LATE RALLY STOPS THE ZEBRAS

[Demonland 70,326]

by Barry from Beach Road

VFL Rivalry Round saw one of the competition's strongest rivalries, that of Sandringham and Port Melbourne, and they fought out a fantastic battle at North Port on Saturday with the home side getting up by a solitary point after snatching the lead in dying moments of the game.

Conditions were good for football and Sandy kicked the opening goal but the boys from the Borough were soon on top and looked like taking the game away from the visitors with five unanswered goals before two late goals to the Zebras including one from a free after the siren to Shane Valenti saw them trailing by 12 points at the first break.

Port opened the second term strongly but, with Jamar holding sway in the ruck and new skipper Peter Summers together with livewire Valenti and Ezra Poyas leading the way at ground level, Sandringham fought back into the game and took control. Rod Crowe and Nick Sautner were well on top in the key forward positions and the Zebra defence, led by Chris Lamb, Andy Biddlecombe and Matthew Whelan were repelling all attacks.

Sandy went into half time leading by a goal but looking well in the ascendency. There was a lot of pushing and shoving as the teams were making their way off the ground at the main break and it threatened to get ugly for a split second but the players eventually dispersed for a well earned break.

The third quarter is known as the premiership quarter and while Sandringham held sway for most of this period, its inaccuracy in front of goal ended up costing it dearly. Sautner missed a couple of easy shots but the Zebras seemed to have the game firmly in their control with a nice goal from Tomi Johnston on the run. Sandy had kicked away to lead by 14 points midway through the term and was looking the goods.

The turning point however, may well have come when youngster Sam Monaghan picked up a loose ball in the goal square and kicked truly but it was adjudged to have been touched off the boot for a point. Port immediately played on and moved the ball forward for a goal with little pressure and in a matter of seconds. In the context of the game it was a massive goal and it gave the Borough a sniff. As the players went into the final huddle the home side was only 11 points in arrears and still with a chance to win.

The Zebras looked well in control in the first half of the final term as the teams went goal for goal and the visitors seemed to be just one goal away from breaking the game open. Unfortunately, they paid a heavy price for some undisciplined acts, gave away a couple of fifty metre penalties and allowed the Borough back into the game. During this frenetic period, Sautner was reported for allegedly charging an opponent.

With Stef Martin required on the ball late in the game, the Port forwards were able to take some strong marks and they capitalised kicking two late goals to hit the front in the time on period. The final two or three nerve wracking moments passed with both sides desperately trying to penetrate their half forward lines but to no avail as far as the Zebras were concerned and the siren sounded to give Port the narrowest of victories in a game fittingly described as the best of the VFL’s rivalry round.

After two rounds the competition is tightly bunched and the club will be desperate to atone for the disappointment of Saturday's narrow loss as it takes on another rival from the other side of the bay in Frankston next Sunday at the Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval.

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

The selectors were limited under the VFL's 12:10 rule which applies when teams affiliated with AFL clubs play against stand alone VFL clubs. Sandy was restricted further by the non-appearance of a handful of players named in the team, presumably either injured or on stand-by for Melbourne's clash with Geelong. As a result, Matthew Bate, Jace Bode, Brent Moloney and Michael Newton were missing from this game.

Simon Buckley – nothing special from the youngster who made his fair share of mistakes but kept plugging away and tried hard. A couple of his kicks were smothered because he took too long to make a decision as to what to do with the ball (one of them late in the final quarter when a long kick might have saved the game). Despite that he is on a steep learning curve, is well worth persevering with. He should get more opportunities at the higher level.

Kyle Cheney - started on the interchange and showed some promise with limited opportunities on the ground. A typical red headed hard nut who seems keen to learn and would have benefited from playing alongside a seasoned defender like Matthew Whelan.

James Frawley - a promising display in defence. He was prepared to back himself and while he also committed some errors he showed good football smarts. There is every possibility that he will become a key defender of the highest quality in time.

Mark Jamar - led the rucks and played reasonably well but did not dominate around the ground as one would have expected from him.

Stefan Martin - a solid tall backman who marked strongly and cleared well. He went into the ruck later in the game when Meesen came off with an injury and looks a player of the future. As a tall defender of the type so sorely lacking at Melbourne, Martin is developing nicely for one who is coming off a basketball background and if he can improve his kicking, he could be an asset at the highest level.

Addam Maric - used in more of a midfield role and was in and out of the game all afternoon. Showed some clever skills but needs to get involved in the game a bit more.

John Meesen – it's hard to work out where Meesen is at in terms of whether he has a future at AFL level. He was just average when in the ruck and didn't really impose himself on the game. His best word was done when up forward but he was injured in the second half.

Shane Valenti – a real ball magnet who put his team back in the game with a lively display on the ball and was also dangerous near goal. Close to his team's best and could be headed for a Liston Trophy.

Matthew Warnock – steady in defence but made a crucial error when he gobbed off at the umpire late in the game after a soft free was awarded against him resulting in a late Port Melbourne goal.

Isaac Weetra – did one or two nice things but was otherwise lost at sea and struggled.

Matthew Whelan – returned to the Wheels of old with a classic best on ground display in defence. He was cool, calm, safe and sure and set up many attacking moves from half back. Should be back in the red and blue next week.

Adem Yze – kicked a nice curling goal early that was reminiscent of the old days but he really had no real influence on the game and was just a shadow of his former self. Unfortunately, the Oooze is starting to look more and more like that champion boxer who's been in one fight too many.

Port Melbourne 6.2.38 9.4.58 13.5.83 17.7.109

Sandringham 4.1.25 10.4.64 14.10.94 16.12.108

Goals

Port Melbourne Bonaddio Cotchett 3 Cain 2 Dalton Fanning Nahas Pearce Pinwill Pitt Robbins Smith Spriggs

Sandringham Sautner 4 Valenti 3 Crowe Poyas 2 Jamar T Johnston Monaghan Summers Yze

Best

Port Melbourne Baird McMahon McGrath Pinwill McGlynn Bonaddio

Sandringham Crowe Whelan Valenti Sautner Liddell T Johnston

SANDY RESERVES MASSACRE PORT

The young Zebras were too strong, too big, too fast and had the edge in talent in the curtain raiser and had a perfect start to their season with a 110-point victory over the Borough. Demon rookie Trent Zomer booted 7 goals and Stuart Cleeve underlined his improvement with four in a team that was well served by a bevy of midfielders who outran a ragged opposition that managed only one goal after half time.

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Three Demons were represented in the Sandy Reserves team. Ironically, two of them, Tom McNamara and Trent Zomer, were in the Melbourne Nab Cup team that played the Cats at Skilled Stadium in February.

Tom McNamara – a solid and polished performance in defence. McNamara is athletic, a sound mark, has a good football brain and won’t be beaten.

Jake Spencer – a big, raw tall man who needs to be nursed along in his football development. Tap ruckwork was good, his marking needs improvement but he was not bad at ground level for one who stands at 203cm. A highlight was when he accepted a handpass from Zomer and baulked around an opponent to kick a nice goal.

Trent Zomer – difficult to judge against such weak opposition but seven goals is seven goals. He also had a hand in a few assists. His second quarter was quite spectacular and netted him five goals. As strange as this might sound, I think he will be even better if he increases his intensity as he tends to switch on and off at times.

Port Melbourne 2.2.14 3.6.24 4.7.31 4.10.34

Sandringham 5.4.34 11.8.74 14.13.97 21.18.144

Goals

Port Melbourne Francis 2 Gilham Sheldon

Sandringham Zomer 7 Cleeve 4 McConnell Martyn Waller 2 Curcio Lockwood Shakaib Spencer

Best

Port Melbourne Mullins Hassett deBruin Francis Dillon Martin