Richmond Tigers Vs Frankston Dolphins
Swinburne Oval
By Trent Kniese
A breezy Swinburne Oval held host to the last VFL game of the season for the Frankston Dolphins. In a tightly contested game, it was a battle for the ages. The channel 7 cameras were once again on the Dolphins for the 2nd time in three weeks. Brodie McLaughlin continued his fine form, picking the ball up near the top of the goal square before snapping a goal on his left boot. McLaughlin kicked his 2nd just minutes after clunking a big, contested mark from a similar spot where he kicked his first. A fluent set shot routine sealed the goal. Richmond 2.4.16 to Frankston 2.2.14 at the first break.
Taine Barlow kicked the first goal of the second quarter for both sides after scrapping away with two Richmond defenders before somehow picking up the ball and dribbling through a remarkable goal. Frankston was controlling a lot of the football in the 2nd quarter and just a few minutes after Barlow’s freakish goal, Trent Mynott used all of his big body to execute a perfect hip and shoulder before storming into the 50 and receiving a handball from Tom Murphy before kicking from about 40 meters out. A truly stunning goal. Josh Stern finished the quarter off nicely for the Dolphins with a beautiful rove off of Brodie McLaughlin before snapping around his body for his first of the day. Richmond 4.9.33 to Frankston 5.3.33 at halftime.
A sloppy quarter from the Dolphins saw just five behinds kicked for the away side. Critical turnovers cost Frankston on the scoreboard, and a huge fourth quarter was needed to turn things around. Richmond 7.14.56 to Frankston 5.8.38 at three-quarter time.
Josh Butland started a huge final quarter from the Dolphins, kicking his first ever VFL goal. Josh Begley kicked a huge 40-meter snap to really ignite the crowd and get the fourth quarter pumping, cutting the lead to just seven points. Colby Nanya kicked the impossible goal, kicking from right on the 50-meter mark and seeing the ball bounce through half a dozen players before sneaking over the line. The crowd went ballistic. Taine Barlow popped up with his second of the day with a fantastic set shot to have Frankston recapture the lead. Josh Stern kicked a beautiful goal very late into the fourth quarter running the outer wing before going from 40 out. Unfortunately, the damage Richmond did in the third was to substantial and the scoreboard damage could not be reeled back in.
Final Score:
Richmond 9.18.72
Frankston 10.9.69
If you did not get a chance to watch on Saturday afternoon, a mini match can be found here.
