The Casey Scorpions re-established themselves in the Peter Jackson VFL top two, while an unexpected finals contender emerged in Sunday’s Round 16 action.
Casey’s 46-point win against top-four rival Sandringham opened up the race for fourth spot, with the Zebras remaining even on wins with fifth-placed Port Melbourne and only one game in front of a surging Geelong team that defeated Essendon by 78 points today.
The eighth-placed Bombers’ loss presented a golden opportunity for the Box Hill Hawks to creep within one win of the top eight, but the Hawks fell over in the final quarter to lose to Richmond by 16 points.
Instead, the Northern Blues stepped up to fill the contender void, prevailing by six points in a thriller over Footscray. However unlikely it may have seemed after some big early-season defeats, the Blues are now just a game and percentage behind Essendon.
* CLICK HERE to read the recap of Saturday's Round 16 action.
CASEY SCORPIONS 12.20 (92) d SANDRINGHAM 7.4 (46)
Form: Casey Scorpions – L W W L W / Sandringham – W W W L L
Telling facts: Casey’s strength in the contests shone through on a windy day at Casey Fields. Scorpions stoppage specialists such as Ben Kennedy and Tom Bugg controlled proceedings and helped create 21 more scoring shots than Sandringham, while their strong team defence limited the Zebras to just one behind kicking against the breeze for the match.
Leading goalkickers: Terlich 4, Scott 2, Hulett 2 (Casey Scorpions) / Shenton 2 (Sandringham)
RICHMOND 13.7 (85) d BOX HILL HAWKS 10.9 (69)
Form: Richmond – W L L L W / Box Hill Hawks – L L L L L
Telling facts: Box Hill sunk to a sixth straight loss, giving up a 19-point lead at three-quarter time to be overrun by Richmond at Punt Road Oval. The Hawks built their advantage by keeping the Tigers goalless in the first quarter, but Richmond stormed home for its fourth win of 2016 with eight goals to two in the final term – Andrew Moore and Tyrone Vickery kicking two late majors each.
Leading goalkickers: Maric 2, A.Moore 2, Vickery 2, Couch 2 (Richmond) / Hardwick 3, Stewart 2 (Box Hill Hawks)
GEELONG 15.22 (112) d ESSENDON 5.4 (34)
Form: Geelong – W W W W W / Essendon – W L W W L
Telling facts: Geelong notched a fifth straight win by dominating the Bombers throughout their clash at Simonds Stadium. The Cats held a 32-point lead by half time but really put the foot down in the third quarter with 6.5 to Essendon’s one goal, led by Darcy Lang (pictured) who starred both in the middle and in front of goal.
Leading goalkickers: Clark 3, Lang 2, Parsons 2, Atley 2, Murdoch 2 (Geelong) / all singles (Essendon)
NORTHERN BLUES 11.11 (77) d FOOTSCRAY 10.11 (71)
Form: Northern Blues – L L L W W / Footscray – W L W W L
Telling facts: The Blues responded superbly after being headed for the first time since the opening quarter midway through the final stanza at Ikon Park. Back-to-back goals from Hisham Kerbatieh and Matt Korcheck helped Northern log consecutive victories and spoiled Footscray’s attempt to continue its recent run of last-term comeback wins achieved against Richmond and the Casey Scorpions.
Leading goalkickers: L.Jones 3, McKay 3, Jaksch 2 (Northern Blues) / Webb 2, Hoghton 2 (Footscray)
* Photo: Arj Giese
CLICK HERE for the full results, best players and goalkickers
CLICK HERE for the updated ladder
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Last Modified on 24/07/2016 17:22