Round 11 Hampden footy stats: Magpie finding form after sickening injury

The half-forward/midfielder, who finished top-20 in last year's Maskell Medal, was influential in the Magpies' round 11 win against Hamilton Kangaroos on Saturday, July 29.

He registered 30 disposals, nine tackles and 10 inside 50s in wet conditions as his side triumphed 6.18 (54) to 2.8 (20) at home.

"This is my fifth game back so it's definitely good to find a bit of form and in tricky conditions which was pleasing as well," he told The Standard.

"I think the weekend was definitely a good indicator of where I was at.

"I'd still been going OK but on the weekend I was definitely back to where I want to be. I've still got a lot of areas that I want to improve on..."

Sinnott missed rounds 2-6 after he broke three ribs and suffered a punctured and collapsed lung in a marking contest against Terang Mortlake in round one.

He said he was sore in his first few games back but was now "100 per cent" again.

It wasn't an easy recovery period though.

"I think the first two weeks I was pretty bed-ridden," Sinnott said.

"Just everything hurt when I tried to move around but it was even harder just to watch because we lost our first four games.

"You feel pretty useless just watching from the sidelines. (But) that's footy, you're going to have those injuries, that's just the game you play."

Sinnott is slowly building his fitness up again, starting games on the forward flank and rotating through the midfield.

He loves spending time in the middle and against the Kangaroos was able to give his brother Hamish a "chop-out".

The Magpies sit eighth on the ladder ahead of the Hampden league's interleague bye on July 6.

With seven rounds remaining, playing finals is still a possibility as they only trail fourth-placed Koroit by eight points.

"Obviously it wasn't the start we wanted to have going into the halfway mark with only three wins," Sinnott said.

"It's one of those years I feel like where it's going to end up pretty close...

"You've got to stay positive and you've got to play thinking that you can still make it."

Other notable performers from round 11 include North Warrnambool Eagles ball-winner Jett Bermingham (41 disposals, 14 clearances, one goal), Terang Mortlake's Lewy Taylor (36 disposals, 10 clearances, nine tackles), Warrnambool's Jackson Bell (22 disposals, 19 tackles, five score-assists) and Port Fairy's Matt Sully (31 disposals, three goals).

Portland playing-coach Lochie Huppatz, fresh from inking a new deal for 2025, was also dominant, recording a monster 46 disposals, 13 clearances and 20 tackles against North Warrnambool Eagles.