Southport's Max Spencer prepares to fire off a handpass. Picture: AFL Photos

SOUTHPORT 12.13 (85)
GWS 8.10 (58)

SOUTHPORT honoured the greatest name its club’s history and one of the biggest in Queensland football when it overran GWS in the final quarter to win by 27 points at Carrara’s newly named Austworld Centre on Sunday.

The Sharks are in mourning after legendary president Alan “Doc” McKenzie died on Friday at 76, having served a remarkable 49 years in the top job and previously being honoured by having the club’s best-and-fairest medal named after him.

Southport Sharks president and Queensland football legend Dr Alan McKenzie, who died on Friday aged 76. Picture: supplied.

McKenzie’s standing in the football community was acknowledged by AFL head office on Saturday and the Sharks’ players came to the party to knock off the previously undefeated Giants in a match that was shifted from Fankhauser Reserve.

But it was anything but easy as the Giants kicked the only two goals of the first quarter to lead by nine points, and when 100-gamer captain Ryan Hebron booted two in three minutes to answer Max Pescud early in the second, the margin was 14 and the gauntlet had been thrown down.

Southport fought back to take the lead by half-time and twice got out by 10 points in the third, only for GWS to regain the upper hand turning for home.

But coach Steve Daniel implored his team for one last big effort against a strong opponent that had been responsible for the Sharks’ only defeat in 2021 and his players responded with 5.3 to 0.4 to avoid losing consecutive matches and stay in touch with the top four.

Pescud played his best game at the level to finish with 24 disposals, eight marks, five inside-50s and 3.3 and Jay Lockhart was similarly influential with 23, eight marks and three goals, including two in the last quarter with the game on the line, while midfield stars Jacob Dawson (35 disposals, 13 clearances, five inside-50s, five tackles) and Boyd Woodcock (29, seven clearances, one goal) were again close to unstoppable.

Dawson’s co-captain Mike Manteit (23, seven marks), Billy Gowers (21, 10 inside-50s, one goal), Jesse Joyce (18, eight clearances, two goals) and ruckman Fraser Thurlow (14, five marks, 34 hitouts) were also influential to get the Sharks home despite star forward Jacob Townsend being held goalless in his first game back from suspension.

Jarrod Brander was outstanding again for the Giants as he gathered 22 disposals, 12 marks and a goal, while James Peatling (27, six clearances, six inside-50s, five tackles), Josh Green (24, six clearances, one goal), impressive second-gamer Lachlan Benton (22, seven clearances) and Jacob Wehr (18, eight marks) also impressed.

11:08

BOX HILL HAWKS 15.16 (106)
RICHMOND 10.13 (73)

BOX HILL Hawks climbed into the top eight for the first time this season after blitzing Richmond with an eight-goal final quarter to win by 33 points at Box Hill City Oval.

The Hawks lost their first two games and were in serious danger of slipping to 3-4 when the Tigers built a 27-point lead by the seven-minute mark of the second quarter with all their key players firing.

Despite losing Josh Ward to a heavy knock and acting captain Stuart Horner (hamstring), the home team gradually hauled in the deficit, getting within a point midway through the third term before going to the final break 10 points in arrears thanks to a late goal from Noah Cumberland.

But best-on-ground Callum Porter took just 14 seconds to open the scoring in the final term and the floodgates opened as Box Hill piled on seven unanswered goals in 22 minutes to blow the game wide open.

Box Hill Hawk Jai Serong puts everything into this kick during the win over Richmond. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos

Porter finished with 24 disposals, 10 clearances, five inside-50s, seven tackles and two last-quarter goals to break Richmond’s hearts while also shutting Riley Collier-Dawkins out in the second half, former skipper Damian Mascitti was brilliant in defence with 28 touches, seven marks, 10 rebounds ans six inside-50s, Jordan Cunico had 30, five marks, five inside-50s, five rebounds and a goal, Dan Howe picked up 26, five marks, five clearances, five inside-50s and nine tackles and Liam Shiels closed in on an AFL return with 24 touches, seven marks, eight clearances, six inside-50s and a goal.

Fergus Greene was a late inclusion for the second consecutive week and backed up last week’s five goals with another four (plus 10 marks) to charge up the Frosty Miller Medal leaderboard, while Ben Cavarra also kicked four to go with 19 touches, while lockdown key defender James Blanck was hard to beat again.

Thomson Dow was in sparkling touch for the Tigers with 23 disposals, 11 clearances and seven inside-50s, while Ben Miller (23, six marks, seven rebounds one goal), captain Lachlan Street (22, six marks, five rebounds), Jack Ross (22, five inside-50s, one goal), Hugo Ralphsmith (22, five rebounds) and Samson Ryan (16, five marks, 37 hitouts, five clearances) also played well.

12:51
Hugo Ralphsmith had a solid return from injury for Richmond. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos

NORTHERN BULLANTS 9.10 (64)
PORT MELBOURNE 12.8 (80)

PORT Melbourne marked becoming the first club to play 500 matches in the VFL era and put a dampener on the Northern Bullants’ first Preston heritage day of the season by overrunning the home team for the 16-point win at the newly-named Genis Steel Oval.

Sporting the famous PFC monogram, the Bullants marched out of the blocks with the first five goals of the game to lead by 29 points late in the opening term before the Borough responded with the next five to hit the front at the 25-minute mark of the second.

Two late goals restored the home team’s lead by half-time but it wasted its second chance at the breeze in the third term, kicking 0.6 to 2.0 despite dominating with 19 inside-50s to four, and it paid the ultimate price as Port kicked five goals to one in the last quarter to bank its second win of the year.

Ethan Phillips was the difference for the Borough as he repeatedly picked off Northern’s forward forays – particularly in that decisive third quarter – to finish with 30 disposals and 14 marks, while Jake Gasper (four) and Fletcher Roberts (three) finished off the work up forward with seven goals between them.

Bullants wingman Liam Mackie was champing at the bit after missing the first six games to a pre-season suspension and he responded with 18 disposals, five marks and three goals.

The midfields of each team produced a ding-dong battle, with Port Melbourne’s Eli Templeton (33 disposals, 12 marks, five clearances, five inside-50s, seven rebounds, nine tackles), Tom O’Sullivan (28, 11 marks), Marcus Lentini (27, eight clearances, eight inside-50s, seven tackles), Corey Wagner (23, five rebounds, one goal), Harvey Hooper (22, five marks, six clearances) and Cody Stackelberg (21, 10 marks) all winning significant numbers.

Bullants Tom Wilson (29, five marks, five clearances, seven inside-50s), Jackson Barling (26, five marks, eight clearances, 13 tackles) and Will Mitchell (27) were also prolific, but the weight of numbers from the Borough sextet proved too much in the end as the late withdrawal of Tim Jones (illness) hurt in the final wash-up.

12:29
Box Hill Hawk Kyle Hartigan takes a mark on the fly. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos

NORTH MELBOURNE 10.7 (67)
CASEY DEMONS 26.21 (177)

BOOM first-round draft pick Jacob van Rooyen and big forward Sam Weideman each kicked six goals as the undefeated Casey Demons ran roughshod over a helplessly undermanned North Melbourne by 110 points at Aegis Park.

Fielding just five AFL-listed players and none more experienced than Patrick Walker’s 12 VFL matches, the Kangaroos were always going to be up against it, but held the margin to one point midway through the first quarter when debutant Bode Stevens kicked a goal.

But the floodgates soon opened and the Demons kicked the last three goals of that term before adding 6.5 to 3.1 in the second, a dominant 9.5 to 2.1 in the third and 6.4 to 3.3 in the last for their biggest win over North, topping the 107-point margin of early last season.

02:44

No.19 draft pick van Rooyen kicked 6.2 from 22 disposals and six marks, while Weideman also finished with 6.2 from 20 touches and six marks as Casey had 47 scoring shots from 73 inside-50s, with Bailey Laurie also kicking four majors.

Luke Dunstan was dominant in the middle with 32 possessions, 14 clearances, eight inside-50s and three goals, as was captain Mitch White (27, 11 clearances, eight inside-50s, one goal), Jimmy Munro (26, seven clearances, five tackles) and Toby Bedford (25, six clearances, six tackles, two goals) as they capitalised on Majak Daw (seven marks, 44 hitouts) and Jack Bell (25 hitouts) monstering Zach Monkhorst and Hamish Murphy in the ruck, while Adam Tomlinson (27, six marks, nine rebounds was a tower of strength in defence.

Kangaroo defender Marty Hore continues to make a case for another AFL chance with 33 disposals, 14 rebounds and a goal against the flood of forward entries his former club threw at him, while another former Demon in Dom Tyson (29, five marks, nine clearances), best-and-fairest winner Harry Jones (25, six clearances and a stunning goal from close to 80m out in the dying stages) and Josh Guthrie (24) all battled hard.

14:48

 

Richmond's Jack Ross makes a break. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos

SMITHY’S VFL LADDER, ROUND 8 – click here

Hawk Brady Grey cops a hip and shoulder. Picture: AFL Photos

THIS WEEK

ROUND 9: Saturday, May 21: Port Melbourne v Southport (ETU Stadium, 12.05pm); Footscray v Gold Coast (Victoria University Whitten Oval, 12.05pm); Coburg v Sydney (Piranha Park, 1.05pm); Brisbane Lions v Williamstown (Moreton Bay Sports Complex, 1.35pm); Richmond v Essendon (MCG, 2.45pm). Sunday, May 22: GWS v Werribee (Giants Stadium, 10.05am); Carlton v Sandringham (Ikon Park, 12.01pm); Northern Bullants v Geelong (Genis Steel Oval, 1.05pm). Bye: Box Hill Hawks, Casey Demons, Collingwood, Frankston, North Melbourne.

NEXT WEEK: ROUND 10: Friday, May 27: Sydney v Richmond (Lakeside Oval, 2.05pm). Saturday, May 28: Southport v Brisbane Lions (Fankhauser Reserve, 12.05pm); Williamstown v Footscray (Williamstown, 2.05pm); Gold Coast v Box Hill Hawks (Austworld Centre, 3.05pm). Sunday, May 29: Essendon v Coburg (Windy Hill, 11.35am); Werribee v Collingwood (Avalon Airport Oval, 12pm); Geelong v GWS (GMHBA Stadium, 12.05pm); Northern Bullants v Carlton (Preston City Oval, 1.05pm); Frankston v Casey Demons (Skybus Stadium, 2.05pm); Sandringham v North Melbourne (Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval, 2.15pm). Bye: Port Melbourne.

THEN: ROUND 11: Friday, June 3: Brisbane Lions v Northern Bullants (Moreton Bay Sports Complex, 3.35pm); Footscray v Geelong (Victoria University Whitten Oval, 4.05pm). Saturday, June 4: Casey Demons v Sydney (MCG, 3.45pm). Sunday, June 5: Collingwood v Gold Coast (AIA Centre, 11.05am); Coburg v Frankston (Piranha Park, 12.35pm); North Melbourne v Box Hill Hawks (Aegis Park, 1.05pm); Port Melbourne v Williamstown (ETU Stadium, 2.10pm). Bye: Carlton, Essendon, GWS, Richmond, Sandringham, Southport, Werribee.

Twitter: @BRhodesVFL

Richmond's Samson Ryan wins a hitout against Box Hill Hawks' Dave Brinker-Ritchie. Picture: Darrian Traynor/AFL Photos

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 www.afl.com.au and the AFL Live and VFL apps. Radio 3WBC is again broadcasting Box Hill Hawks matches.
To access live scores, results, ladder, stats and to link to live streams/replays, download the VFL/W Official App from the Apple or Google Play stores.