By Jess Jones
SEWFL Round 2 - Frankston FC v Coburg FC
In perfect conditions for football at SkyBus Stadium on Saturday morning, Frankston’s women’s team took on Coburg Football Club in their first home game of the season. Frankston were coming off an impressive win in last week’s round 1 match against Mornington, whilst Coburg had an 82 point loss to the St. Kilda Sharks.
The last time these two teams faced off for a practice match, Coburg won comfortably by 33 points. Frankston looked like a different side taking on the Lions on Saturday, taking Coburg by surprise. The Lions scored the first goal of the game just 3 minutes into play. Frankston scored a minor around the 13-minute mark. The pressure was good from both sides, although most of the first half of the game was played between their 50 metre lines. The scores were close but low at halftime, with Frankston on 1.2.8 and Coburg 2.3.15.
Both teams came out firing for the second half. Frankston managed 2 goals and a missed shot at goal for a minor score, the Lions slotting through 3 goals and 2 points. There was plenty of action in the middle, with both sides showcasing some of their key players supporting their teams throughout the whole match. Some hard hitting tackles from Frankston players saw good, consistent pressure on the Lions.
In the last quarter, Coburg were the stronger side, able to move through Frankston’s defence kicking 1 goal, 4 points to Frankston’s 2 points. It was a very different game to the last time these two sides met, no doubt impressing the many supporters for both teams on the hill and in the Bryan Mace Grandstand.
Football Manager Nat Furlong said after the game ‘seeing the difference in the girls compared to the first practice match against Coburg was amazing. Coburg came out thinking we would be a walk over but our tackling pressure and strength totally surprised them. While we didn’t walk away with the win we did show ourselves how far we have come in a short amount of time.’
Final score
Frankston 3.5.23
Coburg 6.9.45
Goals
Frankston: O’Connell-Paladino 2, Rolland.
Coburg: Sims 2, Said, Hendy, Bradley, Morrow.
Frankston play the Eastern Devils in Round 3 at home, on Saturday May 8th at 11am.
VFL Round 3: Frankston FC v Aspley FC
On Saturday night, the Frankston Football Club warmly welcomed Aspley Football Club into the competition. As the visitors’ bus rolled into Frankston Park, the sounds of AC/DC boomed on the speakers overhead. With the sparkling bay as the backdrop on a rare warm day in May, there was the feeling in the air that a big game was ahead.
As the sun set and the lights came on, the crowds started rolling in. The siren howled at 7pm and the game was underway. Both teams started strong, determined to make their presence known. The visitors had something to prove in their first trip to Victoria, the Dolphins keen to lockdown their third win of the season.
The first half saw even pressure from both teams in the first quarter, but with the kicking skills of Matt Hammelmann and his 6-goal haul, Aspley looked threatening with a 22-point lead early in the second term.
After half time, Frankston came back focused and ready to fight their way back. Similar to their performance against Coburg in Round 1, the home team found their second wind and looked the stronger side. Bailey Lambert played a starring role kicking a tidy 4 goals to help his team stage an impressive comeback.
Aspley looked tired as they tried desperately to hold the home team back, but Frankston looked unstoppable once gaining momentum, something we’ve seen from them already this season. Frankston won comfortably in the end and are sitting at 3-0 for the first time since 1998. Nathan Freeman was again a pivotal player, finishing with 35 disposals, with Captain Josh Newman on 29.
Coach Danny Ryan said after the game ‘we started well against Aspley before playing into their hands for the remainder of the first quarter. After a reset at quarter time, we started to play the type of football that we wanted. Still down at half time – there was a lot left to play for and the bigger bodies of Aspley were certainly troubling our boys, holding a good lead over us. A renewed focus on our hunt around the contest in the second half saw us claw our way back into the game, albeit slowly. At 3-quarter time the players steeled themselves for 30 mins of effort to get our reward. With Aspley starting to flag from a long day of travel – the Dolphins were able to climb over the brave Hornets team to take the lead and hold on for the victory. Another win in the bank and we recover, learn again and reset for a massive challenge against the mighty Seagulls at Williamstown for our next game.’
Final score
Frankston 13.14.92
Aspley 10.11.71
Goals
Frankston: Lambert 4, Mentha 2, Riley 2, Young 2, Begley, Scagliarini, Williams.
Aspley: Hammelmann 6, Stackelberg 2, Lyons, Peppin.
Frankston play Williamstown in Round 4 at Williamstown, Saturday May 8th at 1.35pm.
