From Ballarat Courier
Reported by Melanie Whelan
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THIS is just business for Essendon.

The Bombers’ AFL team played amid the added hype and emotion of Anzac Day at the MCG on Thursday.

Their Victorian Football League match in Ballarat today is like the finishing note before they sign out and move on for another week.

They will field a string of players pushing for AFL selection – like Tayte Pears, Ben Melksham, and Joe Daniher, the athletic tall who was almost granted an AFL debut this week.

North Ballarat Roosters coach Gerard FitzGerald said the VFL was no longer just about developing lists when it came to AFL clubs.

From Bendigo Advertiser
Reported by Luke West
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THE Bendigo Gold are tonight preparing for a VFL clash at the Queen Elizabeth Oval against Collingwood that can be best described as a battle of David v Goliath.

Tonight’s game pits the minnows of the VFL, the Gold, against the biggest sporting club in the land, the Magpies.

While the Gold are in their first season as a stand-alone club in the VFL and fighting for respect – both from their opposition and the Bendigo community – Collingwood is not only a power of the football world, but a brand that is the Australian equivalent of English soccer’s Manchester United and the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.

From Ballarat Courier
Reported by Melanie Whelan
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Lucas Cook will make his senior debut for North Ballarat Roosters tomorrow.

The Selkirk Roosters last night named Cook at centre half-forward for their home clash with Essendon.

Cook, recruited from Melbourne’s AFL list, has been settling back into Eureka Stadium with the Roosters’ development team for the opening three rounds.

The former North Ballarat Rebel, from Hopetoun, was drafted to the Demons in 2011 and spent two seasons on the Dees’ list before he was delisted last year, without having played an AFL game.

From Hobsons Bay Leader
Reported by Luke D'Anello
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THE script would have described Sunday's VFL local derby between Williamstown and Werribee as a battle of two premiership contenders and one likely to be decided in the final minutes.

Instead it was a one-sided rout from early in the match as the Seagulls underlined their credentials, while the Tigers were left to clear the considerable wreckage.

Williamstown's 83-point win was its 10th in succession against its great rival and it was an awe-inspiring display.

The signs were ominous for the Tigers after just 120 seconds when Patrick Veszpremi nailed the first major of the match.

From Moonee Valley Leader
Reported by Patrick Lane
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JOE Daniher flirted with an Anzac Day AFL foray after dismantling Casey Scorpions' army of backs at Windy Hill on Saturday.

But it was not nearly enough to save Essendon's hide, the Bombers' thrashed in the VFL clash, 25.12 (162) to 11.13 (79).

Daniher, the father-son acquisition at Essendon sending the red and black army in a spin, jagged four majors and clunked 12 marks.

From www.localfooty.com.au
Reported by Paul Amy
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BOTH coaches owned up to a "hollow feeling".

"You haven't won but you haven't lost ... it's always a bit strange," Port Melbourne's Gary Ayres said.

Sandringham's Simon McPhee said: "Feel empty, to be honest. Sh-tful, excuse the language. In the end you've just got to try to focus on the stuff we did well."

And as they discussed Sunday's gripping draw at Kars St, Frankston, they agreed on another thing: that two points were better than none.

FRIDAY APRIL 26
Bendigo Gold vs Collingwood at QEO,Bendigo 6:30pm
SATURDAY APRIL 27
Werribee vs Sandringham at Avalon Airport Oval,Werribee 1:10pm(ABC1TV)
(Development League game starts at 10am)
Box Hill Hawks vs Coburg at Box Hill 2pm(3WBC)
(Development League game at 11am)
North Ballarat vs Essendon at Eureka Stadium 2pm
(Development League game North Ballarat vs Frankston at 11am)
Casey Scorpions vs Williamstown at Casey Fields 6pm
(Development League game at 3pm)

SUNDAY APRIL 28
Northern Blues vs Port Melbourne at Preston 2pm(Aussie Digital,Vision Australia Radio)
(Development League game at 11am)
Frankston vs Geelong at Frankston 2pm
(Curtain Raiser FDJFL U16s Frankston Rovers vs Mt Eliza at 11am)

From Sunday Age
Reported by Brent Diamond
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The tide is turning at Frankston, with the Dolphins scoring successive victories for the first time in almost six years with a 13-point win over Collingwood at Victoria Park on Saturday.

Coach Simon Goosey had a five-year plan to transform the competition's whipping boys into finals contenders and the results are evident.

Frankston knocked off last year's grand finalist Port Melbourne last week and held off a fast-finishing Pies outfit on Saturday.

The key, said Goosey, has been getting players drafted into the AFL system.