Round 6 of the VFL is complete with four games wrapping up the weekend on Sunday.
The first game took place at Punt Road Oval, with Richmond going down 64-137 in a curtain-raiser to Sunday’s AFL clash between the clubs at Marvel Stadium.
The Suns, who are top of the ladder, proved again that they’re the strongest side in the competition with their immense AFL-quality depth again on show.
AFL-listed Gold Coast players Connor Blakeley (31 disposals), Chris Burgess (five goals), Sam Flanders (30 disposals), Charlie Constable (one goal, 29 disposals) and James Tsitas (five goals, 20 disposals) stuffed the stat sheet in the big win.
Oskar Faulkhead baulks around his opponent to continue @GoldCoastSUNS hot start at the Swinburne Centre ☀️
— VFL / VFLW (@VFL) April 30, 2023
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For Richmond, Sam Banks (22 disposals), Hugh Ralphsmith (two goals, 22 disposals) and Thomson Dow (27 disposals) picked up plenty of it but ultimately they never stood a chance against Gold Coast’s mature bodies.
At Piranha Park, Coburg were beaten 48-56 by Geelong with the Cats kicking the last two goals of the game to win.
Geelong would have been thrilled with the performance of top 10 draft pick Jhye Clark who was everywhere with 29 disposals and he was supported on-ball by Jonathon Ceglar (22 disposals, eight marks) and Brandan Parfitt (26 disposals).
Over at ETU Stadium, we had another close finish with Port Melbourne going down to GWS 71-73.
With their injury list growing, the Giants were lucky to receive big performances from AFL-listed players Wade Derksen (27 disposals), Jake Richard (four goals), Cameron Fleeton (24 disposals) and Josh Fahey (one goal, 20 disposals).
For Port Melbourne, former AFL ruckman and mid-season draft prospect Sam Naismith was dominant again with 21 disposals and 38 hitouts.
The final game of the day took place at Wonthaggi with Box Hill going down 76-106 to the Casey Demons.
Another club with some genuine experience in the reserves, the Demons were too strong for their opposition with Joel Smith (three goals), Jake Melksham (five goals), James Harmes (25 disposals), Adam Tomlinson (21 disposals) and Tom McDonald (two goals) making an impact.
Jake Melksham with one of the Goals of the YEAR from the boundary! 🚨
— VFL / VFLW (@VFL) April 30, 2023
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For the Hawks, Lloyd Meek (24 disposals, 46 hitouts) and Cameron Mackenzie (28 disposals) did their hopes of earning senior recalls no harm, while ex-Collingwood midfielder Callum Brown pressed his claims for a mid-season draft opportunity with 35 disposals.