2026 VFL Season Round 1: Geelong Reserves v Essendon Reserves

This is the match report for the match played on 20 March 2026 between the Geelong Reserves and the Essendon Reserves during round one of the 2026 season of the Victorian Football League. The Geelong Reserves hosted the Essendon Reserves at GMHBA Stadium. Daniel Capiron captained the hosts. Xavier O'Neill captained the visitors with Jackson Hately as vice-captain. The hosts were coached by Mark Corrigan and the visitors were coached by Cameron Joyce.

The Geelong Reserves (24.19.163) defeated the Essendon Reserves (12.6.78).

Match Details

Season: 2026 VFL Season
Round: Round 1
Teams: Geelong Reserves v Essendon Reserves
Date: Friday 20 March 2026
Time: 7:05 PM
Venue: GMHBA Stadium

Match Results

Outcome: Geelong Reserves def. Essendon Reserves
Score: 24.19.163 - 12.6.78

Quarter Breakdown

	Q1			Q2			Q3			Q4			Final
Geelong Reserves	7	.	2	12	.	8	17	.	13	24	.	19	24	.	19	(163)
Essendon Reserves	5	.	0	8	.	2	8	.	4	12	.	6	12	.	6	(78)
Margin	GEER by 14			GEER by 30			GEER by 63			GEER by 85			GEER by 85
Duration	31:37			32:36			30:06			31:58			2:06:17

Score Worm

This chart is oriented such that the margin is positive when the hosts (Geelong Reserves) are in the lead and is negative when the visitors (Essendon Reserves) are in the lead.

Honour Roll

Geelong Reserves

Captain: Daniel Capiron
Coach: Mark Corrigan

Essendon Reserves

Captain: Xavier O'Neill
Vice-Captain: Jackson Hately
Coach: Cameron Joyce

Player Statistics

Geelong Reserves

#	Player	Pos.	ToG%	GL	BH	DI	KI	HB	MK	HO	TA	CL	CR	FF	FA	RF	IF
59	Annand, Kye	INT	?	0	0	17	14	3	9	1	1	1	?	0	0	5	0
24	Bews, Jed	HFFL	?	0	0	33	28	5	14	0	1	0	?	1	1	7	8
12	Bowes, Jack	CHB	?	1	0	30	18	12	6	0	7	3	?	0	6	2	5
41	Burke, Cillian	FPR	?	0	0	11	7	4	1	0	1	0	?	0	0	2	1
50	Capiron, Daniel (c)	RR	?	2	3	15	7	8	4	0	4	0	?	2	2	0	2
27	Driscoll, Nick	HFFR	?	0	0	15	11	4	5	0	2	1	?	2	0	1	2
48	Hart, Jesse	RU	?	0	0	9	6	3	3	0	1	0	?	2	0	2	0
36	Henry, Ollie	FPL	?	5	2	13	10	3	4	0	3	1	?	1	1	0	2
62	Herbert, Marcus	INT	?	0	1	18	8	10	4	0	4	1	?	0	1	2	4
23	Hofmann, Lennox	WR	?	0	0	16	11	5	9	0	1	0	?	0	0	2	0
22	Holmes, Hunter	C	?	1	0	17	7	10	4	0	0	1	?	0	0	0	2
74	Kelly, Patrick	INT	?	0	0	10	4	6	1	0	2	3	?	1	0	1	0
10	Knevitt, Mitch	HBFL	?	0	2	33	20	13	5	0	2	8	?	3	0	2	9
8	Kolodjashnij, Jake	BPR	?	0	0	16	12	4	10	0	0	0	?	1	0	3	1
25	Mellor, Jesse	CHF	?	1	1	7	3	4	2	0	3	0	?	0	1	0	1
37	Pike, Joe	FF	?	1	0	10	4	6	2	17	3	2	?	0	1	1	2
2	Polkinghorne, Jay	FB	?	4	6	14	10	4	5	0	0	1	?	3	1	0	0
55	Rantall, Jay	INT	?	2	1	22	8	14	2	0	4	3	?	1	0	0	4
1	Stanley, Rhys	BPL	?	0	0	16	10	6	4	24	2	4	?	3	0	0	1
15	Stevens, George	HBFR	?	1	0	34	7	27	4	0	3	8	?	2	0	2	2
52	White, Will	RO	?	1	0	16	10	6	3	0	5	1	?	4	2	0	5
54	Williams, Mason	INT	?	1	0	14	8	6	1	0	1	2	?	1	0	1	5
21	Wiltshire, Oli	WL	?	4	1	19	10	9	4	0	4	4	?	3	0	0	6
Rushed					2
Total (23 players)				24	19	405	233	172	106	42	54	44	0+	30	16	33	62

Essendon Reserves

#	Player	Pos.	ToG%	GL	BH	DI	KI	HB	MK	HO	TA	CL	CR	FF	FA	RF	IF
64	Akuei, Domanic	RR	?	0	0	5	0	5	1	0	1	0	?	0	2	0	0
77	Bella, Will	INT	?	1	0	7	2	5	2	9	0	2	?	1	1	0	0
74	Binns, Jaxon	INT	?	1	0	15	11	4	5	0	1	0	?	1	1	3	1
13	Cox, Nik	HBFL	?	1	0	11	7	4	3	1	0	2	?	0	3	1	1
44	Day-Wicks, Archer	CHF	?	1	1	19	10	9	6	0	3	3	?	0	0	1	4
41	El-Hawli, Saad	HFFL	?	0	0	14	9	5	3	0	1	0	?	1	2	6	0
2	Farrow, Jacob	BPL	?	1	0	31	22	9	6	0	1	0	?	0	1	11	1
80	Ferronato, Kristian	INT	?	1	0	24	12	12	0	0	3	6	?	3	2	0	7
19	Gerreyn, Kayle	HBFR	?	0	0	16	7	9	4	0	1	2	?	0	0	2	0
35	Guelfi, Matt	C	?	0	1	8	5	3	3	0	2	0	?	0	4	0	0
50	Hately, Jackson (vc)	FPL	?	0	0	25	11	14	4	0	6	2	?	1	0	0	4
23	Jones, Harry	WL	?	1	0	7	4	3	2	0	4	0	?	0	1	0	2
67	Kitchell, Ty	INT	?	0	0	7	3	4	2	0	3	0	?	0	2	1	2
51	McKay, Solly	FF	?	0	0	13	7	6	3	0	0	0	?	0	2	2	1
48	McMahon, Liam	HFFR	?	2	1	7	3	4	2	0	0	0	?	0	0	0	2
65	Nyko, Cam	RO	?	1	0	16	10	6	7	0	3	0	?	2	0	3	2
55	O'Neill, Xavier (c)	FPR	?	1	0	29	18	11	8	0	2	1	?	0	2	5	3
9	Robey, Sullivan	BPR	?	0	0	14	8	6	3	0	2	2	?	1	1	0	4
57	Scott, Noah	RU	?	1	1	18	8	10	1	0	2	3	?	1	2	1	0
75	Sellers, Tyler	INT	?	0	0	10	7	3	2	4	3	0	?	4	1	2	4
5	Tsatas, Elijah	FB	?	0	0	23	12	11	0	0	4	7	?	1	2	0	6
38	Unwin, Rhys	WR	?	0	0	7	2	5	0	0	1	0	?	0	1	0	2
17	Visentini, Vigo	CHB	?	0	0	4	1	3	1	7	1	0	?	0	0	0	0
Rushed					2
Total (23 players)				12	6	330	179	151	68	21	44	30	0+	16	30	38	46

Legend

ToG%: Time-on-Ground Percentage, GL: Goals, BH: Behinds, DI: Disposals, KI: Kicks, HB: Handballs, MK: Marks, HO: Hitouts, TA: Tackles, CL: Clearances, CR: Clangers, FF: Free Kicks For, FA: Free Kicks Against, RF: Rebounds Inside 50, IF: Inside 50s

Player Line-Up

Geelong Reserves							Coach: Mark Corrigan
BACK							FOLLOWER		INTERCHANGE
	2	J. Farrow	5	E. Tsatas	9	S. Robey	48	J. Hart	59	K. Annand
	41	C. Burke	37	J. Pike	36	O. Henry	50	D. Capiron (c)	62	M. Herbert
FORWARD							52	W. White	74	P. Kelly
HALF-BACK									55	J. Rantall
	13	N. Cox	17	V. Visentini	19	K. Gerreyn			54	M. Williams
	27	N. Driscoll	25	J. Mellor	24	J. Bews
HALF-FORWARD
CENTRE
	23	H. Jones	35	M. Guelfi	38	R. Unwin
	23	L. Hofmann	22	H. Holmes	21	O. Wiltshire	FOLLOWER		INTERCHANGE
CENTRE							57	N. Scott	77	W. Bella
HALF-FORWARD							64	D. Akuei	74	J. Binns
	41	S. El-Hawli	44	A. Day-Wicks	48	L. McMahon	65	C. Nyko	80	K. Ferronato
	15	G. Stevens	12	J. Bowes	10	M. Knevitt			67	T. Kitchell
HALF-BACK									75	T. Sellers
FORWARD
	50	J. Hately (vc)	51	S. McKay	55	X. O'Neill (c)
	8	J. Kolodjashnij	2	J. Polkinghorne	1	R. Stanley
BACK
Essendon Reserves							Coach: Cameron Joyce

Score Timeline

Quarter	Team	Scoring Event	Score			Time
Q1	GEER	Joe Pike goal	1.0.6	-	0.0.0	01:52
	GEER	Jay Polkinghorne goal	2.0.12	-	0.0.0	03:28
	GEER	Hunter Holmes goal	3.0.18	-	0.0.0	05:03
	ESSR	Jacob Farrow goal	3.0.18	-	1.0.6	06:46
	ESSR	Liam McMahon goal	3.0.18	-	2.0.12	09:45
	ESSR	Liam McMahon goal	3.0.18	-	3.0.18	12:37
	GEER	Ollie Henry goal	4.0.24	-	3.0.18	14:02
	ESSR	Noah Scott goal	4.0.24	-	4.0.24	15:48
	GEER	Mason Williams goal	5.0.30	-	4.0.24	18:24
	ESSR	Cam Nyko goal	5.0.30	-	5.0.30	19:33
	GEER	Jesse Mellor behind	5.1.31	-	5.0.30	20:37
	GEER	Oli Wiltshire goal	6.1.37	-	5.0.30	24:52
	GEER	Jay Rantall goal	7.1.43	-	5.0.30	26:11
	GEER	Rushed behind	7.2.44	-	5.0.30	28:41
Q2	ESSR	Jaxon Binns goal	7.2.44	-	6.0.36	03:27
	GEER	Rushed behind	7.3.45	-	6.0.36	06:14
	GEER	Will White goal	8.3.51	-	6.0.36	07:05
	GEER	Jay Polkinghorne behind	8.4.52	-	6.0.36	08:57
	GEER	Jay Polkinghorne behind	8.5.53	-	6.0.36	09:47
	ESSR	Rushed behind	8.5.53	-	6.1.37	12:08
	GEER	Daniel Capiron goal	9.5.59	-	6.1.37	13:43
	ESSR	Harry Jones goal	9.5.59	-	7.1.43	15:06
	ESSR	Will Bella goal	9.5.59	-	8.1.49	17:15
	GEER	Jay Polkinghorne behind	9.6.60	-	8.1.49	18:54
	GEER	Jay Polkinghorne goal	10.6.66	-	8.1.49	20:38
	GEER	Oli Wiltshire behind	10.7.67	-	8.1.49	22:46
	GEER	Daniel Capiron behind	10.8.68	-	8.1.49	23:32
	GEER	Daniel Capiron goal	11.8.74	-	8.1.49	24:45
	ESSR	Rushed behind	11.8.74	-	8.2.50	29:05
	GEER	Ollie Henry goal	12.8.80	-	8.2.50	30:25
Q3	GEER	Ollie Henry goal	13.8.86	-	8.2.50	01:31
	GEER	Ollie Henry behind	13.9.87	-	8.2.50	04:29
	GEER	Daniel Capiron behind	13.10.88	-	8.2.50	05:52
	GEER	Jack Bowes goal	14.10.94	-	8.2.50	08:12
	GEER	Jay Polkinghorne behind	14.11.95	-	8.2.50	10:45
	GEER	Jay Polkinghorne behind	14.12.96	-	8.2.50	13:51
	GEER	Oli Wiltshire goal	15.12.102	-	8.2.50	15:11
	ESSR	Liam McMahon behind	15.12.102	-	8.3.51	19:40
	GEER	Oli Wiltshire goal	16.12.108	-	8.3.51	20:53
	GEER	Ollie Henry behind	16.13.109	-	8.3.51	23:25
	GEER	Ollie Henry goal	17.13.115	-	8.3.51	25:08
	ESSR	Matt Guelfi behind	17.13.115	-	8.4.52	27:13
Q4	GEER	Jay Polkinghorne behind	17.14.116	-	8.4.52	00:54
	GEER	George Stevens goal	18.14.122	-	8.4.52	02:00
	GEER	Jay Rantall behind	18.15.123	-	8.4.52	03:05
	GEER	Jay Rantall goal	19.15.129	-	8.4.52	05:06
	GEER	Ollie Henry goal	20.15.135	-	8.4.52	09:14
	GEER	Jay Polkinghorne goal	21.15.141	-	8.4.52	11:15
	GEER	Marcus Herbert behind	21.16.142	-	8.4.52	12:31
	GEER	Jay Polkinghorne goal	22.16.148	-	8.4.52	15:02
	GEER	Jesse Mellor goal	23.16.154	-	8.4.52	16:30
	ESSR	Noah Scott behind	23.16.154	-	8.5.53	17:44
	ESSR	Kristian Ferronato goal	23.16.154	-	9.5.59	19:56
	GEER	Mitch Knevitt behind	23.17.155	-	9.5.59	22:30
	ESSR	Xavier O'Neill goal	23.17.155	-	10.5.65	23:20
	GEER	Daniel Capiron behind	23.18.156	-	10.5.65	24:57
	ESSR	Archer Day-Wicks behind	23.18.156	-	10.6.66	25:35
	GEER	Mitch Knevitt behind	23.19.157	-	10.6.66	26:16
	ESSR	Archer Day-Wicks goal	23.19.157	-	11.6.72	28:00
	ESSR	Nik Cox goal	23.19.157	-	12.6.78	29:53
	GEER	Oli Wiltshire goal	24.19.163	-	12.6.78	31:48

Links

2026 VFL Season

The information provided on this site does not necessarily align with the official record. The purpose of this site is to present its author's attempt to amalgamate a variety of sources of information on the VFL/AFL, VFA/VFL, SANFL, WAFL, TSL and other competitions to provide its users a unified view of the people (e.g. players, coaches, draftees and umpires), places, events (e.g. matches, drafts and awards) and other entities that have contributed to the rich history of Australian rules football.