Tim Membrey’s return from pre-season knee surgery was not enough to coincide with a win for Sandringham on Sunday afternoon, seeing Frankston come up trumps by 26 points at a waterlogged Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval. 

Membrey (seven disposals, two tackles) was restricted to just two touches at the half in less-than-ideal conditions for a marking forward, but true to form, lifted when his side needed him after Frankston responded to its scoreless opening term with a five-goal follow-up without reply.

A halting tackle on the forward flank against the run of play fed directly into a Jack Peris major, sparking a three-goal revival that put the Zebras within a point by the midpoint of the third quarter.

Yet the Dolphins had all the answers, and spearheaded by Trent Mynott (23 disposals, nine clearances, four goals) and Matt Johnson (four goals) were able to overcome their opposition’s late surge with seven of the last 10 goals to consolidate both the 8.8 (56) to 12.10 (82) result and their first win of the year.

The duo proved unstoppable in Frankston’s resurgent sequel to its listless opening to the game, splitting all five goals between them as the engine room muscled on top of the clearances for the term 19-4 in a clear exhibition of one-way traffic.

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It stood in stark contrast to the gloomy and rain-soaked opening stanza, which saw Sandringham dominate the forward territory battle and Frankston all at sea as players splashed through puddles and went head-over-heels as they struggled to keep their feet.

Peris (two goals, seven tackles), however, looked unfazed rain or shine, producing a slice of magic with a spinning snap and goal through congestion early to add a touch of class to another outing built off persistent forward pressure.

But Johnson’s sliding mark and goal from an errant soccer off the ground couldn’t be beat; the neat party trick part of the Dolphins’ second-quarter rampage which ultimately pushed the margin out to 21 points at the main change.

Unlikely goalkicker Tom Highmore (21 disposals, 11 rebound-50s) reaped the rewards off the back of a downfield 50-metre penalty to swing the pendulum back in favour of Sandringham, and as Noah Gown (three goals) converted from the square minutes later, turned the one-sided affair back to a single-figure ball-game.

The answer, again, was near immediate however, with Frankston’s three-goal burst paving the way for a comfortable close to the game on enemy territory; oddly sun-drenched after resembling a muddy Moorabbin of old for most of the afternoon.

Max Heath rolled up the sleeves in the ruck to finish with 33 hit-outs, 10 tackles and four clearances, fourth-gamer James Van Es looked sturdy in defence, Leo Connolly banked the 19 touches and five clearances playing on-ball, while Sandringham’s Darby Hipwell and Blake Watson toiled hard in the middle to combine for 15 tackles and 12 clearances.

Sandringham will travel to Ikon Park next Sunday to face Carlton, while Frankston will have sights on win No. 2 when it tackles Port Melbourne on Monday evening at Kinetic Stadium.

SANDRINGHAM  2.3  2.4  6.8  8.8 (56)
FRANKSTON  0.0  5.7  8.8  12.10 (82)

GOALS
Sandringham: Gown 3, Peris 2, Watson, Segar, Highmore
Frankston: Mynott 4, Johnson 4, Fordham 2, Stern, Rendell

BEST
Sandringham: Watson, Hipwell, Peris, Gown, Heath, Van Es
Frankston: Mynott, Johnson, Riley, Stoddart, Fordham, Rendell, Smith