Round 7 of the VFL premiership season has been ticked off with a mix of surprising results across the weekend.
The Northern Bullants recorded their first win of the year against an undermanned Collingwood outfit while Footscray continued their victorious ways.
Geelong made it four wins in a row while non-affiliated club Williamstown strung together their third consecutive victory against Essendon.
Brisbane, Geelong and Werribee had the weekend off due to a bye.
Here's a wrap-up of all the action from Round 7 of the VFL.
Carlton (66) def. by Casey Demons (69)
Casey's narrow three-point win was impressive, whilst a host of AFL-listed players put their foot forward for a senior recall.
Key forwardย Ben Brown is almost certain to replace the concussed Jacob van Rooyen after an almost day, kicking 2.6 from 13 possessions.
Bailey Laurie andย Lachie Hunter managed to find plenty of the ball while out-of-favourย Adam Tomlinson dominated across the backline.
Shane McAdam continues to build form at his new club whileย Koltyn Tholstrup hit the scoreboard.
Carlton'sย Jaxon Binns has responded strongly to being dropped in recent weeks with a game-high 43 touches to go with his 11 marks, six clearances and five tackles.
Jack Carroll was immense in keeping the Blues in the game, putting up big numbers in the midfield whileย Orazio Fantasia andย David Cunningham produced excellent games.
Port Melbourne Borough (94) def. Coburg Lions (62)
Port Melbourne have made it two wins on the trot, and this time, captain Harvey Hooper led the way.
Hooper was everywhere on Friday, gathering 34 disposals, seven clearances and three tackles to go with his one major.
He was joined by former Western Bulldog playerย Robbie McComb who put up similar numbers.
Harry McGuire kicked three goals of his own whileย Kyle Viccars, Roarke Smith, Jimmy Miller and Billy Gowers all slotted two each.
The Lions were well held byย Flynn Gentile was arguably their best, kicking a goal from his 22 possessions, nine tackles and seven clearance performances.
Ruckmanย Sam Grant recorded 46 hit-outs and proved to be trouble for the opposition whileย Josh D'Intinosante slotted two majors and 11 tackles in an impressive outing.
GWS (47) def. by Frankston Dolphins (61)
In a trying day where there were 12 goals and 36 behinds combined, Frankston came home with the all-important premiership points.
Sebastian Quirk was pivotal in the victory for the Dolphins, amassing 25 touches, six tackles, five clearances and a goal while ruckman Angus Grant was huge with seven clearances and 39 hit-outs, giving his midfielders the first look.
Taj Campbell-Farrell was equally as good, registering seven tackles and six clearances to go with his 17 touches whileย Nick Burke a contest machine, recorded 10 tackles.
Familiar Giant playerย Xavier O'Halloran is continuing to build his case for an AFL recall.
Along with ruckmanย Nick Madden, the duo combined for 24 clearances, 14 tackles and 49 disposals while the latter also recorded 53 hit-outs.
Harry Rowston (23 possessions, 10 tackles, five clearances and a goal) is in red-hot form as well as Jacob Fahey (36 touches, five marks and four tackles).
North Melbourne (80) def. by Sydney (86)
Sydney's placing on top of the AFL ladder means some regular faces are forced to bide their time in the VFL.
Luke Parker once again featured in the reserves, collecting 24 touches, seven tackles, five clearances and a goal whileย Braeden Campbell's 27 possession, nine mark, nine tackles and five clearance performance was just as good.
Ruckmanย Peter Ladhams was crucial in the six-point victory while defender-turned-forward Joel Hamling booted four goals.
Axed Kangaroos' young gun Zane Duursma responded with four majors of his own whileย Miller Bergman andย Dylan Stephens were impressive throughout the day.
Eddie Ford found plenty of the football whileย Curtis Taylor's one-goal, 20-disposal outing has him in line to return to the senior side.
Northern Bullants (55) def. Collingwood (48)
The Bullants' first win came against an undermanned Pies outfit.
Jean-Luc Velissaris (34 touches, 12 marks, five tackles and a goal) andย Patrick Fairlie (31 disposals, 12 marks, nine tackles, seven clearances and a goal) led from the front in the narrow victory.
Will Elliot was strong in the contest, playing ruck most of the day but recording seven clearances and a goal to go with it.
With the Pies lacking most of the familiar faces, it was up to too few to lead them to victory.
Charlie Dean was arguably the best in the black and white whileย Ash Johnson hit the scoreboard regularly.
Nathan Kreuger started to find his feet after a second consecutive week in the side following his injuries as running defenderย Jakob Ryan mounts his case for an AFL return.
Williamstown Seagulls (90) def. Essendon (79)
The Seagulls recorded another impressive victory against an in-form Essendon outfit.
Will Fordham and ex-Tigerย Riley Collier-Dawkins led from the front, combining for 65 disposals, 12 marks and 19 clearances.
Jack Toner was impressive with two goals from the midfield to go with his 25 possessions and six marks while Nicholas Ebinger kicked three majors.
As for the Bombers, there were plenty of positives to come out of the loss.
Ruckmanย Nick Bryan continues to toil away in the reserves as an option for the future whileย Zach Reid returned from injury.
Veteranย Dylan Shiel was strong through the midfield, gathering 24 disposals and six tackles whileย Elijah Tsatas was arguably Essendon's best, amassing 31 touches, 11 clearances and six tackles.
Youngsterย Nate Caddy looked good up forward with two goals whileย Jayden Davey slotted three.
Gold Coast (58) def. by Southport Sharks (105)
Southport had a host of players return to good form in their eight-goal thumping of Gold Coast.
Ben Jepson was arguably best afield with 40 disposals and 11 marks, whileย Brayden Crossley (53 hit-outs, 17 touches, seven tackles and six clearances) and Boyd Woodcockย (one goal, 30 possessions, nine clearances and five tackles) followed suit.
Max Spencer andย Hugh Dixon kicked three goals each while Jacob Dawson was just as instrumental, gathering 38 touches and 11 clearances.
As for the Suns, it was disappointing across the board despite some positive individual performances.
Connor Budarick was superb all day whileย Rory Atkins found plenty of the ball.
Ethan Read was strong in the ruck but still has plenty of development ahead of him while veteranย Brandon Ellis didn't stop fighting.
Richmond (85) def. by Western Bulldogs (116)
Luke Beveridge would be pleased with how some of the AFL-listed players performed in the VFL.
Ryley Sanders collected a whopping 42 possessions to go with his 12 clearances and a goal while out-of-favour premiership playerย Caleb Daniel (26 touches, 14 tackles and 10 clearances) dominated.
Rory Lobb kept that scoreboard ticking over with a four-goal outing, which was matched by Buku Khamis.
For Richmond,ย Kane McAuliffe was their best, kicking two goals from the midfield, on top of his 25 disposals, 10 tackles and seven clearances.
Samson Ryan gave the Tigers first look in the ruck while the axedย Kamdyn McIntosh responded strongly.
Jacob Koschitzke put his name forward for a senior recall with a pair of goals whileย Steely Green was a tackling machine.
Box Hill Hawks (87) def. Sandringham Zebras (82)
Former Pieย Callum Brown was huge for the Hawks, gathering 35 possessions and eight marks in the narrow win.
Josh Ward answered to his dropping whileย Ben Cavarra slotted four goals.
Changkuoth Jiath played in the VFL in positive news for Hawks fans whileย Max Ramsdenย hit the scoreboard.
In a shock axing,ย Mattaes Phillipou found himself in the reserves and was impressive.
Amassing 20 touches, nine tackles and five clearances in a strong display whileย Anthony Caminiti could've been the difference if he kicked (3.5) straighter.
Paddy Dow continues to make his case for a debut at his second AFL club whileย Cooper Sharman presented himself as a forward option.
