In the first Semi Final encounter of Week 2 of the VFL Legendairy Finals, Port Melbourne ran away from Sandringham in the final term for a 47-point win.
Port Melbourne completes the first of two Preliminary Final matches, as they will now face Footscray next Saturday at North Port Oval for the chance to earn a spot in the 2014 Peter Jackson VFL Grand Final.
We take a look back at how the match was won today:
Preliminary berth booked by Port
Port Melbourne finds itself through to a Preliminary Final encounter with Footscray after accounting for Sandringham by 47 points. An inaccurate Borough side had double the amount of scoring shots of the Zebras, but were able to find the goals when it mattered with a six goal to two final term to eliminate Sandringham from the finals.
Hugh Sandilands was the unlikely forward hero for Port Melbourne with five goals after the late withdrawal of VFL Frosty Miller Medal winner Daniel Connors from the side.
Port Melbourne were keen to atone for a Qualifying defeat at the hands of Box Hill Hawks with a strong opening against Sandringham, kicking the first three goals to Adrian Bonaddio, Chris Michaliades and Sam O’Sullivan to jump out to a 19-point lead.
Trent Dennis Lane, delisted by St Kilda during the week, had his mind firmly focused on a Zebra win as he added two in a row to get the visitors on the board.
At quarter time it was Port Melbourne by 10 points, but this quickly changed in the early stages of the second as Sam Dunnell – another delisted Saint – and Matthew Kreymborg goaled to give Sandringham the lead for the first time in the match. Port Melbourne however settled, kicking three of the last four goals of the term to lead by 13 points at half time.
Kenny Ong gave Sandringham the perfect start to the second half as he kicked his second major from the boundary line but then it turned into the Hugh Sandilands and Tom O’Sullivan show. O’Sullivan was dominant in the midfield for Port, and he helped feed Sandliands up forward who kicked two goals and helped Port Melbourne to a 22-point lead, 16 minutes into the third term.
Sandringham however would not give in, as Spencer White read the ball well off the pack for his first, and Darren Minchington opened his account to drag the Zebras back within 12 points. Port kicked one late through Gordon, but inaccuracy cost them a great lead than the 21-point margin at three quarter time , kicking 3.9 to 3.0 straight for the term; not able to make the most of 18 inside 50s to six for the term.
In the final term Port Melbourne took control, with O’Sullivan, Mitch Wooffindin and Shane Valenti helping push the ball forward out of the middle. Rowe kicked his second, then Sandilands kicked another three to take his tally to five, and the Borough were home, out to a 41-point lead. Minchington and Dunnell both added their second goals for the game, but Port Melbourne had booked a berth with Footscray next Saturday in the Preliminary Final at North Port Oval.
Sam Pleming was again the general across the half backline with 24 disposals (12 marks), and was joined in the best players by the midfield brigade of Valenti (24), O’Sullivan (34), James Magner (22) and John Baird (24), along with Sandilands (8 marks) for his five goals.
Tom Simpkin was best for Sandringham in his defensive role, and was joined by Seb Ross and Minchington in the middle and Jacob Holmes in the ruck.
AFL Victoria Development League
Earlier in the day, it was not the best news for Port Melbourne with Box Hill Hawks kicking 16 goals to three in the second half to eliminate the Borough from the AFL Victoria Development League finals. Just four points separated them at half time, but Box Hill ran away with the game with plenty of players hitting the scoreboard.
The Hawks were led by Sam Cust, Peter McEvoy and Tom Gordon with four goals each as they booked a Grand Final spot next Saturday at North Port Oval against Williamstown.
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SUNDAY GAME
2:10pm: Williamstown v Werribee
CLICK HERE for a preview of the game
Last Modified on 06/09/2014 18:16