VFL practice match report: Zebras fall short to reigning premiers

20/02/2026

Zebs go down in a tough hit out against Footscray to open pre-season.

Photography by Archie Edelsten and Peter Hinds

A tough outing saw the Sandringham Zebras fall to the reigning Premiers in the Footscray Bulldogs by 28 points at Whitten Oval to kick off our pre-season campaign.

This was the first opportunity to see some new faces in the Zebra kit, plenty who showcased their skills on-and-off the ball in what was our first hit out as a standalone club.

It was a heavily defensive first term with both sides clinical in their aerial pressure. Jesse Wadeisha opened our account with a major in the early minutes. Brodie Findlay’s presence was felt early with the tall timber getting in the action both in attack and defence, providing the midfielders enough ball in their quick transitions down the field.

Kynan Brown and Lachie Riley had the ball on a string in the wing, proving to be the dogged engine room when our defenders won the contest. It wasn’t until late in the first quarter when Footscray started to gain some momentum with three goals in-a-row to take the lead by 20 points.

Footscray continued their momentum into the second quarter with speed off the centre bounce, pressure on the ball and accuracy on goal,but the team in yellow shifted gear to add our own influence on the game.

Quick goals on the scoreboard from Jack Ferraro and Bode Stevens saw us reduce the deficit significantly thanks to pinpoint kicking from Wadeisha who proved to be an integral link in the Zebs forward line.

The reigning Premiers had a quieter outing after the main break with our defence kicking it up a notch. The work rate of Jack Cheep, Adrian Cole and Lachie Voss stopped Footscray in their tracks, conceding only two points in the third quarter.

Josh Hutchings added two quick goals for the Zebs within the first 15 seconds of the third and fourth quarter. It was a relatively even fourth quarter with each side adding a similar tally to their total. Kicking accuracy was high with our players finding their targets down field, while laying strong tackles in defence which kicked off a smooth but challenging transition towards goal.

An improved second half saw Sandringham players showcase their capabilities on the field, but the damage was done by Footscray in the second quarter. Overall it was a promising glimpse into our 2026 season!

Match summary

FOOTSCRAY                      3.2     11.5      11.7       13.9 (87)

SANDRINGHAM               1.5       3.6        6.10       8.11 (59)

GOALS
Hutchings 2, Ferraro, Greeves, Stefanakis, Stevens, Wadeisha, Yze

Written by Casey McGuire - Sandringham FC Media