Borough Ambushed In Brisbane

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Aspley have made an impressive start to their life in the newly restructured VFL competition with a 53-point win over Port Melbourne in round one at Graham road Reserve in Brisbane. The Hornets began brilliantly ambushing the Borough with a ten goal to two opening term, five of those in the first eleven minutes.

Spearhead Matthew Hammelman a star up forward with a game-high four goals and former AFL Kangaroo and Lion, Ryan Bastinac (35 possessions), were standouts for the winners. A good crowd was on hand in the warm conditions to witness the home side's debut match in the revamped competition which has seen five former NEAFL clubs join existing VFL clubs to form the second best competition behind the AFL.

 

Aspley shot out of the blocks and looked right at home in their new environment. It seemed fitting that their captain, James Ives, scored their first goal in the competition. Their ball movement and ability to find targets up forward catching the Borough by surprise. Hammelman, Matthew Payne and Connor Stackelberg all contributing two goals apiece in a scintillating opening quarter. Bastinac was on fire around the ground and showed he will be a fine asset to the Hornets with his AFL experience shining through.

 

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Corey Wagner and Matthew Signorello were trying desperately to keep their side in the game, kicking two goals apiece in the first half. The Borough managed to stem the flow in the second quarter, restricting Aspley to just the one goal and they trailed 11.7.73 to 5.4.34 at half-time. The third quarter belonged to Port small forward Anthony Anastasio who bagged three goals. It was Anastasio’s first appearance for the Borough in two years and he is a welcome return. Both sides traded blows on the scoreboard as the warm conditions began take its toll on some of the Port players.

Aspley continued on in the last term kicking six goals, three of them from the boot of Bastinac, the second one at the 22-minute mark was a gem, he dodged and weaved his way around Port defenders to snap truly at the social club end. It was a dominant display from the home team on a weekend where four of the new clubs won their games to kick start their VFL careers. It sets up an enticing clash on the Gold Coast next Saturday when Aspley travel to take on Southport, the winner, two from two, not a bad way to start your season in a new competition.
Final scores: Aspley 20.13.133 d Port Melbourne 12.8.80