VFL Match Report: Round 10 v Frankston
02/06/2025
Photography by Jake Beddard
In our second match under lights, our boys showed plenty of fight and character in their 36-point loss to Frankston at Kinetic Stadium. While the margin blew out with late goals, there was plenty to be impressed about as we fought back in the third and fourth quarter to bring the margin back to a gettable 11 points. Massive performances from our midfield led the way, with confidence high after an impressive outing in front of a great turnout.
From the get-go we possessed an advantage around the ball, with Harry Boyd (69 hitouts, 10 clearances) and Hugo Garcia (35 disposals, 11 clearances) dominating, winning the first 10 of 11 clearances of the match, and giving us first use of the ball from contest. It was a scrappy start, with high pressure leading to fumbles and even an off the ball biff before both teams settled into the action. Frankston had the ascendancy early, with Arie Schoenmaker (19 disposals, six marks) and Alix Tauru leading the charge from the back to hold off the Frankston attack. After the 10-minute mark of the quarter, the script flipped and we dominated territory, unlucky to not be rewarded on the scoreboard. With a combination of great defence and awesome pressure from Misilifi Faimalo, we held the Dolphins to only a 17 point lead at the first break.
The second quarter continued much the same as the first, with the boys continuing to dominate around the ball. A noticeable change was our use out of our back 50, with Schoenmaker and Angus Hastie (24 disposals, 15 kicks) using their foot skills to penetrate the Frankston defence. Our bright spark came in the middle of the quarter, when Josh Hutchings and Jonah Campigli opened our account for the day with two goals in two minutes. Campigli has been in strong form this season, with his opener bringing his tally to 11 goals for season 2025. Momentum was with us as we pressed our attack deep into the second quarter. A few missed shots, as well as a couple of late goals to Frankston, meant we headed into half time 29 points down with plenty to do in the second half.
We came out after half time with plenty of energy, producing what would be our best quarter of the night, kicking four goals to one to narrow the deficit to 12 at three quarter time. Our AFL-listed boys led the way, with Liam Henry (17 disposals, nine tackles) and Lance Collard injected around the ball to bring some speed and run to our midfield. It worked to perfection. Boyd pushed forward early in the quarter and won a free kick from a ruck contest to open his account, before some sublime play from Andrew Mathieson led to him slotting his first on the run from the 50-metre arc. Some crafty play around a forward-50 throw in gave Henry our third for the quarter, before a classy finish from Garcia brought up our fourth. There were plenty of chances to capitalise, as we put significant strain on the Dolphins’ backline. This platform gave us a perfect springboard to mount one last final charge in the fourth quarter.
Our final quarter started positively, as the boys looked to pressure the Dolphins with an early goal. Collard fired a shot wide before Frankston piled on three goals to regain control of the match. We continued to fight valiantly, with Henry enjoying some form around the ball, orchestrating most of our momentum from stoppage. Billy Richardson scored our first of the quarter before late goals to Hastie and Collard cut the margin to 24 points. However, two late goals to Frankston brought the final margin to 36 points.
Boy-oh-Boyd!
Harry Boyd enjoyed his most dominant game of the season so far, outmuscling and outsizing his Frankston counterpart on numerous occasions. His crafty tap work was at the centre of our clearance domination all night, working well with Garcia and Henry to clearance +24. Finishing the night with 69 hitouts, 18 disposals, five tackles and a goal, it was a dominant night for our big number 31.
Garcia responds well
Garcia was fired up and finished the game with 35 disposals, but it was his connection with Harry Boyd in the ruck and toughness over the footy that often gave our Zebs first look from contest. His massive numbers around the ball, including 12 tackles, 11 clearances and a goal, will put him back into AFL selection contention after St. Kilda’s bye.
Sandringham Zebras: 0.3 2.6 6.8 9.10 (64)
Frankston Dolphins: 3.2 7.5 8.8 15.10 (100)
Most disposals: Garcia, Hastie, Schoenmaker, Boyd, Henry, Mclennnan
Goals: Garcia, Collard, Richardson, Boyd, Hutchings, Mathieson, Hastie, Campigli, Henry
Visit the VFL website for full stats.
The Zebs have the week off before taking on Southport Sharks at RSEA Park on Saturday 14th June at 12:05pm!
Written by Matt Girolami - Sandringham FC Media