By Will Jeffares
A dominant performance from Frankston against the Northern Bullants on Friday night has made it two wins in a row for the Dolphins, with the home side recording the 11.19 (85) to 4.10 (34) result in front of a strong turnout at Kinetic Stadium.
Coming off a two-week break, Frankston followed on from their impressive victory against Port Melbourne in Round 2 to cruise to the 51-point victory and record a 2-1 start to the season, jumping up to 6th on the ladder.
It was a slow start to the contest, with the visitors eventually breaking the deadlock in the 12th minute to kick the first major of the game, before goals from Jack Newnes and Matt Johnson gave Frankston a 10-point lead at the first break.
Receiving the late call-up to replace Joe Lloyd in the 23, Harrison Jones soccered through his first VFL goal on debut before a costly turnover in the Dolphins’ backline gifted the Bullants a goal via Caleb Franks to keep the visitors within touching distance.
Johnson responded in lightning fashion, slotting two in two minutes to give the Dolphins some breathing space entering the main break.
The first of which was an impressive check-side finish on the run, before taking a strong mark in the goal square to kick his third after a silky passage of play led by Jackson Voss, which had the Frankston crowd on their feet.
Goals from Noah Gown and Trent Mynott had the margin quickly out to beyond six goals early in the third term, with Mynott adding to his tally soon after with a clever snap.
The victory, however, was soured for Jackson Kornberg’s side with Mynott limping off the ground moments later with a hamstring injury after winning a push in the back freekick as he searched for his third.
Instead, it was Colby Nayna who stepped up to convert Mynott’s resulting set shot, extending the margin to 41 points entering the final term.
Inaccuracy throughout the night from the Dolphins kept the margin under what the game reflected; however, Tomo Owens would slot a classy goal in the fourth after parting the seas between two Bullants defenders.
Another debutant in Harrison Coe would also join in on the action, taking a strong mark before converting the set shot to secure his maiden major at VFL level and push the margin out to a game-high 53 points in the latter stages of the contest.
Tyson Milne (28 disposals, seven marks) put on a show off halfback, breaking the lines and orchestrating several of Frankston’s offensive moves alongside fellow dasher George Grey (21 disposals, nine tackles).
In the middle, Tom Murphy followed up on his 29-disposal effort against Port Melbourne, collecting 30 touches and having a game-high 12 clearances in a super performance against a strong Bullants midfield unit.
Seb Quirk (21 disposals, five tackles) and Blake O’Leary (25 disposals) were strong performers on the night, with the latter missing out on an even bigger evening by kicking three behinds.
Johnson was stellar up forward in the absence of Josh Butland and worked well alongside Gown and Coe. Johnson’s forward craft was on show, finishing with 13 disposals and eight tackles to accompany his three goals in a well-rounded performance.
Meanwhile, the Dolphin’s defensive unit of Max Williams, Josh Smith and Taine Barlow stood tall all night for the home side, limiting the Bullants to just four goals and keeping them goalless in the final term.
Frankston will be back in front of the home faithful next week as they take on Coburg on Friday night at 7:35 pm, with the Dolphins hoping to make it three wins in a row.
FRANKSTON 2.5 5.9 9.15 11.19 (85)
NORTHERN BULLANTS 1.1 3.2 4.4 4.10 (34)
GOALS
Johnson 3, Mynott 2, Owens, Newnes, Nayna, Jones, Gown, Coe
BEST
Milne, Murphy, Johnson, Grey, Quirk, O’Leary
