A relentless Footscray performance has seen Frankston fall to an 80-point defeat at Mission Whitten Oval on Saturday afternoon, in what was a dour day for the Dolphins.
The ladder leaders were switched on from the first bounce of the Qualifying Final, with Frankston unable to gain any control over the contest, on their way to the 15.15 (105) to 3.7 (25) result.
Remarkably, it was the first defeat for Jackson Kornberg’s side in over two months, with the last also coming at the hands of Footscray in Round 12 at Kinetic Stadium.
The Bulldogs led in all the key areas of the contest, winning the inside 50 count (65-33), clearances (49-31) and disposals (383-268) as their AFL-listed talent shone around the ground.
Footscray asked questions of the Frankston backline right from the go, but were unable to penetrate the defence in their first few attempts.
They eventually broke through, with the Bulldogs putting the first four goals of the afternoon on the board, before Noah Gown made no mistake from his set shot to get one back for the Dolphins.
A better final 10 minutes of the first term for the visitors showed promising signs, but the Bulldogs headed into the first break with a healthy 23-point lead.
Footscray put through a quick opener to the second period to get things back rolling on their terms, adding another couple of goals to open a 42-point lead halfway through the quarter.
Trent Mynott kicked a much-needed major to stem the bleeding and get it back to a six-goal game; however, a further two goals to the Bulldogs to end the term pushed the margin out to 47 points at half-time.
It was again another lightning start for Footscray in the third term, curling one through inside the opening 20 seconds to add to their lead.
Frankston were held goalless for the quarter as a further pair of Bulldogs majors extended their advantage to 68 points at the final break.
The home side again put one on the board inside the first minute to kick off the final term, before a further two goals for Footscray threatened to push the margin into triple figures.
Harrison Coe steered home the final goal of the contest late, as the Bulldogs cruised to the 80-point victory.
Returning to the side from injury, Jackson Voss can hold his head high on an overall disappointing day, finishing witha team-high 27 disposals, as well as having five marks, five tackles, seven inside 50s and 10 rebound 50s.
Taine Barlow (20 disposals, six marks, seven intercepts, 10 rebound 50s) battled hard all afternoon. As did midfield pair Tom Blamires (22 disposals, seven tackles, four clearances) and Darby Hipwell (21 disposals, three clearances), with the duo leading the side for contested possessions with nine and eleven respectively.
Tyson Milne was lively out of the back half, recording 20 disposals (eight contested) and a team-high eight intercept possessions, while Taj Campbell-Farrell (14 disposals, eight contested possessions, 10 tackles) put in a workmanlike performance.
Noah Gown took on a larger chunk of the ruck work on top of his usual work inside 50, with the big man laying a team-high 11 tackles to go along with 13 disposals, four clearances, five marks and a goal.
Despite the result, the Dolphins have another chance to push on in their finals campaign, with Frankston set to host Casey next week at Kinetic Stadium in the Semi Finals, with a Preliminary Final berth against Southport awaiting the winner.
Further details about the clash are set to be announced on Monday afternoon.
FOOTSCRAY 4.6 9.7 12.13 15.15 (105)
FRANKSTON 1.1 2.2 2.5 3.7 (25)
GOALS
Mynott, Gown, Coe
BEST
Voss, Barlow, Blamires, Milne
