State of Play hosts Joe Pignataro and Gemma Bastiani preview the big topics ahead of this weekend's VFL and VFLW action.

Preliminary final rematches
Headlining a blockbuster Round 11 in the Smithy’s VFL, the final four from the 2025 season will all face off. Southport heads to Kinetic Stadium for the second time this season, this time to battle Frankston. Meanwhile, reigning premier Footscray will tackle the Box Hill Hawks at Box Hill City Oval. The formline of the Sharks and Dolphins is paralleled, with both sides inside the top 10 with five wins. Despite an lengthy injury list, Matt Primus will take great solace in the fact the Sharks never lost to Frankston in six outing. Footscray is a bogey side for Box Hill, having with the Bulldogs victorious in five of the past six clashes. A shock loss to St Kilda after winning five in a row might be the tonic the Hawks need to re-align themselves.

A must-win game for the Bulldogs
Liam Cavanagh has had a mixed bag in his start as coach of the Western Bulldogs’ VFLW team. A Round 1 bye to assess the competition, an impressive win over the Casey Demons in Round 2, followed by a hefty loss to a rampant Collingwood in Round 3. That has all culminated in a 10th placed ladder position, with the lowest percentage in the competition. The Bulldogs this week take on a winless Darebin side in a game they cannot afford to lose. Ellie Bishop has been the star in the first fortnight, but she’ll need more teammates to help her this weekend.

You can’t go past the Werribee formline
Werribee’s score of 27.1 (174) in last week’s big win over Essendon takes the mantle for the highest score of the year. And its 11-goal third quarter was the highest scoring term of the season, propelling the side to a second win in a row and springboarding the Tigers into the top four. With games against Coburg and Brisbane to come before the bye, the opportunity is in front of the 2024 premiers to cement a spot away from the chasing pack.

New coach, same dominance?
North Melbourne Werribee has announced Alex McKenzie as its new senior coach. McKenzie has spent four years with the Box Hill Hawks VFLW program and recently served on the Big V coaching panel for the State Game against the SANFLW. The Kangaroos remain unbeaten in 2026 as they surge for a third-straight title. Slow starts have been an area of concern across the opening three rounds but have been overcome by their incredible dominance after half-time, having conceded just one goal while kicking 20 themselves. Will the winning ways continue when they head down to the Apple Isle to take on Tasmania this weekend?

Coburg’s month of reckoning
The Burgers ticked the first box of ‘standalone month’ in Round 10, beating Williamstown in a gripping contest on Sunday. Werribee is next on the agenda, before facing off against Frankston and Port Melbourne. The fortunes of the club’s program was celebrated leading into last week’s match, with Mitch Podhasjki selected by Collingwood in the AFL Mid-Season Draft. Despite the side’s leading goal kicker not being there against the Seagulls, Coburg got the win by dominating possession and territory with 11 of the top 12 disposal winners on the ground. The formline of this week’s opponent Werribee is starting to stabilise under new coach Dan Lowther but Coburg is also playing a brand that fans can trust each week now. History is beckoning, with the last time Coburg recorded five win in a row coming all the way back in Rounds 5-9 of the 2008 season. Incidentally, the last time they reached the finals.

Talbot brings up game 300
Andrew Talbot became the VFL umpire games record holder in 2023 when he officiated his 236 match, surpassing goal umpire Peter Balding. This weekend he becomes the first VFL umpire to officiate 30 games when Port Melbourne and Williamstown clash at ETU Stadium. Debuting back in 2009, Talbot has achieved it all with this weekend’s milestone another feather in the cap. In 2023, Talbot spoke to the State of Play podcast and said “I’m just most proud of the people I’ve been able to connect with and the lifelong friendships I’ve been able to take away from the game.”

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