A strong fight in a tough outing against the Tigers

10/08/2025

Zebs go down in a tough fight on Saturday night in Frankston.

Photography by Ollie Tory

We headed to Frankston on a chilly Saturday night determined to take it up to a top-eight contender, boosted by the long-awaited return of skipper Blake Watson and the debut of talented Sandringham Dragons Vice-Captain Bennett Martin.

The first term was a fierce contest with neither side taking full control. Alex Dodson was immense in the ruck, collecting nine disposals, 10 hit-outs and four contested possessions to give us the edge around the ball. It was Charlie Orchard who got us going, continuing his excellent goalkicking form, before Billy Richardson slotted a composed set shot for our second. Bailey McKenzie looked lively in attack, Zaine Cordy brought the crowd to their feet with a brilliant run-down tackle, and Watson wasted no time throwing himself into the contest in his return match. We ended the quarter 17 points behind, but had the momentum to build on.

With the breeze behind us in the second term, we played some of our best football of the season. A coast-to-coast play finished with Lance Collard kicking truly after smart work from McKenzie, who soon followed up with a goal of his own from a stoppage. Then came the highlight of the night - Arie Schoenmaker launching an incredible 70-metre bomb from the middle that bounced through to the delight of the crowd. James Barrat added another from long range, Ned Maginness clunked a strong contested grab and converted, and Orchard nailed his second. By half-time, we’d piled on six goals for the quarter and cut the margin to just nine points.

The third quarter saw our backline stand tall under pressure. Cordy, Barratt and Angus Hastie repelled countless attacks, while Watson produced a huge goal-saving tackle that underlined his leadership. In the middle, Dodson kept feeding our onballers, and Paddy Dow, Jack Carroll and Liam O’Connell dominated clearances, giving us first use and setting up repeat forward entries.

In the final term, we refused to fade as Isaac Keeler snapped truly from a stoppage, Orchard equalled his VFL career-best with his third major, and Jez Rigoni added a brilliant crumbing goal from the right pocket. We kept attacking right to the final siren.

Dodson dominates in the ruck

Alex Dodson was again tasked with being the number one ruckman with Max heath recalled to the senior side. Just like against Sydney, he delivered in spades. The ruckman enjoyed not having a recognised counterpart on Richmond’s team, giving our midfield first use consistently from stoppage. Dodson finished with 31 disposals, 41 hitouts, six clearances, and 15 contested possessions.

Returning Watson gets through unscathed

There was a collective smile around the whole club when Captain, Blake Watson was named to return for his first game of the season after a lengthy injury lay-off. Entering the field for the first time 10 minutes into the contest, he picked up where he left off, winning a hard ball before handballing out to space for the runners to drive the ball inside fifty. He finished with 20 disposals, 12 contested and five clearances.

Sandringham Zebras                     2.3          8.5          8.5       11.8           74

Richmond                                         5.2         10.2      16.6        18.7          115 

Goalkickers: Orchard (3), McKenzie, Rigoni, Schoenmaker, Richardson, Keeler, Barrat, Collard, Maginness

For full stats from the game head to the VFL Website.

Our next (and final game for the 2025 season) is our Pat's Match clash against Essendon at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Saturday 16th August at 2:10pm.

Written by Matt Girolami - Sandringham FC Media