WERRIBEE has joined the NAB League in coming to the rescue of stranded non-Victorian clubs, loaning seven players to Gold Coast and Sydney for their VFL contests this weekend.

And GWS AFL captain Stephen Coniglio has finally overcome an ankle injury to play his first game in three months for the Giants on Saturday night.

Werribee, which has the bye, has allowed star fullback Nathan Cooper to line up for his former club the Swans against Frankston at Avalon Airport Oval on Sunday night.

Cooper will be joined in Sydney’s team by Tylar Watts (three games), Tom Boyd (six) and Darcy Chirgwin (debut), while Coburg has also pitched in with defender Josh Guthrie named as an emergency for the Swans.

The Suns will be boosted by Werribee trio Aidan Domic (four games), Logan Wagener (one) and debutant Archi Manton (the son of former Carlton player Glenn) for their clash with Box Hill Hawks at Box Hill City Oval.

They have been forced to make an unbelievable 17 changes to the team that beat Aspley in Round 10, with Caleb Graham the only AFL-listed player coming in, while Chris Burgess and Brayden Fiorini (AFL), Jarrod Harbrow, Elijah Hollands, Joel Jeffrey, Ned Moyle, Patrick Murtagh, Hewago Oea and Luke Towey will all miss.

Frankston has made at least six changes as it prepares for a possible two games in five days, recalling Ash Krakauer, Joe Lloyd, Harry Loughnan, Billy Mackay and Brent O’Leary and handing debuts to Liam Reidy and Austin Johnson in place of Jack Berry, Kai Owens, Riley D’Arcy, Callum Jones, Tom Small and Joel Crocker.

The Hawks lost Damon Greaves and Conor Nash to the AFL, but James Cousins is among the inclusions to face the Suns.

Coburg has regained tough midfielder Corey Ellis from an ankle injury for its return to Piranha Park to take on Carlton, with Guthrie being the only out from the team that lost to Footscray, while the Blues have handed a long-awaited debut to highly-touted youngster Zavier Maher, but have lost Tom Williamson (AFL) and mid-season draftee Jordan Boyd among three changes.

Northern Bullants have rewarded the 22 who landed the breakthrough victory over Carlton last week, naming an unchanged team to face Richmond at Preston City Oval, with the Tigers being weakened by Riley Collier-Dawkins, Patrick Naish, Jack Ross and Thomson Dow having played in the AFL on Thursday night.

Richmond’s 2019 premiership captain Steven Morris will make his long-awaited return from a knee injury for his first game since the horror loss to Werribee in round three, with Samson Ryan and Bigoa Nyuon also included among six changes.

Coniglio’s return isn’t the only massive boost for GWS ahead of its daunting clash with Casey Demons, with Jesse Hogan (calf) back after six weeks and Kieren Briggs and Matt de Boer dropping back from the AFL team.

Lachie Ash and Tom Green were promoted, while Nick Shipley is another key out as the Demons lost last week’s best-on-ground Nathan Jones and Mitch Brown to injury, with former Swan Zac Foot and youngster George Grey called up.

All of Collingwood, Sandringham, Footscray and North Melbourne have named squads of 30 or 31 for Sunday’s matches, headlined by the return of Kangaroo Jed Anderson (ankle) for his first game since the Round 3 AFL loss to the Bulldogs.

Follow on Twitter: @BRhodesVFL

BOX HILL HAWKS v GOLD COAST
Saturday, July 3, 11am @ Box Hill City Oval (WBC 94.1FM, 10.55am)

BOX HILL HAWKS
B: 50. D. Mascitti, 53. H. Beasley, 55. C. Porter
HB: 41. C. Downie, 27. M. Hartley, 13. O. Hanrahan
C: 35. J. Morris, 32. F. Maginness, 43. J. Saunders
HF: 39. E. Jeka, 31. K. Brooksby, 33. H. Pepper
F: 42. T. Brockman, 25. J. Callow, 40. S. Mitchell
R: 37. N. Reeves, 24. J. Cousins, 60. E. Phillips
Inter: 51. V. Adduci, 79. C. Beasley, 56. F. Greene, 61. B. Kilpatrick

Emerg: 71. C. Black, 66. M. DeWit, 62. S. Horner, 59. T. Mynott

*AFL emergencies underlined 

In: C. Beasley, Cousins, Pepper, S. Mitchell
Out: D. Greaves, C. Nash (AFL), DeWit, Horner

GOLD COAST
B: 43. J. McLennan, 20. J. Hombsch, 23. B. Reid
HB: 50. J. Farrar, 46. C. Graham, 35. L. Kidd
C: 2. R. Atkins, 7. W. Brodie, 6. A. Domic
HF: 9. A. Manton, 39. N. Gadsby, 41. M. Rosas
F: 8. B. Milford, 13. J. Neal, 21. J. Townsend
R: 12. H. Walsh, 44. D. MacPherson, 30. A. Davies
Inter: 25. F. Flockart, 11. L. Ritchie, 27. G. Varagiannis, 5. L. Wagener

*Players loaned by Werribee 

In: Domic, Flockart, Gadsby, Graham, Kidd, Manton, Milford, Neal, Reid, Ritchie, Varagiannis, Wagener, Walsh
Out: C. Burgess, B. Fiorini (AFL), W. Bella, F. Brown, J. Foggo, J. Harbrow, A. Harris, E. Hollands, J. Jeffrey, J. Johnston, N. Moyle, P. Murtagh, H. Oea, M. Pescud, B. Reeves, L. Towey, B. Uwland 

Prediction: Box Hill Hawks by 50

COBURG v CARLTON
Saturday, July 3, 1pm @ Piranha Park

COBURG
B: 7. L. Dickson, 6. H. Nolan, 9. R. Sturgess
HB: 2. J. Corigliano, 15. J. Maibaum, 5. R. Exon
C: 14. C. Ellis, 38. B. Jepson, 8. T. Silvestro
HF: 42. M. Lentini, 12. P. McEvoy, 1. L. Nelson
F: 4. S. Lowson, 31. A. Clarke, 10. M. Podhajski
R: 29. N. Mullenger-McHugh, 11. L. Bunker, 24. C. Thompson
Inter: 17. N. Boucher, 18. D. Cleary, 13. B. Gillard, 20. T. McKenzie

Emerg: 27. S. Binion, 28. J. D’Intinosante, 32. J. Davies, 16. A. Tsialtas

In: Ellis
Out: J. Guthrie (Sydney, loan)

CARLTON
B: 40. C. Stephens, 11. S. Radovanovic, 38. R. Stoddart
HB: 17. B. Kemp, 26. L. Parks, 33. S. Ramsay
C: 46. M. Cottrell, 20. T. North, 4. L. O’Brien
HF: 36. J. Honey, 43. T. Wooller, 31. J. Trudgeon
F: 29. C. Durdin, 24. B. Crocker, 13. D. Handley
R: 45. L. Goetz, 16. J. Carroll, 30. J. Parsons
Inter: 39. C. Hirst, 5. Z. Maher, 42. D. Marshall, 49. M. Shannon

Emerg: 59. L. Bond, 7. B. Caluzzi, 58. L. Gawel, 60. A. Gundry

*AFL emergencies underlined 

In: Handley, Maher, Marshall
Out: T. Williamson (AFL), J. Boyd, E. Delany 

Prediction: Coburg by 8 

NORTHERN BULLANTS v RICHMOND
Saturday, July 3, 2pm @ Preston City Oval

NORTHERN BULLANTS
B: 2. Z. Hart, 23. D. Lawrence, 27. B. Silvagni
HB: 10. M. King, 20. M. EL Nour, 41. J. Murphy
C: 4. L. Mackie, 11. T. Jones, 6. G. Strachan
HF: 30. H. Kennedy, 16. T. Smith, 3. J. Velissaris
F: 5. W. Murphy, 26. J. Boyd, 1. T. Wilson
R: 40. D. Hughes, 15. P. Ahern, 43. W. Mitchell
Inter: 9. S. Brazier, 32. M. Gundry, 24. N. Honey, 36. K. Quirk

Emerg: 25. B. Hurley, 14. H. Kerbatieh, 45. L. Podhajski, 7. D. Stone 

Unchanged

RICHMOND
B: 51. S. Morris, 46. B. Miller, 47. B. Nyuon
HB: 31. R. Mansell, 17. D. Rioli, 44. S. Stack
C: 43. D. Eggmolesse-Smith, 22. J. Caddy, 45. H. Ralphsmith
HF: 68. M. Bartlett, 49. M. Rioli, 52. A. Hicks
F: 38. N. Cumberland, 42. R. Garthwaite, 55. L. Street
R: 32. S. Ryan, 36. W. Martyn, 37. M. Parker
Inter: 63. D. Cook, 54. B. Melville, 65. J. Nathan, 57. N. Oakes

Emerg: 70. W. Bravo, 69. J. Sexton 

In: Bartlett, Cook, Morris, Nyuon, Oakes, Ryan
Out: R. Collier-Dawkins, T. Dow, P. Naish, J. Ross (AFL), B. Henderson, G. McDonagh 

Prediction: Richmond by 25

CASEY DEMONS v GWS GIANTS
Saturday, July 3, 7.30pm @ Casey Fields (Casey Radio 97.7FM, www.caseyradio.com.au, 7pm)

CASEY DEMONS
B: 1. J. Lockhart, 15. J. Smith, 21. D. Turner
HB: 3. J. Bowey, 27. A. Bradtke, 2. N. Jetta
C: 10. O. Baker, 22. A. Vandenberg, 20. K. Declase
HF: 5. K. Chandler, 29. S. Weideman, 6. B. Laurie
F: 4. T. Bedford, 30. B. Brown, 12. M. White
R: 28. M. Daw, 18. J. Melksham, 9. J. Munro
Inter: 8. Z. Foot, 11. G. Grey, 19. F. Rosman, 7. D. Smith

Emerg: 14. J. Bell, 24. L. Modica, 16. M. Shepherd, 17. R. Sparkes

*AFL emergencies underlined 

In: Foot, Grey
Out: M. Brown, N. Jones

GWS GIANTS
B: 21. M. Buntine, 42. J. Stein, 29. C. Fleeton
HB: 45. J. Peatling, 46. C. Brown, 10. J. Wehr
C: 9. R. Angwin, 24. M. De Boer, 35. W. Shaw
HF: 5. T. Bruhn, 73. H. Grintell, 71. F. Kelly
F: 23. J. Hogan, 26. J. Riccardi, 28. Z. Sproule
R: 32. K. Briggs, 3. S. Coniglio, 33. X. O’Halloran
Inter: 62. J. Fahey, L. Fellows, 65. S. Frost, 75. M. Monaghan

In: Briggs, Coniglio, De Boer, Fahey, Fellows, Frost, Hogan, F. Kelly, Monaghan
Out: L. Ash, T. Green (AFL), K. Chalcraft, W. Derksen, L. Kidd, C. McLeod, T. Panuccio, N. Shipley, C. Stone

*AFL emergencies underlined

Prediction: Casey Demons by 31

COLLINGWOOD v SANDRINGHAM
Sunday, July 4, 12pm @ Holden Centre, Olympic Park (Channel 7, 7Plus)

COLLINGWOOD
B: 34. I. Chugg, 11. M. Keane, 21. T. Ruscoe
HB: 8. T. Bianco, 32. W. Hoskin-Elliott, 44. J. Madgen
C: 27. C. Poulter, 36. B. Sier, 12. T. Wilson
HF: 28. N. Murphy, 20. W. Kelly, 1. J. Rantall
F: 35. O. Henry, 46. M. Cox, 29. L. McMahon
R: 15. M. Lynch, 17. C. Brown, 18. F. Macrae
Inter: 53. J. Booth, 49. S. Fowler, 33. J. Ginnivan, 45. C. Hustwaite, 48. C. Lane, 57. L. McDonnell, 52. K. Schreiber, 54. C. Stackelberg, 51. L. Tardrew, 43. A. Tohill, 56. I. Wallace, 47. C. Wellings

*AFL extended interchange underlined 

In: Bianco, C. Brown, Cox, Hoskin-Elliott, Madgen, Murphy, Poulter, Wallace
Out: Nil

SANDRINGHAM
B: 61. T. Milne, 39. D. Joyce, 50. A. Seaton
HB: 30. M. Allison, 38. O. Clavarino, 82. D. Frampton
C: 55. D. Coffield, 69. C. Henness, 57. J. McHale
HF: 86. D. Hipwell, 65. C. Carey, 49. C. Sharman
F: 56. F. Bayne, 75. S. Dunell, 13. J. Lonie
R: 47. P. Hunter, 63. G. Lok, 62. M. Riordan
Inter: 45. S. Alabakis, 68. B. Bailey, 26. J. Battle, 37. L. Connolly, 5. B. Crouch, 85. L. Dalmau, 22. J. Higgins, 25. D. Kent, 74. O. Lewis, 21. B. Long, 59. T. Thomas, 77. L. Vaughan, 53. R. Virtue

*AFL extended interchange underlined 

In: Bailey, Battle, Connolly, Crouch, Dalmau, Higgins, Long, Thomas, Vaughan
Out: Nil

Prediction: Collingwood by 3

FOOTSCRAY v NORTH MELBOURNE
Sunday, June 27, 12.05pm @ Victoria University Whitten Oval (Kayo)

FOOTSCRAY
B: 32. W. Hayes, 2. L. Young, 24. B. Khamis
HB: 9. H. Crozier, 18. L. Butler, 37. R. Smith
C: 25. B. Cavarra, 16. T. McLean, 29. M. Hannan
HF: 26. D. Bedendo, 22. J. Ugle-Hagan, 30. L. McNeil
F: 38. R. Garcia, 13. J. Schache, 14. R. West
R: 41. J. Sweet, 27. P. Lipinski, 3. M. Wallis
Inter: 51. N. Drummond, 52. J. Glass-McCasker, 65. N. Hamad, 67. E. Macpherson, 66. R. McComb, 71. C. Raak, 53. L. Sullivan, 70. B. Van de Heuvel, 55. R. William

Emerg: 60. D. Cassar, 73. C. Craig-Peters, 69. J. Gilbee, 63. T. Short

*AFL extended interchange underlined 

In: Butler, Crozier, Garcia, Hannan, McLean, Schache, R. Smith, Wallis, Raak
Out: C. Cormack, A. Hodge, D. Orgill, E. Wood

NORTH MELBOURNE
B: 15. A. Bosenavulagi, 82. F. Appleby, 17. L. Young
HB: 34. C. Ham, 66. T. Donnelly, 52. J. Heron
C: 57. H. Jones, 56. K. Answerth, 33. P. Walker
HF: 85. H. Dick, 78. E. Reardon, 68. J. Watkins
F: 35. C. Lazzaro, 73. A. Polidoros, 31. C. Menadue
R: 63. M. Baker, 53. C. Byrne, 3. J. Anderson
Inter: 42. T. Campbell, 75. S. Clifford, 40. E. Ford, 37. K. Hayden, 81. H. Murphy, 29. W. Phillips, 13. J. Polec, 8. B. Scott, 28. K. Turner, 38. T. Xerri

*AFL extended interchange underlined 

In: Anderson, Bosenavulagi, Clifford, Phillips, Reardon, Xerri, Turner, Young
Out: J. Clayton, M. Walker 

Prediction: Footscray by 38 

SYDNEY v FRANKSTON
Sunday, July 4, 6.30pm @ Avalon Airport Oval, Werribee (RPP 98.7FM, www.rppfm.com.au)

SYDNEY
B: N. Cooper, 17. W. Gould, 38. C. O’Riordan
HB: 2. K. Brand, S. Clohesy, K. Skene
C: 3. D. Stephens, S. Witherden, 28. L. Taylor
HF: M. Keast, T. Watts, C. Maxted
F: F. Marris, 41. H. McLean, 25. B. Ronke
R: 18. C. Sinclair, L. Young (NM), 4. R. Clarke
Inter: G. Bove, T. Boyd, D. Chirgwin, J. Clarke

Emerg: 32. J. Bell, 22. N. Blakey, J. Guthrie (Coburg), 8. J. Rowbottom, 45. S. Wicks

*Players loaned from VFL clubs in italics, AFL extended interchange underlined 

In: Boyd, Chirgwin, Cooper, Watts (Werribee – loan), Brand, Clarke, Clohesy
Out: Ellis Castle, Kilpatrick, Lovison, O’Keefe, Smith, Wiltshire

FRANKSTON
B: 11. A. Brolic, 30. B. McCormack, 38. B. O’Leary
HB: 25. J. Lloyd, 14. L. Hiscock, 4. M. Williams
C: 26. W. Arthurson, 2. J. Newman, 21. M. Cox
HF: 37. A. Richards, 40. L. Reidy, 22. C. Riley
F: 3. J. Mentha, 31. W. Mackay, 42. J. Stern
R: 39. H. Loughnan, 43. J. Voss, 1. J. Begley
Inter: 9. N. Freeman, 47. A. Johnson, 12. A. Krakauer, 28. B. McLaughlin, 16. J. Rendell

Emerg: 33. T. Barlow, 29. J. Florent, 6. T. Small

In: Johnson, Krakauer, Lloyd, Loughnan, Mackay, O’Leary, Reidy
Out: J. Berry, J. Crocker, R. D’Arcy, C. Jones, K. Owens, Small 

Prediction: Frankston by 17

BYE: Aspley, Brisbane Lions, Port Melbourne, Southport, Werribee, Williamstown

Brendan Rhodes’ winners: Last Week: 7. Season: 56.

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.

FRANKSTON moved back into the VFL top eight with a workmanlike 28-point win over a gallant Sydney at Avalon Airport Oval on Sunday night.

The Dolphins wasted plenty of opportunities to put the Swans away early, but ultimately had too much experience on hand and now sit in a finals position after Round 12 for the first time since 2005.

Since then they have won six wooden spoons, lived in the bottom four and only once bettered the five wins they now have in 2021 as they build the confidence to challenge anybody on their day.

Frankston controlled play early but wastefulness from its forwards was saved by unusual avenues – ball magnet Nathan Freeman kicked just his 11th career goal in 53 games, while youngster Harry Loughnan and Jackson Voss hit the scoreboard for the first time in their careers.

Four unanswered goals either side of quarter-time to Ryan Clarke, Lewis Taylor and Hayden McLean (two) gave Sydney the lead as the Dolphins struggled to find a way past stand-in captain Colin O’Riordan, who put together a remarkable first half with 20 disposals and nine marks before finishing with 34 and 11.

The Dolphins edged back in front through Billy Mackay and Blake O’Leary. Jack Mentha bounced through a long-range goal on the half-time siren for a 12-point lead and they dominated the second half.

Freeman again caught leather poisoning to finish with 45 disposals, 15 marks and seven inside-50s, Will Arthurson played his best VFL game with 25 touches and 11 marks to challenge for best-on-ground honours, Josh Newman and Anthony Brolic also shone, while Mentha was lively around the ball.

James Rendell has a nervous wait after being reported for an incident with Kyle Skene late in the game.

O’Riordan should be in the votes for his outstanding performance, but he had plenty of mates as the Swans battled hard – usual stars Lewis Taylor (35), Dylan Stephens (32) and Ryan Clarke (39) had their own football, while Callum Sinclair rucked almost unchanged all night to have 17 disposals and 30 hitouts despite finishing under duress with an ankle problem.

Key defenders Will Gould – who took two huge marks – and Kaiden Brand were also terrific and a key reason why Frankston didn’t win by more.

On-loan Coburg player Josh Guthrie put in a great Lions audition on the wing with 27 disposals and seven tackles, while NAB League top-ups Sam Witherden, Fraser Marris and Logan Young – who has played for North Melbourne this year – all impressed.

Collingwood kept itself in touch with the top four after outlasting Sandringham by 18 points at the Holden Centre.

The Zebras kicked four goals to one in the opening term as they chased a fourth-straight win, but the Magpies took control with six to one in the second and held their opponents at bay throughout the second half despite their own profligacy.

Collingwood had 26 scoring shots to 13 and the top nine ballwinners as it racked up a whopping 415 disposals to 296, 113 marks to 80 and 52 inside-50s to 36.

First-year rookie Jack Ginnivan was the difference with a lively display up forward with 4.1, while Brayden Sier (30) continued his fine season alongside Callum Brown, Tom Wilson, Jay Rantall and Callan Wellings, while ruckman Max Lynch had the better of Paul Hunter and Sam Alabakis.

Darragh Joyce (22) was the only Sandringham player to reach 20 disposals, while skipper Dan Coffield, Oscar Lewis, Cooper Sharman and Oscar Clavarino all worked hard.

Footscray was forced to fight all the way to stay unbeaten and move to the top of the ladder, edging North Melbourne by 11 points at Whitten Oval.

There was nothing between the teams all day as the Kangaroos continued their remarkable development, fighting back from conceding six goals in the second term to get within three points in the last before the Bulldogs steadied.

Hayden Crozier was outstanding for Footscray with 28 disposals and 10 marks, while Lachlan McNeil (22, one goal), Robbie McComb (28, one goal) and Lewis Butler (22, two goals) were others to impress.

Charlie Lazzaro was North Melbourne’s best player, relishing a move into the middle with 29 touches and a goal, and skipper Flynn Appleby wasn’t far behind at full back, enjoying 23 disposals and 11 marks while keeping Jamarra Ugle-Hagan to one goal from six possessions.

Ex-Hawk Harry Jones (34, one goal) led the stats sheet in another fine outing and Tom Campbell again dominated the ruck with 26 disposals, 48 hitouts and a goal.

Jed Anderson made a solid return for the Kangaroos after three months out with an ankle injury, having nine disposals in 40 minutes of game time, while Jared Polec had 30 and a major in his second game back, but mid-season draftee Charlie Ham finished the match early with his own ankle problem.

Twitter: @BRhodesVFL

SUNDAY, JULY 4

Collingwood 11.15 (81) def Sandringham 10.3 (63) (Match Centre)
Footscray 10.7 (67) def North Melbourne 8.8 (56) (Match Centre)
Sydney 6.8 (44) lost to Frankston 9.18 (72) (Match Centre)

SATURDAY, JULY 3

Box Hill Hawks 15.21 (111) def Gold Coast 5.9 (39) (Match Centre)
Coburg 15.9 (99) def Carlton 9.8 (62) (Match Centre)
Northern Bullants 8.7 (55) def Richmond 5.12 (42) (Match Centre)
Casey Demons 7.12 (54) lost to GWS Giants 8.7 (55) (Match Centre)

FRIDAY, JULY 2

Geelong 16.6 (102) def Essendon 3.9 27 (Match Centre)

Keep track of your 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.