by Mark Towson
VFL Round
9
Port Melbourne climbed into the top 4 on
the weekend with a rare win down the peninsula against the Frankston
Dolphins. Not many Port teams in the past 20 years have been successful down at
Frankston, but Gary Ayres and his men were determined to break this
trend.
A competitive first quarter saw both sides attack the ball
hard and provide some entertaining football. Frankston were doing
their best to get extra men in the backline to spoil Port's key forwards in Cal
Sinclair and Dean Galea. Port's talls did'nt have much of an impact early
on but the midfield were pushing hard forward and combined to kick 4 first
quarter goals. Cain, Pinwill, Valenti and Lynch all kicking one each. At quarter
time it was Port leading 4.6 to 2.3.
Coach Ayres was pleased with
the effort but wanted the Borough to nail their shots on goal and put
the Dolphins under more scoreboard pressure. The second quarter saw
Frankston jump Port early on and make the most of all there forward thrusts.
Abit of local knowledge saw the Dolphins kick a couple of goals from close to
the boundary and the match was becoming tight. The rowdy Frankston
supporters had plenty to cheer about with the home side kicking 5 goals for the
term.
The Dolphins accurate kicking combined with Port's inability to
kick straight had both teams going in at half time with scores level. Only Dean
Galea and Toby Pinwill could manage to kick second quarter goals. At
the main break it was Port 6.10.46 to Frankston 7.4.46.
As in past
weeks, Port again put the foot down in the third quarter. Earlier on in the day
Gary Ayres asked his crumbers to make more of their opportunities, and they
delivered big time. Adam Bentick lead the way with 3 brilliant goals and the
skillful Chris Cain nailed another 2 to give Port the accendency. The run
of Valenti, Pinwill, Keddell, Dillon and Suckling was creating many scoring
opportunities.
One of the highlights from the term was Michael Dillon's
couragous mark running back into unknown traffic and not taking his eyes off the
ball. He was prepared to take the hit for his side and moments later he was
rewarded by Port kicking a valuable goal.
Two strong mark and goals
from full forward Dean Galea made it 7 Borough goals for the term. It gave
Port a very handy 34 point lead going into the last quarter. It also
silenced the irriatating drum kit on the Frankston hill.
Port were
able to maintain there intensity in the final term and finish off with a strong
30 point victory. Two last quarter goals to Chris Cain gave him 5 for the day
and also a best on ground performance. The Borough defence was superb all day
with Sam Pleming and Cory McGrath leading the way. Jarrod Dalton and Steve
Brewer provided their usual run.
The past 2 weeks Port has
dominated in patches but some poor goal kicking has really flattered their
opponents. 33 shots on goal would leave Gary Ayres pleased with the midfield
run, but it might be time for Bernie Quinlan to give the boys abit of extra goal
kicking practice during the week.
Port's best on the day were Chris
Cain, Michael Dillon, Mitch Keddell, Shane Valenti, Sam Pleming and
Matt Suckling.
Next Sunday Port take on the Northern Bullants
in a blockbuster at Preston. The Ballants are in fine form and have one of the
most talented sides in the VFL.
Gary Ayres will be desperate to grab
the four points with the reward being a week off for his side followed by
two home games. It would also leave his side in a fantastic position for
the run home
Go The Mighty
Borough!
2010 VFL
Seniors
Frankston 2.3 7.4 9.4
12.6 (78)
Port Melbourne 4.6 6.10
13.14 15.18 (108)
GOALS:
Frankston: Clark 4 Thoolen 3 Potts
2 Proctor 2 Baguley
Port Melbourne: Cain 5 Galea
3 Bentick 3 Pinwill 2 Lynch Valenti
BEST:
Frankston:
Kennedy Potts Bosward Doria Hibberd Thoolen
Port
Melbourne:
Cain Dillon Keddell Valenti Pleming Suckling
Last Modified on 15/06/2010 20:33