Chance Bateman

Hungry Hawks Over Sluggish Swans

janetl — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:36:01 -0500

Brook Kilpatrick reporting for AFANA from Australia

Hawthorn will meet Collingwood in a Preliminary Final after comfortably defeating Sydney by 36 points at the MCG on Friday night. The Hawks dominated the contest early and at one stage in the third quarter held a 46 point lead before the Swans fought back. In Adam Goodes’ 300th game the Sydneysiders worked their way back to trail by just 18 points late in the third quarter. However Hawthorn showed poise under pressure to wrest back the initiative and cruise home with a six goal victory.

All the talk leading up to the game surrounded Hawthorn star forward Buddy Franklin and whether he would play after jarring his knee against Geelong in the Qualifying Final. Not only did Buddy play, he appeared unhindered by the injury and ran out the game strongly with three final quarter goals. Sydney had injury concerns of its own, with up and coming midfielder Daniel Hannebery being pronounced fit to play after injuring his shoulder in the Swans' surprise win over St Kilda. Unfortunately for Sydney, Hannebery dislocated his shoulder again and was subbed off in the third quarter.

In the first quarter the Hawks jumped the Swans and completely dominated play. Max Bailey kicked the first goal after a Ben Reid miss for the Swans, and from then on the Hawks continually forged forward with little resistance from the out-of-sorts Sydney defense. Hawthorn’s poor finishing was the only thing keeping the Swans in the game. The wayward Hawks had kicked five points and only one goal before Michael Osborne managed a second goal after a Swans defensive mix-up. The star for Hawthorn was Isaac Smith who racked up 11 first quarter possessions after a ten touch first quarter last week against Geelong. After a Paul Puopolo goal, the Hawks went into the quarter time break with a 22 point lead and a whopping 43 more possessions than the hapless Swans.

It was much of the same as the second quarter got underway. Despite dominating the inside 50 entries, Hawthorn did not hit the scoreboard until Puopolo goaled again in the sixth minute. The Swans fought back with a goal to Shane Mumford, but classy Hawk midfielder Shaun Burgoyne replied to restore the comfortable buffer. After an uncharacteristically slow start, Adam Goodes imposed himself on the contest with a couple of second quarter goals but the Swans could not stop the Hawks from scoring. Puopolo kicked his third goal followed by some good work by Cyril Rioli. The icing on the cake was a sensational Luke Hodge goal from the boundary to extend the Hawks lead to a massive 40 points at the half time break.

When a Chance Bateman goal early in the third quarter extended the Hawks lead to 46 points, the game looked over as a contest. Hannebery was replaced by substitute Luke Parker who immediately had an influence on the Swans’ flagging fortunes. Goals to Matt Spangher and the retiring Tadgh Kennelly made the scoreboard look a little less lopsided before livewire Gary Rohan announced himself with a great mark and goal. X factor Josh Kennedy was seemingly everywhere for the Swans, and when the red-headed Rohan passed to Ryan O’Keefe for another goal, an amazing 20 minutes of play had completely turned the game on its head as the Swans trailed by just 18 points.

After dominating all but 20 minutes of the game, Hawks’ fans could be forgiven for being nervous at the change with a three goal lead but under the pump from a rejuvenated Swans outfit. They would have breathed a collective sigh of relief when Liam Shiels kicked the first goal of the final quarter to regain the momentum. 300-gamer Goodes replied for the Swans to keep the contest alive before Franklin put his stamp on the game with two close range goals to get the Hawks home. Franklin added another to extend the Hawthorn lead to a comfortable 36 points as the siren sounded. The final margin was a fair reflection of Hawthorn’s control of the game barring the 20 minute blitz from the Swans in the third quarter.

Josh Gibson controlled the Hawthorn defense brilliantly with 21 spoils (an AFL record) while the unheralded Hawthron ruck division broke even with the highly rated Mumford. For Sydney, it was a tough end for the retiring Kennelly and a bitter end to game 300 for Goodes. It was also the 12th loss in 14 contests at the MCG for the Swans, a trend coach John Longmire will be keen to reverse in 2012 and beyond.

The Hawks will face Premiership favorites Collingwood in the first Preliminary Final in what should be a ripping contest to decide who plays in the Grand Final against the winner of the Geelong versus West Coast battle.

Scoreboard
Hawthorn 3.5 10.5 12.6 19.8 (122)
Sydney   0.1  4.1  9.6 13.8 (86)

Best players
Hawthorn: Gibson, Hodge, Mitchell, Smith, Burgoyne, Hale, Franklin, Puopolo
Sydney:   Kennedy, Mumford, Goodes, McVeigh, Shaw

Hawks Demolish Demons

rickb — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 07:42:41 -0500

Rick Browner reporting for AFANA from the MCG, Melbourne

Hawthorn has had the edge on the Melbourne Demons over their last six matches and much was expected from them in this clash. Melbourne was coming off a draw against Sydney, while Hawthorn was winless after a discouraging finish against Adelaide in Round 1. Even so the match odds were heavily in favor of Hawthorn coming into the game.

Hawthorn started full of running and hit their targets with slick handball and precision kicking. Jarryd Roughead scored the first goal when he took a strong mark and played on into the 10 meter square. The play was on Hawthorn’s terms early but they were frustratingly inaccurate on goal and could not make an impact on the scoreboard. Melbourne, on the other hand, made the most of every opportunity when they went forward. Goals to Lynden Dunn, Aaron Davey and Jack Watts had the predominately Hawthorn crowd silent. Shaun Burgoyne scored late in the quarter for the Hawks to give them a one point lead at the end of the first quarter.

Melbourne got out of the blocks early starting the second quarter with multiple goal scorers. First Brad Green, then Liam Jurrah and finally big ruckman Mark Jamar goaled to round out the triple play. Hawthorn had stopped running and leading up to the ball while Melbourne seemed to have found extra leg speed and were at the drop of every ball. Green was gifted another goal on an assist from Jurrah who had marked in the goal square and hand passed over his head. Jack Trengove snapped from 40 yards out to score Melbourne’s fifth goal in a row. At this point the siren couldn’t sound quickly enough for the Hawthorn players who were being run ragged. Chance Bateman scored the Hawks’ first goal in more than 30 minutes to add some respectability to the scoreline, but when the half ended the Hawks were still trailing by 19 points.

Coach Alistair Clarkson must have given the Hawks a roasting during the major break. His team came out and played one of the most one-sided third quarters in recent AFL history. With the exception of Ricky Petterd’s goal at the Demons’ end, the entire game was played in Hawthorn’s forward half. An eight goal eleven to one goal one quarter blew the Demons out of the water. Lance (Buddy) Franklin came alive, covering the ground from one end to the other and kicking two fine goals. He was assisted by young Hawk Matt s**kling who contributed two majors of his own. Cameron Bruce (the ex-Melbourne veteran, traded this year to Hawthorn after a contract dispute), Rick Ladson, Cyril Rioli and Roughead added goals to the tally and the game was effectively over. A 19 point deficit had been turned around to a 33 point Hawthorn lead when the quarter ended.

The Hawks didn’t take their foot off the gas in the final quarter. Burgoyne was on fire and kicked three goals. One in particular was spectacular as he stopped the ball soccer style, gathered it, spun out of a pack and kicked truly for a goal. A couple of consolation goals by the stunned Demons made the scoreboard slightly more respectable but their decent first half performance was completely eclipsed by the stunning second half turned on by the Hawks.

Hawthorn looked back to their 2008 Premiership best and players like Rioli, Franklin and Burgoyne seem set to trouble other sides in 2011. The Demons looked fast and hungry in the first half but dropped badly off the pace and were completely outclassed when it counted. This game will have the club looking for answers and doing a lot of soul-searching in the week to come.

Scoreboard
Hawthorn  2.8 3.13 11.24 16.26 (122)
Melbourne 3.1 8.2  9.3   12.5  (77)

Best Players
Hawthorn C Rioli, L Franklin, S Burgoyne, M s**kling, S Mitchell
Melbourne N Jones, A Davey, C Sylvia, L Tapscott, J Grimes

Round 18 Tribunal

Lisa Albergo — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:58:25 -0500

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

TRIBUNAL
Charges Laid:

Cyril Rioli (HAW), striking Port Adelaide's Nick Salter: assessed as intentional conduct (three points), low impact (one point), and high contact (two points), equaling six activation points, a Level Three offense, 225 demerits, and a 2 game suspension. He accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to 168.75 demerits and a one game suspension, with 68.75 demerits held over toward his future record.

Cyril Rioli (HAW), attempting to strike Nick Salter: classified as an offense, drawing 80 demerits. He accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to 60 demerits and a reprimand.

AFL Note: Under the Tribunal guidelines whereby a player is charged with multiple offenses during one game, the points for each offense where the player either accepts or is found guilty are added together to form a total amount. For each amount of 100 points in the total penalty, there must be one match served as a result.

Hawthorn took Rioli's case to the Tribunal in an effort to have one of the charges dismissed. They were contesting the charge of attempting to strike as the incident occurred during the brawl which saw nine players, including Rioli, fined. Rioli accepted the fine as well as the charge of striking. Rioli later admitted that frustration led to his brain fade and said he would take responsibility for his actions but did not testify. His advocate argued that the first charge of striking, to which Rioli pleaded guilty, should be sufficient as the second swing did not connect. He further argued that it was wrong to single out one arm which did not connect as it occurred during the melee which involved other players and that there "... was not enough in it ..." to constitute a charge. He pleaded with the Tribunal, "Why charge with missing when there is the available charge of striking?" He also argued that by being punished for the one blow, the second charge of attempting to strike amounted to a case of "double jeopardy".

After the hearing, Hawthorn football director Mark Evans said it was the same logic that the club had used. He said it was worth the challenge as during the melee "... there were lots of arms being thrown around ... and only ... one report for an attempt to strike."

The AFL legal counsel countered by saying that Rioli's attempt to strike followed immediately after his punch which did connect with Salter. He further argued that the "... blow was delivered with intent, but not ... precision ...".

The panel agreed with the prosecution and upheld the charge and suspension. Had Rioli been successful, he would have served just a one game suspension for the striking charge. He will now miss the next two games.

Brent Renouf (HAW), fined $2800 for a second melee offense. He accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to $2100.

The following players from both Port Adelaide and Hawthorn were charged with a first melee offense and fined $1600. All accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to $1200:

HAWTHORN Cyril Rioli, Jarryd Roughead, Brad Sewell, Chance Bateman

PORT ADELAIDE: Dean Brogan, Paul Stewart, Robbie Gray, Nick Salter

Brendan Fevola (BRIS), fined $4000 for misconduct for putting Melbourne's Colin Garland in a headlock. He accepted, reducing the fine 25% to $3000.

This charge was laid under the misconduct provisions of the MRP Table of Offenses, which allows the Match Review Panel to impose a fine for a misconduct offense which is not classified under the Table. The MRP took into account an investigation of the incident, the medical report on Garland and footage of the incident to determine that a fine rather than a charge of misconduct was appropriate.

Eric Mackenzie (WCE), striking Fremantle's Michael Johnson: assessed as reckless conduct (two points), low impact (one point), and high contact (two points), equaling five activation points, a Level Two offense, 125 demerits, and a one game suspension. He accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to 93.75 demerits and a reprimand, with the demerits held over toward his future record.

After Mackenzie accepted, a clerical error was discovered regarding the spelling of his name and, as a result, the MRP overlooked a previous reprimand and 93.75 demerits for a rough conduct charge in Round 16. These demerits were added to the original penalty listed above, increasing the total to 218.75 demerits and a two game suspension. Mackenzie again accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to 164.06 demerits and a one game suspension.

Fined $1200 for wrestling each other: Fremantle's Adam McPhee and West Coast's Patrick McGinnity; Eagle Scott Selwood and Fremantle's Stephen Hill. All four players accepted, reducing the fine 25% to $900.

Sean Dempster (STK), fined $1200 for a first offense of negligent contact with an umpire. He accepted, reducing the fine 25% to $900.

Source: Patrick Keane, AFL Media Release; theage.com.au, sen.com.au

Round 11 Tribunal Results

Lisa Albergo — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:24:26 -0500

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

Charges Laid:

Lenny Hayes (STK), for striking Richmond's Jeromey Webberley: assessed as negligent conduct (one point), low impact (one point), and high contact (two points), equalling four activation points, a Level One offense, 80 demerits and a reprimand. He has a clean record and accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to 60 demerits, still a reprimand with the demerits held over toward his future record.

Corey Enright (GEEL), for rough conduct against Eagle Adam Selwood: assessed as negligent conduct (one point), low impact (one point), and high contact (two points), equalling four activation points, a Level One offense, 125 demerits, and a one game suspension. He has a five year clean record and accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to 93.75 demerits and a reprimand with the demerits held over toward his future record.

James Podsiadly (GEEL), for striking Eagle Will Schofield: assessed as negligent conduct (one point), low impact (one point), and high contact (two points), equalling four activation points, a Level One offense, and 80 demerits. He has no prior record and accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to 60 demerits, still a reprimand with the demerits held over toward his future record.

Brendan Fevola (BRIS), for striking Kangaroo Daniel Pratt: assessed as reckless conduct (two points), low impact (one point), and body contact (one point), equalling four activation points, a Level One offense, and 80 demerits. He has no prior record and accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to 60 demerits, still a reprimand with the demerits held over toward his future record.

Simon Black (BRIS), fined $2600 for a first offense of abusive, insulting, threatening or obscene language towards an umpire. He accepted, reducing the fine 25% to $1950.

Chance Bateman (HAW), for misconduct in that he kneed Port Adelaide's Daniel Stewart:assessed as reckless conduct (two points), low impact (one point), and body contact (one point), equalling four activation points, a Level One offense, 125 demerits, and a one game suspension. He has a record of four games suspended in the past three years, increasing the penalty 40% to 175 demerits. He also has 19.69 demerits carried over from the past year, further increasing the penalty to 194.69 demerits and a one game suspension. He accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to 146.02 demerits, still a one game suspension with 46.02 demerts held over toward his future record.

Jarrad Grant (WB), for striking Collingwood's Ben Reid: assessed as intentional conduct (three points), low impact (one point), and high contact (two points), equalling six activation points, a Level Three offense, 225 demerits, and a two game suspension.

Grant took his case to the Tribunal and, with the help of Reid's testimony. succeeded in having the high contact classification downgraded. Grant testified that his intention was to push Reid in the chest and that contact to Reid's collarbone ended up being contact to Reid's windpipe due to Reid slipping over. Reid corroborated Grant's defense, stating that Grant's contact to his throat was due to his knee buckling at the time of contact. The Tribunal panel accepted the testimony of both players, leaving Grant with 93.75 demerits which is a reprimand with the demerits held over toward his future record.

The match day report against Carlton’s Jarrad Waite for rough conduct against Melbourne’s Matthew Bate was assessed by the Match Review Panel. The MRP ruled that Waite, who was attempting to mark the ball, had eyes only for the ball with arms outstretched as Bate also came in to attempt an intercept. The panel further ruled that, under the circumstances, the contact made between the pair was inevitable and dismissed the report. .

The match day report against the Western Bulldogs’ Ben Hudson for rough conduct against Collingwood’s Luke Ball was assessed by the MRP. The panel ruled that Hudson, who had tackled Ball while in possession of the ball, lifted Ball during the tackle but did not cause Ball;s head to hit the ground. This was backed up by a medical report which stated that Ball did not suffer injury. They further ruled that the tackle waw not made with excessive force and dismissed the report.

Source: Patrick Keane, AFL Media Release

Round Seven Tribunal

Lisa Albergo — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:35:33 -0500

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

TRIBUNAL

Charges Laid:

Chance Bateman (HAW), rough conduct against West Coast's Brad Sheppard: assessed as reckless conduct (two points), medium impact (two points) and high contact (two points), equaling six activation points, a Level Three offense, 325 demerits, and a three game suspension. His record of a one game suspension within the past three years increases the penalty 10% to 357.50 demerits. He also has 68.75 demerits held over from the past year, further increasing the penalty to 426.25 demerits and a four game suspension. He accepted, reducing the penalty 25% to 319.50 demerits and a three game suspension with 19.50 demerits held over toward his future record.

Matthew Leuenberger (BRIS), fined $1200 for a first offense of negligent contact with an umpire. He accepted, reducing the fine 25% to $900.

Shane Mumford (SYD), rough conduct against Geelong's Gary Ablett: assessed as reckless conduct (two points), medium impact (two points) and high contact (two points), equaling a Level Three offense, 325 demerits, and a three game suspension. He has no prior record and had he accepted, the penalty would have bee reduced 25% to 243.75 demerits and a two game suspension.

Mumford took his case to the Tribunal in an attempt to have the charge dismissed. He failed on that count, but did manage to have the reckless classification downgraded to negligent. In his defense, he said the tackle laid on Ablett was an attempt to prevent Ablett from getting clear to pass the ball to a teammate. Mumford denied that he had slung Ablett to the ground during the tackle. However, the AFL prosecutor described Mumford's tackle as consisting of two actions - pinning Ablett's arms and then "...rolling and flinging him to the ground." He further stated that Mumford's second action was unnecessary and dangerous. The Tribunal panel agreed and upheld the medium impact classification as well as the primary charge. Due to the conduct charge being downgraded, Mumford is out for only two weeks instead of the full three which would have been the case had the panel not downgraded the classification. The club was considering an appeal but, as of May 12, that had not occurred and Mumford will miss the next two weeks.

Dean Polo (RICH), striking Adelaide's Richard Douglas: assessed as intentional conduct (three points), medium impact (two points) and body contact (one point), equaling six activation points, a Level Three offense, 225 demerits, and a two game suspension. His clean record over the past five years reduces the penalty 25% to 168.25 demerits and he accepted, reducing the penalty a further 25% to 126.56 demerits and a one game suspension with 26.56 demerits held over toward his future record.

Ed. Note: It seems this charge stemmed from a "cheap shot" Polo took during a stoppage, in which he approached Douglas, whose eyes were on the ball at the time, and struck him. Apparently this is not the first time Polo has been involved in a similar incident. According to SEN Radio (www.sen.com.au) talk show host Mark Fine and several fans who called into his program, Polo did the same thing in a match last season but the umpires did not see it and it was not caught on video tape.

The match day report against Geelong's James Kelly for rough conduct against Sydney's Kieran Jack was reviewed by the Match Review Panel. The MRP determined that Kelly, who came in to contest the ball in a pack situation, was unaware that a free kick had been awarded to Jack and that play had been halted due the free kick being awarded just prior to his arrival at the contest. The MRP determined that, due to Kelly not being aware, his actions were not unreasonable and dismissed the charge.

Source: Patrick Keane, AFL Media Release;heraldsun.com.au; sen.com.au (radio program)

Hawks Fly Into Eight

janetl — Mon, 18 May 2009 08:03:15 -0500

Janet Linn reporting for AFANA from Subiaco Oval, Perth

Hawthorn have returned to the Final Eight with a hard fought win against a valiant Fremantle Dockers team. Traveling interstate to Subiaco Oval for the Round 8 match against Fremantle, the Hawks came in with a defense seriously undermanned through injury. The Fremantle Dockers were coming off a morale-boosting three game winning streak and had the home advantage. Tipsters were divided in their predictions and Friday night football looked set to reward fans with an absolute beauty.

Chris Tarrant, the former Dockers forward reinvented this season as a backman, won the challenging role of guarding Hawks standout full forward Buddy Franklin. It was a tight start but the Hawks struck gold first, scoring quick goals from Chance Bateman and Stuart Dew. Matthew Pavlich was in good touch for the Dockers in the midfield and for the Hawks Jordan Lewis was in the thick of the action. Fremantle hit back to equalize through goals to Scott Thornton and Luke McPharlin. The standard of football was high with hard tackling a feature for both sides. After being well held by Tarrant, Franklin imposed his bulk late in the quarter to take a good mark and score his first goal. The Hawks took a six point lead into the quarter time break.

Goals were hard to come by in the early part of the second quarter but Fremantle hit the front after a strong Ryan Murphy mark and goal from the square. Cyril Rioli, in only his second year of AFL football, continues to dazzle fans and commentators alike. With his uncanny mixture of skill and magic, he controlled the ball beautifully along the boundary line and set up a Mark Williams goal. Franklin hit a purple patch and scored twice for the Hawks taking them to a 17 point lead and signaling danger for the Dockers. Again Rioli's work ethic set him apart from the crowd as he ran from one end to the other and scored a beautiful goal. The icing on the cake for the Hawks came from rookie Garry Moss who scooped the ball up after a stoppage, took a low snap on goal and put the visitors 30 points ahead at the major break.

It was a dream start to the third quarter for the Hawks when Fremantle defender Steven Dodd was caught holding the ball and Williams scored his second from the resultant free kick. Just when the Dockers looked gone, Michael Johnson took a terrific juggling mark in the square and converted on goal. Before the center bounce down could take place, Nick Suban was awarded a free kick in front of goal after a Hawthorn defender lost his cool and hit him illegally. Suban missed a very straightforward shot and a chance to bring Fremantle back into striking distance. The Fremantle shakiness in front of the big sticks was contagious with Johnson and McPharlin inexplicably missing sitters before McPharlin finally converted to narrow the gap to 22 points. The quarter had been dominated by Fremantle but Rioli popped up again to make something out of nothing and score a six pointer against the run of play. Fremantle scrambled forward and Murphy soccered a goal to repair the damage but every time the Dockers made up some ground, the Hawks found a way to get the answering score. When Michael Osborne kicked a goal from deep in the forward pocket on a very acute angle, it looked like goodnight for the Dockers but they refused to surrender. A late goal to Paul Duffield gave the Dockers some chance with a 22 point deficit going into the final quarter.

That the Dockers weren't done for was crystal clear in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter. They defended the Hawks attacks ferociously and when Docker captain Pavlich bombed a magnificent long goal it seemed that the momentum had swung their way. Pavlich's efforts were inspirational but goals were elusive for Fremantle with Byron Schammer, Dean Solomon and Brett Peake all missing golden opportunities. Although the Fremantle endeavor was unquestionable, the Hawks steadied and had the experience when it counted to seal the game through goals to Jarryd Roughead and Buddy Franklin. The Hawks set up their win with an outstanding second quarter performance and were able to put enough pressure - physical and mental - on the Dockers to keep them from scoring goals when they needed them.

Hawthorn's win has put them back into contention as they move into 7th position on the AFL Ladder, equal to Carlton on points but with an inferior percentage. Essendon (8th) and Sydney (9th) are equal on points but below the Hawks on percentage. Fremantle are wallowing in 14th place but the competition is so even that only percentage separates them from the West Coast Eagles (10th), Collingwood (11th), Adelaide (12th) and North Melbourne (13th).

Next week's Indigenous Round may see the AFL Ladder gridlock ease. Hawthorn meets the lowly but recently competitive Melbourne, Fremantle plays North Melbourne in Melbourne and the Eagles come up against Collingwood at Subiaco Oval.

Scoreboard
Hawthorn  3.2 8.4 11.6 13.9  (87)
Fremantle 2.2 3.2  7.8  9.11 (65)

Best players
Hawthorn  C Rioli, B McGlynn, B Sewell, S Mitchell, C Bateman, J Lewis
Fremantle M Pavlich, P Duffield, M Johnson, C Tarrant, B Schammer, A Sandilands