Preliminary final berths are on the line when Footscray faces Essendon and Sandringham meets Collingwood in the VFL semi finals this weekend.
Footscray vs Essendon
Saturday September 12, 11.40am, North Port Oval
Winner to face: Williamstown
These teams will be very familiar with each other, having met twice in the last six weeks. Those results were mixed, with Footscray winning the Round 16 match at VU Whitten Oval by 22 points and Essendon stunning the Bulldogs by four points in Round 19 at Bendigo’s Queen Elizabeth Oval with a thrilling last-quarter comeback victory.
Footscray held its own at the stoppages against Box Hill in a Qualifying Final loss last week, but were carved up by the Hawks’ ability to hit targets and maintain possession. The Bombers have placed similar emphasis on high disposal and mark numbers in 2015, so the Dogs will first need to win possession in the contest through hard-nuts such as Lin Jong (Footscray’s best in the Round 16 clash and last week’s final) and then efficiently find slick marking targets inside 50 such as Will Hayes and Meyrick Buchanan. Miss the mark though and Essendon’s well-organised defence led by Ariel Steinberg will cut off and repel attacks at will.
The midfield battle will be crucial in this one – prolific Bomber on-ballers such as Dan Coghlan and James Polkinghorne will need to be on their game to counter Dogs ruckman Will Minson’s likely influence at the stoppages.
Sandringham vs Collingwood
Sunday September 13, 11.40am, North Port Oval
Winner to face: Box Hill Hawks
Collingwood had Sandringham’s measure the last time these teams met in Round 12 at Victoria Park. That day, the Magpies jumped the Zebras to lead by 33 points at half time, and despite a strong Sandringham finish (which has almost become the norm in 2015), the home side held on by 10 points. Collingwood also jumped Werribee in an Elimination Final last week, while the Zebs couldn’t quite overcome a costly 48-point deficit to Williamstown at three-quarter time in a Qualifying Final.
This week, they can’t afford another slack start or to waste chances going forward as they did against the Seagulls. Sandringham had 17 more inside-50s than Williamstown – mostly through the drive of Josh Saunders and Blake Acres – but two fewer goals, as the Gulls’ team defence held up strongly. Collingwood’s back line has been leaky at times this year despite the steadying influence of Ryan Pendlebury, but against Werribee, it was pressure up the ground that made scoring difficult for the Tigers.
The tackling ability of hardened on-ballers such as captain Jack Hellier and Brent Macaffer will be crucial in stopping Zebra midfielders such as Clint Jones and Myke Cook providing silver service to Sandringham’s dangerous forwards.
Last Modified on 10/09/2015 22:27
