VFL & TAC Cup Semi Finals VFL Women’s Preliminary Final 10 – 11 September 2016 $3.00 Leo Barry you star! Another Legendary Moment from Toyota. Search ‘Leaping Leo’ to witness our legendary recreation of Leo Barry’s epic mark in the 2005 Toyota AFL Grand Final, and see just how Steve & Dave made Leo’s star rise again. toyota.com.au/legendarymoments Photo: Dave Savell PREMIER PARTNER OF THE VFL Celebrating the VFL’s best and fairest On Monday night at Crown Palladium we will recognise and celebrate the elite players within the Peter Jackson VFL and Swisse VFL Women’s competitions for season 2016. The inaugural best-and-fairest award for the new women’s competition will be presented at the same event as the J. J. Liston Trophy for the best player in the VFL for the first time. This historic night will acknowledge the most talented players across both state league competitions, with the Rising Stars, leading goalkickers and Team of the Year selections announced. A number of the players in contention for Monday night’s honours will take to the field in finals this weekend as our competitions combine at North Port Oval. On Sunday, a double-header will feature the Preliminary Final in the VFL Women’s competition, with St Kilda Sharks facing Melbourne Uni and the winner to meet Darebin in the first VFL Women’s Grand Final at Coburg on September 18. The teams will feature a host of AFL-listed players, including century goalkicker and Collingwood marquee player Moana Hope, Brianna Davey (Carlton marquee) and Ellie Blackburn (Western Bulldogs marquee). The game will take place prior to the Footscray versus Essendon VFL Semi Final. Last Sunday night we celebrated the 25-year history of the TAC Cup, with Gary Ablett Jnr announced as the no.1 player from the competition’s history. The night was attended by 10 current and former AFL players including Patrick Dangerfield, Matthew Lloyd, Chris Judd and Jimmy Bartel, which was certainly a thrill for the current TAC Cup players and parents in the room. As we worked our way through the Top 25 player countdown on the night, the influential role the TAC Cup competition has had on producing elite AFL footballers became evident. A host of TAC Cup players in attendance – including North Ballarat Rebels Morrish Medallist Hugh McCluggage – will hope to emulate the careers of these players when they join the ranks of the AFL later this year at the various draft s. Steven Reaper AFL Victoria CEO Contents Who’s playing who 3 7 Morrish Medal wrap 8 J. J. Liston Trophy preview 34 35 Williamstown vs Sandringham 9 11 VFL Semi Finals preview and news 36 37 Footscray vs Essendon 12 13 VFL Women’s 16 Stats Central 17 19 TAC Cup Semi Finals preview and news Dev League 38 39 Casey Scorpions vs Williamstown 23 AFL Vic News 48 Quiz 44 45 Dandenong vs Sandringham 14 15 St Kilda vs Melbourne Uni 46 47 North Ballarat vs Oakleigh Editor: Ben Pollard [email protected] Contributors: Anthony Stanguts, Kirstie Fitzgerald, Callum O’Connor, Kate Withers Design & Print: Rainbow Graphics Photos: AFL Photos (unless otherwise credited) Ikon Park, Gate 3, Royal Parade, Carlton Nth, VIC 3054 Advertising: Rosanna Butler (03) 8341 6021 GPO Box 4337, Melbourne, VIC 3001 Cover: 2016 Morrish Medallist Hugh McCluggage Phone: (03) 8341 6000 | Fax: (03) 9380 1076 of the North Ballarat Rebels. www.aflvic.com.au Photo: Michael Dodge www.taccup.com.au 1 Television Online VFL Online Website: www.vfl.com.au Twitter: @VFL #PJVFL #VFLWomens Saturday September 10: Williamstown v Sandringham Facebook: www.facebook.com/vflfooty Sunday September 11: Footscray v Essendon TAC Cup Online Join the team from 11.30am Saturday & 2.30pm Sunday. Website: www.taccup.com.au Download the PLUS7 Live app to watch games live or for Twitter: @TACCup #TACCup replays visit: au.tv.yahoo.com/plus7/vfl Facebook: www.facebook.com/taccupfooty Channel 7 will broadcast a Saturday and Sunday final for the first three weeks of finals, then the Grand Final Instagram: @aflvictoria on Sunday September 25. Radio L VFL Live Saturday September 10: Williamstown v Sandringham from 11.30am I Sunday September 11: Footscray v Essendon from 2.30pm V Live on Aussie digital, the Red Time Sport iPhone and Android apps, E plus online via vfl.com.au Next week: Preliminary Finals (Saturday and Sunday) TAC Cup Radio R Sunday September 11: Both TAC Cup Finals A D 11.30am: Dandenong Stingrays v Sandringham Dragons I 2.15pm: North Ballarat Rebels v Oakleigh Chargers O Listen live on the Red Time Sport iPhone app or via taccup.com.au Next week: Preliminary Finals (September 17) Girls Play Footy Radio Sunday September 11: St Kilda v Melbourne Uni from 11.30am VFL Women’s Game of the Week streamed live via GirlsPlayFooty.com - accessible on your mobile or tablet by downloading the ‘Tune in’ App and searching for ‘Girls Play Footy’. Live at the ground on 89.1 FM. Video Streaming Visit vfl.com.au to watch a live broadcast of the 2016 J.J. Liston Trophy and Swisse VFL Women’s best & fairest from 7pm on Monday September 12. This week’s video streaming game will be the Swisse VFL Women’s Preliminary Final: Sunday September 11: St Kilda v Melbourne Uni from 11.50am Next week: Sunday September 18: Swisse VFL Women’s Grand Final, 2.30pm Visit vfl.com.au under the MEDIA tab to watch a full list of VFL and VFL Women’s replays from season 2016. 2 www.vfl.com.au McCluggage wins TAC Cup’s Morrish Medal North Ballarat Rebels midfielder Hugh McCluggage claimed the club’s first-ever Morrish Medal after being adjudged the TAC Cup’s best and fairest player for the 2016 home-and-away season on Sunday night. The 18-year-old South Warrnambool product polled 16 votes from 10 games to finish two votes clear of Dandenong Stingrays forward Dan Allsop and Gippsland Power bottom-age player Callan McKeon. Northern Knights captain Mason Blakey was one vote further back on 11, while Sandringham Dragons 19-year-old Goy Lok finished in fift h position with 10 votes. McCluggage was awarded best-on-ground honours in four games and polled two votes in two other appearances. Only Blakey polled votes in more games, picking up two votes and one vote on four occasions each. In McCluggage’s three-vote performances, he recorded: - 25 disposals, seven inside-50s, five clearances and a goal in a 13-point loss to the Murray Bushrangers in Round 3; - 36 disposals, eight tackles, eight clearances and five goals in a 70-point win against the Bendigo Pioneers in Round 5; - 36 disposals, six tackles, six clearances and three goals in a 27-point win against Murray in Round 13; and - 25 disposals, eight tackles, seven clearances and two goals in a 35-point win against the Calder Cannons in Round 14. Across his 10 matches, 185cm McCluggage averaged 29 disposals per game and booted 23.8 as one of the 2016 MORRISH MEDAL LEADERBOARD competition’s most dangerous goalkicking on-ballers. Hugh McCluggage (North Ballarat Rebels) 16 The NAB AFL Academy member was named Vic Dan Allsop (Dandenong Stingrays) 14 Country’s Most Valuable Player of the 2016 NAB AFL U18 Callan McKeon (Gippsland Power) 14 Championships aft er averaging 20 disposals per game and kicking seven goals in four matches. He was also Mason Blakey (Northern Knights) 12 selected in the midfield of the U18 All Australian team. Goy Lok (Sandringham Dragons) 11 Equal-runner-up Allsop polled votes in six games, Joseph Atley (Bendigo Pioneers) 9 including three best-on-ground performances. The Kayle Kirby (Bendigo Pioneers) 9 175cm 18-year-old from Red Hill finished sixth in the TAC Cup goalkicking count with 27 majors from his Tom Glen (Dandenong Stingrays) 9 17 games for the Stingrays. He moved to within two James Worpel (Geelong Falcons) 9 votes of McCluggage’s final total with a best-on-ground Willem Drew (North Ballarat Rebels) 9 performance in the penultimate round, but didn’t poll votes for a 20-disposal, one-goal eff ort in Dandenong’s Jarrod Korewha (North Ballarat Rebels) 9 final-round victory over the Geelong Falcons. Jack Higgins (Oakleigh Chargers) 9 Fellow runner-up McKeon had a barnstorming finish to Xavier Jordan (Oakleigh Chargers) 9 the season, polling 12 of his 14 votes in the last seven Tom Jok (Dandenong Stingrays) 8 rounds aft er not polling at all before Round 8. The 163cm 17-year-old from Bairnsdale averaged 11 disposals Jordan Gallucci (Eastern Ranges) 8 and five tackles per game across his 14 matches for the Zachary Zdybel (Geelong Falcons) 8 Power. www.taccup.com.au 3 Morrish Medal club-by-club voting BENDIGO PIONEERS EASTERN RANGES Joseph Atley 9 Jordan Gallucci 8 Kayle Kirby 9 Dylan Clarke 7 Jack Exell 3 Jaidyn Stephenson 7 Isaac Miller 2 Samuel Hayes 7 Laine Fitzgerald 2 Joshua Begley 6 Lochie O’Brien 2 Nelson Lane 4 Zachary Norris 2 Kane Keppel 3 Cooper Jones 1 Nathan Mullenger-McHugh 3 Joshua Formosa 1 Tristan Tweedie 3 Paddy Dow 1 Jackson Ross 2 TOTAL 32 Patrick Wallis 2 Jordan Haynes 1 Kane Doueal 1 Thomas Jacotine 1 TOTAL 55 CALDER CANNONS Karl Brown 7 Jackson McDonald 6 GEELONG FALCONS Benjamin Ronke 5 Jean-Luc Velissaris 5 Muhammad Saad 5 James Worpel 9 Zachary Guthrie 3 Zachary Zdybel 8 Bradley Bernacki 2 Brett Blair 7 Jaidyn Owen 2 Jack Blood 7 Thomas Burnside 2 Cassidy Parish 6 James Peters 1 Frazer O’Gorman 6 Mitchell Lewis 1 Max Augerinos 6 TOTAL 39 Jack Henry 5 Jackson McLachlan 5 Patrick Dowling 3 Bayley Cockerill 2 Joel Bennett 2 DANDENONG STINGRAYS Harry Benson 1 Hayden Elliot 1 Daniel Allsop 14 Lachlan McCartney 1 Thomas Glen 9 Sean Darcy 1 Thomas Jok 8 TOTAL 70 Joshua Battle 6 Aaron Darling 5 Lachlan Gill-Renouf 5 GIPPSLAND POWER Mason DeWit