GOLD COAST 14.7 (91)
WERRIBEE 12.17 (89)
JACK Bowes produced matchwinning plays at both ends as Gold Coast claimed a heartstopping two-point Smithy’s VFL victory over Werribee at the Metricon Stadium Training Oval on Sunday.
After the Tigers had hauled in a 37-point half-time deficit to set up the grandstand finish, the final quarter produced some of the best football seen this season, with both teams desperately trying to find a sealer as the rain arrived to add an extra element to the battle.
Werribee star Shaun Mannagh looked like he had done just that when he snapped a terrific goal to take the lead in the 25th minute, but surprising misses from Ollie Hanrahan and Tom Gribble kept the door open and the Suns swept the ball down the field where Bowes roved it off a pack and tumbled it through as the clock ticked past 31.
There was still time for the visitors as the ball scrambled around the top of their goalsquare and a last-ditch left-foot snap from Dom Brew was on target, only to land on the chest of Bowes right on the goal line as the siren sounded on an epic.
Werribee would be left to rue its kicking for goal, in particular three in a row just before quarter-time that would have given it a handy lead before the Suns exploded with eight straight in the second term, and then again in the third when it totally dominated but kicked 6.7 to 1.2.
Gold Coast was irrepressible in the second quarter in particular, led by Charlie Constable (30 disposals, five marks, eight clearances, seven inside-50s, eight tackles), Rory Atkins (26, six inside-50s, one goal) and Elijah Hollands (23, five marks, five clearances, five inside-50s, seven tackles), with some of the delivery into key forwards Sam Day and Joel Jeffrey (three goals each) being unstoppable.
Caleb Graham (20, seven marks, six rebounds) and Mac Andrew (20, six rebounds) were also outstanding down back, while Rhys Nicholls (25), Jez McLennan (23, six marks, six tackles) and Sam Flanders (22, six clearances, six tackles, one goal) were also important.
Co-captains Gribble (37, eight clearances, nine inside-50s, five tackles) and Brew (32, 11 clearances, six inside-50s, six rebounds, six tackles) were huge again for Werribee and would have deserved to be the hero, with Mannagh (25, nine clearances, eight inside-50s, eight tackles, two goals) recapturing his best and Hanrahan (29, five clearances, five inside-50s, seven tackles, one goal), Kye Declase (21, five marks, two goals) and the lively Jay Dahlhaus (three goals) also in everything.
BOX HILL HAWKS 11.6 (72)
CASEY DEMONS 10.19 (79)
KADE Chandler saved the Casey Demons’ blushes with a sparkling last quarter to lead his team to a seven-point win over Box Hill Hawks at Box Hill City Oval.
The Hawks got out of jail despite kicking poorly against Coburg last week, but it was their accuracy that kept them in it this time as the Demons sprayed 19 behinds from 29 scoring shots before Chandler, who had been quiet all day, came to the rescue.
Trailing by 17 at the final change, the Hawks charged into the lead with goals to Emerson Jeka, Jai Serong and James Parsons, but Chandler bobbed up with three goals in 12 minutes to seal the deal, despite Ben Cavarra also sneaking in with the 150th goal of his outstanding VFL career.
Jimmy Munro was Jimmy Munro in the middle, finishing with 23 disposals, five marks, eight clearances and seven inside-50s, with Bailey Laurie (24, seven inside-50s, one goal) also enjoying a strong performance and Majak Daw (31 hitouts), Andy Moniz-Wakefield, Oskar Baker, Mitch White (two goals) and George Gray (two goals) also doing some good things.
Hawk Ed Phillips was hard to top for best-on-ground honours across the four quarters, however, taking 15 marks on his way to 30 disposals and a goal, with Mason De Wit again sparkling alongside him with 26, five marks and nine rebounds.
James Blanck claimed a second successive scalp after shutting down Edyn Sibbald last week, holding Mitch Brown to just three behinds after skipper Hugh Beasley suffered a hamstring injury, while Damian Mascitti (24, five marks, eight rebounds) and Dan Howe (22, eight marks) were also instrumental and Jeka kicked three goals.
NORTHERN BULLANTS 5.8 (38)
GWS 23.10 (148)
JAKE Riccardi didn’t take long to ensure the Northern Bullants wouldn’t be able to claim a second straight NSW scalp as he piled on nine goals to lead GWS to a 110-point belting at Preston City Oval.
Riccardi kicked his first inside 46 seconds and had five within 22 minutes as the Giants stunned the Bullants with 11 goals to one in the opening term.
While the home team was able to minimise the damage after that, conceding 12 goals to four, it was still an ominous display from the unbeaten Giants as they took the frustrations of last week’s draw with Sandringham out on the Bullants.
Riccardi finished with 9.1 from 23 disposals and 10 marks and will be hard pressed to leave out of this week’s AFL team, but he wasn’t alone in the domination with Tanner Bruhn answering his own omission with 31 disposals, six clearances and a goal, Jarrod Brander on song with 27 touches and 16 marks and James Peatling (30, five tackles), Jacob Wehr (28, six marks, one goal), Josh Fahey (27, five marks, six inside-50s, five rebounds), Xavier O’Halloran (24, eight clearances, eight inside-50s, six tackles, one goal) and Zach Sproule (seven marks, three goals) also doing as they pleased.
Captain Tom Wilson (29 disposals, six marks, five clearance, six inside-50s) again battled valiantly for the Bullants, who had upset Sydney before the bye, with Jackson Barling (22, 10 clearances), Matthew King (23, nine marks), Baxter Knight (23, seven marks) and Mutaz El Nour (19, six rebounds) all trying hard and Jack Boyd taking six marks and kicking three goals from limited opportunities.
SYDNEY 8.7 (55)
BRISBANE LIONS 17.12 (114)
BRISBANE Lions also produced a devastating first quarter on their way to thrashing Sydney by 59 points at the SCG.
The Lions kicked seven unanswered goals in the first 18 minutes and eight to one for the quarter, and although the Swans managed to hold them scoreless for more than a term and get back within seven points early in the third, the effort was too much and they conceded the next eight.
Rhys Mathieson was everywhere for the Lions in picking up 31 disposals, 11 clearances, six inside-50s, six tackles and a goal, while Mitch Robinson (28, nine marks, 10 inside-50s, one goal) dominated in his first State league match for nine years and Tom Berry (26, eight clearances, two goals), Jack Payne (24, 12 marks) and Deven Robertson (24, eight marks, seven clearances, two goals) were also a class above.
Possible No.1 father-son draft pick Will Ashcroft only raised his value with a sparkling VFL debut that produced 26 disposals, five marks, four clearances, six inside-50s and nine tackles, while Nakia Cockatoo and Blake Coleman kicked three goals each.
Sydney was brave in fighting back but ultimately outclassed despite the efforts of Ryan Clarke (41 disposals, 10 marks, five clearances, seven inside-50s, five rebounds), Lewis Taylor (31, seven marks), Colin O’Riordan (26, five marks, 10 rebounds) and Nick Shipley (21, nine marks, two goals), while Callum Sinclair (19, 40 hitouts, 10 clearances, one goal) worked hard all day and Harry Morrison kicked three goals.
GEELONG 10.6 (66)
WILLIAMSTOWN 6.18 (54)
WILLIAMSTOWN missed a golden opportunity for its first win of the season and suffered two injury blows to boot as it fell to Geelong by 12 points at GMHBA Stadium.
The Seagulls made things hard for themselves by kicking 2.7 in the first quarter to trail by five points despite having five more scoring shots, and it didn’t get much better as they added 1.3, 0.5 and 2.3 in the subsequent terms to finish with 6.18 and fall to 0-5 despite those 24 scores to 16.
On top of that they lost returning captain Cam Polson very early and then James Cousins as he was threatening to win them the game, with Geelong doing enough to get over the line on the back of strong performances from Cooper Stephens (24 disposals, seven marks, six clearances, Jye Chalcraft (22, seven marks, six tackles), Matthew Ling (22, eight marks), Mitch Knevitt (20, six marks, one goal) and former Seagull Oliver Tate (18, 12 marks), while ex-Port Melbourne star Lachie Waddell kicked three goals in his first VFL match since 2019.
Liam Hunt (31 disposals, six marks, six clearances, one goal) was Williamstown’s best, while Jack Toner (30, five marks, six clearances) impressed through the middle, Finbar O’Dwyer (21, 12 marks, five rebounds), Teia Miles (26, seven marks) and Corey Preston (20, five marks, eight rebounds) starred down back and Tom Downie (22, four marks, 23 hitouts, 11 clearances) dominated the ruck.
FOOTSCRAY 13.12 (90)
ESSENDON 11.11 (77)
FOOTSCRAY may have kickstarted its stuttering season with a hard-fought 13-point win over winless Essendon at Victoria University Whitten Oval.
The Bulldogs trailed at half-time but took control with seven goals to three in the third term before holding firm in the last as the Bombers threw everything at them.
Skipper Lachie Sullivan was a welcome inclusion for Footscray and had 28 touches, seven inside-50s, eight tackles and a goal to lead the way alongside Rhylee West (26, five marks, five clearances, nine inside-50s), with Hayden Crozier (27, seven marks, six rebounds), draftee Luke Cleary (27, four marks, six rebounds) and Cody Raak (18, nine marks, six rebounds) impressing in defence, Bailey van de Heuvel pulling in 11 marks and Buku Khamis continuing to relish his move forward with another four goals.
Essendon captain Joe Atley was also his team’s best with 25 possessions, five marks, and eight clearances, Nick Hind enjoyed the run with 23 and five marks, Garrett McDonagh had his best game as a Bomber with 22, seven marks, six rebounds an a goal, Brayden Ham fired with 21, 11 marks, five inside-50s and a goal and Nick Bryan had 30 hitouts, four marks and a goal.
SANDRINGHAM 15.9 (99)
FRANKSTON 7.10 (52)
SANDRINGHAM climbed into sixth spot on the ladder with a convincing 47-point win over a disappointing Frankston at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval.
The Dolphins looked to be finding their best form in wins over Essendon and North Melbourne either side of their first bye, but were never in the contest against a strong Zebras team led by Ryan Byrnes, who picked up 25 touches, five marks and six clearances while kicking three goals.
Jack Billings got some important match practice and earned 23 disposals, seven marks, five tackles and a goal, former St Kilda captain Jarryn Geary had 23, seven marks and five rebounds, Tom Highmore controlled the backline with 21, nine marks and Zak Jones got through another game with 20 and six marks, Goy Lok had 19 and seven marks and Sam Dunell took 10 grabs and kicked three goals.
The only concern coming out of the match for Sandringham (and St Kilda) was a left knee injury to Jack Bytel in the shadows of three quarter-time.
The Dolphins were best served by their regular stars in Will Fordham (25, six clearances, seven tackles), Trent Mynott (20, five clearances, 10 tackles) and Josh Newman (21, five rebounds), but they lost every key stat convincingly.
SMITHY’S VFL LADDER, ROUND 6 – click here
THIS WEEK
ROUND 7: Saturday, May 7: Brisbane Lions v Coburg (Moreton Bay, 12.35pm); Port Melbourne v Richmond (ETU, 12.35pm); Werribee v Sydney (Avalon, 1.05pm); Sandringham v Northern Bullants (Barker, 2.05pm); Williamstown v Gold Coast (Williamstown, 2.05pm); North Melbourne v Geelong (3.05pm, Aegis); Frankston v Carlton (Skybus, 7.05pm). Sunday, May 8: Casey Demons v Southport (Casey, 12.35pm); Essendon v Box Hill Hawks (Windy Hill, 2.10pm). Bye: Collingwood, Footscray, GWS.
NEXT WEEK: ROUND 8: Saturday, May 14: Collingwood v Footscray (AIA, 2.05pm); Williamstown v Frankston (Williamstown, 7.35pm). Sunday, May 15: North Melbourne v Casey Demons (Aegis, 12pm); Northern Bullants v Port Melbourne (Preston, 1.05pm); Southport v GWS (Fankhauser, 1.35pm); Box Hill Hawks v Richmond (Box Hill, 2.05pm). Bye: Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Coburg, Essendon, Geelong, Gold Coast, Sandringham, Sydney, Werribee.
THEN: ROUND 9: Saturday, May 21: Port Melbourne v Southport (ETU, 12.05pm); Footscray v Gold Coast (Whitten, 12.05pm); Coburg v Sydney (Piranha, 1.05pm); Brisbane Lions v Williamstown (Moreton Bay, 1.35pm); Richmond v Essendon (MCG, 3.05pm). Sunday, May 22: GWS v Werribee (Giants, 10.05am); Carlton v Sandringham (Ikon, 12pm); Northern Bullants v Geelong (Preston, 1.05pm). Bye: Box Hill Hawks, Casey Demons, Collingwood, Frankston, North Melbourne.
Twitter: @BRhodesVFL
All VFL matches in 2022 are live-streamed free. The match of the round can be viewed on Channel 7, while all remaining games are streamed live and on demand via the AFL Live and VFL apps. Radio 3WBC is again broadcasting Box Hill Hawks matches.
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