State of Play hosts Joe Pignataro and Gemma Bastiani take a look at the headline acts in Round 6 of the Smithy’s VFL.

Battle of the Lions
Coburg welcomes Brisbane to Barry Plant Park with both sides sitting 1-3 and languishing inside the bottom four. Despite their poor starts to the season, this match has got a level of intrigue about it that’s well worth watching. Coburg has been leaking heavily in defence conceding 100+ points per game in the past three weeks, despite the midfield dominance of Jack Bytel, Donovan Toohey and Joel Trudgeon. Brisbane will have to stop Mitch Podhasjki if they’re to have any chance of winning, with the in-form forward leading the competition goal kicking table with 18 majors.

Eyes on the sky
Mitch Podhasjki (Coburg), Kalani White (Casey Demons) and Josh Hutchings (Sandringham) are the latest players to add their submission to the VFL mark of the year contenders. Previous to that we’ve seen Riley Hamilton (GWS Giants), Dom Bedendo and Kaine Baldwin (Port Melbourne), Max Pescud (Southport), Jhye Clark (Geelong) and Hugh Dixon (Tasmania) take to the skies. Meanwhile, Max Heath took a towering match-saving mark in defence to win the game for Casey in Round 3. Who will take to the skies this weekend and add their name to this ever-growing list?

Contest is everything
Port Melbourne hosts Werribee on Sunday, with both sides fresh off unexpected victories in Round 5. According to Borough captain Tom Hird, it all comes down to the contest. “(Werribee’s) obviously a good team in the contest with Dom Bew and the other mids they have, and we sort of fancy ourselves as a pretty similar. So, I think that the game is going to come down to who wants it more in the contest and who can be more disciplined and a bit harder in the contest,” Hird said this week on the State of Play podcast.

Grand Final rematch
Southport and Footscray will meet for the first time since last year’s Grand Final. And as the adage goes: it’s not who you play, it’s when you get them. With the Dogs on their knees in the face of an injury crisis, Southport will be licking its lips at a chance at redemption. Footscray is one win ahead on the ladder and the Sharks have been vulnerable to high-scoring sides. Team selection looms as a big watch on Friday afternoon.

Double headers on the menu
Several double-headers feature throughout Round 6, with Geelong and North Melbourne facing off at GMHBA Stadium ahead of their respective AFL sides on Saturday afternoon, the Gold Coast Suns and GWS do the same at People First Stadium on Sunday, while Sydney Swans and Casey Demons clash at Tramway Oval in a game that leads into the AFL clash between the Swans and Melbourne at the SCG.

Hawks celebrate 500
Box Hill Hawks opens the round when they host Collingwood under lights at the Kennedy Community Centre. The match sees the Hawks celebrate 500 VFL games under the Box Hill-Hawthorn alignment. Current director John Ure was Box Hill’s treasurer in 1999 when the deal was made with then Hawthorn president Ian Dicker. A host of incredible players have pulled on the Hawks jumper in the time since, with the club celebrating three premierships across the journey. It’s fitting that their current coach is a legend of the club, Dave Mirra, who was named best afield in their most recent premiership triumph in 2018.

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