AFL Round 6
by Tim Murphy
Spent Monday in shock. Today reading spin.
At Docklands:
St. Kilda 4.3 8.8 13.11 18.17.125
Carlton 2.5 4.11 10.14 11.16.82
The Stains were much happier back home, under the roof, out of the wind, rain and nasty weather. Ten of the Stainers’ next fifteen games are at Docklands which should help, despite the injuries. Not being helped is sacked coach Grant Thomas, now being sued by Sinkilda president Rod Butterss for $1.1 million. Carlton turned on an erratic performance, typified by Brendan Fevola who was selfish and sulky in the first half, woke up and tried hard in the second half but ended up staging and whingeing to the umpires in the end. The previous four times the Blooze had met the Stains, Sinkilda won by about 15 goals so the Bluies could view this as an improvement, I suppose. The Saints suffered the loss of Lenny Hayes (broken collarbone) and Andrew Thompson (knee cartilage) in selection while Andrew McQualter was dropped. James Gwilt, Clinton Jones and Michael Rix came in as replacements. The Bluebaggers lost Ryan Jackson (broken hand) and Simon Wiggins (hamstring), they were replaced by Luke Blackwell and a debutant, left-footed midfielder Ross Young, elevated from the rookie list in place of Nick Stevens. Young is the first ‘mature’ rookie (he’s 23).
The Bluies aired their alternative guernsey, like Brisbane, Freo, the Bulldogs and the Saints they’ve gone for a nearly all-white number. It might look alright on weedy, androgynous soccer players but on actual men, not so good. The depleted Saints lined up with Gwilt at full-back on Fevola, although he had help, and Brendon Goddard against Lance Whitnall. Fired-up Stainer spearhead Fraser Gehrig started off by slapping opponent Setanta O’hAilpin. The Stains went okay early, Justin Koschitzke booted a goal from a rucking free-kick. Stephen Milne marked on-the-lead, played-on and stuffed it up as he often does. But a minute later Milne marked in the opposite pocket, played on again and hooked a kick for a goal. Nick Riewoldt spent the first quarter staging for frees against Jarrad Waite, as he did so the ball went behind him and Nick Dal Santo ran on to collect and blast it through from point-blank. Saints by 18 points. Whitnall booted the Bluies’ first major from a mystery free-kick, but a minute later Sainter Sam Gilbert bagged a career-first goal after out-marking Matty Lappin. Bloo fans may have been concerned when leadership group member Bryce Gibbs pulled out of a contest with Milne. But the Blooze lifted their intensity and pressed a bit, scoring a few behinds - Scotland hit the post twice - before a late goal to Whitnall again, set up by a classy run, dummy and pass from Waite. Saints by 10 points at the first break. Early goal for the Sainters in the second, Riewoldt actually took a mark and delivered a pass to leading Gehrig, who slotted it nicely from the pocket. With Fevola battling and triple-teamed the Blues were struggling in attack, another forward thrust seemed certain to break down as Riewoldt camped under a lobbed kick, but Saint ruckman Matty Clarke spoiled his team-mate and the ball went straight to Whitnall, he popped it through. Dal Santo and Cam Cloke missed easy set-shots and Fevola was benched after giving away a 50m penalty. Gilbert roved a throw-in and snapped a major for Sinkilda, giving them a 16-point lead. Winning their share of the ball but unable to create a decent scoring chance, the Blooze inched closer with misses from Whitnall and Kade Simpson. The Stainers scored two sausages in rapid succession, Gehrig converted after being awarded a very doubtful ‘mark’, bustling O’hAilpin aside. Dal Santo, playing very well, collected the agget from a ball-up and stabbed it to leading Brett Voss, he passed to leading Milne who played-on of course and snapped it through. Saints led by 26 points. Fevola returned, to have a run on the ball. But he soon reverted to full-forward and booted a huge 55m goal just before the long break, found by Whitnall’s centering pass. Sinkilda led by 21 points at half-time.
The pattern appeared set in the early third. A skilful kick from Dal Santo allowed Riewoldt a with-the-flight mark, he passed quickly for leading Gehrig to mark and convert. Those three were the Saints’ forward-line. A coupla behinds for the Saints before Carton remained alive, Fevola marked Ryan Houlihan’s long kick on the 50m line and a mystery off-ball incident gifted Fev a 50m penalty, he majored. Saints by 22 points, but they moved further ahead. Xavier Clarke’s tackle on kick-chasing Eddie Betts forced the ball loose and Riewoldt bagged a goal, Dal Santo did very well to clear the following centre-bounce and good work from Leigh Montagna and Luke Ball led to a running major for Gram. Saints by 34 points. The odd Bloo goal occurred, slick team play completed by Jordan Russell’s pass to unattended Andrew Walker for the six points. After Voss missed poorly for the Saints, the Bluesers got a run-on. Fevola seized a strong grab from Thornton’s kick and booted a long sausage. Some tough battling across half-forward led to Luke Blackwell, at the second attempt, passing the ball to Whitnall, he majored. Intensity lifted, Scotland’s terrific effort to win the ball in defence and pass to Cain Ackland led to Fevola bagging another goal. He was focused now. A Bloo centre-clearance followed and Whitnall’s lovely gather on the half-volley and lightening handpass allowed Betts to lob it through from 40m. Five unanswered goals from the Blooze and they trailed by 4 points. The Stains steadied, Dal Santo instrumental again as his shot fell short but was marked by Gehrig on the point-line, G-Train played on and snapped truly. A minute later young Bloo Murphy erred in keeping the ball in play, Dal Santo found Gehrig alone for an easy major. Handy goals for the Stains, they led by 15 points at the last change. The Bluies never re-established the momentum. Gehrig missed a coupla shots early in the final stanza before Aaron Fiora goaled from a mark 30m out, completing lead-up play from Gilbert and Voss. Ball missed a shot and the Bluies attacked from the kick-in, Fevola bullocked two Sainters under the ball and juggled a grab. He booted another goal, the Bluesers were 18 points down. The Saints were good going forward though, smart play from young Clint Jones set up a running slot for Gram. The final straw came when Fevola had a mark taken from him under this IDIOTIC hand-on-the-back rule. For the slightest contact, Fev was stripped of the ball 35m out and the Saints went forward, Milne centered a pass for all-alone Gehrig to mark and stab it through. Saints 30 points ahead and it were over now. Fevola held a great grab on the boundary but missed the difficult shot, then reverted to staging and whinging for the final few minutes. Robert ‘Banger’ Harvey and Milne booted late majors for the Saints to add percentage. Milne’s came from intercepting Thornton’s cross-goal pass, which made Pagan a bit upset.
I think I’ve said it before, Nick Dal Santo (30 disposals, a goal) is a seriously good player. He stepped up here with Hayes and Thompson absent, as did Luke Ball (25 touches). Robert Harvey (25 possies, 11 marks, a goal) was terrific as always and Leigh Montagna (29 disposals, 10 marks), moved into the midfield, did well too. Fraser Gehrig (9 marks, 13 disposals, 6 goals) typifies the Saints - great at home, awful away. Sam Gilbert (12 touches, 2 goals) showed some pleasing signs and Leigh Fisher (14 touches, 7 marks) and Jason Gram (18 touches, 2 goals) held the back-line together reasonably well. Stephen Milne bagged 3 goals. For the Bluies Jarrad Waite (16 disposals, 9 marks) did a very good job against Nick Riewoldt, CHB may well be Waite’s position. Heath Scotland (25 handlings) was very good and Brendan Fevola finished with 6 goals from 6 marks and 10 kicks. Lance Whitnall (20 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals) started very well but faded from view in the second half. Andrew Walker (19 touches, a goal) and Ryan Houlihan (15 disposals) provided some running support, Bret Thornton (21 possies) did well against Voss. Denis Pagan blamed tiredness. "We had a tough game last week against the Lions. We knew it would be a tough game tonight. We made a terrific effort in that third quarter to get within four points in that third quarter - not having a lot of good players available on the night, especially in the midfield - but you look at the first 10 minutes of the last quarter, when you watch it on tape, we were really spent. That was probably it in a nutshell. They just ran away with it. Our blokes couldn't lift their legs in the finish." Sinkilda coach Ross Lyon said "We came in with a simple focus and that was to tackle really well and compete really well. I think we did that and in the end the game cracked open. When Carlton came back to four points (in the third quarter), I thought we showed really good character and strong leadership and poise under pressure."
At the MCG:
Essendon 4.2 8.3 11.3 15.6.96
Hawthorn 3.3 9.5 15.8 20.11.131
Okay, I’m a believer. This will be remembered as the game where young Hawk forward Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin arrived, he booted 9 goals as the emerging Hawkers eased away from the battling Bommers. An amazing virtuoso performance. Essadun tried hard and played very well in parts, but couldn’t sustain their effort. There’s a recent history of violence between these two sides, following the ‘line in the sand’ game two years ago, and a pre-season practice game saw four reports. Sheeds added some niggle in the build-up by stating the Horks used ‘illegal’ blocking in their forward-line. In selection this was going to be a stronger Bommer side with Jason Johnson in for his first game this year, along with Andrew Welsh and the improving Jason Winderlich. But captain Matty Lloyd withdrew, as expected, with a hamstring strain. Also out of the Don side were injured Henry Slattery (hamstring) and struggling big man Kepler Bradley. The Orcs were also stronger, with Trent Croad returning and captain Richie Vandenberg in for his first game of the year. Clint Young was also recalled. Chance Bateman (calf) missed out, dropped were juniors Xavier Ellis and Josh Thurgood.
As on Anzac Day, the Dons started very well. Jason Johnson and Brent Stanton provided early drive from the middle as the Dons rattled through the first three goals, and four of the first five to romp to a 19-point lead. Alwyn Davey was playing very well and Andrew Welsh was enjoying a start in attack. Jordan Lewis and Ben Dixon scored late goals for the Horks to reduce the margin to 5 points by the first break. The second term belonged to Franklin, he booted five of the Hawks’ six goals for the term. Destroying poor old Adam McPhee, Franklin had the ball on a string. He’d already missed a couple of fairly straightforward shots but soon seized a strong grab on a lead and threaded it through. There were more goals from marks and a couple of trademark snaps from collecting balls on-the-bounce or rebounding from packs. Franklin proved too agile for McPhee, who’s okay running in a straight line but has a turning circle like the Queen Mary. The true indication of Franklin’s ball-on-a-string-ability came when team-mate Jarryd Roughead’s set-shot smacked into the man-on-the-mark, but rebounded to Franklin who snapped it through for his fifth. The Dons weren’t hopeless during this period, they scored four goals themselves including a great running slot from Davey. But they trailed by 8 points at half-time. Paddy Ryder, shifted into the ruck, J. Johnson and Stanton provided a lift in the third Mario, winning some early ball. Stanton snapped a goal, reducing the gap to 3 points. Franklin, now opposed by Dustin Fletcher, stood up for the Hawks again, maneuvering Fletcher under the ball and snapping another major. A later goal from Ryder again cut the margin to under six points, but again Franklin came to rescue as Fletcher slipped over, bagging another sausage. Consecutive goals to Luke Hodge, Tom Murphy and Roughead sent the Orcs to a 29-point lead by the final change. Sheeds later complained that the second of Franklin’s goals there and the Hodge one came from blatant pushes in the back on Fletcher and McVeigh respectively, which may see Sheeds fined. The Dons pressed on the final term but couldn’t bridge the gap, Franklin kicked 2 more goals to bring his tally to 9 while Dixon and Tim Boyle joined in the scoring for Hawkthorn.
Lance ‘Buddy Love’ Franklin’s final stats were 9.2 from 8 marks and 18 disposals. Look out for him. The Hawks’ midfield was more energetic with Shane Crawford (27 disposals, 6 tackles) enjoying his footy (and playing the Bombers) again, Jordan Lewis (24 touches, 8 marks, a goal) was also very good with support from Rick Ladson (22 possies), Sam Mitchell (23 disposals) and Clint Young (18 touches). Brad Sewell (25 disposals) found plenty of the ball while Campbell Brown (18 touches) did a great job on struggling Scott Lucas. Ben Dixon (3 goals) got on target this week and Tim Boyle (6 marks, 7 kicks, 3 goals) was handy too. Jarryd Roughead kicked 2 goals. The Dons had very good efforts from returning Jason Johnson (30 disposals, 2 goals), the committed Mark McVeigh (26 touches, 8 marks) and relentless Brent Stanton (26 possies, 2 goals). Andrew Welsh (19 touches, 11 marks, 2 goals) played well in attack and Alwyn Davey (16 handlings, 2 goals) was lively again. Paddy Ryder proved a useful ruckman. Courtney Johns kicked 2 goals. Sheeds was conciliatory in defeat. "I thought they (Hawks) played very well and showed us how to play footy, to be honest. I would have liked Essendon to have played footy the way Hawthorn did. I don't think we played with any confidence today. We actually did fight back and that was really pleasing, but full marks to Hawthorn, they gritted their teeth and played good tough footy. I said we should have been playing that ourselves. We had a fairly good start and they (Horks) probably got it inside 50 more than 60 times and that's a lot of times to have your opponents get it in. There are games when you do lose and you think we might have been unlucky but today wasn't one of them.” Al Clarkson faced a barrage of questions about Franklin. "He's a two and a half year player now and he's never kicked nine goals before in an AFL game, but two or three times he's kicked six," Clarkson said. "He knows that everyone in the street is going to want to pat him on the back but one of the great things about his development is he's got some terrific mentors. He knows he'll play his best footy when he keeps his feet firmly on the ground . . . Probably the greatest improvement in our club has come from guys who have been four or five-year players. Your Campbell Brown and Rick Ladson, that's what we're excited about. When guys like Roughead and Franklin and Lewis and Birchall and these sort of kids get 50-100 games of footy, that's when they'll really emerge as powerful players in our side. We've got a long, long way to go as a footy club. We were 4-2 last year and we've got Freo in Perth, which is one of the bigger assignments in footy at the minute, so we've got to approach the game with the same intensity."
At Subiaco:
West Coast 3.5 6.7 9.12 10.17.77
Footscray 3.1 6.4 8.6 9.8.62
Grinding win for the Weegs. Must’ve been on Mogadon this week. They dominated possession against the defensively-minded Dogs but couldn’t kick straight. The Bulldogs adopted a Camry-esque game plan of packed defence and fast, rebound running but as the game progressed they floundered forward of the centre. The Bullies beat the Weegs at Subiaco last year, in the home-and-aways, but copped a hiding there in the finals. This was in-between the two, I suppose. Disgraced Weeg Ben Cousins indeed returned from drug rehab in California last week, ignored the media pack at the airport and later issued a recorded statement to camera - no meedya present. Cousins admitted he’d been to rehab for “substance use and other issues”, would continue as an outpatient in Perth and apologised for “letting people down.” Precisely what he’s apologizing for, or how people have been let down, isn’t known, as there’s still been no official word from him or the club. Rumour has it the Weeg players are much happier with Cousins gone, so jaws dropped when, in a half-time interview during this game, Wiggle president Dalton Gooding said he expected Cousins to play again “about the end of July.” In selection here the Weegs made one late change, Mark LeCras in for Andrew Embley (groin strain). The Dogs recalled running defender Dylan Addison to replace dropped Matty Robbins.
The early parts were indicative, forced into hurried snaps or shots from wide angles, the Weegs scored three behinds before the Pups’ first attack brought a goal, Brad Johnson soccering it through from the goal-square. Matthew Priddis, effectively playing in Cousins’s place, bagged the Weegs first goal and the Wiggles harassed and chased man-on-man. Quinten Lynch converted from a mark on-the-lead and Chris Judd spun outta tackles to snap one and give the Weegs a 16-point lead. The Dogs had elected to tag Daniel Kerr with Matthew Boyd, while Judd was allowed to roam free(ish) with Johnson often opposed to him. After the game Bully coach ‘Rocket’ Eade joined in with the current theory that Judd receives an armchair ride from the umps. Making the most of their opportunities, the Bullies bagged two late goals from Farren Ray and Robert Murphy to be 4 points down at the first break. With Boyd going well on Kerr and Johnno matching Judd, the Dogs pinched a break in the second term. Johnson stabbed it through from a goal-square grab and Jason Akermanis dobbed one. Aker doesn’t look very fit. The Weegs were slipping but regained the lead by half-time with late goals to Adam Hunter and Lynch. They led by 3 points at the long break.
The Weegs scored a goal direct from the bounce to start the third, handballs from Rosa and Selwood releasing Priddis for a long goal. The Eegs by 9 points. Hunter missed poorly as the Dogs continued to flood back. Puppy full-back Brian Harris was collecting plenty of touches again, a great intercept from him and a good pass found Danny Giansiracusa alone in the pocket, he steered a good goal. The Eegs ground forward again, following three consecutive ball-ups Rowan Jones got a handpass away and Priddis snapped another major. The Coasters led by 10 points. Bully defender Cameron Wight wasn’t with the program, bombing long kicks from defence which created turnovers and consecutive chances for Steven Armstrong. He missed the first one but roved to snap a goal from the second, to give the Weevils an 18-point lead. The Dogs hung in as Harris chipped in for another intercepting mark, he was knocked over by late-arriving LeCras and used the resulting 50m penalty to find Giansiracusa on a long lead. ‘Guido’ punted a good, long goal. Lotta defending from the Dogs in the remainder of the term, Murphy missed a shot for them but Weegirl Lynch missed a tight-angle shot right on the siren. The Weegs led by 12 points at the last change. No scoring in the early bit of the final term, six minutes ticking by before Bulldog Jordan McMahon capped a terrific three-bounce run, Rosa pursuing without gaining, with a goal roosted through from 50m. The Wiggle lead was just 7 points at this stage. They managed a rushed point and Chris Judd sprayed a behind, from the latter the Weegs won control and Michael ‘F..king’ Braun passed for leading LeCras to juggle a decent grab and boot a goal. The final major of the game with over 10 minutes to go, the Weegs leading by 15 points. The Dogs were tiring and couldn’t get the ball beyond the centre. Giansiracusa attempted to replicate McMahon’s solo effort but was mown down by Kerr. Quicker than Rosa. Murphy limped off with a damaged hamstring and the game petered out with a smattering of behinds. The local, second-rate commentators are amusing. “The Bulldogs have only kicked three goals in the second half!” an anonymous blonde bloke told us, skipping over the fact the Weevils had only managed four.
Top game for Matthew Priddis (26 disposals, 3 goals), a rapidly emerging midfielder. Just as well, the Eegs don’t have enough of those. Chris Judd (34 touches, a goal, 3 frees for, 1 against) played well, thanks to the star-struck umps. Darren Glass (20 disposals, 6 marks) was terrific in defence, Quinten Lynch (13 marks, 21 possies, 2.4) worked hard up the ground as a Barry Hall-type forward and Mark LeCras (3 marks, 9 possies, 2 goals) wasn’t bad either. The under-rated Rowan Jones (33 possessions, 9 marks) was often involved. For the Bullies Daniel ‘Guido’ Giansiracusa (13 marks, 17 disposals, 3 goals) was their most effective forward, tormenting Wirrpanda, and Matthew Boyd (22 handlings) did a great job on Kerr (14 touches). Brad Johnson (23 touches, 2 goals) was good in the first half especially against Judd, Daniel Cross (31 disposals) and Scott West (27 handlings) saw plenty of the ball. Brian Harris (23 possies, 12 marks) had another very good game from full-back, although Lynch saw plenty of the ball too. "I don't think you accept defeat, but the way we have performed the last week, it was a major step forward for us," Eade said. "To a man, we probably had 10 average-to-poor players today as far as output, but I was really pleased with their effort. To play the best team in the competition who play extremely well on their home ground . . . I know they could have broken the game open if they kicked a bit straighter, but we made errors, too. I think it was a big improvement in effort from last week." Umpiring bias, Rocket? "I think we got pinged a fair bit for holding the ball, which is OK, but exactly the same the other way didn't seem to be a free kick. I will just make my normal call to (umpiring director) Rowan Sawers, get the same answers and we will go on next week.” Asked about pro-Judd bias, Eade said “I don't think it is line ball. Put it this way, when I was playing, Keith Greig and Robert Flower would always get free kicks and Leigh Matthews wouldn't. Good players who play the ball tend to get a little bit more protection." John Worsfold dropped some absurdist humour when asked about Priddis, and the fact Embley and Chad Fletcher are waiting in the wings. "If Juddy drops his form right away he might be under pressure." He then had to spin chairman Gooding’s comments about Cousins. “Probably we'll talk in between, but the next talk about how he (Cousins) is tracking along in terms of his football career will probably not be for five or six weeks. No doubt, he sounds a lot better. He's feeling great and he's fully aware that he's got massive challenges ahead of him. I think each week that goes by and he stays strong is a milestone for him."
At Docklands:
North Melbourne 7.3 8.7 12.13 16.15.111
Sydney 1.5 3.7 8.7 14.11.95
Another uplifting win for the Ruse, who may not be as bad as we thought. An intense, explosive start propelled the Kangers to victory, unlike last year at Manuka they were able to hold off the fast-finishing Swans. The Siddeysiders were clearly hampered by missing midfielders, but they were also set back by the ferocity of the Roos. The Kangaz made one change to the side victorious at Geelong, Jesse Smith replacing Kasey Green. Glenn Archer played his 294th game for North, equalling Keith Greig for the second-most in the Roo guernsey. Schimma’s 8 ahead of him. The Swans managed to get Luke Ablett up and ready but Tadhg Kennelly was out with his twisted knee and Amon Buchanan was missing still. Kennelly was replaced by a first-gamer in stocky back-pocket Kieran Jack, son of rugby league legend Garry Jack. Nick Davis played his 150th game.
The Ruse displayed great intensity and swarmed about the ball in numbers. Shannon Grant was very good, he set up the first goal with an intercept and pass to leading Leigh Brown who held a strong grab under pressure from Craig Bolton and converted. The Swans had the yips again, Jude Bolton missing poorly before Rue captain Adam Simpson held a big pack-grab and kicked ‘em forward, Drew Petrie roved his own contest and snaggled a goal. ‘Spida’ Everitt postered for the Bloods before another Roo major, Matt Campbell doing well to get the ball to Corey Jones, his long shot bounced through. Norf led by 16 points. Daniel Wells lobbed a high kick forward from the restart, Grant sped out to mark on the 50m line, play on and roost it home. He liked it. A defensive rebound saw Blake Grima thump a sausage from 55m and a minute later Dan Pratt speared a pass onto the chest of leading Grant, he went back and split the big posts with another long punt. Six unanswered goals as the Kangers led by 34 points. Sidley forward Barry Hall hadn’t seen much of the ball and now missed his first shot, to the delight of Roo fans. The Swans needed firing, Leo Barry’s great, fierce bump and broken tackle led to their first goal, Adam Schneider converting from a mark. But the Ruse had the final say of the stanza, jockey-sized Campbell clamping Craig Bolton with a great tackle and receiving a free-kick for ‘bawl’, Campbell majored. Ruse by 35 points, just before the first break Swan Brett Kirk sent a pass towards Hall but it went over Hall’s head and bounced through for a point. The Swans had to slow the game down and establish their style, which they did in the second term. Luke Ablett booted an early major from a mark and there was little scoring for quite a while, the Swans playing better but struggling in attack as the Ruse defended manically and in numbers. Hall was simmering under the close attention of opponent, Michael Firrito. Daniel Harris re-established Norf’s 34-point lead with a free-kicked goal, held without by Kirk. Tough battling brought a few more behinds, with one-and-a-half minutes remaining in the half Michael O’Loughlin held a grab over Archer and threaded a goal. Roo Brady Rawlings snapped a point to have the Kangers exactly 5 goals ahead at the long break.
More goals in the third as the Swans tried to bridge the gap. They managed an early major, Ablett floated the ball forward and Darren Jolly leaped for a big pack-mark, he goaled. At the other end brinkman Barry soared for big speccie in the last line. Hall was starting to ‘dump’ Firrito in every contest. Hard-working Roo forward Aaron Edwards booted a goal, leading out to mark Brent Harvey’s centered pass. Norf remained 33 points ahead. A minute later Firrito beat Hall in a contest and sent the Kangers forward, Edwards wobbled a kick in and Jones roved to snap a sausage. Ruse by 39 points, a long way ahead. The Swans responded with consecutive goals from centre-clearances, for the first Hall lurked behind Firrito to mark Ryan O’Keefe’s long kick and convert. Hall led out to mark Fosdike’s subsequent clearance, Bazza’s shot dropped short but Everitt marked on the point-line and stabbed a pass back to Jared Crouch, he goaled. The Rue lead was reduced to 27 points. Their Corey Jones threaded a great set-shot for a goal but the Swans kept coming, Adam Goodes hooked a set-shot hopelessly wide but Spida marked it again and chipped a pass to Nick Malceski, he punted truly. Soon the Bloods forced the ball forward rugby-style and Ben Mathews snaggled a major, the Swans were 21 points down. The Kangers were struggling at stoppages while ruckman Hamish McIntosh was off for a rest, but he returned and some Roo momentum was restored. Wells and Grant missed with long shots before sprightly Campbell roved his own contest to snap a major late in the term, the Ruse led by 30 points again at the last break. The Bloods kept at it, they went forward from the opening bounce of the final term and Hall won a free kick for interference from Firrito, plus a 50m penalty as the Roo man complained excessively. Hall goaled. Petrie goaled in reply for Norf, but then Hall booted another major after out-bustling Firrito for a mark. Bazza was focusing on the task, his centering pass set up the next goal for Mathews and the Swarns were 18 points down. Kirk missed a set shot and Roo junior Smith postered. Hall booted another goal, a big punt from 55m after marking Jude Bolton’s pass. The Kanga fans were jittery as their lead was cut to 10 points. Soon Simpson punted ‘em forward and good battling from Brown forced the ball clear, Grant snapped a relieving goal. But at the restart Everitt won the tap, Jolly forced the ball back into his path and Everitt punted a long sausage. Another Swan centre-clearance followed, Archer over-committed and O’Loughlin collected the ball and ran in to blast it through. The Ruse were only 4 points ahead. They found something again. Wells used a free-kick to find running Jess Sinclair, his kick spilled from a goal-mouth pack and Campbell snapped a terrific goal. A bit later Shannon Watt did well to win the ball, Jones passed for leading Grant to mark and kick a goal. Norf led by 16 points with 5 minutes remaining and they defended stoutly thereon.
Former Swan Shannon Grant (22 disposals, 10 marks, 4 goals), the ‘fat little turncoat’, was Norf’s leading inspiration here. Daniel Wells (23 handlings) was very good again while rover Daniel Harris (19 touches, a goal) and ruckman Hamish McIntosh (13 disposals, 16 hit-outs) are a very good following combination. The Ruse don’t have a big target in attack but Corey Jones (16 possies, 5 marks, 3 goals) was handy, Aaron Edwards (11 marks, 15 possies, a goal) worked very hard on long leads and Matt Campbell (4 kicks, 3 goals) is a terrific goal-sneak. Brent Harvey (17 touches) bobbed up to good effect, Brady Rawlings (19 touches) was okay on Kirk and Michael Firrito (14 disposals) kept Hall quite for three quarters at least. Drew Petrie kicked 2 goals. Nic Fosdike (24 possessions) was Siddey’s best player with Luke Ablett (17 handlings, a goal) in decent midfield support. Leo Barry (11 disposals) provided the aggression to lift his team-mates and Adam Goodes (16 possies) and Brett Kirk (21 handlings) were okay. Darren Jolly (13 touches, 25 hit-outs, a goal) rucked well about the ground. Barry Hall (6 marks, 15 disposals) finished with 4 goals, 3 in the last quarter, while Ben Mathews and Michael O’Loughlin kicked 2 goals each. Kieran Jack (12 possies) acquitted himself well in defence. "We didn't play at our best, but full credit to the Kangaroos. They were super," Swan coach Roos said. "Even when we challenged them they were able to come back when it counted . . . It's about coming ready to play from the start and that's what we haven't done in those (lost to Eagles and Camrys and this one) games. But we can rectify it. I think the players' group understands that every team is capable of winning, and the challenge for every side this year - because it's such an even competition - is that every team and every player needs to come ready to play every week. We've already seen teams that don't, they struggle, and it's going to continue throughout the whole year for all of us.” Roos then hooked in to the umps as well. "I thought the umpires got a few (centre) clearances tonight. It's common sense . . . you throw it up," he said. Laidley revels in this sort of win. "Yeah, it was (our best win this season). Our first quarter was very good and it probably in the end set up the victory," Laidley said. "We got the ball in our forward line pretty quickly and we were able to capitalise. So it was a good effort, it was a good start, we always knew they were going to come at us. My focus all week has been the Shinboners versus the Bloods and the Shinboners were very good tonight. You just look at the Bloods and it just epitomises the way they play and the history they've had. And the same with us about the Shinboners and the way that we play and I thought it was going to be a real war of attrition. We got off to a real flyer, which is fantastic, but because they've got so many champs in their side, there was always one point that they were going to come at us. To our boys' credit, they hung on, dug deep and were able to keep answering the challenge, which is a great reward." Shinboner, Blood, Shinboner etc.
At Football Park:
Adelaide 2.1 6.1 8.5 9.8.62
Collingwood 3.5 5.8 10.15 11.20.86
Good win for the running Poise over the coma-causing Camrys. The scoreboard flatters the Cows, as on Anzac Day the Maggies were clearly better most of the game but couldn’t kick straight. Rocca probably never will, but the Poise forward-line couldn’t function without him. The Cows could and would reach for the injury excuse, running players Brent Reilly (ankle) and Jason Porplyzia (knee) were missing here and during the contest Brett Burton and Tyson Edwards suffered problems. Kinda put a dampener on Simon Goodwin’s 200th game for the Camrys. Without the running power, the Corollas’ game is much less effective. And the Pies are a good, hard-running side at their best. The Cows regained forward Scott Welsh and selected Glenelg’s John Hinge for his AFL debut, replacing Reilly and Porplyzia. The Pies had Alan Didak (either calf trouble or a sore knee) withdraw, he was replaced by Chris Egan.
The Pies were very good from the start, the cousins Shaw rebounding from the back, the very good Tarkyn Lockyer and co. working hard midfield. Adelaide’s forward-line of three marking players doesn’t work very well, especially when the midfield doesn’t score goals. Richard Douglas showed some promise as a crumbing forward here. The Pies opened up with three behinds, including the obligatory miss from Rocca. But ‘Anfernee’ created the first goal with a vice-like tackle on Nathan Bassett, Rocca stabbed the resulting free-kick to Travis Cloke who slotted a very good kick from the pocket, to commentator Mal Blight’s approval. The Cows’ first scoring chance came to Ian Perrie, he missed of course. But a minute later ruckman Ben Hudson’s tap at a throw-in set Goodwin running, he was twice involved in a move which ended with Scott Welsh marking on a lead and punting a long sausage. Scott Pendlebury responded for the Poise, out-muscling opponent Andrew McLeod for a strong, juggling grab. The Pies led by 8 points. There were two late goals, Camry Nathan Van Berlo lobbed a kick forward under pressure, the ball spilled from a pack and Bernie Vince snapped a major. The Pies won the ball away from the restart and handballs from Ben Johnson and Dane Swan set up a running goal for Rhyce Shaw. The Poise had another centre-bounce win but Cloke’s shot hit the post. They led by 10 points at the first break. The Maggies stepped it up with two quick goals to open the second term, for the first Egan roved Rocca’s contest and handballs to Cloke and to Dale Thomas saw Thomas stab it through. The Poies won another centre-clearance due to great skill from Pendlebury, Johnson picked out all-alone Tarkyn Lockyer with a pass, he majored. The Pies led by 23 points. In the context of recent history, low-scoring battles between these two, it was ahuge lead. The Camrys willed themselves back into it. Some fierce tackling in the centre won the ball, McLeod passed for leading Perrie to mark, he majored. A minute later Nathan Bock used a great ‘don’t argue’ to escape pressure and punt forward, Perrie booted another goal with a free-kick for over-the-shoulder against young Pie Shannon Cox. Pie full-back Prestigiacomo was off the ground with a leg problem and Cox was now replaced by Nick Maxwell as Perrie’s man. Cox was undersized, commentator Tim Lane told us. Didn’t think he did that sort of material. The corrupting influence of commercialism. The Cows continued to creep closer, Poi Harry O’Brien was harshly penalised for ‘bawl’ when trapped under a pack and young Corona Richard Douglas free-kicked a goal, the Pie lead was down to 5 points. Rocca marked 75m out and launched a massive shot, touched through on the line. A minute later the Camrys drew level, ruckman Jon Griffin wobbled a kick forward and Douglas roved the contest to snap another six-pointer. A Cloke point (following an out-on-the-full) nudged the Pies ahead by the margin at half-time.
The Camrys emerged for the third term without Tyson Edwards, some back and hamstring trouble. Prestigiacomo returned for the Pies. The Cows carried on from where they left off in the second term, Douglas used a free-kick to punt towards Scott Thompson, he held a good grab over Swan and booted a goal. The Camrys led by 6 points. Pies Brad Dick and Rocca missed shots and there was little scoring during some tough battle for several minutes. Halfway through the stanza Scott Stevens found some space in the Cows’ forward-line and he bagged a goal. The Cressidas had scored the previous six goals of the game and led by 11 points. The Poise enjoyed equal opportunity but kept collecting behinds, Pendlebury and Rocca both hitting the post. Ruckman Chris Bryan was sent forward and provided the catalyst. Good play from ‘Neon’ Leon Davis got the ball to Cloke on a long lead, he centered the ball for Bryan to mark and boot truly. Davis was handy during this period, his long run ended with a pass to Bryan’s lead, the big man bagged another and the Poise were in front again, by 3 points. Davis again and Rhyce Shaw combined to create the next goal, Lockyer from a with-the-flight mark. The Poise were dominating now, Thomas roved Bryan’s contest and chipped a pass to Cloke, he slotted it through from a tough angle. More Pie posters, Cloke and Maxwell, before Lockyer spoiled a Camry kick from defence and handballed for Bryan to dob his third goal of the quarter. Adelaide coach Craig pounded his desk in anger as the Maggies took a 22-point lead into the final korter. Edwards returned for the Camrys but it was a pretty dour affair. Bryan rammed a set-shot into the post from 10m, which had Cow fans cursing his earlier accuracy. McLeod was pressing further upfield, a long kick of his saw Perrie awarded a juggling mark against Prestigiacomo. Perrie goaled and the Pie lead was back to 16 points. Welsh missed a long set-shot a minute later, which proved to be their final chance to exert a bit of pressure. Very little happened for the next ten minutes. With seven minutes to go Thomas eluded Goodwin and set up a good grab for Josh Fraser, he majored and the Poise led by 21 points. The Maggies scored more behinds as the game petered out.
A great game from Leon Davis (21 kicks) I thought, although I see the papers all went for Tarkyn Lockyer (29 touches, 10 marks, 2 goals) or Rhyce Shaw (22 touches, 10 marks, a goal) as the Poise best. They were pretty good too. Other runners like Dane Swan (32 possessions) and Ben Johnson (25 handlings, 9 marks) were handy, overwhelming the Cows. Scott Burns (26 disposals) won a lotta contested ball. The surprise was Chris Bryan (9 marks, 15 possies, 3 goals) in attack. Harry O’Brien (17 touches) was good in the backline on Bock. Travis Cloke (6 marks, 11 touches, 2.3) worked hard across half-forward once more. The Camrys had a great game from 200 man Simon Goodwin (28 disposals) but he didn’t have a lot of midfield support. Scott Thompson (27 touches, a goal) was okay but was forced very wide to get the ball. Andrew McLeod (24 possessions) and Chris Knights (22 handlings) were alright but not game-breaking. Ben Rutten (6 marks, 13 disposals) kept Rocca goal-less (0.3). Ian Perrie (8 marks, 8 kicks, 3 goals) made the most of his chances. Richard Douglas (15 disposals) bagged 2 goals. John Hinge (11 touches) wasn’t bad on debut. Craig didn’t reach for the injury excuse. “I don’t think that was the issue tonight. I thought we were totally outplayed tonight by a pretty good footy team . . . I think the number of scoring shots is always a good indication of the state of the game in respect to the accuracy. We were under pressure most of the night, except for that second quarter and when you’re under that sort of pressure a whole lot of things become sub-standard. I thought we were a long way off our best of what we’ve seen in the last three weeks, but a fair bit of credit goes to Collingwood. Their running power and ability to free up men was very, very good.” Mick Malthouse continued to talk up his juniors. "I am pretty excited about our kids, I make no apologies about that - I think there are some very exciting kids playing (today at Williamstown) and, depending on circumstance with injury, I can see that in the next five or six weeks they are going to get their chance. And that will further give us an opportunity to see whether they can hold up on the big stage."
At the Gabba:
Brisbane 5.5 9.10 12.15 17.18.120
Fremantle 4.5 7.8 9.14 10.15.75
Brisbane keep on impressing, although this was a pencil-in win for them. Freo maintained their perfect record of never winning in Brisbane, from seven visits now. The local (Perth) press lambasted the Shockers’ midfield for being too slow, without Brett Peake and with Heath Black feeling his way back from injury, it certainly looks that way. And there’s a speedy bloke called Farmer . . . The stifling autumn heat here didn’t help. In selection the Lyin’s regained veteran Nigel Lappin at the expense of Marcus Allen. Fremantle allegedly fielded the tallest ruck duo in history as Sandilands was joined by debutant Robert Warnock, a 205 cm giant from VAFA team Old Brighton. Shane Parker was back too, out were axed pair Daniel Gilmore and James Walker.
A very warm and humid 29 degrees in Brisbun. The Lyin’s began quickly with the first three goals, although Jonathan Brown was off-target with a woeful on-the-full in the early part, and a coupla behinds later. The Dokkers had started with regular full-back Luke McPharlin in attack, alongside Chris Tarrant and Matty Pavlich. They scored, er, some goals to be 6 points down at the first break. The Dockulaters’ best period came early in the second term, three consecutive goals giving them an 11-point lead. One of ‘em was a miraculous effort slotted from the boundary-line by Des Headland, former Lyin’ that he is. But the Lyin’ midfield, led by Simon Black and Luke Power, brought them back into it with the next four goals scored by the Brians. Tuned in for the second of those, Power marking and playing-on around big Sandilands to slot it. Despite their height, Sandilands and Warnock weren’t giving the Dokkas an especial edge. Warnock was very mobile for his size, though. About this stage Lyin’ Chris Johnson was reported for head-butting Parker, a bit later Tarrant was penalized for a push-out and coughed up a 50m penalty for whinging. Good work from Lyin’ Johnson got the ball to Ashley McGrath, all alone 20m out, he slotted. Another Freo turnover going forward caused another Lyin’ goal, Scott Harding passing for Irishman Colm Begley to mark and convert. The Lyin’s led by 14 points at half-time.
The third term began with posters from Pavlich, after he dropped a mark, and Brisbun’s Johnson. A bit later McGrath clutched a strong grab in front of Antoni Grover and booted his third goal (he’d got a couple in the first half). Grover was reported in that bit of play, for an attempted trip. The Brisbun lead stretched to 20 points. Freo won the next centre-clearance and Heath Black kicked long, Tarrant held a good grab on the point-line and handballed for Pavlich to snap it through. Lyin’ McGrath landed awkwardly on his head in a later contest, twisting his neck and he went off for a rest. Pavlich and Brisbun’s Tim Notting missed set shots, Tarrant was off-target with a coupla long shots from 55m. Finally Tarrant kicked a goal, with a goal-square mark set up by good play from Pavlich and Headland. Freo were only 5 points behind at this stage. The Lyin’s responded with two late goals, Justin ‘The Shermanator’ Sherman dobbed one on-the-run and Brown finally kicked straight, he couldn’t miss from the goal-square after being awarded a highly dubious, briefly-held mark. McGrath returned but missed a couple of shots, Brisbun led by 19 points at the final change. As Freo wilted in the heat, the Brians kicked away in the final korter. From the opening bounce Simon Black passed for leading Brown to mark and convert. A series of patient, chipped passes in midfield eventually released Cheynee Stiller for a well-worked running goal. Brown kicked on-the-full again following a big grab over Grover. The Dokkers had resorted to long bombs towards Pavlich or Tarrant. If only they had some kind of small, crumbing forward. A bit of Brizzy lairizing including a dummy from ruckman Beau McDonald set up a mark and goal for McGrath and the Brians led by 38 points, well over now. Tarrant thumped a long sausage after marking Warnock’s pass, but further goals from McGrath and Michael Rischitelli sealed the Lyin’ victory.
Maybe the best-ever game from Lyin’ small forward Ashley McGrath, 5 goals from 5 marks and 14 disposals. The drive came from experienced midfielders Luke Power (31 disposals, 2 goals) and Simon Black (32 touches), with assistance from youngsters Cheynee Stiller (23 handlings, a goal) and Scott Harding (17 handlings). Nigel Lappin (26 disposals, 10 marks) made a sound return, Jonathan Brown (11 marks, 19 possessions, 2.2 with 2 on-the-full) is always influential. Ruckman Beau McDonald did well to counter the Freo pair. Chris Johnson and Justin Sherman kicked 2 goals each. Freo’s better players included Peter Bell (22 touches, a goal), Matty Pavlich (10 marks, 16 handlings, 3 goals) - better in the first half - and Heath Black (27 disposals). Running backman David Mundy (19 possies) was alright, as was Des Headland (14 touches, a goal) and a reasonable but too-slow Josh Carr (17 possies). Chris Tarrant (12 marks, 15 kicks) bagged 3 goals. Freo are slipping from the pack. "We've always prided ourselves on being a team that can deal with heat and whatever is thrown at us," Chris Connolly said. "You have to be a team that can deal with aspects of fatigue and deliver. I was disappointed with the team in totality. We thought we had a team that would play well in these conditions today and we were wrong. Looking at the game there has got to be a change in personnel on the performance delivered. James Walker and Daniel Gilmore were a bit stiff to miss out. Paul Duffield, with his kicking ability, is a player I'm a fan of. Scotty Thornton is starting to return to good form and Adam Campbell kicked another four goals for West Perth. They'll all be considered (next week).” Leigh Matthews reckoned fitness is the key. And home ground advantage. "There are a couple of dozen players, and most of them are playing at the moment, who had a really solid summer," Matthews said. "The testing results at the end of January indicated there was good aerobic capacity and, most importantly, it's showing in games. I think the visiting team always struggles a little bit more here in warm conditions. We've got the home changerooms - which have the cold room and the cold plunge baths that the club has invested in. You don't necessarily think you are going to use them that much on game days but at half-time today, most of our guys stripped off and immersed themselves in the freezing cold water for five or six minutes."
At the MCG:
Melbourne 2.1 6.6 8.12 9.17.71
Port Adelaide 3.4 7.7 9.11 10.16.76
Curse the very gods, Dee fans. And the umpires. A lot. Melbun thought a first win for 07 was in their grasp when Aaron Davey roved a pack and snapped truly with a minute or two to go, giving them a one-point lead. But no, umpire Buffoon blew for a free-kick to Port full-back Darryl Wakelin, supposedly shoved outta the way by David Neitz. It was very weak. Just to rub it in, James McDonald was pinged for ‘deliberate’ a minute later. Port didn’t play very well, but won anyway thanks to those shenanigans and a late goal from Daniel Motlop, the villain in Launceston last year. Port’s first win over the Dees at the ‘G. To cap it all off, Kane Cornes was ‘Picketted’ - KO’d in a tackle from Byron Pickett, although it was a bit accidental. In selection the Dees were strengthened by the return of captain Neitz and Nathan Jones, defender Matthew Warnock was called up. They replace dropped trio Mark Jamar, Chris Johnson and Colin Garland. Port were also stronger with Motlop, Danyle Pearce and promising half-back Matt Thomas in, replacing injured Michael Wilson (torn pectoral) and Steven Salopek (hamstring) and the dropped Brad Symes.
Not a very good game this, but a tough one. Didn’t see the first term, the Dees with Nathan Carroll doing well on Tredrea while Neitz was okay at the other end. The second term was entertaining, Port began it leading by 9 points before Dee Brent Moloney roved a throw-in and handballed for Adem Yze to snap a major. A bit later Neitz muscled Wakelin aside - no free there - to collect a bouncing ball and snap truly, the Deez led by 2 points. Port responded as Nathan Krakouer completed a classy three-bounce run with a pass to Pearce, he goaled. Krakouer postered with a shot of his own before Matthew Bate booted a major for the Dees, they led by 2 points again. Back came the Pooer as Chad Cornes roved a throw-in and passed for leading Motlop to mark and convert. The Dees missed a coupla long shots before a nicely-weighted pass from Peter Burgoyne allowed Krakouer to hold a diving mark and boot truly. Port by 8 points. Tredrea missed - he did that often - following good grab before the Flowers recovered the ball from the kick-in and Pearce handballed for a running goal to Shaun Burgoyne. Pord led by 15 points, the biggest differential of the match. But the Deez hit back, dithering from Port caused a turnover and McDonald’s handpass allowed Bate to boot his second goal. Long-distance misses from Ricky Petterd and Colin Sylvia had the Deez 7 points down at the long break.
For the seconds half the Dees tagged the rampant Chad Cornes with Lynden Dunn. Simon Godfrey was already doing well on Shaun Burgoyne. Two goals each in the third term maintained the status-quo. Three minutes into the final term Dee Jones bagged a goal to level the scores. The scores stayed level or changed by a point as both sides proceeded to miss shots for quite a while. Halfway through Kane Carnes had his arms pinned in a tackle from Pickett, Kane’s head whiplashed into the ground sickeningly. Cornes was unconscious and the stretcher came out (he’s alright). Brother Chad fired his troops during the break. With the Dees leading by a point in time-on, Dee backman Warnock thumped a kick from defence straight to Port ruckman Brendon Lade. He passed to Peter Burgoyne, who placed a good pass to leading Motlop. Motlop played-on around Jeff White and slotted it through with the outside of his right boot. Then came the umpire’s denial of Davey and the cruel aftermath.
The brothers Cornes were the leaders for Port, Chad had 29 disposals and 10 marks, Kane 25 touches and 9 marks. Peter Burgoyne (22 disposals) was very good and Danyle Pearce (16 touches, 3 goals) went straight into goal-kicking form. Young flankers Jacob Surjan (16 handlings, 9 marks) and Matt Thomas (19 possies, 7 marks) were good and CHB Troy Chaplin played well, but was injured late. Daniel Motlop and Warren Tredrea kicked 2 goals each (Tredrea 2.3). Dee fans would be heartened by the form of Nathan Brown (26 touches, 10 marks, a goal), who had a ‘mare last week, Adem Yze (29 disposals, a goal) and ruckman Jeff White (24 disposals, 8 marks, 20 hit-outs). James McDonald (26 possies) played well against P. Burgoyne and Simon Godfrey put Shaun Burgoyne out of it. Matthew Bate (24 touches, 2 goals) was a very handy forward, Nathan Jones (18 touches, 2 goals), Cameron Bruce (26 disposals) and Aaron Davey (20 possessions) were all good. David Neitz kicked 2 goals. Neale Daniher put on a brave face. "We played pretty good footy. We won enough of the ball and won enough of the stoppages and kept the Burgoyne boys under control and kept Chaddy Cornes under control, but just weren't able to kick it through the goals when it mattered. It's a case you look for improvement and I thought we improved today in a lot of areas, but we still need to improve with our ability to hit with our feet forward of centre and that was our thing - we just weren't able to find enough targets inside 50. At the end of the day, when you lose by five points, you can talk about certain incidents in the game, but anyway, nothing changes." Go on, talk about ‘em. "I didn't see that (Wakelin/Neitz) one as much as I saw the one with (Brendon) Lade, who did a big shove in Neitz's back, but I think the umpire was in a poor position and didn't see it and I probably look at it and probably say how the umpires were in poor positions for most of the day." Fine coming. Mark Williams wasn’t happy either. “Who would know exactly what turns a team on and what doesn’t. The idea of trying to beat a team that we’ve never beaten before at the MCG is something that we tried to dangle in front of the players. The last couple of weeks we played in the pouring rain. Maybe that had something to do with our zip, but I didn’t see it today. But given all of that, we still struggled and struggled and persisted and persisted and got over the line.”
At Docklands:
Richmond 1.1 2.3 5.9 9.11.65
Geelong 10.2 20.6 29.9 35.12.222
Last week the Tiges ruled a line under this season, announcing they’d follow a ‘youth policy’. Translation: we want to finish last for the best draft picks. Well, they’ve started out superbly in pursuing that aim, this the largest loss ever by a Richmond side. The Cats had spent all week being pilloried, the culmination being a succession of ex-players slagging off the Geelong ‘culture’ in the press on Sunday morning. The game was so very Geelong, famous for kicking the weak and capitulating against the strong. The Katz not only had to win here, but had to show a lot more vigour. They did, but as commentators pointed out it’s a two-part story as the Cats host the Eagles next weekend. Perform poorly then and this result will mean nothing. Apart from the huge whack of percentage. Not a good week for the Toigs, upon being informed of the youth policy full-back Darren Gaspar retired immediately. He played 228 games, 207 for the Tiges and was an All-Australian defender in 2000 and 2001. Gaspar extracted two lucrative five-year contacts outta the Tiges, he performed well throughout the first but was poor value for the second. A knee reco didn’t help. The Tiggers also saw the AFL fine captain Kane Johnson ten grand for criticizing the umpires, twice, last weekend, and the club themselves fined and suspended injured defender Ray Hall for being involved in a minor altercation in a pub. In selection Gaspar was gorn and they dropped Greg Tivendale (youth policy) and Shane Edwards. Kel Moore, Matthew White and Danny Meyer were called up. The Catters were strengthened with Brad Ottens and Steve Johnson returning, Johnson for his first game this season following a club-imposed five-game suspension for boozing and violence in the summer. Kane Tenace was recalled too, they replaced the dropped Steven King, Brent Prismall and Mathew Stokes.
The pattern was set very early. The Cats competed ferociously for the contested ball and players ran ahead, anticipating possession. The Cats won every contest, broke every weak Tiger tackle. And could count on the Big Pussies to cough up the ball up far, far too easily. The Tiges were literal rabbits in metaphorical headlights. Matters weren’t helped by Wallace’s decision to start the bigger, mature Kane Johnson and Shane Tuck on the bench and throw Brett Deledio and Andrew Raines onto the ball. They were slaughtered by Jimmy Bartel, Paul Chapman, Joel Corey and Cameron Ling. Tige CHB Graham Polak’s poor kick led to the first goal, Gary Ablett kicking for Travis Varcoe to take a clever mark and pop it through. Ottens postered from 10m before another Tige mistake, from Chris Newman, allowed Steve Johnson to set up a goal for Chapman. One of the most vocal critics of his team-mates last week, Chapman was very good in the first quarter. Gary Ablett was unstoppable. The ball spent the next five minutes in the Cats’ forward half, until Chapman free-kicked a goal. A disastrous centering kick from young Tigger Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls caused that. Varcoe punted long from the restart, Cam Mooney couldn’t hold the mark under pressure but he snapped a major anyway. The Tiges had one inside-50, no score, at this point. Gablett fired a handpass from a ball-up and Steve Johnson snared a poplar sausage, James Kelly ambled forward from a defensive rebound and his kick was marked in the goal-square by Andrew Mackie, he converted. Miraculously, the Toigs won the following centre-clearance and Matty Richardson was awarded a free-kick, 50m out. Of course, he attempted an awful short pass and turned over. Off went the Cats and Chapman thumped it home from 50m. The Cats led by 43 points, 7.1 to nothing. At the next centre-bounce Tige Matt White intercepted a Cat kick, played on and thumped a goal from 50m. Hurrah! Gary Ablett missed a shot but kicked a goal shortly afterwards, good work from Mooney setting him up. Gablett soon bagged another, direct from the subsequent centre-clearance. Ling, tagging Deledio, stabbed a goal after Gablett threw the ball to him and the Pussies led by 55 points at quarter-time.
Shock was the predominant feeling. The Tiges weren’t helped by the loss of Jay Schulz (corked thigh), Richard Tambling (shoulder) and ruckman Troy ‘Snake’ Simmonds, more ankle trouble which looked serious. Richo ended up rucking for the rest of the game. The Cats weren’t immune, Chapman had hamstring trouble and spent most of the remainder on the bench. Tige Shane Tuck kicked a point! early in the second as did Cat Darren Milburn, Polak ran over the line on the kick-in of Milburn’s miss, from the resulting ball-up Nathan Ablett snapped a goal. The Cats scored often from throw-ins or ball-ups, the Tiges hopelessly weak in that aspect. A Luke McGuane error allowed David Johnson to have a long shot which bounced through. The Cats led by 68 points before the Tiges scored a second goal, Richardson from a free-kick against Matthew Egan. Nathan Ablett free-kicked a major in response, then great work from Jimmy Bartel resulted in Mackie snapping a terrific goal - Bartel was very good here, too. A rare, decent spell for the Tiges brought misses from Cleve Hughes and Richo (on-the-full). Steve Johnson mongrelled a free-kick for six points, Hughes missed again before Chapman, injured leg and all, shrugged about five tackles and snapped truly. “FAAAARRRRKK”, I exclaimed. That goal sent the Cats past the 100-point mark, a lead of 83 points overall. Richmun’s farcically weak tackling allowed Gary Ablett to snap a major direct from a throw-in and a bit later Mackie free-kicked another, the lead up to 97 points. I missed a few Cat goals and them going to a 100-point lead while discussing my views fully and frankly with a ‘mate’ on the phone. Anyway, the Pussies led by 111 points at half-time. They’d kicked 20 goals already as stats nerds began drooling.
Tore myself away from the teev for much of the third term. About half the Tiger supporters at the venue simply left. Cat tyro Tom ‘Tomahawk’ Hawkins scored a goal direct from the opening bounce. At the other end, Tiger Hughes snapped one. The Cwatters got a few more goals while I was preparing my hemlock dinner. Returned to see Gary Ablett win a centre-clearance and Hawkins steam out to take a mark and boot a goal. But it wasn’t a replay, the Cats leading by 126 points. Another centre-clearance and Mooney had a hand in setting up Nathan Ablett for a major. Tiger Deledio, who’d had one disposal, dislocated a finger. Mooney marked on a hard lead and chipped a pass for Joel Selwood to collect and stab through. A 144-point lead for the Cats, before Tiger Richardson free-kicked a goal, bowled over by Mark Blake. Corey Enright converted from a mark, the final goal of the term. Geelong led by exactly 24 goals, or 144 points at the final change and their score of 29.9 was the highest ever in the first three quarters. They needed to kick 10 goals in the final stanza to eclipse the highest score of all-time, 239 points also scored by Geelong, against Brisbane at Carrara in 1992. But the umpires helped Richmun to a good start in the final stanza. Kayne Pettifer completed a good move with a mark 45m out, some strange off-ball incident involving Matty Scarlett caused a 50m penalty and easy conversion for Pettifer. Tuck free-kicked a goal from a weak infringement at a throw-in, consecutive goals for the Tigers and they’d SLASHED the margin to 132 points. Good work from Joel Corey saw Ling mark over Deledio and boot one, but then Tuck free-kicked another goal - a deserved one this time. Pettifer missed with yet another free-kick before Nathan Ablett snapped a goal, following Richardson’s spilled mark. Good play from Oakley-Nicholls and Pettifer set up a mark and goal for Hughes. Mooney missed poorly but of course the Tiges messed up the kick-in and Bartel snaggled a goal, bringing up the 200 points for Jeelong. Tenace soccered a goal from a ball-up AARRRGGH, Hawkins and Ling converted from marks to provide the Cats three consecutive goals to end the ‘contest’. Ling’s mark was very good. As was his entire game.
The Cats had many terrific efforts, Gary Ablett Jnr. (32 disposals, 3 goals) was fantastic and Jimmy Bartel (24 disposals, a goal) was great throughout, Paul Chapman (11 touches, 4 goals) set the tone before being injured. Cameron Ling not only had 19 possessions and kicked 3 goals but gave Brett Deledio (6 disposals) an absolute hiding. Joel Corey (28 handlings) also saw plenty of it in midfield and Andrew Mackie (23 touches, 9 marks, 4 goals) worked very well up and down the ground. Cameron Mooney (15 touches, 7 marks, 2 goals) set up plenty in the forward line and Darren Milburn (29 touches, 10 marks) played very well off half-back. Fifteen Cats kicked goals, of the other multiples Nathan Ablett and Tom Hawkins kicked 4 goals each, Travis Varcoe bagged 3 goals and Steve Johnson kicked 2 goals. The Tiges, well old Richo (11 marks, 13 disposals, 2 goals) battled hard in the ruck and Shane Tuck (21 touches, 2 goals) was alright once he was allowed on. Nathan Foley (28 disposals) won plenty of the ball to limited effect. Forward Cleve Hughes (8 marks, 12 kicks, 3.3) showed ability again, although he needs to work on his kicking. Kayne Pettifer (18 kicks, a goal) was alright. What did Wallace have to say for himself? "I've walked back in five times thinking that our players have been competitive in the first five games," he said. "We certainly hadn't got the results, certainly hadn't done anything in the manner in which we wanted to do it up until this stage, but tonight was non-competitive, embarrassing and unacceptable. That's purely and simply where it sits. We all wear that and we can't be in that position. It's just unacceptable." But he went on to suggest “there’ll probably be more of these.” So not totally unacceptable. Mark ‘Bombout’ Thompson was asked about the Cats’ erratic efforts. "Football is very funny at the moment (yeah, I’m laughing my head off, Bombout). If you win a couple you look like heroes and if you lose a couple you look like dogs," Thompson said. "We think we do our job pretty well at this football club and we think we have a good football club. It is pretty hard to explain (the win) but all I know is we were pretty disappointed with last week and we copped it in the media. The players were very honest during the week and tonight they showed what they are capable of and how they really feel. We just want to play decent football on a consistent basis and we are a very different team to last year. It's a totally different year."
Ladder after Round Six
Pts. % Next Week
West Coast 24 136.2 Geelong (Kardinia Park, Sunday)
Port Adelaide 20 118.1 Richmond (Football Park, Saturday)
Brisbane 16 117.4 Adelaide (Gabba, Sat. night)
Collingwood 16 107.9 Carlton (MCG, Saturday)
Hawthorn 16 107.8 Fremantle (Subiaco, Sunday)
Geelong 12 148.1 West Coast (Kardinia Park, Sunday)
Sydney 12 113.0 St. Kilda (Docklands, Sat. night)
Adelaide 12 105.4 Brisbane (Gabba, Sat. night)
---------------------------
Essendon 12 103.0 North Melbourne (Docklands, Fri. night)
North Melbourne 12 102.5 Essendon (Docklands, Fri. night)
St. Kilda 12 97.6 Sydney (Docklands, Sat. night)
Footscray 12 94.2 Melbourne (Docklands, Sunday)
Fremantle 8 90.9 Hawthorn (Subiaco, Sunday)
Carlton 8 76.6 Collingwood (MCG, Saturday)
Melbourne 0 68.1 Footscray (Docklands, Sunday)
Richmond 0 65.0 Port Adelaide (Football Park, Saturday)
Cheers, Tim.
Article last changed on Friday, May 11, 2007 - 11:18 AM EDT
