In Round 18 games today, winners were Collingwood, Port Melbourne, Sandringham and Richmond.
Both Port Melbourne and Collingwood are one win away from locking in a top two spot and a top 8 spot respectively, and Sandringham finds itself inside the top 8 tonight, but could still drop from the 8 at the end of the round if Geelong gets the points over North Ballarat on Sunday. Richmond won its sixth game of the year on the back of five goals to Liam McBean, who shot to the top of the VFL goal kicking ladder.
Let's look back at today's games:
Collingwood one win away from finals
Collingwood is another step closer to returning to the VFL Legendairy Finals Series after defeating Essendon by 17 points. The loss for the Bombers ended their chance of finals football in 2014, winning the disposals across the afternoon, but struggling to have that reflect on the scoreboard.
It was all Essendon early in the game as they jumped out to a 12 point lead as Shaun Edwards and Jason Ashby gave them the start they needed. It went goal for goal before Tim Allan got the Magpies within three points at quarter time.
It did not take long in the second term for Collingwood to take the lead, as Cory Gault and Brodie Grundy made the most of their opportunities up forward to give the home side a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Patrick Karnezis was influencial in the middle in the first half with 17 disposals in his move away from the forward line as the home side led by nine points at half time.
Collingwood extended the margin in the third term to lead by 28 points going into the final term. While the Bombers dominated the final term, they could only manage seven scoring shots to six, keeping the home side goalless, butonly able to add two final term majors themselves to fall short by 17 points.
Brodie Grundy was the major goal kicker for Collingwood with three, and was among the best along with Karnezis and Nick Gray. Tom Bellchambers and Leroy Jetta kicked two each for Essendon, with Nick O’Brien the best in the middle for the Bombers, along with Ariel Steinberg in defence on Lynch and Anthony Tipungwuti.
Zebras still in the mix
Sandringham has kept it finals hopes alive with a 45 point win over Coburg. The win was set up with a devastating first half, restricting the Lions to just one first half goal while piling on 11 of their own.
After Coburg drew to within three points after kicking their first goal of the game, they would not kick another goal until the third term, as Sandringham went on a 12 goals unanswered run.
It started with eight unanswered goals to complete the first quarter, as Spencer White, Will McTaggart and Trent Dennis Lane all kicked two goals to give the home side a 50 point quarter time lead.
Terry Milera and Dennis Lane extended the lead to 61 points at half time, as Coburg were unable to find a major during the second term.
After Sandringham opened the second half with the first two goals, Coburg finally added its second major – having added 10 behinds between goals. While Sandringham raced out to a match high 70 point lead in the third term, the Lions fought back in the final term, finishing with five of the last six goals to cut the eventual result to under eight goals.
Dennis-Lane and White 5 led the way up forward for Sandringham with five each, while Sam Dunell, Clint Jones and Myke Cook were among the best for the home side. Ben Clifton was the major goal kicker for Coburg with three, while the best were Cody Mance (20 disposals), Nathan Thomas (25) and Nick Linton.
Win 14 for Port
Port Melbourne is a win away from locking in a top two spot after a 108-point win over Casey Scorpions. After a close first term, Port kicked away with 19 goals to four after quarter time to provide themselves a handy percentage boost with two rounds remaining in a day when the club announced Gary Ayres will continue as coach for 2015.
Just nine points separated the two teams at quarter time, before Port Melbourne went on a six goal to nil second term run to lead by 51 points at half time. Dan Connors led the way up forward with three of his match high five goals kicked during this term, moving him to third spot on the goal kicking ladder. Toby Pinwill amassed over half of his eventual 33 disposals in the first half, and was a key to the Borough’s dominance in the middle along with Shannon Lange who had 23 of his 30 disposals to half time.
After an even third term that provided Port with a 54 point at the final change, the home side went on a 10-goal unanswered run in the final term, with Casey kicking the final goal of the game to end a devastating display by the Borough.
Lange kicked three goals to go with his 30 disposals, and was among the best along with Pinwill and Wooffindin (31 disposals).
Christian Salem and Jack Fitzpatrick kicked two each for Casey, with Bryce Rutherford, James Harmes and Ed Morris the Scorpions’ best.
McBean helps Tigers to win
Richmond claimed its sixth win of the season, with a 98-point victory over Bendigo. The Tigers were led by five goals to Liam McBean, who has jumped to top spot on the VFL goal kicking ladder with his 33rd goal of the season.
After Bendigo registered the first goal of the game, Richmond replied with the next 10 in a row – six of those coming in the first term. Matt Arnot started the run with the first two of the game, helping the Tigers to a 33-point quarter time lead. Liam McBean kicked his first two goals of the game in the early stages of the second term, but it was Bendigo’s Devin McFarlane who brought the 10 goal run to an end.
Despite Richmond kicking another two goals for the term, Bendigo finished strongly with back to back goals to finish the half, trailing by 51 points at half time.
McBean provided a master class in set shot goal kicking in the third quarter kicking three of his five goals for the game during that term, helping the Tigers to another six goals for the term as they extended their margin to 71 points at the final change.
A five goal to one final term completed the win for Richmond, with captain Ross Young finishing the game with 29 disposals, Chris Knights 28, Ben Lennon 25 and Sam Lloyd 23 and four goals.
Tyrone Downie kicked three goals for the Gold, with Sam Heavyside, Jesse Wallin and Brandon Hayes in the best.
- CLICK HERE for the Rd 18 best players, goal kickers and qrt by qrt scores
- CLICK HERE for the updated ladder
UPCOMING GAMES
Sunday
North Ballarat v Geelong
Williamstown v Northern Blues (VFL Radio)
Frankston v Box Hill Hawks (3WBC)
Werribee v Footscray
Photo: Dave Savell
Last Modified on 09/08/2014 22:10