A PAIR of Brisbane-bound midfielders have supercharged the Sandringham Dragons to a third successive premiership, with the strong favourites claiming a piece of history in the Victorian under-18 competition.
Academy talent Sam Marshall and father-son Levi Ashcroft were pivotal as the Dragons stormed to their flag threepeat, with the 37-point win coming in comfortable fashion in the Coates Talent League decider against Greater Western Victoria Rebels.
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The Dragons backed up their 2022 and 2023 triumphs with an emphatic victory at Ikon Park, with the strong favourites taking a 37-point lead into quarter-time and keeping their opponents scoreless for the term.
They kept the foot on the throttle throughout, with the Rebels breaking through for their first goal late in the second quarter. The Dragons held their first-quarter buffer throughout the contest as the Rebels were able to hit the scoreboard more after half-time in the 16.7 (103) to 10.6 (66) result.
The Lions head into Saturday's AFL preliminary final against Geelong already knowing who their first two picks at November's Telstra AFL Draft will be, with Ashcroft again dominant with a 27-disposal and three-goal game. Two of the goals came from boundary line kicks – one a snap and the other a set shot – as he finished his consistent campaign.
It was Ashcroft's third successive premiership, marking the end of a stellar under-18 stint ahead of him joining his brother Will in the Lions' midfield.
Marshall, too, was impressive, particularly in the first term when he kicked two goals from nine disposals to start Sandringham's run. He finished with 28 touches and seven inside 50s to enhance his chances of a top-20 draft position.
Among the other highly rated draft talents for Sandringham, key forward Harry Armstrong kicked four goals and Murphy Reid had seven disposals and a goal in the first quarter before a knee injury in the third quarter ruled him out of the rest of the game.
Harry Oliver was consistent off half-back with 17 disposals, Mitch Kirkwood-Scott (21 disposals and eight rebound 50s) was busy and bottom-ager Jack Dalton collected 18 disposals as Dragons coach Rob Harding and talent manager Mark Wheeler steered the club to its sixth flag since the inception of the under-18 competition in 1992.
Sandringham key back Adrian Cole and Rebels tall forward Jonty Faull had a good battle throughout, with rising forward Ollie Hannaford the Rebels' best player.
The small forward went into the midfield and had a team-high 23 disposals in a typically dynamic and tough display, including kicking a long goal in the second term to continue his emergence as a potential top-25 pick. Rebels midfielder Jack Ough also tried hard with 21 disposals, as did Rhys Unwin, who had a game-high 10 clearances among 18 disposals.
SANDRINGHAM DRAGONS 6.1 11.3 14.5 16.7 (103)
GREATER WESTERN VICTORIA REBELS 0.0 2.2 6.3 10.6 (66)
GOALS
Sandringham Dragons: Armstrong 4, Ashcroft 3, Buck 2, Marshall 2, Surkitt 2, Reid, Sulzberger, Travers
Greater Western Victoria Rebels: Burmeister 2, Byrne 2, Mast 2, Hannaford, McDonald, Molan, Unwin
