The top-four hopes of Essendon will depend on the result of Sunday’s clash between Werribee and Footscray after the Bombers defeated Richmond in Round 20 Peter Jackson VFL action on Saturday.
If the Bulldogs win at Avalon Airport Oval tomorrow, Essendon will be relegated from fourth and into an elimination final against the Casey Scorpions next week, but if the Tigers prevail, the Bombers will likely face the Box Hill Hawks in a qualifying final.
Collingwood is also awaiting the result of Sunday’s big battle, with the loser set to take on the Magpies in a cut-throat elimination final.
In today’s other matches, North Ballarat gave departing coach Gerard FitzGerald the perfect farewell by defeating Coburg, Sandringham secured a top-two finish and home final next week after accounting for the Casey Scorpions and Geelong finished its season in style with a big win over the Northern Blues.
The race for the ‘Frosty’ Miller Medal is also still alive heading into tomorrow’s Box Hill-Williamstown match-up, with Hawk Sam Grimley now one goal behind Port Melbourne’s Jordan Lisle and Richmond’s Liam McBean after Saturday’s matches.
GEELONG 19.13 (127) d NORTHERN BLUES 6.10 (46)
Win/loss: Geelong 7-11 / Northern Blues 4-14
The Cats finished off their season in style, dominating the Blues from the outset at Simonds Stadium. The party really started in the third quarter, when Geelong kept Northern scoreless while booting six goals of its own. Both teams’ seasons will end up mirroring those of their affliated AFL clubs, with the VFL Cats finishing just outside the top eight and the VFL Blues finishing second-last.
Leading goalkickers: Horlin-Smith 4, Kersten 3 (Geelong) / Jones 2 (Northern Blues)
COLLINGWOOD 10.12 (72) d PORT MELBOURNE 9.10 (64)
Win/loss: Collingwood 12-6 / Port Melbourne 7-11
The Borough’s five-goal-to-two third quarter made things tense for the Pies at Victoria Park, but they steadied late to move into the finals in good form. Collingwood will face the loser of tomorrow’s clash between Werribee and Footscray in an elimination final, while Port Melbourne looks to 2016 hoping for a better run with injuries.
Leading goalkickers: Moloney 2, Gray 2, Karnezis 2 (Collingwood) / Toman 2 (Port Melbourne)
ESSENDON 12.8 (80) d RICHMOND 9.9 (63)
Win/loss: Essendon 12-6 / Richmond 5-13
Essendon’s bid to snatch fourth spot and a finals double chance is alive after surviving a scare from Richmond at Windy Hill. After trailing by 35 points at the final change, the Tigers got to within a goal of the Bombers before the home team steadied. Essendon is now relying on Werribee to defeat Footscray tomorrow, meaning the Bombers would hold onto fourth position.
Leading goalkickers: Hardingham 3, Thompson 2 (Essendon) / McBean 2, McDonough 2 (Richmond)
NORTH BALLARAT 14.10 (94) d COBURG 7.10 (52)
Win/loss: North Ballarat 8-10 / Coburg 7-11
The Roosters farewelled departing triple premiership-winning coach Gerard FitzGerald in style by recording a fifth consecutive victory to round out their season over Coburg. With only a four-point advantage at half time, six North Ballarat goals to one in the third term set up a memorable victory for those in attendance at Eureka Stadium.
Leading goalkickers: Rippon 4, Keeble 2, Hooper 2 (North Ballarat) / MacDonald 2, Mance 2 (Coburg)
SANDRINGHAM 12.17 (89) d CASEY SCORPIONS 5.8 (38)
Win/loss: Sandringham 14-4 / Casey Scorpions 9-9
The Zebras locked in a top-two finish and home qualifying final next week after accounting for fellow top-eight opponents the Casey Scorpions at Trevor Barker Beach Oval. After a goalless opening term, Sandringham roared to life in the second quarter, taking the lead with five unanswered goals and then holding the Scorpions to a single goal in the second half.
Leading goalkickers: Saad 4, Dennis-Lane 3 (Sandringham) / Kennedy-Harris 2 (Casey Scorpions)
CLICK HERE to watch the replay of Sandringham vs Casey Scorpions after 8pm tonight.
* Photo: Arj Giese
CLICK HERE for the best players, goalkickers and quarter by quarter scores
CLICK HERE for the updated ladder
Sunday’s matches:
Werribee vs Footscray (Avalon Airport Oval)
- Watch the match live on Channel 7 from 11.30am
Box Hill Hawks vs Williamstown (Box Hill City Oval)
- Listen to the match on 3WBC 94.1 FM or at www.3wbc.org.au from 1pm
View the latest VFL stories below:
VFL MEDIA COVERAGE: Round 20
Race for the 'Frosty' Miller Medal
Farewell to Fitzy
VFL podcast: Casey Scorpion Mitch Gent
Toyota Top 5 VFL Plays of the Week
Last Modified on 29/08/2015 18:05
