A review of all the action from Wildcard Round of the 2024 Smithy’s VFL season.

GOLD COAST SUNS vs FRANKSTON

GOLD COAST SUNS 6.3        7.6        13.13  14.16 (100)
FRANKSTON                 2.2        8.4        11.4     16.7 (103)

PICTURE this.

Just seven years after not even having a team, you are playing your first final in 16 years.

You are 1737km away from your home fortress, up against the Smithy’s VFL reigning premiers – who you have never beaten in four previous contests and who kicked 27 goals a week earlier to go into the game in the best possible form.

Then you fight back from 25 points down at quarter-time to hit the lead, only for your star-studded opponent to kick again and put a 29-point gap between themselves and you by the three-minute mark of the final quarter.

And then you win!

After what had been a memorable season that saw Frankston win more games than they lost for the first time since 2006, the Dolphins would have been forgiven for being satisfied with what they had achieved in being extremely competitive against one of the most exciting teams in the competition in the Gold Coast Suns.

But somebody forgot to tell these Dolphins, who have made a habit of defying the odds in 2024 and did so again with a rollicking comeback.

They booted the last five goals, culminating in a classic running bomb from 50m by star recruit Tyson Milne as the clock ticked past 29 minutes to take the lead.

And it still wasn’t over. They had to defend for their lives for more than two minutes, with Joe Lloyd joining Milne as a hero when he rushed the Suns’ last-gasp attempt through for a behind on 31 minutes.

The siren sounded 40 seconds later to spark wild scenes on the field, in the stands where many diehard Dolphin fans had made the trip north, and back at Kinetic Stadium where a healthy crowd watching on the big screen lifted the roof off the Pod Bar.

Given everything stacked against them, it is not a stretch to say it was a contender for the greatest victory in Frankston’s 1060-match VFA/VFL history, ranking alongside the Dolphins’ sole premiership, the 1978 Division 2 Grand Final win over Camberwell when they came from three points down at the last change to win by 14 at Toorak Park.

The Dolphins showed their intent early when Tom Murphy burst out of the middle from the opening bounce and drove it to the top of the goal square where Josh Butland dribbled through a classic rover’s goal inside the opening 30 seconds.

Gold Coast made its first break on the back of Brayden Fiorini’s dominance in the middle and the fleet-footed group of Academy youngsters, starting with goals to Lachlan Gulbin and Beau Addinsall and finishing with three in the last three minutes to seemingly break the game open by quarter-time.

Frankston hit back however, slamming on the first four majors of the second term and not being deterred by Gulbin’s second goal, as a brilliant Smithy’s Snag from a stoppage by Tom Murphy was followed by Matt Johnson’s second after the siren to take the lead into the sheds.

Sam Day responded out of the break for the premiers, slamming on three goals in the first nine minutes as his team kicked four of five majors to re-establish superiority.

The Suns ran out the quarter well but wasted several gilt-edged chances to put the game to bed with 6.7 to 3.0 for the quarter, especially given gun midfielder Murphy was taken off with a left ankle injury after landing awkwardly in a marking contest.

Tempers had briefly frayed during the quarter, leading to Jed Walter being offered a one-match suspension with an early guilty plea for striking Seb Quirk.

The Suns then missed a couple more chances early in the last before Walter’s second goal gave them what should have been a match-winning 29-point advantage.

But Dolphins coach Jackson Kornberg, who took the Suns to the 2022 preliminary final, had moved the dashing George Grey onto the ball when Murphy was forced off and he responded immediately to raise hopes.

Goals to Jackson Voss, Quirk and a brilliant rover’s snap from Blake O’Leary set up by a fearless kick from Joe Lloyd to skipper Trent Mynott in the middle put them within two points at the 22-minute mark.

An agonising seven scoreless minutes followed as fans of both teams sat on the edges of their chairs before the visitors made a break from half-back after a turnover created by Nick Burke, with O’Leary hitting Johnson by hand, who flicked over to Milne, who had a bounce and loaded up from 52m.

Mynott was in sparkling touch all day for Frankston on his way to 29 disposals (12 contested), nine marks, seven clearances and seven inside-50s but it was Casey Demons premiership player Grey who lifted the team onto his shoulders, also racking up 29 touches, eight marks, six entries and the match-turning goal.

Defenders Taine Barlow (22 disposals, 12 marks, one goal), Voss (20 disposals, five rebounds, one goal) and Milne (18 disposals, one goal) provided great drive for the winners.

Taj Campbell-Farrell (19 disposals, five marks, seven tackles) had one of his best games at the level, Quirk (17 disposals, 10 contested, two goals) was under every pack, key forwards Johnson (three goals) and Noah Gown (two) were dangerous all day and Angus Grant won the hitouts 42-28 against Ben Moyle and Jed Walter, enjoying the absence of Ned Moyle, who was a late withdrawal as a held-over AFL emergency.

The smooth-moving Fiorini couldn’t have done any more to get the Suns home with a brilliant performance of 38 disposals (11 contested), nine marks, six clearances, five entries and a goal.

Support came from Thomas Berry (22 disposals, 12 tackles, eight entries), Hewago Oea (22 disposals, eight marks) and Darcy Macpherson (29 disposals, 12 contested, eight clearances).

The aforementioned Academy boys all threatened to run the Dolphins off their legs – Leo Lombard, Zeke Uwland, Jai Murray, Nelson Beikoff-Smart, Gulbin and Addinsall all had their moments to show the future is bright, but they ran out of legs as Frankston came over the top.

BEST
Gold Coast Suns:  B. Fiorini, T. Berry, S. Day, S. Brock, H. Oea, D. Macpherson
Frankston: T. Mynott, G. Grey, M. Johnson, T. Barlow, J. Voss, T. Milne

GOALS
Gold Coast Suns: S. Day 4, L. Gulbin, J. Walter 2, B. Addinsall, B. Fiorini, J. Jeffrey, J. Murray, M. Rosas, W. Rowlands
Frankston: M. Johnson 3, N. Gown, T. Murphy, S. Quirk 2, T. Barlow, J. Butland, G. Grey, T. Milne, B. O’Leary, J. Stern, J. Voss

WILLIAMSTOWN vs RICHMOND

WILLIAMSTOWN        7.5        10.8     15.11  18.12 (120)
RICHMOND                   0.2        2.6        4.10     7.10 (52)

WILLIAMSTOWN brought Richmond’s brave 2024 campaign to a shuddering halt, blowing the Tigers out in the first quarter of their Wildcard Round clash before cruising home for a 66-point thrashing at DSV Stadium on Sunday.

Seagulls captain Cam Polson made the crucial break when he won the toss and kicked with the breeze and his battle-hardened troops put on an opening quarter clinic.

Stalwart defender Jake Greiser bombed the opening goal from long range to spark a 7.5 to 0.2 avalanche that ensured there would be no repeat of the remarkable scenes of the day before.

With Jack Toner putting on a masterclass in the midfield, Williamstown then won the second quarter against the wind and added another eight goals to five in the second half in a performance that will have the Box Hill Hawks on their guard ahead of Saturday’s second elimination final.

Toner, who turns 23 this week, was in a class of his own, gathering season bests in disposals (30) and contested possessions (12), while also winning seven clearances (one short of his career-best), taking six marks and laying four tackles.

He also delivered nine inside-50s and slammed on three goals of his own – both career-best numbers.

Greiser was in vintage form running off half back, following up just the 13th goal of his 133-game career with 23 disposals, six marks and seven inside-50s and James Cousins shrugged off a shoulder stinger in the second quarter to gather 26 touches (12 contested), six clearances and eight inside-50s.

Brodie McLaughlin (five marks, four goals) was too nimble for Mutaz El Nour, Corey Rich pushed up the ground well to take nine marks and kick 1.3 as the link-up man, Toby Triffett (18 disposals, 11 contested, one goal) was tough under the packs, Corey Ellison did a good job when shifted behind the ball and Nick Ebinger was lively, booting two goals and putting the exclamation mark on the win with a trademark soaring grab in the dying seconds.

The only downside for Williamstown was a suspected broken leg to star defender Luke Parks in the second quarter, while Riley Collier-Dawkins needed treatment for heatstroke late in what was a quiet day against his old club.

Richmond didn’t give up, with Kaleb Smith (24 disposals, six marks, nine rebounds) providing good drive out of the defence, Thomson Dow (29 disposals, 15 contested, six tackles) worked hard in tight, Samson Ryan (31 hitouts, one goal) had the better of Tom Downie, Lachlan Wilson (18 disposals, six tackles) completed an impressive season and Archie May kicking 2.2 from limited opportunities.

But the Tigers dropped too many simple marks on transition and were stung on the rebound almost every time, while star backman Jacob Blight also failed to see out the game with a leg injury.

BEST
Williamstown: J. Toner, J. Greiser, J. Cousins, B. McLaughlin, C. Ellison, C. Rich
Richmond: K. Smith, T. Dow, L. Wilson, S. Davidson, T. Sonsie, S. Ryan

GOALS
Williamstown: B. McLaughlin 4, J. Toner 3, J. Brown, N. Ebinger 2, L. Conway, C. Ellison, W. Fordham, J. Greiser, L. Impey, C. Rich, T. Triffett
Richmond: A. May 2, M. Coulthard, A. Johnson, S. Ryan, H. Scott, T. Sonsie