We look at the results so far in Round 4 of the Peter Jackson VFL, with the winners Collingwood, Sandringham, Essendon, Box Hill Hawks and Casey Scorpions:
COLLINGWOOD d BENDIGO: Collingwood enjoyed an easy Friday night at the office with a crunching 116-point victory over Bendigo Gold under lights at the Queen Elizabeth Oval.
The Magpies slammed home 25 goals to return to the winners' list in emphatic fashion, falling just one point shy of their highest ever score since returning to the Peter Jackson VFL in 2008.
The 25.26.176 to 9.6.60 victory allowed Luke Ball and Darren Jolly (3 goals) to return from injury in style and gave Kyle Martin another chance to impress the Magpie hierarchy. Martin bagged a match-high four goals in the first half, his second such bag in two weeks.
Jackson Paine, Ben Kennedy, Lachlan Ferguson and Jarrod Witts also finished with three each on a scoreboard that included 10 individual goalkickers.
Bendigo showed in patches that it could compete at this level but was unable to sustain it for long enough. The hosts' were again well served by captain Steven Stroobants, while Comanche Walls managed two majors – the first two goals of the night.
SANDRINGHAM d WERRIBEE TIGERS: Sandringham recorded their first win of the season in emphatic fashion, kicking 15 goals to five in the second half to run out 64-point winners against the Werribee Tigers.
After a tight first half which saw just six points separate the two teams at half time, Sandringham took control of the clearances in the second half, going on a six goal unanswered run midway through the third term to set up their victory. A seven goal unanswered run to open the final term sealed the win for the visitors.
The run from half back was a key to the Zebras win, with the likes of Sam Dunnell (17 disposals) and Marcus Marigliani (24) setting up Terry Milera (6 goals), Cam Shenton (3) and Spencer White (3). White (pictured) impressed once again up forward for Sandringham kicking 3.4 for the day, taking eight marks with his 13 disposals.
Dan Currie worked hard in the ruck all day for Werribee up against Lewis Pierce, Jay Lever and Tom Hickey, but it was the Zebras talls that won out on the day despite not seeing Hamish Shepheard back out on the field after half time. Adam Maric and Ben Warren kicked three goals each for Werribee, while Tim McGennis, Scott Sherlock and Jordan Gysberts were named amongst their best.
ESSENDON d NORTH BALLARAT: Essendon has conquered gale-force winds and the North Ballarat Roosters to clinch their second win in the Peter Jackson VFL this season.
With Joe Daniher rested from the clash at Eureka Stadium, the Bombers shared the workload in front of goal with Matthew Bate, Jake Melksham, Elliot Kavanagh, Nick O'Brien and Fabian Brancatisano all finishing with two goals apiece.
The powerful breeze, blowing mostly across the ground, saw both sides struggle to find their best football for most of the afternoon, and it wasn't until a third quarter surge that Bombers took control.
With Nathan Lovett-Murray dominating in the middle, first Jetta, then Kavanagh (twice) made the most of half-chances in front of goal.
The trio's class, along with fine contributions from Tayte Pears, Melksham and O'Brien were significant factors in the 14.11 (95) to 8.12 (60) victory.
The Roosters had few four-quarter performers but were well-served by ruckman Ben Mabon and captain Michael Searl who both competed tirelessly.
BOX HILL HAWKS d COBURG TIGERS: The Box Hill Hawks worked their way back from a 32-point quarter time deficit to run out 28-point winners against Coburg. The Hawks overcame just one goal in the first term to kick seven goals in each of the second and third terms to hit the front by nine points at three quarter time. Unlike what has happened in previous rounds where the Hawks have been overrun, the home team kept Coburg to just three behinds as they recorded their second win of the season.
Liam Tobin led the scorers for the Hawks with four majors – two in an important burst in the third term - whilst Sam Iles kicked two goals and was amongst the best in the middle of the ground along with Brandon Wood.
Coburg struggled for goal kickers in the second half, with Aaron Edwards only adding a further one goal to his half time haul of four goals. Nathan Foley continued his return from injury with extended game time this week for Coburg and was amongst their best, along with Matt Dea, Ben Darrou and Matt Arnot.
CASEY SCORPIONS d WILLIAMSTOWN: In a game that was dictated by who took the better advantage of the breeze, the Casey Scorpions continued their undefeated start to the season defeating Williamstown by 23 points. The Scorpions took full advantage of the breeze during the game, kicking 11 goals during the first and third terms to outscore Williamstown who only managed eight goals in the second and final terms.
Jesse Hogan worried Casey and Melbourne fans after he left the field in the second term after a knock to the leg not to return in the second half, but Jack Fitzpatrick was back to his goal kicking best, kicking three goals in the third term, to finish with four goals for the game. Chris Dawes returned from injury with two goals, along with Lynden Dunn (2) and Rory Taggert (2). For Williamstown, Ayce Cordy was WIlliamstown's leading goal kicker with two in the second term – three for the game - but their only other multiple goal kicker was Charlie Nastasi with two.
Dunn led the way with 35 disposals, plus 11 marks, whilst James Magner (32), Tom Couch (28) and Jake Spencer (42 hitouts) were amongst their best. Best for Williamstown were Lukas Markovic, Cam Lockwood and Dylan Addison.
Casey remains undefeated after the first four rounds of season 2013.
UPCOMING GAMES:
Frankston vs Geelong
Northern Blues vs Port Melbourne (VFL Radio)
FULL RESULTS:
Click HERE for the full best players and goal kickers.
Click HERE for the updated ladder
Photo: Dave Savell
Last Modified on 28/04/2013 20:12