Match report: VFL Round 19 | Frankston v Port Melbourne | 31 July 2026 | Frankston Oval
It's the pointy end of the 2026 VFL season and while the top 6 teams qualify for the finals (with another four teams doing a wildcard round), the incredible closeness of the competition this year means there is only ONE WIN the difference between fifth and twelfth positions.
It was in this context that Frankston, ranked fifth, faced the Borough, ranked ninth, on a cold Friday night at Frankston Oval. Neither team guaranteed a finals berth but both teams in with a good shot. High stakes indeed!
The energy of the 1st quarter was strange and the quarter ended in a pretty even wash. Maybe the vibe from the kind-of-mean crowd (was it a full moon?) fed onto the ground, or perhaps the Borough play a more aggro footy, or maybe it was the incredibly, incredibly loud and persistent special guest drums that made the play boisterous but it was all very scrappy.
Frankston took the lead early in the 2nd but nobody was convinced. The ball was slippery but so often the Dolphin's plays were stop and start. Each pass went to a stationary player who would start to run then pass it to another stationary player. In this way the ball never got momentum and Port Melbourne were able to chase. The Borough's defense also had the measure of the Frankston forwards, coming out of most contests in a favourable way. However even if their technique was sometimes lacking, the Dollies never stopped throwing themselves at the ball, meeting Port Melb's aggression with an equal physicality making for a very physical contest in the first half. Four points in it at half time. Frankston 5-5-35 to Port Melbourne 4-7-31.
Did a goal, very confident by Corey Ellison, early in the 3rd indicate a new phase of the game? Hopefully. Frankston found a bit of cohesion and went on the attack and an important goal occurred at 17m by Lachlan Reidy, which opened the match up with a 21 point gap.
Then at 20 minutes, for the first time, Frankston won all contests, kept the ball moving, and found their accuracy. The Dolphins blasted the ball down the oval... Unfortunately it hit the post but still, it was a very good sign.
In fact, Port didn't trouble in the final quarter and the final score was Frankston 11-13-79 to Port's 6-13-49. Frankston now placed to stay in the top 6, one of the few teams with a chance to break clear (even if just by one match from the large peloton in this year's VFL).
The signage at the park noted it was the mighty Noah Gown's 100th game. Gown has been a big part of the club's surge and consistency over the last few years!
THAT WAS OUR FINAL HOME GAME FOR 2026. We had a bye this last weekend. Unfortunately while we were away the ladder reconfigured itself and despite the win we drop to sixth as the other results came in.
Our next match, and the final game for the home-and-away season, is against Williamstown in Williamstown on Saturday at 12.35pm. A draw earlier in the season means they are only 2 points behind us on the ladder (a win gives you 4 points).
Due to the cluster of teams between 3rd and 12th, to say the next match is important is an understatement!!! A win means a finals berth and a possible top 3 finish, a loss potentially pushes us out of even the wildcard positions down to 11th (I haven't done the maths on this).
What a time to be a fan of the Frankston Dolphins! I hope they win but even if they don't they have done a spectacular job and played some great footy this year.