AFL Round 19
by Tim Murphy
Ah, been celebrating the big win.
At the MCG:
Essendon 5.2 7.6 7.10 10.14.74
Collingwood 2.0 4.2 6.4 9.7.61
Wins for the Dons are like Liberals with a conscience. None for ages, then several appearing at once. The Magpoise were seen to have a very easy final month but blew the first leg and maybe a top-four slot. The bottom-dwelling Bummers were more committed. Sloppy and very ordinary, the Maggies. Especially up front. More tabloid drama for the Poise last week as Mick Malthouse denied stories a medical condition would force him into retirement at the end of this season. Mick did confirm he had a condition though, which was something (didn’t say what it was. Short man syndrome?). Three changes to the Don team from last week, Adam McPhee, Chris Heffernan and Courtney Johns returning to replace Andrew Lovett (broken thumb), Richie Cole (concussion) and Dean Solomon who was dropped after a big night in Sydney last Saturday. Solly missed training the following morning. Newspaper reports had Matthew Lloyd playing again before the end of the season, but Lloyd himself ruled it out. The Poise lost Dale Thomas (concussion and broken collarbone), whom they hope to have return before the finals. Fellow junior Scott Pendlebury replaced him.
Just under 63,000 turned out, always a big crowd for the traditional rivals. Full of running, the Dons began well. Jason Johnson bagged an early goal, Jim Hird missed after marking on-the-lead. The Poise turned-over as they rebounded from defence, Scott Camporeale marked on the 50m line and thumped a sausage. A great bit of roving from Andrew Welsh, playing across half-forward, set up a mark and goal for Gus Monfries and the Dons led by 19 points. The Dons kept attacking but were held out by James Clement, in the space of five minutes Clement out-marked Hird three times. Hirdy shifted upfield and helped create the next goal from half-back, McPhee’s run ended with a pass for leading Courtney Johns to grab and convert. Essadun by 25 points now, 4.1 to nought. The Poise cleared the restart and Ben Johnson found Chris Egan with a good pass, Egan booted the Poise first major. A bit later a short-passing move ended with Heath Shaw’s chipped kick to Pendlebury, he punted truly and the Pies seemed awake now, 14 points down. But the Dons had the final say of the term, as time ebbed Mark McVeigh marked 50m out and played-on with a long kick to the ‘square, Mark Johnson planted his foot in the small of Bucks’s back and soared for a big grab. Johnson banged it through after the korter-time siren, the Bommers led by 20 points. The Dons were running hard with the ball, the Poise were very static with lots of short-passing. Again Collywood had trouble in attack, Rocca’d already been to the bench and Tarrant jogged about feebly. Alan Didak found space at a premium with the Dons’ flooding and his team’s slow delivery. Tarrant did boot a goal early in the second term, holding a with-the-flight mark of Tarkyn Lockyer’s kick and popping it through. Bommers Jason Johnson and Jay Nash missed shots before Lockyer snapped a goal for the Poise, collecting Egan’s roving handpass. The Bommaz lead was cut to 11 points but they responded. Scott Lucas led wide and centered with a pass for leading Johns to mark and punt truly. A bit later Dustin Fletcher galumphed outta defence and kicked long, Johns juggled a terrific one-handed mark against Jason Cloke and booted another major. Essadun led by 23 points and that was enough for J. Cloke, he was benched and Simon Prestigiacomo shifted onto Johns, Clement to Lucas. With Fletcher and McPhee holding Rocca and Tarrant respectively, defences dominated now. Very little happened in the 5 minutes prior to the long break.
Piemen Egan and Rocca hooked shots on-the-full early in the third term. The Magpiss continued to look pretty ordinary in general but their backline held up, Clement playing very well. Bommer Welsh biffed Poi backman Nick Maxwell, earning a report. Thirteen goal-less minutes elapsed before poor play from Dons Jolley and McVeigh turned over possession, a Poi rebound and Tarrant passed for Egan to mark and bag a goal. Chris Egan had been the most mobile and energetic of the Pie forwards, Rocca tried hard but couldn’t time his jumping properly, or something. The Dons moved swiftly from defence but also fell down in attack. Hird slipped forward to mark 40m out but his poor pass to Nathan Lovett-Murray resulted in an under-pressure snap for a point. Late in the term Pie Ben Johnson banged it in again and this time the ball fell for Didak to gather and snap through skillfully for a goal. Dons by 12 points at the final change. A behind each in the early final term before fierce battling from Shane O’Bree won the ball for the Pies, Ben Johnson ran clear and found Paul Licuria alone, 20m out. Licuria slotted and the Dons led by a goal. A few minutes later under-pressure McVeigh hooked a quick kick from deep in defence, Poi Dane Swan sped onto the ball and stabbed it through for a great goal. Scores were level now and it appeared the Poise might grind out the win. But no. Lanky Bummer Kepler Bradley won the ball well, rode a bump and handballed for Mark Johnson to escape. He passed for Lucas to mark 55m out, Lucas played-on and banged it home through an empty goal-square. The Bombouts won the ball away from the restart and Jobe Watson’s nicely-weighted handpass was collected by Lovett-Murray, he raced clear and blasted it home. After Brent Stanton booted a major from a defensive rebound the Dons led by 17 points. Hird and Lucas missed set shots as the re-energised Dons powered home. With 3-and-a-half minutes remaining Pie man Johnson threaded a noice goal from the pocket after some snappy handpassing got him the ball, the Maggies trailed by 12 points. Of course the Dons ran the clock down from there, David Hille booted a behind after the final siren.
Dons very good defensively with Dustin Fletcher (28 disposals, 10 marks) holding Rocca and Adam McPhee (22 disposals, 14 marks) doing the job on Tarrant. Mark Johnson (13 touches, 6 marks, a goal) was pretty good against Buckley, too. Damien Peverill (33 handlings) worked hard in the midfield, to modest effect, while Brent Stanton (25 touches, 9 marks, a goal) and Jason Johnson (26 possies, 11 marks, a goal) were alright. Scott Lucas (8 marks, 20 possessions, a goal) continued his good form and Courtney Johns (3 goals from 5 marks, 7 kicks) showed he had ability again, if only he can stay fit. Pie man James Clement (23 disposals, 10 marks) was terrific in their backline, the best of the Poi midfield were Dane Swan (31 touches, 12 marks, a goal) and Ben Johnson (19 disposals, a goal). Ruckman Josh Fraser (29 possies, 9 marks) had a fair bit of the ball without doing much damage. Alan Didak (17 touches, a goal) tried hard, at least and Chris Egan (14 touches, 6 marks, 2 goals) looked dangerous in attack. Mick Malthouse suggested his lads were ‘flat’ after the big Camry game. "The extra effort to get close, with a six-day turnaround, perhaps has had a detrimental effect on a number of players who were never anywhere near the capacity they were last week," Malthouse said. "We weren't good enough. We didn't play with the same passion as last week. Last week hurt us. Perhaps we didn't recover from last week, taking nothing away from Essendon." Kev Sheedy gave nothing away. "It was a real little finals-type match wasn't it?" Sheeds said. "They were obviously trying to keep that top four chance alive and got that late goal that put themselves back in the game to give them a chance in the last half-an-hour. But you'd have to say we were really pleased to get a game like that, to see what our younger players and the players that have been down in confidence would do. So we were pretty happy from that point of view."
At the MCG:
Melbourne 4.0 7.1 9.2 10.3.63
Sydney 4.2 8.4 11.6 14.11.95
Very useful win for the Swans, both in terms of ladder position and their record against other teams in the eight, not flash before this one. Melbun’s third loss in the last four games sent them tumbling from the top four. The Deez could reach for the injury excuse and Neale Daniher certainly did, they had a few missing. But they were out-tackled and outplayed by the Siddey men. Maybe the annual late-season Demon slump has arrived. The Deez untimely injuries included Russ Robertson (shoulder), Matthew Whelan and Colin Sylvia (strained calf muscles both), while Paul Wheatley and Daniel Bell were dropped. Incoming were Brad Miller, his first game for a coupla months, Lynden Dunn, Chris Johnson, Ryan Ferguson and Shannon Motlop. Ferguson was back after suffering broken ribs and a punctured lung in round 2. The Swans recalled a long-absent soul in ruckman Stephen Doyle, his first appearance in nearly two years. Amon Buchanan was back too, they replaced juniors Simon Phillips and Tim Schmidt. Still no Nick Davis, remaining in purgatory for another week.
These two are the leading tackling teams in the leeg (Melbun are no. 1) and so it’s no surprise a big, brawling mob followed the ball around. Most pundits assumed Brad Miller had been selected to play on Barry Hall, but Miller lined up at CHF and Ben Holland picked up Hall. The Dees started well, Matthew Bate held a good grab on the flank and kicked long to the goal-square, the ball bounced away from Swan full-back Leapin’ Leo Barry and handily for David Neitz to stab a point-blank goal. Neitz’s committed battle to win the ball set up the next goal, a snap from Daniel Ward and Melbun led by 12 points. Hall’s first significant act was to flatten Nathan Brown with a shirt-front. Siddey got on the board with a free-kick, Heath Grundy held (maybe) by Ferguson, Grundy majored. The Dee fans were not happy with the umpires all day, the officials were certainly whistle-happy. A bit later Swan Luke Ablett took a great grab on the wing and switched play, Hall maneuvered around Holland to mark O’Keefe’s kick and boot a major. The Swans led by a point. The Dees responded as Neitz held a strong grab of Miller’s long kick and converted, the Swans goaled again after Adam Goodes marked Brett ‘Captain’ Kirk’s quick kick from a ball-up. Goodes was opposed by the committed but vertically challenged Dee tagger Simon Godfrey. A bit of a lull now as neither team could advance much against the pressure of the other. There was a lot of tackling, eventually one of ‘em forced a turnover as Swan Malceski coughed the ball up, Demun Chris Johnson passed for Godfrey to boot a rare, long goal. Melbun led by 5 points but the Swans responded directly from the restart, Ablett’s free kick went to Jarrad McVeigh and his low centering punt was marked by Mick O’Loughlin for an easy sausage. The Swans led by 2 points at the first break. A free-kick allowed Dee rover Brock McLean to clear the opening bounce of the second term, Leo Barry had a Grand Final flashback as he soared over Neitz - but dropped the mark. Roving McVeigh was caught in possession and Brown free-kicked a goal for the Dees, they led by 4 points. Siddey reclaimed the lead as Goodes found Grundy on-the-lead, ‘Reg’ scored full points with a noice kick. Then Melbun again, Brown roved a pack and kicked for Cameron Bruce to mark and major. And then Siddley, Barry Hall slotting from a mark on-the-lead. Entertaining stuff but the Swans moved away a bit now, thanks to Goodes. His opponent Godfrey was done for ‘bawl’, McVeigh with the tackle and Goodes was free to receive the ball and thump a sausage. Goodes cleared the restart with a free-kick and Nic Fosdike roved the pack to snap truly, the Bloods led by 14 points. Bruce replaced Godfrey as Goodes’s man. Not much happened for the following ten minutes, the game caught up in big man-for-man packs. Swan Paul Bevan was reported for charging Chris Johnson, but there was very little in it and he’s been cleared since. Very late in the term an over-elaborate Swan handpassing move fell apart, the turnover allowed junior Dee Nathan Jones to boot a goal. Swans by 9 at half-time.
The Bloods put the pressure on with two quick goals to start the third stanza. Direct from the opening bounce Ablett thumped a running major. A bit later Kirk was awarded a very technical free-kick for high contact at a throw-in and steered it for full-points, Siddey led by 21 points. A tight period ensued but the scoreboard pressure appeared to have the Demons panicking when in possession, the Swans were more organized and composed. Neitz was reported when, arriving late to a marking contest, he planted the knee into Goodes’s back anyway. He got off. TV stations are happy to turn the volume up on the umps’ microphones when Darren Goldspink is officiating, but they were turned down after this exchange: Goldspink, “That’s fifty against you Barry (Hall) for hitting him high after the contest”; Hall, “That’s sh!t”; Goldspink, “No it’s not sh!t, Barry.” The Swans extended their lead after O’Loughlin collected his opponent Nathan Carroll’s spoil on nobody and grubbed it through. Hall and O’Loughlin proceeded to miss set-shots as the Dees slipped 28 points behind. They needed something but without Davey, Robbo, Pickett and Johnstone, sources of inspiration were lacking. Adem Yze’d done nothing. The skipper provided, great work from McLean sent the ball forward from a throw-in and Neitz dived for a good grab, he majored. A minute later Neitz clutched a terrific mark of Godfrey’s long kick and booted another goal, Melbun were 16 points down. More rugged play preceded the three-korter-time siren. A Demon challenge failed to emerge in the final term, in fact they were flat-out getting it past the centre. The Swans were in full control. Adam Schneider’s smart pass created an early goal for McVeigh to have the Bloods 22 points ahead. They peppered the goals for a bit but managed behinds only, including a coupla misses from Hall. Fosdike was knocked out after banging his head heavily on the turf, following Motlop’s bump. McVeigh extended the Bloods’ lead to 32 points with a snapped major from a ball-up. Into time-on Melbun hadn’t scored in the korter, finally umpiring charity handed Bate a free-kick for ‘bawl’ against Schneider, the Master converted. Fittingly, the Bloods cleared the restart and Amon Buchanan delivered to leading Hall for a mark and goal.
A good game from Adam Goodes, 29 disposals, 12 marks and 2 goals. Folks are talking Brownlow again, it’s a bit unlikely but he’s had a decent season so far. Brett Kirk (25 touches, 12 tackles, a goal) was a key in the keenly contested packs and half-forward Jarrad McVeigh (17 touches, 5 marks, 2 goals) has really improved this season. Adam Schneider (17 disposals) and Ryan O’Keefe (19 touches, 9 marks) ran about to good effect and defender Craig Bolton (11 marks, 17 disposals) played well on Yze. Darren Jolly (37 hit-outs) beat Jeff White and it’s always handy to have Barry Hall (10 marks, 12 kicks, 3.3) about. Heath Grundy and Michael O’Loughlin kicked 2 goals each. Melbun runners Daniel Ward (19 touches, a goal), Matthew Bate (19 disposals, a goal) and Cameron Bruce (23 handlings, a goal) were all pretty good, without dominating. David Neitz (6 marks, 4 goals) tried to lift his lads and James ‘Junior’ McDonald (15 disposals, 14 tackles) was honest again, but as mentioned the Dees lacked that explosive spark. "We tackled hard, but we didn't have enough run and dash in our team to put enough pressure on in the sense of an offensive pressure," Daniher said. "We only went inside 50 thirty times and it's never near enough to win a game of footy and that run and dash that we rely on - against a very good team like Sydney - we probably at the end of the day had too many sitting on the wrong side of the fence (i.e. absent injured). All credit to Sydney, they played very, very well." Paul Roos sees it all in terms of good preparation for September. "We knew going in that Melbourne had prided themselves on their tackling all year," Roos said. "We knew it was going to be a physical game. They put some real heat on us early, it was a credit to our guys that we were able to withstand that, and put the pressure on them in the second half and come away with the win. You know that Geelong next week are going to be physical, they are still fighting to make the finals (well, they were), so it's not gonna get any softer in terms of the opposition and how they're gonna come at you." It’s Geelong, Neale. It’ll be softer.
At Subiaco:
West Coast 7.5 8.7 12.14 14.23.107
North Melbourne 4.3 8.6 11.7 12.9.81
Surprisingly violent contest. The only folks happier than Wiggle fans would’ve been shareholders in Elastoplast, as players charged about swathed in bandages after clobbering each other. The Kangas probably stirred the pot beforehand by claiming they’d target returning Weegle ruckman Dean ‘Big’ Cox. The Ruse were also keen to reassure their supporters they’d be competing after Laidley’s indication last week they’d be giving up on the current season, sending a platoon of players for surgery and announcing pre-2007 training would commence in mid-October. Eh? It’s hard work being a Kangaroo supporter, let alone a member. Anyway. The Wiggles’ expected win and Melbun’s loss to the Swans guaranteed the Weegs a top-two finish. In selection the Coasters did re-insert their Cox, Brett Jones made way. In the end Norf dispensed with Shannon Grant (knee surgery) only, Adam Simpson and Daniel Pratt were retained (for this week, said Laidley). Callum Urch was dropped, Eddie Sansbury and former Weegle Daniel McConnell were called up, McConnell for his North debut. Corey Jones played his 100th game.
Players went down from the outset, the first to go was Wiggle forward Ash Hansen with a strained calf muscle. The Weegs had a strong breeze behind ‘em and Ben Cousins and Chris Judd busy. Quinten Lynch snapped the opener from 30m and then bombed a 65 m wind-assisted roost for a major. The Coasters had another soon, before future NFL star Sav Rocca came to the fore for the Ruse. Sav made light of the breeze by thumping a 55m sausage and a bit later kicked another, longer goal - actually an overhit pass to Corey Jones which bounced through. Young Roo Andrew Swallow copped a high hit and was the first to go off for head bandages. The Ruse helped the Eegs get the next goal, Eddie Sansbury ran clear of trouble but insanely turned back towards the goal-square and was palpably caught, Ashley Sampi bagged a major. Norf kept going and two goals in a minute from Jones, both free-kicks against knuckleman Beau Waters, reduced their deficit to 6 points. But the Weegs bagged two late goals in time-on. A terrible clanger from Shannon Watt gifted Daniel Kerr an easy running slot, Andrew Embley converted a mark after the korter-time siren and the Weegs led by 20 points. Judd sped clear of the centre-bounce to open the second Mario and passed to leading Lynch, he marked and majored. Soon Lynch clashed heads with Drew Petrie and departed (temporarily) with a cut chin. The Weegs led by 26 points but the scoreboard flattered them a bit, Roo rovers Daniel Harris, Brent Harvey and skipper Simpson were working very hard. Daniel Wells was alright too, his speed and good pass found Nathan Thompson leading wide, he goaled with a very good kick. Roo Jess Sinclair was hammered by Weevil hard man Daniel Chick and both suffered, although Sinclair was worse. It was tough. Red-hot Weeg Daniel Kerr was winning a lot of the ball but wasting it, a poster from 30m and another poor turnover within the same range squandering chances. Thompson converted a soft free-kick against Jaymie Graham and the Ruse were 12 points behind. A bit later Simpson roved a throw-in and conjured an overarm handpass to Corey Jones, the Rue man swerved a shot for his third goal and the Kangas were 6 points down. Harris drove the Ruse forward with a free-kick, the ball spilled from Thompson’s contest and ‘Lethal’ Leigh Harding snapped a major - scores level. Unsurprisingly, the locals blamed the umpires. Weeg Adam Selwood kicked a behind after the siren to nudge the Weegs ahead by the amount.
The Wiggles emerged with renewed vigour after the break but began to kick a lot of behinds. Staker missed the first of several shots and Embley sprayed on-the-full. Good work from Harris released ‘Boomer’ Harvey and the speedy Roo rover ran a long way (with bounces) before slotting a terrific solo goal, Norf in front! by 4 points. The Weegs continued to waste shots, behinds from Cousins and Rowan Jones preceding a major from Embley, found with Sam Butler’s good pass. The Coasters led by 4 points. The spite boiled over a bit, Lynch marked on the wing and was slung to the ground by Pratt, some handbaggery ensued as Lynch goaled with aid of a 50m penalty. A good chain of handballs ended with Cox booting long, two Rue defenders collided allowing Staker an easy goal. The Weegs were in charge again, leading by 16 points. Their greater depth in midfield was beginning to tell. The Ruse hung in, some fierce tackling in their forward-line, regardless of whether Eegs had the ball or not, ended with Pratt snapping a goal amid raucous booing. The Weegs replied, Selwood used a free kick to find Cox, he passed to unattended Chad Fletcher for the major. Another fight, junior Roo Swallow was flattened after kicking, by Chick again. Sinclair arrived to remonstrate and was shoved in the face by Chick, all of that resulting in a downfield free-kick, 50m penalty and simple goal for Thompson. And Chick being reported. A couple more Weeg behinds had ‘em 13 points up at the final change. More terrible goal-shooting in the last term from the Weegs, Staker commenced with consecutive behinds before Stenglein’s excellent roving handpass sent Cousins away for a running goal, the Eegs led by 21 points. The tiring Ruse kept fighting, in every sense. A poor miss from Corey Jones wasted a rare chance for them, the Weegs scored the next goal with a terrific left-foot hook from Mark Seaby, found by Armstrong’s raking handpass. The Weegs led by 27 points now and not much happened thereon. Former Weegle McConnell was the next to go down, clobbered by Ashley Sampi. Staker kicked his fifth behind before a consolation goal for the Kangas, Harvey drilling it from point-blank range thanks to a terrible clanger from Kerr. The least Norf deserved.
The Weegs’ classy midfield led the way again, the honest work of Ben Cousins (29 disposals, a goal) outshining a prolific Chris Judd (33 possessions) and often wasteful Daniel Kerr (35 touches, a goal). All pretty good, though. Handy back-up came from Tyson Stenglein (27 handlings) and Chad Fletcher (18 possies, a goal), big forward Quinten Lynch (9 kicks, 3 marks, 4 goals) worked hard again. Tough men Daniel Chick (19 touches) and Beau Waters (27 touches, 11 marks) hit in hard, Andrew Embley (24 touches, 3 goals) was useful and Dean Cox (16 handlings, a goal) got through the game, although Mark Seaby did most of the ruck work. For the Kangas rover Daniel Harris (22 disposals) was terrific and his tiring coincided with the Ruse fading. Brent Harvey (21 touches, 2 goals) and Adam Simpson (24 possies) also played well, Simpson’s final game of the season apparently. Corey Jones (19 possies, 3 goals) played decently on his milestone, back at half-forward and Nathan Thompson (6 kicks, 3 marks, 3 goals) was a handy foil, Daniel Pratt (12 touches, a goal) and Jess Sinclair (25 disposals) were good too. Sav Rocca kicked 2 goals, used sparingly after quarter-time. Dean Laidley spun the proceedings again, painting the big picture for Roo supporters. "(West Coast) are a very good football side, but the main focus for us was we found another player today in Daniel McConnell (17 touches, 6 marks - he was alright) and people can now understand why we picked him up. He's only going to get better . . . Harris was very good on Kerr but probably is a season or two pre-seasons short on what he can do. You rate Daniel Kerr very highly, well, Daniel Harris is not far behind him comparable to the same age. I think what our supporters have seen at home today, they'd be pretty happy about." Maybe. John Worsfold said "Late in the third quarter and early in the last it looked like we were running pretty strong . . . we are a very hard-running side and it's certainly one of our strengths. If we were looking at a 20-plus point win I would have been pretty happy with that before the game. If we used our opportunities better we maybe could have won by more (but) in general I thought we held up pretty well."
At Docklands:
Richmond 7.4 14.7 17.11 21.16.142
Brisbane 1.1 1.5 2.12 8.12.60
The Battle of the Kids, as Channel Ten styled it, was no battle at all as the Tiges recorded a record-breaking thrashing of the poor, um, young Lyin’s. The build-up can’t have helped Brisbun, dominated by discussion of the future of their ageing stars. Michael Voss refused to play because the Docklands surface is too hard on his wonky knees, and Vossy pondered retirement. Mal Michael used the media to float the idea he could play next year on minimal training, as he pursued business interests in Melbourne. No, said Lethal, so Mal may move or quit, too. Brad Scott simply announced he was hangin’ ‘em up in a month, regardless. The Tiges had one change in selection, Troy ‘Snake’ Simmonds returning from suspension to replace injured Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls (broken collarbone). In addition to Voss, the Lyin’s were also without Josh Drummond (strained hamstring) and Michael Rischitelli (shoulder). Marty Pask and Ben Fixter were recalled and Marcus Allan was selected for his AFL debut. He’s a tallish wingman, the son of former Collywood player and current Brisbun CEO Graeme ‘Gubby’ Allan.
The ‘kids’ theme came from the fact a quarter of the players here are in their first season of senior football. The Tiggers were revved-up, determined to end their cycle of weak, winless finishes to the season. Hard tags were placed on key Lyin’s Simon Black (by Kane Johnson) and Luke Power (Dean Polo). The Tiges also flocked around the Brians’ major attacking force, Dan Bradshaw. At the other end Matthew Richardson enjoyed himself against inexperienced opponent Joel Patfull - Mal Michael picked up Greg Stafford. The game didn’t start well for Lyin’ ruckman Clark Keating, he copped a whack in the ribs and struggled thereafter. Tigger Patrick Bowden had the first shot at goal, the man who kicked three behinds in the first quarter last week booted truly at last. A bit later Shane Tuck passed for leading Richardson to mark and boot a good goal from the pocket - a barometer, is Richo’s first shot. Jay Schulz’s hard tackle on Scott forced the ball loose and Richard Tambling stabbed a good goal, the Toigs quickly 19 points ahead. A point of discussion was the role of loose backmen Patrick Bowden and Lyin’ Justin ‘The Shermanator’ Sherman. Bowden had 17 disposals in the first quarter and Sherman 16, a staggering amount. Bowden also took 9 marks, mostly deep in defence as he drifted unopposed into packs while Bradshaw wrestled multiple opponents. Brisbun backman Jason Roe kicked their only goal of the first half at this point, a good running effort after exchanging handpasses with Tim Notting. The Tiges led by 13 points but soon a pass from Polo found Richardson in the pocket, Richo played-on to open the angle and booted his second goal. Three panicky Lyin’s spoiled each other in defence, nothing came of that but soon enough Andrew Krakouer snapped a goal for the Tiges, sent in by Richo’s handpass. Krakouer also bagged the next goal, a free-kick after being ploughed into the dirt by Jed Adcock, and late in the term Greg Tivendale kicked smartly for Richardson to mark over Patfull and boot another major. Tiges by 39 points at the first break. Daniel Merrett was switched onto Richo for the second term and Sherman moved into the midfield. Junior Tige Matthew White snapped a good goal to continue the procession. Schulz goaled from a free-kick, off-the-ball holding against Michael, and the Tiggers led by 50 points. A scoring lull at this point, Brisbane were performing better in the midfield but had nothing in attack, at one stage marks inside attacking 50 were 14-0 in Richmun’s favour. Krakouer took a clever one and kicked to the ‘square, Simmonds held a good grab against Michael and thumped it through. There followed two more Richardson goals, the first hooked through after marking on the point-line, the second an easy running slot caused by Roe’s disastrous turnover as he ran head-long into oncoming tacklers. The Toigs led by 67 points now and it was extended late thanks to some terrible umpiring. Lyin’ Luke Power and Tigger Cameron Howat both made to soccer the ball through from the goal-square, Power clearly got there first but the goal-ump over-ruled the fieldy and awarded a six-pointer to the Tiges. As the umps debated, Power and Pat Bowden scuffled and the ump awarded Bowden a free-kick to bring about one of them annoying double-goals. Tiges by 79 points at half-time and their total, 91 points, was the highest first-half score by a Richmond side for 21 years.
The second half was pretty tedious as the Lyin’s battled on respectably and the Tigers shifted down a gear. Richardson postered with a tough shot early and a Notting miss for the Lyin’s dragged their score along to 1.7. The Tiges often had both ruckmen, Simmonds and Stafford, alongside Richardson in their forward line and at a throw-in Stafford tapped the ball for roving Simmonds to snap a goal, Tiges by 85 points. Brisbun’s second goal arrived finally, frustrated Bradshaw converted a fairly soft free-kick against Joel Bowden. Not much action for while until a very good running, handballing move from the Toigs ended with Brett Deledio’s great snap. Late in the stanza Richardson held a goal-square mark of Schulz’s free-kick and booted it through, the Tiges led by 89 points at the final change. Most interest now centered on whether the Tiges could inflict a 100-point margin, having being on the receiving end of three of ‘em this season. Brisbun fought on well though, Sherman rammed a long running goal to open the last Mario. Good play from Pettifer created an answering goal for Tambling, Sherman cleared the restart for the Lyin’s and passed for Power to mark and major. The Tiges goaled in sequence, Adam Pattison with a free-kick from a very poor decision. Richmun by 90 points at this stage. Small Lyin’ forward Rhan Hooper, who’d tried hard, scored an easy goal after Bradshaw’s good mark and unselfish pass set him up. Notting took a screamer over Pat Bowden. Richmun’s lead got to 92 points, Stafford majoring from Richardson’s pass. Bradshaw sausaged for the Brians, then Stafford kicked another goal from a grab - Tiges by 93. A behind made it 94 points, but that’s as far ahead as the Toigers could manage. The Lyin’s scored the final two majors, a running effort from Troy Selwood and great snap from Bradshaw as he was slung to the ground.
Many good players for the Tiges. The aggressive rucking of Troy Simmonds (18 disposals, 27 hit-outs, 8 marks, 2 goals) set the tone and although I’m loath to admit it, winner of easy kicks Patrick Bowden (28 disposals, 13 marks, 2 goals) actually did very well. Matthew Richardson (11 marks, 22 touches, 6 goals) had a night out and running half-back Andrew Raines (19 disposals) played well again. Plenty of contributors midfield, headed by Shane Tuck (25 disposals) and Brett Deledio (24 handlings, a goal), Chris Hyde (24 possies) and junior Cameron Howat (19 touches, a goal) were handy too. The stopping job of Kane Johnson on Simon Black was important. Richard Tambling, Andrew Krakouer and Greg Stafford kicked 2 goals each. The outstanding Lyin’ was Justin Sherman (35 disposals, a goal). Tim Notting (19 disposals, 6 marks, 0.3) wasn’t too bad. Dan Bradshaw (5 marks, 8 kicks, 3 goals) kept trying. Jed Adcock (23 disposals, 11 marks) and Brad Scott (25 touches, 10marks) won a bit of the ball while rebounding. Leigh Matthews bemoaned the lack of experience (14 players with fewer than 50 games) and took solace from the second half. "It was just a disaster the first half and then it was just a matter of whether we could consolidate and hang in there and we probably did that," he said. "At half-time we were probably headed for a 150 point loss, but the last quarter was our best and the third quarter was our second best so at least there was an element of hanging in there (after half-time)." Terry Wallace said "The standard that we set in the first half I didn't think would be maintainable. I mean, you don't win by 160 points. That just doesn't happen in a game of AFL footy. That standard was never going to be set, but we would have liked a stronger finish to our second half, there's no doubt about that."
At Marrara Oval, Darwin:
Footscray 3.3 6.6 12.10 13.13.91
Port Adelaide 5.3 8.5 9.11 14.21.105
Not a happy trip to the tropics for the Dogs. They were outrun and outplayed by Port and collected yet another injury, a strained hamstring for Nathan Eagleton. Very disappointing for the Bullies. They’d set themselves to win here but instead dropped to eighth and face the Camrys, Saints and Bombouts in the last three rounds. Port would have little sympathy for opposition injuries though. Their recent form and ‘rebuilding’ attitude didn’t suggest victory was likely here, but they ran harder and had more contributors from the start. The Pooer even broke the psychological ten-goal barrier. Should’ve kicked twenty, in fact. Two changes to the Bulldog team which beat the Tiggers last week, rover Damien McCormack (dropped) and Travis Baird (hamstring) were replaced by Kieran McGuinness and midfielder Shane Birss, the latter’s first game this season following a poor run with injuries. Port replaced Nathan Lonie, who dislocated a shoulder at training, Adam Thomson and Brad Symes who both had groin strains and Darryl Wakelin who doesn’t like hot weather, or something. In came Dean Brogan, back from his ankle injury, Steven Salopek and two debutants, rookie-listed Greg Bentley from the Dandenong Stingrays and no. 30 draft pick Nick Lower from Norwood, I’m guessing related to the Ed Lower at the Kangaruse.
The weather and the heat are always the talking points for Darwin games. Not too warm here, in the low 20s. A decent crowd of 14,800 turned out. Returning Doggy Shane Birss hooked poorly with the game’s first shot, the Power advanced swiftly from the kick-in. Josh Mahoney led, marked in the centre and dished a handpass to Danyle Pearce, he passed for Salopek to mark and convert. Much of the game was like that. Port soon had a second goal, Bulldog full-back Brian Harris was too cute with an attempted tap-on, Port’s Toby Thurstans snaffled the ball and booted a major. Another rapid rebound from a kick-in ended with Thurstans marking Salopek’s pass and booting a sausage, Port led by 16 points. Thurstans hooked another tight-angle shot on-the-full, he’d started well (apart from the on-the-full bit). Bullie icon Scott West dropped a mark and fumbled on his team’s kick-in, the turnover led to a running goal for Flowerman Jacob Surjan. Port by 22 points. The Dogs got moving, Eagleton’s smart kick found Brad Johnson for a grab and he majored. Port missed a cupla shots before Johnson kicked another goal for the Dogs, thumping a long kick home after marking Birss’s pass. The Power lead was reduced to 12 points but a bit of Shaun Burgoyne class brought them a major, roving spillage from Salopek’s high kick. The Bullies cleared the restart and a series of short passes got the ball to Birss, he converted after the siren. Pord led by 12 points at quarter-time but the Dogs had roused themselves now. They scored two behinds early in the second stanza prior to Lindsay Gilbee kicking long, the ball spilled from Johnson’s contest and Matty Robbins bagged a goal. Port’s lead cut to 4 points but Eagleton did his hammy at this stage, running through the centre. The Dogs pressed on and took the lead after Daniel Cross free-kicked a goal, shoved in the back by Salopek. A turnover by Flower junior Matt Thomas led to a goal-square mark and major for Robbins, the Bullies led by 8 points and appeared to have taken control. But they hadn’t. Power coach ‘Choco’ Williams introduced Greg Bentley and the lad roved Thurstans’s contest to snap a great career-opening sausage - first kick too. Good work from Pearce got the Sherrin to Brett Ebert, he played-on and booted a goal to put Port ahead again, by 4 points. Now Bulldog Rohan Smith limped off as Port mounted a sustained spell of pressure. Smith would return later but the Dogs faced a battle, Port’s Dom Cassisi roved a ball-up and threaded a great tight-angle shot. The croweaters led by 11 points at the long break.
The Dogs ground ahead in the third korter. Footscray’s Chris Grant (remember him?) marked Gilbee’s pass and booted a classy early goal. Port went forward from the subsequent centre-bounce, superb roving and a slick handpass from Burgoyne set up an easy goal for Dean Brogan, after which Port led by 9 points. Cam Faulkner’s lobbed kick was placed for Birss to hold a with-the-flight mark, he punted a major and Port were 3 points ahead. Inaccuracy crept into Port’s game, Surjan missed poorly after a great effort to win the ball. The quiet Adam Cooney surfaced suddenly to gather the pill and kick to Will Minson, the big Bully ruckman converted and the Dogs were 2 points ahead. Port went on to kick four consecutive behinds and an on-the-full too (Michael Pettigrew), none of them a difficult shot. The Dogs weighed in with a point of their own and Birss marked Port’s kick-in, he centered the ball for Robbins to mark and boot a major. Footyscray led by 5 points. Them missed shots began to look costly for Port as Brad Johnson held a strong grab on-the-lead and booted a terrific long goal to extend the Dogs’ lead to 11 points. Late in the term Bullies Cross and Sam Power combined to get Minson the agget, big Will majored after the siren and the Pups led by 17 points at the final change. The break proved untimely, though. The Power cleared the opening bounce of the ultimate term, Kane Cornes missed again. A bit later Damon White marked in the centre and was clattered late by Faulkner, a bit of a blue ensued after which White received a 50m penalty and booted a goal. Soon White had another free and kicked to the ‘square, Pettigrew roved the pack and snaggled a major. The Dogs’ lead was down to 4 points. Port were over-running them but continued to accumulate behinds, in addition to Pearce’s kick on-the-full following some superb play to set up the chance. After a while the inevitable goal came, Tom Logan passed to Thurstans, ran to on to receive the ball back and slot a great major. Port led by 4 points. The Dogs gave ‘emselves a final chance with a great solo effort from Johnson to collect the ball on the flank, turn and run away from opponent Michael Wilson and steer a terrific major from the boundary. The Dogs led by a point, Wilson hurt himself in the chase and departed. Port ground ahead again with three behinds to the Dogs’ one before another goal. Mahoney had a free after being kneed in the head by Hargrave, the ball went via Logan to Pettigrew for a with-the-flight mark and goal. The Power led by 7 points and shortly Pettigrew’s third goal of the quarter sealed it, after marking Matt Thomas’s torpedo punt.
Port’s greater running power, from more players, was the key. Classy Shaun Burgoyne (25 touches, a goal) and prosaic Kane Cornes (34 disposals) led the way, Danyle Pearce (24 possies) was very good too and running half-back Jacob Surjan (17 touches, a goal) contributed. Once again ruckman Brendon Lade (22 disposals, 12 marks) was influential and Chad Cornes (31 possessions) chipped in to link up. Big forward Toby Thurstans (8 marks, 13 disposals, 2 goals) needed a good game and he delivered. Michael Pettigrew’s 3 last-quarter goals (4 marks, 11 disposals in total) were handy, he was supposed to have shoulder surgery last week but it was delayed as a surgeon couldn’t be found. Did they look on a golf course? The Pups had too few contributors, Daniel Cross (27 touches, a goal) worked hard and Brad Johnson (10 marks, 11 kicks, 4 goals) tried to do the job in attack. Scott West (33 disposals) motored about and Ryan Griffen (20 touches) provided some running power, Lindsay Gilbee (29 disposals) did a bit. Shane Birss (10 touches, 2 goals) used the ball well in attack. Matthew Boyd (28 handlings) played alright and Matty Robbins (5 marks, 7 kicks) snaggled 3 goals. Will Minson kicked 2 goals. The stats for yer Gilbees, McMahons and Cooneys look alright, but they had little influence. "It was a pretty big struggle all night - we obviously didn't deserve to win," ‘Rocket’ Eade said. "Early on we missed three goals and they scored three goals from the kick-ins, that comes back to haunt you at the end of the day. Our last quarter was pretty poor, but you've just got to take your chances when you get them." Mark Williams was pretty happy. "It was a great win - obviously the Bulldogs had a hell of a lot more to play for than we did - but in the scheme of our club moving forward there was a lot to play for," he said. "It's hard to convince people on the outside, but certainly our young players wanted to prove that they can play and the older players wanted to show that they are still worthy of staying on for another year, it was a great result. We kicked 6.16 in the second half, so that shows our dominance and we had some good run with so many players out - it was just a brilliant result."
At Football Park:
Adelaide 2.3 5.10 10.14 10.20.80
Fremantle 3.6 8.10 10.11 13.17.95
It’s only taken five years, but Billy Connolly and his men have worked out how to play properly at last. A club record sixth consecutive win not only sealed finals participation for the Shockers but opened the door to the top four. In fact Freo face a month (at least) of big games now, the Saints at home next week, the Derby, (er, at home to Port) and then . . . another Derby? The Crobots have looked distinctly human in recent weeks. Their supporters would point to a depleted side, particularly the absence of leading goal-kickers Mark Ricciuto and Brett Burton. And the result was irrelevant to the Camrys, the Demuns’ loss the previous day guaranteed them a double-chance and home final. Ricciuto wasn’t playing because he’d been suspended 2 games for a subtle but solid elbow to Ben Johnson’s head last week. Burton has a torn hamstring and will miss the rest of the season, they’re saying. Ben Hart and Rhett Biglands also missed with hamstring trouble. Curse the heavy training. The Camrys did have Andrew McLeod back, ahead of schedule, while forward Scott Welsh was in for his first game of the season. Nathan Bock and junior ruckman Ivan Maric were called up. Freo had Josh Carr and Des Headland return from suspension, they replaced Ryan Crowley (hamstring) and Paul Hasleby (soreness).
The Dockulaters were aided by a steady breeze to start with, but most goals were scored against it. Jeff Farmer missed an early shot before McLeod did well to create a shot for Scott Thompson, his kick drifted across the goal but back-pedalling Trent Hentschel marked and hooked it through. The Dokkas responded smartly, a centre-clearance and Matty Pavlich marked, he dished a handpass for Farmer to speed clear and stab it home. Some hard tackling won the Cows the next centre-clearance, McLeod’s slick handpass sent Bock away for a running goal. The Camrys led by 5 points. Bock had another shot within a minute but shanked it horribly, failing to score. Freo’s new direct running game began to take hold, with Heath Black a key part. They had trouble scoring goals. Camry full-back Ben Rutten hit the post with a rare shot but the Shockers soon had reward, Byron Schammer converting a free-kick after being clobbered by Johncock. A bit later the cameras caught Fightin’ Freo skipper Peter Bell delivering a tummy-tap to Nathan Bassett, who went down as if eviscerated. From the same passage (er, of play) Pavlich kicked a point, Johncock received the short Camry kick-in and played-on but was mown down by Farmer. ‘Bawl’ and Farmer free-kicked a major to have Freo 9 points up at the first break. Some terrible, perhaps nervous kicking to opponents featured in the early second term, none costing a goal. The Cressidas scored a few behinds and finally broke the run with an end-to-end move, Scott Welsh slotted a goal from the flank to level the scores. Freo advanced against a flooded backline and Luke Webster passed wide to Josh Carr, in a poor position to score. But Carr played-on, finessed around the man on-the-mark and booted a good long goal. Freo led by 7 points, the Camrys’d lost Nathan Bassett with a hip problem, he’s an important player for them. Rover Matthew Bode fired the locals, after Welsh wasn’t paid a diving mark Bode grabbed the ball and snapped a major anyway. Michael Doughty punted the Camrys into attack from the restart, the ball was fought and scrapped over before emerging to Bode, he bounced a snap through. The Camrys led by 5 points. Fremandle stuck to their new creed, play-on whenever possible, keep the ball in the corridor and run, run, run. From the next centre-bounce Troy Cook won the ball and kicked towards unopposed Schammer, easy mark and goal. Daniel Gilmore kicked long, Pavlich marked in front of Scott Stevens and thumped a great into-the-wind goal from 50m. Brett Peake snaggled a rover’s goal before another signature move, lots of running handball from a kick-in ended with Justin Longmuir marking over Maric and booting a sausage. The Dockers led by 18 points at the long break.
The Cows went forward from the bounce commencing the third Mario and Nathan Van Berlo slotted a good major. Freo advanced from the restart, the Camrys probably should’ve had a free but Cook was allowed to tumble a kick forward, Farmer collected the ball and popped it through. Lotsa booin’. Schammer did well to create a mark and major for Bell, a midget festival as the Shockers led by 23 points. Pavlich missed an absolute sitter which mighta buried the Coronas there. The locals made an effort. Bode featured again, booting another goal after marking Van Berlo’s clever pass. Farmer’s speed was thrilling, he chased down Kris Massie with a great tackle, chipped the resulting free to Black and then sped forward to receive the ball again - and slice on-the-full. Ah well. Dokka defender Roger Hayden was caught in possession, Doughty’s resulting free-kick dropped from the pack and Bode pounced again to thread a great tight-angle sausage. You’d think they’d pick him up. Other Camrys began to get into this new goal-kicking craze, Bock kicked long and as Hentschel and Steven Dodd wrestled the ump plucked out a free to Hentschel, he converted. The Dokkers’ lead was down to 4 points. Doughty missed a shot but a minute later he collected busy Martin Mattner’s handpass and kicked to leading Hentschel, he goaled and the Camrys were in front by 3 points at three-quarter-time. The local crowd relaxed, expecting their lads to cruise away in the final stanza. But they didn’t. The Dockulaters dominated the early minutes. Peake and Longmuir kicked behinds before Farmer and opponent Johncock raced after the ball. Crucially, Johncock slipped over and ‘Wiz’ collected the agget, ran along the boundary and centered smartly for Ryan Murphy to mark, he converted and Freo led again by 5 points. Josh Carr was done for deliberate out-of-bounds and leading Welsh marked Reilly’s free-kick, but Welsh missed. Farmer intervened again, intercepting Mattner’s handpass as the Camrys ran from defence and kicking the ball to Pavlich all alone, he ran right in and punted it through. A few minutes later Peake eluded tacklers and kicked long, Matthew Carr marked on the point-line, played on and thumped it into the stands. Freo led by 17 points now. Des Headland began to get a few kicks but blew some chances to seal the game, the Camrys couldn’t take advantage as Hentschel and Jason Porplyzia missed set shots. The Dokkers went into keepings-off mode amongst eerie silence. They’re not used to losing at Foopall Park. There was time for Bell to taunt the Camrys’ bench before the final siren sounded. They might remember that.
Freos’ leaders were the corridor-channeler Heath Black (26 disposals) and always-running Peter Bell (32 possessions, a goal). Byron Schammer (22 touches, 2 goals) and Brett Peake (23 disposals, a goal) also provide plenty of run and the hardness of Troy Cook (16 disposals) at ball-ups had been appreciated at last, even if his kicking isn’t the best. The backline led by Steven Dodd (20 touches) on Hentschel and Roger Hayden (15 possies) was good, Matthew Carr played well on Simon Goodwin. At the other end Jeff Farmer (11 touches, 3 goals) provided inspiration and Matty Pavlich (9 marks, 14 kicks, 2 goals) did his job. Addleaid’s best were ultra-reliable Tyson Edwards (33 disposals) and hard-running Crobot flankers Michael Doughty (24 possies) and Marty Mattner (21 handlings). Matthew Bode (13 touches, 4 goals) was their most effective forward. Andy McLeod (20 possessions) slotted back in and Brent Reilly (21 touches) was okay. Trent Hentschel kicked 3 goals. Suddenly Neil Craig has problems to address, excuses to make. "I think the first thing we really need to be clear on, we played a legitimate finals side who have got some momentum, “ he started. "I thought we showed plenty of fight, the whole game really. We kept at it, we made some errors - some glaring errors - but I thought we kept at it pretty much. We got tied up a bit with the (bruised hip) injury to Nathan Bassett. It put some pressure on our midfield, but, in the end, we played a really good footy side at the moment and we were a bit off with what we were doing." Chris Connolly STILL won’t concede his side are in the finals. “We know what’s happened in the past and we still need another four points to be absolutely certain.” Aw, c’mon. On the game Connolly said "We know they had a number of senior players unavailable but, on the other hand, Adelaide will use that as incentive to really consolidate as a strength in the competition. We certainly didn't underestimate them but when you play top teams away and you have a win, they are usually very special. We played together and for each other. Guys like Byron Schammer and Brett Peake stepped forward in the first half, guys like Troy Cook and Matthew Carr really led early, and it's been really positive.”
At Docklands:
Geelong 2.5 6.7 8.11 11.14.80
St. Kilda 3.1 7.5 12.7 15.13.103
Even Bomber Thompson concedes the Cats’ season is over now. “But we’ve won six of the last nine,” he protested afterwards. Ah, been a bit harsh on Bomber, his personal life was the subject of unfounded rumours last week and the club president Frank Costa came out and gave Bomber his ‘full backing’ in response to sacking stories. So Thompson will be sacked, then. Not a good way for Peter Riccardi to end his career either, Riccardi planned to retire at the end of this season but a torn hamstring here brought an unhappy, premature end. Classy, long-kicking wingman Riccardi played 288 games for the Catters, the third-most in the Geelong’s history. He won a best-and-fairest and played in three losing Grand Finals with the Cats, was probably their best player in the 1994 mauling from the Weegs. The last link with that very frustrating Cat era. Overall though, Riccardi’s seen as a great bloke and a consistent, highly skilled performer. Ended the day in tears on the bench, you had to feel for him. Happy day for the Saints though, they vaulted into the top four with this convincing win and Justin ‘Stan Laurel’ Koschitzke made a successful comeback. The Cat side here was missing Jimmy Bartel, suspended for hitting head-down Scott Harding at the Gabba last week. Struggling James Kelly was dropped again, in came Cameron Mooney from suspension and Gary Ablett Jnr returned from a shoulder injury. The Sainters indeed had Justin Koschitzke back from his various travails, including a fractured skull, collapsing on live TV and then colliding with a VFL umpire. The tall bloke wore a helmet, ala Justin Madden. The Clarke boys Xavier and Raphael also returned and ruckman Michael Rix was recalled, they replaced luckless Matt ‘Goose’ Maguire (broken leg), injured Leigh Fisher and Stephen Powell and the axed Sam Gilbert.
The Cats’ effort was depressingly familiar for their fans, poor kicking for goal combined with questionable commitment to the cause. Cameron Mooney lined up in defence, for some reason. The Sainters had ruckman Rix at CHB, Nick Riewoldt roaming from a wing and Koschitzke in attack. Stainer Aaron Fiora slotted a great set-shot for the opening goal. Riccardi suffered his injury early, and the Cat inaccuracy also started early as Shannon Byrnes handballed when he should’ve had a shot, under-pressure Ablett missed the tough snap. Young Cat Mark Blake, who doesn’t like to kick the ball, dithered before handballing for Steve Johnson to bag their opener. Koschitzke marked Jason Blake’s long kick and booted a very popular major (amongst Stainer fans, at least). Mooney had shifted forward now for the Cats and he converted after a big pack-mark, the Pussies led by 3 points at this stage. But the Saints nudged ahead with the next goal before quarter-time. The Cats began to look good in the second term, at one stage leading by 14 points following three consecutive goals. Steve Johnson bagged the second of those, with a great back-pedaling mark following David Wojcinski’s long run and punt. Brad Ottens had a tap-through after Byrnes’s good play to send him the ball. More misses came though, Ottens hooking horribly from 40m and his kick dropped into the arms of Stainer Sam Fisher. The Saints kicked three late majors to reclaim the lead before half-time. Brett Voss collected roving Milne’s handpass to snap the first, Rob Harvey slipped forward to collect a pass and handball for an easy running goal to Justin ‘Frankie’ Peckett. Nick Dal Santo grubbed a shot through after tackling forced it loose and the Satins led by 4 points at the long break.
The Stainers pressed on with the first three goals of the third term, one each from their three big forwards, Fraser Gehrig, Koschitzke and Riewoldt. They led by 21 points now. Mooney missed a straightforward shot before a goal-of-the-year contender from Sam Fisher. Fisher charged out to spoil Henry Playfair, ran on to receive a handpass from Brendon Goddard, kept going with a bounce or two and rammed it home from 50m. Great stuff. The Saints led by 25 points but the Cats clung on, Josh Hunt’s centering kick found Cameron Ling in space and he converted, a bit later Andrew Mackie booted a sausage and Jeelong were 13 points behind. Still mistakes. Tom Harley spilled a coupla marks in defence, they weren’t costly but seen as indicative. Mooney, lining up from 20m on a tight angle, tried to stab a pass to Byrnes, made it too tight for the youngster and the ball went through for a behind. But commentators were most critical of a weak, one-handed attempt at a with-the-flight mark from Hunt, which if taken would’ve seen a shot on goal. It looked like a distinct lack of courage, something Hunt doesn’t lack normally. A minute later Saint man Andrew Thompson intercepted Milburn’s centering kick and handballed for Leigh Montagna to boot a running major, Stinkilda led by 20 points at the final change. The Cats couldn’t close the gap in the last quarter. Sainter Raphael Clarke marked, played-on and curled a very good kick for an early major. Hunt’s pass set up an answering goal for Mackie, but a bit later Riewoldt gathered his own crumb and handballed for Milne to snap it through. The game wound down from there.
Roaming big man Nick Riewoldt (26 disposals, 9 marks, 2 goals) and the skilful centreman Nick Dal Santo (28 touches, a goal) were the Saints’ best, with running men Leigh Montagna (19 disposals, a goal) and veteran Justin Peckett (18 touches, a goal) also good. Much rebound running power came from Sam Fisher (22 disposals, a goal) and Jason Gram (20 possies) again, with Brendon Goddard (18 touches, 10 marks) useful too. Max Hudghton did well on Ottens. Justin Koschitzke (6 marks, 6 kicks, 2 goals) not only got through the game but went in hard to contest and shepherd. Fraser Gehrig kicked 3 goals. Better Cats included the much-improved Andrew Mackie (25 disposals, 2 goals), a midfielder now, reliable Cameron Ling (26 touches, 2 goals) and Darren Milburn (23 touches, 9 marks). The running power of Shannon Byrnes (24 possies, a goal) and David Wojcinski (10 disposals) will be important for the Cats’ future, Paul Chapman (21 possessions) tried as always. Steven King spent long periods on the bench again, and Thompson said he’ll be ‘rested’ for the remainder of the season. Steve Johnson bagged 2 goals. "I'm not giving up completely, I really want to win the last three games. But, realistically, I don't think we'll make it," Thompson said. "I'm disappointed with the year. I'm disappointed we're finally out of contention for the finals. We've just got to finish off the year with the three remaining games in a very positive way to make sure that we have a successful 2007." Grant Thomas was rapt with Koschitzke’s return. "There's no doubt Kosi lifts our spirits when he plays, especially his hilarious ‘slipped on the banana-peel’ routine," Thomas said. Actually I may have made that last bit up. "We didn't expect much of him today but he was really significant the way he went about it, he kicked a couple of crucial goals and just to have him in the ruck around the ground also, I think, is a really important factor for us as a team."
At the MCG:
Hawthorn 7.3 12.6 14.10 17.11.113
Carlton 2.3 4.6 8.10 13.12.90
Horforn, with one win from their last thirteen games coming in here, were a little worried about the prospect of the spoon. They duly produced a blitzing first half to establish control against the battling Bluies. Carlton started playing midway through the third term and suddenly began rattling home, led by Brendan Fevola who booted 8 goals. As The Age’s Michael Gleeson put it, Fevola had a Fevola of a game. Petulant, moody, dragged for ill-discipline and yet producing eight sausages including the regulation miracle snap. Finally Fev was KO’d in a collision with team-mate Chris Bryan. The Hawks have a one-man highlights package of their own in Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin, he bagged 6 goals. In selection the Orcs welcomed Joel Smith and Tim Clarke back into their side and selected ex-Port half-forward Stephen Gilham for his Horforn debut. They replaced Zac Dawson (gastro), Jordan Lewis (groin strain) and the dropped Clint Young. The Bluesers made one change, Jordan Bannister in for injured Simon Wiggins (er, ‘leg’ it says).
Hawk man Shane Crawford cleared the opening bounce and speared the ball to leading Mark Williams, he converted. Simple. The Hawks burst from the blocks with the first four goals, in fact. The second was stabbed through by Tim Clarke after Bloo Kade Simpson made an unsuccessful attempt to rush a behind, then Tom Murphy roved his own contest to snap it home. Williams bagged his second and the Horks led by 26 points. A long roost from Jordan Bannister got the Blooze on the board but three more Horforn majors followed, including a great Franklin snap from the pocket. The Hawks led by 36 points before Fevola posted the Blues’ second late in the stanza. Fev had been to the bench already for not chasing and had put a headlock on Luke Hodge, then bowled Crawford over after missing his first shot, conceding a free and 50m penalty. But it was the Buddy Franklin show in the early second term as he rifled through three goals in the first five minutes. Crawford and Hodge were playing well for the Horks, Trent Croad was playing at full-back on Fevola and doing the job, Brad Sewell kept Koutoufides quiet. Ben Dixon snaggled a goal and the Hawks led by 53 points. Fevola’s attitude changed as he booted consecutive goals, both with 50m penalties against Croad. But the Hawks bagged another and led by 48 points at half-time.
Crawford kicked the first goal of quartier tres and the Horks led by 55 points, cruising to a big win. But the Blues started to turn things around, Matty Lappin and Nick Stevens playing well. Fevola booted his fourth goal, Franklin his fifth, but the Blooze managed the last two goals of the term. Fevola soccered an ar5ey but spectacular goal from a throw-in and they were 36 points down at the last change and a little excited. At the opening bounce of the final stanza Sewell was caught in a great tackle from Eddie Betts, Stevens found Fevola on-the-lead and he thumped it home from 50m. The Hawks had a rushed behind and Fevola missed a long shot. Bloo man Andrew Walker managed a good spoil and Stevens kicked long into space, Fevola gathered the bouncing ball deep in the pocket and hooked a kick around which bounced through for his weekly Daicosian miracle. The deficit was down to 24 points now. Bluie ruckman Barnaby French hit the post with a simple shot from 25m, the Hawks attacked from the kick-in and Grant Birchall’s pass went to Franklin, he pumped it through from 50m. Hawks by 29 points but the Blooze kept comin’. Croad took a good relieving mark in front of Fevola but played-on too casually, Fevola mowed him down with a great tackle and free-kicked a major. Koutoufides won the ball at the restart and kicked towards leading Fev - but ruckman Chris Bryan ran across to mark in front of Fevola, simultaneously whacking Fev in the head with his elbow. Fevola was out and off for the day. To compound things, Bryan hooked his shot on-the-full. Nevertheless the Blues soon got a goal anyway and were 17 points down. Mitchell cleared the restart for the Hawks and passed for Williams to mark and convert, but Heath Scotland free-kicked a long goal for the Blues after Hodge was caught in possession. Time was running out for the Bluies though and when the siren sounded they were still 17 points behind, Horc captain Richie Vandenberg booted a good long sausage after the siren.
Lance Buddy Franklin is showing signs, 6 goals from 7 marks and 11 disposals. Shane Crawford (26 disposals, a goal) continued his good recent form and fellow rovers Sam Mitchell (29 touches) and Chance Bateman (28 handlings, 10 marks) were good. Brad Sewell (26 possesions) played well on Kouta and Luke Hodge (22 possies) was handy in his ‘quarterback’ role. Mark Williams is also back to decent form, he bagged 4 goals from 5 marks and 6 kicks. Ruckman Robert Campbell (17 touches, 18 hit-outs, a goal) was good. Hard to go past Brendan Fevola (11 kicks, 4 marks, 8.3) for the Blooze although most observers thought Matty Lappin (36 disposals, 10 marks) their best player on the day. Nick Stevens (35 touches) ran hard too while Kade Simpson (22 touches) and Heath Scotland (24 disposals, a goal) were handy. Roaming half-forward Brad Fisher (10 marks, 20 disposals) was good. "Fevola looked all at sea very early in the piece but we had a bit of a chat and he got it right and kicked eight goals. I wish we could have a chat to everybody like that," Den Pagan joked. Ha ha! "We had a good win last week and I'm sure some of our young guys had a mini celebration inside their own noodles and it's perhaps carried on longer than it should have,” he continued. "We were that disappointing in the first quarter. And yet we come out, after you get them in and after you talk to them and after there's a bit of wind up and a few strong things said, they come out and their pressure was enormous . . . I know you can talk about missed opportunities . . . who knows what could have happened. We just didn't take enough of our chances in front of goal." Alistair Clarkson said "We've got a young group and they ran their lungs out in the first half and even in the third quarter we had a fair amount of opportunity to put the game away and we just didn't. Any side in this competition, if you don't make the most of your opportunities, at some point, they'll peg you back a little bit and Carlton did that. They've got a match-winner in Fevola, who can do some freaky things and if it gets down there often enough, then they'll find themselves getting back into the contest and that's exactly as it panned out. He's in freakish form."
Ladder after Round Nineteen.
Pts. % Next Week
Adelaide 60 148.6 Footscray (MCG, Saturday)
West Coast 60 117.9 Brisbane (Gabba, Sunday)
Sydney 48 123.8 Geelong (Kardinia Park, Saturday)
St. Kilda 48 118.7 Fremantle (Subiaco, Sat. night)
Melbourne 48 112.1 North Melbourne (MCG, Sunday)
Fremantle 48 99.5 St. Kilda (Subiaco, Sat. night)
Collingwood 44 115.7 Port Adelaide (Football Park, Fri. night)
Footscray 44 108.8 Adelaide (MCG, Saturday)
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Geelong 36 100.8 Sydney (Kardinia Park, Saturday)
Richmond 36 84.8 Carlton (Docklands, Sunday)
Port Adelaide 28 90.6 Collingwood (Football Park, Fri. night)
Brisbane 28 88.3 West Coast (Gabba, Sunday)
North Melbourne 28 85.2 Melbourne (MCG, Sunday)
Hawthorn 24 78.9 Essendon (Docklands, Sat. night)
Essendon 14 81.1 Hawthorn (Docklands, Sat. night)
Carlton 14 77.7 Richmond (Docklands, Sunday)
Cheers, Tim.
Article last changed on Thursday, August 17, 2006 - 12:46 AM EDT
