TWO matches abandoned, one called off halfway through the first quarter, three teams coming from a long way behind and a matchwinning mark taken by a milestone man sitting on the ground – there really wasn’t much that didn’t happen in a round 16 you simply couldn’t write a script for.

The finals race probably reduced to 10 teams, the top four chase got even muddier between the five teams still in contention and an inspirational club captain was best on ground in an ultimately disappointing day for him and his team.

The Match Review Panel was also in action again, with Collingwood’s Cody Stackelberg receiving a one-match suspension for forceful front-on contact against Jai Newcombe in the first quarter of the Magpies’ 63-point loss to Box Hill Hawks on Saturday.

Hawk forward Jackson Callow received a $600 fine (AFL listed) with an early plea for striking Magpie Mark Keane, Williamstown midfielder Nick Mellington was fined $200 (VFL listed) for misconduct against Coburg and Carlton’s James Parsons was fined $150 (VFL listed) for rough conduct on Sandringham’s Jack Bytel.

Here are the Players of Round 16:

TOM GRIBBLE AND MATT HANSON (WERRIBEE)

Trailing 36-0 and in danger of seeing its season slip away at the hands of a team it had beaten by 160 points only 10 weeks earlier, Werribee was in desperate need of a hero – and it found two.

Reigning Liston medallist Tom Gribble and fellow gun midfielder Matt Hanson lifted the Tigers onto their backs and ground their way back into the game before powering away in the final quarter – the former finishing with 19 kicks, 17 handballs, six marks, nine tackles, nine clearances and six inside-50s and the latter with 17 kicks, 15 handballs, five tackles, eight clearances six inside-50s and a goal.

ANDREW PHILLIPS (CARLTON VIA ESSENDON)

Given permission to have a run for his former club after having been left behind when his Bombers fled to Queensland two weeks ago, Phillips produced a powerhouse performance to all-but end Sandringham’s season at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Oval.

Phillips had 27 hitouts, eight marks, 14 kicks, seven handballs, six inside-50s and kicked 3.2 to leave the Blues wishing he was still with them full-time.

RHYLEE WEST (FOOTSCRAY)

The son of Bulldogs great Scott, West has found it increasingly tough to break into the powerful AFL team, but he continues to be a main reason the VFL line-up remains undefeated with 18 consecutive home and away victories.

West wasn’t in the top six disposal winners on the ground but was the most influential, adding three crucial goals to his return of 16 kicks, 11 handballs, nine tackles, seven clearances and five inside-50s.

OLIVER HANRAHAN (BOX HILL HAWKS)

Has only played three games at VFL level in between nine in the AFL, but has been more impressive each time.

Hanrahan averaged 29 disposals and kicked three goals in Rounds 10-11 and had his own footy against Collingwood, stepping it up with 18 kicks, 18 handballs, five marks, nine clearances, nine inside-50s and a goal as the Hawks won a sixth game in a row to jump to third on the ladder.

JACK MAIBAUM (COBURG)

The former Swan was a huge reason why the Lions almost pulled off an upset win over Williamstown with a powerful display at centre half-back.

Maibaum had 16 disposals, took six marks and would have had double figures in the Golden Fist category if it was recorded – including two late to deny goalscoring opportunities, and on top of that he held the Seagulls’ No.1 forward Nick Rodda to just four disposals, one mark and no score.

JACK LESLIE (WILLIAMSTOWN)

At the other end of the ground was another big Jack, and he was almost as good as his namesake.

With support from Charlie Dean, Jack Leslie had 14 disposals, eight marks and a similar number of spoils as Maibaum, while holding Lions captain and matchwinner Peter McEvoy to nine disposals, three marks and two goals.

JOSH NEWMAN (FRANKSTON)

It turned out to be a losing cause, but the Dolphins’ skipper could not have done much more about it in his 100^th VFL game.

Newman had 19 touches in the first half and went on to finish with 22 kicks, eight handballs, six marks, eight tackles, 10 clearances and nine inside-50s in a performance that could secure him three Liston votes despite the result.

COREY RICH (WILLIAMSTOWN) AND BEN CROCKER (CARLTON)

A special mention for two of the three players to reach 50 VFL matches at the weekend (alongside Footscray’s Lewis Young).

Crocker was in terrific form in Carlton’s win over Sandringham with 17 disposals, eight marks and 4.4 from eight scoring shots, but it was Rich who was the matchwinner.

Quiet for most of the day, he bobbed up late to set up one goal, then took a mark while seated after tripping over, kicking the winning major to rescue Williamstown from a nine-point deficit against Coburg. 

TOP 10 PLAYERS AFTER ROUND 16

1. Jacob Dawson (Southport) 69
2. Darcy Fort (Geelong) 59
3. Tom Wilson (Northern Bullants) 48
4. Lewis Taylor (Sydney) 46
5. Corey Wagner (Port Melbourne) 45
6. Will Martyn (Richmond) 42.5
7. Jai Newcombe (Box Hill Hawks) 42
8. Mitch Hibberd (Williamstown) 41.5
9. Eli Templeton (Port Melbourne) 41
10. Matt Hanson (Werribee) 40

Twitter: @BRhodesVFL

Email: brendan.rhodes@afl.com.au

Keep track of your VFL team via our all new VFL Match Centre, which features live scores, team and player stats, match timeline, events summary and even Fantasy points. Check it out here. 

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