By Will Jeffares
A 10-goal to four second half has seen a strong Southport outfit run out 48-point victors over Frankston at Fankhauser Reserve on Saturday afternoon.
Despite a positive start from the Dolphins, missed chances and the Sharks’ decisiveness in front of goal created a tight contest in the opening stages before a dominant second half allowed the home side to cruise to the 16.9 (105) to 8.9 (57) result.
Southport’s midfield unit was able to gain control of the contest around the stoppages, winning the clearance battle 49 to 27 and the disposal count 446 to 279 against the hard-working Frankston midfield that had competed well in the first half.
With the Dolphins missing Josh Smith, Jack Newnes, Taj Campbell-Farrell and Alec McComb from their impressive victory over Sydney last week at Kinetic Stadium, Jackson Kornberg’s side welcomed back Noah Gown from injury, while Ollie Moran and Darcy Gilbert made their return to the team as Jet Peckett was rewarded for his strong local form to make his debut for the Club.
It was a good start for the visitors, with Matt Johnson opening the scoring from a set shot after getting on the end of a good delivery inside 50 from Blake O’Leary.
Tom Murphy quickly cancelled out a Hugh Dixon major after cleverly roving the pack and snapping it home, before Matt Nelson kicked his first for the Club with a great finish across the body to have the margin just beyond two goals.
After another goal to Dixon, O’Leary took the advantage after the Dolphins won a freekick inside 50 to run into an open goal and kick his first. A late goal from Southport, however, had the margin at nine points in Frankston’s favour at the first change.
The Sharks would then kick three goals to none in the second term to hold a 10-point lead at the main break as they began to control the territory battle and capitalise on their opportunities going forward.
After the home side kicked the first of the second half within the opening 30 seconds, Frankston responded thanks to a quick-thinking Johnson soccer goal. However, five unanswered goals to Southport pushed their lead to 42 points before a Noah Gown set shot snapped the Sharks’ run as they held onto a 35-point buffer at the final change.
An early Southport turnover from a kick-in was punished by Josh Butland, before skipper Trent Mynott won the resulting centre clearance and found Johnson inside 50, who wheeled around to bang home his third for the afternoon and give the Dolphins a sniff with the margin cut back to 23-points.
The task would prove too much for Frankston, as Southport would kick the last four of the contest to record the 48-point win.
Seb Quirk led the way for the Dolphins in the midfield, finishing with a team-high 24 disposals and seven clearances while also laying five tackles in a tough day. Trent Mynott (18 disposals, eight tackles, three clearances) was strong in the contest as he attempted to will his side on.
Tom Murphy added 15 disposals and six tackles to his major, with Lachie Riley (20 disposals, five clearances, four tackles) was a strong contributor throughout the contest in one of his best performances for the season.
Matt Johnson’s finished with nine disposals and four marks, as his trio of goals brought his tally to 17 for the season, placing him in equal fourth in the competition as he proves to be a handful for opposition defenders.
Blake O’Leary (one goal, 17 disposals) and Lochie Reidy (17 disposals, six tackles) were lively for the Dolphins as they continue their strong campaigns.
In his 50th game for the Club, Max Williams tallied 14 touches, while Jet Peckett finished with five in his debut.
Frankston will now switch their attention to next Saturday night, where they’ll look to bounce back against Sandringham in the ‘Battle of the Bay’ at Kinetic Stadium at 7:05 pm AEST.
SOUTHPORT 3.0 6.2 12.4 16.9 (105)
FRANKSTON 4.3 4.4 6.5 8.9 (57)
GOALS
Johnson 3, O’Leary, Nelson, Murphy, Gown, Butland
BEST
Quirk, Mynott, Johnson, Murphy, Riley, O’Leary
