marks, 33 hitouts, eight clearances). Dylan Shiel had 24 touches and eight clearances for the Bombers, with 20 of those being handballs.
WERRIBEE vs GWS GIANTS
WERRIBEE 5.3 9.5 12.8 14.14 (98)
GWS GIANTS 5.1 9.3 13.6 16.10 (106)
GWS handed Werribee its first home-and-away defeat in more than a year when it shocked the ladder-leaders by eight points in a high-quality contest at Avalon Airport Oval.
The Tigers had not been beaten in a regular-season match since losing to Geelong on April 15, 2023, and it took an early contender for the game of the season to break that streak.
Neither team was able to string more than two goals in a row together in a classic clash in which the margin was never more than the 15 points Werribee led by midway through the second term.
They went goal-for-goal early with in-form Giants ruckman Nick Madden slamming home a huge torpedo from 60m after the quarter-time siren to put his team within two points.
The Tigers had snuck out to their handy break on the back of three first-half goals to 50th gamer Nick Hayes – the first of which was his 50th in the league. Unfortunately, Hayes and GWS’s Isaac Hughes were soon after involved in a sickening accidental clash in a marking contest before half time.
It didn’t halt the desperation from either team as they continued to trade goals, with the Giants up by four points turning for home.
Kye Declase kicked truly within 22 seconds to regain the lead for Werribee and the Tigers edged clear by nine at the 17-minute mark, but they missed six opportunities to put the Giants away and paid the price as Toby McMullin kicked his fourth, Matt Harms put the visitors in front and Conor Stone (three goals) sealed a memorable victory in their 50th VFL match.
Madden had 21 disposals, seven marks, 30 hitouts and kicked two goals in a powerhouse rucking display alongside fellow big man Brayden Preuss (17 disposals, four marks, 39 hitouts, one goal) as the Giants gave their midfield first use,
When the Tigers did go forward, they often ran into Nick Haynes (26 disposals, 11 marks, 10 rebounds), Wade Derksen and Joe Fonti, who took 22 marks and 22 rebounds between them.
Dom Brew was again the workhorse under the packs for Werribee, earning 24 disposals, 13 clearances and seven inside-50s, with Jack Henderson (24 disposals), Daly Andrews (23 disposals) and Angus Hicks (21 disposals) also in form and Kye Declase (24 disposals, six marks, two goals) back to his best.
BRISBANE LIONS vs GEELONG CATS
BRISBANE LIONS 4.3 6.6 9.7 9.10 (64)
GEELONG CATS 2.5 6.9 7.12 9.13 (67)
GEELONG landed a huge upset when they ran over Brisbane Lions in the last quarter to grab a thrilling three-point win at Brighton Homes Arena.
The Cats started well but looked like being overwhelmed when the Lions kicked three goals in a row to lead by 10 points at quarter-time.
But the home team wasted an early opportunity to make the decisive break with three behinds in the first two minutes of the second quarter and when Gary Rohan booted the first of his three goals shortly after the momentum switched to the hoops.
Goals to Jed Bews, Rohan again and Ollie Wiltshire put Geelong in front by half-time and it maintained a narrow advantage for most of the third until three goals in time-on to the Lions via debutant Rohan Bailey, Bruce Reville and Harry Sharp put the home team back in the driver’s seat.
The Cats, however, were not to be denied, regaining the lead through Kaelan Bradtke and Rohan’s third goal at the six-minute mark, and they proved to be the only goals of the term as the Lions battled unsuccessfully to steal the lead back.
Mitch Hardie (32 disposals), Ted Clohesy (26 disposals) and Mitch Knevitt (25 disposals) showcased Geelong’s depth with terrific efforts through the middle, with Clohesy named best afield after also laying 13 tackles and delivering eight inside-50s.
At the back end, it was the talls who got the job done, with Connor O’Sullivan impressing on his return from his AFL debut with 24 touches and eight marks, Emerson Jeka grabbing 24 and nine marks and skipper Dan Capiron having 21 disposals and nine clunks.
Rohan only had nine touches, but his three goals were critical to the result and was an improvement in his second game after a back injury.
Jaxon Prior did his best to turn back the tide for the Lions with 26 disposals and nine rebounds alongside Darragh Joyce (25 disposals, 10 marks, six rebounds), while Bruce Reville and Harry Sharp were good through the middle, draftee Reece Torrent started to put pressure on the AFL selectors and Conor McKenna had 19 touches in his first VFL game for eight years.
BOX HILL HAWKS vs NORTH MELBOURNE
BOX HILL HAWKS 4.5 8.5 14.7 20.11 (131)
NORTH MELBOURNE 4.2 5.5 9.9 10.11 (71)
BOX HILL Hawks bounced back hard from last week’s disappointing loss to assert their premiership credentials with an ominous 60-point smacking of an undefeated North Melbourne at Fenjiu Stadium.
With VFL-listed youngster Max Hall enjoying a stunning breakout game a month out from the mid-season draft, the Hawks gradually took control after a tight but free-flowing first quarter, breaking clear with the last four goals of the second term to take an 18-point lead into the main break.
They booted six goals to four in a third quarter that featured a spectacular mark and goal from Kangaroo Finnbar Maley, and father-son recruit Calsher Dear’s third goal after the three quarter-time siren finally broke the visitors’ resolve as Box Hill piled on another six to one in the last.
Hall had averaged just over 13 disposals a game in his first two seasons and was dropped for the Hawks’ finals campaign last year but put his head down over summer to produce a best-afield performance that featured 32 disposals (18 contested), 12 marks, nine tackles, four inside-50s and two goals.
He was a big part of why Box Hill was able to win disposals (+72), marks (+35), clearances (+10) and inside-50s (+17), allowing the likes of Dear (15 disposals, five marks, four goals) to cash in with his own career-best performance, while Sam Butler booted three in a lively display after being dropped by Hawthorn.
Fellow AFL omission Josh Ward also responded in style with 27 touches, six clearances, seven tackles, seven entries and two goals and skipper Cal Porter worked hard again through the middle, while Frank Johnson medallist Callum Brown controlled things from the back with 32 disposals and six marks and Ethan Phillips returned from a week off with injury to pull in a remarkable 17 grabs.
North Melbourne looked on song when Liam Shiels, Hugh Greenwood, Curtis Taylor and Jaidyn Stephenson got involved to kick the first goal in just 15 seconds, but although the first two laid 12 and 10 tackles respectively, none were able to make a huge impact on the contest.
Skipper Jack Watkins was the clear standout for his team, working overtime to lift the Roos through the midfield with 24 touches and eight inside-50s, Brayden George continued his strong return from a knee reconstruction with an impressive display in defence to win 19 touches and five rebounds and the luckless Miller Bergman was solid in his return with 14 disposals and a goal.
WILLIAMSTOWN vs FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS
WILLIAMSTOWN 0.5 1.5 4.5 6.5 (41)
FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS 1.1 7.5 7.8 12.12 (84)
FOOTSCRAY is the only undefeated team left after four rounds as its whipped previously unbeaten Williamstown by 43 points at DSV Stadium to retain the Terry Wheeler Cup.
The Bulldogs were the only team to start the round in the top five and finish with a victory.
The Seagulls wasted their early chances to build a lead and found themselves two points down at the first change after kicking 0.5 in the first 20 minutes and it proved deadly as the visitors took their chances with the wind to bang on six goals to one in the second quarter for a match-winning 36-point advantage at the half.
Williamstown fought back with 3.0 to 0.1 in the third term but although the home team did not miss another shot at goal for the day, the damage was done and it lost for the 200th time in the VFL era.
Former Collingwood player Trent Bianco was the clear best-afield for Footscray with 26 touches, six marks, five clearances, seven tackles and three goals, with Cooper Craig-Peters continuing his strong form, draftee Joel Freijah taking 10 marks and kicking a goal and small forwards Dom Bedendo and Charlie Clarke kicking two majors each.
The Seagulls’ backline was again its strength to avoid a bigger defeat with Fin O’Dwyer, Luke Parks, Joel Fitzgerald, Cam Polson and Jake Greiser winning 105 disposals, taking 49 marks and delivering 27 rebounds between them while Jack Toner had 17 touches and a goal in his 50th State league game.
SYDNEY SWANS vs GOLD COAST SUNS
SYDNEY SWANS 1.3 3.6 6.10 8.12 (60)
GOLD COAST SUNS 3.1 4.2 6.4 9.6 (60)
GOLD COAST full-back Caleb Graham saved two points for his team with a desperate goal line lunge in the final minutes as the Suns and Sydney played a draw for the first time in their 35-match history at the SCG on Sunday.
The Swans were surging home after having given up a plethora of chances to seal the result in an error-riddled but tight contest, with a brilliant Aaron Francis snap to put them in front having been cancelled out by a calm set shot from Sam Day at the other end.
Draftee defender Patrick Snell won a one-on-three contest 30 metres from goal when the Suns were trying to seal the victory and the ball pinged up the other end where the impressive Jacob Konstanty tried to roll home what would have been his fourth from near the boundary.
It would have been perfect, but Graham charged back and put in a full-length dive to get his hands to the ball as it crossed the line.
Sydney still had two more chances, with a long shot from Jake Bartholomaeus narrowly missing from near the boundary before the final surge fell one second short as the siren sounded just as the ball squirted from a pack towards Indhi Kirk just 15m out.
Angus Sheldrick had a brilliant return from a broken finger for the Swans with 30 disposals, 10 marks, five clearances, six entries and six rebounds, while Caleb Mitchell brought his experience from his first AFL stint back to have 25 disposals, eight marks and two goals.
Ben Edwards and Corey Warner also impressed through the middle for the home side while Snell and Will Edwards were terrific down back and Konstanty finished with those three classy goals.
Rory Atkins (35 disposals) and Joel Jeffrey (29 disposals) were everywhere for Gold Coast and worked back well to also rack up 21 marks and 18 rebounds between them. Ned Moyle dominated the ruck against Peter Ladhams and Lachlan McAndrew, Ben Long backed up last week’s five-goal haul with another three and Darcy Macpherson had 19 touches and two goals in his 50th NEAFL-VFL game.
COBURG vs COLLINGWOOD
COBURG 3.0 6.8 9.10 12.15 ( 87)
COLLINGWOOD 2.5 6.5 6.10 10.12 (72)
WE’RE the Coburg Pride you know!
The jubilant words were belted out loud and proud from deep beneath the redeveloped grandstand at Piranha Park as the Lions broke a 23-match losing streak, winning their first game in 630 days and handing Jamie Cassidy-McNamara his first win as a VFL coach with a rousing 15-point defeat of Collingwood.
The Lions had not won an official VFL game since thumping Geelong by 43 points in Ballarat on July 31, 2022, but this performance was coming after they had recorded three victories in the pre-season and downed the AFL National Academy during their bye last week, as well as being 10 seconds away from a rollicking draw with Williamstown on Good Friday.
The match itself was a tight struggle in the first half as the teams went virtually goal for goal, with Coburg answering just about everything the Magpies threw at them to lead by a point at quarter-time and three at the half.
It continued in the same vein in the third term as the visitors missed a few chances and the Lions stalked their prey, with late goals to Joel Trudgeon and Josh D’Intinosante putting them 18 points up turning for home and sensing the drought was about to break.
Ben Crocker kicked the first goal of the last quarter before it happened, as majors to Hugo Bromell, Luke Bailey and Braedyn Gillard in the space of four minutes sent the fans into raptures. And although Collingwood kicked the last three goals, there was no stopping this party getting started.
Aside from the 23-match losing streak ending, it also snapped a 10-match drought against Collingwood dating back to June 24, 2012, when they were the Coburg Tigers.
The Lions won disposals by 38 and inside-50s by 15 on their way to victory as Trudgeon was best-afield with 29 disposals, seven clearances, 10 tackles and a goal, ahead of Flynn Gentile and Bromell (50 disposals between them), while Cooper Keogh controlled the ruck with 19 touches, 25 hitouts, eight clearances a goal, with the only sour note a one-match ban offered to Bromell for rough conduct on Fin Macrae in the third term.
But it was down back where the game was won, with Donovan Toohey gathering 31 possessions and 11 rebounds and Ryan Sturgess and Lachlan Walker taking 10 marks each to turn the Magpies back regularly.
Oleg Markov led the way for Collingwood with 27 disposals, eight marks and seven rebounds, Macrae picked up 25 disposals and laid eight tackles and Sam Glover was outstanding in his 50th game with 23 touches, five marks and 10 rebounds.
Former leg-spinner Wil Parker played his first game of footy in five years and looked like he had never been away, picking up 22 disposals, five marks, five rebounds and a goal in a promising sign for Collingwood and the one-time first-round draft pick contender.
CARLTON vs PORT MELBOURNE
CARLTON 7.0 10.8 11.9 16.15 (111)
PORT MELBOURNE 4.3 8.4 13.4 14.7 (91)
TWO Carlton youngsters showed nerves of steel beyond their years as they dragged the Blues from the brink of a third straight defeat to overwhelm Port Melbourne and claim a 20-point victory in a tense battle at IKON Park.
VFL-listed Will White and AFL draftee Ashton Moir, both 19, stepped up with a trio of ice-cold set shots when their team needed them most to help the Blues kick five goals to one beyond the midway point of the last quarter.
White’s second goal had been cancelled out by a brilliant running snag from Matt Signorello that put the Borough seven points up at the 16-minute mark before an otherwise quiet Liam McMahon kicked a goal to spark the Blues into a match-winning run.
White drilled his third and Moir, who had earlier kicked the first two goals of the game, also landed a long-range set shot under immense pressure for his third before Luke Nelson put the game to behind with about a minute remaining.
The Blues led by 23 points after just 11 minutes before Port ruckman Felix Flockart produced possibly the best game of his career to get the visitors back into it with two terrific goals, although they still trailed by 15 points due to the Blues booting seven straight.
Flockart took a big pack mark to kick his third early in the second term before accuracy deserted the Blues and they added 3.8 to 4.1 to extend their lead by just a point at the main break and the Borough lifted with five goals to one in the third quarter to steal the lead and the momentum as Jimmy Miller took charge with back-to-back majors.
The last term was a titanic struggle before Port ran out of legs for the second week in a row to fall to 0-4 for the first time since 1908.
Carlton was sparked through the middle by Zavier Maher, who was brilliant in his third game back from a knee reconstruction with 34 disposals, six marks, five clearances and five inside-50s, while debut season best-and-fairest Jaxon Binns relished his push up to the wing to have 27, eight clearances and eight entries.
Michael Lewis was outstanding in defence as he shut Billy Gowers almost completely out of the game, while new captain Lachie Young and Harry Lemmey were also good down back and running machine Alex Cincotta and recruit Nelson played well up the ground.
Miller (22 touches, nine marks, 13 hitouts, five clearances, six entries, two goals) and Flockart (17 disposals, 18 hitouts, five clearances, three goals) were powerhouses for Port Melbourne alternating between the ruck and full-forward.
Skipper Harvey Hooper starred again through the middle with support from Josh Green and Cody Henness, while Fraser Rosman and 50th-gamer Tom Hird were good down back.
