vfl.com.au takes a look at the season that was for the Peter Jackson VFL’s non-finalists.
RICHMOND (9th, 9-9)
Wins: Footscray (52 pts, Rd 2), North Ballarat (79 pts, Rd 6), Werribee (31 pts, Rd 10), Box Hill Hawks (16 pts, Rd 16), Frankston (31 pts, Rd 17), Northern Blues (44 pts, Rd 18), Geelong (37 pts, Rd 19), Sandringham (9 pts, Rd 20), Coburg (91 pts, Rd 21)
What went wrong: The Tigers left it way too late to make their run towards finals. They were wallowing at 3-9 with six rounds to play due to dispiriting losses to the likes of Frankston and Coburg, but new senior coach Craig McRae’s group then managed to reel off six straight victories to finish the season despite Richmond’s struggling AFL team calling upon a bevy of young players.
Best and fairest contenders: Captain Sam Darley will be hard to beat, with his rebound from defence (ave. 22 disposals, six rebound-50s) a constant throughout the season. AFL-listed hard-nuts Adam Marcon (ave. 23 disposals) and Andrew Moore (ave. 24 disposals) also had consistent campaigns.
Surprise packets: Tom Silvestro and Daniel Coffield both graduated from being 23rd players to appear in 16 and 14 games respectively.
BOX HILL HAWKS (10th, 7-11)
Wins: Sandringham (37 pts, Rd 1) / Williamstown (15 pts, Rd 2) / Coburg (8 pts, Rd 3) / Frankston (59 pts, Rd 4) / North Ballarat (27 pts, Rd 9) / Werribee (37 pts, Rd 18) / Sandringham (22 pts, Rd 19)
What went wrong: It was business as usual for last year’s grand finallists until a humbling 36-point loss to the Northern Blues in Round 10. The Hawks suffered from injuries at Hawthorn requiring reinforcements from the VFL team and eventually struggled to play their successful possession-based game style, losing seven straight matches – including three after leading in the final quarter.
Best and fairest contenders: Captain David Mirra might finally break through for his first club champion award after a stellar season marshalling the defence (ave. 21 disposals, seven marks), while the retired Sam Iles averaged (ave. 21 disposals) in the midfield.
Surprise packets: Tackling machine Sam Switkowski stepped up from the Development League in June and brought a physical presence to Box Hill’s midfield and forward line. Pat Lawlor (13 goals in 12 games) and Chris Jones (11 goals in 12 games) took their chances inside 50 when they presented.
WERRIBEE (11th, 7-11)
Wins: Essendon (18 pts, Rd 1) / Frankston (38 pts, Rd 2) / Footscray (42 pts, Rd 4) / Box Hill Hawks (2 pts, Rd 6) / North Ballarat (11 pts, Rd 16) / Northern Blues (63 pts, Rd 17) / Sandringham (20 pts, Rd 21)
What went wrong: After a 4-1 start to the season, the Tigers dropped 11 of their next 14 games. The slump roughly coincided with the onset of injury woes at aligned AFL team North Melbourne after its own barnstorming opening to the year, which affected the depth of elite-level players at Werribee.
Best and fairest contenders: Tough midfielder Matt Hanson would have to be in the box seat to claim successive club champion awards (ave. 23 disposals, seven tackles, six clearances), while Tom Gribble (ave. 25 disposals) made a remarkable return from an injury-ruined 2015.
Surprise packets: Tasmanian midfielder Ethan Petterwood graduated from being the 23rd player to an integral part of Werribee’s line-up, while key defender Nick Meredith (pictured, left) also established himself in the team in his first VFL season.
COBURG (12th, 6-12)
Wins: Essendon (31 pts, Rd 6) / Richmond (33 pts, Rd 9) / North Ballarat (30 pts, Rd 10) / Werribee (14 pts, Rd 12) / Footscray (12 pts, Rd 13) / Frankston (12 pts, Rd 19)
What went wrong: It was a valuable year of development for the young Coburg list. Gutted of experience over the off-season by the departures of Nick Carnell, Ben Clifton and Daniel Venditti, senior coach Peter German almost had to build a new midfield division from the ground up. There were many encouraging signs, but some equally listless performances.
Best and fairest contenders: Tom Goodwin was a colossus in the ruck (ave. 25 hitouts, five tackles), and the feeder for several prolific Lions midfielders who will likely finish high up in voting such as Ozgur Uysal (ave. 26 disposals, five clearances) and Robbie Fox (ave. 21 disposals, seven tackles, five clearances). ‘Frosty’ Miller Medallist Ahmed Saad (49 goals) only went goalless once.
Surprise packets: A couple of former Calder Cannons shone, with Ben Allan (pictured, centre) establishing himself in Coburg’s first-choice midfield, while rebounding defender Luke Ryan developed into one of the VFL’s hottest draft prospects.
NORTHERN BLUES (13th, 6-12)
Wins: Geelong (14 pts, Rd 2) / Coburg (11 pts, Rd 7) / Frankston (40 pts, Rd 9) / Box Hill Hawks (36 pts, Rd 10) / North Ballarat (31 pts, Rd 15) / Footscray (6 pts, Rd 16)
What went wrong: With new senior coaches at AFL level (Brendon Bolton) and in the VFL (Josh Fraser), 2016 was always going to be a year of transition for the Blues organisation. Like at Carlton, Northern’s performances were often wildly inconsistent. A couple of wins against top-eight teams were counteracted by demoralising losses of over 100 points to the Casey Scorpions and Williamstown in Rounds 5 and 6.
Best and fairest contenders: New captain Tom Wilson led from the front as a hard-nut midfielder (ave. 21 disposals, five clearances), while AFL-listers Jason Tutt (ave. 26 disposals) and Matthew Dick (ave. 22 disposals, five rebound-50s) also had strong campaigns.
Surprise packets: Tim Jones arrived from Queensland with Josh Fraser and immediately complemented Tom Wilson in the contests. Hisham Kerbatieh was a revelation up forward in his first season out of the TAC Cup, booting 21 goals in 18 games.
NORTH BALLARAT (14th, 3-15)
Wins: Coburg (6 pts, Rd 1) / Frankston (7 pts, Rd 12) / Frankston (10 pts, Rd 21)
What went wrong: Senior coach Marc Greig had to make do with a young list entering a new era in the club’s existence. The Roosters ended their partial alignment with North Melbourne over the off-season and let go successful long-term mentor Gerard FitzGerald. An array of talented but inexperienced players from the North Ballarat region were forced to step up to assist a thin senior core.
Best and fairest contenders: Last year’s J. J. Liston Trophy winner Nick Rippon was a pillar of strength in North Ballarat’s midfield (ave. 24 disposals, seven tackles), while 2015 club champion Luke Kiel (ave. 21 disposals) won’t be far away either.
Surprise packets: Ruckman Rowan Marshall (pictured, right) played every game as Orren Stephenson’s understudy. Tom Schnerring emerged rapidly after a knee reconstruction ruined his 2015 season with the North Ballarat Rebels, while key forward Sam Hooper broke out to be the team’s leading goalkicker with 20 majors from 15 games.
FRANKSTON (15th, 2-16)
Wins: Richmond (13 pts, Rd 3) / Coburg (5 pts, Rd 5)
What went wrong: The Dolphins spent 2016 further adjusting to second-year senior coach Patrick Hill’s game plan. Hill wants his players to take the game on and play an attractive brand of football, but often their skills weren’t up to the task. Frankston often contended in games against strong opposition for three quarters but fell away late.
Best and fairest contenders: Brandon Wood was Frankston’s chief ball-winner in the contests (ave. 24 disposals, six clearances), while dual club champion Ben Cavarra took his game to a new level by regularly hitting the scoreboard (19 goals in 15 games). Josh Newman (ave. 22 disposals) and Corey Buchan (ave. 24 disposals, five rebound-50s) also had solid seasons in defence.
Surprise packets: ‘The Recruit’ contestant Jackson Sketcher came to the club in May and made an immediate impact, while several off-season additions also slotted seamlessly into the senior team, including Andrew McInnes, Ryan Exon and ruckman Michael Sikora.
Last Modified on 05/09/2016 11:56
