Zebras sink the Dolphins in the first ever VFL Pride Cup!
12/06/2018
SANDRINGHAM 7.2 10.10 17.13 22.18 (150)
FRANKSTON 2.1 2.4 2.6 3.10 (28)
GOALS
Bruce 4, Connellan 3, Seccull 3, Haidon 3, Billings 3, Wright 2, Answerth, McLean, Lamb, Longer
DISPOSALS
Billings 54, Armitage 41, Seccull 32, Lamb 28, Freeman 28.
Sandringham have taken the four points this week in spectacular style, defeating Frankston by 122 points. The Zebras were able to put last week’s loss to North Melbourne well and truly behind them, as they dominated every piece of play and kept the Dolphins to just three goals.
In the Sandringham Pride Cup, the first ever Pride Cup in VFL’s history, the Sandy boys stood up for the occasion, making it a match to remember on and off the field. The Zebras came out all guns blazing from the first bounce, as Jono Haidon kicked the first goal after just three minutes of play.
Nathan Wright and Josh Bruce backed it up quickly, with a goal each providing strong scoreboard pressure early, before Frankston scored their first goal. But the Zebras answered to the challenge and kicked four more before the quarter’s end, taking a 31-point lead into the first break. The seven-goal first term was easily our strongest start of the season so far.
Frankston made it a bit more difficult for the boys to score in the second, as the Zebras’ first goal didn’t come until the 11th minute of the quarter. But again, Sandringham refused to let anything stop them from getting a good win this week, keeping Frankston goalless in the second and third quarter.
The backline held up strong, as the ball was in the defensive 50 enough for the Dolphins to be competitive. But the defensive work of Goddard, Weickhardt and Clavarino was enough to keep them to just three goals from only 13 scoring opportunities for the match’s entirety.
The third quarter started strong for the Zebras and it was clear the boys had a point to prove to the competition. Answerth and Seccull came out booting two goals to start the second half. It was another seven-goal quarter for Sandringham, and managing to keep Frankston scoreless again, it allowed us to take a 97-point lead into the final term. Brede Seccull had an outstanding game, and stood out particulary in the third, as he kicked three goals.
In the final quarter, the boys just wanted to really bury them. Jack Billings came out kicking the first goal of the quarter within minutes, before Longer followed suit and kicked his first for the day. Frankston managed to find the goals in the last quarter, but Sandringham showed no mercy as Tom Lamb finished the job kicking the last goal of the day and extending the lead to 122 points.
Jack Billings’ performance was outstanding, he played with more to prove than anyone out there as he booted three goals and had 54 touches for the day. In the first quarter alone, he had 14 disposals and a goal.
The combined tackling pressure from midfielders Kade Answerth, Brede Seccull and David Armitage was exceptional, as they racked up 29 tackles collectively and each had strong individual games as well. Answerth laid 15 tackles on his own, he also had 20 touches and kicked a goal for his efforts. Seccull kicked three goals in one quarter, and had 32 touches, while Armitage collected 41 disposals and was influential through the midfield and moved the ball forward well.
The Zebras had ten individual goalkickers, headlined by Josh Bruce who kicked four, three of those being in the first quarter. Tom Lamb was also strong up forward, he had 28 touches and took 11 marks and contesting strongly to assist his side in finding the goals.
The boys will look to back up the strong performance as they travel to Williamstown next Sunday afternoon to take on the Seagulls.
Sandringham's Match Report printed by Digital Document Solutions!