VFL 2022: Boyd Woodcock stars for Southport in season opening loss to Richmond
An ex-Port Adelaide AFL player had 33 touches and 1 goal in Southport’s loss to Richmond on Sunday. He’s one of eight Sharks players on the Gold Coast Suns’ Covid contingency list for season 2022. EVERY PLAYER ANALYSED
Gold Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Southport went down by 31 points to Richmond in its VFL season opener on Sunday but there were plenty of positives for coach Steve Daniel to draw on in the clash with the reigning premiers.
And for Gold Coast Suns AFL fans there was further reason to tune in and take notice, with a number of Southport players part of the club’s Covid top-up list calculations.
Each AFL club can list up to 20 additional players on a Covid contingency list in season 2022, to be called upon should it be impacted by Covid-19 throughout the season.
The Suns named 14 players to their contingency list - eight of which are aligned with Southport in the VFL.
Each week The Bulletin will keep track of the performance of those players, so that Suns fans know just who could be banging down the door later in the season should the club need to call on its contingency list for talent.
Southport v Richmond VFL Round 1
BOYD WOODCOCK (Mid)
33 disposals, 1 goal, 7 marks, 1 tackle, 9 clearances
When Andrew Boston left the Sharks at the end of last season finding someone to match the ex-skipper’s output was near the top of Steve Daniel’s to-do list. After one game the former Port Adelaide player looks up to task. He and Jacob Dawson look a potent tandem in the Sharks’ engine room as the pair combined for 61 touches and 19 clearances.
JACOB DAWSON (Mid)
28 disposals, 1 behind, 4 marks, 3 tackles, 10 clearances
The Doc Mackenzie Medallist and new co-captain picked up where he left off last season with another tireless performance through the middle. Delisted by the Suns at the end of the 2020 season, the born and bred Gold Coaster has starred at VFL level and would be a plug-and-play for the Suns if they ever need to turn to the top-up list.
JACOB TOWNSEND (Half-Forward)
3 goals, 1 behind, 11 disposals, 7 marks, 1 tackle, 1 clearance
The 2017 J.J Liston Trophy winner had an emphatic start to his Southport debut, booting all three of the Sharks’ first quarter goals and had a possible fourth touched on the line. The Sharks were a high-inside 50 team last season but often struggled with accuracy issues – Townsend’s clinical finishing should be an asset in that department moving forward.
JAY LOCKHART (Half-Forward)
18 disposals, 1 behind, 4 marks, 4 tackles, 5 clearances
Another ex-AFL listed player who Daniel made a point of bringing to Southport, Lockhart wasn’t as lively as Woodcock or Dawson but still found plenty of footy moved all over the ground.
KWABY BOAKYE (Half-Back)
16 disposals, 3 marks, two tackles, 1 clearance
Knowing just how deadly Boakye can be running off halfback it wasn’t his best performance in a Southport shirt, though he was still integral in setting up scoring chains from deep.
MAX SPENCER (Def)
18 disposals, 9 marks
A solid-not-stunning output from the eight-game Gold Coast Sun who like Boakye looked good going forward but was also culpable for some Richmond scores going the other way. His intercept play was impressive, however.
FRASER THURLOW (DNP)
JOEL CROCKER (DNP)
Clinical Richmond too good for Southport in VFL season opener
SOUTHPORT’S opening round VFL litmus test proved as tough as expected with the Sharks going down by 31 points to Richmond at Punt Rd Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Fielding nine club debutantes against the reigning premiers the Sharks started brightly with two goals to former Tiger Jacob Townsend before the hosts had barely touched the footy.
Richmond responded to lead by a point at the first change and broke the game open in the second taking a four-goal advantage into the main break.
Looking in near-peak mid-season form having started pre-season before Christmas the Tigers extended their lead at the final change and stayed in cruise control in the last term to run out 16.4-100 to 10.9-69 victors.
In a game of two contrasting styles, Southport had a staggering 122 more disposals than Richmond however the Tigers finished plus-nine for inside 50s and had 18 more tackles – ultimately the winning formula.
Sharks co-captain Jacob Dawson picked up where he left off last season with another day out in midfield, amassing 28 touches and 10 clearances.
Boyd Woodcock showed he’s ready to fill the void left by Andrew Boston with a similarly stellar showing through the middle, bagging a third-quarter goal to go with a match-high 33 disposals to go with nine clearances.
In the absence of Fraser Thurlow, Brayden Crossley played a full game in the ruck and had the better of Samson Ryan, finishing with 33 hit-outs and a goal.
Up forward, Townsend kicked 3.1 from 11 disposals and Gold Coast Suns Academy product Max Pescud bagged two goals.
The Sharks are at home for Round 2 when they host 2019 grand finalists Williamstown at Fankhauser Reserve on Saturday.
Why new Sharks co-captain is ‘best player in the VFL’
THE “best player in the competition” and a club-first cornerstone will captain the Southport Sharks in its sophomore VFL campaign.
The club announced on Thursday that reigning best and fairest Jacob Dawson and fellow midfielder Michael Manteit would share captaincy duties in season 2022.
The pair step into the void left by outgoing skipper Andrew Boston, and Seb Tape, who informed the club he would hand over the captaincy after five years sharing the role.
Dawson, 22, joined the Sharks at the start of the 2021 season after he was delisted by the Gold Coast Suns.
The Burleigh Bombers junior hit the ground running, averaging 31 disposals and three tackles per game to immediately establish himself as one of the premiere midfielders in the VFL – Manteit proudly declaring him the best in the business.
“I believe he’s the best player in the competition,” Manteit said.
“Not only a hardworking talent but he obviously contributes from a leadership standpoint.
“To be at the club for such a short period of time and to have the impact he’s had, it’s significant.”
Dawson’s rise from newcomer to captain inside 12 months proved the perfect pairing of player and club.
“Obviously the start of last year was very disappointing for me – it was the end of my AFL dream,” he said.
“Fast-forward a few months and Southport welcomed me in. I really needed Southport at that time.
“It was pretty special to walk in and be welcomed like I was.
“I think it’s a credit to Southport that when someone walks into a club you give great ownership to that person and vote them as captain.
“It shows how much of a family it is.”
Manteit, 25, was also the Sharks’ best and fairest winner in his first season, when the club won the NEAFL in 2018.
A cornerstone of Southport’s potent midfield since then, his elevation from the captaincy group to the lead role is well deserved.
“Michael is a spectacular person. He incorporates the values of the club better than anyone and on the field he just performs,” Dawson said.
“Seb and Andrew did a fantastic job to put us in the position we are today,” Manteit added.
“For me it’s an incredible honour to captain one of the proudest, most successful clubs in Australia and to lead it in partnership with Jacob.”
Southport begins its 2022 VFL campaign away to Richmond on Sunday, March 27.
The first home game comes the following weekend when the club hosts Williamstown.
Southport was sitting second on the VFL ladder after 11 games last season before the competition was cancelled due to Covid-19.
EARLIER: Southport finalises VFL squad list as eight Sharks named in Suns top-ups
SOUTHPORT has finalised its primary and development player lists ahead of the 2022 VFL season, which for the Sharks begins on Sunday, March 27 away to Richmond.
The squad of 39 – 28 primary and 11 development – features 19 players with AFL experience and 20 who hail from Queensland, in a nod to Southport’s role as a major pathway provider from the Sunshine State to the AFL.
Read on below for the full squad list.
Ten of the best: Sharks top recruits for 2022 VFL season
QAFL Transfer Centre: Ex-AFL stars dominate 2022 state league news
“A large part of the list strategy was to retain (the) majority of our players from last year, which we were successfully able to do,” Sharks GM of football Jarrod Field said.
“We try and create an enjoyable environment for our players. We have a club full of good people and quality coaches, which helps create that positive environment and I think it is a significant reason players want to keep coming back.”
Southport welcomes back Queenslanders Max Spencer and Jacob Heron from VFL stints in Victoria, while also adding four players who featured on AFL lists in 2021: Boyd Woodcock (Port Adelaide), Jacob Townsend (Gold Coast), Aiden Fyfe (Gold Coast) and Jay Lockhart (Melbourne).
The Sharks have been a happy home for ex-AFL players in recent years, notably adding Burleigh Bombers junior and former Gold Coast Suns midfielder Jacob Dawson to their list last season.
Dawson went on to average more than 31 disposals and win the club’s best and fairest in its inaugural VFL campaign.
“It’s great to have former AFL listed players on our list. We want to help them regain their passion for the game and help them transition into life after playing professional football,” Field said.
Further, the club has appointed Scott Mathers as VFL development coach this season to work with the players not named in the VFL side each week.
Six of the Sharks’ 11 development players were part of the Gold Coast Suns Academy while two, Harrison Rowles and Sam Hilton-Joyce, are Southport juniors.
Eight Southport players have also been named on the Gold Coast Suns’ top-up list for the 2022 AFL season. Those include: Boyd Woodcock, Jacob Dawson, Max Spencer, Jay Lockhart, Jacob Townsend, Joel Crocker and Kwaby Boakye.
More Coverage
Originally published as VFL 2022: Boyd Woodcock stars for Southport in season opening loss to Richmond
Suns’ tipping point: What needs to happen to keep Rowell from Cats
Geelong is yet again in pursuit of a star rival midfielder, this time it being Matt Rowell. But is it actually possible? Callum Dick examines the possibility of Rowell in the blue and white hoops.
Telling move behind shock AFL trade rumour
Kane Cornes says reports about Gold Coast gun Matt Rowell reveal much more than face value about the former No. 1 draft pick.