VFL Match Report: Round 16 vs Sydney 

14/07/2025

The Zebs secured their second win of the season in a strong showing at home against the Swans!

Photography by Archie Edelsten 

A 63-point fourth quarter saw the Zebs run away from Sydney to earn a massive 10-goal victory.

The Zebs and the Swans enjoyed all the thrills of Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval, with some heavy winds affecting the contest from start to finish. We were up against the breeze early, but did a great job to neutralise the Swans’ advantage, heading into quarter time with just a two-point deficit. Lance Collard put his fingerprints on the contest instantly, kicking the first goal of the game with an awkward soccer in the goal square. Our defence stood tall, delaying the Swans’ first goal of the game until the 19th minute. Patrick Said ensured the Swans couldn’t capitalise on their momentum though, getting his reward for an active first quarter by snapping home a goal. 

The change of ends meant we were now kicking with the wind behind us, and we took full advantage. After the ball lived in our end to begin the quarter, we finally got the reward on the scoreboard, with Arie Schoenmaker getting on the receiving end of an excellent kick by Angus McLennan, before calmly going back and executing the set shot. We continued to put our foot down, in part due to the dominance of Alex Dodson who began to take over the game. In the absence of regulars in the Zebras team this season, Max Heath and Harry Boyd, Dodson was our primary choice in the ruck, and made the most of his increased role. The Swans’ talls struggled to compete with Dodson, giving away several free kicks, with the most devastating one being in our forward line, where Dodson drilled a set shot from a tight angle along the boundary. Dodson continued to feature prominently throughout the quarter, adding another goal to his name later in the term - inside our goal square, he took the ball out of the ruck and quickly got the ball onto his boot to kick an incredible goal through traffic. Dodson’s strong work in the ruck and connection with our midfielders meant we controlled the game for entire quarter, dominating in the inside-50’s 24-3. Our forwards were the beneficiaries of some clean entries, with Charlie Orchard and Billy Richardson kicking late goals, while the defence kept the Swans off the scoreboard entirely, resulting in a commanding 55-16 lead for the Zebs at the main break.

The third quarter meant we were once again kicking against the wind, but after our strong second quarter performance, we continued our momentum with some seamless ball movement out of our back half, leading to Patrick Said getting on the end of it for his second goal. The Swans responded and took advantage of the breeze, not allowing us to kick anymore goals in the quarter, and cutting our lead to 11. 

Despite kicking with the wind for the final term, it was the Swans who struck first, regaining the lead within the first four minutes with two quick goals. But we showed our resilience, going on to kick our highest scoring quarter of the season with 63 points. It was none other than Alex Dodson who would provide the spark, standing tall to take a big grab and then kick truly on the set shot. Charlie Orchard added to his goal from the second quarter, quickly adding another two to his tally as we would build a cushiony lead. Ned Maginness continued the charge, kicking a goal of his own before then hitting up Liam Purcell, who kicked his first of the match. It wouldn’t be the last for Purcell though, who kicked a hattrick of goals late to put the finishing touches on a 63-point win.

Top Performers 

Tasked with playing full-time in the ruck, Alex Dodson turned in his finest performance of the season, starring all over the ground with a game-high 35 hitouts, 29 disposals and three goals. With a Dodson-sized void in the forward line, Liam Purcell and Lachlan Voss exited the backline, and proved the goods as tall targets inside our forward 50, kicking three and two goals respectively. Meanwhile, Charlie Orchard was dangerous at ground level, booting his first three goals in the VFL. 

Darcy Wilson and Paddy Dow were strong around the contest, both accumulating 33 disposals each. Arie Schoenmaker put forward another great display off half back, finding the ball 25 times himself and even pushing forward for a goal in the second quarter. Angus McLennan finished with 16 disposals, but was effective almost every time he had it, setting up numerous goals with his laser kicking inside-50.
 

Sandringham Zebras:              2.2        8.7         9.9         19.12         (126)

Sydney Swans:                          2.4         2.4       7.10          9.12           (66)        

Goal Scorers: Alex Dodson, Charlie Orchard, Liam Purcell (3), Lachlan Voss, Patrick Said (2), Billy Richardson, Arie Schoenmaker, Ned Maginness, Lance Collard, Jonah Campigli, James Barrat (1)

Visit the VFL website for full stats. 

The Zebs will be rewarded for their winning effort with a week off in next week's bye, before returning in round 18 for a clash against the Casey Demons at Casey Fields on Sunday 27 July at 11:05am! 

Written by Jake Beddard - Sandringham FC Media