by Tim Murphy
At Docklands:St. Kilda 1.2 3.4 5.10 8.11.59
West Coast 2.5 4.9 7.11 14.14.98
The AFL has a belief folks want to see open, running, high-scoring footy. This game was not any of those, but was gripping all the same. Hard-tackling, high-pressure stuff without an easy disposal to be won. Even goal-kicking was hard. In the end the Weegs’ champion midfield determined the outcome, another superb game from Daniel Kerr leading the way. Sinkilda’s night was made worse in the final minutes when Matt ‘Goose’ Maguire suffered a broken leg. In selection the Sainters replaced Steven Baker, suspended a harsh 2 weeks for biffing Stafford last week, and the dropped Andrew McQualter with juniors James Gwilt and Sam Gilbert. The Weevils had Andrew Embley and Chad Fletcher return, replacing Drew Banfield and Mitch Morton.
The Docklands surface used to be hard and sandy. Now it’s soft and slippery, despite being indoors. With Baker suspended, the Saints employed Jason Gram as Chris Judd’s opponent while Nick Dal Santo faced Daniel Kerr. The Weegs’ hard-tackling, man-on-man pressure saw them hold sway early, but they missed shots for goal. The first major came early, Brent Staker marked on a lead and chipped a pass for Quinten Lynch to mark and punt home. Kerr and Ash Hansen missed under-pressure shots amongst lots of tough play - one sequence featured about 5 consecutive smothers. Embley hit the post from distance and there was a terrible miss from Rowan Jones. Eventually Kerr raced clear of a ball-up and found space for a couple of bounces, his long shot went for a major through an empty goal-square. The Eegs led by 14 points with Sinkilda having just a rushed point and a behind from Gehrig to show. But with one second remaining in the quarter Gehrig won a free-kick for being manhandled by Darren Glass, and converted after the siren. Weegle ruckman Mark Seaby tapped the opening bounce of the second term to Judd, his quick kick was marked by Ben Cousins. Cousins found Ashley Sampi on-the-lead, Sampi goaled and the Weegs led by 15 points. Kerr had a new opponent already, Leigh Montagna. But Kerr was setting the tone, a great second-effort to tackle the huge Gehrig after G-Train brushed him off the first time was typical. Good play between Sampi and Steven Armstrong in the goal-mouth saw Armstrong stab a goal and the Coasters led by 23 points. Sinkilda were being beaten in the midfield, but their backline was holding up reasonably considering and it was the rebound run of Gram and Sam Fisher that helped them get moving. Gehrig marked 50m out and floated a kick to the goal-square, Aaron Fiora leaped over Beau Waters for a good grab and easy conversion. Aryan Saint Nick Riewoldt dropped deeper to lead more, he managed a coupla shots but missed both. There’s a theory Riewoldt kicks accurately only after the result’s been decided. A poor kick from Weeg Chad Fletcher turned over possession and Gram booted an idiomatic running goal to end the half, the Saints trailing by 11 points.
The tight contest continued into the third term. After a miss each, Cousins roved a ball-up and handballed to Judd, he slotted a nice kick under pressure. The Saints began to improve a bit, through the aforementioned rebounding backmen and Riewoldt. Gram missed a shot but the Wiggle kick-in was spoiled by Brendon Goddard, the ball fell kindly for Montagna to collect and stab a goal. There was a terrible miss from Seaby before rebounding Stain Sam Fisher found Jason Blake alone, he kicked towards Riewoldt who won a free against grappling opponent Jaymie Graham. Riewoldt majored, reducing the Weeg lead to 5 points. The Stainers then wasted this good period with poor shooting of their own, Gehrig missed two (difficult) shots, there was a less-forgivable behind from Rob Harvey and Riewoldt missed a shot from the pocket, although he should’ve had a 50m penalty after marking as Graham slapped the ball away. All that reduced the Weegs’ lead to a point, but the Stains lost Ball at this stage with shoulder trouble and the Ghosters rallied. Smart roving from Sampi at a throw-in led to a goal for the Weegel half-forward, great finesse from Kerr allowed him to clear the restart and get the ball to Lynch. Lynch’s wobbly punt was marked too-easily by Staker in the goal-square, he popped it through and the Weegs had kicked to a 13-point lead at the final change. Skilful and courageous interchange between Kerr, Judd and Rowan Jones early in the final term ended with a running major for Kerr and the Weegs led by 19 points. Stainer Blake failed to make the distance with a running shot from 40m and the Weegs rebounded. Lynch marked 50m from the sticks and chipped a pass for David Wirrpanda to mark unopposed, Wirrpanda sausaged and the Weegs led by a healthy 25 points. Riewoldt converted from a mark on-the-lead, Gram with the pass, but the Weegs won the ball from the resulting centre-clearance and Wirrpanda and Cousins combined to set up Hansen for a goal. A throw-in deep in the Weegs’ forward line was plucked unopposed by Tyson Stenglein, he handballed for Fletcher to snap it through and the Weegs led by 30 points now, it felt over. The Saints kept going, Riewoldt goaled again following a good grab over two Weevils but the visitors responded with the next two goals, Stenglein slotting on the run and Judd after seizing a goal-line mark. Stinkilda fans were not happy with the umpiring on the night and they had a case, a throw appeared to be involved in the build-up to the Stenglein major and Judd had marked Hansen’s soft free-kick. Riewoldt booted his third goal of the stanza after accepting Goddard’s pass but Judd snapped one late in the piece to ice the cake for the Weegs. In between those final two majors Maguire suffered a broken leg, running with-the-flight of the ball only for two oncoming players to fall across his left shin - clean break and ugly it was, best of luck to the lad.
Daniel Kerr (26 disposals, 2 goals) was runner-up in the Brownlow medal last year (to team-mate Ben Cousins) and many are predicting he could win it this time, although Kerr did miss some games early in the season. Cousins himself (35 disposals) was no slouch here, not as spectacular as Kerr but he worked very hard to get the ball. Half-back Beau Waters (34 touches, 11 marks) collected a lot of the ball and marauding David Wirrpanda (22 touches, a goal) played well. Chris Judd (28 possies, 3 goals) was influential, if not dominant and his opponent, Gram, was very good. Ashley Sampi (9 touches, 2 goals) worked hard in attack, Darren Glass manacled Gehrig and Rowan Jones (22 disposals) and Tyson Stenglein (27 possies, a goal) were handy. Runnin’ Jason Gram (25 touches, 10 marks, a goal) was the Saints’ best, he’s in good form lately. Most drive came from rebounding backmen Sam Fisher (18 disposals) and Leigh Fisher (19 touches, 10 marks), in attack Nick Riewoldt (11 marks, 16 handlings, 4 goals (4.3)) worked hard. Luke Ball (17 disposals) was the best of the midfield, hope his shoulder’s not too serious. Rob Harvey plugged away (19 touches), Aaron Fiora (16 handlings, a goal) did some good things. “I thought both sides put enormous pressure on in the first half and they had a lot more quality execution and decision-making than we did and quite probably could've been a couple of goals further ahead at half-time," Stainer coach Grant Thomas said. "They didn't take their chances and I think in the third quarter we caught the bug and we could've found ourselves a couple of goals ahead in the third quarter . . . But we were probably a midfielder short and we just didn't have enough rotation through there and we ran out of legs a bit and it was a pretty soft finish in the end - I thought we were spent and they finished us off nicely." John Worsfold said "You're always disappointed if you think you could have had a bigger lead (at half-time). You always want to grab every opportunity you can, but I think it was the Saints' turn to miss some opportunities (in the third term). I think a lot of it is pressure. I can't remember whether we missed a lot of easy shots. I know Daniel Kerr did in the last quarter. In that second quarter it seemed pretty pressurised the shots at goal we were getting."
At Docklands:
Carlton 4.1 7.5 9.7 12.8.80
Melbourne 1.5 4.8 7.10 10.13.73
Oops. Should the Dees blow a top-four finish and the double chance, they may look back on two losses to Carlton this season as unhelpful. Still, credit to the Blooze. They’ve been building towards a win for a few weeks and probably deserved this. Climbed off the bottom too, sending Essadun back to the spoon position. The papers reported Bloo coach Denis Pagan being under pressure from his board to replace some assistant coaches; currently these are long-time Pagan assistant Tony Elshaug and former Bloo players Barry Mitchell and Adrian ‘Bear’ Gleeson. Leaks like a sieve, does the Carlton board. In selection here the Bluies made one change, Matty Lappin returning at the expense of Jordan Bannister. The Demuns could reach for the injury excuse, Byron Pickett and Aaron Davey were out with hamstring strains, the Dees hope to have both back for the finals. To cap it Travis Johnstone (‘leg soreness’) was a late withdrawal. Brad Green returned from suspension and Paul Wheatley and Daniel Bell were recalled.
The Deez started okay, James McDonald found Matthew Bate in space at CHF and the long-kickin’ ginger junior thumped it through. McDonald and Bate went on to play well for Melbin on the day. But the Dees were soon in trouble, often slipping over on the unfamiliar Docklands surface, being a bit lethargic, wasting scoring chances. Cory McGrath kicked for Brendan Fevola to mark over opponent Nathan Carroll and boot the opening goal for the Bluies and they sensed a chance. Then Fevola kicked into space for Matty Lappin to collect the agget and convert on-the-run. A bit later Fevola’s tackle on Carroll forced the ball loose, Eddie Betts collected the pill and handballed back to Fevola. ‘Fev’ fumbled it but managed a miraculous dribbly-snap from the boundary-line for a major. The Blueser crowd were excited now and when Brad Fisher converted from a good grab they were on their way. Meanwhile Melbun’s goal-kicking was hopeless, the first quarter completed by Nathan Brown kicking on-the-full and Ben Holland’s terrible point-blank miss. Blues by 14 points at the first change and they carried on. After good work from Betts and Ryan Houlihan, Fisher marked and booted the opening goal of the second quarter. Jarrad Waite converted from a grab and the Blues had galloped to a 26-point lead with six unanswered goals. A goal from Dee ruckman Mark Jamar broke the run and Melbun appeared to recover for a while, junior midfielder Nathan Jones bagged a major and another Dee goal followed as they reduced the gap to 9 points. Then Fevola surfaced again, roving his own contest to snap it through and the Bluies led by 15 points at the long break, the least they deserved on the balance of play. Fevola and Dee backman Matthew Whelan had a bit of a handbag-hitting contest after the half-time siren, which developed into a minor kerfuffle.
Whelan became a key protagonist in the third stanza, he was caught in a very good tackle by Fisher early in the third Mario and Fisher booted a major, Blues by 22 points. Carton flanker Andrew Carrazzo missed a shot after a fine one-handed mark. Whelan responded by running downfield to collect McDonald’s handpass and boot a goal of his own. David Neitz, who’d fallen over a lot so far, roved the back of a goal-mouth pack to stab an easy sausage and then booted another major from a mark. Three in-a-row for the Deez and they’d cut the deficit to 3 points. Blue fans had that old sinkin’ feeling as the Blues have been competitive many times this season but fallen away in the end. Houlihan booted a useful late goal and the Blooze led by 9 points at the final change. Melbun were coming, slowly. Ruckman Jeff White climbed over Neitz and Bloo counterpart Barnaby French for a huge grab early in the final term, he converted and the Blue lead was 2 points. The ‘baggers answered, Lappin kicked long and Fevola, placed behind Jared Rivers, held off the Melbun man for a mark, played-on and stabbed it through. Rivers ‘did a Whelan’ and took himself forward, McDonald found him with a pass and Rivers converted, Bluies by 2 points again. Again the Blooze had the answer, Nick Stevens burst clear of the subsequent centre-bounce and speared a pass to leading Waite, he booted truly. The Demuns pressed for while without reward and the Bluesers finally sealed it when Houlihan ran afield and delivered to Kade Simpson on the 50m line, Simmo played-on and drilled it. The Bloose led by 13 points with 3 minutes remaining and they hung on, Demun White booted a goal right on the final siren.
About this time last year the popular opinion regarding Brendan Fevola (5 marks, 13 kicks, 4 goals) was he should be traded. Now ‘they’ want to make him captain. Along with Brad Fisher (4 marks, 10 kicks, 3 goals) and Jarrad Waite (8 marks, 11 kicks, 2 goals) Fev leads a potentially potent forward-line. Andrew Walker (22 disposals, 8 marks) did a terrific job on Russ Robertson and in the midfield Andrew Carrazzo (27 disposals) and Cory McGrath (18 possies) played well, Matty Lappin (27 touches, 10 marks, a goal) produced his best form of a poor season. Lance Whitnall (10 marks, 18 handlings) did okay in defence. For the Demons Matthew Bate (28 disposals, 9 marks, a goal) and James ‘Junior’ McDonald (30 touches, 8 marks, a goal) were stand-outs. Matthew Whelan (23 handlings, a goal) rose to the challenge and played well on Betts, Nathan Carroll (21 disposals with 18 handballs) had a good battle with Fevola. New lad Nathan Jones (18 touches, a goal) and Brad Green (21 possessions) were okay. David Neitz and Jeff White kicked 2 goals each. A restrained Neale Daniher used the words ‘lost opportunity’ a lot. "We didn't seem to handle the oval all that well and we weren't able to kick the ball all that well and we went inside (attacking 50m) 58 times and slaughtered the ball which then allowed them to counter-attack into open spaces. So we were down in all parts of our game today. In all areas we were good last week, we were very poor today, and you lose a game by seven points if you're not on in today's footy." Denis Pagan was relieved. "Our whole theme was to match their intensity. Melbourne is number one in tackles and we knew if we were to have any chance of winning the game we had to be competitive at the contests," he said. "Our tackling, not so much the numbers, I think it might have been 51 or 52, but the intensity and the quality of them really sort of stood out and it certainly gave us an opportunity because there were a lot of spillages and opportunities went begging because of the pressure and the intensity."
At the MCG:
Richmond 0.6 4.10 6.14 10.18.78
Footscray 5.2 9.4 13.9 15.10.100
All smiles for the Bulldogs as they grabbed a handy win in Chris Grant’s record-breaking 330th game for Footscray, over-taking Doug Hawkins. “An understated champion,” coach ‘Rocket’ Eade called Grant and that’s certainly true of the veteran Bully, who started as a skinny wingman in 1989. There’s no on-field histrionics or off-field ‘incidents’ from Granty, just a solid, gutsy, professional effort every week, in whatever position he’s required. The Dogs started well here, wobbled a bit towards the end but hung on for a useful win as the Dees, Pies and Saints all lost. The Tiges improved on recent non-efforts but blew their winning and finals chances with poor disposal and kicking for goal. The Bulldogs made one change to their side here, tall man Cameron Wight replaced by rover Cameron Faulkner. The Tiggers lost ruckman Troy Simmonds, suspended a week for biffing Riewoldt last week, hamstrung Nathan Brown, Danny Meyer (fractured foot) and the dropped David Rodan. In came Andrew Krakouer, Adam Pattison, Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls and first-gamer Cameron Howat, a thin teenage midfielder from the Box Hill Hawks elevated from the rookie list. Darren Gaspar was sent for season-ending surgery on damaged knee cartilage. Tige ruckman Greg Stafford played his 200th game, after being cleared of charging following his hit on Stainer Goddard last week.
Grant ran onto the ground carrying his kids and was greeted with a handpass from Douggie Hawkins, who in turn received the ball from Ted Whitten Jnr. A nice touch as Ted Whitten Snr, the Bulldogs’ games record-holder prior to Hawkins, had given a ceremonial handpass (or flick pass) to Douggie when he broke the record in 1994. Grant lined up at his ‘old’ position of CHF and was in the action immediately, marking Brad Johnson’s kick and handballing back for on-running Johnson to slot the opening goal. Matthew Richardson missed the Tiges’ first opportunity and the Bullies attacked from the kick-in, Sam Power passed for leading Grant to mark and convert. Dream start for Granty as the Dogs led by 11 points. The Tiges won as much of the ball as the Dogs but couldn’t put the Sherrin between the big sticks. Nathan Foley and Brett Deledio kicked points and Oakley-Nicholls broke his collarbone diving into a pack. Not good really and the Dogs went further ahead as Adam Cooney converted a free-kick. Bully Lindsay Gilbee held a good grab and handballed for Rohan Smith to thump a running goal, the Dogs led by 22 points. The Big Pussies saw former Bulldog Patrick Bowden take two good marks within 30m of goal - and miss both shots. Tight for a while until a good kick from Puppy defender Dale Morris found Matty Robbins, he majored and the Dogs led by 27 points. There was time before quarter time for Pat Bowden to miss ANOTHER easy set-shot for his third behind of the stanza. Bluddy hell. The Tiges’ inaccurate first term probably decided the game, although the Dogs clearly had a bit more class and skill using the ball in their attack. Early in the second term a long run from defence by Bully Jordan McMahon ended with a well-weighted kick for Cooney to mark 20m out, he converted. A minute later Cooney did well to find Brad Johnson on the flank, Johnno slotted and the Bulldogs led by 38 points, 7.2 to 0.6. Feeling a lot like last week for the Tiges but they began to play better now. Joel Bowden controlled Johnson and the midfield began to work harder, Kayne Pettifer reverted to being a forward after running all over the ground in recent weeks. Good roving from Andrew Krakouer allowed him to boot the Tiges’ first goal and a minute later Krakouer’s high snap dropped and Matty Richardson scrambled a close-range major. The Tiges wasted a few chances. There was a Hall-Maguire-type incident when Tige forward Jay Schulz punched Brian Harris in the stomach behind play. The Toigs’ milestone man Greg Stafford free-kicked a goal after being ridden into the turf and Richmun had reduced their deficit to 19 points. The Pups responded, Matthew Boyd found Lindsay Gilbee for a good running mark, Gilbee (playing very well) booted truly. A series of short passes ended with Grant chipping to Nathan Eagleton on the 50m line, he blasted it home. The Dogs led by 29 points now but late in the korter Doggy Morris’s miscued centering kick went down the throat of Tige Richard Tambling, he goaled after the siren.
Tambling kicked another goal early in the third term, completing a tortuous rebound move after Grant missed a straightforward shot. Richmun trailed by 19 points again but the Bullies had re-organised a bit. Brad Johnson shifted to the midfield, Rohan Smith went forward, Cameron Faulkner and Travis Baird came on to good effect. Faulkner slotted a great goal from the boundary after some good, tough play from Smith set him up. Now it was the Dogs’ turn to waste scoring chances, until Grant held a good grab over opponent Ray Hall, from Johnson’s centering kick. After Granty majored the Pups led by 32 points. Tambling punted the Tiges into attack from the restart and good interplay between the Toig forwards ended with debutant Cameron Howat snapping a goal. Not his first kick. Both sides missed some shots but the Dogs continued to do the bulk of the attacking. Late in the stanza they took charge, a Tige turnover saw Eagleton and Travis Baird combine to create a point-blank goal for Smith. The Pups cleared the restart and Tigger Dean Polo was palpably caught in possession, Baird free-kicked a major. The Dogs led by 37 points at the final break and Baird’s second goal, from an uncontested mark early in the final term, extended it to 43. All over it seemed, but the Tiggers mounted an improbable comeback. Richardson missed a set shot before Schulz kicked consecutive goals, both from marks on-the-lead. The Bulldogs lost key man Gilbee (for a few minutes) with a knock to the knee and Richardson booted a long goal for the Tigers, after a good grab over Morris. Tige fans mildly interested as they trailed by 23 points. Momentum stalled as Richo missed a shot, but after Faulkner behinded at the other end the Tiggers advanced swiftly from the kick-in and Pettifer bombed a 50m kick for full points. Richmun were 17 points behind now and the Dogs’ reaction was predictable, if responsible. Grant reverted to defence and the Dogs played possession-football to drain the clock. A Patrick Bowden turnover led to the sealing goal for Brad Johnson, allowing Grant to be chaired off in triumph at the end.
The hard-running, long-kicking Lindsay Gilbee (28 disposals, 8 marks, a goal) epitomizes the Bulldogs, he was very good. Daniel Cross (31 disposals) worked hard, emerging from West’s shadow and Matthew Boyd (27 touches) also battled on the ball, their efforts complemented by other silky, long-kicking runners like Nathan Eagleton (18 touches, a goal), Jordan McMahon (25 disposals) and veteran Rohan Smith (14 handlings, 2 goals). Chris Grant (10 marks, 21 disposals, 2 goals) played very well on the big day, Travis Baird (7 marks, 11 handlings, 2 goals) made a useful forward. Brad Johnson was beaten on the day but still managed 3 goals, including his 50th for the season - the first time he’s kicked 50 in a year, I was surprised to learn. Adam Cooney kicked 2 goals. For the Tiges Joel Bowden (34 disposals) was terrific, quelling Johnson, while Kane Johnson (21 touches) did well against West. Andrew Raines (22 possies) was very good off half-back again and Richard Tambling (10 touches, 2 goals) played well, new boy Cameron Howat (22 disposals, a goal) made a promising debut. Matthew Richardson (12 marks, 21 possies, 2.3) worked hard in attack, Jay Schulz kicked 2 last-quarter goals. Former Bulldog coach Terry ‘Plough’ Wallace said "From quarter time onwards I think there was two points between the two sides in our favour. I've got no issue with our effort and our endeavour towards the game today at all. I thought over the last two or three weeks we've been getting really tired and starting to fade away at the end of the season, but I thought today we were just beaten by a better side." ‘Rocket’ Eade also placed the victory in context. "We played in Perth (beating West Coast) and then we had a bit of a lull after that, losing three of our past four games, even though we played well against Geelong (when the Dogs lost by a point). Last week (against Melbourne) was a bit of a downer but our focus was really on this game and next week's game against Port because we really had to win this game to make the finals. And now hopefully we can win in Darwin (against Port) next week and really put it (a finals appearance) to bed."
At the SCG:
Sydney 4.1 6.9 13.10 17.14.116
Essendon 2.4 3.4 7.5 11.7.73
Losses earlier in the round for Sinkilda and simultaneously (?) for Collywood offered the Swans the chance to move up the congested lower part of the eight. The Bloods did the job against the Bommers and climbed into fourth spot, they’ve a huge game against the Demons next week before a not-too-difficult run home. Back-to-back? Essadun came in with decent form and a reasonable side thinking they had chance. The Swans were too good though, and whistle-happy umpires didn’t help the Dons’ cause. Siddey had one change in selection, Nic Fosdike returned to replace Amon Buchanan, suffering an infected cut on his shoulder. Put him in hospital, it did. Essadun had Nathan Lovett-Murray return from suspension and Ben Jolley was called up to replace Adam McPhee (‘flu) and dropped Joel Reynolds.
It never stops raining in Sydney. Don’t let the smug denizens of Coathanger City taunt you about weather ever again. Try backing a winner at one the sodden racetracks here. Torrential downpours held off for most of this thankfully, but the surface was still soft and slippery. The Bommers started quite well, Scott Lucas marked Andrew Lovett’s pass and thumped a long goal, Lucas and Angus Monfries saw shots hit the post as the Dons battled along to 1.4 before the Swans’d scored. Heath Grundy booted the Bloods’ first goal after diving for a low mark and a bit later Nick Malceski bagged a good sausage, after hard work from Ryan O’Keefe set him up. A 2-point advantage for the Swans but the Bommers reclaimed the lead, great length-of-field running from Jay Nash completed by Monfries’s very good goal. Siddey pressed on, O’Keefe’s high kick was marked by Grundy again, over his opponent Richie Cole. Grundy booted his second major and the Swans led by 3 points. A bit later Luke Ablett’s wobbly kick deceived Bomma backman Dean Solomon but not his man Barry Hall, who marked easily just 15m out and popped it through. Siddey led by 9 points at the first break, apparently Brett ‘Captain’ Kirk had been reported in the first quarter for charging Ricky Dyson. Didn’t see it. The Swans took control in the second quarter but, like a number of sides over the weekend, had trouble converting. Luke Ablett was having a great game on-the-ball and Craig Bolton did very well on James Hird. Barry Hall has a very good record against the Dons and Solomon wasn’t changing that aspect. After several rushed behinds and Swan misses Hall led, marked and converted. The Dons hung in and late in the Mario Hird managed a mark on the 50m line, his shot fell short but Lucas pounced to snap the spilled ball through. Handy, but Malceski cleared the restart for the Swans and kicked towards Hall. Solomon fisted the ball clear but Adam Schneider read it well and snapped a good sausage. Swans by 23 points at half-time.
It’d rained during the break, of course. Essadun managed a major early in the third, Lucas bustling to out-mark Lewis Roberts-Thomson. Only 17 points behind but the Swans began to convert their chances now. Jude Bolton’s long kick bounced off the pack and Hall reacted quickest to gather and snap it through. Ablett held a great two-grab mark between a coupla Dons and booted a deserved goal. The Bloods led by 29 points now. Andrew Lovett kicked a major for the Dons, slipping unmarked into the pocket and found smartly by Brent Stanton. The Swans began to bomb long kicks towards Hall now. Sean Dempster lobbed a high punt in, wingman Nic Fosdike marked it and quickly fired a handpass for Michael O’Loughlin to stab an easy one from point-blank range. Celebrations ensued as it was Mick’s 400th career goal. The Bombouts clung on about 5 goals behind but two late Siddey majors expanded the margin. O’Loughlin snapped another goal from close-range after roving a pack and Hall slipped clear to mark close-in again and boot truly. Dons Solomon and Cole collided in that passage, leaving Cole injured. Dustin Fletcher was shifted onto Hall. O’Keefe hovered near a ball-up and snapped the opening goal of the final term, sending the Bloods 47 points ahead. A handy percentage-booster was in the offing for the Swans but the Dons mounted a bit of a challenge. At the subsequent centre-bounce Mark Johnson bullocked through the pack and handballed to Jason Johnson, his left-foot wobbler went for full-points. Caution to the wind now, Fletcher won the ball in defence and belted a long torpedo-punt, it skidded and bounced past several players and sat up nicely for Monfries to collect and boot a running major. A poor miss each before Don ruckman David Hille gathered the ball from a throw-in and hooked a shot goal-wards, it bounced past Lucas and Adam Goodes but Lovett-Murray arrived to soccer it through. Andrew Welsh majored after marking Ricky Dyson’s centering kick and the Dons trailed by 23 points, having kicked four goals in-a-row. Swan Brett Kirk won the ball at the restart and delivered to leading Hall. Barry missed but a strange incident on the kick-in, apparently some off-the-ball holding against the Dons, led to an easy goal for Swan Jarrad McVeigh. It felt like rubbish but broke the Essadun run. Jude Bolton soccered a spectacular goal and Hall bagged another to complete proceedings.
Top game from Luke Ablett (28 disposals, a goal). At the sharp end Barry Hall (12 marks, 17 kicks, 6 goals) tormented the Dons again and Ryan O’Keefe (30 disposals, 9 marks, 2 goals) has a ‘tremendous motor’, I think they call it. There were solid midfield efforts from Brett Kirk (23 touches), Jude Bolton (21 touches, a goal) and Adam Schneider (21 disposals, a goal). Craig Bolton (13 disposals, 6 marks) did a great job on Hird and Tadhg Kennelly (22 possessions) is returning to his best form. Ruckman Darren Jolly had a mammoth 44 hit-outs and 12 disposals. But it was a very solid team effort, overall. Heath Grundy and Mick O’Loughlin kicked 2 goals each. On the Don side Scott Lucas (4 marks, 8 kicks, 4 goals) battled hard as the prime attacking focus again and Andrew Lovett (12 touches, a goal) sped about to help him a bit. Jobe Watson (26 disposals, 10 tackles) also covered a lot of territory to find the ball and Nathan Lovett-Murray (22 possies, a goal) did some rebounding from defence. Mark Bolton did a very good job on Adam Goodes. ‘Gus’ Monfries (14 touches, 2 goals) did alright. Too few contributors overall for the Dons though, especially in midfield. Them Johnsons, Stanton, Peverill, Camporeale, all pretty quiet. Kev Sheedy thought so. "I thought they (Sydney) were probably sluggish early," he said. "I thought we matched them in the first quarter, (they) got away in the second quarter . . . but in general we're disappointed with the result in the end because we felt that we could have pressed them much closer for more of the game than we did. I'd say some of our players would be very disappointed tonight." Paul Roos said "We set our goals in terms of how we wanted to play and then you hope that you planned well enough and the players carry it out which they did tonight. I was very pleased that we played very, very good footy for most of the night and even when they came back in the last quarter we were able put some distance and gave ourselves a good win."
At Football Park:
Adelaide 3.4 3.8 5.13 7.16.58
Collingwood 3.1 4.3 5.7 7.12.54
Strange game. Seven goals each and, in the middle part, nearly an hour without a goal being scored. But the close, low scores and big, energized crowd produced a tense atmosphere where fate hung on every kick. Collywood went into overdrive last week in their role as a tabloid news factory. The involvement of Chris Tarrant and Ben Johnson in a brawl outside a Port Melbourne nightclub, and Mick Malthouse’s subsequent decision not to drop the pair, consumed hectares of trees and copious oxygen in the comment it generated. Malthouse was happy to cop charges of double-standards or simply being wrong, his justification “these players are too important to our side.” Hilariously, Mick went on to compare Tarrant to Jack the Ripper and Ivan Milat (in response to a question whether Tarrant ought to have been disciplined more heavily in his early career). Pie forward Blake Caracella retired last week. He was KO’d two months ago in a nasty head-on collision with Brisbun’s Tim Notting. Doctors discovered subsequently (and co-incidentally) Caracella had a narrowed spinal column and advised him against playing ever again. 182 games and 2 flags (Essadun 2000 and Brisbun 2003) for the skinny, elusive half-forward. In selection here the Camrys (remember them?) were unchanged despite the hammering in Perth last week. The Poise lost ‘Neon’ Leon Davis for the season with his broken leg and dropped Scott Pendlebury and Ben Davies. Rookie Dale Thomas and veteran Paul Licuria returned and debutant Sam Iles was selected, a midfielder from Clarence in Tasmania.
Tarrant ran out sporting a no.1 haircut, suggesting he indeed plans a future career as a serial killer. The game then, after all the nonsense. Hard-fought and man-on-man, both sides appeared nervous throughout. The build-up had jittered the Poise, while the Crobots were knocked by their trashing from the Eegs last week. The Poise started well, Tarkyn Lockyer kicked inboard for Alan Didak to collect and wallop it through from 50m. A few minutes later Lockyer himself bagged a sausage and the Poise were away to an 11-point lead. Josh Fraser and the boy Thomas were going well for them, along with Dane Swan and Licuria. Ken McGregor booted the Camrys’ first from a long shot but Chris Egan replied for the Maggies to restore their 2-goal lead. Scores remained locked in the tough battle until consecutive running goals from Cressida Tyson Edwards sent the locals ahead at quarter-time. Heath Shaw bagged a good running sausage for the Poise early in the second term to nudge ‘em ahead by 2 points, but there were no more goals scored in the first half. The Cows did the bulk of the attacking but found the Poi defence hard to crack, led by James Clement, Simon Prestigiacomo and conspicuous debutant Sam Iles. At the other end Tarrant and Rocca had little joy against Ben Rutten, Nathan Bassett and ‘Stiffy’ Johncock. Camry icon Ben Hart departed with hamstring trouble midway through the second term while Didak was reported for tripping Michael Doughty. Johncock also appeared to whack Brodie Holland in the stomach, although Holland played it up a bit. The Pies led by a point at the long break.
The deadlock continued into the third stanza. Mark Ricciuto started it on the bench but made little impact when he returned. As time-on approached the Corollas had added four behinds for the quarter to the Maggies’ three. The fact scores were level seemed immaterial to the slogging display. Then Poi Ryan Lonie found space and booted an idiomatic running left-foot major to ironic cheers from the crowd, Pies by 6 points. A Buckley miss extended it to 7, before Brent Reilly collected Trent Hentschel’s handpass, ran through the centre and blasted a long sausage. A few minutes later Corona Jason Porplyzia converted a free-kick and the Camrys were in front, by 5 points and a Johncock behind made it an even goal at the final change. The Camrys attacked from the opening bounce of the final term, Hentschel was at the head of a big pack and snapped his own crumb through for a goal, Addleaid led by 12 points. The lead crept out to 14 before the Magpiss responded, Didak booted a great goal and a minute later Lockyer marked Ben Johnson’s long kick right in front, he popped it through. The Camry lead was down to 2 points. The Poise ground ahead by scoring four behinds to the Cows’ one, a one-point lead overall. The Maggies lost Thomas during this period, up-ended as he went up for a rucking contest and landing nastily on his head. A broken collarbone and concussion, they’re saying. As time ticked down Camry Rhett Biglands sent a long kick forward, Hentschel was in front of a big pack again to juggle a grab he eventually secured between his knees. Hentschel goaled and the Cows led by 5 points. Over 30 minutes now as Poi anti-hero Chris Tarrant led wide for a mark and had his hand slapped away by Rutten - a free kick. Tarrant was 55m out on the boundary though, a very difficult chance. His kick fell short and was punched through for a behind, the siren sounded shortly afterwards.
Reliable Camrys Simon Goodwin (31 disposals) and Tyson Edwards (34 touches, 2 goals) led what was a dour battle between midfields and rebounding defenders. In the latter category Nathan Bassett (31 touches and a hefty 22 marks) was terrific against Rocca and Graham Johncock (18 possies) was very good, in the last quarter particularly. Ben Rutten (21 handlings, 15 marks) did plenty of reboundin’ and Scott Stevens (13 touches) followed Tarrant around. Brent Reilly (20 disposals, a goal) managed some attacking run in the midfield and Trent Hentschel’s 2 goals (from 5 marks, 10 touches) proved useful. For the Maggies much-improved half-back Dane Swan (32 disposals, 12 marks) was terrific again and Paul Licuria (24 touches) and Tarkyn Lockyer (17 disposals, 2 goals) worked hard midfield. The Poi backline also had winners, cool James Clement (26 possessions), attacking Heath Shaw (20 handlings, 7 tackles, a goal), close-checking Simon Prestigiacomo on McGregor. Alan Didak (16 touches, 2 goals) worked hard in attack and Ben Johnson (23 disposals) played well. Josh Fraser (21 possies) started very well but his influence waned. Sam Iles (16 disposals) was handy on debut, also employed as a rebound runner. Mick Malthouse didn’t seem too worried and why should he be? The Pies have an amazingly easy run home with Essadun, Carlton, Port and the Kangas to play. Top four should be there for the taking. "When you win games like that there is a tendency to smooth over a few things and when you lose it's highlighted,” Mick said. "At the end of the day, you probably make more errors than the winning side and, as a consequence, you go back and hopefully correct those errors. I thought we outplayed them at certain times. They outplayed us. You've just got to be very careful about not making more errors than your opposition, and if you do that then you can get punished." Standard. Neil Craig put a gloss on it. "It was a tough game of footy and we came off a really poor effort last week - non-competitive with a really poor competitive spirit," he said. "To play in those really finals-tough, hard conditions couldn't have been any better. To our supporters out there - the 46,000 who came long - I'm sure that's the sort of commitment to playing you wanted to see, and we're obviously pretty proud of them."
At the Gabba:
Brisbane 4.0 8.1 11.5 13.9.87
Geelong 4.5 9.11 12.17 14.20.104
"We've won six of our last eight games and it looks like some of our problems are fixed and we are capable of anything." Thus spake delusional Cat coach Mark ‘Bombing’ Thompson as the battling Catters kept their sputtering season alive, nearly always in control against the young Lyin’s. This was Jeelong’s first win in Brisbun for 13 years. The Lisbon Brians tried very hard but often made poor decisions and disposal errors. The respective number of scoring shots reflects the game pretty well. Geelong copped deserved castigation in the Melbourne (and Geelong) press last week for their insipid effort against the Ruse in Canberra. Consensus was ‘Bombout’ Thompson will be sacked if (when) the Cats don’t make the finals. The Catters made four changes to the Canberra clods, two compulsory with Gary Ablett injured (shoulder - four weeks, they’re hoping) and Cameron Mooney suspended again, one game for charging. Matt McCarthy and Mathew Stokes were dropped, in came Henry Playfair, ruckman Mark Blake, Shannon Byrnes and Brent Prismall. The Lyin’s lost ruckman Jamie Charman for the remainder of the season with a dislocated shoulder, Ben Fixter and Jared Brennan were dropped. Replacements were Troy Selwood and two big men, Daniel Merrett and Cameron Wood.
A warm afternoon in Brisbane. A few surprises in the initial line-ups, the Cats started Steven King in the forward-line and Mark Blake in the ruck while Lyin’ icon Michael Voss commenced on the bench. Cat fans might’ve sensed it was their day when enigmatic Steve Johnson snapped a miraculous left-foot goal from the boundary-line to open the scoring. Dan Bradshaw booted the Brians’ first with a good goal-square mark against Matthew Egan. Brisbun grabbed the lead, determined battling from Merrett got the ball to fellow ruckman Clark Keating, big Keating’s hurried snap curled nicely to split the big sticks. The Cats directed long kicks towards King and Brad Ottens in attack, roving one such Paul Chapman copped a high hit and free-kicked a major to level the scores. A bit later King was awarded a dubious ‘mark’ from Cam Ling’s long punt, King converted and the Katz led by 6 points. They missed a coupla shots before Lyin’ Scott Harding sped through the centre and launched a long shot which bounced home, with shepherding from Bradshaw. Ottens missed poorly with a set-shot before good work from Brent Prismall and Peter Riccardi created a chance for adventuring backman Josh Hunt, he drilled it home with low kick. The Cats led by 9 points. Big ginger Lyin’ Daniel Merrett responded for the locals, his great tackle on James Kelly forced the ball loose, Josh Drummond collected said pill and chipped it back for Merrett to mark and convert. Good stuff but the Cats had more of the Sherrin, they managed a couple more points before the first break. Ling booted the first major of the second term after literally throwing Simon Black aside for a mark. Andrew Mackie missed an easy shot and Geelong led by 12 points, a bit later Black roved a throw-in and kicked smartly for Joel Patfull to mark, he booted a long goal. Majors alternated for a while now with the Cats leading by 13 or 7 points. Ottens couldn’t quite complete a mark against two Lyin’s but roving Steve Johnson slotted a tight-angle goal with good shepherding from Peter Riccardi. The Brians won the ball from the restart and Voss found Luke Power with a good kick, Power majored. Cat veteran Riccardi thumped a 50m goal after roving a contest, the Lyin’s won another centre-clearance and sharp handpasses from Rhan Hooper and Patfull allowed Justin Sherman to boot a sausage. Riccardi booted another long goal, capping a good running, handballing move. The alternating pattern was broken by consecutive Cat goals, from the centre-bounce Bartel’s long kick spilled from Ottens’s contest and Steve Johnson was on hand to snap it through again. Geelong by 19 points now. The Lyin’s kept in touch, Merrett held a good pack-mark of Cheynee Stiller’s wobbly punt and converted. The Cats pressed hard for the remainder of the half, about six minutes, but the Lyin’s clung on, conceding (rushing) three behinds.
The Lyin’s had seemed tired towards the end of the first half but they started the third stanza with a bang. Stiller collected Voss’s handpass from a pack and bagged an early goal. Black cleared the restart and Bradshaw led, spilled the mark but recovered to snap truly. A coupla minutes later Black dived under a pack again and Stiller handballed to Bradshaw, he finessed classily and steered a great left-foot goal from a tight angle. Three quick majors had the Lyin’s in front, by 2 points. They were fired, perhaps a little too excited as Voss’s over-vigorous tackle on Joel Corey conceded a free-kick and goal to Corey. Cats back in front and they regained control, running and working a lot harder than last weekend. Behinds continued to mount though, Playfair missed abysmally and Mackie sliced a long shot wide. Byrnes kicked a point after reeling in a great one-handed mark. Reward came eventually as Byrnes roved a throw-in and launched a speculative handpass, Riccardi arrived to soccer it through. The Catters led by 12 points and both sides began to tire now, lots of chipped passes replaced running play. The Brians appeared to be holding the 2-goal deficit but in the final seconds of the term Ottens took a great grab over Tim Notting and kicked quickly to the goal-square, Playfair marked and stabbed it through from point-blank. Geelong led by 18 points at the final change. Lyin’ Drummond provided a great bit of play early in the final Mario, intercepting Enright’s kick, speeding clear and launching a long shot for goal. It missed and Drummond twanged a hamstring in the process, a severe anti-climax. A bit later Lyin’ defender Jed Adcock was caught in a vice-like Chapman tackle, advantage was allowed for Steve Johnson to bag an easy sausage roll. Cats by 24 points. Now Lyin spearhead Bradshaw departed with dislocated fingers, he returned presently but while he was off a good Brisbun spell failed to bear fruit, big Merrett and roving Hooper struggling in attack. Sure enough the Catters got the next goal, Mackie drove a long, low kick goal-wards and Chapman marked in the ‘square, he jabbed it through. Geelong by 31 points now. Bradshaw returned and almost immediately seized a great pack-mark in the Brians’ attacking goal-square, and booted truly. A bit later Hooper used some good speed and skill to snap a left-foot major and reduce the gap to 17 points. But it was the final score of the game as the Cats ran the clock down.
Bustling baldy Paul Chapman (27 disposals, 12 marks, 2 goals) typified a thorough if unexciting effort from the Cats. Jimmy Bartel (29 touches) worked hard on-the-ball as did Joel Corey (21 handlings, a goal) and Darren Milburn (25 touches, 11 marks) off half-back. Steve Johnson (13 touches, 4 goals), apparently under orders to “produce or else”, fed nicely off Ottens’s crumbs. The defenders worked well despite trouble from Bradshaw, Josh Hunt (30 disposals, 9 marks, a goal) had a lot of the ball and quelled Hooper, Chapman lookalike David Johnson (19 touches) was good as was Matthew Egan (8 marks, 17 disposals). Cameron Ling (27 touches, a goal) had a good battle with Black. Peter Riccardi bagged 3 handy goals. For the Lyin’s Simon Black (22 possies) hurled himself after the ball and there were encouraging games from Josh Drummond (17 disposals until injured), Michael Rischitelli (15 touches) and Cheynee Stiller (18 handlings, a goal). Dan Bradshaw (8 marks, 4 goals) did it all himself in attack. Luke Power (29 disposals, a goal) had a lot of the ball but does a bit too much receiving, not enough getting. Daniel Merrett battled hard for his 2 goals. "The last couple of times we've played Geelong it's actually been a bit of deja vu from three-and-half years with the jumpers swapped. They've now got the bigger stronger bodies and we've got the skinnier ones," Leigh Matthews said. "We didn't have enough contributors who could affect the game but we kept plugging away. We couldn't attack through the centre corridor and had no real run in our game. With uncontested possessions, you've got to run to get them. They were able to get the ball and run and straighten themselves up, whereas we were trying to do it the cheating way, if you want to call it that, by going out wide." Mark Thompson tried some reality. "We have never won at this ground against the Lions so we are thrilled to come up here and take the points. It was unacceptable last week how we played being so awful so we wanted to avenge that. We have had some bad memories at this ground and I don't blame the players for not winning by a lot - just to win was a good effort here."
At Docklands:
North Melbourne 2.5 4.9 8.10 12.12.84
Port Adelaide 2.2 3.5 6.10 9.11.65
North are mounting a bit of a late-season run, here defeating the under-strength and, it should be said, under-motivated Power at Docklands. The previous occasion these teams played here it was an elimination final last year. North’s strong finish to the season may come to an end quickly, though. Norf want to follow Port’s lead and send some players for immediate, season-ending surgery, including captain Adam Simpson, forward Shannon Grant and handy backman Daniel Pratt. Apologies to Dwayne Russell, it was actually Dennis ‘The Doyen’ Commetti who referred to the LA Raiders last week as Sav Rocca launched a huge torpedo punt. And Sav indeed plans to head over to the US when his career ends this year and try out to become an NFL punter, following Darren Bennett and Ben Graham. As Graham just signed a US$7 million contract, why not? Sav had thought about quitting this week, but now intends to play out the season with the prospect of more senior games in the offing. Ah, the game here. North made one change after derailing the Cat bandwagon last week, Leigh Brown returning at the expense of Ed Lower. Port made one compulsory change with Matthew Bishop returning to replace injured Steven Salopek (shoulder). Shaun Burgoyne played his 100th game.
The mild interest of the clubs’ supporters - 14,800 turned up - reflected the clubs’ fortunes. A slow, flooding-dominated first half did little to excite. In the Kangas’ defence, they did hit the post four times. Rocca opened the goal-scoring as Drew Petrie, a defender these days, ran down the ground and passed for big Sav to mark and convert. Port’s Shaun Burgoyne weaved clear of the restart and kicked for Dom Cassisi to mark uncontested in the pocket, he played-on and speared it through. Roving Damon White snapped a goal to give the Pooer a 5-point lead, but before the first break Rocca’s long, low punt was marked by back-running Nathan Thompson for a Rue goal, they led by 3 points. Kanger rover Daniel Harris sped clear of the opening bounce of quartier du and delivered to leading Thompson, he majored again and the Roos appeared on their way. But the remainder of the half was a lot less exciting. The Ruse managed three behinds before Port reduced the margin to 6 points after junior Roo Andrew Swallow over-ran the ball, Josh Mahoney scooped it up and slotted a sausage on-the-run. Pooermen Stu Dew and Brett Ebert managed posters before Kanga man Leigh Harding found himself approaching the sticks from a difficult angle, he stabbed a pass for Shannon Grant to mark and convert instead. Norf by 10 points at harf-time.
Apparently Laidley urged his men to run more with the ball and stay in the corridor in the second half. Rocca booted a long goal to open the third Mario, then just such a Laidley-prescribed move involving big ruckman David Hale and speedy Daniel Wells led running backman Shannon Watt booting a noice sausage. Rocca fired a handpass for Thompson to bag a running major and the Kangas had kicked to a 25-point lead. More like it, but the more open game benefited Port, they’d also shifted Chad Cornes onto the ball and he fired for a bit. Port’d missed a coupla shots in this period before kicking three unanswered goals of their own, White bagged two of ‘em including a terrific set-shot from the boundary-line, 50m out. Ebert kicked t’other and the Flowers were back 6 points behind. Sav Rocca came to the rescue late in the korter for Norf, lurking behind the pack to mark Jess Sinclair’s long kick and stab it through from a tricky angle. Early in the final term Kanga captain Adam Simpson booted a goal, then Rocca stepped up again, leading to mark Kasey Green’s pass and booting another six-pointer, the 741st of his career. The Ruse appeared home with a 24-point lead. Once again the Power found something, White booted a goal from a mark on-the-lead and a burst of speed from Danyle Pearce, playing well, sent Kane Cornes in for a running goal. As Port attacked again the danger appeared mopped up by Sinclair, but he kicked across-goal to team-mate Daniel Pratt and Port’s Michael Pettigrew. The pair fell to ground and Pettigrew appeared to hold Pratt down as Dew arrived to snap a goal. Lucky Dew kicked the ball instead of eating it. Port trailed by 8 points and cleared the restart, Pearce kicked long and Pettigrew marked by the point-post. Pettigrew’s attempted checkside kick slapped into the goal-post and the Ruse had a kick-in. Ben Schwarze held a tough with-the-flight mark and handballed for running Michael Firrito to boot a steadying Rue goal. A bit later Norf had a throw-in in their forward-pocket. Power ruckman Brendon Lade tapped it perfectly for Pearce but he over-ran the ball and Harding pounced to stab it through, Norf 19 points ahead and home.
Sav Rocca was good, booting 4 goals and setting up a few more with his 11 marks and 17 disposals. The Ruse had good service in the middle from Daniel Harris (30 disposals) and Andrew Swallow (21 possies) while Brady Rawlings (22 touches) performed his usual stopping job on Shaun Burgoyne. Much run from defence came from Drew Petrie (10 marks, 16 disposals) and Jess Sinclair (27 touches), Daniel Pratt (15 marks, 26 handlings) was a handy rebounding backman too. Nathan Thompson continued his reliable form with 3 goals from 7 marks and 10 disposals. Port’s best again were the professional midfielders, ruckman Brendon Lade (20 disposals, 11 marks), hard nut Kane Cornes (28 touches, a goal) and speedy junior Danyle Pearce (21 possies). Wingman Nathan Lonie (24 possessions) saw a bit of it and Dom Cassisi (15 handlings, a goal) did a good job on Wells. Damon White was the best forward option with 4 goals from 9 marks and 11 kicks, but this Port team really struggles to kick a winning score. "Again, it was a competitive effort, but we're getting a bit sick and tired of those," Port coach Mark Williams said. "There are some nice things to find, but overall, their tall forwards marked the ball and kicked goals." Dean Laidley said "It was good because of our experience of the Brisbane game a few weeks ago where we fell (short). We were poor in our goal kicking prior to half-time in that game as well and then we got pipped on the post. To guts it through (today) with Harris and Swallow giving us real drive through the middle I thought was terrific. Our focus at half-time was to run and bounce and get the ball into our forward line quicker and we did that at stages and hence were able to get the ball into better scoring positions inside our forward 50 and hence we kicked straighter.”
At Subiaco:
Fremantle 6.4 8.11 11.14 14.20.104
Hawthorn 1.2 5.3 7.6 7.9.51
The fightin’ Dockers consolidated their position in the eight with an easy-enough victory over the Horks. A big first quarter established the decisive break and despite a bucketful of missed shots the Shockers were never under serious threat. The Dockulaters’ next three games, away to the Crowbots, at home to the Stains, then the Derby, made a win here vital. The Horks were attacked last week by Mike Sheahan in the Herald-Sun who derided their soft-centered, non-physical game-plan. Horforn rank last or second-last in the AFL for most of the tough things in footy, tackles, hard-ball gets, contested marks etc. They came out a bit harder here. The Docker team was strengthened by the return of Paul Hasleby and, finally, Justin Longmuir after an extended spell with knee trouble. They replaced Marcus Drum (hamstring) and Paul Medhurst, dropped for what may be the final time. The Hawks went beserk with seven changes. Peter ‘Spida’ Everitt went for season (and Hawk career?) - ending ankle surgery, Joel Smith was out with more hamstring trouble, while John Barker, Jarryd Roughead, Nick Ries, Simon Taylor and Michael Ball were all dropped. In came some senior men in Richie Vandenberg, Chance Bateman, Brent Guerra and Mark Williams, rookie-listed Ben Kane and two first-gamers, ruckman Max Bailey from West Perth (nice touch to select him here) and forward Beau Dowler of Noble Park. Dowler suffered a broken pelvis in car accident just before being drafted last year, you may remember.
This was Freo’s annual ‘Purple Haze’ day, a charity day to raise money for left-handed guitar players who take LSD. Er, sorry, the Starlight Foundation which aids seriously ill children. The Dockers sported all-purple guernseys with a white anchor on the front. Looks like a Carlton jumper. The Dokkers have been troubled by Hawthorn in recent times so complacency didn’t figure. Pavlich booted the first goal after a strong grab over Zac Dawson, although the over-discussed Dawson was not Pav’s opponent, Campbell Brown was. Dawson was on Justin Longmuir and J-Lo booted the next major, a rubbish free-kick against Dawson for a push-out (see, I’m doing it too). Hawk supporters would be unhappy with the umpires, especially Dean ‘Maggot’ Margetts. Trent Croad missed Horforn’s first shot. Freo scored again, Jeff Farmer’s fierce tackle on Brad Sewell forced the ball loose and advantage was allowed for Byron Schammer to boot a goal. The Shockers attacked from the restart, Pavlich led wide for a mark and centered the ball with a smart kick for Farmer to grab and convert. The Dokkaz led by 25 points and the ‘Freo’ chant started very early. The Horks avoided another goal-less first term as a series of handballs ended with Richie Vandenberg’s pass to leading Mark Williams, back at full-forward here. Williams dobbed it. A bit later gigantic Dokka ruckman Aaron Sandilands stooped to tackle diminutive Hork Chance Bateman - and still clouted him in the head. Bateman did duck, though. Bateman missed his shot and the Dockers moved smoothly downfield from the kick-in, Hasleby roved pack-spillage and handballed for Cook to snap truly. Freo cleared the restart with some rugged play, Schammer kicked for Pavlich to mark over Brown and boot another sausage. The Dokkers led by 32 points at korter-time. Brown, too short for Pavlich, was replaced by Croad for the second quarter. The Horks won a free-kick at the opening bounce, the ball went wide to Brown, he kicked long and Ben Dixon lurked at the back of the pack for a mark and tap-through goal. The Hawks began to work a bit harder across half-back, although they were aided by the inaccurate Shockers who managed six consecutive behinds. They included two from Longmuir and one from defender Michael Johnson, after he held a very good juggling mark when sandwiched in the contest. The Horcs managed to score the next goal, good play from Vandenberg completed by his pass to Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin, who thumped it home from 55m. Williams steered a very good shot from the pocket, Jordan Lewis with the pass, and the Hawkers were 19 points behind. Freo steadied as a poor Bateman kick turned over possession, Longmuir’s long punt cleared the pack and Farmer marked in the goal-square, through it went. Horforn replied as Franklin’s seemingly aimless cross-field run ended with a good handpass to Bateman, on to crew-cut Shane Crawford who delivered to leading Williams again, he converted again. Freo’s lead was 20 points but the umps helped ‘em score the final sausage of the half. Johnson was tackled by Luke Hodge, one ump blew for holding-the-ball, another for too-high. The latter decision prevailed (correctly) but while players stood about in confusion the ball went to Freo’s Daniel Gilmore in plenty of space, his kick was marked by Longmuir 15m out, an easy conversion. Freo by 26 points at half-time.
The Hawks continued to cling on in a slogging third term. Williams booted his fourth goal early-on, with a good grab of Beau Dowler’s first-ever kick. Fightin’ Freo emerged at the restart. Hawk ruckman Robert Campbell was whacked in the head by Cook, amazingly the umps didn’t see it. Hawks descended on Cook, a blue ensued in which Cook and Hodge clearly punched each other. Cook emerged with a free-kick, the ball ended with Farmer, who snapped a terrific goal after slipping over initially. A bit of heat and spite in the game now. The Awks responded presently, Hodge, Sam Mitchell and Rick Ladson strung some passes together to create a straightforward shot for Dixon, he converted duly. Freo replied after Hawk man Ben Kane over-ran the ball, Pavlich’s high kick was well-marked by Ryan Murphy and he goaled. Longmuir free-kicked Freo’s lead to 34 points when shoved in the back by Hawk debutant Max Bailey at a throw-in. Thus Bailey conceded a goal with his first free-kick in football, or something. The term petered out from there with three Horforn behinds, two from Hodge including a terrible poster from 10m out. Schammer departed with facial damage, a suspected fractured cheek. Freo led by 32 points at the final change and a fairly downbeat final stanza ensued, as rain which’d been coming all afternoon finally arrived. Farmer snapped a terrific tight-angle goal in the opening minutes, roving pack-spillage of Pavlich’s long kick. The Dockulaters accumulated more behinds as the Hawks ran out of steam, a bit of selfishness crept into the Dokka game as folks had pot-shots from tough angles. Late in the piece Longmuir slotted a good running goal from the flank and Brett Peake ended the day with a major, set up by Bell and Murphy. The Horks managed another goal-less quarter.
Even performance from Freo in their fifth consecutive win. Captain Peter Bell (29 disposals) scurried about at his industrious best, up forward Jeff Farmer (11 touches, 4 goals) was very entertaining and Matthew Pavlich (8 marks, 15 kicks, 2.4) was also good roaming from midfield to half-forward. Roger Hayden (22 possies) and the highly-rated David Mundy (21 touches, 6 marks) impressed in defence again, Heath Black (23 disposals) and Matthew Carr (18 handlings) played well in midfield. But it was the return of Justin Longmuir (7 marks, 15 disposals, 4 goals) which would’ve pleased Freo fans the most. For the Orcs Shane Crawford (29 touches, 13 marks) continued his good form against Freo and rover Sam Mitchell (29 possies) was good. Mark Williams booted 4 goals from 6 marks and 7 kicks while Chance Bateman (19 touches) and Campbell Brown (25 disposals, 8 marks) worked a bit. Brent Guerra (22 handlings) got a bit of the ball too but turned it over some. Ben Dixon kicked 2 goals. "We worked really hard in the second and third quarters to get ourselves back into the contest and had some chances in the third quarter but just missed a couple of crucial goals that could have made the game a little bit more interesting at three-quarter time," Hawk coach Clarkson said. "But they just had too much run for us in the end and to their credit ran out comfortable winners." Chris Connolly appreciated Cook’s thuggery at centre-bounces - not in as many words. "Well it was our No.1 focus today, our centre clearances," Connolly said. "We had everyone weighing in particularly in the centre clearances and then around the ground the positivity rolled into those areas too, so that was a big bonus. Don't forget that Fremantle's had problems with Hawthorn - major problems. So for us to win in the fashion we did was really positive for the club.” Big month ahead.
Ladder after Round Eighteen.
Pts. % Next Week
Adelaide 60 153.5 Fremantle (Football Park, Sunday)
West Coast 56 117.2 North Melbourne (Subiaco, Saturday)
Melbourne 48 114.9 Sydney (MCG, Saturday)
Sydney 44 122.5 Melbourne (MCG, Saturday)
St. Kilda 44 118.2 Geelong (Docklands, Sunday)
Collingwood 44 117.2 Essendon (MCG, Fri. night)
Footscray 44 110.2 Port Adelaide (Marrara Oval, Sat. night)
Fremantle 44 98.6 Adelaide (Football Park, Sunday)
----------------------------
Geelong 36 102.3 St. Kilda (Docklands, Sunday)
Richmond 32 79.7 Brisbane (Docklands, Sat. night)
Brisbane 28 92.0 Richmond (Docklands, Sat. night)
North Melbourne 28 85.7 West Coast (Subiaco, Saturday)
Port Adelaide 24 89.3 Footscray (Marrara Oval, Sat. night)
Hawthorn 20 76.6 Carlton (MCG, Sunday)
Carlton 14 77.5 Hawthorn (MCG, Sunday)
Essendon 10 79.8 Collingwood (MCG, Fri. night)
Cheers, Tim.
Article last changed on Thursday, August 10, 2006 - 4:47 PM EDT
