By Will Jeffares
Images By Tim Bowman
An inaccurate Frankston side has kicked off their 2025 campaign with a strong 14-point win over Port Melbourne at ETU Stadium on Saturday night.
Facing a Borough side that was coming off a 25-point Round 1 defeat to Brisbane, the Dolphins shook off a nervy start to their first contest of the 2025 VFL Season to record the 4.10 (34) to 5.20 (50) result.
Despite the victory and their dominance for large portions of the game, Jackson Kornberg’s side will be ruing their missed chances in front of goal, kicking a whopping 1.20 after Lochie Reidy converted from the set shot early in the second term for Frankston’s fourth straight major to open the contest.
Despite the inaccuracy in front of goal, there were plenty of positives for the Dolphins on the night, with five debutants pulling on the Frankston guernsey for the first time.
Will Hamill, Tom Blamires, Darby Hipwell, Corey Ellison and Tarkyn O’Leary (brother of Blake) were all given the chance to impress for the first time in their new colours and showed plenty of encouraging signs in the Club’s season opener.
Port Melbourne were on top early in front of their home crowd, kicking the first two majors of the night and applying plenty of pressure on the visitors.
Noah Gown won himself a freekick inside 50 and kicked truly with a great finish from a tough angle with a celebration to match, blowing a kiss to the Port Melbourne fans.
Mere seconds later, young midfield bull Taj Campbell-Farrell showcased his exciting talents, shrugging off a Port tackler with a strong ‘don’t argue’ before breaking free to 50 and slotting a fantastic goal on the run for two goals in less than a minute for the Dolphins.
Despite making an appearance for Frankston as a Stingrays-listed player in 2019, Ellison marked his official Club debut with an early major to level the scores and make it three in a row.
A Lochie Reidy bomb from beyond 50 made it four consecutive majors for the Dolphins early in the second quarter, giving the visitors their first lead of the night.
Corey Ellison would get his second from a set shot, extending Frankston’s lead to 15 points as they began to control the contest.
That would be their final major of the night, with the Dolphins kicking a frustrating 17 consecutive behinds, including 14 in the second half, as they were unable to convert their dominance onto the scoreboard.
Port would kick two goals to open the fourth quarter, applying some pressure on Frankston, but the visitors stood strong to ward off the home side and come away with the four points in their first outing of the year.
The ever-reliable Jackson Voss was great down back for the Dolphins, recording 20 disposals, eight marks, four clearances and seven rebound 50s. Frankston royalty Will Hamill was also impressive on debut to finish with a team-high 25 disposals.
Emerging defender Ollie Moran (20 disposals, four marks, seven rebound 50s) was fantastic, recording an equal game-high 10 intercepts to be among the side’s best.
The crafty Blake O’Leary (23 disposals, 10 contested possessions) didn’t put a foot wrong in a strong all-round performance, with the livewire tallying seven intercepts along with five score involvements as he looks to follow up on a fine 2024 campaign.
Skipper Trent Mynott (15 disposals, six marks, four tackles), Nick Burke (15 disposals, eight tackles) and Tyson Milne (19 disposals, six marks) were great on the night. Reigning Geddes Medallist Tom Murphy (24 disposals, four clearances), Taj Campbell-Farrell (one goal, 21 disposals, five clearances), and Darby Hipwell (21 disposals, 11 contested possessions, five score involvements) who all impressed in the middle of the ground.
Taine Barlow (12 disposals, seven intercepts, four marks) was superb, as Ellison led the Frankston goalkickers with two majors of his own, working well with Noah Gown and Matt Johnson, as Dolphin fans were given a glimpse into the exciting new-look forward line.
Eager to build on a remarkable 2024 campaign, Jackson Kornberg’s side will be hoping to go 2-0 next week as they travel to DSV Stadium to face Williamstown on Friday night, with the first bounce at 7:30 PM AEDT.
PORT MELBOURNE 2.6 2.8 2.10 4.10 (34)
FRANKSTON 3.0 5.6 5.13 5.20 (50)
GOALS
Ellison 2, Reidy, Gown, Campbell-Farrell
BEST:
Will Hamill, Thomas Murphy, Blake O’Leary, Corey Ellison, Ollie Moran, Nicholas Burke
