Bulldog Griffen Was Raging Favorite

G'day Footy Fans -

Tiger Cub Is New Rising Star
Tiger Brett Deledio is this year's winner. At just 18 years-of-age and in his first season with the club, Deledio played in all 22 matches this year. Mainly used across half-forward and in the midfield, Deledio also kicked 14 goals.

In total, Deledio gathered 336 possessions this season at an average of 15 possessions per game. In Round 21 against Hawthorn Deledio accumulated a season-high 26 possessions and kicked a goal to be best-on-ground.

Deledio’s pace and ability to deliver the ball cleanly by hand or foot, caught the eye of the voting committee, which awarded Deledio 43 from a possible 45 votes. And a spectacular pack mark in the goal square over several Melbourne opponents also earned him the Round 10 nomination for Mark of the Year.

Deledio was presented with the medal by 2004 winner Jared Rivers. The award also comes with a personal investment portfolio and the services of a private banking manager from the National Australia Bank, which sponsors the award.

Deledio was the number 1 selection at the 2004 Draft. He was recruited to Richmond from the Murray Bushrangers after having earlier played with the Kyabram Junior Football Club.
Deledio was named an All-Australian after the 2004 Under-18 Championships. In 2003, he shared the Kevin Sheehan Medal as the best player in division one at the Under-16 Championships.

The voting committee is: Andrew Demetriou, Adrian Anderson, Rod Austin, Kevin Bartlett, Gerard Healy, Neil Kerley, Chris Mainwaring, Robert Walls, and AFL National Talent Manager, Kevin Sheehan.

The voting: Brett Deledio (RICH) - 43; Ryan Griffen (WB) - 34; David Mundy (FRE) - 19;
Brock McLean )MELB) - 15; Jed Adcock (BRIS) - 14; Jordan Lewis (HAW) - 3; Justin Sherman (BRIS) - 2; Adam Selwood (WCE) -2; Lance Franklin (HAW) - 1; Kepler Bradley (ESS) - 1; Will Minson (WB) - 1

How the judges voted
Andrew Demetriou: Deledio 5; Griffen 4; Mundy 3; McLean 2; Selwood 1

Adrian Anderson: Griffen 5; Deledio 4; McLean 3; Mundy 2; Franklin 1

Rod Austin: Deledio 5; Griffen 4; Adcock 3 McLean 2; Mundy 1

Kevin Bartlett: Deledio 5; Adcock 4; McLean 3; Lewis 2; Mundy 1

Healy: Deledio 5; Griffen 4; Mundy 3; Sherman 2; Minson 1

Neil Kerley: Griffen 5; Deledio 4; Mundy 3; Adcock 2; McLean 1

Chris Mainwaring: Deledio 5; Griffen 4; Mundy 3; Mclean 2; Selwood 1

Kevin Sheehan: Deledio 5; Griffen 4; Adcock 3; McLean 2; Bradley 1

Robert Walls: Deledio 5; Griffen 4; Mundy 3; Adcock 2; Lewis 1

Grand Final Teams Set
The game callers and presenters have been announced for the big game. Channel Ten, which will be airing the game, announced that Stephen Quartermain and Tim Lane will call GF with Stephen Silvagni and join Robert Walls doing special comments. Anthony Hudson, who called the game last year, will host the telecast with Malcolm Blight as studio analysts.

For the post-game festivities, former Geelong coach Bob Davis will present the Jock McHale Medal to the premiership coach, former Hawk and 1983 grand final best on ground Colin Robertson will present the Norm Smith Medal, while former Saint goalkicker Bill Young will present the Coleman Medal to St. Kilda's Fraser Gehrig.
The premiership medals will be presented by a former champion of the winning team, with the league to decided on the 2 potential candidates to be named in the week leading up to the game.

Davis, who guided the Cats to their last premiership in 1963, said he was honored to be asked and hoped his beloved Cats were in the mix. Davis currently co-hosts a footy chat show called Grumpy Old Men on Fox Footy with Kevin Bartlett and Doug Hawkins.

TRIBUNAL

Charges:

Chad Cornes (PA), abusive language toward field umpire Michael Vozzo. It his first offence for a $1200 fine, which was reduced to $900 as he accepted an early plea.

Mark Ricciuto (ADE), rough conduct against Eagle Adam Selwood: negligent conduct (1), high impact (3), in play (1), and high contact (2), equaling 7 points, a Level Three offence, 325 demerits, and a 3 game suspension. He has an applicable good record, reducing the penalty by 25% to 243.75 points and a 2 game suspension. Ricciuto accepted the early plea to reduce the penalty a further 25% to 182.81 demerits and a 1 game suspension, ruling him out of this week's final against the Saints.
The match review panel pointed out in its findings that it took Selwood's condition and a medical report into account when assessing the extent of the impact but it still chose to rate the impact as high rather than severe while it also chose to only describe Ricciuto's conduct as negligent rather than reckless.
Had the panel chosen reckless conduct and severe impact, Ricciuto would have been issued a five-match suspension, which would have been reduced to three due to his good record and by pleading guilty but that would have still left him unavailable for nearly the entire finals series.
Ricciuto was the first Adelaide player to be suspended this year — Brett Burton accepted a reprimand for rough conduct in round 13, while Scott Welsh was fined $900 for wrestling in round 14 — and it was only the second time Ricciuto has been suspended in his 13 year career. His last suspension came in 1995 for striking Eagle Peter Matera in a preseason match. The only other report in Ricciuto's career came in 1994, when he was cleared of striking Essendon's David Calthorpe.

The match day report laid against Hawthorn's Luke Hodge for engaging in rough conduct against Sydney's Brett Kirk was reviewed. The panel said Hodge did not make contact to Kirk's head at any time. The impact of the bump was to the chest and shoulder area and no further action was required.

MILESTONES
250 games umpired; Scott McLaren
150 games: Nathan Bassett (ADE)
100 games: Craig Bolton (SYD)
100 club games: Scott Welsh (ADE), Kent Kingsley (GEEL), Brett Voss (STK)

TEAM NEWS

KANGAROOS
The club has signed Sav Rocca for one more season.
Rocca led the Kangaroos' goalkicking in 2001, 2002 and 2004, and is trailing Thompson this season with 41 majors.
He has suffered from Achilles tendonitis over the past few seasons, but has successfully managed the condition.

And the Roos were almost without Sav for this week's game due to the imminent arrival of his second child. Wife Rose went into labor early Sunday morning and Sav stayed by her side until just one hour before the game. According to brother Anthony, Rose - who went into labor in the wee hours - practically kicked Sav out of the hospital to go play. Anthony and Sav were met at the hospital by police who gave them an escort to the game.
To further complicate matters, one of the Kangaroo' emergencies Hamish McIntosh – the obvious replacement for Rocca – took ill during Saturday's VFL match and was unavailable for late selection. This left Corey McKernan as the only other option, but McKernan was concussed in the VFL last week and required further medical testing to assess his availability for a possible inclusion
Shortly after the start of the game – and with Rocca starting on the bench – news came through that Rose had given birth to a boy, with Uncle Anthony delivering the news to his big brother.

ST KILDA
Regained Fraser Gehrig (groin) and Sam Fisher (foot) this week.

Max Hudghton and Xavier Clarke — both hamstring victims — were not risked, while Justin Koschitzke remains at least another week away with a quadriceps strain. Brendon Goddard (calf strain) also missed this week.

ADELAIDE
Former Crow coach and SA icon Graham Cornes took a swipe at the AFL last week, saying the competition still smacks of a pro-Victorian bias.
Cornes, who coached Adelaide from 1991-94 and whose sons, Chad and Kane, play for Port Adelaide, attacked the Round 22 schedule, which allowed all 10 Victorian-based teams to stay at home. while Fremantle, Adelaide, Sydney, and Brisbane all had to travel interstate.
However, AFL media manager Patrick Keane defended the schedule, saying two of the four WA and SA teams were forced to travel because those clubs had requested no cross town rivalry match Round 22.
Docker CEO Cameron Schwab said Fremantle was not interested in a Round 22 WA derby after the 2003 debacle, when they played the Eagles, then had only 6 days to prepare for their first final after such a tough game.

And the Crows were very confident side going into this week's finals match as statistics show they have the meanest defence in the 25 years of a 22 Round season.
The Crows conceded an average of only 68.95 points per match this season, which is better than the previous best of 71.45 recorded by West Coast in 1994. In 1968, eventual premiers Carlton restricted its opponents to an average of 66.14 points per match.
Adelaide's record does not match Footscray's post-war effort of an average 53.27 points in 1953 when there were only 18 rounds.
In 15 of Adelaide's 22 matches this season it restricted the opposition to not more than 10 goals.
Adelaide's defence coach Paul Hamilton, a former Essendon defender and assistant coach at the Kangaroos for four years, said Adelaide was aware before Saturday's game that if it kept the Eagles to within 80 points it would achieve the record.
Hamilton also credited players further up the field for their defensive efforts in pressuring the opposition when they had possession, which went a long way to assisting the back six.
However, the Saints are no slouches up forward, and while Coach Grant Thomas was well aware of Adelaide's stingy defence, he said his forwards could match them as the Saints have been held to 10 goals just 3 times this season, including the 46 point loss to the Crows in Round 9.

Brett Burton and Martin Mattner returned from injury this week.

Injury Update:
Matthew Bode & James Begley, shoulder, season
Ben Hudson, knee, season

PORT ADELAIDE
Scans last week confirmed the worst for Matthew Primus, who has again undergone a right knee reconstruction, ruling him out of most, if not all, of the 2006 season. It could spell the end of his career as he will be 31 next year, but the club is taking a wait and see stance.
Warren Tredrea, who captained the club in Primus' previous absence - also due to a knee recon - will again skipper the side for the finals.
Regained Peter Burgoyne (knee) and Michael Pettigrew (shin), who were late withdrawals last week.

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Veteran Chris Grant has decided to play on for another season. He said the driving reason was the promise the younger players had shown this year as they nearly snatched a finals spot for the first time since 1997.
Grant and the rest of the players had gathered last weekend to watch the Demons play Essendon, needing the Bombers to win to give the Dogs a finals berth.
Grant, who has been struck by several serious injuries this year including a broken jaw and a damaged knee, said he had been waiting to end his career with a "game or so where I could say, yeah, I can hang my hat on that". He now believes next season could provide that opportunity. Grant said his body, despite the injuries he has sustained this season, was in reasonable shape to face up to another year.

GEELONG
Paul Chapman missed this week with the recurrence of a hamstring injury, but the side regained Josh Hunt who missed the past 2 weeks due to an appendectomy.

MELBOURNE
Regained Cameron Bruce and Brad Miller from injury

CARLTON
Has suffered another injury blow - to president Ian Collins. Collins suffered a broken leg and injured his knee from a fall at his daughter's house last weekend. He was helping to paint the house when he fell from a tressle.

Adrian Deluca (finger), Brendon Fevola (fingers), Barnaby French (elbow), Nick Stevens (thumb), and Bret Thornton (ankle) all had, or will have, post season surgery but all will be fit and ready for the first preseason sessions in early November.

WEST COAST
The secret to the Eagles' home ground advantage this year has been revealed. It is a computerized "whiteboard" in the coach's box. The program gives a constantly updated tally and record of how many possessions both players in a match-up have gathered for that quarter, over the course of a game, and most importantly, on each other. And when a player's opponent gains a specific advantage in possessions (say four or five), that opponent's name will light up (similar to television's "red alert") allowing the coaching panel to identify damaging opposition players more quickly and accurately than by mere intuition.
The program is the brainchild of Ken Godwin, the Eagles' co-ordinator of video and statistics.
At the end of each quarter, Coach Worsfold and his coaching assistants, using the computer system provided by statistical provider Prowess Sports, can get printouts of each player, and catalog their time spent and performance upon every opponent.

Richmond and Carlton are also using the new system, but Tiger Coach Terry Wallace still believes in the "gut feeling" at times. Said Wallace: "You know when people are hurting you and when they aren't...but if someone has had a dozen changes of opponents during a game, I defy anyone to be able to keep up with that. You just can't keep up with whether they've won or lost every one of those duels".

Ben Cousins has won The Melbourne Age Footballer of the Year award. Cousins, a favorite for the Brownlow, led the award from Round 7 and is expected to win a host of other awards.
Cousins received 107 votes from Age reporters throughout the year to finish ahead of fellow Brownlow favorites Bulldog Scott West (101) and Hawthorn's Luke Hodge (87). Cousins wins a holiday for two on the Sunshine Coast, staying at the Emerald luxury apartments at Noosa.

Scans cleared midfielder Adam Selwood of a fractured jaw, suffered in a collision with Crow Mark Ricciuto, with the latter being reported over the incident. However, Selwood was still ruled out of this week's game due to concussion.

SYDNEY
Club CEO Myles Baron-Hay announced last week that Citigroup Australia have increased their commitment to the Swans and would be sponsoring the back of jumper starting with this year's finals series. Citigroup will replace QBE Insurance on the back of Sydney's guernseys.
Citigroup signed on as a Premier Partner at the start of 2005 and this new deal is for 3 years.
QBE still remains a major sponsor, with its logo to still be seen on the front of the playing guernseys.

The club decided to set up camp in Perth a day earlier than usual, to allow plenty of time to acclimatize to the weather and the larger Subiaco ground.
The Swans have usually traveled to Perth on the Wednesday evening for Friday night games. However Coach Paul Roos said the early departure for Perth was an attempt to change the routine and rectify the club's appalling Subiaco record of just four wins in 17 matches against West Coast and Fremantle. Sydney's last win at Subiaco was against the Eagles in 2001 and it lost to West Coast by 45 points in round six this year.

HAWTHORN
Outgoing prez Ian Dicker is planning one more big splash in an effort to help the club avoid a half million dollar loss this year. He has already begun sending out invitations for a lavish $200 dollar per person dinner and auction to be held a week after the club's own awards dinner.
Among the 20 or so items to be auctioned are a including a New York-to-London voyage in the Queen Mary, a motorcycle, a week of surfing off the coast of Indonesia on a luxury boat,
a private performance by Kate Ceberano, a week fishing trip off the northern coast of Australia, a private performance by two leading opera singers, and painting by a leading artist

While neither Dicker nor the club has revealed the extent of his generosity, he has over the years donated money from his own pocket to bail the club out of financial trouble. It has even been speculated that he personally paid football manager David Parkin's wage over two years and offered to pay out sacked coach Peter Schwab.
This year, the club's finances have also been hurt by massive transfer fees. Having fielded 11 first year players, the fees have totaled $460,000, an added $240,000 on last year.
The Hawthorn Social Club result is $150,000 down on last year, the club has increased its football costs and membership has dropped.
Robson said that the club, while delighted with the performances and promise of their younger players, had lobbied the AFL to look at a more balanced formula regarding transfer fees.
The senior selection of Simon Taylor, for example, cost the club $16,800, with a further $16,800 being forwarded to Football Victoria after Taylor achieved 10 senior games. Robson said the club recently had pushed the AFL to look at balancing the transfer payments from season to season.

RICHMOND
The Tigers are not planning any major culling of its playing list like they did last year, with Shane Morrison the only casualty so far, apart from the retirements of Wayne Campbell and Mark Graham.
Ruckman Greg Stafford, 31 is set to play on. He missed 7 games this year due to injury and suspension, but the Tigers are mindful of retaining some depth of talls, recognizing that, aside from Trent Knobel, they have limited ruck options, with only Stafford and Troy Simmonds capable of holding down the ruck position. Ray Hall and Adam Pattison are viewed largely as key position prospects rather than ruckmen.
The Tigers also are compelled to make fewer changes to the list because of the large influx of youngsters in the 2004 national draft, in which they drafted eight teenagers. All those players are guaranteed spots on the list for at least two seasons. The only other players acquired last year were Simmonds, who was traded in from Fremantle, Graham and Knobel, the latter picked up in the preseason draft.

GENERAL SILLINESS
It's not very often that players laugh when their receivers drop or have trouble catching a punt. But NY Jet receivers have all been having a chuckle over Ben Graham's kicking as the spin he puts on the ball makes it hard to judge and catch.
And they are betting that this will come handy when the season starts as opposition receivers will have trouble with the Graham's kicks as well.
Another new player to the Jets is place kicker Mike Nugent, for whom Graham will be holding the ball for field goals and extra points. Nugent said it was nice to have someone like Graham whom he could "mould" to his specifications.
The coaches are considering using Graham, because of his athleticism, for fake kicks or gimmicks. Coach Herman Edwards said could be used as a "Hail Mary" receiver.
And Graham said he's also looking forward to mixing it up physically against opponents.

On to the scores

THE TEAJMS
WCE
B: Wirrpunda Glass Hunter
HB: Stenglein Staker Banfield
C: Embley Cousins Braun
HB: Chick Gardiner Kerr
F: Matera Lynch Seaby
Foll: Cox Judd Fletcher
Int: Hansen B Jones Nicoski Sampi Em: Butler Green R Jones
In: B Jones
Out: Selwood (concussion)

SYD
B: Crouch Barry C Bolton
HB: Mathews Roberts-Thomson Kennelly
C: Goodes Ablett Dempster
HB: O'Keefe Hall J Bolton
F: Davis O'Loughlin Buchanan
Foll: Jolly Kirk Williams
Int: Ball Fosdike Schneider Vogels
Em: Bevan McVeigh Powell

WCE 4.1 5.4 5.7 10.9 (69)
SYD 3.1 5.2 8.3 10.5 (65)
GOALS: WCE - Gardiner 2, Hunter 2, Sampi 2, Hansen, Kerr, Seaby, Stenglein;
SYD - Davis 3, O'Loughlin 3, Hall 2, O'Keefe, Schneider
BEST: WCE - Judd, Cousins, Fletcher, Kerr, Wirrpunda, Hunter; SYD - Kirk, Davis, Kennelly, C. Bolton, O'Loughlin, Crouch

INJURY: WCE - Matera (groin); SYD - Williams (ankle)

UMPIRES: McLaren, Woodcock, McInerney

ATTENDANCE: 43,302 at Subiaco

Both sides were fired up from the outset, but it was the Eagles who had most of the run early with Kerr and Judd dominating and the Swans being troubled by the pace of the Eagle midfield. It was Kerr followed by Gardiner for the opening goals, but the Swans lifted to work their way back into the game with 2 quick goals to O'Loughlin, the first from a lucky bounce 15 meters out and the second from 50 after a high chest mark over Chick. Seaby pulled one back for the Eagles before Hall, well held by Glass the entire game, leveled the scores late in the term. Hansen goaled late to give the Eagles 6 point lead at 1/4 time.
For all their dominance in the middle, the Eagles could not gain a scoreboard advantage, with crucial misses early in the 2nd term, but it was enough to have them 9 points in front before Davis finally broke clear to put the Swans within 3 points. O'Keefe put the Swans 3 points in front midway through the term. The battle in the middle was ferocious as the Swans began to match up better on the Eagles. Cousins earned free and got the ball to Gardiner who had pushed forward, but his kick was marked by Barry and the Swans cleared the ball. Young Vogels had a chance give Sydney the lead, but was tight on the boundary 35 meters out and could manage just a point before Sampi goaled to give the Eagles a 2 point 1/2 time lead.
With Matera off injured and Lynch being contained by Barry, the Eagles could not find an avenue to goal in the 3rd term. Wirrpunda found time to have a dash up the ground but his 100 meter run ended in a behind before Davis goaled to give Sydney a 3 point lead. But O'Loughlin shanked a kick from 15 meters straight in front. Then it was Embley's to turn to try and fail as his shot hit the post. Davis stepped up again, giving Sydney a 9 point lead, the biggest lead of the game. Hall marked and goaled from 50, extending Sydney's lead to 15 points and a boilover upset seemed imminent as Cousins missed to leave Sydney 14 points clear at 3/4 time.
With Matera off, Lynch ineffective, and Gardiner now carrying an injury, Kerr and Braun were moved forward in an effort to give the Eagles some badly needed options as Sampi again missed after marking 40 meters out. Kennelly, like Wirrpunda, had a run from defence but also managed just a point. Goodes faired no better as he too missed a gettable shot, before the Eagles missed. A badly executed kick-out from Roberts-Thomson was marked by Hunter 50 meters out and his goal narrowed the gap to 8 points midway through the term. Minutes later, Barry was penalized for an illegal shepherd on Stenglein when the umpire failed to notice that Stenglein had moved off his mark. Stenglein goaled to cut the Swan lead to 2 points. It was one of three goals handed to the Eagles from frees. Hunter was again in the thick of the action, taking a spectacular grab over Dempster 50 meters out. His goal gave the Eagles the lead. The umpires again missed a blatant infringement when Wirrpunda grabbed Goodes' leg 30 meters out from Sydney's goals. Had it been paid the Swans would have regained the lead with just minutes remaining. Instead, the Eagles took possession, raced to the other end, and found Sampi who dribbled through another goal. Schneider goaled to put the Swans within 4 points but from there the Eagles defended with Cox taking 2 game saving marks across halfback.
For the Eagles, Cox was awesome in the ruck with 32 hitouts and also had 11 possessions and 4 marks around the ground. Judd (30), Cousins (29/6), Fletcher (26/5), and Kerr (23) ran rampant in the midfield while Wirrpunda (20) mopped up across halfback.
For the Swans, Jolly (22 hitouts) and Ball (18 hitouts, 12 possessions) worked hard in the ruck, while Kirk (24), Goodes (20), led the Sydney midfield. Kennelly (21/6) was excellent rebounding from defence, while Craig Bolton (17/5) kept Sampi quiet with assistance from Crouch (16) who also worked to quell Matera. O'Loughlin (8 kicks) didn't see much of the ball opposed to Chick, made it count when he did get it, as did Davis despite close attention from Banfield.

The next day, umpire director Jeff Gieschen admitted that field umpire Shane McInerney erred in penalizing Swan Leo Barry and awarding the free kick to Eagle Tyson Stenglein. After reviewing video footage, Gieschen said it was Stenglein who initiated the contact. In a radio interview, Gieschen said McInerney should have reset the mark rather than award a free kick, and that his chance of umpiring another finals game this year would depend on how his fellow umpires performed on the weekend.
In the interview, Gieschen explained, "The umpire processed it wrong - Stenglein was entitled to stand the mark, which he was, and Leo Barry's entitled to run past, to run down field to receive the ball or to make some space. Unfortunately the umpire just had his eyes focused on Leo Barry the whole time, thinking, what's he doing there, why is he going to that area, is he going to try and block ... and unfortunately he didn't see Stenglein move off his line and initiate the contact. The umpire should have just simply re-set the mark and said, hey, keep out of that area. You stay on your mark and let the play go from there."

GEEL
B: Hunt Scarlett Harley
HB: Rooke Mooney Milburn
C: Riccardi Bartel Mackie
HF: G Ablett Playfair S Johnson
F: Kingsley N Ablett Kelly
Foll: King Corey Ling
Int: Gardiner Egan Sanderson Tenace
Em: D Johnson Byrnes Chambers
In: Hunt Gardiner
Out: Chapman (hamstring) Chambers

MELB
B: Ferguson Nicholson Whelan
HB: Wheatley Carroll Brown
C: Green Moloney Yze
HF: Motlop Miller Robertson
F: Holland Neitz Davey
Foll: White Rigoni Johnstone
Int: Bruce McDonald Godfrey McLean
Em: Jamar Armstrong Heffernan
In: Miller Bruce
Out: Bell (ankle) Armstrong

GEEL 5.4 12.5 16.8 18.8 (116)
MELB 2.3 6.4 6.6 9.7 (61)
GOALS: GEEL - Kelly 3, G. Ablett 3, Mooney 2, Ling 2, Playfair 2, Mackie 2, Tenace, Johnson, Kingsley, N. Ablett; MELB - Robertson 4, Wheatley 2, Holland, Davey, Yze
BEST: GEEL - G. Ablett, Mooney, Ling, Rooke, Bartel, Milburn; MELB - Robertson, Davey, Ferguson, Carroll, Brown

INJURIES – Geelong: Milburn (cut head)
Melbourne: White (facial fractures), Rigoni (concussion), Johnstone (ankle), Wheatley (adductor), McDonald (calf), McLean (concussion)

CHANGES – Geelong: none
Melbourne: Neitz (knee) out, replaced in selected side by Heffernan

REPORTS - S. Johnson (Geelong) reported by umpire Goldspink in the first term for engaging in rough play against Holland (Melbourne)

UMPRIES: Schmitt, Wenn, Goldspink

ATTENDANCE: 65,018 at the MCG

When Kelly booted the first goal within two minutes of the first bounce, the Cats signaled their intentions. And it wasn't only in front of goal. King had the better of White in the ruck and the midfield feasted on his work, especially Mooney, who seemed to be everywhere, in everything, and was a constant menace. And it showed as one of the early touches from the Demons came as a result of an errant Mooney elbow. But the Demons could not seize the opportunity with Bartel dropping back to mark and clear for the Cats. But then the Cats failed to convert several chances. Robertson, again the main focus up forward in the absence of Neitz, then missed a chance to steal an early lead for Melbourne. Ling goaled as the Cats made several telling changes. Mooney, who had started in defence, swapped places with Kelly. The midfield battle continued to rage with neither side giving quarter and applying plenty of pressure. Robertson goaled from 25 meters to make it a tight contest midway through the term. Miller was shifted to the middle as the Dees needed a spark. Instead it was Mooney for the Cats who was on fire as he and Brown contested the ball close to the line. Brown spoiled, sending the ball over the line. But it was Mooney who had the last laugh as he took the ball from the throw in and goaled, then spelled King in the ruck. He won the hitout, and the Cats got the ball to Ablett who goaled as the Cats threatened to run away with the game. The Dees finally got the ball into attack from the next bounce and a soft free against Scarlett for a nudge on Robertson resulted in a goal, keeping the Dees in touch. But Kingsley nailed his first for the game to give the Cats a 19 point lead at 1/4 time.
Tenace and Davey traded goals to start the 2nd term. Robertson bobbed up for one more for Melbourne but then it was pretty much one-way traffic as Ablett, Playfair, Ling, Kingsley, and Mooney banged through goals in a matter of minutes to blow the Demons away. Miller was shifted back to defence to stem the tide as Robertson and Holland kicked consecutive goals for Melbourne. But Mackie ensured the Cat lead remained healthy. Even Scarlett, who has kicked just one goal this year, took time off from defence for a run, but his shot hit the post and the Cats went to 1/2 time with a 37 point lead.
By the start of the 3rd term, McLean was already off nursing what appeared to be concussion, and the rain which had threatened earlier, became a reality. Yze, ineffective against Milburn became loose man in defence as the Demons tried desperately to stop the Cat surge. Holland was also moved from the forward line to mind Kingsley. But the moves robbed the Dees of much needed firepower. Matters worsened when Johnstone, a prime mover through the Demon midfield all season, hobbled off with an ankle injury and didn't return. While the Demon interchange was reduced to a bare minimum, the Cats were able to constantly rotate players off of theirs to keep the legs fresh. Still the Demons kept battling on as did the Cats, with the first goal finally coming midway through the term with a fine running shot from Kelly. The Demons were left with no interchange within the next 5 minutes when Rigoni staggered off concussed and disoriented from a fair but hard bump from Johnson, then a ground scramble for the ball resulted in White copping an accidental kick to the head from King. Holland was now forced into the ruck, robbing both the defence and forward lines. The Cats ravaged the depleted Dees with 3 more goals while to just 2 behinds for the term for a massive 62 point lead at 3/4 time.
The final term was a mere formality which the Demons managed to win 3 goals to 2.

White was taken to hospital immediately where he underwent surgery to repair the damage from King's size 13 boots.
Even with his face containing five metal plates and 14 screws, White was up and about the next day and in relatively good spirits.
As a result of being kicked in the face by Geelong ruckman Steven King, White received what is known as a Le Fort fracture, an injury characterised by the detachment of the upper jaw from the remainder of the maxillofacial skeleton.
In White's case, his upper jaw is broken in three places and he also has a broken nose. Incredibly, the blow from King's lower leg only loosened a couple of teeth, thanks to his mouthguard.
According to a sports physician, professor Peter Brukner, White's injury was very common in road accident victims before seatbelts were compulsory.
In collisions, occupants of cars would be thrown forward and hit their faces on either the dashboard or the steering wheel or steering column.
Brukner said he couldn't remember a facial injury this bad. He reckons it is worse than the one suffered by James Hird 3 years ago against Fremantle.
Despite the damage to White's face, Brukner said the injury was one that had very good recovery results and White should be fully recovered within two to three months.
Melbourne's general manager of football operations, Chris Fagan, visited White in hospital several times over the weekend and was amazed at how chipper White was and said White was philosophical about the incident.
Fagan said he was sitting on the bench when it happened and heard what he described as "...a massive crack". He knew straightaway that White in serious strife.
There won't be any long-term effects and White, currently restricted to soft foods, will be recovered in time for his October wedding.
A Geelong spokesman was uncertain whether King had tried to contact White the next day, but said King had been very concerned for White after the game and had asked about his condition with Melbourne officials.

ADE
B: Bassett Rutten Johncock
HB: Hart Bock Doughty
C: Burton McLeod Mattner
HF: Reilly McGregor Thompson
F: Edwards Welsh Perrie
Foll: Biglands Shirley Goodwin
Int: Clarke Van Berlo Skipworth Hentschel
Em: Massie Maric Jericho
In: Burton Mattner
Out: Ricciuto (suspended) Massie

StK
B: S Fisher Voss Baker
HB: Jones Maguire Peckett
C: Dal Santo Ball Montagna
HF: Hamill Riewoldt Powell
F: Milne Gehrig Hayes
Foll: Ackland Harvey Thompson
Int: Blake R Clarke Ferguson Guerra
Em: Gwilt Gram Fiora
In: Gehrig S Fisher Maguire Guerra
Out: Goddard (calf) Gwilt Gram Fiora

STK 1.0 6.3 9.3 10.5 (65)
ADE 3.3 3.5 5.7 8.9 (57)
GOALS: StK - Harvey 3, Riewoldt 2, Gwilt 2, Ball, Milne, Blake; ADE - McGregor 4, Shirley, Goodwin, Welsh, Johncock
BEST: StK - Harvey, Dal Santo, Hayes, Jones, Fisher, Ball; ADE - Rutten, Bassett, Goodwin, McGregor, Edwards, McLeod

CHANGES: ADE - Bock (ill) replaced in selected side by Massie

UMPIRES: Vozzo, McBurney, Ryan

CROWD: 48,768 at AAMI Stadium

Harvey kicked the first goal of the game for St Kilda just a minute after the start, but the Crows settled quickly and McGregor toweled up young defender Ferguson with a 3 goal burst in 10 minutes. The Crows continued the attacking barrage, but the Saint defence forced 3 behinds, leaving Adelaide 15 points ahead at 1/4 time.
The margin should have been bigger with the Crows going inside their attacking 50 15 times to St. Kilda's 7.
Just as the Crows had more of the play in the first term, the Saints had the better of the second term, while the Crows lapsed into skill errors, turnovers, and poor decision making. Skipworth missed an easy shot which would have pushed the lead out to 21 points, but missed and the Saints seized control with Thompson (12 possessions), Dal Santo (11), Harvey and Peckett (10 each), Raphael Clarke (eight) and Hayes, Jones and Montagna (seven each) getting plenty of the ball. Riewoldt got the and last goals of the term, with Ball, Milne, and Harvey each adding one in between to give the Saints a 16 point lead at 1/2 time.
McGregor opened the 3rd term with a goal for the Crows, but 2nd gamer Gwilt, went on his own goal splurge for the Saints, booting 2 in 3 minutes to give the Saints a 21 point lead.
Shirley pegged a goal back for the Crows but Blake replied for the Saints, courtesy of a 50-metre penalty against Hart, giving the Saints a 20 point lead at 3/4 time.
Adelaide fired early in the final term to take over as they won the center clearances and slammed on 3 goals through Goodwin, Welsh, and Johncock. Two behinds in the same period leveled the scores midway through the term. Eight minutes later Harvey, a self-confessed poor shot for goal, sank one for the Saints from a set shot deep in the right forward pocket, and Gwilt added a point, which should have been a goal, to leave the Crows just 7 points down with about 6 minutes left. Riewoldt kicked the last score of the match - another behind to virtually seal the win with just minutes remaining.
For the Saints, Harvey (31/11 and 6 tackles) led the rampant midfield of , Montagna (17/5), Ball (19), Dal Santo (31), and Thompson (20/6). Hayes (25, 11 tackles) was crucial in opening space from a forward pocket as Riewoldt's influence was curbed by Hentschel, Milne was kept in check by Johncock and Hamill was shut down by Bassett (17/6), and Gehrig was held scoreless by the double team of Johncock and Rutten. Young Gwilt came off the bench and had 18 touches and 4 marks. In defence, Voss (15/6) kept Welsh under wraps, while Peckett (19/8) mopped up across halfback, and Jones (25/10) provided plenty of drive from defence.
For Adelaide, Biglands (21 hitouts) and Clarke (22) had the better of the ruck duels against Ackland and Blake while Edwards (25), Goodwin (29), and Burton (19) worked hard in the midfield. Up forward, McGregor (12/8) and Perrie (17/10) were the prime targets, while McLeod (21) starred across halfback.

KANG
B: Makepeace, Colbert, Firrito
HB: Brown, Watt, Archer,
C: Rawlings, Simpson, Sinclair
HF: Wells, Thompson, Hale
F: Co Jones, Rocca, Grant
Foll: Petrie, Harris, B Harvey
Int: (from) McIntosh, Pratt, Urch, Picioane, Harding, Stevens, Sansbury
In: Sinclair, McIntosh, Sansbury

PA
B: Wilson, Wakelin, Bishop
HB: Montgomery, C Cornes, S Burgoyne
C: Cassisi, K Cornes, Dew
HF: Mahoney, Tredrea, Pickett (15)
F: Pearce, Brogan, Wanganeen
Foll: Lade, P. Burgoyne, Francou
Int: (from) Chaplin, Kingsley, Pettigrew, Salopek, Thurstans, Walsh, White
In: P. Burgoyne, Pettigrew, Thurstans, White
Out: Primus (knee), Wilson

PA 6.1 12.3 20.6 26.8 (164)
KANG 6.6 7.7 10.9 11.11 (77)
GOALS: PA - Tredrea 4, Lade 4, Mahoney 4, Pettigrew 3, Brogan 2, Kingsley 2, Dew, Montgomery, Bishop, Pearce, Wanganeen, C. Cornes, Salopek; KANG - Jones 3, Rocca 2, Thompson 2, Rawlings, Wells, Picioane, Harding
BEST: PA – Tredrea, Kingsley, Lade, Pettigrew, Mahoney, Montgomery, C. Cornes;
KANG - Sinclair, Jones, Wells, Harris

CHANGES: PA - Thurstans replaced in selected side by Pettigrew

UMPIRES: Kennedy, Allen, Jeffery

CROWD: 25,173 at Telstra Dome
This was the lowest finals attendance since 1996, when just over 21,000 people attended a Brisbane final at the Gabba when it was undergoing renovations. It was also the lowest for a VFL/AFL final in Melbourne in 63 years.
The low attendance can be attributed to the fact that the Kangaroos have a small supporter base and Port does not have a large contingent of interstate supporters.

Nothing separated the two sides through the opening term as they matched each other goal fro goal and leveled the scores several times throughout. Wells started proceedings from the opening bounce only for Port to get it back from the next passage of play ending in a mark and goal to Montgomery. The tradeoff continued with first Rawlings, then Tredrea slotting goals. The mini goalfest ended when both Montgomery and Lade missed shots but Port stole the lead with a goal to Lade. Colbert was then shifted from Tredrea and onto Lade. Harding goaled a few minutes later to keep the contest tight. Both sides added 3 more goals, with Rocca taking a towering mark late in the term to give the Kangaroos a 5 point lead at 1/4 time.
But the Kangaroos could have been further in front had Jones and Rawlings not missed several shots.
Port completely took over in the 2nd term with Kingsley in the middle and Mahoney forward the prominent. Mahoney kicked three goals for the term, set up another for Tredrea and took a courageous mark deep in defence in the dying seconds. In the interim, Port bagged 6 goals to 1 as the Kangaroos constantly turned the ball over and Port was out to a 26 point lead at 1/2 time.
Goals to Jones and Thompson had the Kangaroos within 14 points. But Port responded in brutal fashion with 14 goals to 2 for the second half to completely obliterate the Kangaroos.
It was only the third time Port has kicked 20 goals for the season and only the second time the club has won three games in succession in 2005.
It was Port's biggest-ever victory in a final, easily bettering the 55-point win over Geelong in the qualifying final last year.

The game was one of stark contrasts with Lade and Tredrea rotating between FF and CHF The duo took 15 marks between them to half time while Thompson and Rocca managed just 4 between them for the Kangaroos. They had plenty of help with the ground level work of Mahoney and Pettigrew.
And the Kangaroos at times were their own worst enemy with two Port goals resulting from free kicks without the ball even getting back to the center after previous Port goals.
For Port, it started in center with Brogan (25 hitouts) and Lade (12 hitouts, 16/8) when he wasn't forward. Peter Burgoyne (19), Dew (20/5), Kingsley (26), and Francou (24) ran amok in the middle while Shaun Burgoyne (20/6) and Montgomery 20/14) were prolific across HB, Chad Cornes (22/12) held Simpson. Up forward Tredrea (17/13), Lade 16/8), and Mahoney (16/5) proved too much for the Kangaroo defence.
For the Roos, Harvey (22), Harris (18), and Grant (18/6) tried to lift their side through middle, while Archer took on Pickett, Dew, and Lade at various stages and Sinclair (20/5) battled the odds in defence and Wells (22/10) tried up forward.

Port will play Adelaide next week in what will be the biggest Showdown in their history with the winner to face the Eagles in the preliminary final.
Sydney will play Geelong on Friday night, with the winner to advance to the preliminary final against St. Kilda.

One final item, which could be amusing for its sheer inaccuracy by people who are supposed to know what they are doing. Below are the scorelines from the Port and St Kilda games as they were posted at the AFL website:

Posted at the AFL site:
KANG 6.6 7.7 10.9 26.8 (164)
PORT 6.1 12.3 20.6 11.11 (77)

Correct score:
PA 6.1 12.3 20.6 26.8 (164)
KANG 6.6 7.7 10.9 11.11 (77)

At the AFL site:
STK 1.0 6.3 10.5 (65)
ADE 3.3 3.5 5.7 8.9 (57)

Saint Raphael Clarke was the Round 22 Rising Star nominee.
Clarke, the #8 pick at the 2003 Draft - St Kilda’s first pick overall - has been rewarded for a series of consistent performances for the Saints this season.
Injury restricted Clarke’s progress last year, his first with the club, but eventually he made his debut for the Saints in Round 17 against Essendon – his only senior game that season.
This year, Clarke broke into the St. Kilda senior team in Round 3 and has now played 14 matches in 2005.
Mainly used as a half-back-flanker, Clarke gathered 18 possessions last week in the Saints 139-point win over the Brisbane Lions.
Some of Clarke’s best performances for the season include 23 possessions against Richmond on Anzac Day in Round 5; 22 possessions against Hawthorn on the Queen’s Birthday weekend in Round 12; and 20 possessions against Melbourne in Round 4.
Tall and rangy, Clarke is blessed with the same speed and athleticism as his older brother Xavier who was drafted to St Kilda with the #5 selection at the 2001 Draft.

And that's it for this week.

GO SWANS!
GO BLUES IN `06!