Bulldog Robert Murphy (hamstring) returned this week after missing the past month.
Brisbane's Chris Johnson (foot) and Luke Power (quad strain) missed this week but the Lions regained Joel McDonald, returning for his first game since a 2006 knee reconstruction.
Port Adelaide regained Dean Brogan (ankle) and Michael Wilson (torn pectoral muscle).
Essendon included experienced duo Scott Camporeale and Damien Peverill for their match against West Coast this week, dropping Bachar Houli and Jay Nash.
St. Kilda's defense was bolstered this week by the return of Xavier Clarke from a calf strain. but lost Leigh Fisher to a hamstring injury.
Melbourne regained Aaron Davey (knee), defender Matthew Whelan (foot), Brad Miller (wrist) and midfielder Adem Yze (groin) this week.
ESS 1.0 6.2 12.4 15.5 (95)
WCE 5.5 10.8 13.9 14.10 (94)
GOALS: ESS - Lucas 5, Lloyd 3, Camporeale 2, Laycock 2, Davey, Monfries, Winderlich; WCE - Staker 3, Lynch 2, Brown, Hunter, Hurn, Judd, LeCras, Morton, Priddis, Rosa, Seaby
BEST: ESS - Hird, Winderlich, Peverill, Lucas, Fletcher, Slattery; WCE - Rosa, Priddis, Stenglein, Judd, Cox, B. Jones
UMPIRES: Vozzo, Kennedy, K. Nicholls
CROWD: 48,913 at Telstra Dome
The Eagles exploded in the opening term with the first four goals. So dominant were the Eagles that Essendon rarely got near the ball. The Eagles had the ball almost twice as often as the Bombers and ran into attack 19 times while Essendon managed only five attacks on goal. Their first goal and only goal came 15 minutes into the term with a free kick to Lucas. After the game, Coach John Worsfold bemoaned the Eagles' waywardness in front of goal in the term, a waywardness they would eventually rue in the end. For the moment, the Eagles were in command with a 29 point lead at 1/4 time.
The Bombers improved in the second term and were sparked early with goal to Camporeale, but the Eagles responded with goals to Rosa and Staker. Essendon rallied with three goals to Camporeale, Lloyd and Laycock. Another goal apiece followed before Lloyd had a chance to bring the Bombers within 13 points, but his shot from 50 meters (55 yards) missed. Two late goals to the Eagles had them out to a 30 point lead at 1/2 time.
The Bombers fired in the third term as the Eagles appeared to be tiring. Jason Johnson, Peverill, Hird, and Watson worked hard through the midfield while Lloyd and Lucas kicked two goals each. When Monfries kicked one, the margin was just four points. The Eagles steadied with three of the last four goals of the term to take an 11 point lead at 3/4 time.
Essendon youngster Winderlich got the opening goal of the final term followed by two from Lucas to give Essendon the lead for the first time. A goal to Judd from a free kick and a point to Rowan Jones leveled the scores with just minutes remaining. Both sides went in hard in an effort to break the deadlock. Those frenetic final moments saw heroes and villains on both sides and it was only a matter of who would make the better decisions. First it was Hille who had been well beaten by Cox in the ruck. He courageously cleared the ball from the danger zone rather than concede a point. Moments later, Kerr passed the ball to Hunter but Fletcher got to it first, then threw himself in front of Kerr to keep the fleet-footed Eagle from gaining possession of the ball. McVeigh had a chance when he caught the ball in a leap over Judd, but his kick for goal missed, leaving the scores tied. Hille won the ball at a boundary throw-in and snapped for goal. His kick hit the post, giving Essendon a one point lead. Hird got a quick kick away to repel a West Coast attack, then Fletcher robbed the Eagles of another chance when punched the ball clear. At the other end, McPhee robbed Essendon of another chance when he gave away a silly free kick. These days, what's a game without a bit of controversy from the umpires? With just over a minute to play, Eagle Rowan Jones dived on a loose ball and made no attempt to dispose of it. What should have been a free kick to Essendon for holding the ball became a ball-up. With 10 seconds remaining, the Eagles attacked again and looked certain to score when Hurn kicked long to a waiting pack of players in the goalsquare. They all flew for the ball, but in a move reminiscent of Leo Barry's 2005 Grand Final heroics, Fletcher managed to get fist to the ball and knock it over the line once more. The resultant throw-in ate up what few seconds were left on the clock.
Hird was at his inspirational best with 32 possessions while Fletcher had 27 possessions and took 12 marks in defense. Camporeale (19 possessions), Peverill (30) and Winderlich (22) also were impressive in the midfield.
For the Eagles, Kerr was well held and Judd was down a bit with just 26 possessions, but youngsters Rosa (32) and Priddis (29) filled in nicely.
The Bombers have now won 22 matches out of 36 since the Eagles joined the competition in 1987.
WB 6.8 7.12 13.15 13.17 (95)
BRIS 2.3 2.6 7.8 10.12 (72)
GOALS: WB - Johnson 4, Akermanis 2, Eagleton 2, Cooney, Boyd, Hahn, Higgins, Ray; BRIS - Brennan 3, Notting 3, Brown 2, Lappin, Allan
BEST: WB - Johnson, Gilbee, Harris, Eagleton, Akermanis;
BRIS - Charman, Notting, Lappin, Brennan
INJUEY: WB - Cross & Griffen (knee); BRIS - McGrath (knee) replaced in selected side by Schmidt
UMPIRES: Stevic, Chamberlain, Wenn
CROWD: 29,873 at the Gabba
The Gabba was a see of maroon as the Lions urged their fans to make it as hostile as possible for former favorite son Jason Akermanis, now the Gabba's public enemy #1. The hype was so big, there was even one TV camera which stayed with Akermanis for the entire game. The "Aker-Cam" didn't stop several Lions from delivering some bone-jarring bumps on their former teammate.
Despite kicking the opening two goals of the game, they had more to worry about as the Bulldogs took over with six for the term. Akermanis, just as he had done so often during Brisbane's halcyon days, kicked two in a minute to help the Dogs to a 29 point lead at 1/4 time.
The second term was very low-scoring with both sides wasting goalscoring chances. The Dogs were marginally better with one goal and could have led by much more at the break as they restricted the Lions to just three points for the term to lead by 36 points at 1/2 time.
Both sides made up for the second term lack of scoring in third, putting a mini goalfest with the Dogs kicking six goals to the Lions' five. It was that lack of scoring in the second term which put the game beyond Brisbane's reach as the Dogs were out to a massive 43 point lead at 3/4 time.
Although Brisbane kept the Dogs goalless in the final term, their three goals were not enough to overcome the deficit. Akermanis, booed throughout the game, couldn't resist his traditional victory handstand which was also met by jeers from the crowd.
Despite trying to keep a low profile during the week, Akermanis couldn't help himself as he appeared on the front page of a local newspaper standing on top of a skinned Lion. He also got in a dig at Brisbane in the match program profile, listing highlights as "birth, marriage, Charlotte (daughter), three premierships, getting traded to the Dogs".
SYD 1.3 5.3 9.6 11.9 (75)
HAW 4.3 5.5 7.9 9.12 (66)
GOALS: SYD - Davis 3, Barry 2, Buchanan, Dempster, O'Loughlin, Richards, Schmidt, Schneider; HAW - Franklin 6, Bateman, Campbell, Osborne
BEST: SYD - Kirk, Everitt, Davis, Fosdike; HAW - Franklin, Crawford, Sewell, Mitchell
INJURY: SYD - Ablett (hamstrings/back) replaced in selected side by Schmidt, Kennelly & Jolly (knee)
UMPIRES: McBurney, James, Rosebury
CROWD: 48,398 at MCG
The Sydney Swans put the clamps on Hawthorn today to win their match by nine points at the MCG.
After Hawk star Franklin kicked the opening two goals of the match, the Swans more or less took over, doing what they do best. First they shut the game down to put a stranglehold on the Hawks, then wear down their opponents. It took awhile at first, as the Hawks kicked a further two goals in the first term to Sydney's one for a three goal lead at 1/4 time.
The Swans kicked the first four goals of the second term to grab the lead. Two of those goals went to defender Leo Barry after the Hawks gave away 50 meter penalties (55 yards). A late goal to Bateman had the Hawks in front by two points at 1/2 time.
The Swans lost Jolly to injury in the third term, leaving Everitt to shoulder the ruck on his own. He didn't disappoint against his old side, helping the Swans to a four goal to two term and a nine point lead at 3/4 time.
Davis got the first goal of the final term from a botched Hawk kickout and when Buchanan chimed in, the Swans were out to a 23 point lead. Hawthorn made a late charge with the last two goals of the game, but left their run too late.
CARL 8.3 11.5 20.5 22.9 (141)
PA 4.3 5.8 9.12 14.18 (102)
GOALS: CARL - Waite 4, Houlihan 3, Fisher 3, Fevola 2, Whitnall 2, Bannister 2, S. O'hAilpin 2, Murphy, Walker, Simpson, Carrazzo; PA - Westhoff 4, Rodan 2, Gray 2, S. Burgoyne, C. Cornes, P. Burgoyne, Lade, Tredrea, Cassisi
BEST: CARL - Walker, Murphy, Carrazzo, Waite, Gibbs, Scotland, Russell, Thornton; PA - Salopek, Westhoff, Rodan, K. Cornes, Pearce, P. Burgoyne.
UMPIRES: Goldspink, Hendrie, Woodcock
CROWD: 29,678 at Telstra Dome
After a string of losses, Port vowed in the lead up to this game to go in harder, but it was Carlton who did the hard yards to down one of their bogey teams of the past several seasons. They made their intentions clear from the start with a tall forward line to trouble Port's defense. Young guns Walker and Gibbs constantly repelled Port attacks, keeping Tredrea and Ebert quiet while helping the Blues launch plenty of attacking moves. Murphy, Russell, and Carrazzo defied their inexperience as they led the midfield charge. Waite kicked three of Carlton's eight goals in the opening term. Port got four and Carlton led by four goals at 1/4 time.
Although the second term wasn't a shootout like the first term, the Blues did enough to kick three goals to one for the term. Port had more chances, to get much closer on the scoreboard but wasted them in front of goal. It left the Blues with a handy 33 point lead at 1/2 time.
Port started the third term with Lade dominating the ruck which helped send Port into attack several times. But they could not put any significant score on the board, kicking just two points. The Blues kicked four straight goals before Port got their first for the term. Carlton then slammed through a further six goals to Port's three to finish the term 59 points clear at 3/4 time.
The Blues faded in the final term, allowing Port to outscore them five goals to two, but the proverbial horse had truly bolted by then, giving the Blues their first win over Port since 2001. It was also Carlton's second biggest victory over any side since 2001.
GEEL 2.2 4.11 7.13 9.15 (69)
ADE 3.4 5.5 8.6 9.8 (62)
GOALS: GEEL - Mooney 3, Ling 2, Ottens, Kelly, S. Johnson, Stokes; ADE - McGregor 3, van Berlo 2, Thompson, Johncock, Stevens, Bock
BEST: GEEL - G. Ablett, Bartel, Mooney, Scarlett, Ling, Ottens; ADE - van Berlo, Thompson, Bassett, Knights, McLeod
INJURY: ADE - Goodwin (knee strain), Johncock (corked thigh), Stevens (mild concussion), Ricciuto (blurred vision)
UMPIRES: Head, Ryan, McInerney
CROWD: 43,108 at AAMI Stadium
The Crows suffered a setback in the first term when they lost Goodwin and Johncock to injury. However, they overcame the loss to pressure the Cats through the midfield and in defense. Geelong seemed to wilt under the close attention as the Crows posted three of the first four goals. A late goal to the Cats had them within eight points at 1/4 time.
Ottens and Blake had the better of Hudson and Griffin in the ruck duels, pushing the Cats into wave after wave of attack, but the Cats were woeful in front goal. Instead of taking a commanding lead, they kicked a poor 2.9 for the term. Bock and van Berlo added two goals for the Crows to level the scores at 1/2 time.
An early third term goal to Kelly had the Cats in front for the first time and the loss of Goodwin was beginning to show. McGregor was moved from defense to the forward line and kicked two goals from two free kicks. Geelong also added a pair of goals to take a one point lead at 3/4 time.
Three minutes into the final term, McGregor took a great grab in the forward line and goaled to give Adelaide a five point lead. After a series points and rushed behinds, Ling goaled from an errant Adelaide kickout after a point to give Geelong a narrow lead. Ten minutes then passed without a goal before Johnson intercepted a pass from Porplyzia. His goal sealed the win for Geelong.
FRE 1.3 4.8 10.10 18.15 (123)
RICH 4.5 6.9 10.9 15.12 (102)
GOALS: FRE - Headland 5, Pavlich 3, Tarrant 2, Peake 2, Mundy, Thornton, Black, Ibbotson, Warnock, Grover; RICH - Tambling 3, Pettifer 3, Richardson 2, Edwards 2, Deledio, Newman, Hyde, Kingsley, Howat
BEST: FRE - Headland, Pavlich, Bell, Johnson, McManus;
RICH - Deledio, Pettifer, Polak, King, Foley
INJURY: RICH - Newman (ribs), White (concussion)
UMPIRES: Kamolins, Ellis, Avon
CROWD: 37,177 at Subiaco Oval, Perth
The Dockers got off to a slow start while the young Tigers put on a show to play one of their better first terms of the season. The Tigers won plenty of the ball and Tambling goaled inside the first minute of the opening. Although they dominated the early part of the term, five scoring shots yielded just the one goal until Pettifer and Deledio bobbed up for two more goals. Solomon then gave away a 50 meter (55 yards) penalty for a blow to Newman's midriff. Newman duly converted the goal. The Dockers kicked one for the term and Richmond was out to a 20 point lead at 1/4 time.
Fremantle kicked four unanswered goals over the course of the second term, but late goals to Tambling and Hyde put the Tigers 13 points in front at 1/2 time.
Fremantle steadily chipped away at the Tiger lead in the third term. Bell was pivotal in the midfield while Pavlich broke the shackles of Joel Bowden's close checking to assist Headland to three goals and kick several of his own. The Tigers stayed right with the Dockers with four goals but six to the Dockers had them one point in front at 3/4 time.
Howat goaled early in the final term to put the Tigers in front once more, but it didn't last as Pavlich again fired along with teammates to overrun the young Tigers. Black goaled from a turnover and Pavlich kicked the next three in a fifteen minute burst as the Dockers added eight goals to five to seal the win.
KANG 4.2 7.8 8.11 11.14 (80)
STK 1.3 4.5 5.7 8.10 (58)
GOALS: KANG - Jones 4, Archer, Hale, Lower, McIntosh, Simpson, Sinclair, Swallow; STK - Gehrig 2, Attard, Gilbert, Gram, Gwilt, Koschitzke, Riewoldt
BEST: KANG - Harvey, Harris, Rawlings, Jones, Pratt, Petrie, Archer; STK - Dal Santo, S. Fisher, Hudghton, Montagna
UMPIRES: Margetts, Allen, Sully
CROWD: 34,569 at Telstra Dome
In a less than sparkling spectacle, the Saints were just no match for the Kangaroos. They seem bereft of confidence as they constantly made horrendous errors to allow the Kangaroos plenty of opportunity. The midfield was unable to deliver the ball forward as the Kangaroos skipped away with four goals to one in the first term to lead by fifteen points at 1/4 time.
The Kangaroos could have blown the Saints away in the second term but for some inaccuracy in front of goal. Three goals apiece was enough to keep the Kangaroos in front by 21 points at 1/2 time.
It was more of the same in a dour third term in which scoring dried up for both sides. Both kicked just one goal for the term as the Kangaroos hung on to a 22 point lead at 3/4 time.
Goals to Gram and Koschitzke at the start of the final term got the Saints to within eight points. The Kangaroos finally put the Saints away for good with goals to Lower, McIntosh, and Jones. The Saints added a late flurry of three goals of their own to avoid a more embarrassing loss.
St Kilda now kicked just 29 in their past four matches.
MELB 6.6 8.9 9.14 13.16 (94)
COL 2.3 6.5 9.11 11.15 (81)
GOALS: MELB - Robertson 7, Bate 2, McDonald, Johnstone, Godfrey, Davey; COL - T. Cloke 3, Johnson 3, Davis 2, Fraser, Medhurst, Lockyer
BEST: MELB - Robertson, McLean, Bate, Jones, McDonald, Wheatley, Ward; COL - Holland, Burns, T. Cloke, Johnson, Lockyer, Swan, H. Shaw
INJURY: MELB - Yze (groin) replaced in selected side by Holland, Johnstone (hamstring), Neitz (knee); COL - R. Shaw (groin) replaced in selected side by Stanley, O'Brien (ankle/shoulder)
UMPIRES: Grun, Jeffery, McLaren
CROWD: 70,660 at MCG
Defender Rhyce Shaw had to be omitted when he injured his groin at a training session the day before the game. The job of minding Robertson was then left to young defender O'Brien, but the Pies lost him early in the first term when he hurt his shoulder shortly after Robertson kicked his first goal. An even less experienced defender, debutant Danny Stanley, replaced O'Brien and Robertson gave him a bath, kicking two more goals and setting up Bate for another as the Demons powered away in a six goal to two term to lead by 27 points at 1/4 time.
The lead was stretched to 34 points when O'Bree was penalized for deliberately kicking the ball out of bounds, gifting Godfrey the opening goal of the second term. From there, the Magpies lifted their intensity, working their way back into the game. Fraser began to have the better of White in the ruck, feeding the ball out to Johnson, Lockyer, Burns, Holland and Swan to help steer the Pies into attack. While Rocca was kept in check by the Demon defense, Travis Cloke provided an alternate target up forward as the Pies kicked four of the last five goals for the term, leaving the Demons with a 16 point lead at 1/2 time.
The margin was reduced to 10 points when Lockyer booted a goal at the start of the third term. By this time, Johnstone was off injured and the Demons lost Neitz early in the third term. Although he returned for the final term, his effectiveness was reduced. Robertson momentarily lost his effectiveness as well, kicking three points in the first half of the term. Bate goaled again to restore the Demon lead, but it was again reduced to 10 points with another goal to Lockyer. Davis bobbed up with a late goal to slash Melbourne's lead to just three points at 3/4 time.
By the start of the final term, Robertson had his third opponent. However, it was another inexperienced player in Toovey. Robertson proved the matchwinner with another two goals from strong marks (catches) against Toovey. The Pies added two of their own for the term to stay close, but Melbourne kicked a further two, including one to Robertson after the siren to ice the cake.
STANDINGS
W L D FOR AGST % PTS
GEEL 8 3 0 1273 839 151.73 32
WCE 8 3 0 1024 813 125.95 32
HAW 7 4 0 977 865 112.95 28
ESS 7 4 0 1106 1036 106.76 28
COL 7 4 0 1044 986 105.88 28
KANG 7 4 0 1047 1037 100.96 28
SYD 6 5 0 942 828 113.77 24
ADE 6 5 0 889 831 106.98 24
WB 6 5 0 1082 1107 97.74 24
PA 6 5 0 1001 1035 96.71 24
FRE 5 6 0 1040 1047 99.33 20
BRIS 4 6 1 923 991 93.14 18
CARL 4 7 0 1159 1344 86.24 16
STK 4 7 0 814 956 85.15 16
MELB 2 9 0 863 1121 76.98 8
RICH 0 10 1 925 1273 72.66 2
GOALS
Franklin (HAW) 35
Fevola (CARL) 35
Pavlich (FRE) 34
Lucas (ESS) 33
Johnson (WB) 31
Lloyd (ESS) 30
Mooney (GEEL) 27
Richardson (RICH) 26
Source: Melbourne Age & Herald Sun
Carlton's Bryce Gibbs is the Round 10 Rising Star nominee.
Bryce played an important role in Carlton’s thrilling 10 point win over the Western Bulldogs. He played in defense, going against veterans Akermanis and West. Despite his inexperience, he showed poise and composure to be creative and find targets with the ball when he had possession.
He came to Carlton from Glenelg in the SANFL where he had already played senior football and finished third in Glenelg's best and fairest voting in 2006 and was the number one draft selection at the draft. He has played every game so far this season, averaging 13 possessions per game and also played in Carlton's preseason NAB Cup win. He debuted in Round One and kicked a goal with his first league kick.
Bryce, who turned 18 in March, wears Carlton’s number 4 guernsey, made famous by fellow South Australian and Glenelg alumnus Steve Kernahan, Carlton's longest serving captain and now on the board.
Like Kernahan, who was appointed captain in just his second season, Gibbs' leadership qualities became apparent almost immediately and he is already a member of the team's leadership group.
Bryce was a member of the 2005 AIS-AFL Academy Squad and represented South Australia at both Under 16 and Under 18 Championships. He was named ruck-rover in the 2006 All-Australian team. He is Carlton’s first NAB AFL Rising Star nominee this season.
Source: Michelle Clyne, AFL Media Release
NOTE: Due to the split round 12 starting next weekend, the standings and goals list will be posted the following week at the conclusion of the round - ed.
Article last changed on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 2:11 AM EDT
