News

TASMANIA'S mosquito fleet was outplayed at its own game by Frankston's super-quick band of brothers in their VFL clash at Aurora Stadium last night.

With the Anzac Day prize of the Alec Campbell Cup up for grabs, the Dolphins ran riot on the big Launceston battlefield, winning a fast and furious contest 11.10 (76) to 6.6 (42).

The Dolphins' bag of tricks included scintillating running and vice-like defence, while the Devils kicked their lowest score of the season.

"The Frankston boys certainly play for their footy club and their jumper, there's no doubt about that," said Devils coach Daryn Cresswell.

"They were terrific in the way they ran and worked so hard for each other.

"Our boys have got to take a leaf out of their book."

Cresswell is coming to the end of his tether with players that won't stick to the game plan.

"It was quite obvious that we got outworked by a team that was desperate, that was fit and can run," he said.

"We have to find players who can play that type of footy.

"We've got players out there who can't run, won't run and can't play the style of footy we want to play.

"I can tolerate blokes who make honest mistakes, but I won't tolerate non-honest efforts, and I think we found a few of them tonight."

Rarely could the Devils string together a meaningful chain of handpasses.

Some occasional brilliance by foot was overshadowed by consistent mediocrity.

Frankston's marks inside their attacking 50m zone outnumbered the Devils effort by 4-1.

"We were just poor going forward," Cresswell said.

"I felt sorry for Adam Derbyshire and the rest of the forwards.

"We continually turned the ball over and we continually made bad decisions and bombed it in."

Frankston skipper Ash Roberts was presented with the Campbell Cup after the match, five-goal forward Justin Berry was awarded the Frank MacDonald Medal as the Dolphins best, and their boss Brett Lovett was a happy coach.

"It's always tough to come down here and win," Lovett said.

"This was the best four quarters we've played all year, our pressure was great, and I couldn't be more proud of the boys."

Tasmania's Frank MacDonald Medal-winner was midfielder Sam Whish-Wilson, who was outstanding in his comeback from a one-match suspension for a breach of club rules.

"The other 21 players should get his tape (of the game) and watch it because he was sensational in the way he presented himself and applied himself," Cresswell said.

The Devils spent most of the first quarter under a ton of pressure in their back half.

Thanks to several extraordinarily brave marks by Lachlan Hansen, the Dolphins were sent packing instead of building on their lead.

Five unanswered goals in the second quarter shot Frankston out to a 39-point lead at the 20-minute mark when Justin Berry kicked his third, making life hell for Devils co-captain Scott Stephens.

The Devils dug deep and scored three goals but a disastrous second half yielded just three goals.