Phillipou magic downs Dolphins, Seagulls nail Wildcard hat-trick

A pair of dominant performances from the home teams kicked off the VFL finals last weekend as Sydney recorded an emotional first VFL finals victory at the end of a harrowing week, while Williamstown flexed its muscle to brush aside any danger of a Carlton upset.

A young Swan was unstoppable in the performance of the round, setting up a mouthwatering week of qualifying and elimination finals featuring storylines galore.

Here’s what happened in the VFL wildcard finals.

PHILLIPOU MAGIC PUTS A WEEK OF TURMOIL BEHIND SWANS

Sydney draftee Jevan Phillipou has enjoyed an exceptional first year on an AFL list, but he saved his best for the finals as the Swans dumped Frankston out of the premiership race with a 68-point thrashing at Blacktown International Sports Park on Saturday.

Phillipou, the 183cm medium forward and brother of St Kilda’s Mattaes who drafted with pick 35 last year – one of the second-round selections received in the Charlie Curnow monster trade – gathered 25 disposals at 76 per cent efficiency, nine marks, eight inside-50s and seven score involvements while kicking 6.3 to leave the Dolphins shellshocked.

He has kicked 39.18 in 19 VFL matches this year and again showed he is ready for an unlikely AFL finals debut if Dean Cox decided to go down that path.

VFL-listed forward Jake Sutton kicked four first-half goals before Phillipou took over, ending with five from 17 touches to give the Swans a date with old neighbour and rival Port Melbourne in an elimination final this week.

Despite winning five premierships in the 1880s, they came before finals were played, making this the Swans’ first VFA/VFL finals victory.

Sydney took control from the outset, kicking three goals (two to Sutton) inside the first eight minutes, and never looked back, slamming on six, six, seven and three for its fourth 140-plus score of the season.

Corey Warner (26, one goal) and untried defender Patrick Snell (18, six marks) were AFL emergencies and put up strong auditions, while VFL wingman Joe Harrison (25, two goals), AFL runner Ned Bowman (24, 13 rebounds) and Academy debutant Ben Pignatelli (two goals) also turned heads.

Frankston’s stars stood up, but despite 37 disposals each from Tyson Milne (13 marks, seven entries, one goal) and Jackson Voss (12 marks), 34 touches to Darby Hipwell (11 marks, seven entries) and 31 for Lachie Reidy (six marks, eight inside-50s, two goals), the Dolphins were unable to break through a well-organised Sydney team that only had six AFL-listed players.

The Dolphins were well below full strength themselves, with captain Trent Mynott (calf), Noah Gown (concussion), George Grey (ankle), Blake O’Leary (hamstring), Ollie Moran (back), Bailey Lambert (quad), Patrick Dozzi (shoulder), Kobe Askew (shoulder) and season-

long absentee Nick Burke (knee) all out of their best team, meaning it was a surprise that they had started favourites.

SEAGULLS CRUSH DISAPPOINTING BLUES FOR WILDCARD HAT-TRICK

Williamstown knows all about wildcard finals, romping to a third consecutive victory in the first week of play-off action in thumping Carlton by 38 points at DSV Stadium on Saturday.

Toby Triffett’s third-minute goal laid the platform for a five-goal-to-none first term with a slight (by Williamstown standards) breeze that put the game to bed before it even got started.

They added four goals to three against it in the second term to blow the margin out to 37 at half-time before a devastating third quarter secured a powerful victory in the 150th final of their storied history to send them into an elimination final against Essendon at Windy Hill this Saturday.

Williamstown piled on eight goals to none in that third quarter and led by 82 points just before the final change, giving outgoing coach Justin Plapp the luxury of resting players in the last quarter and allowing a Blues team that had kicked just three goals to slot nine and save a bit of face.

Despite that late rally, the margin equalled the Seagulls’ 38-point margin at Ikon Park last year as their biggest ever win against Carlton, but remarkably it broke the DSV Stadium record of four goals set under the old scoring system way back in 1888.

Kallan Dawson, who had kicked one goal in 55 VFL games for the Seagulls and North Melbourne, has been repurposed into a forward out of necessity and showed he might have been at the wrong end, booting five goals from 16 disposals and eight marks to move to 33.11 for the year.

Mid-season recruit and former Northern Bullant Bailey Ryan had his best game in the yellow sash with four clever goals after putting himself in the right positions, while the League’s most-experienced active player, Jake Greiser, starred again off half-back with 32 possessions and six rebounds on his 31st birthday.

Intercept star Luke Parks was once again everywhere, pulling in 14 grabs in his 20 disposals, with another ex-Blue in David Cuningham (26, 12 contested, seven tackles) starring on return from injury alongside Jack Toner (27) and Triffett (24, one goal).

Ben Camporeale capped off a terrific season for the Blues with 36 disposals (12 contested, six clearances and six entries, while Harry Charleson (29) continued his strong form, possibly No.1 draft pick Cody Walker overcame a slow start for 24 touches and Sam Paea (four) and Flynn Young (three) kicked seven goals between them, including six in the last quarter.

MRP NEWS

Just three reprimands were dealt out by the VFL MRP, with big Seagull Braydon Preuss cautioned for striking Sam Paea in the last quarter, while Swan Henry Meaney and Dolphin Voss were reprimanded for careless umpire contact.

@JontyTheCaller