The opening weekend of the 2026 Smithy’s VFL Finals Series produced commanding performances in each of the wildcard finals on Saturday.

SYDNEY SWANS        6.4        12.4     19.8     22.14 (146)
FRANKSTON              1.5        5.8        7.10     11.12 (78)

Sydney won its first ever final in the Smithy’s VFL, flying past Frankston with a 68-point victory at Blacktown International Sports Park. The Swans looked dangerous from the opening whistle, as their slick transition from defence to attack was responsible for their first three majors, which came inside just seven minutes of play. The Dolphins meanwhile could only manage four behinds in that time before finally kicking their first goal of the game at the 11-minute mark. The hosts however would respond with the next three goals of the game, highlighted by Jake Sutton’s third of the quarter, to help create a 29-point quarter time lead. Frankston would create more opportunities inside forward 50 in the second quarter but would only reduce the deficit to as low as 20 points by the 19-minute mark of the term before Jevan Phillipou produced back-to-back majors, the first of which being a classy right foot snap on the run, to make it a 38-point ball game by half time. The third term would be the defining term for the Swans who kicked seven majors whilst conceding just two. Phillipou picked up where he left off with the first two goals of the quarter before his side kicked five of the next seven goals of a high scoring term to make it a 70-point lead at the final break. It would be an uneventful last term despite seven majors being kicked between both sides. The hosts would produce nine scoring shots for a return of three goals, but the damage had been done as they earnt an elimination final date with Port Melbourne. It was the eighth time this season that Sydney booted 100 points or greater in a match, with Phillipou (six goals) and Sutton (five goals) playing a big part in the final scoreline. Phillipou would produce a best on ground performance by also having 25 touches, eight inside 50s and seven score involvements. With a younger Swans side on show, they were led well by Corey Warner (26 disposals, five inside 50s, one goal) and Ned Bowman (24 disposals, 13 rebound 50s). The Dolphins, who’s season comes to an end after a preliminary final appearance 12 months ago, saw great performances from the likes of Jackson Voss (37 disposals, five intercept possessions) and Lachlan Reidy (31 disposals, eight inside 50s, two goals).

BEST
Sydney Swans: Corey Warner, Jevan Phillipou, Joe Harrison, Jake Sutton, Patrick Snell, Ned Bowman
Frankston: Not submitted
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WILLIAMSTOWN       5.2        9.5        17.6     19.7 (121)
CARLTON                    0.3        3.4        3.9       12.11 (83)

Williamstown’s perfect record in Smithy’s VFL wildcard finals continued as they cruised to a 38-point victory over Carlton at DSV Stadium for their third-consecutive wildcard victory.  The Seagulls were in sync and had the Blues on the backfoot for much of the first term, producing eight consecutive scoring shots, one of those being a terrific team-goal from defence to attack that was finished off by Heath Ollington at the 12-minute mark. The home side would ultimately keep Carlton goalless to quarter time with a 31-point advantage behind them. The Blues would finally get things going with two of the first three majors of the second term, but their momentum would be short lived as the Gulls converted some set shots into the breeze to take a 37-point lead into the main break. Just as the Swans would do north of the border, Williamstown would be at their most damaging in the third quarter, with a scintillating eight-goal term that included some brilliant passages of play and terrific stoppage work that didn’t allow Carlton to maintain possession of the football for long periods of time. Kallan Dawson’s fourth major of the match at the 29-minute mark of the third term would see the margin reach a game-high 82 points, before the home side took the foot off the gas in the last term. They would conceded nine goals as Carlton put some respectability on the scoreboard, but it would be too little too late as Justin Plapp earnt himself at least one more game as senior coach, with a huge clash against rivals Essendon to come in next week’s first elimination final at Windy Hill. Dawson would equal his season-high output of five majors and has now booted goals in his last six matches up forward. He also had eight marks, four of those contested, and five score involvements in what was a complete performance. Meanwhile Bailey Ryan was just as important in attack with four goals in his fifth game of the season, and Jake Greiser continued his ability to win plenty of the footy in the defensive half with 32 disposals, six rebound 50s and five intercept possessions. The visitors couldn’t carry their late season form into Saturday’s final, despite seeing strong performances from the likes of Ben Camporeale who had 36 disposals and nine score involvements, and Sam Paea who kicked a season-high four majors.

BEST
Williamstown: Kallan Dawson, Bailey Ryan, Luke Parks, Kye Turner, Aiden Bonar, David Cuningham
Carlton: Ben Camporeale, Jordan Boyd, Sam Paea, Flynn Young, Taj Logan, Lachlan Fogarty
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