Season 2024 - Smithy's VFL

What can you say? 

Well done Coburg. I thought we was the better side for most of the day... But somehow the Lions managed to keep in touch. You might think that when we kicked the first goal of the last quarter as well, that it was in the bag. 

But then Coburg come out and kick the next 6 goals to snag an amazing come from behind victory by 5 points. 

The season now feels like it will Peter out for the Borough. 

I think a new coach is almost a certainty in 2025.

All in all, a pretty cold and black day of footy! 

Frankston v Casey

Will just start a new thread for each week now......

Werribee v Coburg

Well it's season over for the Borough. 

Essendon were just a bit more clinical and the Borough squandered opportunities in front of goal that were the difference in the end. 

The game was poorly umpired, with Port supporters (including me) absolutely filthy / disgusted by the apparent bias in umpiring, with every 50/50 decision seemingly going Essendons way.

The wind was taken out of Port's sails with a 100m penalty resulting in a Bombers goal and putting the margin beyond reach.

I can think of multiple other decisions that were not paid as well that had could scarcely be believed. 

The replay will make for interesting watching. 

I hear that Harvey Hooper is likely to miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury from last week and he was sorely missed in the middle. 

The revenge tour is upon us. Tomorrow is an absolute must-win if we're to hold on to any chance of a finals berth, but to me it's a game we should be winning regardless of how the season pans out. The club's opening up a second entry gate and anticipating a big crowd (although the game isn't televised this year) so we need to be putting our best on display instead of that horror show we dished out last time. 

Josh Smith is back into the side which is a massive boost, Josh Stern is playing his first game of the season, Ollie Moran listed as an emergency once again, and Josh Mounter makes his debut. So far I've found very little info on this guy other than he's been playing with Beaconsfield so if anyone knows more about him I'd love to know.

Well, that's the end of any realistic finals chance for Frankston. An absolutely miserable day where the Dolphins failed to play to the conditions with far too many handballs and attempts at precision passes. Despite that we were only a goal down at 3qt but allowed Gold Coast to kick 5 unanswered goals. 

Also concerning to see such a low crowd at Frankston yesterday. Between the awful timeslot and weather conditions, the club drew one of the smallest attendances in a long time. Maybe a few hundred. I'll be surprised if the club managed to break even on yesterday's game. 

Beating Collingwood next week is non-negotiable. Their VFL side is garbage this year and we need to show signs of improvement before the season is done. Frankston needs to look like a team that might play finals next year in order to retain our best players and get some gun recruits in the off-season.

As Sandringham Football Club commemorate our 95th year , we take a look back at where it all began, from inception to triumph - the journey of the Sandringham Football Club through to its first Premiership in 1946. 

From Inception to Triumph (sandringhamfc.com.au)

I was at Piranha Park today a reasonable crowd witness a pretty ordinary game of footy, skill level was just awful

Southport won b6 11 points

A massively disappointing result on Friday night.

After weeks of consistent footy, marred by late fade-outs, and then breaking through for such an important win against Williamstown last week, this was a huge step backwards.

Port Melbourne 4.15.39

Richmond 13.10.88

The Tigers were dominant all night, and starved the Borough of any real scoring opportunities in front of goal.  Richmond were taller, quicker and moved the ball swiftly and despite the Borough having more clearances.  We couldn't make good use of our forward entries.

The free kick count was fairly even, 19-22 Richmond's way, but there was some fairly ordinary umpiring in patches and multiple 50m penalties paid.

Of concern for the Borough our only goal in the first half was from a free kick.

Billy Gowers who had been in some stellar form, struggled to have any real impact on the game and was well held when playing forward, and was ineffective when in the middle.

Standouts for Port were Harvey Hooper, Josh Green, Lachie Rankin, while Tom Highmore and Tom Hird worked hard in the backline.

I think that could be our season gone now.  I thought the crowd was down on recent weeks.  Perhaps the cold Friday night kept a few more away.