Sandringham heads to Casey Fields this Sunday to take on Casey Scorpions in, as Nick Ciantar previews this Round 5 Peter Jackson VFL clash.
Sandringham is coming off an admirable 35-point win against North Ballarat to remain undefeated.
Maverick Weller was Sandringham’s star with 39 disposals and 3 goals to his name in a convincing midfield display. An eight goal to one second quarter set up the victory, but the coaches were still dissatisfied with the third quarter effort.
“When the pressure came on in the third quarter I don’t think we responded very well to it,” Sandringham Assistant Coach Brendan Allen told True Zebras after the match.
“We let them back into the game, which shouldn’t have happened.”
The Zebras returned to their second quarter form in the fourth term to continue their undefeated start to the season. Adam Cockie (25 disposals), Blake Acres (22 disposals) and Yllber Zijai (19 disposals) all had impressive games but the Zebras will be looking for a four-quarter effort this Sunday against Casey.
“It’s been evident in the first three games that we have been playing quarter on, quarter off, which is scary in the fact to see we have that much improvement if we put four quarters together,” said Allen.
The Casey Scorpions had to fight slightly harder for their victory against Frankston. They trailed at every break but kicked four goals to one in the last term to register a 14-point win.
Christian Salem was the man of the match with 37 disposals (earning him an AFL debut this weekend), Evan Panozza was solid in defence while Jake Best kicked three goals.
This will be a massive challenge for Sandringham as the Scorpions have made the finals for the last seven years.
The Scorpions boast an enormous amount of talent and have lumbering big-men Max Gawn and Jack Fitzpatrick in the ruck. Sandringham’s Billy Longer and Jason Holmes will oppose Gawn and Fitzpatrick and this will be an important duel. Exciting forward Michael Evans will cause problems for the Zebras’ defence but Peter Shakallis will try to nullify his impact on the game.
Daniel Markworth will look to bring his dash to the Zebras once again while Cockie will be at the bottom of many contests. The Scorpions’ Sam Blease will bring his lethal left foot to the team while James Strauss will bring his speed to the midfield.
Sandringham will field another talented forward line to Casey Fields with Tom Lee, Arryn Siposs, Trent Dennis-Lane and Sam Dunell all playing their roles well last round. The Scorpion’s Colin Garland will bring his strength and mobility to try to suppress Lee’s impact, while Panozza will match-up on the lively Dennis-Lane who kicked four goals the last time these sides met.
Photo: Dave Savell
Last Modified on 24/04/2014 23:52