IT was a monumental weekend for the two celebrating standalone clubs in Round 19 of the Smithy’s VFL last week, with Coburg and Williamstown pulling off famous victories to make their big days.

While Port Melbourne found an early morning start on an interstate trip a bridge too far for captain Tom O’Sullivan’s 150^th VFL appearance, the Lions ventured out to Ballarat and crushed Geelong by 44 points to make their 1800^th VFA/VFL game in style.

Yes, it might have been the Cats’ seventh loss in a row as their season spirals at a rapid rate, but they had not heard “The Coburg Pride You Know” ring out after a final siren since April 18, 2009 – 13 victories and 13 long years ago.

The challenge was also seen as a big one for the Seagulls as they entered their 1150^th game at Williamstown Cricket Ground in 20^th spot against the fourth-placed Carlton as rank underdogs but dominated from the first bounce to record a 14-point win that flattered the Blues.

The other big result came at the SCG, where Sydney(/South Melbourne) cruised past little brother GWS to record its 350^th VFA/NEAFL/VFL win in just its 526^th game – a record of 350-130-46 represents an impressive 70.9 per cent win/draw rate.

Celebrations continue to come thick and fast in the Smithy’s VFL, and Williamstown is among the clubs marking a milestone again this week, with the famous club to become the first VFA/VFL team to play 2550 matches in Saturday’s huge clash with another high-flying opponent in Collingwood at AIA Centre.

Remarkably the Seagulls (1376-1123-50 – 54.96% win/draw rate) would have shared the achievement with arch-rival Port Melbourne if it didn’t have a bye – the Borough will hit 2550 next week against Frankston at ETU Stadium.

Werribee will mark 500 VFL-era matches when it plays for its season on Saturday morning, needing to knock off the third-placed Brisbane Lions at their Moreton Bay fortress of Red Rooster Park to keep its finals hopes alive.

The Tigers follow Williamstown, Port Melbourne, Casey Demons and Box Hill Hawks to hit the mark this year, which represents 500 matches since the competition was rebranded as the VFL in 1996.

Former NEAFL clubs Brisbane Lions and GWS also reach milestones this weekend, with the Lions (113-84-2) playing their 200^th NEAFL/VFL match against Werribee (and seeking their 50^th home win) and the Giants fronting up for their 100^th NEAFL/VFL home match against Essendon in the Giants Stadium curtainraiser with their own season on the line.

Frankston will have the eyes of the VFL community fixed on it on Saturday as it returns to Channel 7 action for the first time in four years against Box Hill Hawks for its Run For Rossy charity day supporting popular clubman Chris Ross and his fight against motor neurone disease – the Dolphins will be looking to channel Rossy’s spirit as they seek their 100^th home win in the VFL era (99-128-5).

There are also another host of individual milestones – headed by Aaron Francis (Essendon) and Shaun Mannagh (Werribee) in their 50^th VFL matches.

Twitter: @BRhodesVFL

FROSTY MILLER MEDAL LEADING GOALKICKER

44 Chris Burgess (GC) 2
42 Fergus Greene (Box) bye
33 Ben Cavarra (Box) bye
32 Ben Crocker (Car) 0
32 Sam Day (GC) 3
29 Mitch Brown (Cas) 3
29 Jacob Townsend (Sou) 1
28 Shannon Neale (Gee) 0
28 Jacob van Rooyen (Cas) 5
27 Joel Amartey (Syd) dnp
27 Billy Gowers (Sou) 2

SMITHY’S VFL ROUND 19 PLAYER MILESTONES

• 150 VFL matches: Tom O'Sullivan (Port Melbourne) 53 goals
• 100 VFL matches: Nil
• 100 NEAFL/VFL matches: Nil
• 50 VFL matches: Billy Murphy (Northern Bullants/Box Hill Hawks)/60 goals (plus 20/39 NEAFL); Mitch Podhajski (Coburg)/40 goals; Campbell Walker (Port Melbourne)/25 goals (plus 21/7 NEAFL)
• 50 NEAFL/VFL matches: Jesse Joyce (Southport/Gold Coast)/17 goals (including 24/26 NEAFL); Harry Morrison (Sydney/Sydney University)/61 goals (including 29/21 NEAFL)
• 50 club matches: Nil
• 100 VFL goals: Nil
• 50 VFL goals: Nil
• 50 NEAFL/VFL goals: Alex Sexton (Gold Coast)/41 matches (including 24/26 NEAFL)

SMITHY’S VFL ROUND 19 CLUB MILESTONES

• Coburg played its 1800th VFA/VFL match (936-846-18)
• Williamstown played its 1150th VFA/VFL match at Williamstown Cricket Ground (741-390-19)
• Sydney recorded its 350th VFA/NEAFL/VFL win (350-130-46)
• Coburg broke a 13-match losing streak v Geelong, winning for the first time since April 18, 2009
• Brisbane Lions defeated Richmond for the first time (1-1)
• Collingwood v Southport happened for the first time (1-0)
• Footscray defeated Werribee for the sixth time a row (only loss, April 30, 2016, Whitten Oval)
• Footscray extended its undefeated VFL record v Werribee at Chirnside Park to 5-0
• Gold Coast v Port Melbourne happened at Carrara for the first time (1-0)
• Gold Coast defeated Port Melbourne for the first time (1-1)
• GWS fell behind in NEAFL/VFL away matches (39-40-1)
• Richmond v Brisbane Lions happened at Punt Rd for the first time (0-1)
• Southport squared its NEAFL/VFL away record (46-46)
• Sydney took a lead in VFL matches at the SCG (2-1)
• Sydney took a lead in VFL matches v GWS (2-1)
• Williamstown v Carlton happened for the first time in 20 years
• Williamstown took the lead in home matches v Carlton overall (7-6) and in the VFL era (2-1)

SMITHY’S VFL ROUND 19 RECORDS

(Figures in brackets are the previous record)

• 12.12 84 Brisbane Lions' highest score v Richmond (12.8 80, Gabba, 2021)
• 5.9 39 Geelong's lowest score v Coburg (6.9 45, Kardinia Park, 2001)
• 19.14 128 Gold Coast's highest score v Port Melbourne (15.7 97, Fankhauser Reserve, 2010)
• 5.9 39 GWS's lowest score v Sydney at the SCG (8.7 55, 2017)
• 8.11 59 Port Melbourne's lowest score v Gold Coast (15.19 109, Fankhauser Reserve, 2010)
• 8.11 59 Richmond's lowest score v Brisbane Lions (21.16 142, Gabba, 2021)
• 38 Sydney's biggest win v GWS at the SCG (36, 2017)
• 9.4 58 Werribee's lowest score v Footscray (8.13 61, Chirnside Park, 2015)

SMITHY’S VFL ROUND 19 DEBUTS

(Round 19 total: 5. Season total: 292. NEAFL games counted)

• Coburg (8): Tom Jepson
• Footscray (15): Alex Keath
• Geelong (24): Zach Zdybel
• Northern Bullants (12): Brodie Tonkin
• Williamstown (12): Tom Evans

SMITHY’S VFL ROUND 19 FIRST GOALS

(Round 19 total: 6. Season total: 246. NEAFL goals counted)

• Coburg (5): Ben Reddick (8th)
• Collingwood (15): Zach Molloy (5th)
• Geelong (14): Zach Zdybel (debut)
• North Melbourne (15): Nathan Beattie (2nd)
• Richmond (13): Tom Brown (14th)
• Williamstown (10): Jack Noonan (3rd)

SMITHY’S VFL ROUND 20 MILESTONES

• 2550 VFA/VFL matches: Williamstown (1376-1123-50)
• 500 VFL matches: Werribee (290-207-2)
• 200 NEAFL/VFL matches: Brisbane Lions (113-84-2)

SMITHY’S VFL POSSIBLE ROUND 20 MILESTONES

• 100 VFA/VFL home wins: Frankston (99-128-5)
• 50 NEAFL/VFL home wins: Brisbane Lions (49-30-2)
• 50 VFA/VFL away losses: Sydney (77-49-24)
• 100 VFL matches: Nil
• 100 NEAFL/VFL matches: Nil
• 50 VFL matches: Aaron Francis (Essendon); Shaun Mannagh (Werribee/Richmond); Sam McLarty (Coburg/Essendon/Williamstown/Collingwood)
• 50 NEAFL/VFL matches: Joel Amartey (Sydney); Sam Naismith (Sydney)
• 100 VFL goals: Wylie Buzza (Brisbane Lions/Werribee/Geelong) needs 2; Corey Rich (Williamstown/Frankston/Sandringham) needs 8
• 100 NEAFL/VFL goals: Billy Murphy (Northern Bullants/Aspley/Box Hill Hawks) needs 1
• 50 VFL goals: Jed Anderson (North Melbourne/Box Hill Hawks) needs 1; Matt Hanson (Werribee) needs 2; Joe Maishman (Werribee) needs 2; Dan Butler (Sandringham/Richmond/North Ballarat) needs 5; Bailey Dale (Footscray) needs 5; Paddy McCartin (Sydney/Essendon/Sandringham) needs 5; Josh Schache (Footscray) needs 6; James Stewart (Essendon) needs 6; Hudson Garoni (Werribee) needs 7; Jesse Hogan (GWS/Casey Demons) needs 9
• 50 NEAFL/VFL goals: Sam Wicks (Sydney/Brisbane Lions) needs 5; Reuben William (Werribee/Footscray/Brisbane Lions) needs 6; Tom Fullarton (Brisbane Lions) needs 7

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