UNDER NINETEENS DIVISION TWO, BENTLEIGH V DOVETON DOVES DIVISION FOUR RESERVES, FRANKSTON DOLPHINS V LYNDHURST DIVISION FOUR SENIORS, FRANKSTON DOLPHINS V LYNDHURST
SENIOR GRAND FINAL PREVIEW BY LINCOLN EDMUNDS The Division 4 premiers will be crowned Saturday afternoon when Frankston and Lyndhurst meet once again with the ultimate prize on the line. The top two teams will square off for the fourth occasion this season after meeting in a Semi-Final just a fortnight ago, with Frankston claiming the spoils by 20-points on that occasion. The Lightning bounced back brilliantly last weekend with a crushing triple figure preliminary final victory over Hallam and will line up in their third Grand Final since 2018. They’ll be hoping it’s third time lucky after missing out in their previous two premiership deciders, but this contest will be the biggest challenge of the lot. The Dolphins are one win away from a rare slice of history, having not dropped a single game all season while routinely bullying other teams. The numbers on paper are genuinely hard to get your head around, with the team averaging 143 points per game to form the deadliest attack in the competition. They have booted a score of 130+ on 11 occasions this year, including two whopping scores of 230+. Combined with their elite defence, where they let through a miserly average of 34 points per outing, it’s hard to find a weakness across the field.
Richard Mathers has been a sensation for Frankston’s forward line, the key forward bagging 80 goals for the year. He has however, been held to account by the Lightning with just five goals from three matches and he’ll be determined to break the shackles on the biggest stage of all. Liam O’Donnell is another Dolphin to keep an eye on, with 58 majors from just 13 games. Despite the odds being stacked against them, there are several positives the Lightning can draw inspiration from. Their Semi-Final clash saw the Dolphins challenged like rarely before, with the men in orange managing to boot the second highest score (11.4) and claim the second tightest final margin against the premiership favourites all season. While it wasn’t enough to get the job done, the Lightning will enter confident that they can take it right up to the Dolphins on the big stage, as evident by the single digit margin at three quarter time. If this game has a similar score line late in the piece, nerves are sure to come into play for the undefeated Dolphins and the Lightning will be banking on applying some scoreboard pressure. Lachlan McGenniss picked a good time to have his best game of the season with five goals leading the charge for Lyndhurst last weekend.
DIVISION TWO UNDER NINETEENS GRAND FINAL
Jarryd McGrath also returned to form with a haul of four majors, taking his season tally to 82 and the Lightning will be banking on McGrath and Hamish Browning to stand up in the front half this weekend. Ball magnet Jason Twite is also crucial to the cause as is David Ford who enters in good form. As ridiculous as it sounds, the Lightning have nothing to lose heading into the premiership decider. Frankston has had one hand on the cup for months and no one is expecting anything different despite their close contest a fortnight ago. But as the 2008 AFL Grand Final proved, the most dominant team of the season doesn’t always salute on the day and the Lightning will be hoping for their own Stuart Dew to turn the tide. A key feature from that famous game was goal kicking and it stands true today with both sides, especially the Lightning, needing to take their opportunities in front of goal. On paper all indicators point to Frankston being the superior side with only the pressure of a Grand Final seemingly stopping them from claiming an inevitable flag. If the Lightning can start well early and keep the butterflies flying around the Frankston camp, we could be set for a thrilling climax to the season.
POWER RESERVE, DOVETON 9:15 AM
BENTLEIGH VS
DOVETON
Coach
Spencer Daly
Coach
Matt Ferguson
Captain
Baxter Thomas
Captain
Zack Charles
Runner
Hayden Lepp
Runner
Brad Mayo
Team Manager
Connie Coles
Team Manager
Kylie Semmens
#
Name
#
Name
#
Name
#
Name
2
Enrique Soria
25
Bodhi Marsh
1
Dominic Branca
16
Quinn Spencer
5
Patrick Lukies
26
James Helmore
2
Corey McKenzie
17
Andrew Micallef
7
Cooper Courtney
27
Reef Manning
3
Jonty Miller
18
Ayden Ferguson
9
Ashley Curry
31
Oscar Lade
4
Caleb Doran
19
Bailey Lovett
12
Kobe Heitlinger
33
Jack Stuber
5
Will Mauger
20
Joshua Finnegan
14
Tyler Bishop
34
Mark Banducci
6
Deekon Stapleton
21
Blaine Mayo
15
Conor Doherty
35
Daniel Porter
8
Zack Charles
22
Myles Swindle
16
Nick Holten
36
Baxter Thomas
9
Joziaih Nannup
25
Josip Albert
17
Ned Hogan
39
Reece Mitchell
11
Tyson Waters
26
Kai Suparta
20
Ryan Coles
44
Gary Kruger
12
Hayden Waters
31
Nayt Douglas
22
Ilan Kaplan
46
Lucas McNamara
13
Matthew Merrilees
43
Lachlan Chisholm
14
Tom Stevens
54
Hezekiah Nannup
15
Daniel Lake
DIVISION FOUR RESERVE MENS GRAND FINAL
FRANKSTON DOLPHINS
POWER RESERVE, DOVETON 11:45 AM
VS LYNDHURST
Coach
David McLaren
Coach
Mark Frenken
Runner
Sam Ward
Runner
Jay Walia
Team Manager
Sherrie Jenkinson
Team Manager
James Kaing
#
Name
#
Name
#
Name
#
Name
11
Dean Mendes
39
Zachary Swanborough
3
Jarrod Murphy
34
Jacob Densley
14
Sam Turner
40
Patrick Sumner
12
Kaine Bundy
35
Taylor Bryans
17
Lauchlan Hollier
41
Jordan Parks
13
Michael Fitzpatrick
36
Matthew O'Brien
18
Lucas Taylor
44
Shaq Alkan
14
Matthew Williams
43
Matthew Shannon
22
Ryan Chave
47
Jaiden Peters
16
Joshua Robinson
45
Aaron Browning
24
Chris Lacey
49
Mitchell Cohen
18
Ryan Lowe
48
Alexander Thompson
25
Mason Crossley
50
Anthony Cid
19
Anthony Besim
56
Glenn Bundy
27
Karim Khodr
51
Dylan Bromley
21
Aaron McGough
59
Aidan De La Motte
29
Aaron Jack
52
Matthew Clarke
23
Jordan Ganci
76
Corey Cocker
32
George Katergaris
55
Brandon Goodman
24
Palingu Lokupathirage
90
Jakson Post
64
Bradley Fox
25
Kayne Wyborn
20
Rhys Murphy
27
Jacob Morris
50
Carmine Formato
31
Hugh Cullen-Scholes
53
Jordan Foster
32
Neil Harper
33
D'Arcy Garton
34
George Trewhitt
38
Joshua Thurwood
DIVISION FOUR SENIOR MENS GRAND FINAL
FRANKSTON DOLPHINS
POWER RESERVE, DOVETON 2:15 PM
VS LYNDHURST
Coach
Rich Mathers
Coach
Jae Williams
Runner
Sam Ward
Runner
Kevin Twite
Team Manager
Paul Wright
Team Manager
Lisa Buswell
#
Name
#
Name
#
Name
#
Name
1
Brendan Kruse
16
David McLaren
1
David Ford
22
Jarryd McGrath
2
Scott Stegehuis
19
Jackson Smith
3
Brodie Kiss
26
Lachlan McGenniss
3
Robert Evans
20
Liam O'Donnell
4
Charlie Gardiner
29
Jesse Walia
4
Jarrod Wilkin
21
Joshua Kerrigan
6
Hamish Browning
30
Trevor Jarvis
5
Luke Long
26
Daniel Edwards-Fisk
7
Tyson Sparkes
39
Matthew Stuart
7
Lachlan Fielding
29
Rich Mathers
8
Jeremy Jakupi
40
Liam Rogan
8
Tyler Wooster
31
Jack Waller
9
James Gardiner
41
Tyler Cabansag
10
Nicholas Christoforou
36
Andrew Mathers
11
Jake Beckwith
42
Steven Ognjenovic
12
Bailey Frey
37
Dylan Hatfield
13
Daniel Culnane
51
Jason Twite
13
Benjamin Black
45
Nathanael Furlong
17
Stephen Williams
67
Bryce Irwin
15
Tyler Black
48
Matthew Syle
20
Lachlan Byers
90
Matthew O'Callaghan