AFL Round 8
by Tim Murphy
At Football Park:
Adelaide 7.1 8.5 11.10 14.15.99
Richmond 3.3 8.3 9.3 14.6.90
Unexpectedly, the Camrys had to work hard to gain the points against the Tiges. This contest was the anniversary of the Tiges’ extreme possession-football triumph over Addleaid at Docklands last year, but before the game Tigger coach Terry ‘Plough’ Wallace promised no repeat of the tactics. They did surface at times though, from both sides. In the end the Corollas were too strong, too experienced, too good. But if you’re a Tiger supporter, you can take heart - this performance was much, much better than the previous two. As an added downside, Matthew Richardson suffered a fractured eye-socket. He’ll be gone for at least 2 weeks. The Cow side was unchanged from the one victorious in Brisbane. This was Andrew McLeod’s 300th game in all competitions (including state games etc.), a tremendous achievement. The Tiges made four unforced changes, out along with Chris Hyde (back tightness) were Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, Matt White, Cleve Hughes and Luke McGuane, all dropped. In came Richard Tambling, Danny Meyer, Shane Edwards, Daniel Jackson and backman Will Thursfield, his first game since a knee reconstruction.
For the third week running the Tiggers’ opponents scored early majors, rapidly. A free-kick at the opening bounce saw the ball marked 30m out by Camry Scott Thompson, a goal. A Richmun turnover at half-forward released Scott Stevens to run clear, his long kick was marked strongly by Scott Welsh between two Tige defenders. Welsh majored. Tyson Edwards raced away from the subsequent centre-bounce, from his probing punt ruckman Jonathan Griffin held a good grab against Graham Polak and booted another. The Coronas quickly 18 points ahead. Tige icon Matty Richardson missed his first shot but converted from a mark a minute later, found by Cameron Howat’s pass. The Tigers improved their defending for the next ten minutes, until the in-form Welsh held another good grab and passed for marauding Nathan Bassett to mark and major. Another Camry centre-clearance followed, Griffin twice-involved in creating a snapped major for himself. The Cows led by 23 points. The Tiges hung in, their impressive Shane Edwards roved a throw-in and handballed for Nathan Foley to score a running banana-goal. Richmun went forward from the restart and Kane Johnson was involved a few times in moving the ball to Kayne Pettifer on the boundary, he hooked a decent sausage. The Cow lead was back to 10 points, but they conjured two goals in the final 30 seconds. Chris Knights free-kicked one for being tackled high, Simon Goodwin sped away from the next centre-bounce and rammed it through. Adderlayed by 22 points at the first break. Goodwin and Griffin missed fairly easy shots to start the second term, before ruckman Ben Hudson tapped a throw-in for Welsh to snap a major. The Cressidas led by 30 points and seemed set for an easy percentage-booster. But the Tiges began to play a bit, particularly at the centre-bounce where they’d been thrashed in the first term. The next restart saw passes from Krakouer, to Pettifer, to Schulz and on to leading Richardson who goaled. Tige ruckman Adam Pattison booted them forward from the following restart, Cow backman Stevens got the ball but kicked back across the ground, disastrously straight to Tige Dean Polo who converted. Some hard work from the energised Tiggers saw them take the ball 40m backwards until Jake King found space to thump a long goal. Another centre-bounce and Camry Edwards was pinged for a throw, Foley stabbed a pass for leading Danny Meyer to grab and major. Four unanswered goals from the Tigers and they trailed by 6 points only. Now it was Camrys who resorted to lots of chip-about, slowing the game down and retaining the ball to stop Richmun’s run-on. Thompson missed their first shot for a long time, the Tiges went down the other end and Howat snapped a goal from a throw-in. The Cows led by a point, Brett Burton missed a shot and Ian Perrie sliced a shot comically on-the-full just on the siren. Game on.
The third Mario was quieter, following an early, tight-angle miss from Nathan Bock. Richmun did indeed resort to slow, possession football, now they were in contention. Most of the game was played in the Tiges’ defensive half. After a while their Johnson turned into trouble and lost the ball, Camry Jason Torney kicked high and Bock roved the pack to snap truly. Addleaid led by 9 points. Luke Jericho and McLeod missed shots and a coupla behinds were rushed as the locals pinned the Vics inside their own half. The Tiges managed a rare escape, King with a double-dummy and long kick marked at the back o’the pack by Jackson. He dobbed it. The Cows led by 7 points but scored two late sausages. Pettifer’s fumbling turned over possession, Jericho lobbed a punt forward and Welsh marked strongly, he converted. In the dying seconds the ball was fought over in the Cow’s forward-line, Richard Douglas snapped a terrific goal as tackled. Handy 19-point lead for the Crowns at the final change. Rain was falling as the final stanza commenced. Pettifer missed an early shot before promising Tige junior Shane Edwards tumbled the ball forward from a throw-in, Richardson shoved Rutten outta the way and stabbed it through from point-blank. Richo missed a free-kick but a bit later Camry Chris Knights was penalized for running too far - from the resulting free-kick, Brett Deledio booted a long sausage. A coupla setbacks for the Tiges, Polo allegedly dislocated a shoulder but came back to play five minutes later, Richardson was accidentally (I assume) kicked in the face by Krakouer, fracturing his eye-socket as we learned later. There was certainly a lot of blood gushing from Richo’s eye. He didn’t return. Still the Tiges came, Pattison ran a bit and kicked long, Howat had run ahead riskily but successfully to take a mark, he majored to level the scores. The Camrys had to respond like a good side and they did. A defensive rebound and Goodwin’s long kick saw Bock mark on the point-line, he played-on and hooked it through. A minute later McLeod’s run and long punt saw Welsh outmark Tige junior Raines, Welsh booted a major. The under-pressure Big Pussies rushed a pair of points before Welsh caught a dithering Chris Newman in possession, Welsh free-kicked another goal and the Corollas had eased out to a 21-point lead. The game seemed over but the Tigers pressed ‘til the end, Meyer goaled with the aid of a 50m penalty and Graham Polak, shifted forward, snapped a very noice one in the last minute. Close but now eight weeks without a cigar.
Simon Goodwin (29 disposals, a goal) again propelled the Camrys from the middle but it was up forward they had the greatest advantage, with Scott Welsh (5 goals from 4 marks, 10 disposals) producing a very good game, handy assistance coming from Jonathan Griffin (5 marks, 10 disposals, 2 goals) and Nathan Bock (10 marks, 18 possies, 2 goals). Scott Thompson (15 touches, a goal) and Chris Knights (28 handlings, a goal) were solid midfield, Andrew McLeod (23 handlings) was okay rather than scintillating. Michael Doughty (20 possessions) played quite well. The Tigers again had an excellent effort from rover Nathan Foley (27 disposals, a goal). Youngster Shane Edwards (16 touches) was impressive and Adam Pattison (21 disposals, 14 hit-outs), while not the greatest ruckman, certainly has terrific endurance. Joel Bowden (25 touches, 10 marks) played well from full-back, runners Brett Deledio (24 handlings, 8 marks, a goal) and Shane Tuck (21 possessions) were handy. Matthew Richardson battled for 3 goals from 4 marks and 8 possies, Cam Howat and Danny Meyer kicked 2 goals each. “Look, I was really pleased with the endeavour of the guys,” Tige coach Wallace said. “The thing I was particularly pleased with was that we got off to a horrific start and they didn’t lose their nerve and they were prepared to play out the game and take it on its merits. And I thought we were right in the game in the last quarter up to our ears and unfortunately a few things didn’t go the way we wanted. Obviously Matthew going down hurt us and had a fairly big impact, and credit to them they were able to steady and win the game.” He said the Tiges were ‘sticking fat’. Neil Craig faced disappointment from the local media over the closeness of the game. “I know there was probably an expectation out there and I got questioned during the week about, ‘well you’re definitely going to win, but by how much’. I can understand why that would be the case but I can assure our supporters, the competition is so tight. It’s the tightest I’ve ever known it to be. I haven’t been in it for a long period of time, but it’s tight . . . It was a tough game of footy. I thought our first quarter was exceptional, Richmond’s second quarter was exceptional and it got down to a real tussle in the end. We always felt it would be an important game for us and it will turn out to be an important game for us in such a tight competition.”
At Docklands:
Essendon 3.6 7.10 13.15 18.19.127
Brisbane 2.4 5.8 5.10 8.15.63
Pressure on Sheeds relaxed with this comfortable win over Brisbun. Essadun’s poor recent efforts and Sheeds’s placid, unremarkable three-quarter-time address televised last week had many suggesting Sheedy’s expiring contract won’t be renewed. The subject is sufficiently sensitive for Bommer board-members to be banned from discussing Sheeds in public. But Sheedy’s team competed well against the sluggardly Lyin’s here. The Camrys set the template last week for beating the Lyin’s. Man up tightly in midfield and play an extra man in defence to combat the Lyin’s only forward, Jonathan Brown. Oh, and sit on Simon Black and Luke Power. Thus the Bommers played not only two but mostly three defenders on Brown, had Mark McVeigh drag Luke Power forward and surrounded Black. The Brians became hopelessly mired in midfield and committed a string of turnovers under Don pressure. The result was a big Essadun victory. This Bommer side welcomed Matty Lloyd and Henry Slattery back from injury and also called up aging midfielder Scott Camporeale along with the younger Ricky Dyson. Out were injured Andrew Lovett (knee) and dropped lummoxes Jason Laycock, Courtney Johns and (non-lummox) Andrew Welsh. The Lisbon Brians had three changes, Chris Johnson missed with a foot injury but talented midfielders Josh Drummond and Troy Selwood returned for their first games of 07. Marcus Allan was called up too as Ben Fixter and Justin Sherman were axed.
The Lyin’s scored an early goal, Ashley McGrath roving the tribe gathered around Brown to collect the ball and snap truly. Former team-mate Mal Michael was Brown’s direct opponent but Dustin Fletcher, playing loose in defence, joined in most contests as did Mark Johnson more often than not. Made it pretty hard for Browny but the Dons’ tactics were reasonable given the lack of any other marking target in Brisbun’s forward-line and Brown’s record of bags against the Bummers. Brisbun coach Leigh Matthews was playing regular forward Joel Patfull at CHB on Scott Lucas while Jared Brennan was given a run in attack. The Dons replied soon enough as David Hille booted one, Brown missed his first shot before Bommer veteran James Hird slipped forward, held a clever mark against two Lyin’s and gave off a handpass to Lloyd for an easy tap-through. Essadun by 6 points. The Lyin’s were already in trouble, with lots of circular panicky handball preceding a mark for Brown. He postered, once again having conversion problems. So did the Dons, McPhee missing. Lyin’s Brown and Scott Harding were lucky not to be pinged for ‘bawl’ as more handpasses-while-tackled set up a good, long running goal for Josh Drummond. Scores level. A few behinds each followed, Bomma Brent Stanton missed poorly after a great grab over Power, Damien Peverill contributed a bad miss. Late in the stanza McVeigh was awarded a rubbish free-kick and passed inboard for Jason Johnson to mark and convert, Dons by 8 points at the first break. Goals alternated in the second term, the Lyin’s went forward from the opening bounce, Dons Michael and Peverill collided heavily going for the high ball and Lyin’ Troy Selwood lurked through to boot a goal. The Essadun men were okay. The Dons replied as Hird was spoiled, illegally, on the wing by Power and received a generous 50m penalty when Power whinged about the resulting free-kick. Hirdy goaled, his first for the season I think. Soon Jonathan Brown booted his first goal, a free-kick against grappling Michael. Camporeale sent the Dons forward from the restart, his handpass releasing Jobe Watson for a rare and very good running goal. Then some modern footy as Lyin’ full-back Daniel Merrett found himself in the centre of the ground, with every player in front of him. Disastrously, Merrett tried to play-on, lost the ball and Don Bachar Houli ran into the paddock for an easy major. Essadun led by 14 points before a nice switch of play involving Brown and Harding set up a Brian goal for Colm Begley. A few behinds, including McVeigh’s second poor miss for the quarter and a shocker from Lyin’ ruckman Beau McDonald, before Peverill passed for leading McVeigh to mark again. This time McVeigh ran in on an angle and ‘hooked’ his shot accurately, the Dons led by 14 points at the long break.
The Lyin’s had hung on in the first half but were clearly struggling to move forward, and the Dons went further ahead throughout the second half. Angus Monfries booted an early goal in the third term, benefitting from Alwyn Davey’s speedy roving and Camporeale’s smartly-placed kick. Brown sliced a tight-angle shot on-the-full to much rejoicing from Bomma fans, Brennan missed poorly with a rare chance - playing him as a forward wasn’t working. A clanger from Selwood saw Lloyd mark 55m out and thump a long sausage, a minute later Monfries free-kicked a major when held in a contest by opponent Jed Adcock. Suddenly, the Dons were 32 points ahead. Busy small forward Monfries missed with a snap as Lyin’ Brown was shifted onto the ball. It didn’t help, Jason Johnson kicked long towards Monfries again, he was spoiled by Adcock but Davey sped by to bag a goal. Ricky Dyson drove another long kick deep, hapless Merrett spilled an uncontested mark and Scott Lucas snaggled a sausage. Either side of that, Hird and Lloyd missed long-range shots as the Bommers peppered the sticks, leading by 46 points now. A defensive rebound saw Jason Winderlich pass to McVeigh with a good kick, he converted after the siren. Dons by a decisive 53 points at the final change. All heat out of the game in the final Mario. Nevertheless the Bombers scored the first two goals. A handy bounce allowed Peverill to kick forward where four Bommers opposed one Lyin’. McVeigh handballed for Houli to snap a major. A bit later Dyson’s smart, long kick saw Lloyd hold a with-the-flight mark in the goal-square and poke it through. The Dons led by 64 points now, the Lyin’s a rabble. Selwood broke their lengthy goal-drought but mistakes riddled their play, a wayward handpass from Nigel Lappin allowing Stanton to boot an answering goal for the Dons. Belatedly, Patfull had returned to the Brisbun forward-line and he booted a goal following a good grab. Tim Notting bagged one on-the-run but the game finished with goals for Bomma icons Lloyd and Hird, Lloyd marked on the boundary-line and was bowled over by frustrated Merrett, adding a 50m penalty and point-blank shot. Hirdy punted truly after a mark 45m out, a fitting end as Hird’s grandfather, former Essadun champ Allan Hird had passed away last week.
Pretty even Bomma performance but James Hird (14 marks, 23 kicks, 2 goals) played very well, getting forward more than recently. Jobe Watson (29 touches, a goal) won plenty of it and Dustin Fletcher (26 disposals, 7 marks) played the loose defender very well, so he should really. Mark McVeigh (21 touches, 10 marks, 2 goals) was instrumental in quelling Luke Power, moreso after he began kicking straight. Ruckman David Hille (17 hit-outs, 16 possies, a goal) out-pointed the Brisbun pair and Angus Monfries (17 handlings, 9 marks, 2 goals) was lively in attack. Cougar-disciples Adam McPhee (19 touches) and Mark Johnson (23 handlings) were pretty good. Matty Lloyd bagged 4 goals from 16 kicks and 7 marks and Bachar Houli kicked 2 goals. Not many Lyin’s were terribly good, Simon Black (24 disposals) tried hard but was overwhelmed, Troy Selwood (35 possessions, 13 marks, 2 goals) won a lot of touches and Richard Hadley (29 touches, 8 marks) did alright. Joel Patfull (12 touches, a goal) had the better of Lucas. Nigel Lappin (24 possies, 8 marks) won a fair bit of it but made too many mistakes, ditto Jed Adcock (22 touches, 10 marks) who struggled to contain Monfries. Jonathan Brown kicked 1.3 from his 9 marks and 19 touches. Leigh Matthews lamented his side’s unproductive forward structure. "The opposition can play 12 guys in their back 50, if they want to, but that should make it very hard for them to score down the other end. They made it very hard for us to score down our end, but our spare guy got lost. Our spare guy in between, you'd be lucky to know who he was - let alone me," Matthews said. "Fletcher was very effective doing what he was doing, but it also makes a difference when they've got (Matthew) Lloyd and (Scott) Lucas and who do you double-team? That's the problem with having one go-to player and we've got to develop other go-to players, but just at the moment, that's what we've got." Oh for injured Dan Bradshaw or Chris Johnson. Sheeds was in relaxed, avuncular mode. "It's been a very big week and we've cleaned out the media room. Look, five of you, it's amazing what happens . . . sorry to disappoint you, that's all I can say, I apologise," Sheedy said. "When you go off contract, it always happens. It's probably happened 15 times before. I'm a bit older now than when I was a good-looking, charming coach like Roosy or ‘Woosher’ Worsfold. Or a young Mark Williams; Mark's put a bit of weight on, I'm a bit concerned about that. In general I've got a reasonably good sense of humour to handle the flak when it comes. I had an arsenal there if I wanted to fire something back but I take it all in. It's my job and it's the job I've decided to take for my pathway in life. If you love the job, then cop it."
At Kardinia Park:
Geelong 6.0 9.5 11.9 14.10.94
Fremantle 3.2 4.6 5.7 10.9.69
Has the penny dropped, finally, for the Cats? If they make the eight, or more importantly the top four, then you can say yes. Otherwise the cliché holds, take the Katz one week at a time. But they were impressive again in the second leg of their WA double, never really threatened by the Dockulators. Freo are slipping back in the congested field, they need to find some consistency. Connolly is all over the WA papers again. In selection the Cats welcomed highly-rated defender Jarad Rooke in for the first time this season and recalled tubby backman Josh Hunt, out went injured Andrew Mackie (bruised knee) and dropped ‘Tomahawk’ Tom Hawkins, struggling in recent weeks. Two changes for Freo as Dean Solomon, returning from suspension, replaced Daniel Gilmore and, more crucially, Paul Hasleby was a late withdrawal with more back problems. Ruckman Robert Warnock replaced him. Reports suggested big man Justin Longmuir may have to retire due to ongoing knee problems.
More typical KP conditions greeted the Dokkers this week, plenty of wind. The Catters started very quickly, using running handball to counter the blustery breeze. Hunt lurked down from defence to bag the first goal and then Nathan Ablett got one, but the tall forwards on both sides struggled in the conditions. It was left to the smaller men to do the scoring and the Cats’ superior ball-winning saw ‘em kick five of the first six goals to take a 16-point lead in at the first break. Cat Cameron Ling was tagging Freo man Peter Bell out of it and, without Hasleby, the Dokkas didn’t win much contested ball. Catter Jimmy Bartel was fine in that area and James Kelly played his best game for ages, possibly ever. The second term was a bit tighter. Steve Johnson was about the most effective forward on the ground and his second goal helped the Pussies to a 29-point advantage at the long break. Cat coach Thompson removed Ling from Bell in the third term and switched him to a sweeping-defender role. Steve Johnson bagged his third goal early in the stanza, a low punt stabbed under the wind, to give the Cwats a 36-point lead. The remainder of the term was a bit of a grinding stalemate and the Catters led by 38 at the final turnabout. The Dokkers kicked into life in the last korter, initiated by Bell. He bagged a couple of goals and Chris Tarrant got one, Freo doing all the early attacking to reduce the Jeelong lead to 20 points. Then Steve Johnson was awarded a rubbish free-kick 30m out, simply a good contest between he and Shaun McManus for the ball. Johnson converted and a bit later Cameron Mooney kicked truly and the Cats were home.
As mentioned, James Kelly (33 disposals) played arguably his best game ever for the Cats, with great on-ball assistance from Jimmy Bartel (28 touches, 10 tackles) and the tagging and defensive work of Cameron Ling (28 possies, a goal). Defender Matthew Egan did very well on Pavlich and forward Gary Ablett (25 touches, 2 goals) was lively again. Steve Johnson (18 touches, 5 marks, 4 goals) continued his ‘journey back’ and feisty runners Mathew Stokes (16 possies, a goal) and David Wojcinski (19 disposals, a goal) were good. Joel Corey (20 disposals) negated Josh Carr, the Freo man reported for striking Steve Johnson. Rebounding defenders were Freo’s best players, like Michael Johnson (25 disposals, 9 marks) and Roger Hayden (25 possessions). Aaron Sandilands dominated hit-outs - 32 of ‘em - and full-back Luke McPharlin (18 possies, 13 marks) did very well against Nathan Ablett. Peter Bell (22 touches, 3 goals) inspired their late surge and Dean Solomon (12 disposals, 13 tackles) was okay. Matthew Pavlich bagged 3 first-half goals but was well-held overall, Chris Tarrant kicked 2 goals. Connolly said "I don't think we're too far away and we can certainly build on the last quarter. We had a critical mass of poor skill and it ends up taking your confidence, it ends up very disappointing. It's a missed opportunity for us. We thought we'd give it a real shake down here. Geelong's seven or eight bottom players probably contributed more than ours and that was the difference as much as anything." They’ve always had good bottom-players at Geelong. Mark Thompson said "It was a pretty tough game today against Fremantle. They're a mature side, so there were a lot of tackles in it, and the conditions were quite blustery so we're happy to get away with a 25-point victory. I thought in the first three quarters we were a bit messy, and it had a bit to do with the weather and it had a bit to do with us, but I think it was three pretty solid quarters. They obviously won the last quarter by 13 points, which was disappointing, but overall, we're quite happy."
Down back, Matthew Egan did a fine job on Matthew Pavlich, while Johnson was prominent with three goals up front.
Johnson has returned in sparkling form, having recaptured his hunger for the game, although Thompson warned against complacency, saying that Johnson's return was "a work in progress" until he proved that the change in his attitude was permanent. "It's not a short-term thing. It's a lifetime challenge for him," Thompson said.
The Dockers continue to disappoint, although Connolly found some comfort in the fact that his team crossed the 50-metre line on one more occasion, and kicked five goals to three in the final stanza.
"I don't think we're too far away and we can certainly build on the last quarter," he said. "We had a critical mass of poor skill and it ends up taking your confidence, it ends up very disappointing. It's a missed opportunity for us. We thought we'd give it a real shake down here."
GEELONG 6.0 9.5 11.9 14.10 (94)
FREMANTLE 3.2 4.6 5.7 10.9 (69)
GOALS: Geelong: S Johnson 4, G Ablett 2, Mooney, N Ablett, Varcoe, Wojcinski, Ling, Ottens, Hunt, Stokes. Fremantle: Bell 3, Pavlich 3, Tarrant 2, Webster, Duffield. BEST: Geelong: Kelly, Bartel, G Ablett, Ling, Egan, S Johnson, Stokes, Wojcinski. Fremantle: Hayden, Sandilands, M Johnson, McPharlin, Solomon, Bell.
UMPIRES: James, Jeffery, Wenn.
CROWD: 20,435 at Skilled Stadium.
At Carrara Stadium:
North Melbourne 4.5 8.10 15.14 22.15.147
Carlton 5.4 12.6 14.9 20.10.130
The Kangers made it five in-a-row with a high-scoring victory over the Bluies on the Gold Coast. Plenty of entertainment for the crowd. Only a Pagan-coached side could kick 20 goals and lose. An added bonus for the Ruse was the game being no. 250 for their no-nonsense captain, Adam Simpson. A great achievement. In selection the Ruse lost Daniel Wells for about 6 weeks with his strained medial ligament and dropped big man David Hale, Glenn Archer was a late withdrawal as one his kids was ill. In came Kasey Green, junior midfielder Scott McMahon and lithe half-forward Lindsay Thomas. The Bluesers regained defender Bret Thornton and called up young midfielder Luke Blackwell, they replaced axed pair Paul Bower and big Josh Kennedy.
The crowd of 11,649 was bigger than the one for the Ruse/Lyin’s game a month ago. Small by overall standards, but still all tickets were sold. Pagan’s emphasis on constant, fast attack and Laidley’s adoption of the same tactics this year meant a high score was in the offing. The Bluies were slightly better in the first term, with Brendan Fevola and restored Brad Fisher booting two goals each. Three of the Kangers’ goals came from frees, Corey Jones with two of ‘em. The Ruse Aaron Edwards snapped a decent goal early in the second korter and Norf led by a point, Shannon Grant followed up with a major, set up by Jones. Lance Whitnall snapped a very good sausage for the Blues and goals were traded for a bit, before the Blues blasted four goals in five minutes late in the term, from Adam Bentick, Eddie Betts, Fisher and Matty Lappin. Fevola sustained a badly corked thigh in a collision with Daniel Pratt and limped off. Fev returned for the second half but was nowhere near as mobile. Nevertheless, the Blooze led by 20 points at the long break. Norf raised their game in the third stanza, they scored three quick goals including one from Lindsay Thomas (a doubtful free-kick) and then a brace for Leigh Brown, the first from a big speccie, the second after Brown clearly shoved his man under the ball. The Kangas trailed by a point before Whitnall bagged another for Carlton, answered by a superb snap from Matt Campbell. Scores level. The Ruse pressed on and Brent ‘Boomer’ Harvey’s running goal had the Roos up by 11 points at the final change. It appeared another case of a Bloo fade-out when Kangers Daniel Harris, Grant and Harvey bagged the first three goals of the final term to send Norf 29 points clear. The loss of Eddie Betts (hamstring) didn’t help their cause. But Fevola bagged the next two sausages to keep the Blooze in touch. Harvey’s third goal eventually sealed it for the Ruse.
Shannon Grant (14 touches, 5 goals) has been a bigger part of the Roo revival as anyone, he was assisted in attack by experienced hands Corey Jones (20 disposals, 2 goals) and Brent Harvey (32 possessions, 3 goals). Youngster Lindsay Thomas (17 possessions, 3 goals) also showed his goal-scoring potential. Up the ground Brady Rawlings (12 disposals) stopped Marc Murphy and Jess Sinclair (19 touches) enjoyed the style of play, ruckman Hamish McIntosh (14 disposals, 30 hit-outs) was influential again. Leigh Brown booted 3 goals and Matt Campbell kicked 2 goals. The Blues’ half-forward line of Andrew Carrazzo (28 disposals, 7 marks), Lance Whitnall (16 touches, 3 goals) and Brad Fisher (13 handlings, 3 goals) was very busy, Brendan Fevola (5 marks, 10 disposals, 5 goals) was pretty good, even on one leg. Running men Kade Simpson (15 touches, 3 goals), Heath Scotland (27 disposals) and Andrew Walker (20 possessions) were all decent. Matty Lappin kicked 2 goals. Denis Pagan was frustrated by the goals conceded from free-kicks - five in total. "We just made some bad mistakes and conceded some silly frees that probably cost us five goals. We couldn't quell Shannon Grant and Brent Harvey and I suppose if you look at the third quarter, where we kicked two goals to seven, we had seven less clearances than them and seven less tackles. And that's probably the game there in a nutshell. We're not blaming anyone but ourselves. You just can't give away free kicks when five goals result from them." Dean Laidley is a relaxed customer these days. "We’ve been able to do that (see off challenges) in the last five games. Teams have had a run at us and we’ve been able to hold sway for three or four minutes and then be able to get the ball rolling back again. To the boys’ credit, that’s following instructions and understanding and knowing what we’re trying to achieve in certain parts of the game . . . As a coach, you don’t want that amount of goals kicked every game. We probably became a little bit more proactive after halftime, and we were able to penetrate the game. Unfortunately we fell asleep a couple of times and allowed Carlton a few easy shots on goal."
At the MCG:
Hawthorn 2.3 2.6 4.9 10.12.72
St. Kilda 1.2 2.4 3.5 6.8.44
Fantastically boring, this game, with Sainter supporters especially unhappy - ‘cause they lost. Both the Awks and the Stains conspired to produce as tedious a game of footy you could hope to not see. The Sunday papers in Melbourne called it “the worst game ever”, with accompanying opinion pieces from the football fascists demanding rule-changes. Reminds me of a year ago. The anti-spectacle was deliberate on the Hawks’ part, as revealed afterwards by captain Sam Mitchell - “Alastair (Clarkson, Hawk coach) told us he wanted it like soccer tonight, prevent them scoring at all costs.” The Saints’ emphasis on ball-retention and waiting for space to develop in the forward-line fell right into the Hawks’ flooded defensive trap and there was a ridiculous amount of side-to-side passing in the backlines. The injury excuse was advanced in the Saints’ mitigation, and they do have many missing. Added to the list from last week were Brendon Goddard (knee reconstruction) while important runners Jason Gram and Xavier Clarke were late withdrawals with ‘flu. The Saints had little choice but to debut three players, two of them Queenslanders in midfielder David Armitage from Broadbeach on the Gold Coast and back-flanker Brad Howard, originally from Toowoomba. The other was half-forward Justin Sweeney from Tyabb, on Westernport Bay. The Hawks welcomed experienced defender Joel Smith in for his first game of the season and recalled big man Jarryd Roughead, out went Tom Murphy and Garry Moss.
The Hawks lined up as usual with extra men in defence and midfield and four committed forwards, who ‘block’ for each other. The only way to overcome such tactics is to move the ball ahead quickly, but that’s the exact opposite of the way the Saints play. The absence of Gram, Clarke and Goddard only increased the slowness of their play, with the result a mountain of mind-numbing chip-about in the Stains’ back half. Backman Leigh Fisher had 12 uncontested marks and 20 disposals in the first half, without leaving his defensive 50m zone. The opening quarter-hour saw three behinds scored, first Hawk Tim Boyle failed to complete a rare good move. Fraser ‘G-Train’ Gehrig, who usually cashes in against the Awks, missed a set shot. The Saints moved the ball so excruciatingly slowly that Gehrig typically found himself against four or five men by the time it arrived. Trent Croad was G-Train’s nominal opponent. Hawk Clint Young missed with a long shot before Chance Bateman scooped up a loose ball, broke a coupla tackles and kicked a noice goal. Horforn led by 7 points. A bit later Saint first-gamer Armitage roved a ball-up and stabbed a pass for Aaron Fiora to mark on the 50m line, Fiora rammed it through. The Hawks won the ball away from the restart, Rick Ladson passed for unattended Robert Campbell to mark and boot a goal. Horforn led by 7 points at korter-time. The second quarter and seven minutes elapsed before Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin missed a set-shot. Young Sainter Sam Gilbert made a chance with a good dummy and bit of run, spearing a pass for Nick Riewoldt to mark low-down. Riewoldt goaled, reducing the Orc lead to 2 points. Riewoldt took a lot of marks, but very few anywhere within range of the sticks. The Stains cleared the restart and Nick Dal Santo postered with a running shot. Not much happened for a long while, the decent-sized crowd (36,000) eerily quiet. Some started to boo the tiresome chip-about. Franklin snapped a behind and later an elaborate build-up ended with Ben Dixon missing poorly. Dixon failed to bother statistician against Fremantle last week. Half time saw four goals on the board, the Hawks leading by 2 points. More scattered booing amongst total silence accompanied the players off the ground.
Two goals were scored in the first two minutes of the third term, raising hope that one or both coaches had re-strategized. Riewoldt got one for the Saints, giving them a 4-point lead. Immediately, Roughead replied for the Hawks. But the ‘premiership quarter’ was the worst of the lot. The next twenty-five minutes saw more soul-crushingly slow short-passing, taking the ball nowhere, interspersed with a few rushed behinds. Hypnotic if you didn’t barrack for one of the sides. The Hawks were showing signs of wanting to get moving, attempting to run the ball a bit and manning-up in their own forward-line. Very late in the term Stinkilda ruckman Justin Koschitzke marked in the back-pocket and kicked across goal, as the Stains had done all night. Roughead read it, spoiled Leigh Fisher, collected the pill and dribbled a goal. There were 15 seconds left when that happened, the Hawks won the ball from the next centre-bounce and Roughead won a free-kick for interference from James Gwilt. But Roughead missed, after the siren. Hawks by 10 points as the final term commenced. Early in it, Hok Brent Guerra drove a long kick to big pack, the ball spilled and roving Tim Boyle snapped a sausage. The acid was on the Saints now, trailing by 16 points and they’d only scored 23 for the night. They had a bit of a go but Stephen Milne banana-ed a running shot into the post and Dal Santo missed with a free-kick, shoved in the back by his minder and master, Brad Sewell. Frustrated Dal Santo gave away a 50m penalty on the kick-in. The Hawks worked some short-passes until Shane Crawford speared one to leading Dixon, he majored and the Hawks led by 20. Boyle saw a long punt touched through before Ben McGlynn was awarded a free-kick for a crude tackle from Jay Attard, the ump added a 50m penalty after late-arriving Leigh Montagna dropped a knee into McGlynn’s back. McGlynn goaled and it was over, the Orcs 27 points ahead. The Saints won the subsequent centre-clearance and Jason Blake’s long kick spilled from Riewoldt’s contest, roving Gehrig snaggled a goal. Huzzah! Franklin kicked two long behinds from marks on-the-lead, taking his tally to 0.4. From the kick-in of the second one Franklin spoiled Sainter ruckman Michael Rix, Boyle swept up the loose pill and punted a major. Stinkilda coach Ross Lyon was shown swearing mightily and smashing his phone about in response, as the Awks went to a 28-point lead. The Saints won another centre-clearance, Gehrig found himself one-out against Croad and managed to mark behind the Hawker and hook it through with his non-natural right boot - apparently tweaking a groin muscle in the process. The Hawks set about draining the clock, but Franklin finally converted from another mark on-the-lead and Roughead booted a noice goal, playing on after juggling a one-handed mark. The Hawks by 34 points before Sainter Blake booted a desultory goal on the siren.
The Hawks’ ability to score was the difference in the end, so you’d have to include Jarryd Roughead (3 marks, 8 disposals, 3 goals) and Tim Boyle (3 marks, 6 disposals, 2 goals) as their better players. The Horforn midfield was superior, not surprising with so many Saints missing. Sam Mitchell (35 touches), Shane Crawford (28 disposals, 9 marks) and Jordan Lewis (32 handlings, 11 marks) were the standouts, with Brad Sewell (22 handlings, 8 marks) doing a job on Dal Santo. Trent Croad (13 touches, 6 marks) has won some praise for his game on Gehrig, but really the Saints’ glacier-like ball movement defeated Gehrig. Lance Franklin coulda been devastating if he’d done better than 1.5. Saint leaders Nick Riewoldt (13 marks, 23 disposals, 2 goals) and durable Robert ‘Banger’ Harvey (25 possessions) tried very hard, as did rover Luke Ball (25 handlings). Leigh Fisher’s final stats were 18 marks and 32 disposals. Full-back James Gwilt (19 touches, 8 marks) and Sam Gilbert (19 possies, 10 marks), opposed to Franklin, both did okay. Fraser Gehrig kicked them 2 final-quarter goals. How ‘bout it, Ross Lyon? “I thought we ran okay and to three-quarter time it was anyone’s game. I thought we had a bit of a lack of polish in front of goal when we had opportunities - they probably had some as well - and then a bit of a lack of composure late. To three-quarter time I didn’t think there was much difference in the game, I thought we could win . . . but to Hawthorn’s credit I thought they took control of the centre in the last quarter and they took their opportunities early. In a game like that it was always going to be who took their opportunities . . . Different teams let you play different ways, that’s fact. Hawthorn play a unique brand and in the circumstances if you give teams everything they want, you’re going to get opened up pretty quickly. We had six defenders, did you see seven, eight or nine defenders for us? I’d love to have four people in my forward line and kick it in long all day, but sometimes you just can’t do that.” Al Clarkson made no apology. "It's a tough day. As tough for the players as it is for the coaches because we're not used to playing that slow-moving style of footy," he said. "But it was a terrific contest, it was an absorbing duel. And so it's great for us as a footy club to go through those types of experiences because finals footy more often than not . . . is low-scoring footy.” Not so low-intensity, though.
At the SCG:
Sydney 6.4 10.9 13.14 17.16.118
Port Adelaide 3.1 6.3 8.6 13.9.87
The Swans answered the questions being asked about them with a very good win over the in-form Power. Consecutive losses and a 3-4 record had folk wondering whether the injuries were biting, and if Siddey’s window was closing if not shut. Coach Paul Roos saw it all as a matter of form, and here the Swans bounced back to their intense, hard-tackling, ball-winning best. It appeared as though Port’s exposed form enabled the Swans to work them out a bit, with prime movers the Burgoynes and Corneses matched closely. Port did give the Swans a scare in the final term, the Power have some tougher matches ahead which should tell us a bit more about them. In selection the Swans welcomed Tadhg Kennelly back from injury - do they have some sort of Faustian thing going on? - and called up Sean Dempster in place of dropped back-pockets Jared Crouch and Kieran Jack. The Powder regained Steven Salopek and recalled Brad Symes to replace Jacob Surjan (thigh) and Nathan Krakouer.
Glorious, sunny day in Sinney. The Swans were determined to start well, typified by Barry Hall in Raging Bull mode. From a ball-up Jude Bolton kicked high, the ball spilled from a Hall-centered pack and Jarrad McVeigh snapped a goal. At the restart Adam Goodes ran clear and kicked long, Nick Davis clutched a strong pack-mark and booted another. Siddey won the ball at stoppages most of the day, ruckman Peter ‘Spida’ Everitt very good, Brett ‘Captain’ Kirk winning against Shaun Burgoyne while Goodes followed Chad Cornes everywhere. Ben Mathews tagged Kane Cornes. Port won the ball from a ball-up and Daniel Motlop passed for wide-leading Brett Ebert to mark and convert with a very good kick from the boundary. Ebert, a short full-forward, always leads very wide so the circular SCG, with wide, deep pockets, is made for him. Some great Swan pressure in their forward-line saw Port’s Nathan Lonie caught in possession 15m from his own goal, Goodes free-kicked a major. Siddey by 12 points. Hall barged, barreled, dare I say bustled through some tackles and set up an easy shot for Michael O’Loughlin, which he missed. Hall himself and Port’s patently unfit Warren Tredrea also contributed behinds and there was terrible poster from Adam Schneider. Eventually Port’s Peter Burgoyne kicked long towards Ebert, he won a free-kick against Dempster and kicked a major, the Swans led by 9 points. Everitt replaced Darren Jolly in the ruck for the Swans at this stage, he won the next centre-clearance, ran ahead to accept Jude Bolton’s pass and thump a 50m goal. Spida’s tap at a later ball-up and some handballs ended with Nic Fosdike passing to leading O’Loughlin, he marked and converted. A Swan centre-clearance followed and O’Loughlin repeated the dose, the Bloods led by 27 points. In the dying seconds Port had a ball-up in their forward-line, Mathews pushed Kane Cornes over and Cornes majored with a free-kick. Siddey by 21 points at the first break. Port made some changes for quartier du, Shaun Burgoyne was pushed forward to drag Kirk away from the action and Tredrea was benched. Early on Michael Pettigrew drove a long kick forward, Motlop held a good grab against Dempster and booted a sausage roll. O’Loughlin missed a shot. A bit later Ryan O’Keefe was penalized, ridiculously, for holding-the-ball and his minder Greg Bentley kicked a goal. Without Kirk around the Power were starting to win contested ball, plus Shaun Burgoyne got into the game up forward. Burgoyne marked Chad Cornes’s very short pass and booted another major for the Flowers, reducing the Siddey lead to 5 points. The Swans responded. A typical running, handballing move was completed by Nick Malceski’s long punt for a goal. Great work from Leo Barry was wasted when Ted Richards missed a shot, but Port messed up the kick-in and Luke Ablett punted a 50m goal off two steps. From the restart Amon Buchanan tumbled a kick forward, it bounced past a few blokes until O’Loughlin could gather and stab it through. A Motlop snap was touched on the line by Kirk, there followed some frantic and bizarre soccering of the ball until Goodes actually picked it up and passed for Ablett to mark and goal again. Four unanswered goals from the Sinneysiders and they led by 30 points. Davis missed badly prior to the long break.
And Davis missed weakly again with the first chance of the third term, justice as it was a rubbish free-kick. The Swans reverted to slow tempo now they had a decent lead. Craig Bolton missed after Everitt’s big pack-mark set him up, a minute later Kane Cornes honoured another wide Ebert lead and Ebert booted a long goal from a tricky angle. Swans by 27 points. Kirk, back on-the-ball, won the following centre-clearance, Jolly marked out wide and as Port men backed off to cover others, Jolly played on and booted a tremendous long sausage. The Swan confidence was back and an almost arrogant series of chipped passes involving O’Keefe, Hall, Buchanan and Schneider created an easy shot for McVeigh, not the most reliable of kicks but he nailed it. Port’s Brendon Lade shanked a shot, it was marked by Jolly. At a throw-in Lade tapped cleverly behind him, but Pettigrew fumbled under pressure and Buchanan pounced to snap a goal. Swans by 44 points now. Ebert punted a badly-needed Port major, another excellent long kick from out wide. Motlop’s pass had found him. The Powder won the subsequent centre-clearance but Brad Symes hooked his kick. Siddey led by 38 points at the final change. Barry Hall, who’d worked hard for little return, booted two goals early in the final stanza. The first came from Schneider’s spearing pass, the next was created by Kirk’s gutsy spoil and a short pass from O’Keefe. They sandwiched a Port goal from Motlop, beneficiary of the ump’s poor advantage call. The Swans were still cruising, 44 points ahead, but now Port mounted a challenge, led by your Corneses and Burgoynes and Danyle Pearce. McVeigh was run down and caught by Pearce, Shaun Burgoyne collected the ball and passed to leading Ebert. He chipped a pass for Steven Salopek to mark and convert. Peter Burgoyne punted Port forward from the restart, Matt Thomas roved the contest and saw his snap bounce through. A bit later some scramble at a throw-in was tidied by Salopek’s snap, another goal and Port had cut the deficit to 25 points. Things got a bit tense for the locals now, the intensity of the contest raised considerably. Not much happened for a few minutes until a great effort from Chad Cornes sent Port forward again, there was a wonky ball-up and panicky Kirk fisted the ball straight to Pearce, he bagged a goal. Swans by 20 points, but they composed themselves. A patient build-up saw Malceski kick long, O’Loughlin doubled back to the goal-square for a mark and simple tap-through. Kirk and Chad Cornes battered each other in a series of ball-ups as the Swans drained the clock. Another steady build-up ended with Hall marking 50m out, his kick dropped short but roving Schneider snaggled a major. The Swans were home now with a 32-point advantage. Ebert missed poorly and unexpectedly with a late free-kick. Probably deserved another.
As the stars negated each other, er, others stepped up. Luke Ablett (22 disposals, 2 goals) was handy and Tadhg Kennelly (25 touches, 8 marks) added much stability and run, also releasing Nick Malceski (22 possies, a goal) to do more. Michael O’Loughlin (6 marks, 10 kicks, 4 goals) was a constant danger up forward and Jude Bolton (18 possies) played his best game for quite a while. Craig Bolton (12 marks, 21 disposals) had the better of Damon White and Leo Barry (17 touches, 8 marks) was good, Amon Buchanan (15 touches, a goal) was alright. Barry Hall and Jarrad McVeigh kicked 2 goals each. Port’s diminutive forward Brett Ebert (5 marks, 12 disposals, 4 goals) was very good, their only threat really. Peter Burgoyne (18 touches) worked hard on-the-ball and Kane Cornes (23 touches, a goal) shrugged off Mathews’s tag. Greg Bentley (10 disposals, a goal) did a very good job on Ryan O’Keefe (12) and Darryl Wakelin took the points against Hall. Daniel Motlop (10 touches, 2 goals) wasn’t bad, Steven Salopek kicked 2 goals. Not enough contributors. Dunno what’s going on with Tredrea (3 marks, 6 disposals). Mark Williams took perspective. "It was a pretty poor game by us. We struggled all day. It was good that they kept at it and ran out the game okay in the last quarter, but we probably didn't take all that much out of that. If you look at the direct comparisons, the players that played on our playmakers . . . Sydney will be talking about how their players really didn't get too much of it either. But they still won the game. We won the first possessions and we won the clearances but we didn't do too much from them. If you look at the hard-ball gets, we dominated those but all they did is tackle and sweat on us. We practice that a lot but today it didn't work very well." Paul Roos said "It was impressive from the guys. It was good to get back to the way we want to play and against a good team too, that's been playing some really good football. Hopefully it'll give the guys a lot of confidence but it's only one win and we need to get a bit of consistency . . . I've never ever thought we're an old team. I think it's more about hunger. When you're up for so long it's just about maintaining that competitive edge. We saw today that when they're hungry and they're hard and they're tough and they're playing their roles that they're a very good side."
At Docklands:
Footscray 5.3 8.8 15.12 20.15.135
Collingwood 5.3 11.7 13.13 14.18.102
Great win for the Doggies in the most meaningful game of the weekend, outside Siddey and Port. The Bulldogs appeared rumbled as the Poise more than matched the Pups’ running power for a long way, Collywood led by 4 goals halfway through the third term. But the Bulldawgs outlasted the Poise and found a way to win as both sides began to tire. The Maggies didn’t enjoy a lot of luck in a game with eccentric umpiring. Their wayward goal-kicking efforts were a problem again. Yes, Rocca and Cloke. The Bulldog side here was unchanged, revitalized ruckman Peter Street continuing to hold Will Minson out of the side. The Pies dropped Shane Wakelin and Sam Iles, recalling Leon Davis following disciplinary action. They debuted another youngster, named Tyson Goldsack. He’s a gangling, gawky teenager from Gippsland. Hopefully the trend for naming Pies after Austin Powers characters continues - the president could be Alotta Fagina. Speaking of Eddie, he quit as CEO of Channel Nine last week, according to the man himself he wants to be on-screen more. Of course.
A big crowd in, 48,000, and they saw a fast ‘n’ furious first korter. Shane O’Bree stormed away from the opening bounce, kicked long and Rocca held a very good grab between Dogs Brian Harris and Dale Morris. So close-in even Rocca couldn’t miss. A bit later lumbering Pie full-back Simon Prestitooslow was caught in possession, from the turnover Pup Farren Ray kicked long and Adam Cooney out-marked Rhyce Shaw. Cooney majored. As Pie Ben Johnson ran down a wing, Seven’s Bruce McAvaney boasted “not the first Ben Johnson burst of speed I’ve called.” No, no. It’s the Eagles who are the drug-filled cheats. Another Poi turnover led to another Dog goal, Daniel Giansiracusa spearing a pass for leading Luke Darcy to grab and convert. A bit later Peter Street ran! into an open goal, but missed. Rocca held a terrific, strong grab 30m out but didn’t even make the distance. How? Dog Shaun Higgins out-marked young Tyson Goldsack, played-on with a two-bounce run and booted a terrific goal. Footyscray led by 12 points. Early momentum with the Doggies but the Poise got moving, Brodie Holland’s clever tap-on allowed Brad Dick to kick for Travis Cloke to hold a good grab. Amazingly, Cloke converted from a tough angle. “I’m impressed by young Dick,” pronounced McAvaney. The Pies soon had a ball-up 30m out from goal, Alan Toovey leaped over the ruckmen and punched the ball to ‘Neon’ Leon Davis who bagged a goal. Collywood led by a point. Doggy Brad Johnson soon had a goal, marking Gilbee’s pass, sweeping around and playing-on to see his kick bounce through. The ball was red-hot as players hurled themselves about, in the maelstrom Poi Alan Didak was whacked across the face by Doggy Cameron Wight and Didak free-kicked a major. Then Ben Johnson was run down by Cooney and caught in possession, Cooney punted the resulting free-kick for a sausage. Giansiracusa missed poorly before, late in the stanza, Puppy defender Morris kept the ball in-play when fearing a ‘deliberate’ call, team-mate Ryan Hargrave was caught in possession and Dick snapped a goal. Scores level at the first break.
The Dogs started the second stanza well, Nathan Eagleton booted a goal and, after Cloke reverted to form and missed a set shot, some very good work from Jason Akermanis created an easy slot for Matthew Boyd. Saves his best for the Pies, does Aker. The Dogs led by 12 points but the Maggies won the next centre-clearance, Davis marked O’Bree’s pass in the pocket and passed back for Josh Fraser to mark and convert. Classy work from Scott Pendlebury at a throw-in got the ball to Fraser, he handballed for Scott Burns to snap truly and reduce the Doggy lead to a point. The Pies played very well during this period, running harder than the Bulldogs, tackling fiercely and trapping the Pups inside their own half. A good kick from Pendlebury found Rocca on-the-lead, Big Anth booted accurately. A bit later Pup Dylan Addison was tackled by Burns, the Pie man’s free-kick was marked out wide by Davis who played-on and casually slotted it through from 45m, on the boundary. Under-pressure Bully Harris hacked the ball clear from defence, straight to Didak on the 50m-line. Didak went back and roosted another Magpoi goal. The Pies led by 16 points and exerted some heavy tackling pressure for a few minutes, letting the Dogs know who their Daddy was etc. A typical example, Hargrave caught by Dick, led to another goal for Cloke. Pies by 23 points, before a late Dog goal coming from Scott West’s great handpass and Cooney playing in front to mark Jordan McMahon’s tumbling kick.
The Doggies scored another goal to start the second half, didn’t see who kicked it. Peter Foster? It seemed against the run, though. Rocca marked on a tight angle and centered with a pass to Heath Shaw, who managed to hit the post from point-blank. But Bulldog Gilbee overstepped the line on the kick-in, the resulting ball-up saw Rocca snap a goal. A bit later O’Bree snapped high under pressure, Pendlebury marked courageously on the point-line and kicked backwards to Fraser, he majored. The Poise were in control, leading by 25 points. Akermanis was switched onto the ball for the Bulldogs. Luck helped the Dogs to a goal, their Mitch Hahn had one arm held by Prestigiacomo and literally threw the ball away with his free hand. The ump ruled holding-the-man as Hahn “didn’t have control of the ball.” A highly debatable interpretation, from which Hahn free-kicked a major. Behinds from Giansiracusa and Rocca followed, a long kick-in from Rocca’s was helped forward by Brad Johnson and Akermanis soccered it through from the goal-square. The Dogs had moved Street forward and the spindly Wight into the ruck, a move which defied logic in being successful despite Wight’s appalling lack of ability as a ruckman. But the Pups won the ball at stoppages, Daniel Cross outstanding. Akermanis had lifted, he roved Darcy’s contest, swung ‘round and passed for Higgins to mark and convert. Then Addison sold a dummy and stabbed a good pass for Giansiracusa to mark, he finally kicked accurately following some very poor earlier efforts. Four straight goals for the Pups and they trailed by 3 points only. Akermanis missed a shot before some Rhyce Shaw indiscipline gave away a free to Morris on the wing, leading to a running goal for Boyd. Some classic Collywood as Prestigiacomo made some comical attempts at running bounces, but he kicked eventually. Rocca seized a strong mark over Morris, 20m out, right in front and missed. A bit later Harris got a good spoil on Rocca in the centre, Hargrave collected the loose ball and thumped a very good running goal. The Pups led by 11 points at the final change. A Boyd turnover led to the first goal of the final term, Cloke marking and handballing for Pendlebury to kick it. The Poise were only 6 points behind but were running out of steam, shown when Bulldog Eagleton was allowed to run almost the entire length of the ground before stabbing a pass to leading Darcy, who goaled. A bit later we had the remarkable sight of rover Cross out-marking ruckmen Street and Fraser, although Street shepherded a bit. Cross passed to Ray, who passed on to Akermanis for a goal. He enjoyed it. A few behinds each followed including a terrible miss from Pie Dane Swan and another from Rocca. West bustled Burns aside to mark Wight’s lobbed kick, West handballed for Higgins to drill it through and place the Doggies 23 points ahead. Giansiracusa hooked a shot on-the-full but a minute later Cooney intercepted Holland’s tired kick, leading to a mark and long, 55m goal for Lindsay Gilbee. The Pups were home, 29 points in front. Snappy handballs from ‘brothers’ West and Cross set up a late goal for Higgins.
Rover Daniel Cross (28 disposals incl. 20 handballs) was very good for the Bulldogs, his mentor Scott West (28 touches) great too. Matthew Boyd (26 touches, 2 goals) played well as the third member of the roving crew, speedy flanker Adam Cooney (19 possies, 4 goals) and dangerous small forward Shaun Higgins (15 touches, 4 goals) were both very handy. Pie fans got to curse Jason Akermanis (17 handlings, 2 goals) all over again. Half-forward Daniel Giansiracusa (10 marks, 23 disposals, a goal) played well despite his poor goal-kicking, opposed by first-gamer Goldsack. In defence Ryan Hargrave (23 touches, 8 marks, a goal), on Cloke, and Dale Morris (14 possies), on Didak, both played well. Luke Darcy kicked 2 goals. Better Poise included the hard-running Tarkyn Lockyer (25 disposals), playing his 150th game and ball-winner Scott Burns (24 possies, a goal). Harry O’Brien did a very good job on Brad Johnson and the Seven folk were uncomfortably homo-erotic over Scott Pendlebury (21 disposals, 7 marks, a goal). Shane O’Bree (24 touches), Josh Fraser (9 marks, 17 handlings, 2 goals) and Leon Davis (17 kicks, 2 goals) were pretty good. Anthony Rocca kicked 3.2, officially, plus two on-the-fulls and the duffed kick which travelled 20m. Travis Cloke and Alan Didak kicked 2 goals each (Cloke 2.1). Malthouse bemoaned the inaccuracy. "Good football sides don't miss. Good football sides capitalize. We're the world champions at kicking points at the moment, but it's not through lack of effort . . . When (the Bulldogs) get it, you can just about put down the glasses and run back to the centre. When we get it, it's a little bit of a mixed bag. We don't know what we're going to get. Unfortunately, there's no predictable way we can [fix] that. We can't do any more training on it. The boys win the ball and sometimes it flattens the moment. You work all the way up there, someone catches it and kicks a point. Instead of being a goal from the hard work, it's a point, and under those circumstances, it has an add-on effect of ‘here we go again’, and we have to resurrect the football again." ‘Rocket’ Eade said “The first half was pretty patchy and that last 20 minutes before half time was rather disappointing, but the fact that we weren’t playing that well but were only three goals down was a bit of a positive. We spoke about areas we needed to work on, which after half time I think was a real collective effort. Obviously there were players who played better than others, but I think across the board we lifted our work rate. We were able to win as much ball as them, if not more, and then we were able to get our running [game] going. We had belief in the fact that we could run. I think the guys felt that by three-quarter time [the Magpies] were starting to run up and down on the spot.”
At Subiaco:
West Coast 5.8 8.14 13.18 19.23.137
Melbourne 1.0 3.3 7.4 9.6.60
Melbun aren’t going to yield the number one draft pick to the Tigers without a fight. Recent games suggested the Deez were improving but this was a hefty step backwards, although it’s probably best not to judge them against the reigning premiers on the rebound from their first loss of the season. The scoreboard flatters the Deez as West Ghost missed a ton of shots - lumbering Quinten ‘Frankenstein’ Lynch contributed 5.7 and two on-the-fulls. Even St. Christopher of Judd was off-target when it came to the sticks. Apart from Judd-worshipping, Daniel Kerr being reported, and suspended, for a head-high clatter of Cameron Bruce was the main talking-point for the commentators. The Weegs were strengthened with ruckman Dean ‘Big’ Cox returning and rover Chad Fletcher in for the first time this season, junior Mitch Morton was called up too. Allegedly, Fletcher nearly died during the post-season trip to Las Vegas, spending four days in hospital following an ‘incident’ involving alcohol, according to the typically minimal detail released by the Weegs. All we know is the hospital part. The hospital itself offered to release Fletcher’s toxicology report if he asks. He hasn’t. Outgoing Weegs were Mitchell Brown, Steven Armstrong and Mark LeCras. The Dees had Matthew Whelan, Ricky Petterd and Ryan Ferguson return, but Brent Moloney (groin strain) was out. Ben Holland and Matthew Warnock were axed.
The Weegs scored an early goal, Ashley Hansen I think, but then piled on five consecutive behinds as they controlled the ball and rampaged down the ground. Dee tagger Simon Godfrey, deputized to alternate between Kerr and Judd, was belted by any Eagle nearby. Lynch kicked three of those behinds and Judd two. During this period Kerr banged into Cameron Bruce as the Melbun man crouched over the ball, sloppy contact to the head which has cost Kerr a Brownlow, ‘cause he’s since been suspended. Ah well, he’ll just have to pocket another premiership medallion. Very much against the run the Dees scored a goal, some decent pressure allowing Nathan Jones to kick high, David Neitz ran out to take an easy mark as Wiggle defenders watched. Neitz goaled and the Weegs led by 5 points. Lynch missed again for the Weegs but then scored a goal, finally, from a good mark of Matthew Priddis’s kick. Kerr fired a handpass to release Matt Rosa at the restart, he passed to leading Lynch who booted another goal. The floodgates opened, Rowan Jones’s good mark and centering kick set up a goal for Kerr, Dee defender Daniel Ward’s telegraphed kick was intercepted by diving Wirrpanda, he majored. Judd missed again and Dee Adem Yze sent the kick-in on-the-full, but Rosa couldn’t convert the free-kick. Weegs by 30 points at the first break. Melbun had a bit of a go in the second stanza. Godfrey roved a throw-in and handballed for Travis Johnstone to boot the first goal of the quarter. A few more points as Melbun competed before their Jeff White clobbered ‘Big’ Cox and conceded a free-kick, the ball went to Mark Seaby and then long where Wirrpanda drifted in for a very good mark, he converted. The Eegs led by 32 points at this stage. Judd forced a turnover at half-back and got the ball to Shannon Hurn, his typically long, driving kick was marked by too easily by Lynch, 15m out. Goal. Judd raced clear of the restart and passed to Lynch again, he missed. A bit later Priddis jogged forward and saw three unmarked forwards inside 50, he chose Brent Staker who converted. The Weegs led by 44 points and scored three consecutive behinds before a very late Dee goal, James McDonald appeared to mark the ball after the siren sounded but was paid and scored full points with a noice kick. Eegs by 41 at the long break.
Melbun’s best period came early in the third Mario Lanza. After Weeg Ashley Hansen missed a set-shot, a dithering Rowan Jones was caught in possession by Matthew Bate, he passed the free-kick to Ricky Petterd who bagged a goal. The Deez employed some possession football and chipped a series of passes until Colin Sylvia scooped up a loose ball and snapped truly. Lynch leads far too wide for a big guy, he kicked yet another point before Demun White won a free-kick at a throw-in and passed for leading Sylvia to mark and major again. The Dees had scored the last four goals of the game and trailed by 25 points. The Weevils responded. Dan Chick passed for junior Mitch Morton to mark, play-on around Paul Johnson with much ease and boot a sausage. Judd waded through ‘tackles’ from a ball-up and bagged one. On his back-flank, Yze passed in-board to Daniel Bell but the kick was a bit high, Bell spilled the mark and Wirrpanda pinched a goal. Morton majored again with a good grab over Petterd, a four-goal salvo taking the Weevs to a 49-point lead. The Dees worked some slow short-passes from the restart and Johnstone booted a goal, but Lynch completed the term with a major, after being awarded a strong if briefly-held grab from Hansen’s high kick. Weegs by 50 at the final change. Early in the final term Demun White goaled from a free-kick, his arm held by Chick. Paul Johnson, in the ruck, cleared the restart for the Dees and Godfrey passed for leading Sylvia to mark and boot another. The Dees were 38 points down and not really a chance, but it was stimulating to think so. The Weegs surged for the line. Judd fired a handpass from a ball-up and Morton snapped truly, Judd also cleared the next centre-bounce and kicked to Staker out wide. His centering punt was marked and converted by Tyson Stenglein. Fifty points the diff again. A Demun centre-clearance saw Neitz mark on-the-lead, but he missed. Wiggle man Hurn thundered his weekly 65m running goal, Lynch snapped one from the goal-square, then came two from Judd including one from his patented spin-move where he cannot be legally penalized for ‘bawl’, apparently. Lynch sliced a shot from the boundary-line on-the-full to end the game.
All bow down to Chris Judd (31 disposals, 3 goals). As mentioned, big Quinten Lynch bagged 5.7 and two on-the-fulls from his 13 marks and 18 disposals. Although he only kicked one goal, Ash Hansen (9 marks, 18 handlings) worked very hard as a conduit and Judd’s assistants Daniel Kerr (29 touches, a goal) and Tyson Stenglein (21 possies, a goal) were very good, Kerr’ll sweat on the report. Half-forward Brent Staker (9 marks, 16 possies) kicked 1.5 and David Wirrpanda (9 touches, 3 goals) enjoyed a spell in attack, Mitch Morton (12 disposals, 3 goals) was good and he only played the second half. Chad Fletcher (23 possies) eased back in. Melbun’s best was probably hard-running Travis Johnstone (23 kicks, 2 goals). James McDonald (25 possessions, a goal) and Brad Green (25 touches, 9 marks) did a bit, Colin Sylvia (6 disposals, 3 marks, 3 goals) was reasonably effective as a small forward. “The start was what killed us. The last two times now that we’ve been on the road the opposition has come out of the blocks and we have failed to do so,” Neale Daniher said. What about the middle and end parts? “We had an emphasis on making sure our start was right on the money. We’re still scratching our heads as to why we weren’t able to come out the way we wanted to. They got on top early in the stoppages and clearly were the better team all day. We were lucky in the end that they didn’t kick straight or we could have lost by more. Only making 30 entries inside 50 will not be enough to kick a winning score. The last two weeks we were very competitive, but we really fell away this week.” Indeed. John Worsfold wasn’t worried about the inaccuracy, he reckoned. "I think [the forward line is] going pretty well - it's kicked seven winning scores this year, so it's going alright. It all depends on the game and a lot of different situations. Read into a big win like today what you want, but we think our forward line's working pretty well. I don't really know how many easy shots we missed, I'll have to have a look at that. A few from a long way out, or wide, that you miss that you think if you kick it, it's a really good goal. I'm not really sure of the overall figures on that, but we'll have a look and obviously the players who aren't kicking the ball all that well, in terms of their set-shots, will keep working on that."
Ladder after Round Eight
Pts. % Next Week
West Coast 28 132.1 Hawthorn (York Park, Saturday)
Port Adelaide 24 114.2 Geelong (Football Park, Sunday)
Geelong 20 147.7 Port Adelaide (Football Park, Sunday)
Adelaide 20 110.7 Carlton (Docklands, Saturday)
Hawthorn 20 108.0 West Coast (York Park, Saturday)
North Melbourne 20 106.8 Melbourne (MCG, Sunday)
Collingwood 20 104.1 Brisbane (Gabba, Sat. night)
Footscray 20 100.6 Sydney (Manuka Oval, Sunday)
---------------------------
Sydney 16 110.0 Footscray (Manuka Oval, Sunday)
Essendon 16 107.6 Richmond (MCG, Sat. night)
Brisbane 16 98.3 Collingwood (Gabba, Sat. night)
St. Kilda 16 97.8 Fremantle (Subiaco, Fri. night)
Fremantle 12 74.1 St. Kilda (Subiaco, Fri. night)
Carlton 8 78.7 Adelaide (Docklands, Saturday)
Melbourne 0 67.7 North Melbourne (MCG, Sunday)
Richmond 0 67.6 Essendon (MCG, Sat. night)
Cheers, Tim
Article last changed on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 10:30 AM EDT
