This blurb is going in Frankston's Football Record for this weekend.....
We’ve arrived at the final round of the VFL for 2025, and every finals spot is up for grabs! The composition of the 10 is almost set, with Coburg sweating on the result of Williamstown and Richmond to determine whether they grab the final wildcard spot. A Seagulls win would see them very unlucky to miss. For Richmond, a home final is on the line with a win possibly taking them as high as 4th, while a loss will definitely mean the wildcard game, so it should be an intense battle at Point Gellibrand.
For our Dolphins, a win over Brisbane assures the double chance. A loss under 15 points still may be good enough (keep your calculator handy). A win and a loss by Southport against North Melbourne would take us to third spot. If Brisbane beat us by enough they will take our double chance and see us host an Elimination Final in week two of the finals…..unless both Collingwood and Richmond make up a massive amount of percentage to relegate us to the wildcard game. A loss for Brisbane and they could slip into a wildcard position, so we can expect them to bring the heat. Should be a cracker!
At the top, Box Hill and Footscray are separated by only percentage and take on the resurgent Casey Demons and Carlton respectively to try to claim pole position. For the Demons, a win could see them as high as 5th, while a loss would possibly send them to 9th and the wildcard game. Collingwood head to North Port to take on the Borough, with only 0.5 percent separating them from Richmond. Again, a loss for the Pies would be a debacle and make them a wildcard. A huge win could take them to 4th. GWS Giants take on Gold Coast, and while sitting 9th right now could leap as high as 5th if results go their way.
And so it begins, strap yourself in Dolphin fans, cheer your lungs out, and take our boys over the finish line. A win today and we’re one game away from hosting a preliminary final at Kinetic Stadium. Game on!
That's a bloody brilliant write-up AJ! As with all the other VFA/VFL fans, I'm really hoping that the Dolphins can really push deep into the finals. How good would home finals be at Frankston. The place would be packed and absolutely jumping. The hill will be going nuts 👍
* It's time to restore the VFA name.
Yes, great write-up, and best of luck to Frankston in the last round and in finals. Would be great to see them go all the way.
Cracking final round. Plenty of scenarios. Coburg have not played in finals since 2007 when aligned with Richmond. They will be cheering on Richmond to beat Williamstown. The seagulls won eight straight and now have lost 4 straight. Richmond AFL team playing in Tassie so they will take some extra players as emergencies. Coburg last time in finals as a standalone would you believe was in 1990. Williamstown with a week off and predicted cold and wet forecast might be too good for Richmond. Frankston v Brisbane will be a massive game. Dolphins win and they will be top four and a serious flag threat. Frankston have not got a good record against Brisbane, Southport, Box Hill and Footscray. If they can knock off Brisbane then the belief will be there. Box Hill and Footscray have got tricky games. Box Hill are away to Casey and are no certainties. Footscray host Carlton who have improved in recent weeks and no shoe in either. I expect Southport to win at home against North Melbourne especially as the kangas AFL side will be in Honart and take extra players. Pretty confident Port Melbourne will defeat Collingwood especially in cold and wet conditions. Preston who have improved in recent weeks are a very good chance of defeating last season's premiers. Sandringham should defeat Essendon who have been savaged by injuries. Gold Coast v GWS can go either way. Toss up but maybe GWS as they have more to play for. Sydney v Geelong is also a toss up. In a flick of the coin game I think the swans can get up at home.
We don't necessarily need to beat Brisbane to hold top 4. If we can keep the margin to two goals or less then it's a chance, although some other results would need to go our way I believe.
A nice win for Port Melbourne to finish off an average season. I hear it was goal for goal in the last term so it's nice to see us not get overrun for a reversal of last week. Dom Bedendo kicked another 5 goals and is a must keep for next year.
I'm looking forward to seeing the game quarter by quarter throughout the week.
I thought there would be a very poor crowd too, but hear that the game was well attended.
Positive signs for 2026.
* It's time to restore the VFA name.
What a game at Frankston! Scores level at 3 breaks during the game.
Frankston supporters shoukd feel very proud of the clubs efforts this year.
It was a shame that Richmond couldn't get up to allow Coburg to sneak into the 10th spot. I feel that the club is well placed for a finals berth in 2026
* It's time to restore the VFA name.
Frankston v Footscray. Hope many dolphin supporters come out in force.
Well, it's good to be so completely wrong in my prediction for Port's game! And great to be on the right side of a fourth-quarter comeback for once. I saw your latest post in the other thread, Mega - it was after the win over North that I concluded we were on track to play finals, so given the track record of my tips, perhaps I will join you in predicting a winless season next year!
At times it looked like turnovers were going to cost us again, but in the end the team showed enough polish late to pull it off. Bedendo, Heppell, and Lazzaro were particularly brilliant, with Hooper also responsible for some big plays as usual, but it was a good team effort with solid contributions all round. I thought this was one of James Van Es' best games. Tobe Watson and Tom Graham got off to a slow start but had some good moments in the second half. In the second half in particular it looked like Tom Hird had been told to basically glue himself to Tom Mitchell at stoppages and centre bounces, and he did a very good job on Mitchell. AJ Kuol Mun did well to lead all players for clearances despite Cox's height advantage. It was great to see Anthony Anastasio kick 3 goals, including the sealer - hope he plays on next season!
There have been some good signs this season, such as how good Lazzaro and Bedendo have been, Kuol Mun's work in the ruck, Hird's continued improvement (particularly as a midfielder), Rankin picking up right where he left off with good form upon returning from his shoulder injury, Clarke and George seeming to have a fair bit of potential as small forwards, and how well the defence has stood up overall even with Highmore out (hope he re-signs for next season also). So hopefully we'll be able to recruit well to fix the problems with the forward lines and actually make finals next year (though as I said I am not sure I should predict that! - and of course there will be a number of clubs looking to improve and contend next season).
Congratulations to Frankston on clinching the double chance, and best of luck for finals.