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DEFENDING premier Sandringham has hit back at speculation it is past its prime, destroying Port Melbourne by 66 points at TEAC Oval.

The Zebras, chasing a historic fourth consecutive VFL flag, were third on the ladder after two convincing losses from their past three matches.

However, yesterday they produced three of the most destructive quarters of football this season to pummel the highly rated Borough into submission.

After kicking just six behinds in the first quarter, Sandy exploded after the first break to pile on 20 goals, including five to livewire Ezra Poyas.

Port never looked in it after quarter-time, despite a five-goal haul from David Pitt that included three in as many minutes early in the last term.

While John Milhuisen was superb in holding Nick Sautner to just one goal, his effort was countered by Sandringham's Andy Biddlecombe doing an impressive job on powerful Port spearhead Jeremy Dukes.

Elated Sandringham coach Mark Williams attributed the drastic form reversal to a change in attitude after last week's loss to Box Hill.

"We refocused during the week, we thought we were playing a bit selfish," he said.

"So we made a pact to make sure we came to play."

With Melbourne likely to swing the axe this week, a host of Demon-listed players threw their hands up for selection. Simon Buckley, Matthew Whelan, Nathan Brown, Chris Johnson, Michael Newton and Colin Garland were all among the best.

In come-from-behind upsets, Frankston hammered Box Hill by 31 points while Casey stunned Bendigo by 16.

The ever-improving Scorpions, who looked likely wooden spooners early in the season, kicked eight goals to three after half-time to claim their second win over a serious September contender in the past three weeks.

"We had really good control in the second half and used the ball beautifully," said Casey coach Peter Banfield, who rated it the best win of the year.

At Box Hill City Oval, Frankston made perfect use of a final-quarter breeze by storming home with 10 scoring shots to one, turning a three-point deficit into a five-goal win.

In yesterday's other matches, six goals from Josh Houlihan set up the Northern Bullants' 41-point win over Tasmania, while four goals each to Magpies Paul Medhurst and Ben Reid sealed Williamstown's seven-point win over Werribee.