A review of all the action from Round 19 of the 2023 Smithy’s VFL season.

The flag favourites overcame a horror start to consolidate top spot, a remarkable upset put a standalone club back in the top six, a big rivalry win regained a top-10 berth and two clubs kept their faintest of finals hopes alive in a massive Round 19 of the Smithy’s VFL.

PORT MELBOURNE vs COBURG

PORT MELBOURNE 4.3, 6.4, 9.7, 11.14 (80)
COBURG 2.1, 5.6, 8.9, 10.10 (70)

PORT MELBOURNE grabbed its sixth win of the year, but not before a hefty fright as it broke a four-year drought against Coburg with a tough 10-point win at ETU Stadium on Friday night.

The Borough started well and got out by 20 points early in the second quarter but were serious challenged in the second half.

The home side fell behind in the third term and the scores were all square in the last before Jake Gasper rescued Port Melbourne with a late goal to extend the Lions’ wait for a drought-breaking victory.

Port had eight less disposals but was more efficient with ball in hand, creating a 57-39 inside-50 advantage and losing hitouts but winning clearances to eventually emerge on top.

Coburg was fantastic for most of the night and finished with the top four possession winners on the ground, headed by Ben Jepson, who was fantastic with 33 disposals, five marks and 11 rebounds, while Mitch Podhajski relished his move back into his natural key forward role with four goals.

Flynn Gentile (26 disposals, seven clearances, five entries), Lachlan Walker (25 disposals, seven tackles, seven rebounds), Luke Nelson (25 disposals, five marks, one goal) and Kyle Weightman (three goals) were also terrific, while Luke Bailey (24 disposals, nine clearances, eight tackles) and Braedyn Gillard (22 disposals) played well as distributors with nine kicks and 37 handballs between them.

Port Melbourne was cleaner when it mattered, with Nash Holmes (25 disposals, 10 clearances, five tackles, one goal), Fraser Rosman (24 disposals, eight marks, five tackles), captain Harvey Hooper (24 disposals, six clearances, 11 entries) and Dylan Clarke (24, six clearances, six tackles) also important.

However, the match winner was clearly Archi Manton, who kicked five goals to be the difference between the teams.

GOLD COAST SUNS vs BRISBANE LIONS

GOLD COAST SUNS 3.3, 6.8, 11.9, 13.14 (92)
BRISBANE LIONS 7.2, 7.3, 7.5, 11.8 (74)

GOLD COAST put itself in the box seat to secure top spot and left Brisbane Lions’ top-four hopes in jeopardy with an 18-point win in one of the most remarkable VFL games seen in recent years at Heritage Bank Stadium.

The Lions were irresistible as they kicked the first seven goals of the game against the ladder-leaders in a stunning 23 minutes of football – including two each to Tom Fullarton, Darcy Fort and rookie Jack Manly – that had those watching in disbelief.

But the drama was only just starting.

Sam Day kicked the Suns’ first goal in the 26th minute, with the home side adding two more before the first break to cut a 40-point deficit to 23.

The Suns went on to stretch their own streak to 11 goals in a row with three in the second and five in the third to turn for home with a 28-point lead.

Just as it looked like the Lions were unstoppable early, it appeared the Suns were in cruise control at that stage, but there was another twist to come.

The visitors broke the drought early and kicked three goals in the first eight minutes of the term to get within nine points, but Mabior Chol and Chris Burgess each kicked their second goals to steady the ship for the premiership favourites.

Charlie Constable was again dominant in defence for the Suns, finishing with 34 disposals, 11 marks and eight rebounds, with Brayden Fiorini (32 disposals, five clearances, six tackles), James Tsitas (28 disposals, nine marks, one goal), Ben Long (22 disposals, six marks) and Alex Davies (20 disposals, six clearances) also prominent, while Caleb Graham plucked 10 marks.

Deven Robertson was outstanding as he looks for a spot back in the Lions’ AFL team, starring with 34 disposals, eight marks and a goal.

Jaxon Prior (26 disposals, 10 marks, nine rebounds, one goal) was magnificent in defence, Rhys Mathieson (25 disposals, six clearances) worked his way back into form, Darragh Joyce (23 disposals, 12 marks, six rebounds) led the defence with aplomb and Manly (14 disposals, three goals) turned in his best performance at State League level.

COLLINGWOOD vs CARLTON

COLLINGWOOD 3.4, 7.8, 12.11, 14.16 (100)
CARLTON 3.0, 4.4, 8.5, 11.6 (72)

COLLINGWOOD climbed back into the top 10 with a convincing 28-point win over arch-rival Carlton at Victoria Park on Saturday to gain a small modicum of revenge for being eliminated by the Blues in the first week of the finals last year.

The Blues came in confident after six wins in their previous seven matches and there was nothing between the teams for the first 40 minutes of the game before the Magpies broke it open with three goals in five minutes to lead by 22 points at half-time.

They added three more to open the third term, pushing the margin beyond seven goals and effectively sealing the points.

Although Carlton rallied with four of the next five goals, Will Kelly’s third in the shadows of three quarter-time put paid to any thoughts of a comeback.

Kelly and Trent Bianco were sensational for the Magpies playing up the field from their customary defensive posts, the former winning 22 disposals and taking nine marks to go with his three goals and the latter picking up 32 touches, six marks and five entries.

Josh Carmichael (28 disposals, six clearances, six entries), Trey Ruscoe (24 disposals, eight marks) and Campbell Hustwaite (24 disposals, seven clearances, six tackles) were also prominent.

Up forward Ash Johnson (eight marks, 4.4) and Nathan Kreuger (four marks, 3.1) were too big for the Blues’ backline and Jack Ginnivan (16 disposals, two goals) was lively at their feet.

Jaxon Binns once again starred for Carlton in a brilliant first season at VFL level, earning 32 disposals, taking 11 marks and laying seven tackles as he roamed all over the ground and Lachie Cowan (28 disposals, seven marks, eight rebounds) was in fine touch down back.

Zac Fisher (30 disposals, six entries), Jack Carroll (26 disposals, six entries, one goal) and Ben Ronke (19 disposals, six entries, two goals) played well, while Hudson O’Keeffe had a run in the ruck and did well with 33 hitouts, while Ned Cahill kicked three goals.

BOX HILL HAWKS vs SANDRINGHAM

BOX HILL HAWKS 3.4, 8.9, 11.15, 17.19 (121)
SANDRINGHAM 4.3, 6.5, 9.7, 11.8 (74)

BOX HILL Hawks moved to third on the ladder after Jack Scrimshaw and Denver Grainger-Barras inspired them to a 47-point win over a gallant Sandringham at Box Hill City Oval.

While the game was messy at times as both teams struggled with turnovers, it was entertaining to watch with the Zebras taking it right up to their more fancied opponents for most of the day.

There were seven lead changes by the midway point of the second term before Jake Arundell caught fire in his first game of the year, kicking two goals and setting up another in the space of three minutes.

The margin blew out to 16 points at half-time after a Tom Highmore brain explosion handed Grainger-Barras his third goal after the siren.

Sandringham stuck at the task in the third term with young talls Max Heath and Isaac Keeler causing headaches in the air and the visitors were still within nine points at the 17-minute mark, but a wonderful snap from Tristen Waack finally broke the shackles.

Heath took a strong mark and converted on the three quarter-time siren to keep the margin within 20, but Box Hill had the impetus and booted six goals to two in the last quarter to run away with a final margin that didn’t flatter them but certainly was bigger than the Zebras deserved.

Scrimshaw was sensational in defence for Box Hill, cutting off everything that came near him on his way to a game-high 31 disposals and 13 marks, while he even snuck forward to bomb a rare goal in the last term.

Grainger-Barras was subbed out of last week’s AFL game without single stat but he had kicked four goals against Port Melbourne in his first effort as a forward and went one better this time with 5.2 from 11 disposals and six marks.

Ed Phillips (25 disposals, six marks, two goals) starred on his wing, Ned Long (25, disposals, nine clearances, 10 tackles) will play a lot of AFL footy and Callum Brown (27 disposals, eight entries) deserves another chance at the top level,

Darby Hipwell stood out for the Zebras with 25 possessions, six clearances and five tackles, Ben Paton played well for 23 disposals and six tackles and Leo Connolly ran hard for 23 touches.

FRANKSTON vs SOUTHPORT SHARKS

FRANKSTON 4.5, 5.5, 6.8, 8.9 (57)
SOUTHPORT SHARKS 2.2, 4.8, 6.8, 10.11 (71)

SOUTHPORT kept its flickering finals hopes alive for another week after outslogging Frankston by 14 points at Kinetic Stadium on Saturday night.

The Sharks entered the match three wins outside the top 10 with three games to play and were forced to fight all the way to keep the dream alive after the Dolphins jumped the gates with the wind to kick four goals to two in the opening quarter.

Last year’s grand finalists slowly managed to wrest back the momentum but missed several chances to build a lead at half-time, kicking six consecutive behinds and found themselves still behind when unlikely forward Taine Barlow booted his second goal for the Dolphins in the 29th minute.

Frankston opened a 10-point advantage on the back of Kai Owens’ second goal eight minutes into the third but Southport put on the most crucial passage of the game by not conceding another one against the wind.

The went on to kick the next five to grab a 15-point lead midway through the last quarter when Jack Sexton kicked his third.

The home team tried desperately to peg it back, but the Sharks’ prime movers had too much experience to let it slip to stay within reach of the finals for another week.

Boyd Woodcock (34 disposals, eight clearances, seven tackles, seven entries, two goals) was again magnificent, with his 60m set-shot bomb to the Kars St end stunning all in attendance, while Jacob Dawson (38 disposals, nine clearances, seven tackles) was also back to his best.

Brayden Crossley (21 disposals, seven marks, 28 hitouts, seven tackles) was magnificent and Riley Bowman (17 disposals, 29 hitouts, eight clearances, eight tackles, one goal) took his chance in the absence of leading goal kicker Fraser Thurlow.

Will Fordham (30 disposals, six clearances, six tackles, five entries) again starred for Frankston, with Jackson Voss (23 disposals, seven marks, five tackles, seven rebounds) and Colby Nayna (23 disposals, six marks, five tackles, five rebounds) terrific in defence, while Owens had 17 disposals and kicked three goals.

GEELONG CATS vs NORTHERN BULLANTS

GEELONG CATS 4.5, 8.10, 12.11, 19.18 (132)
NORTHERN BULLANTS 0.1, 0.3, 4.5, 6.6 (42)

THE pilot light is still flickering on Geelong’s finals hopes after it cruised past Northern Bullants by 90 points at GMHBA Stadium on Sunday.

The Cats had a goal on the board in the opening minute and had the contest sewn up with early four goals – including three to a white-hot Ollie Dempsey.

But the Bullants showed plenty of steel to concede only one more before time-on of the second term, although Geelong then added three to lead by 55 points at half-time.

Dempsey’s fourth and Jye Chalcraft’s third made it 10 goals to none early in the third and thoughts were turning to the previous week’s shutout by Footscray. However, Zach Morris finally broke a drought that stretched back to the fifth minute of the final quarter against Werribee in Round 17 when he kicked truly 12 minutes in.

It gave the Bullants a spark as they kicked three in a row and four out of five before the Cats wrested back control and ran away with a seven-goal-to-two final quarter.

Geelong’s ball control was good as it took 140 marks and gathered 429 disposals, led by 40 from Brandan Parfitt, who also had six clearances, seven inside-50s and a goal, while Dempsey finished with remarkable numbers of 29 possessions, 13 marks and 5.3.

Mitch Knevitt (28 disposals, 11 marks, seven tackles, seven entries, two goals) was also electric while Sam Menegola (28 disposals, six tackles, seven entries), Ted Clohesy (26 disposals, 13 marks, five entries), Marcus Herbert (23 disposals, six marks) and Osca Riccardi (22 disposals, eight marks) got plenty of it and Shannon Neale (21 disposals, 11 marks, 3.4) and Tom Feely (11 marks, 3.4) were hard to stop in attack.

Spencer Johnson had another strong day in defence for the Bullants with 29 touches, five tackles and six rebounds with support from Ryan Gardner (21 disposals, 11 marks).

Jean-Luc Velissaris led the midfield with 28 disposals, nine marks and five tackles, while Patrick Fairlie (22 disposals, seven marks, five clearances), Matt King (22 disposals, six marks) and Morris (three goals) also had good days.

CASEY DEMONS vs WILLIAMSTOWN

CASEY DEMONS 1.1, 5.5, 7.5, 11.8 (74)
WILLIAMSTOWN 6.4, 6.4, 9.8, 11.9 (75)

WILLIAMSTOWN overcame the loss of three key players on Thursday night and its biggest star before the game to land its most significant win since the 2019 preliminary final with a stunning one-point upset of Casey Demons at Casey Fields.

The Seagulls lost captain Cam Polson, midfielder Harry Jones and half-forward Darby Henderson at selection and suffered a monumental blow when Marty Hore pulled out on Sunday morning, meaning they went in with three debutants in Jake Smith, Zac Banch and Ben Andrews.

However, they floored the reigning premiers by slamming on the first six goals with the wind to lead by 39 points approaching quarter-time.

The Demons got one back with virtually the last kick of the term through Andy Moniz-Wakefield and worked their way back into the contest, holding the visitors scoreless and adding four goals themselves to pull back within five points at the main break.

Williamstown added four behinds to start the third quarter and finished it with three goals to two but the 15-point lead turning for home wasn’t expected to be enough against such a quality opposition.

Sure enough, Casey came hard, kicking four of the next five goals to take the lead for the first time in the 25th minute on the back of a three-goal burst in five minutes from Jimmy Munro, George Grey and Bailey Laurie.

It looked like the home team would pinch the points but Williamstown wouldn’t be denied.

Nick Ebinger narrowly missed a set shot to cut the margin to five points in the 29th minute before Liam Conway made himself a hero with a goal with just 90 seconds left on the clock, before the Seagulls defended to the siren perfectly to move back into the top six.

Jake Greiser used all his experience to lead the way for the Seagulls, with his 28 disposals, 12 marks and five tackles including a crucial contested mark in that desperate final stretch.

Mitch Cox (22 disposals, five tackles, six entries) and Jack Toner (21 disposals, eight clearances, seven entries) stood up in the middle underneath a starring role from Tom Downie (18 disposals, 12 tackles, 39 hitouts, two goals).

Down back Oscar McDonald (19 disposals, six marks, 10 rebounds) and Fin O’Dwyer (14 disposals, six marks) worked hard in the absence of Hore, while Ebinger (20 disposals, five marks, five clearances, 10 tackles, two goals) was magnificent in attack.

Luke Dunstan had another monster day for Casey with 39 possessions, nine clearances, five tackles and six inside-50s.

He found support from Munro (26 disposals, seven clearances, 15 tackles, six entries, one goal), Mitch White (24 disposals, seven clearances, five tackles, one goal) and Laurie (22 disposals, 10 tackles, one goal).

Michael Hibberd was amazing in defence with 35 touches, five marks and 11 rebounds, Moniz-Wakefield kicked three goals, while Brodie Grundy split his time between forward and ruck and finished with 31 hitouts, 11 disposals, six marks but no score.

Ben Brown was injured early with four disposals and 0.2.

NORTH MELBOURNE vs WERRIBEE

NORTH MELBOURNE 3.5, 3.7, 4.9, 7.11 (53)
WERRIBEE 0.6, 7.9, 8.11, 16.14 (110)

WERRIBEE consolidated second spot and kept the pressure on Gold Coast Suns for the minor premiership with a 57-point battering of an undermanned North Melbourne at Arden Street Oval.

The Kangaroos made 10 changes to the team that lost narrowly to Box Hill in Round 17, with AFL call-ups and injuries wreaking havoc.

However, it looked like they would be okay when they flew the gates with two goals to Tyler Sellers and one to Jake Ellwood within the first eight minutes.

But it was all one-way traffic from there as the Tigers took full control despite spraying six behinds to quarter-time to find themselves still 17 points down at the break.

Another miss made it 0.7 early in the second before they finally hit the target through Kye Declase six minutes in and they piled on seven goals for the term before shutting the home team down in their second shot at the wind.

North finally broke an 80-minute drought when Jacob Edwards kicked a goal in the shadows of three quarter-time to hold the margin at 26 points, but Werribee banged on another eight goals in the last term to run away with a big win.

Dom Brew (29 disposals, 12 clearances, 11 tackles), Tom Gribble (27 disposals, eight marks, six clearances, five entries), the returning Matt Hanson (26 disposals, seven clearances, one goal), Shaun Mannagh (24 disposals, 10 clearances, one goal) and Jack Henderson (23 disposals, five entries) were all on song for the Tigers.

Nick Hayes and Hudson Garoni shared 30 disposals and 17 marks, while kicking 4.2 and 4.3 respectively.

Ben Cunnington (24 disposals, nine clearances, five entries) and Charlie Lazzaro (23 disposals, six entries) did well in the midfield for the Kangaroos. Kallan Dawson (21 disposals, seven marks) and Louis Butler (23 disposals) worked hard in defence, Cooper Keogh (18 disposals, 33 hitouts) did well in the ruck and Sellers finished with three goals.

ESSENDON vs SYDNEY SWANS

ESSENDON 0.3, 2.5, 3.5, 6.8 (44)
SYDNEY SWANS 4.2, 9.6, 15.8, 19.12 (126)

SYDNEY finally recaptured the form that saw it charge into the top four last year when it blasted a disappointing Essendon by 82 points at Windy Hill.

The Swans struggled badly with injuries across their whole squad in the first half of the year but have most of their troops back available and it showed as they kicked the first six goals and eight of the first nine to have the game in hand by half-time.

The visitors weren’t done with as they piled on another six goals to one in the third and four of the first five of the last to get out by more than 15 goals before Patrick Voss and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti broke through for their first majors late.

Sydney went in as underdog with only two wins for the year but won disposals 432-345, marks 97-78, hitouts 52-21, clearances 40-37, inside-50 entries 75-45 and tackles 71-52.

The dominance started in the middle with Tom Hickey (25 disposals, five marks, 27 hitouts, 11 clearances) back to his best with support from Lachlan McAndrew (16 disposals, 22 hitouts).

They gave first use to dominant trio Dylan Stephens (33 disposals, seven clearances, five tackles, 14 entries, one goal), Corey Warner (32 disposals, 10 tackles, nine entries) and Matt Roberts (33 disposals, five clearances, five entries).

Hugo Hall-Kahan (25 disposals, seven marks, three goals), Jack Buller (15 disposals, seven marks, four goals), Will Gould (13 disposals, seven marks, three goals) and the returning Jacob Konstanty (16 disposals, two goals) were good in attack.

Meanwhile Caleb Mitchell (24 disposals, six tackles, one goal), Nick Shipley (24 disposals, five entries, one goal), former Bomber Aaron Francis (23 disposals, eight marks, five rebounds, one goal) and Jaiden Magor (23 disposals, six marks, five rebounds) also had good days.

Essendon’s Joel Fitzgerald (27 disposals, eight marks, seven rebounds, one goal), Sam Weideman (25 disposals, seven marks, five rebounds), Lewis Hayes (24 disposals, six marks, eight rebounds) and Kaine Baldwin (21 disposals, eight marks, seven rebounds) did all they could against the wave of attacks to stop the margin blowing out into triple figures.

BYE: Footscray Bulldogs, GWS Giants, Richmond

ROUND 20 FIXTURE

Saturday, August 5: Southport Sharks vs Essendon (11:35am, Fankhauser Reserve); Footscray Bulldogs vs North Melbourne (ETU Stadium, 1:05pm); GWS Giants vs Sydney Swans (1:35pm, Blacktown International Sportspark); Williamstown vs Richmond (2:05pm, DSV Stadium); Sunday, August 6: Werribee vs Collingwood (12:00pm, Avalon Airport Oval); Sandringham vs Northern Bullants (2:.05pm, Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval). Bye: Box Hill Hawks, Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Casey Demons, Coburg, Frankston, Geelong, Gold Coast Suns, Port Melbourne

Click here to view full fixture and ladder.

Broadcast and streaming: All matches in the 2023 Smithy’s VFL season will be live streamed free via the AFL website (AFL.com.au) and AFL Live Official App. Smithy’s VFL broadcast partner, the Seven Network, will continue to show one weekly game live and free on the Seven Network in Victoria and on 7Plus nationally. Casey Radio 97.7FM and 3WBC 94.1FM are also broadcasting matches.

Live scoring and stats: Live scoring and stats will be available via both the AFL Live Official App and VFL App. Download the VFL App from the Apple or Google Play stores.

Ticketing: Where Smithy’s VFL matches are ticketed, entry is $10 for adults, $5 for concession holders and kids under 15 are free. Some venues don't charge for entry. AFL ticketing prices will apply for VFL matches played as curtain-raisers and curtain-closers to AFL matches at AFL venues.