A preview of this weekend’s Smithy’s VFL qualifying and elimination finals.

FIRST QUALIFYING FINAL

Footscray Bulldogs (1st) vs Frankston (4th)
Mission Whitten Oval
Saturday 30 August at 12:35pm
Broadcaster: AFL.com.au + AFL Live Official App

Two of the most in-form sides in the competition meet in the first qualifying final when Footscray hosts Frankston at Misson Whitten Oval.

The Bulldogs catapulted their way to the top of the ladder after a flawless three-month patch in which they did not drop a game.

Only once in that span did they boot a score below 80 points, highlighting their ability to kick winning scores – a feat made more impressive given Will Lewis (32 goals) and Caleb Poulter (28) are the only two Bulldogs to sit inside the competition’s top 40 goal kickers.

Despite Buku Khamis being unavailable during the finals series, Stewart Edge’s side has proven it has multiple contributors who are able to find the big sticks.

They will be boosted by the availability of 2024 All Australian Adam Treloar throughout the finals. The star midfielder produced a stunning 40-disposal game against Carlton a fortnight ago and will nicely compliment Nick Coffield, who has averaged over 28 touches in his previous three matches, Anthony Scott and Cooper Craig-Peters in midfield.

But Frankston can’t be dismissed so easily, having not tasted defeat in their previous eight contests to earn a top-four finish for the first time since 1999.

After stunning the Gold Coast Suns in last year’s wildcard final, they will again fancy their chances of an upset in their opening final, particularly with skipper Trent Mynott and star defender Jackson Voss returning this week.

The Dolphins have so many of their best players in terrific form coming into the qualifying final. Will Hamill has averaged 25 disposals and close to four tackles in his previous three matches whilst Darby Hipwell has averaged seven tackles a game in that same while winning plenty of footy.

Corey Ellison has kicked multiple goals in 13 consecutive matches whilst the Dolphins have not conceded more than 90 points since their loss to the Bulldogs in Round 12 thanks to the terrific defensive work of Taine Barlow and Joe Lloyd and their defensive group.

FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS
1st (15-3, 145.7%)
STREAK: Won 11 (2025: WWWWWWWWWWWLWWLLWW)

FRANKSTON
4th (12-5-1, 111.2%)
STREAK: Draw 1 (2025: DWWWWWWWLLWLWLWWLW)

LAST MEETING
Round 12 – Kinetic Stadium
FRANKSTON                               2.2   3.7   6.11   12.13 (85)
FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS     4.2   8.5   13.7   15.12 (102)

BEST
Frankston: Jackson Voss, Trent Mynott, Taine Barlow, Blake O'Leary, Ollie Moran, Sebastian Quirk
Footscray: Billy Crofts, Liam Jones, Riley Garcia, William Lewis, Cooper Craig-Peters, Ryan Gardner

GOALS
Frankston: Kobe Askew, Corey Ellison 2, Tom Blamires, Nick Burke, Clayton Gay, Noah Gown, Matt Johnson, Tom Murphy, Blake O'Leary, Seb Quirk
Footscray: Harvey Gallagher, Caleb Poulter 3, Ryan Gardner, Will Lewis 2, Luca Muratore, Dan Orgill, Cam Owen, Anthony Scott, Fred Valpied

DISPOSALS
Frankston: Jackson Voss 38, Trent Mynott 29, Blake O'Leary 24, Taine Barlow 23, Tom Murphy 23, Seb Quirk 23
Footscray: Riley Garcia 39, Cooper Craig-Peters 30, Oskar Baker 28, Jedd Busslinger 27

SECOND QUALIFYING FINAL

Box Hill Hawks (2nd) vs Southport Sharks (3rd)
Box Hill City Oval
Saturday 30 August at 12:35pm
Broadcaster: AFL.com.au + AFL Live Official App

Two heavyweights of the competition will do battle in the second qualifying final at Box Hill City Oval on Saturday when the Box Hill Hawks take on Southport.

For all their dominance throughout the home and away campaign, they Hawks enter the finals on the back of two losses, which saw them lose hold of the minor premiership despite sitting in first place between Round 11 to 20.

But despite dropping their past two matches to Footscray and the Casey Demons, the Hawks will take confidence from their recent win over Southport, having recorded a 44-point triumph at Fankhauser Reserve in Round 19.

Box Hill will take boast 16 AFL-listed players in this week’s clash, including emerging star Josh Weddle as he mounts his case for a return to Hawthorn’s AFL side following a back issue.

Despite there being more high-profile players in the side this week, Jai Serong looms as one of the keys to the game, with his work in the backline ensuring the Hawks haven’t been giving up massive scores this season.

He starred Against Casey a fortnight ago, racking up 24 disposals, nine rebound 50s and eight intercept possessions. That followed a 26-disposal, 11-intercept performance against Footscray the week prior.

Ned Reeves’ battle with Brayden Crossley in the ruck may be a match-decider with both big men having the ability to influence a game with their dominance in the air.

Reeves has registered scoring shots in four of his last five games while Crossley averaged almost 40 hitouts across his previous five matches, before being sidelined in the final two home and away games.

The midfield battle should be a beauty, headlined by a battle between inside bulls Henry Hustwaite and Jacob Dawson.

Dawson has arguably been the competition’s most dominant player across the past four seasons and might well be enjoying his best season to date in 2025.

He has dipped below 25 touches only once this season and averages 33 disposals against current finals teams.

He didn’t play in the Round 19 encounter against Box Hill but when he last faced the Hawks, in Round 16 last year, he had 32 touches, 10 marks and six clearances.

Despite both these sides consistently finishing at the top end of the ladder in recent seasons, this is the first time the two clubs will face each other in a final.

BOX HILL HAWKS
2nd (14-4, 136.3%)
STREAK: Lost 2 (2025: LLWWWWWWWLWWWLWWWW)

SOUTHPORT
3rd (13-4-1, 132.2%)
STREAK: Won 2 (2025: WWLWWWLLWWWWDLWWWW)

LAST MEETING
Round 19 – Fankhauser Reserve
SOUTHPORT SHARKS     3.1   5.2   7.4   8.5 (53)
BOX HILL HAWKS             4.4    7.5   9.8   14.13 (97)

BEST
Southport: Finn Hay, Keegan Gray, Michael Manteit, Elijah Reardon, Jackson Edwards, Josh Gore
Box Hill Hawks: James Blanck, Jai Serong, Cam Mackenzie, Ned Reeves, Stu Horner, Max Ramsden

GOALS
Southport: Wylie Buzza, Taine Dawson 2, Riley Bowman, Josh Gore, Michael Manteit, Harry Sullivan
Box Hill Hawks: Jake Arundell, Max Ramsden, Jasper Scaife 3, Sam Frost 2, Changkouth Jiath, Ned Reeves, Blake Simondson

LEADING DISPOSALS
Southport: Michael Manteit 27, Will Sexton 26, Max Spencer 23, Keegan Gray 22, Boyd Woodcock 22
Box Hill Hawks: Cam Mackenzie 28, Trent Bianco 27, Jai Serong 25, Changkouth Jiath 24, Sam Butler 22

FIRST ELIMINATION FINAL

Casey Demons (5th) vs Williamstown (8th)
Casey Fields
Saturday 30 August, 2:10pm AEST
Broadcaster: 7mate and 7plus

Casey marks their return to the Smithy’s VFL finals with an intriguing clash with Williamstown at Casey Fields in the first elimination final.

The Demons head into the match with five straight wins, including terrific triumphs in over Brisbane and Box Hill in their past two games, which saw them climb to fifth spot and look a legitimate threat to make a genuine tilt at a premiership.

Their brilliant form of late can in some part be attributed to the individual performances of Jack Billings and Riley Bonner, who have been standouts all year but have seemingly taken their game to another level on the eve of the finals.

The duo have been irrepressible with their ball-winning ability and each racked up 40 disposals in the final round win over Box Hill which helped Casey avoid a wildcard final and progress straight to a home elimination final.

Luker Kentfield has been excellent up forward and has kicked 13 majors in his past four games, with veteran ruck Tom Campbell continuing to have a major influence around the ground.

Despite their hot form of late, Casey will still be cautious of a Williamstown outfit who know how to win finals and have stood up with everything on the line across the past two weeks.

The Seagulls downed Richmond in Round 21 in what was essentially an elimination final come early, before showing great fight to outlast Collingwood last week in a 12-point win at Victoria Park.

Despite having their backs to the wall on several occasions against the Magpies, Justin Plapp’s side refused to yield and then ran over the top of their more-fancied host with a three-goal to zero final term.

Their defence impressed as they kept the Pies to just nine majors for the day, with Finn O’Dwyer and Luke Parks each registering eight intercept possessions.

Jim ‘Frosty’ Miller medallist Brodie McLaughlin was kept to just one major last week but has kicked 30 goals in seven matches against teams still in the premiership race. Meanwhile, Lachie Gollant produced a season-best four goals last week and looks made for the finals.

Casey and Williamstown didn’t face each other in the 2025 home and away season, with their last meeting back in Round 6, 2024 when the Seagulls booted eight goals in the final term to claim a 32-point victory.

CASEY DEMONS
5th (11-6-1, 135.5%)
STREAK: Won 5 (2025: WWWWWLLWWWWLLWLLWD)

WILLIAMSTOWN
10th (10-8, 104.7%)
STREAK: Won 2 (2025: WWLLLLWWWWWWWWLLWLL)

LAST MEETING
Round 6, 2024 – Casey Fields
CASEY DEMONS     1.0   3.3   8.6   10.8 (68)
WILLIAMSTOWN     1.4   5.6   7.6   15.10 (100)

BEST
Casey Demons: Andy Moniz-Wakefield, Mitchell White, Roy George, Matthew Jefferson, Max Gregory, Tyler Edwards
Williamstown: Tom Downie, Corey Ellison, Luke Parks, Will Fordham, Riley Collier-Dawkins, Brodie McLaughlin

GOALS
Casey Demons: Roy George, Matt Jefferson 3, Kynan Brown, Tyler Edwards, Harvey Neocleous, Mitch White
Williamstown: Corey Ellison 4, Brodie McLaughlin, Jovan Petric 3, Jack Brown, Nick Ebinger, Noah Gadsby, Darby Henderson, Jack Toner

LEADING DISPOSALS
Casey Demons: Andy Moniz-Wakefield 30, Adam Tomlinson 22, Tyler Edwards 21, Mitch White 21, Will Verrall 19
Williamstown: Joel Fitzgerald 27, Tom Downie 26, Toby Triffett 25, Will Fordham 24, Jack Toner 24

SECOND ELIMINATION FINAL

Brisbane Lions (6th) vs Richmond (7th)
Brighton Homes Arena
Saturday 30 August, 12:05pm AEST
Broadcaster: AFL.com.au + AFL Live Official App

A preliminary finalist in each of the past three seasons, Brisbane commences its 2025 finals campaign with an elimination final clash with Richmond at Brighton Homes Arena.

The fortnight leading up to the finals series suggests that the Lions are finals hardened, with the Lions involved in finals-like contests against the Casey Demons and Frankston in the last two rounds of the season.

However, they did only take two points from those two games which has seen them fall to sixth spot on the ladder, meaning they will need to win four successive finals to claim this year’s premiership.

What doesn’t bode well for the Lions is the fact they have not defeated any of the sides remaining in this year’s finals race in 2025, producing a 0-1-7 record during the home and away season.

But they are no doubt capable of turning that around, particularly with a star-studded midfield led by Deven Robertson and James Tunstill, along with exciting Academy prospect Dan Annable who has looked right at home at senior level in 2025.

The on-ball trio should get plenty of good supply this week given both Oscar McInerney and Henry Smith will line-up for the Lions, which should ensure plenty of good looks up forward for the likes of Brandon Ryan, Will McLachlan and Fergus McFadyen.

Brisbane has named 14 AFL listed players for the clash and will come up against a Richmond side which will field just eight as a result of the Tigers’ long injury list.

But with that side, the visitors will take full confidence after coming off their first wildcard final triumph in three attempts last week, where they defeated GWS Giants by 18 points.

They also won’t be deterred by the lack of AFL-listed talent available, given it has been VFL listed stars like Harry Scott, Lachie Wilson, Mutaz El Nour and Massimo Raso who have led the charge so often in 2025.

And having already defeated the Lions once this season, the Tigers will believe they can earn a spot in the semi-final with back-to-back finals victories.

Jacob Koschitzke will be one to watch inside 50 after his four-goal effort against the Giants last Saturday, while Scott and Kaleb Smith also both stood out in the wildcard final.

If the Tigers are successful this weekend it will mark the first time since their 2019 premiership campaign that they have won consecutive finals

BRISBANE LIONS
6th (11-6-1, 108.9%)
STREAK: Draw 1 (2025: DLWWLWLWWLWLWWWWLW)

RICHMOND
8th (11-7, 99.9%)
STREAK: Won 1 (2025: WLWLWLWWLWWWLWLLWWW)

LAST MEETING
Round 3– Swinburne Centre
RICHMOND                 3.6   7.9   11.10     12.13 (85)
BRISBANE LIONS     2.3   3.8   4.12        8.15 (63)

BEST
Richmond: Thomas McCarthy, Samson Ryan, Campbell Gray, Lachlan Wilson, Massimo Raso, Jacob Koschitzke
Brisbane Lions: Henry Smith, James Tunstill, Charlton Offermans, Tahj Abberley, Harrison Arnold, Sam Marshall

GOALS
Richmond: Massimo Raso 3, Jonty Faull, Mohammed Yassine 2, Jasper Alger, Tom McKenzie, Maurice Rioli Jnr, Samson Ryan, Thomas Sims
Brisbane Lions: Henry Smith 3, Brandon Ryan 2, Darcy Gardiner, Fergus McFadyen, Benjamin Thomas

DISPOSALS
Richmond: Samson Ryan 23, Tom McCarthy 23, Mutaz El Nour 21, Nick Collier 21, Austin Johnson 20, Tom McKenzie 20
Brisbane Lions: Henry Smith 30, James Tunstill 28, Sam Marshall 23, Charlie Offermans 19, Tahj Abberley 19