Round Six Rundown

Flag fancy Sebastopol (20.8.128) took the best part of two and a half quarters to shrug off a spirited Darley (13.6.84), booting 11 of the last 13 goals of the game to win by 44 points.

It was the first time since 2015 the 'Burras had travelled to Darley Park for Premiership points. Toby Hutt (five goals) and ball magnet mid, Lachlan Cassidy, were the stars of the show and are likely to figure prominently among the votes. The 'Burras Michael Lockyer and Jed Hill kicked four goals each while promising Darley forward Joel Cadman and former Port Power representative Mitch Banner were not to be outdone, finishing with four goals of their own.

Defender Matthew Brett and midfielder Jake Ancrum continued their run of good form for the black and white, while Hugo Papst and Luke Kiel steadied the ship across half-back for the 'Burras, before running out comfortable winners.

North Ballarat City (16.9-105) withstood a gallant East Point (11.14-80) third-quarter surge before going on to win impressively by 25 points.

2021 NBC recruit, Thomas Hotchin, showed he has all the makings of a big game player after he was named BoG ahead of ball magnet Riley Polkinghorne, who doesn't know how to play a bad game. Young gun City forward Josh Chatfield (four goals) produced again and was matched only by the Kangas Williamstown VFL affiliate Joel Ottavi, who was a huge inclusion, given the Seagulls had the bye.

The reigning dual Premiers showed what they're all about after reeling in a 28-point deficit to lead by 3 points at the final change, sparking a wake-up call for McCartney and his men. The final quarter response from NBC was emphatic, to say the least, as they steadied to regain the lead before adding six goals to one and running out deserved winners. Despite City's comfortable advantage at the final siren, they've been dethroned at the top of the table by the rebounding Bloods on percentage.

Lake Wendouree (16.16-112) moved back into the top six with an impressive four quarter win over a disappointing Melton South (7.3-45).

The Lakers earned themselves the much-needed percentage boost (20.08%) that is likely to play a role at the business end. Their league-high 32 scoring shots on goal in Round Six included a spread of 10 individual goalkickers and serves as a stern warning to the wider competition that the Lakers have what it takes to put teams away. Let's not forget they're the only side to beat North Ballarat City in 2021.

Timothy Collins booted four majors for the Lakers while Nick Rippon (three goals) earned his first (likely) three vote return of the season. The highway travelling Panthers offered little resistance and were never really in the game. Without Bradley Olsson (groin), Shaun Wyatt (hamstring) and Paul Curtis (Western Jets), Melton South look to have barely a shadow of their pre-Bye appeal. Nimble utility Cody Chapman was named best again for the Panthers while gun forward Dylan Conway was kept to two goals.

Melton's (18.12-120) recent dominance of Redan (8.14-62) continued at MacPherson Park to emulate Lake Wendouree's four quarter effort to win in Round Six.

The Bloods extend their run of unbeaten games against an out-of-sorts Lions outfit to five, dating back to 2018. Captain Braeden Kight (five goals), Liam and Ryan Carter (four goals) destroyed the Lions' defence to feature among the best players with a bag each to boot. The win propels the Bloods back on top of the BFNL ladder, percentage-only ahead of dangerous improvers North Ballarat City.

The win would have put a few smiles on faces around MFNC at the weekend following a tough fortnight that included a 41-point loss to East Point. Lions never-say-die mid/forward Lachie George (four goals) flew the flag in a losing side to be named Redan's best. Since the Lions' Bye in Round Four, they've fallen from third (114.23%) on the table to seventh (83.22%) with back-to-back losses and in desperate need of finding their mojo.

Sunbury (12.6-78) recorded just their second win of the season, leading all day to beat Ballarat (7.12-54) in front of an anxious home crowd at the weekend.

The Lions were 0-2 at home for Season 2021 leading in, and had to win to stay in touch of the top six. While the four Premiership points sees the finals fancies still in tenth place, they're now just a game and percentage outside the six. Luke Goater, the returning Tom Donoghue and Josh Guthrie led the return to the winners list. Nine Lions goalkickers made up the 12-goal scoreline.

Previously, Sunbury had the worst efficiency rate from shots on goal at less than 40%. Lions coach Travis Hodgson will acknowledge the data that comes in victory, but not near as much as the desperately-needed four Premiership points. For Ballarat, still hanging on, the return of Andrew Hooper and star recruit Josh Gibson's debut were well-served by in-form captain Sam James and elite distributor Mitch Martin. The Swans are still yet to beat Sunbury at Sunbury since the Lions entry into the BFNL back in 1997.