From the Geelong Advertiser
Reported by Nick Wade
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TONIGHT'S VFL match at Simonds Stadium could end up being a dress rehearsal for finals footy at the venue later in the year.

Geelong, currently top of the VFL ladder, would be eligible to host a VFL qualifying final at Simonds Stadium if it finishes in the top two at season's end.

That match would most likely be a Friday night blockbuster on August 30, working around the Geelong-Brisbane AFL match at the venue that weekend.

"If we did happen to nail a spot in the top two, it would be superb to have a final here," Geelong VFL coach Matthew Knights said.

"But a lot of things have to fall into place for that to happen.

"From a purely emotional point of view, it would be great to have a final here at Geelong in the VFL."

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* Picture thanks to Geelong Australia

From the Port Phillip Leader
Reported by Paul Amy
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Conditions were miserable. It was body-numbing cold and sheets of water covered the ground.

Port Melbourne supporter Ian Bryce has been watching the Borough since 1946 and couldn't recall North Port Oval being so heavy.

The ball rarely bounced. Mostly it skipped across the surface, like a pebble over a pond. Players often slipped as they pursued it.

But Port, with strength and desperation, put aside the rugged setting to give one of its most convincing performances of the season and hand its great rival Williamstown a thrashing in the Round 14 VFL match on Saturday.

The Seagulls had the best of the first term and led at quarter time. But they could add only four behinds in the following three quarters.

From VFL Website
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IN THE end it was inevitable. The moment a head count was called early in the third quarter and Frankston was found to have 19 players on the field; the Dolphins’ fate was sealed, writes David O’Neill.

Under AFL Laws of the game - rule 5.5, that stipulates a team will have its score reduced to zero if found with an extra player on the field, the host’s were never realistically in the hunt for the four points in Round 14 the Peter Jackson VFL.

The Dolphins were 5.8 (38) when the drama unfolded, leaving the three goals and five behinds they managed after the incident as their final score.

The change sees the Roosters’ winning margin altered from three points to 41 points, a handy percentage boost for a side sitting just outside the top eight.

But with most in attendance – including both playing groups – unaware of such a rule, the absorbing contest was left to run its path. And what a contest it turned out to be.

SATURDAY JULY 28
Collingwood vs Casey Scorpions at Victoria Park 12pm
North Ballarat vs Werribee at Eureka Stadium 1:10pm(ABC1TV)
(Development League game at 10am)
Williamstown vs Frankston at Burbank Oval,Williamstown 2pm
(Development League match at 11am)
Port Melbourne vs Box Hill Hawks at Box Hill 2pm(3WBC)
(Development League match at 11am)
Essendon vs Bendigo Gold at Windy Hill 2pm

SUNDAY JULY 29
Northern Blues vs Coburg Tigers at Preston 1pm
(Development League match at 10am)
Sandringham vs Geelong at Trevor Barker Oval,Sandringham 2pm(Aussie Digital,Vision Australia Radio)
(Development League match Sandringham vs Casey Scorpions at 11am)

From Ballarat Courier
Reported by Melanie Whelan
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THE atmosphere at Frankston Oval is generally a little festive – the conga drum, trumpet and friendly-looking Dolphin mascot enhance the seaside location that even on a cold day, as is expected tomorrow, it feels a little like a holiday party.

But it will be far from festive on the field.

Frankston and North Ballarat Roosters will enter a massive battle that could make or break their Victorian Football League campaigns.

Both sit outside the top eight on percentage to Northern Blues – the Selkirk Roosters are slightly ahead in ninth spot – among a backlog of teams fighting to claim ninth spot

TUESDAY JULY 16
(Foxtel Cup 2nd SF)West Adelaide vs Claremont at AAMI Stadium at 8:35pm(Melb Time)(Fox Footy)

FRIDAY JULY 19
Geelong vs Collingwood at Simonds Stadium 7pm

SATURDAY JULY 20
Box Hill Hawks vs Northern Blues at Box Hill 1:10pm(ABC1TV,3WBC)
(Development League match starts at 10am)
Port Melbourne vs Williamstown at Northport Oval 2pm
(Development League match starts at 11am)

SUNDAY JULY 21
Casey Scorpions vs Essendon at Casey Fields 2pm(Aussie Digital,Vision Australia Radio)
(Development League match Casey Scorpions vs Sandringham starts at 10am
Frankston vs North Ballarat at Frankston 2pm
(Development League match starts at 11am)
Coburg Tigers vs Werribee at Mantello Holden Oval,Coburg 2pm
(Development League match starts at 11am)
Sandringham vs Bendigo Gold at Trevor Barker Oval,Sandringham 2pm

From The Sunday Age
Reported by Brent Diamond
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AFL Victoria says it will continue to provide funding for stand-alone VFL clubs to help them remain viable, but it fears that there are ''genuine challenges'' for some still to overcome.

Coburg and Williamstown will join Port Melbourne, Bendigo and Frankston as stand-alone models from next season.

Port Melbourne coach Gary Ayres has already questioned the equity of the competition. The Borough has battled to win against two of the three AFL stand-alone clubs - Geelong and Collingwood - over the past two years, and the club fears that financially it is getting tougher to remain competitive.

AFL Victoria has a working party in place with an aim to determine ''what the VFL will look like in 10 years, not in two years' time''.

All current VFL clubs have a licence which expires at the end of 2014.