Paddy Dow is another step closer towards a first-up appearance in St Kilda colours, piecing together a commendable performance in the VFL this afternoon to propel Sandringham to a comfortable 57-point win over the Northern Bullants.

The 24-year-old has battled bone bruising to his knee following an accidental knock in early February, but was completely unaffected in his maiden outing for the Zebras to finish with 22 disposals, six clearances and 13 of 17 centre bounce attendances to further his push his case for a St Kilda berth.

In partnership with a fleet-footed Zak Jones (29 disposals, eight clearances, one goal), Dow moved particularly well through congestion, offering strong fend-offs in tight and good acceleration from the stoppages within the irregular confines of Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

Dow’s return coincided with that of the similarly and previously sidelined Ben Paton (21 disposals, eight marks) and Matty Allison (12 disposals), whose respective comebacks from pectoral tendon and knee setbacks were welcome accompaniments to the 12.15 (87) to 3.12 (30) victory.

Paton worked hard both ways spending time on the wing and in defence in his trademark under-the-radar manner, while Allison presented strongly as a forward on multiple occasions despite his limited touches, ensuring to highlight his deceptive agility when on the move. 

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This week’s AFL traveling emergency Jack Hayes (18 disposals, three goals) and aerial threat Will Vesely (three goals), younger brother of St Kilda AFLW Best & Fairest Olivia Vesely, were the highlights in the Zebras’ offensive half however, with the former having multiple influential moments at ground level, clean execution by foot going into attack and a few cameos in the ruck to guide his side to a seven-goal-to-one opening half.

Fellow big man and ruckman Tom Campbell (50 hit-outs, 15 disposals) put in a colossal performance in the ruck to give his inside midfielders in Dow, Jones, Blake Watson and Darby Hipwell premium use, monstering the hit-out count 59-10 in the wake of a knee knock to Rowan Marshall during St Kilda and Port Adelaide’s clash yesterday evening.

Hayes eventually kicked true after four successive Sandringham behinds in the shadows of what was a wayward term for north sides, kicking off a six-goal run which couldn’t be mitigated before inaccuracy bit back again in the final stanza.

The Northern Bullants’ John Jorgensen created two moments of brilliance to spark his side in the mostly one-way traffic; the first of which resulted in a superb goal from the pocket while being pushed on the boundary line. 

But the Zebras’ ability to hem their opposition in and defend the entire ground, coupled with the Bullants’ own inaccuracy and missed gettable chances, had them a step behind for a sizeable share of proceedings, despite the efforts of Patrick Fairlie, Saad El-Hawli and Jean-Luc Velissaris.

Angus Hastie had a zippy afternoon along the wing despite flying in from Melbourne early this morning after coming on as the Saints’ substitute for the final term of last night’s contest, while fellow first-year Arie Schoenmaker had several pronounced moments by foot to ward off the Bullants’ forays in what was a fine foil to the respective aerial intercept and key position work of Angus McLennan and Isaac Keeler.

Keeler had an injury scare after a contest during the third quarter, but returned moments later to run out the term and quell the influence of Jorgensen.

Category B Rookie and Gaelic Football convert Liam O’Connell’s 15 touches were punctuated by several moments of deft touch despite his relative inexperience at AFL level, while Lance Collard (two goals) almost produced play of the day with a brilliant boundary line chase, rove, pick-up and snap from the paint of 50 which was only let down by an unlucky bounce.

Sandringham will have eyes on a third win of 2024 when it faces North Melbourne next Sunday at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval, while the Northern Bullants will be in the hunt for its maiden triumph of the season when they come up against the similarly winless Port Melbourne at Genis Steel Oval.

SANDRINGHAM  3.6  7.8  10.12  12.15 (87)
NORTHERN BULLANTS  0.4  1.9  2.9  3.12 (30)

GOALS
Sandringham: Hayes 3, Vesely 3, Collard 2, Jones, Brown, Zagari, Young
Northern Bullants: Jorgensen, Chubb, McKenzie

BEST
Sandringham: Hayes, Campbell, Jones, Schoenmaker, Dow, Vesely, Paton, Keeler, Hastie
Northern Bullants: Fairlie, Velissaris, El-Hawli, King, Franks