In the two Sunday games to complete week 1 of the Rd 13 split round, Essendon and Frankston kept their finals hopes alive.
Bombers back in finals mix
Essendon kept their final hopes alive with a convincing 69-point win over the Northern Blues at Windy Hill. The Bombers are now just one win outside of the top eight, while the Blues slumped to their third defeat in a row - having dropped from third spot in round six to eighth in round 13 after recording only one win from their last five outings.
The Bombers continued their strong starts to matches keeping the visiting Blues goalless in the first term as they jumped out to a 27-point quarter time lead. While the Blues were able to record their first goal in the second term, the Bombers extended their lead to 35 points at half time with Joe Daniher adding three first half majors. The likes of Matt Firman, Ariel Steinberg and Kyle Hardingham were all resolute in defence, and continued their work in the second half restricting the Blues to just six goals for the match.
The Northern Blues were forced to make changes in the second half, and the likes of Dylan Buckley and Troy Menzel (three goals) started to have an influence as the visitors tried to overcome the early game loss of big man Shaun Hampson. However the Bombers had all the answers, and overcame recent final half fade outs to kick Sven goals to one in the final term to win by 69 points. Cory Dell'Olio and Daniher led the way for the Bombers with four goals each, while Firman, Nick O'Brien, Zac O'Brien, Leroy Jetta and Ben Duscher were their best. For the Blues, Menzel was their only multiple goal kicker with three (plus 20 disposals), with Matthew Watson, Andre Gianfagna (18 d) and Nick Duigan (22) their best.
Frankston continues winning streak over Coburg
Frankston continued their recent dominance over Coburg, taking their winning run to six straight wins against them, as they completed a 44-point win at Frankston Oval. The Dolphins now find themselves just percentage outside to Peter Jackson VFL top eight after their third win in a row.
The home side got off to a strong start with key targets Sam Lloyd and Michael Lourey on the board early as the Dolphins kept Coburg goalless as they built a 23-point quarter time lead. Coburg fought back in the second term through good work in the middle by Shane Tuck and Matthew Arnot, but they struggled to gain any momentum against the Dolphins who had all the answers.
In the second half Frankston ensured that Coburg's finals chances would be ended as they continued to keep the visitors at arms length with the work of Jason Pongracic and Shane Hockey standing out. The Dolphins restricted Coburg to just one final term goal as they ran out the match strongly to win three in a row for the first time since 2008, and claimed the inaugural ETU Cup.
Lloyd had a day out up forward and was best on ground with sevens goals for Frankston, and was well supported by Lourey with three. Pongracic, Luke Potts, Hockey and Leigh Kitchin were their best. Arnot and Luke McGuane were Coburg's only multiple goal kickers with two each, and both were among the best along with Tuck, Sam Lonergan and Ben Clifton.
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Last Modified on 07/07/2013 18:03