VFL 2021: Ex-Bomber Josh Begley lights up Frankston Dolphins

The former Essendon forward played a starring role as a new-look Frankston started the 2021 VFL season with a bang.

Nathan Freeman and Josh Begley after Frankston’s win over Coburg.

It’s hard to remember Frankston starting a VFL season so brightly.

Under lights at SkyBus Stadium on Friday night, the Dolphins did a few things that point to them being closer to the middle of the 22-team ladder rather than bumping along the bottom of it, as they’ve done often in the past decade.

They played some exciting football, parading pace and a fleet of slippery small men.

They kicked 20 goals to defeat Coburg.

They had 11 goalkickers.

And they unveiled a string of recruits, the fruits of some diligent work by coach Danny Ryan and his offsiders.

All up 15 players had their first games for the club; it’s a new Frankston team.

But if Josh Begley keeps doing what he did on Friday night, he may not see the season out as a Dolphin.

“He’s too good to playing here (in the VFL),’’ a respected recruiter said of Begley before the match.

Josh Begley on the burst for the Dolphins.

The former Essendon forward booted six goals, four of them in a second quarter in which Frankston peeled off eight goals to two to take control of the match and send it on the way to a 20.6 (126) to 14.12 (96) victory.

The Dolphins had kicked the first two goals of the match, only for Coburg to boot the next five, three of them from Mitch Podjhaski.

Then, bang, the home team put its visitors on the rack. When was the last time a Frankston side kicked eight goals in a quarter? Truth is, they’ve sometimes struggled to kick eight in the match.

Begley was brilliant and so were the likes of captain Josh Newman and Nathan Freeman in their supply of the forwards.

There were other newcomers to grab the eye.

Bailey Lambert, the son of former Richmond star Craig and recruited from the VFL Tigers, kicked two goals, had 18 possessions and laid five tackles, one of them bringing down burly Coburg defender Harry Nolan.

Billy Mackay, well-built former Sandringham Dragon, had 22 touches, and Anthony Brolic, a premiership player with Box Hill Hawks, picked up 17.

Little men Ash Krakauer, Jack Mentha (two goals) and Blake O’Leary buzzed around so much former Dolphins GM Mick O’Neil, calling the game on radio, started referring to a “mosquito fleet’’.

The Dolphins sing the song, quite a few peeking at the words on the board.

Kai Owens kicked two goals as a tall forward. Connor Riley showed a tremendous turn of foot and former Tiger Brett O’Hanlon was a steady hand in a backline missing Max Williams and Liam Hiscock.

For all the newbies, what about Newman?

The skipper kicked two goals, had 28 possessions and never stopped boring in and bringing teammates in to the game.

Nathan Freeman on the burst for the Frankston Dolphins. Pic: Matt Walker

Freeman had 25 kicks and 13 handballs, and was penetrating with them out of the middle.

And Will Fordham had 18 possessions; he’ll appreciate having more support in the midfield than he’s had in 2018 and ’19.

“Really good. Great team effort by the boys. We’ve worked hard over the pre-season and it’s good to get some reward,’’ Begley said in changerooms bubbling with supporters who haven’t seen Frankston win with such authority in the last few years.

“It was good to get on the end of a few but it was more a team effort from the forwards, plenty of pressure.’’

Josh Newman pulls in a speccie: Pic: Matt Walker.

Drafted from the Eastern Ranges in 2016, Begley had four years with Essendon, playing 16 games, including in one in 2020.

No doubt a few recruiters will be looking him up after his bag of six.

“I just want to enjoy footy again,’’ Begley said when asked about his aims for 2021.

“If I get picked up again, OK. But right now I just want to get back my love of footy, just enjoy it. I’m loving it here. Have since day one. Good program, really good support, great club.’’