AFL Weekly Review
by Tim Murphy
This was heritage round with a 1980s theme. Unfortunately the theme didn’t extend off the field, so we could pay $10 to get in and buy beer in cans at $2 a go.
At Football Park:
Adelaide 4.3 7.6 14.7 19.10.124
North Melbourne 1.3 4.4 6.8 7.10.52
Big crowd in to celebrate a significant milestone - Drew Petrie’s 100th game. Oh, and Camry skipper Mark Ricciuto played his 300th. The papers were full o’tributes to ‘Roo’ including Ash Porter’s hagiography in ‘The Age’, which omitted any mention of Ricciuto’s judiciously-applied thuggery. No elbows-to-heads or Ramsgate Hotel car-parks at all. Ricciuto is a terrific player though, who’s won everything the game has to offer and here became the quickest to 300 games - only 13 seasons. Just a premiership as captain to go, this year maybe. Certainly no chinks in the Camry armour were seen here. Veteran Corollas Ben Hart and Matty Clarke returned for Roo’s big night along with the more junior Nathan Bock, they replaced Trent Hentschel (thigh strain) and axed juniors Ivan Maric and Jason Porplyzia. The Kangas, who’ve gone from “we must remain competitive” to “we’re rebuilding” very quickly, introduced Norwood’s Ed Lower to the AFL at the expense of Joel Perry.
The Ruse adopted the alleged ‘Richmond tactics’ of retaining possession for long periods in combating the Cows. It sort-of worked for a while before the Coronas kicked clear late in the third quarter. A bit like the Cows’ last home game against the Hawks, really. An almost-ideal start for the locals as they went forward from the opening bounce, Ricciuto ran onto the loose ball but couldn’t control it, Rhett Biglands arrived to snap a major. Norf scored a coupla behinds before rebounding Andy McLeod cruised afield and passed for leading Ricciuto to mark and thump a very good kick home from 50m. ‘ROOOO’ purred the crowd. The Kangas’d come to play though, a very good handpass from Daniel Pratt got the ball to Brady Rawlings, he stabbed a pass for leading Nathan Thompson to accept and punt truly. The Camrys responded courtesy an off-the-ball free-kick to Ken McGregor for holding, his goal had the Camrys 10 points ahead. Norf won the ball from the restart but Brent Harvey missed a running shot - TV’s Brereton noted every shot was likely to vital for the Ruse. Sure enough the Camrys advanced ruthlessly from the kick-in and back-pedalling Petrie spilled a mark, roving Ricciuto snapped a sausage. Two goals for Ricciuto and the commentators brown-nosed for several minutes. Interesting incident late in the quarter as Camry Simon Goodwin tripped Daniel Wells - could be reportable. North started the second term well, Daniels Harris and Wells combined to send the ball forward, Pratt was pushed over after marking and the resulting 50m penalty allowed him an easy major. Addleaid led by 12 points. The Ruse tactics saw them kick across-goal in defence four times, on the fourth Goodwin intercepted and chipped a pass for lurking Ricciuto to mark and boot his third goal. Ricciuto proceeded to miss a long shot but soon busy Matthew Bode soccered a spilled ball forward, Nathan Bock was in position to soccer it through. A bit later the Camrys rebounded from a kick-in, Biglands roved his own contest and snapped a good major. The Camrys had jumped to a 32-point lead. Norf were under pressure and responded, smart work from Corey Jones found Shannon Grant inside the attacking 50m, Grant converted. A bit later Grant roved a throw-in and centered the ball, big Roo David Hale juggled a good mark and booted a sausage. The Ruse held possession ‘til half-time, they trailed by 20 points.
The Kangas continued to control the ball (without scoring much) into the third term and the local yokels became restless. Thompson and the hard-workin’ Wells missed shots as the Ruse chipped the ball about the field. A very slow, deliberate build-up ended with Corey Jones spearing a pass to Brent Harvey, ‘Boomer’ booted a goal and the Kangas were 12 points behind. The Camrys went forward from the restart and the Ruse tackled hard in defending, but eventually Camry Bode got clear and slotted a goal. Norf responded thanks to Corolla Graham Johncock allowing a handpass to slip straight through his hands, Harvey pounced and booted his second major. North trailed by 11 points at this stage, the boring possession-game was almost working. Centre-bounces hurt the Roos though, from the next one the Cows attacked again and Brett Burton collected a handpass to boot a major. The Camrys began to put the hammer down now, junior Roo Andrew Swallow panicked under pressure and the turnover saw the Camrys attack, McGregor received a soft free-kick for holding and punted a goal. The Cows came again. Rooman Michael Firrito, playing on Ricciuto, was knocked senseless as he ran head-on into a marking contest. The ball spilled for Scott Stevens, he passed for Bode to mark and convert. The Cressidas had jumped to a 30-point lead very quickly, and they kept going. A poor North turnover from a free-kick gifted another goal to Ricciuto, the Cows attacked from the restart and Wells tapped the ball through for a rushed behind - but Wells didn’t tap it, he threw it and McGregor free-kicked another goal. Camry Scott Thompson roved his own contest to snap a very good left-footer and the Camrys led by 48 points. Ben Hart came on for his first run late in the quarter, to popular acclaim. The final quarter was anti-climactic. Tyson Edwards passed for Ricciuto to kick an early goal, nothing happened for quite a while as the Ruse were firmly in damage-limitation mode by now. Junior Roo Swallow booted his first-ever goal, he did well to withstand pressure and dribbly-snap it through. Then a burst of Addderlayed goals, McGregor kicked one from a mark instead of a free-kick, consecutive centre-clearances saw Scott Thompson score with a running banana and Scott Stevens bag one as well. A hard lead, strong mark and deft handpass from Goodwin sent Jason Torney in for a running major to complete the goal-scoring, and start the Ricciuto acclimation.
Typical Camry performance with Andrew McLeod (25 disposals) cruising off half-back and Simon Goodwin (22 handlings) influential. Mark Ricciuto (15 touches, 6 marks, 5 goals) had a pretty good night in the end while McLeod’s ventures were launched by Nathan Bassett (24 possies) and Graham ‘Stiffy’ Johncock (18 touches). Scott Thompson (18 disposals, 2 goals) and Matthew Bode (12 handlings, 2 goals) were good, along with wingman Michael Doughty (19 possies). Ken McGregor kicked 4 goals and actually earned one of them, Rhett Biglands booted 2 goals. Kanga men Daniel Wells (28 disposals) and Shannon Grant (34 possessions, a goal) covered huge tracts of land as part of the Ruse strategy and Brent Harvey (29 touches, 14 marks, 2 goals) wasn’t far behind. Brady Rawlings (27 disposals) produced his usual stopping job on Tyson Edwards. Daniel Harris (23 touches) and half-forward Corey Jones (23 handlings, 9 marks) battled away. Laidley conceded the opposition were too good. "In the end, they over-ran us - we always knew they were going to come at us at a certain stage," he said. "They are a fantastic football club. They are in another stratosphere. No one is unbeatable but they've got a very good coach, they've got some genuine leaders who can control the atmosphere of the football club. If they can continue to do that for the next five games, they get home finals and that's a start." Neil Craig must get tired of repeating himself. "I thought it was an absolute credit to our guys with the way they played the whole night. It was a good game for us to play in - a really good game. There were some different styles of football to play against, a lot of rotations, a lot of our guys played in different positions and performed. The more we can play under those conditions, the better off we'll be." Big one away to the Weegs next week.
At the MCG:
Essendon 4.2 9.4 13.6 16.9.105
Carlton 5.3 8.5 11.13 15.15.105
“Ha ha, how fitting,” chuckled knob-head commentators. Clearly they don’t support either of the clubs involved, left thoroughly unsatisfied by the draw. Blue Eddie Betts kicked two late goals to pull the Bluies level, but Carlton spurned more goal-scoring chances during the day. Essadun led by 3 goals early in the final term but couldn’t hold on. Essadun were coached on the day by assistant Gary O’Donnell, Sheeds was recuperating from shoulder surgery after being clattered by Dean Solomon at training. Accidental I’m sure. Sheeds sat in the box on ‘God’s’ right. Symbolic. Last week the Bluies were given $2 million by the AFL, 1.5 of it a ‘loan’. The days are not so long ago when the arrogant Bluebaggers and their supporters sneered at clubs going cap-in-hand to the leeg. Multiple team-changes for the Bommers again, Paddy Ryder, Angus Monfries and Henry Slattery returned at the expense of axed juniors Sam Lonergan and Ben Jolley while Adam McPhee copped a very lenient one-game suspension for whacking Rob Harvey last week. The Bluies were strengthened by the return of captain Anthony Koutoufides and forward Jarrad Waite from injury, ruckman Chris ‘Woof’ Bryan and Simon Wiggins were also called up. Jordan Russell missed with a wrist injury while Adrian Deluca, Trent Sporn and struggling Matty Lappin were dropped.
The Bombouts made the best contribution to heritage round and its’ 1980s theme, donning the gay bright-red shorts they wore during the decade. Carlton had the first goal, Ryan Houlihan passing for leading Brendan Fevola to mark and convert. The Dons had Scott Lucas do the job in their forward-line, he gave Lance Whitnall a rare hiding. Lucas opened his account by thumping a shot from inside the centre-square, it bounced home although there were suggestions Bloo backman Bret Thornton touched it. Within a minute Lucas had a second goal and very soon his third arrived, he gathered a loose ball at CHF and handballed to Andrew Lovett, it went to Mark Johnson and back to Lucas who jabbed it through. Dons 13 points ahead and the Blooze introduced Koutoufides, who helped stop the rot. Carlton scored the next four goals, including a great snap from Betts, to go 13 points ahead themselves but Dons Damien Peverill and Jobe Watson combined to clear a late centre-clearance, Watson passed for Lucas again and he majored again. The Bommers improved in the second quarter with Peverill and Brent Stanton very good midfield. Lucas kicked two more goals, the first created by Mark McVeigh’s pass. Lucas also missed a coupla straightforward shots and finally Whitnall was moved away, to the forward-line. Carlton were lucky enough to stay in touch with two miracle goals, one snapped from the left-hand pocket boundary by Kade Simpson, the other from the right-hand pocket by a surprised Koutoufides after Fevola gave him the ball in an impossible position. Kouta’s came in the final minute of the half and reduced the Bombouts’ lead to 5 points at the long break, Lucas having 6 goals on the board.
The Dons jumped out with a couple of quick goals in the third, a poor Bloo kick-in saw Thornton caught in possession and Andrew Lovett free-kicked a major, a bit later Andrew Lee bagged one and the Dons led by 18 points. Lucas had gone quiet now but Mark McVeigh had shifted forward and gave Irish Blue Setanta O’hAilpin a torrid time. The boy O’hAilpin tries hard but doesn’t appear to have any ability, bless him. Carlton replied with the next three goals, two coming from new father Fevola. But they missed a lot of shots in the term, scoring 3.8. Kouta’s poster nudged Carlton ahead by a point, but the Dons advanced from the kick-in and McVeigh led for a good grab, he booted a goal. Essadun by 5 points at the final change. The Dons appeared to take charge early in the ultimate Mario. A Bloo turnover allowed Angus Monfries to snap a major. A bit later Monfries missed a free-kick after being flattened by Thornton. Soon Lovett found himself 50m out on the flank and launched a torpedo punt. It was a mongrel, dropping like a rock but McVeigh read it and marked in the pocket, he converted. The Bummers led by 18 points, equal to the largest lead enjoyed by either side on the day. They appeared favourites. The Bluesers fought back, Waite, Simpson and Fevola all missed shots before Fevola sausaged with a free-kick, reducing the Dons’ lead to 10 points. A rushed point for the Bommers and Lucas’s off-target snap had the Dons exactly 2 goals ahead. From the kick-in of the Lucas behind the Blues managed a break, ex-Don Jordan Bannister ran inside 50m and booted a good long goal. The Bluies appeared on the attack again when panicky Cory McGrath fired an insane, aimless handpass. Turnover, Lovett sped clear for the Bummers and his long kick was marked in the goal-square by skipper David Hille, a tap-through sausage. Essington led by 12 points with four-and-a-half minutes remaining. Eddie Betts saved the ‘baggers. He free-kicked a goal after being kneed in the head by Solomon. There was time for O’hAilpin’s traditional, late-game shot on-the-full before Heath Scotland roved a ball-up and tumbled a kick forward. Betts arrived for a gutsy with-the-flight mark and booted a very good goal in the circumstances. Scores level with 70 seconds to go and they stayed there.
The Bommers had very good midfield service from battling Damien Peverill (30 disposals, a goal) and Brent Stanton (24 possies, 2 goals). Scott Lucas finished with 6.3 from 11 marks and 22 disposals and kept the Dons in it in the first half. Andrew Welsh (30 possies) was good in defence and Mark McVeigh (18 touches, 2 goals) an important forward after half-time, ruckman David Hille (12 touches, 27 hit-outs, a goal) and speedster Andrew Lovett (16 handlings, a goal) were also useful contributors. Scott Camporeale had 17 touches against his old side. The papers elected Brendan Fevola (7 marks, 14 disposals, 5 goals) Carlton’s best while Heath Scotland (28 disposals) was good around packs and Kade Simpson (22 touches, 1.4) ran a lot. Anthony Koutoufides (20 touches, 2.3) was handy and Nick Stevens (28 disposals) played well, some kudos for Luke Blackwell(19 touches). And we can’t not mention ‘hero’ Eddie Betts (14 touches, 3 goals). Denis Pagan said "Every time you're in this situation it is very empty, but there were positives to take away from it and I'm certainly disappointed we never won the game because I thought we had our opportunities. We can talk about anything you want to talk about, but at the end of the day we just didn't use the ball well enough and we made poor decisions." Gary O’Donnell said "We've worked so hard for three months without any success and to have the game possibly in your keeping - you've got to do the right things - but to be in front with a few minutes to go . . . you've got to be able to orchestrate the win, so that you do reward yourself (with) your hard work . . . But on the other hand, Carlton has had more scoring shots than us and they're probably sitting in the other room thinking, 'Gee, if we had have done the right thing, we win the game'." Indeed.
At Docklands:
Collingwood 3.3 10.7 12.11 19.13.127
West Coast 5.5 8.8 10.11 13.12.90
The Poise got back on track with a good win over the Wiggles in an entertaining game. There’s a theory about the Eagles, they’re not as good as last year. The forward-line is less flexible with Phil Matera retired and formless Ash Sampi out-of-favour, Cox’s injury has weakened them further. But the Weegs’ week was dominated by the self-destruction of Michael Gardiner. Two weeks after returning to the fold, Gardiner had a skinful of lager after the win over Siddey last Saturday night and crashed his car on the way home. No-one was injured but the Weegs suspended Gardiner ‘indefinitely’ and when CEO Trevor Nisbett was asked whether Gardiner would be offered a new contract, responded “it’s very unlikely.” In selection here the Maggies got tough in axing four, most notably Leon Davis along with Jason Cloke, David Fanning and Rhyce Shaw. Laul Licuria was a late pull-out with ‘soreness’. In came Ben Davies, Travis Cloke, Simon Prestigiacomo, Brodie Holland and Chris Egan. Anthony Rocca played his 200th game, although it probably won’t feature in ‘Pebbles’ DVD collection - he had a shocker. Gardiner was dumped from the Wiggle side along with Mark Le Cras, Chad Fletcher missed with a hamstring strain and Ben Cousins was ‘rested’ following some heavy hits in recent weeks. Ash Hansen (‘flu) was a late pull-out as well. Handily, Dan Chick, Daniel Kerr and Darren Glass returned along with Matt Rosa. Andrew McDougall was called up to replace Hansen.
The Weegs started very well and should’ve been further ahead at quarter-time. Daniel Kerr was terrific on-the-ball and Chris Judd worked hard off half-back. Rocca started in the ruck for the Poise but that lasted about 2 minutes before he returned to full-forward. Weeg ruckman Mark Seaby booted the opening goal, juggling a grab in front of Rocca after Chick hooked the ball back. A nice gather and handpass from Chris Tarrant led to Chris Egan booting the Maggies’ first major. Both sides missed a coupla and Rocca spilled a mark on-the-lead before the Weegs got moving. Poi Ryan Lonie was done for ‘bawl’ and Kerr found Quinten Lynch with the free, big Lynch converted. Brent Staker booted a lucky goal and a superb piece of roving from David Wirrpanda set up another mark and goal for Lynch, the Weegs had jumped to a 17-point lead. Both sides had lost key defenders already, the Poise Shane Wakelin (hamstring) and Weegs Adam Hunter - strained medial knee ligament for Hunter which’ll keep him out for a month, untimely. At the restart from the second Lynch goal, Maggie Brodie Holland won a free for being held and a 50m penalty when Judd kicked the ball away. Holland bagged a needed major for the Poise. Busy Weeg McDougall missed a coupla shots but the Pies messed up the kick-in from the second, Ben Johnson kicked straight to Eeg Sam Butler. He passed for Staker to mark and thump it home from 50m, the Wiggles led by 18 points again. The Poise shifted quiet Nathan Buckley forward and brought Ben Davies into the midfield, both successful moves. Buckley’s cool gather and handpass allowed Egan to snap a major for them. Weegs Judd and Shannon Hurn missed perfectly kickable shots before quarter-time. The Maggies cleared the opening bounce of the second korter, Buckley led for a mark and booted truly. The Weegs’ lead was cut to 8 points and they continued to burn chances, behinds from Butler and Wirrpanda sending their score to 5.7 before the Poise attacked thanks to a lucky free-kick to Rocca, who’d tripped over himself. Rocca passed for Josh Fraser to mark on a tough angle but he slotted it through very well. Fraser was playing very well in general, he and Davies combined to win the following centre-clearance and Buckley gathered the ball, he hooked it back for oncoming Davies to mark - he ripped it outta Rocca’s grasp - and boot another goal, the Poise led by 2 points. The Weegs broke the run with a big goal-square grab from Seaby, he popped it through and they led again. Goals and the lead alternated for a bit, Buckley’s effort to keep the ball in play allowed Egan and Dale Thomas to set up an easy goal for Tarrant. Seaby kicked another goal for the Weegs, a free-kick for being whacked in the head by Prestigiacomo. The Weevils extended their lead to 8 points after Kerr climbed on Scott Burns for a fantastic ride and screamer, a leading mark-of-the-year contender for sure. Kerr thumped it through. But the Pies skipped ahead with three goals in time-on, Weegle Matt Rosa kicked on-the-full and Buckley speared the free to Fraser, who again converted nicely from the pocket. Fraser sent the Pies forward from the restart, Shane O’Bree gathered the loose ball and slotted a noice left-foot running major. Soon O’Bree snapped another, good pressure from the Pies forcing the ball loose. The Scraggies led by 11 points at half-time.
The third Mario was tighter than the free-scoring first pair. Pie fans were angry early when Thomas wasn’t rewarded for his strong tackle on Michael Braun - the ball stayed alive and Butler snapped a sausage for the Weegs. A bit later O’Bree marked 50m out and made a complete mess of an attempted pass to Rocca; handily the ball came back to O’Bree and he booted a goal, Pies by 11 points again. Bucks missed an absolute sitter, just his third behind for the season (with 20 goals) as the game entered a goal-less spell. The benches were busy as both sides searched for the advantage. Eventually a goal came from a mistake, Poi Tarkyn Lockyer’s wayward handpass allowing Wirrpanda to slot a terrific goal from the boundary-line. The Coasters trailed by 7 points at this stage and missed a couple of shots. A bit later O’Bree’s smother in the centre and some terrific tough work from Burns led to an easy goal for Tarrant and the Pies led by 11 points again. The Eegs were under pressure and defended stoutly ‘til the final break. Some rugged work at the opening bounce of the final term preceded Thomas’s clearing kick for the Poise; Buckley roved the pack and handballed for Tarrant to pop it through. Weeg Brett Jones missed a shot before the Pies attacked again. Ben Johnson’s long kick spilled from the pack, Alan Didak stayed down to stab it home. Soon Holland passed for leading Tarrant to mark and boot a noice 55m sausage. The Poise led by 29 points and were overrunning the tiring Weegs. The sandgropers clung on for a bit, good work at the restart from Kerr and Tyson Stenglein won the ball and led to snapped major from Braun. Desperate Kerr flattened team-mate Adam Selwood, before the Pies responded with a free-kicked major from Buckley, ridden into the hard, sandy Docklands turf by Chick. McDougall converted from a strong pack-mark for the Weegs, again the Pies replied as Brett Jones’s risky cross-field kick was intercepted by Dane Swan, he grubbed it through. The Weevils won the ball at the restart and Staker’s handpass released Beau Waters to boot a long sausage. Again the Weegs trailed by four goals but time was running out. The Poise sealed it with the final two goals, Thomas booted the first and Rocca invited trouble when he marked Swan’s pass and walked towards the umpire proffering the ball - it was suggested the ump should’ve called play-on, but petulant Pebbles was allowed to go back and boot a goal. At least he got one for the milestone.
Very good game from Josh Fraser (18 disposals, 12 marks, 26 hit-outs, 2 goals) led the Pies while Nathan Buckley’s move forward (21 touches, 2 goals) was important. Young flankers Chris Egan (22 handlings, 8 marks, 2 goals) and Dale Thomas (18 touches, a goal) were influential and Ben Davies (15 possies, a goal) was good too. Chris Tarrant (11 marks, 19 disposals, 4 goals) played his best game for a while. Heath Shaw’s (18 disposals) form has improved, returned Brodie Holland (17 touches, a goal) was useful. Shane O’Bree bagged 3 goals from his 15 touches. The Weegs were led by a great game from Daniel Kerr (30 disposals, a goal, mark-of-the-year) and Chris Judd (23 possies) was good too. Weeg ruckman Mark Seaby (15 touches, 24 hit-outs, 3 goals) was prominent, making you wonder about the defensive responsibilities of ruckmen. David Wirrpanda (14 touches, a goal) was good and Rowan Jones (25 disposals) and Andrew Embley (21 handlings) battled hard. Darren Glass (16 disposals) beat an out-of-sorts Rocca. Quinten Lynch and Brent Staker kicked 2 goals each. John Worsfold was offered the injury excuse. "We were disappointing in a lot of the areas of the game today and it doesn't matter who is not out there," he said. "The guys that were out there let themselves down in quite a few areas. We were disappointing with some of our decision-making and our use of the ball today was well below what is acceptable at this level. You have to take responsibility for how you win the ball and how you use it." Mick Malthouse said "It was (pleasing), for a number of reasons. We needed to get back on the winning circle, and we've been disappointing, so there were a number of reasons why we needed to show something today." The Pies have denied claims by Brad Hardie (?) that Malthouse will be forced to quit coaching at the end of the season due to illness.
At the SCG:
Sydney 4.3 7.8 12.13 14.17.101
Richmond 2.0 4.6 5.9 7.11.53
Despite losing in WA last week the Swans were held to have played well. Their ‘revival’ continued here with a tough, professional performance to dispose of the battling Tigers. Given the Swans won the early-season fixture between these two by 20 goals, you could argue the Tigers have improved by 12 goals. But not really. With their flooding, keep-possession, short-passing game the Tiges have become very predictable and boring. While they may limit the opposition scoring, Richmun’s ball movement is so slow and indirect they’ve made it almost impossible to score themselves. More running with the ball and long-kicking couldn’t hurt, just to break up the pattern if nothing else. Two changes for the Swan side, Nick Malceski returning from his hamstring trouble at the expense of Luke Vogels and late withdrawal Ben Mathews replaced by a debutant, Heath ‘Reg’ Grundy. He’s a solidly-built, tallish lad from Norwood. Grundy was selected in the continued absence of Nick Davis; unlike the Akermanises and Gardiners of the world, Davis had shown contrition following his public outburst when dropped last week. But he isn’t back yet. The Tigers called up Danny Meyer and David ‘D-Rod’ Rodan to replace Joel Bowden, suspended a game for biffing Daniel Ward last Friday, and late withdrawal Adam Pattison.
On a wet, slippery SCG the pattern was set from the start. Large packs and plenty of tackling as both sides struggled for space. The Tiges were keen not to be blown off the park early, as they were in the last meeting. Swan Ryan O’Keefe found a lot of space after a few minutes, marking Adam Goodes’s kick and casually booting the opening goal. There was an argument Richmun’s game plan was fine and the real culprit was poor delivery inside attacking 50m. This was a feature, a poor pass to Richardson occurred early, Kane Johnson gathered the ball and hoiked it back. Handily Jay Schulz was in front of his man to mark and boot a major. The Swans had the better of it though, another poor Tige pass to Richardson caused a rebound and Tadhg Kennelly kicked to O’Keefe again. Such was the flooding O’Keefe, 60m from goal, had no-one in front of him. He hesitated a moment before launching a long, accurate punt. The Swans missed a few shots, wayward Mick O’Loughlin and Barry Hall included, Bazza attempting a banana after marking next to the point-post. Tige Andrew Kellaway copped an accidental boot in the head and staggered around drunkenly for a few minutes before consenting to go off and get some bandaging and smelling salts. Schulz goaled again for the Tigers, marking Troy Simmonds’ quick, tumbling punt and the Tiges trailed by 3 points. But then Hall out-paced Darren Gaspar to clutch an emphatic mark of Luke Ablett’s long kick and boot a goal. Late in the term Malceski roved a ball-up and lobbed a high punt, Heath Grundy held a good goal-square grab and booted his career-first sausage. Siddey moved steadily clear in a tough second term, amongst many missed shots. Goodes missed a sitter and Adam Schneider postered before O’Keefe bagged his third, set up well by Grundy. Goodes sped clear of the subsequent centre-bounce and booted a terrific solo goal. The Tiges accumulated behinds, Schulz with the worst miss. Their problems were shown when Simmonds won a free-kick at the centre-bounce following the Goodes goal. Common sense says you thump it long on the little SCG; instead the Tiges chipped a series of short, sideways passes until they lost possession. Most sides are aware of what the Tiges are up to. Hall bagged a major and the Swans led by 32 points. The Tiges clung on with two late goals, Nathan Brown converted a dubious free-kick from 50m. Dean Polo, playing on Goodes, produced a great run with a couple of dummies to boot a terrific major and keep the Toigs in nominal touch, 20 points behind at half-time.
The Bloods put a gap in ‘em quickly in the third quarter. Siddey found more and more space; the Tiges struggled everywhere. Tige junior Matthew White was done for running too far and Grundy free-kicked a major. Kennelly’s run and long kick spilled from the pack, Grundy was on hand again to snap it through. He was certainly a pain in the region covered by my Reg Grundies. The Swans began to tweak that their forwards were likely to outmark their opponents; Mick O’Loughlin held a good goal-square mark against Andy Raines and booted a goal. Lewis Roberts-Thomson ventured forward and sent another long kick goal-wards, O’Loughlin held off Raines and clutched another good grab, he converted. The Swans bombarded the goals now, incoming fire from Goodes spilled from the pack and junior Swan Simon Phillips roved to snap his career-first sausage. The Swans led by, er, a lot now. 52 points, apparently. The Tiges had moved Richo to the backline, always a worry, and Patrick Bowden to full-forward. Bowden kicked the Tiges’ only goal of the quarter after the siren. The Tigers fought the game out, at least, in a fairly uninteresting final quarter. The most notable incident was Swan Brett ‘Captain’ Kirk being kicked meatily (but accidentally) in the head by Shane Tuck and falling to the ground unconscious. It was very similar to the Jeff White one last year, luckily Kirk didn’t appear to suffer any serious damage beyond a very fat lip. He was up and about soon enough. The Tiges scored a couple of early goals, Brown with a softish free kick and 50m penalty against Kennelly for swearing at the ump. Danny Meyer got one before the Swans bagged the last two. O’Loughlin outmarked three opponents to dob his third and the Bloods played some soccer for the next , O’Keefe soccered into the path of Amon Buchanan who soccered a very smart sausage. By then I’d retreated to the bar, triumphant Swan supporters are bad enough but an obnoxious Collingwood d!ckhead joining in was the final straw.
No real stand-out for the Bloods in a very solid team effort. Ryan O’Keefe (11 marks, 19 disposals, 3 goals) got the ball rolling and Jude Bolton (21 kicks) battled well in midfield. Busy Heath Grundy (7 marks, 15 disposals, 3 goals) received much attention and Mick O’Loughlin (7 marks, 8 kicks, 3 goals) was pretty good. The Swans’ backline played well, Lewis Roberts-Thomson shackled Richo, Craig Bolton (14 disposals) was good on Brown and Tadhg Kennelly (17 touches) saw a fair bit of it. Although you could argue the real star of the Siddey defence was Richmond’s very poor delivery. Adam Goodes (16 touches, 9 marks, a goal) started well but faded, Barry Hall kicked 2 goals. Richmun’s best were skipper Kane Johnson (28 disposals) and probably Darren Gaspar on Hall. Nathan Foley (16 touches) plugged away and Kayne ‘P-Train’ Pettifer (7 marks, 15 kicks) ran about getting a kick. Troy Simmonds (11 disposals, 35 hit-outs) wasn’t bad. Jay Schulz and Nathan Brown kicked 2 goals each. Terry ‘Plough’ Wallace said "We came up here to try to find out where we were at, I mean obviously they beat us convincingly last time around, so we really wanted to play them. Probably the thing that broke the game open is they had two runs of five goals throughout the game. When it came to the physicality and probably just the use of the footy and the style of play that you put in place, they were just better than us." Yes. Paul Roos said "I thought there were some good signs last week so to come tonight against a team that was on the same number of win-losses and to play as well as we did, and consistently, with some of the young kids as well for a good solid win was pleasing."
At the Gabba:
Brisbane 1.4 5.9 11.12 11.18.84
Hawthorn 5.3 8.3 10.6 11.8.74
A relieving win for the Lyin’s after Jason Akermanis’s Brisbane career effectively ended last week. Aker’s fatal sin was to jump into the press again to reheat all his grievances; he was angry at being dropped earlier in the year; the Lyin’s disappointment with his meedya work was hypocrisy, as Brisbun themselves encouraged such opportunities to supplement to his salary; and he was “a 5% chance” to remain with the Lyin’s next year. Aker went on to advertise his wares to “any Melbourne club”. He was dropped for this game and in the aftermath either “relieved of all club duties” or suspended for 6 weeks, it’s hard to tell. The Lyin’ PR machine spun furiously. According the Lyin’s Aker was responsible for leaking a story about Mal Michael pondering retirement; Aker’s never been liked by anyone at the club; the decision to dump him was made by ‘the leadership group’, not Leigh Matthews. I liked the description of leadership groups by Roy Masters on the ABC’s ‘Offsiders’: a bunch of brown-nosers selected by the coach to push his line while he avoids responsibility. Anyways, this game wasn’t pretty but the win was the thing for Brisbun. The decision to cut Akermanis loose provoked strong opinions amongst Lyin’ supporters, most of whom care little for bruised egos and internal club politics and see Aker as an exciting, entertaining and very good player. Also out of the Brisbun side here were injured Marty Pask (hamstring) and axed Daniel Merrett. The ‘ins’ were good though, Jason Roe and Ben Fixter back from hamstring problems and veteran ruckman Clark Keating wheeled into action. The Hawks (they were playing) dropped Harry Miller and struggling John Barker to reincorporate Richie Vandenberg and Shane Crawford, two useful gains. Peter ‘Spida’ Everitt was a late withdrawal with his injured foot, Simon Taylor came in. Everitt is talking about moving to the Swans again, a contract negotiation gambit.
For heritage round Brisbane sported their gloriously awful ‘BB’ Bears guernsey, the one with the terrible maroon and mustard colours and the ridiculous BB logo which was supposed to be a stylized map of Queensland. I never realized. A pity they didn’t wear the fantastic ‘angry koala’ one. Some folks in the crowd sported “I’m an Aka-Backer” t-shirts. Perhaps relieved not to be facing Lyin’ behemoth Jonathan Brown, the Hawks began very well. Maybe all the controversy made the Lyin’s a bit uncertain, too. The Hawks defended stoutly as they crowded around Dan Bradshaw, on-ballers Sam Mitchell and Richie Vandenberg were busy too. A handpass from Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin allowed Mark Williams to snap the opening goal. Mis-heard Franklin’s nickname as ‘bloody’. Perhaps more appropriate. Chance Bateman maneuvered smartly to snap the next sausage, then a long Trent Croad punt was shepherded through by Hodge for full points. The Hawks led by 18 points. On they came, a Mal Michael fumble was gathered by Croad, he handballed for Ben Dixon to thump it through from point-blank. Vandenberg booted a running sausage and Horforn led by 29 points. Bradshaw finally found space to boot the Lyin’s first late in the quarter. The Brians improved after korter-time as Mitchell’s influence waned and Luke Power’s increased. Brisbun half-backs Jason Roe and Justin Sherman were influential too. But they kicked badly for goal, as the Lyin’s often do at the Gabba. Why? Michael Rischitelli, Rhan Hooper and Jamie Charman behind-ed before Franklin snapped a ripper for the Horks, they led by 26 points. But the visitors lost Williams for a bit after Michael dropped the knees into his ribs. The Brians began to get on-target, Matthew Moody booted a terrific running goal. Luke Hodge sausaged for the Hawks with a terrific bit of roving, but late Lisbon goals from Bradshaw and Power closed the gap to 12 points at half-time.
Franklin intervened again early in the third stanza, bagging a running goal direct from the opening bounce. A bit later Robert Campbell showed great agility to gather Croad’s long kick, evade Michael and pop it through. The Lyin’s had shifted Charman to full-forward to help Bradshaw out. Keating went into the ruck and both moves worked. Sherman found leading Charman for a mark and goal, Josh Drummond’s high kick spilled from the pack and Hooper snapped a terrific goal, likened by the commentators to an Aker special. Bradshaw thumped a terrific long major after accepting Drummond’s pass and the Lyin’s kept going, Hooper’s great tackle leading to a major for Jared Brennan. Charman bagged another goal and the Lyin’s led by 12 points at the final change. The final term was a fairly tedious slog, Franklin’s snapped goal half-way through the only major of the korter. Brisbun managed 0.6 but hung on for victory.
Luke Power (38 touches, a goal) and speedy Justin Sherman (33 disposals, 12 marks) led the way for the Lyin’s, with Jamie Charman (17 touches, 7 marks, 2 goals) a fairly important contributor. Veterans Michael Voss (27 handlings) and Simon Black (27 disposals) were handy and Clark Keating’s effort in the ruck (25 hit-outs, 11 touches) also a key - the Hawks missed Spida. Dan Bradshaw booted 4 goals from 5 marks and 16 touches, youngsters Jason Roe (19 possies) and Rhan Hooper (13 touches, a goal) were also useful. The Horks’ best were tough half-back Campbell Brown (23 disposals, 12 marks) and lanky Lance Franklin (16 touches, 3 goals - just one mark though). Luke Hodge (19 possies, a goal) and Rick Ladson (likewise) played well, Sam Mitchell (20 disposals) was good early but faded a bit. Defender Brad Sewell (19 handlings) was solid again, he’s having a good season. "Early on we were playing with some real authority and winning the crucial battles in the centre and were getting inside 50 really quickly," Clarkson said post-match. "The influence of their Rolls Royce brigade with, in my view Clark Keating and Jamie Charman still one of the best ruck duos in AFL football, had an enormous influence on the game. So it was difficult to maintain scoreboard pressure on them after our early momentum." Akermanis’s shadow hovered over Leigh Matthews’ pres conference. "We've actually played games out strongly the last few weeks and the last two we weren't too good early. They (Horforn) certainly looked a bit sharper early. It has been a turbulent week for some but not for the players themselves. The players have done the normal preparation for the 22 that have been selected. But I guess they read the papers so if there is turbulence for one, there is turbulence for them all to an extent."
At York Park:
St. Kilda 3.4 6.7 7.11 8.16.64
Port Adelaide 0.2 2.5 6.10 8.12.60
It’s often said every kid’s dream is to have a kick after the final siren to win a game. Clearly it wasn’t in the Motlop household. With 6 seconds remaining, the Saints 5 points ahead, Port’s Daniel Motlop rode Sainter Sam Fisher for a fantastic grab about 20m from goal. When the infamous York Park siren sounded, Motlop visibly winced; he produced a very nervous, stabby kick which sliced away for a behind and the Saints had triumphed, unconvincingly. The win broke a couple of hoodoos for the Stainers; they hadn’t beaten Port since 2000, a run stretching over 9 contests and three coaches; and of course they hate the Launceston venue, asking the AFL to not fixture Sinkilda games there again after this year. We learned this from the Saints’ new CEO Groundskeeper Willie. “Weed prufurrr tae plae et Dorkluhnds rilly. Weev a traemaendus histurry to ur cloob,” he warbled. In selection here the Saints regained Jason Blake and Steven Baker, out went Xavier Clarke and Andrew Thompson. Harsh. Port lost Dean Brogan with his ankle injury and Warren Tredrea, clearly still troubled by his knee. Junior Matt Thomas and regular Peter Walsh were dropped. On the plus side Chad Cornes and Stu Dew returned, Toby Thurstans was called up and the Power introduced Alipate Carlile, a tallish, mobile defender from Wangaratta Rovers.
For heritage round the Saints wore their traditional three-panel guernsey. Port had made their 123rd request to wear the black-and-white ‘prison bars’ jumper made famous in the Snaffle and for the 123rd time they’d been knocked back. If you’d just had a big Sunday lunch the first quarter was ideal for inducing a post-prandial snooze. Half-paced circle-work dominated the opening quarter-hour as both sides carried the ball downfield and wasted it inside 50, both sides flooding too of course. Sainter players told each other to “be patient”, apparently. Sainter Robert Harvey and Port’s Adam Thomson had hit the post before Nick Riewoldt booted the opening goal, he accepted Gehrig’s pass after a good tackle from Aaron Fiora, of all people, won the ball. Nick Dal Santo collected the ball at the restart and he passed for leading Gehrig to mark and convert. Just before the break Dal Santo involved himself again, passing for Stephen Milne to hold an iffy, juggling grab. From 50m Milney booted a good, low kick for full points and Sinkilda led by 20 points at the first break, Port goal-less. The croweaters appeared very light-on in attack, Motlop the most energetic. Riewoldt majored following a terrific goal-square grab over Darryl Wakelin early in the second term and the Saints led by 25 points. Port were struggling but soon Motlop got their first goal, he was spoiled in a marking attempt but used great skill and speed to run away from two Stainers and blast it through from point-blank. A bit later the busy Nathan Lonie kicked long for the Flowers and Josh Mahoney roved a big goal-mouth pack to snap a good sausage, Port reduced their deficit to 14 points. The Saints regained control in an unusual sequence. Leading Gehrig clattered into Port’s Brad Symes who’d dropped into the ‘hole’; Symes had a free but the ump allowed advantage as Wakelin collected the ball, however Wakelin proceeded to kick the pill over Kane Cornes’s head and into Harvey’s hands, he ran afield and popped it through. Some great Motlop play preceded him slicing horribly on-the-full; the Saints attacked from the free but Milne butchered an easy shot. This was not a good game for kicking skills. Gehrig bagged the next goal, he marked 55m out and played on around Chad Cornes. Diving Cornes managed to pull G-Train’s shorts down a bit, Fraser shortened his stride and produced a low wobbly kick which crept through for full points. Sinkilda led by 27 points after that, Powerman Shaun Burgoyne and Milne missed shots before half-time.
Port improved in the third quarter. Chad Cornes moved onto the ball and he, Shaun Burgoyne and ruckman Brendon Lade controlled the midfield. Danyle Pearce was good too. They continued to battle in attack, though. Mahoney snapped an early goal, gathering the pill after Symes’s shot was smothered by diving Goddard. A turnover by the Pooer allowed a Sinkilda reply, Jason Gram kicked long for Gehrig to mark easily and steer it through. The Saints led by 25 points. Lade and Burgoyne combined classily to clear the restart, Damon White led to mark Lade’s pass and boot a goal. A minute later Lonie kicked long to find Steven Salopek all alone; he’d gambled to run ahead of play and now profited with an easy slot. Sinkilda led by 13 points and they stayed thereabout for quite a few minutes as both sides struggled to score. Stainers Harvey and Luke Ball missed fairly easy shots, Harvey hurt his leg in the course of his and was soon off. Wakelin and Pearce kicked points for Port. After a while Pearce collected the agget from a ball-up and with Stu Dew’s shepherd, Pearce sped clear and speared a sausage. Port trailed by 7 points, before the final break Riewoldt held a terrific mark but kicked another behind for the Stainers. Grant Thomas gave an expletive-laden blast during the break. The Saints showed some energy to start the final stanza, some snappy, quick passes ended with Goddard kicking for Jason Blake to mark and boot a major, Sinkilda led by 13 points. Port’s Pearce sped clear of the restart and kicked long, Toby Thurstans was awarded a free-kick for being scragged by Hudghton - he missed. Sinkilda pressed for while but burned several chances to ice the game, poor misses from Milne again and Dal Santo, another behind was rushed. Sure enough Port scored the next major. Rapid handballs from a throw-in ended with Kane Cornes booting truly, cutting the Stains’ lead to 10 points. Gehrig added more behinds, for the first he ran into an open goal on an angle and tried a banana which shaved the post. T’other was a tough set-shot. For Port Thurstans missed again and Mahoney was denied a clear free-kick 30m out. Finally Port worked some passes and Lonie found Brett Ebert on the 50m line. Ebert thumped it home and Port trailed by 5 points with 2 minutes remaining. Luckless Mahoney just failed to hold a difficult diving mark - seen ‘em paid. The Saints appeared to have held on before Motlop’s big grab with a few seconds remaining. Poor bloke.
Skill was rare and so Nick Dal Santo (27 disposals) stood out for the Saints. Running, rebounding defenders Jason Gram (33 touches, 11 marks) and Sam Fisher (28 possessions, 12 marks) were much involved again and it was handy for the Saints to have two good forwards in Fraser Gehrig (6 marks, 11 kicks, 3 goals) and Nick Riewoldt (7 marks, 2 goals). Almost choked on my cup of tea when Thomas described Gehrig as a “thinking player.” Brett Voss (25 disposals, 14 marks) played quite well and Rob Harvey (23 touches, a goal) was alright before being injured. Port’s best were Kane Cornes (33 touches, 10 marks, a goal), Shaun Burgoyne (24 touches) and Chad Cornes (31 disposals, 14 marks), the battling midfield men. Brendon Lade (33 hit-outs, 12 disposals) was very good in the ruck again and you could add in some more midfielders like Danyle Pearce (19 possies, a goal) and Steven Salopek (21 handlings, a goal). Just nothing up forward. Defender Brad Symes (33 disposals, 17 marks) was alright, Josh Mahoney kicked 2 goals. Mark Williams dwelled on the final acts. "It was a magnificent mark (by Motlop) and I'm not sure if too many others would have been able to get up there at that time of the day, but obviously that's what Daniel is paid for, is to kick the goals and you'd expect him to kick it. These things happen and we move on, but I thought we showed a lot of character in the second half." A relieved Grant Thomas said "To basically nearly lose it, through what I can only describe as a lack of effort - we need an opportunity to look through the game again - but whether they ran out of legs or whatever, it looked to us to be a bit of panic or lack of composure, poor ball-use and a bit of undisciplined work, so it was a disappointing finish. But nevertheless, it was a win and we need to take that."
At Docklands:
Geelong 2.3 7.4 11.8 13.12.90
Footscray 4.2 8.3 11.8 13.11.89
Pleasing symmetry. The Dogs defeated the Cats by a point back in round 4, the Catters returned the favour here courtesy a behind kicked by Brad Ottens with just over a minute remaining. A suitably sub-heroic act for Ottens. The Cat team here was without Cam Mooney, suspended for his stupid kidney-punch on, er, that Port bloke. Brent Prismall and Kane Tenace were dropped, in came James Kelly, Steve Johnson and Henry Playfair. The Bulldogs lost injured pair Daniel Giansiracusa (hamstring) and Brett Montgomery (calf strain), replaced by big man Cameron Wight and tallish flanker Travis Baird, making his Footscray debut. Baird played a couple of games for Brisbane last year, he as on their rookie list.
The running Bullies held sway in the first half. After Cat Matt McCarthy bagged the opening goal, Dogs Travis Baird, Brad Johnson and marauding Brain Harris booted majors to have the Bullies 11 points ahead. Steve Johnson bagged one for Geelong but the Dogs relied to lead by 11 at korter-time. Baird dribbly-snapped an impossible goal to start the second stanza and the Dogs led by 17 points. Cat Johnson got one for Geelong but then a brace from Bulldog Johnson extended the Pups’ lead to 23 points. Pacy midfield men like Nathan Eagleton, Lindsay Gilbee and Ryan Griffen were going well for the Dogs. The Cats managed to construct a run-on at this point and banged through three quick goals. Matty Robbins broke the sequence with a goal snapped following Eagleton’s long, winding run. But Cat man Paul Chapman majored after the half-time siren following a terrific grab and the Catters were just 5 points behind. The Cat resurgence continued into the third term, early majors from Chapman again and Brad Ottens gave them a 7-point lead. Goals were swapped for a while after that, busy Brad Johnson bagged two more for the Dogs but the Pups’ run was fading. They resorted to long kicks towards Johnson and Chris Grant, meat ‘n’ drink for Cat backmen Scarlett, Harley and Matthew Egan. Egan slipped forward for his first AFL goal late in the term, too, but Johnson’s reply leveled the scores at the final change. Geelong scored the first two goals of the final term but the Dogs clawed back with majors from Grant and Gilbee. Ottens’s decisive point came from Corey Enright joining in a ruck contest and slapping the ball to Jarad Rooke, his low pass was just scooped by Ottens with Harris right on his back, literally. Ott pushed it wide, it was enough.
Paul Chapman (17 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals) was the leader for the Cats but handy efforts came from Matthew Scarlett (34 disposals, 13 marks), allowed to roam free for much of it, and Cameron Ling (25 touches, a goal) who restricted Scott West’s influence. Consistent ball-gatherers Joel Corey (28 touches, a goal) and Corey Enright (32 touches) played well again and Brad Ottens (9 marks, 14 disposals, 2 goals) was good as a marking forward all day, no run in the ruck. James Kelly (26 handlings, a goal) was useful on his return. Steve Johnson bagged 2 goals. Bulldog man Brad Johnson (23 disposals, 10 marks, 5 goals) put in another great effort. Nathan Eagleton (24 handlings) and Lindsay Gilbee (26 touches, 2 goals) powered the midfield with Daniel Cross (30 touches with 20 handpasses) also useful, running backmen Ryan Griffen (20 possies) and Jordan McMahon (23 touches, a goal) also played well. Chris Grant (6 marks, 17 disposals, a goal) ran about a bit, Travis Baird booted 2 goals. ‘Rocket’ Eade seemed not too worried. "It is no good trying to hang yourself, we can't change the result," he said. "I have been around long enough in footy to know these things happen, we beat them by a point last time and now they have beaten us by a point. But I was proud of our effort though, our guys were terrific. We had an undermanned squad with a few youngsters in it but from minute one to minute 120, they stuck at it. And if we can keep that energy level and spirit up (for the rest of the season) then there will be a lot of positives to come out of this season and it will bode well for the future." Mark Thompson reckoned "I think we both enjoy beating each other and that goes all the way down to every player that plays - it was a very exciting game to watch and be part of. I thought we played better last time and lost and won this one without playing so well. We've lost three games by less than a goal (this year) and today was the first time that we've won a real tight one and it looked like the Geelong of old. That's all we want - the fans just want our boys to try as hard as they can for as long as they can and be really competitive and we were that today."
At Subiaco:
Fremantle 4.2 8.3 12.4 15.6.96
Melbourne 4.3 4.7 5.12 9.13.67
Freo’s best performance since . . . last week, I suppose. The Shockers ended Melbun’s long winning streak and went a game clear in eighth with this convincing win. Coach Chris ‘Billy’ Connolly has higher ambitions though, flagging a top-four spot as his side’s aim. Ambitious. This was a good win though, the scoreboard suggests Melbun blew it with goal-shooting - and they did to some extent - but Freo controlled the ball after quarter-time and probably wasted scoring chances with overuse of the Sherrin rather than inaccuracy in front o’the sticks. In losing Melbun spurned a chance to climb into second spot, but it may open up again next week as the Weevils host the Camrys. In picking here the Dockers dropped Troy Cook for Daniel Gilmore. One change for Melbun too, ex-Eagle Phil Read replacing another sandgroper, Chris Johnson.
For heritage round Fremantle appeared in South Fremantle guernseys, as per normal. Don’t East exist? The Dockulaters had clearly been fired-up and were perhaps over-hyped at the start. Des Headland biffed Demon Simon Godfrey before the opening bounce and was reported. Freo were over-physical, turned over the ball and generally ran about like headless chooks for the first 5 minutes. Dee Lynden Dunn booted the opening goal after being allowed an uncontested mark on the boundary. Jeff Farmer settled things down. That’s not a misprint. Dee backman Phil Read ran along with the ball and as an afterthought threw an arm out at pursuing Farmer. ‘The Wiz’ went down as if shot and free-kicked a goal. Physicality and niggle were much in evidence, James ‘Junior’ McDonald was battered at the restart and had a free and 50m penalty into the deal. But he missed. Demun Aaron Davey lobbed a kick for Russ ‘Nobbo’ Robertson to ride his captain Neitz for a great screamer, Robertson blasted it through and the Dees led by 7 points. A tough period followed. Freo scored thanks to Matty Pavlich bullocking clear of a pack, Farmer collected the loose ball and snapped truly to level the scores. Josh Carr cleared the restart and Headland gathered the ball, he set up a running goal for Brett Peake. Daniel Gilmore grabbed the ball cleanly at a throw-in and hooked it through, the Dokkas had jumped to a 12-point lead. Melbun responded late, they cleared the centre-bounce following the Gilmore girl, er, goal and Dunn almost blew his chance with a fumble but stabbed the major. Freo thuggery gave Robertson a shot but he missed. A moment later good work from Byron Pickett sent the Dees forward, Travis Johnstone roved the pack and poked it through. Melbun led by a point at the first break. Freo cleared the opening bounce of the second term, David Mundy’s direct kick found Byron Schammer. He handballed for following ruckman Aaron Sandilands to collect and boot a running goal. Good work from Sandilands, he and running wingmen Peake and Heath Black soon emerged as Freo’s key players. The collective backline was very good too. Neitz, Davey and Dunn all missed shots for Melbun in what would become a familiar happening for Dee fans - although the shots were from a long way out, on difficult angles. A high, clearing kick from Melbun’s defence was swallowed by Freo’s Shaun McManus. Late-arriving Pickett shoved McManus over, a clear 50m penalty and goal for the veteran Freo man. The Dokkas pressed for quite a while and the Demuns were forced to defend. Finally Headland converted from a mark, found with a good long pass by Luke Webster. Freo led by 15 points. Davey’s long shot was touched on-the-line by skyscraping Sandilands. The Dees were frustrated and simmering, with 20 seconds remaining in the half Dee Brad Green and Dokka Ryan Crowley niggled a bit after the ball went out-of-bounds. Green head-butted Crowley and was reported, Crowley booted the free-kick for a terrific tight-angle goal. After the half-time siren a decent melee developed, in which Freo’s Carr brothers both earned reports. Freo by 20 points at the long break.
A great burst of speed from Aaron Davey allowed him to gather Neitz’s wild handpass and boot the opening goal of the third, breaking the Dees’ goal-less spell. But they wouldn’t get another in the third term. Soon Josh Carr forced Freo forward from a ball-up, Farmer raced out to gather the bouncing ball and dish a handpass for running Webster to boot a goal, Freo led by 20 points again. A shot from Melbun’s Godfrey hit the post, before a chain of handpasses ended with Pavlich bouncing a huge 70m shot for full points. A rebound move saw Headland clutch a good grab, his shot fell short. Crowley collected the ball and was biffed in the head by Ben Holland, Crowley free-booted another goal. The Dees trailed by 30 points and looked in trouble. They won the ball at the restart, a good run from Daniel Ward ended with Cameron Bruce marking 25m out, right in front. Inexplicably, he kicked into the man on-the-mark. The Demuns dominated for a while but all that came were behinds from Green and Jared Rivers and another one rushed. Of course Freo scored a major late in the term, Pavlich converting from a strong mark. The Shockers led by 34 points at the final change. They started the final stanza in determined mood, Crowley missed a shot following great lead-up play by Bell and Webster, then Pavlich postered. Reward came in time, running Black found Ryan Murphy with a good kick and Murphy booted a very good goal from a tough spot. Fremandle led by 42 points and were double Melbun’s score. The Deez fought it out, though. Neitz booted another long behind before Schammer snapped a good sausage for Freo, sending them 47 points ahead. Davey punted a running goal for the Deez and they started to score a bit, added another and Robertson converted after holding a good grab at the head of a big pack. Melbun had reduced their deficit to 29 points, handy in a clutch of sides separated by small amounts of percentage. Pavlich added another goal before Dee ruckman Mark Jamar majored from a downfield free-kick. In keeping with the game, the incident leading to the free-kick provoked some hand-baggery before the siren sounded.
Surprisingly, Aaron Sandilands (34 hit-outs, 12 disposals, a goal) was terrific for the Dockers. Experienced Heath Black (31 disposals) and speedy Brett Peake (27 touches, a goal) ‘broke the lines’ and drove Freo forward, Matthew Carr (27 handlings, 11 marks) and Roger Hayden (21 possies) were important backmen - Hayden restricting Davey’s influence. ‘The Age’ describes Steven Dodd as “unrelentless” - really? Shaun McManus (22 disposals, a goal) was good and some gave Luke McPharlin a wrap for keeping Neitz goal-less, although Neita finished with 0.3, not helping himself. Matty Pavlich (6 marks, 13 disposals) worked hard for his 3 goals, Jeff Farmer and Ryan Crowley kicked 2 goals each. Melbun’s prime movers were down, only Travis Johnstone (29 disposals, 7 marks, a goal) looked like doing much. Brad Green (24 touches, 11 marks) did a little bit, in the first half mostly. The usual suspects batted hard, James ‘Junior’ McDonald (27 disposals) and tagging man Simon Godfrey (21 touches) on Josh Carr. Down back Ben Holland (12 disposals) did alright on Pavlich and Nathan Carroll (13 possies) wasn’t bad. Aaron Davey bagged 3 goals, 2 in ‘junk time’ while Russ Robertson and Lynden Dunn kicked 2 goals each. "We just weren't good enough today, simple as that," said Neale Daniher. "The Dockers were too good . . . I think you make your own luck in footy, and today we probably made as many errors and stuff-ups that we've made for a long, long time but that was probably due to Freo's pressure. We (just) kicked ourselves out of the game." Chris Connolly re-iterated his goals. "Our pressure skills for the second quarter was probably as good as they've been for the year. We are training with a lot of intensity and we are starting to transfer that in to games and we need to continue to do so. I was really pleased particularly with the way the 22 players in the team shared the load. We've got a lot of home games coming up and we've got strong momentum now and we really need to surge forward."
Ladder after Round Sixteen.
Pts. % Next Week
Adelaide 56 172.4 West Coast (Subiaco, Saturday)
West Coast 48 110.2 Adelaide (Subiaco, Saturday)
Melbourne 44 113.4 Footscray (MCG, Sunday)
Collingwood 40 115.9 Hawthorn (MCG, Fri. night)
St. Kilda 40 115.5 Richmond (MCG, Saturday)
Footscray 40 113.4 Melbourne (MCG, Sunday)
Sydney 36 119.2 Port Adelaide (Football Park, Sat. night)
Fremantle 36 93.7 Carlton (Docklands, Sunday)
----------------------------
Geelong 32 103.5 North Melbourne (Manuka Oval, Sunday)
Richmond 32 84.3 St. Kilda (MCG, Saturday)
Brisbane 28 94.1 Essendon (Docklands, Sat. night)
Port Adelaide 24 91.1 Sydney (Football Park, Sat. night)
North Melbourne 20 81.6 Geelong (Manuka Oval, Sunday)
Hawthorn 20 79.5 Collingwood (MCG, Fri. night)
Carlton 10 75.8 Fremantle (Docklands, Sunday)
Essendon 6 77.4 Brisbane (Docklands, Sat. night)
Cheers, Tim.
Article last changed on Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - 3:20 PM EDT
