AFL Weekly Review Round Seven 2007

AFL Round 7

by Tim  Murphy

At Docklands:

North Melbourne  4.0   8.5   14.8     18.9.117
Essendon         2.9   5.11   8.14   13.17.95

You’ve gotta hand it to Norf and Dean Laidley, even if you think Laidley’s a goose. The Kangers victorious four times in-a-row. And they haven’t lost to the Dons since Laidley took over, a run stretching back to 2003. The Ruse strength is the Dons’ very weakness, ability to win the contested ball. The only downside was a knee injury to Daniel Wells, he’ll be gone 4-6 weeks. It’s rare for footy stats to mean anything, but Bruce told us the Dons lead the leeg in short kicks, uncontested marks and kicking backwards. It’s easy to believe. Kev Sheedy allowed the Channel Seven cameras to film his three-quarter-time address and he exhorted his lads to move the ball faster and get inside the attacking fifty more quickly. Like they haven’t all season. Sheeds is in the final year of his contract and may be close to the end, just like poor old Jim Hird. In selection the Roos regained ruckman David Hale at the expense of Leigh Adams. The Dons selected one questionable acquisition, Richie Cole, while dropping two others, Chris Heffernan and Mark Bolton. Ricky Dyson was dropped too, but ruckman David Hille was back and Bachar Houli was given his first game, he’s a speedy flanker from Spotswood and a Muslim which excited the meedya a bit. Still no Matty Lloyd, a problem for the Dons.

A string of seven consecutive behinds cruelled the Dons’ chances in the first term. Norf scored a goal before the ball was bounced, Bomma Adam McPhee allegedly grabbed their Leigh Brown by the throat. It wasn’t obvious on the replay. Brown free-kicked a goal. McAvaney pointed out the Blooze hadn’t been awarded a kick when their full-back O’hAilpin was slapped by Fraser Gehrig last week. Anyway. A fairly straightforward defensive rebound saw Jesse Smith boot a 55m running goal, the first of his career and the Roos led by 12 points. A bit later Don ruckman Hille, busy early, passed for leading Scott Lucas to mark and punt a good, long goal. The run of points started now as the Roos couldn’t manage to clear their back half from kick-ins, but the Dons kept missing. Five of the behinds came from marks inside 50m. Hille and Andrew Welsh missed twice each and Jason Johnson postered. Naturally, once the Kangarse managed a successful kick-in they scored a goal, Daniel Harris kicking for Corey Jones to hold a good grab and convert. Ol’ Hirdy was caught in possession at the restart and lost the ball, Andrew Swallow punted the Ruse forward and Brent Harvey shrugged off Peverill for a clever mark, he goaled. Norf by 11 points. The Dons finally scored a goal when Angus Monfries marked on the wing and was knocked down by late-arriving Glenn Archer, a 50m penalty and major. Lucas had a couple more shots before the first break but missed both, one a poster, the other when he tried to play-on and dummied onto his right foot, which for Lucas is only for standing upon. Norf by 3 points at the first break, with 7 fewer shots. The Roos’ Brown booted the first major of the second term, picked out by Jess Sinclair’s smart kick. The Dons won the following centre-clearance and Jason Winderlich passed to Lucas on-the-lead, he goaled. But centre-bounce or any other sort of clearances were rare for the Bommers, the Kanga rovers Harris and Swallow were very good in this game and ruckman Hamish McIntosh wasn’t much worse. Wells hurt his knee at this point, in a collision with team-mate Jones. Commentator David Schwarz opined correctly that it was a medial ligament rather than the more serious anterior cruciate. He’d know. Wells didn’t return. Jim Hird contributed another Don behind with a poor shot before some great team play from Norf, lotsa shepherding, ended with a free-kicked goal for Jones, clattered by Dustin Fletcher. Soon Jones caught the Essadun disease and hit the post from 10m, the Bummers advanced from the kick-in and Jason Laycock nudged Shannon Watt under the ball to mark and boot a major. The Ruse led by 4 points at this stage. Some fairly ragged footy before Roo forward Aaron Edwards majored following a terrific pack-mark. He can play. That goal gave Norf a 13-point lead, a bit later Don Brent Stanton collected Hird’s wobbly, floating punt from a throw-in and snapped a goal. But the Ruse managed a late goal, Archer had a free-kick when knocked down by Hille at a throw-in and it led to Brown clutching a strong grab on a lead and punting truly. Hille was very angry as he reckoned Archer had shepherded him out of the ruck contest, and he had a point. North led by 12 points at half-time.

Sheedy made two changes for the second half, lazy forward Courtney Johns was sent to the backline and Paddy Ryder, who’d played well at CHB in the first half, went forward. First-gamer Bachar Houli booted the first goal of the half, marking Lucas’s pass and playing on quickly to punt truly. But the Ruse won the following centre-clearance, Harris appeared to run a long way without bouncing the ball before setting up a running goal for Shannon Grant. He’d been guarded closely by Mark McVeigh in the first half. Bommer Andrew Lovett missed woefully, at the other end a great tap from McIntosh at a ball-up allowed Swallow to snap a sausage roll. Under-pressure McPhee soccered the ball from defence but it went straight to Sinclair, from his long punt Edwards held a very good mark and booted another Norf goal. They led by 23 points now, the greatest gap so far. Good running play from the excellent Stanton created a Don response, Lucas with a strong grab and sausage. Once again Lucas was opposed by a smaller, faster man in Josh Gibson, but Lucas played from full-forward which gave him an advantage. It was a good battle between them, but North took charge overall. A smart mark from Roo Harvey, the shortest man on the ground, led to a running banana-goal for Grant. Archer crunched young Houli and Brady Rawlings collected the spilled ball, he passed for McIntosh to mark and convert. Harvey had a free-kick and a 50m penalty for an off-ball incident involving Winderlich, he set up another goal for Grant. Six of the eight goals in the quarter for Norf and they led by 36 points. The Dons went into damage-limitation with some chip-about in the backline, but Hird’s quick, long kick allowed Lucas to hold a tough goal-square grab as the pack descended. Lucas majored and the Dons trailed by 30 points at the final break. As mentioned, Sheeds wanted his lads to “get it in quickly.” It didn’t work early in the final term as Peverill kicked “quickly” from the back pocket but straight to Roo Blake Grima. His kick dropped short but Drew Petrie won a free-kick, slung aside by Fletcher. Petrie goaled. A minute later Brown tidied some scrambling by snapping a sausage and the Ruse were 42 points ahead. All over, it seemed but the Dons mounted a challenge, assisted by the Ruse resting some key players. Alwyn Davey, quiet on the night, set the ball rolling with two running goals in rapid succession, for the first Davey intercepted a Roo kick-in and stabbed it through, the second was set up by Ryder’s good mark at CHF. Monfries was awarded a free-kick for being slapped by Harvey, setting in chain a good move leading to a strong mark and goal for Stanton. The Dons trailed by 23 points and soon Lucas marked 40m out - and missed. There was some tough, rugged footy for a few minutes with the whistle put away. Eventually Archer won Norf the ball by clattering Monfries, Watt kicked for Hale to juggle a grab and kick a relieving sausage. Norf led by 28 points and the heat went out. With three minutes remaining Lucas marked, played-on and banana-ed it through and a minute later Johns finally kicked a goal, after marking in the goal-square. The Dons were 16 points behind but it was too late, Sinclair punted a long goal for the Ruse after the final siren. Hird and Archer exchanged guernseys and best wishes in a warming post-script.

The Ruse following division of the excellent Daniel Harris (31 disposals), fellow rover Andrew Swallow (24 possies, a goal) and ruckman Hamish McIntosh (17 touches, 19 hit-outs, 7 marks, a goal) made the key difference. Brady Rawlings (35 touches with 26 handballs) gave good support and Michael Firrito (23 touches, 8marks) was very good in defence again, he plays kamikaze-style, the way Laidley wants ‘em to play. As typified by Glenn Archer (14 disposals, 6 marks). Brent Harvey (30 touches, 7 marks, a goal) was busy forward of the centre, as was Shannon Grant (10 touches, 3 goals) in the crucial third quarter. Leigh Brown (4 goals from 10 touches, 4 marks) made his opponent accountable. Corey Jones and Aaron Edwards kicked 2 goals each. Better Bombers included the very good Brent Stanton (27 disposals, 2 goals) and hard-working forward Scott Lucas (5 goals from 8 marks, 16 disposals). Jobe Watson (32 touches, 11 marks) had a lot of the ball and Angus Monfries (18 possies, 8 marks, a goal) puts in. James Hird (26 touches, 8 marks) had good numbers but isn’t the game-changing force he was, more of a link-man. Mark Johnson (21 possies) and Andrew Lovett (22 handlings) weren’t bad. Alwyn Davey kicked 2 last-quarter goals. Sheeds reckoned the Dons were improving. “We ran better and came through the corridor better. We got the ball inside our 50 more often than we had previously. (But) we let them get away in the third quarter and we need a bit more discipline related to free kicks, especially the one in the first minute which is not on. Of course a couple of late goals that they got, a smarter footy team wouldn’t have allowed . . . We’ll welcome back Matthew Lloyd into the team (next week) and if we get the ball in there 60 times we will have a fair chance of winning the game.” Hm. Laidley was rapt the way the side performed after Wells’s departure. “When something like that happens it puts extra burden on other players. For them to stand up the way they did tonight was fantastic. But I was a little disappointed in (the defenders) tonight, just with a few little things that we spoke about. With our match-ups, I thought we were slow to react." Harsh.

At the MCG:

Collingwood  1.6   4.11   11.15   17.17.119
Carlton      5.2   8.6    12.8    14.11.89

The two old rivals produced an epic battle in front of anuge crowd at the ‘G. Collywood games follow a standard pattern, a slow start with some terrible kicking for goal, then a more intense, committed second half. The Blues tried hard to keep up but ran out of steam as the second half progressed. Not sure they have the running power to enact Pagan’s plan. Oh, and there was a big fight with claret spilled. Last week Collywood appointed a new CEO to replace Greg Swann, poached by the Bluesers earlier this year. He’s Gary Pert, former Pie and Fitzroy full-back and also a Channel Nine executive before the appointment. No conflict of interest, said Eddie. In selection the Poise made four changes, three blokes (Leon Davis, Chris Egan and Shannon Cox) were dropped for going to a nightclub “against instructions” after the win over the Camrys last week. I think it was less than a year ago Chris Tarrant and Ben Johnson emerged from a nightclub at 3AM and were involved in a brawl which saw a bloke hospitalized. They weren’t dropped because Malthouse said the Pies needed ‘em to win. Stand-in captain James Clement missed with calf trouble, but the Maggies were strengthened by Alan Didak and Brodie Holland returning, the latter for his first game of the season. Veteran Shane Wakelin and junior Sam Iles played too. The Bluies were stronger with Brad Fisher returning and Anthony Koutoufides in for the first time this season, following a finger injury. Forgotten defender Jason Saddington and young afro-ed flanker Paul Bower were also in. The Blues lost ruckman Cameron Cloke, who dislocated a shoulder at training, defender Bret Thornton and dropped juniors Joe Anderson and Luke Blackwell.

Following some pre-bounce handbags the Poise began well, but of course Anthony Rocca and Travis Cloke missed their first two shots respectively. The Blooze lined up with Lance Whitnall as Rocca’s opponent, Jarrad Waite on Cloke and regular full-back Setanta O’hAilpin in the ruck. Pie wingman Scott Pendlebury booted the first goal, marking Iles’s pass and the Poise led by 8 points. The Blues were on the board when Pie Holland was caught in possession at a throw-in by Eddie Betts, Betts free-kicked a major. Some tough footy and plenty of hard tackling (and Pie behinds) for the next ten minutes before a Bloo goal-avalanche in time-on, inspired by Brendan Fevola. Big Fev held out Alan Toovey with his leg for a great two-grab mark and goal, which gave the Blooze a 4-point lead. A bit later Marc Murphy, who’d started on the bench but was very good after coming on, tumbled a kick forward from a ball-up and Fevola marked strongly in front of Simon Prestigiacomo, Fev majored again. Shane O’Bree missed poorly for the Pies before another Bluie goal, Prestigiacomo’s bad handpass and turnover allowed Matty Lappin to run a long way into empty space and boot a major. From the restart Murphy was clattered by Dale Thomas and big Bloo Josh Kennedy converted the resulting downfield free-kick. The Bluies led by 20 points at the first break and as the players walked towards their huddles ‘Crazy Joe’ Fevola came rampaging down the ground and tried to decapitate Didak. A big fight started, Poi Josh Fraser was knocked semi-conscious by team-mate Rocca. Fevola emerged with blood oozing from his bonce. Nervous energy expended, the start to the second stanza was low-key. Harry O’Brien replaced Prestigiacomo as Fev’s opponent. Didak booted a goal to reduce the Bloo lead to 15 points, leading out to mark O’Bree’s centering kick. The Pies controlled the ball, producing lots of running footy from the backline. But they racked up the points again, Cloke alone booting three behinds in a run of five. Fevola missed with a 55m free-kick, but scored a goal a bit later after being knocked over by Nick Maxwell, a free then a 50m penalty as O’Brien swore vociferously at the ump. Bluesers by 17 points. Finally the Poise majored, Thomas used a 50m penalty to find Trav Cloke, he kicked high to the goal-square where Fraser held a good pack-mark and popped it through. But the Bluies continued to compete, following some hard-fought battle the ball squirted out to Cain Ackland and he jabbed a short pass to Andrew Carrazzo, who booted a sausage. A Poi turnover set Jordan Russell clear to boot long, Fevola out-marked Heath Shaw and dobbed another. The Bluies led by 25 points, a little flattering. Fifteen seconds before half-time Pie Scott Burns roved a throw-in and fired a handpass for Didak to snap truly. Blooze by 19 points at orange time.

The Pise lifted their game for the second half, but the Blues were quite good too in an intense, very entertaining game. Prestigiacomo was back on Fevola. Rocca’d been rubbish in the first half but he started the second with a big grab in front of Whitnall and a goal thundered home from 60m. A minute later Rocca out-marked Whitnall and Waite, but another bomb was touched through. A coupla Rhyce Shaw-powered rebounds brought two more Scragpie goals, Dane Swan drilled the first on-the-run and then Pendlebury’s three-bounce run finished with a pass to Toovey. His major leveled the scores. The Blooze under pressure but some good work from Ryan Houlihan allowed Bloo rookie Ross Young to snap a goal. Swan cleared the subsequent centre-bounce for the Poise, Cloke was held down but advantage allowed for Didak to bag one. The Bluies cleared the next centre-bounce, Kade Simpson gathered, slipped away from Iles and booted a very noice sausage. Blues by 6 points again, Collywobbles leveled the scores again as Carrazzo was buried under a pack and done for ‘bawl’. Commentator David Parkin was disgusted by that interpretation, although he was barracking for Carlton. From the free O’Bree delivered to leading Rocca, he punted truly from 55m. The Pies finally managed consecutive goals, Fraser marked in defence and had a 50m penalty as Cloke and Ackland tangled off-the-ball. Fraser passed to leading Didak, who punted his fourth goal. Thomas roved a ball-up and curled a good kick for full points, the Maggies led by 11. The Bluesers found a bit, after a tight few minutes Young’s committed effort led to a running goal for Waite. The Poise scored a behind and the Blues advanced from the kick-in, Lappin marked over Rhyce Shaw and converted to tie the scores yet again. The Pies led by a point at the final change. The first half of the final term saw just one goal, a good kick from Pie Iles finding Thomas, he dished a handpass for Fraser to slot it through. Collywood led by 7 points. The Blues had stopped running but kept trying to play through the corridor with short passes. It didn’t work. The Pies had swung defender Shane Wakelin forward and he roved Rocca’s contest to snaggle a goal, the first in his 125 games with the Pies. It opened the floodgates. Bloo Kennedy was spoiled in the middle of the ground and O’Bree passed to Cloke, he finally kicked straight. A minute later Cloke and O’Bree exchanged foot-passes and Cloke booted another. Soon Cloke brought up his hat-trick, created by a bit of lairy soccer-work from Didak. The Maggies led by 32 points and it was over, there were a few more goals I missed. Blue Fisher got a goal after the siren.

The Poise running game powers them, led here by Dane Swan (29 disposals, a goal) and Tarkyn Lockyer (24 touches, 10 marks, a goal), the latter enjoying a very good season. Travis Cloke (3.4 from 11 marks and 16 kicks) was their main forward once he got on-target, with support from the estimable Alan Didak (10 touches, 4 goals). Ruckman Josh Fraser (19 disposals, 7 marks, 24 hit-outs, 2 goals) was more than useful against the Blues’ risky pairing of O’hAilpin and Ackland. Wingman Scott Pendlebury (24 possies, a goal) played well as did backmen Heath Shaw (19 touches) and Rhyce Shaw (14 disposals). Anthony Rocca kicked 2 goals. The Bluies saw former Pie Heath Scotland (33 disposals, 8 marks) play very well and Marc Murphy (22 touches) created their early momentum. Ryan Houlihan (26 possessions) was very good off a back flank and on a forward flank Andrew Carrazzo (34 handlings, a goal) was useful. Brendan Fevola (5 marks, 10 disposals, 4 goals) was influential before half-time in several ways, but didn’t kick a goal in the second half. Might have an enforced holiday coming up too. Kade Simpson (21 touches, a goal) wasn’t bad. Matty Lappin kicked 2 goals. Pagan identified the problem. "Probably the biggest thing to come out of it is that we just looked fatigued. We got in at three-quarter-time and we said we have got to get the ball in the corridor, we need to go long. But we had a lot of ineffective disposals, I think we had 18 ineffective kicks trying to finesse and that's probably brought about by Collingwood's pressure and intensity." Mick Malthouse is taking a long view. "Every game is a test. I've said that every week. Every week you're going to be tested, and it doesn't matter who you play in this game. We'll be tested in the middle next week (by the Bulldogs) with their pace and the way they run the ball, and the week after we'll be tested by whoever we play there, and the same will be said for the week after that. It's one giant test when you've got players who are still finding their feet and others who are just finding a bit of form, others, in many respects, who are just ticking off their first few games.”

At Football Park:

Port Adelaide  5.4   10.10   14.16   16.19.115
Richmond       3.2    3.9     5.12   10.15.75

There’s not many sides who can claim to have improved by 22 goals in a week. In truth, once Port realized they could win handsomely going at half-pace, that’s pretty much what they did. Still, a 6-1 record and top o’the ladder is beyond what anyone expected from them at this stage. The Tigers spent the week apologising to their fans for the debacle last Sunday, led by club president Gary March. Recruiting and the role of football manager Greg Miller came under close scrutiny, as the Tiges promised to increase spending on the football department. Currently it’s the second-lowest in the AFL. In the end the Big Pussies broke another record, 0-7 is the worst-ever start to a season by Richmun. In picking the Powder regained ruckman Dean Brogan from an ankle injury, he replaced injured Troy Chaplin (foot). Kane Cornes was cleared to play despite being KO’d last week. The Tiges made five changes, the ‘youth policy’ placed on hold as Greg Tivendale was recalled along with Andrew Krakouer, Dean Polo, Adam Pattison and Cameron Howat. Ruckman Troy Simmonds (ankle) and young Richard Tambling (shoulder) missed out along with dropped trio Daniel Jackson, Danny Meyer and Kel Moore. Yes, it was their fault.

Warm afternoon in The City of Murderers. Port had two goals on the board very quickly. Ruckman Brendon Lade dominated as did Port’s rovers, the Tiges again with no recognized ruck. Some off-ball holding at a ball-up handed Lade a free-kick and goal, a bit later some chipped passes ended with Danyle Pearce kicking long and Damon White held a strong grab, he goaled. After being massacred on-the-ball last week, Tige tyro Brett Deledio was now being tried as a key defender, on the much bigger White. Ah, the subtleties of tanking. Great start for Port in their percentage-boosting mission, but the Tiges were trying a bit and soon scored a goal, Graham Polak snapping truly after roving his own contest. Tige Matty Richardson gave away a free and a 50m penalty, but from the resulting shot White postered. A minute later a poor handpass in the backline by Port’s Michael Pettigrew was intercepted by Tige Kayne Pettifer, he snapped a major to level the scores. Contest! A bit later Pettifer made the identical play but this time his snap was touched on-the-line. Port rover and former Tiger David Rodan roved a pack and snapped a goal he very much enjoyed. A bit later some great work by Peter Burgoyne at a throw-in allowed Lade to stab a goal and the Flowers led by 12 points again. A good move by the Tiges set up a mark and goal for Jay Schulz, there was a terrible miss from Port’s Josh Mahoney before Tiger Tivendale’s turnover allowed Shaun Burgoyne to thump an excellent running goal from 50m. The Poohey led by 14 points at korter-time but the Tiges had been competitive at least. Not so in the second term as Port exploited their, er, betterness. A long kick from Warren Tredrea was marked too easily by White, he dobbed it. Port were very good at moving downfield from kick-ins. In fact they produced the same move, involving the same players, every single time, under no pressure whatsoever. Daniel Motlop was a regular conduit and he booted a great running goal after a one-two with Tredrea. The Tiges hung tough for a few minutes as Port missed a few shots. Polak did pretty well on a half-fit Tredrea and Joel Bowden was admirable against Brett Ebert. Deledio on White was a clear mismatch in Port’s favour though and eventually White’s high, hooked kick into the goal-square was marked by Lade, he thumped it through. Nathan Lonie cleared the subsequent restart and passed to leading White again, he chipped ahead for Rodan to mark and convert. Port attacked again, Tige Luke McGuane seemed ready to clear but turned disastrously back into trouble and lost the ball, Tredrea snapped a sausage. Five goals to Port for the term, none for the Tiggers and the Power led by 43 points at half-time.

Early in the third a Tige turnover led to Lade taking a very good grab on the flank and centering a pass for Kane Cornes to mark and convert. Port led by 49 points and the TV folk started blathering stats about consecutive 100-point losses. But the Pooher became infected with the Tiges’ ‘cr@p’ virus, a particularly virulent strain. Port’s intensity dropped. An awful passage, with both sides contributing, ended with Tige Andrew Raines finding Schulz for a mark and goal. Motlop postered following a good grab before the Tiges managed another goal with a laborious and excruciatingly slow build-up - they’d been urged to play ‘tempo football’, apparently. Shane Tuck completed it with a long goal. Port were only 38 points ahead and the game meandered aimlessly for a while, prior to three late Flower majors. A weak kick-in from the Tiges was swallowed by Nathan Krakouer, he dished off for Motlop to boot a goal. At the restart Tigger captain Kane Johnson was penalized for a throw, Lonie played-on from the free-kick and thumped a long sausage. A bit later Port’s Krakouer wasn’t penalized for a throw and Lade was allowed to pass to Pearce right in front, he goaled. Port by 57 points at the final change. But the Tiges rallied in the final term with Deledio shifted to the forward-pocket and Tivendale on-the-ball. Tivendale cleared the opening bounce and Matty Richardson marked in the teeth of goal, he converted. Port responded as Pearce capped a superb running effort with a goal threaded from the boundary-line. The Toigs scored consecutive goals, Kayne Pettifer reeled in a one-handed mark on the point-line and hooked it through with his left foot. A bit later Chris Hyde and Deledio combined to create an easy mark and wobbly goal for Richo. Richardson was playing in the ruck and clearly had no idea. Peter Burgoyne snapped a major thanks to a fortuitous bounce, tidying a scrambly passage of play. The downtrodden Tiges finished with two goals from Deledio, the first from a good pack-mark, the other created by some nice work from Pettifer. They won the final quarter and the second half by 3 points. But if you’d taken the $3.50 at 39.5 in, the Tiges’d let you down again.

Port ruckman Brendon Lade (15 disposals, 6 marks, 12 hit-outs, 3 goals) was, by some distance, the best player on the ground. Rover Peter Burgoyne (27 touches, a goal) was also very good, with decent support from ball-winner Dom Cassisi (23 possessions) and the speedy Danyle Pearce (19 touches, 2 goals). Kane Cornes (27 handlings, a goal) got stuck in admirably and Chad Cornes (26 touches, 8 marks) swanned about. Up forward Damon White (13 marks, 21 disposals, 2.4) troubled the Tiges, as he always does. David Rodan and Daniel Motlop kicked 2 goals each. Richmond’s best were probably Joel Bowden (13 marks, 22 disposals) at full-back on Ebert and rover Nathan Foley (30 disposals) again. Kane Johnson (20 touches) tagged Shaun Burgoyne with reasonable effectiveness and Greg Tivendale (28 disposals, 9 marks, 0.3) won a bit of the ball. Juniors Cameron Howat (24 disposals) and Jake King (21 touches, 11 marks) weren’t bad. Matty Richardson, Brett Deledio, Kayne Pettifer and Jay Schulz kicked 2 goals each. “I thought our effort and our intensity around the contest was far better than where it was last week so I have no issue with my players in those areas,” Toiga coach Wallace said. “Skill level, execution and those sorts of things, we obviously still have to improve with a developing team. We made some fundamental errors, particularly in that second quarter, and our turnover rate and rebound rate going back the other way - it cost us. Every time we made an error they managed to kick a goal out of it.” Mark Williams said “To think that we won by 40 points, at the start of the game we were quite anxious about the game, so it’s a great result for us. Our club is about building and improving and educating so the last quarter - I know they kicked five goals and they’d be pleased to run out the game and play competitive footy in the last part - we moved some players around, we played Krakouer in the centre square, Pettigrew went forward and we took some players off. We tried to look forward to the end of the year, plus the fact of developing our list and giving other people opportunities.”

At Docklands:

St. Kilda  4.4   7.4   12.6   15.7.97
Sydney     4.1   6.4    8.5   11.5.71

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. The Saints out-Sydneyed Sydney. It was the theme, with Stainer coach Ross Lyon facing his old side and old employer, Roos, for the first time. But it’s true the injury-depleted Satins won by retaining possession for long periods, playing at a somnambulant pace and tackling furiously. Yet they suffered another injury setback, Brendan Goddard tearing a knee ligament, it’s his season over. They can’t take a trick. Siddey couldn’t get hold of the ball and when they did, found themselves surrounded by Stainer zealots. This was a big result in context though, re-establishing the Stainers’ credentials and placing the Swans’ status as contenders in doubt. It may be wise to remember they were 3-4 after 7 in their premiership year, 2005. In selection the Saints regained tall defender Sam Fisher and half-forward Shane Birss, they replaced injured ruckman Matthew Clarke (calf strain) and tagger Steven Baker, suspended two games for elbowing Bloo Jordan Russell in the head last week. The Bloods regained Amon Buchanan and rugged defender Paul Bevan, Tim Schmidt and Jarred Moore made way.

Despite the return of Sam Fisher the Saints persisted with James Gwilt at full-back, on Barry Hall this time. The Swans have been concerned with tardy starts and set out smartly here. Adam Goodes marked a Sainter kick from defence and passed quickly to leading Hall, he majored. The ball went forward from the restart, Hall rampaged through and clattered a few Stains before handballing to Ben Mathews, he passed for Goodes to mark and boot another. Siddey by 12 points. At the restart Sainter ruckman Justin Koschitzke received a free-kick and punted long for Fraser ‘G-Train’ Gehrig to mark over Leo Barry, Gehrig converted. The Saints proceeded to control the ball for a while but score a string of behinds, Xavier Clarke missed twice, Stephen Milne and Goddard once each. The Swans managed a goal from a throw-in, Koschitzke shoving Peter ‘Spida’ Everitt in the back and conceding a free-kick. Former Saint Everitt, booed heavily, goaled. The Swans led by 8 points. Goals alternated, Sainter Shane Birss was whacked in the head and used the free-kick to find Nick Riewoldt on-the-lead, he goaled. Riewoldt was very good in this game. The Bloods answered as a very good kick from Nick Malceski allowed Ryan O’Keefe to out-mark Leigh Fisher, O’Keefe sausaged. A bit later Saint Luke Ball roved a ball-up and handballed to Nick Dal Santo, his kick dropped into space behind Milne for the goal-sneak to run onto and snap through. Gehrig shrugged off Barry to hold a good grab and bag another Sintkilda major and they led by 4 points. Goddard hurt his knee late in the quarter, tripping over Swan Ted Richards. Enjoying arguably his best season to date, Goddard knew what was wrong immediately and was very unhappy. Hall missed a set shot before the first break, the Saints leading by 3 points. A tighter second term followed, Swans v Swans with lots of sideways chip-about and ball retention. The Saints had an early major, Xavier Clarke after holding a good mark from Riewoldt’s kick. Tight for a while before a lengthy series of Swan chip-about found the ball with Craig Bolton 50m out, he kicked quickly and badly but the ball took some fortunate bounces for a goal. The Stainers went forward from the restart, Riewoldt held a good mark and kicked towards G-Train, he couldn’t mark but roving Dal Santo snapped truly. The Saints led by 8 points. More staid keepings-off from the Saints, a large part of their strategy was to simply deny the Swans any possession. The Saints scored the next goal when Swan Adam Schneider was pinged for ‘bawl’ when in a head-lock. A rubbish decision, it led to Gehrig holding a mark amongst a swarming pack and punting truly. Good play from Buchanan set up an answering goal for Hall, Bazza clattering Leigh Montagna as he marked. Luke Ablett’s set-shot miss left the Bloods a goal behind at the long break.

The battle stayed tight into the third Mario. Milne’s burst of speed and well-weighted kick allowed Xavier Clarke to grab a with-the-flight mark, Clarke’s accurate punt had the Sainters 13 points ahead. The Swans stayed close as Nick Davis punted a goal, then from a throw-in Buchanan apparently threw the ball to O’Keefe, he snapped truly. The Sinkilda lead was back to a point. Now the Saints drew clear, through controlling possession and making every shot count. Passes from Montagna to Riewoldt to Aaron Fiora set up a difficult shot for Fiora, but he steered it through from the boundary-line. Brett Voss marked 60m out and stood about for a long while before stabbing a pass to Gehrig’s ‘second’ lead. G-Nut gave some trainers’ chairs a hefty boot to clear his run-up and proceeded to slot a great kick through from a narrow angle. Jason Blake won a free-kick at a ball-up and centered his punt for Koschitzke to hold a grab, he converted. Another slow, patient series of short passes resulted in Birss majoring from a mark and the Stainers led by 25 points. The Saints played literal keepings-off in the remaining five minutes of the quarter, the main incident being Siddey full-back Barry hurting his shoulder in what appeared a light, glancing collision with Gehrig.  The Swans scored the opening goal of the final quarter and they were still about, 19 points down. But quickly Montagna converted from a mark and a bit later Dal Santo’s tumbling kick dropped for Milne to mark, he sausaged. The Sainters led by 31 points now. Hall, starved of opportunity, kept the Bloods in it with a goal booted from a mark on-the-lead. The Stains responded in a manner frustrating for Swan supporters, Siddey defender Ted Richards appeared to hold a terrific mark in the last line of defence but he’d used his hands on Voss’s shoulders to steady before leaping. Against the new rule interpretation and Voss free-kicked a goal. The Saints led by 31 again and a Synney victory appeared a remote chance. Some great, tough, bustling play from the Bloods at half-forward allowed Schneider to snap truly. But it was too late. Voss missed a later shot before the siren hailed a 26-point Stinkilda victory.

The Saints recorded a very high goal-to-inside 50 ratio, thanks to very good games from Nick Riewoldt (14 marks, 21 disposals, a goal) and Fraser Gehrig (7 marks, 7 kicks, 4 goals). Leigh Montagna (24 touches, a goal), now employed as a midfielder with the injury to Hayes, played well again as did ageless Robert Harvey (17 possies). Tough rover Luke Ball (16 possessions) managed 14 tackles which, according to Robert Walls, “is as good as 28 kicks.” Eh? James Gwilt (9 marks, 17 disposals) is rapidly becoming a handy full-back, he probably beat Hall, Sam Fisher (23 touches, 14 marks) was also good down there. Justin Koschitzke (18 touches, 7 marks, a goal) turned in a decent game in the ruck and Stephen Milne (12 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals) was a busy worker. Xavier Clarke kicked 2 useful goals. The Swans had very good efforts from Ryan O’Keefe (22 disposals, 8 marks, 2 goals) and Brett ‘James Tee’ Kirk (20 handlings), who enjoyed the toughness of it. Amon Buchanan (14 touches) wasn’t bad and nor was Nick Malceski (18 disposals), the latter playing the ‘Kennelly role’ of running off half-back. Barry Hall (9 marks, 14 touches) had to work hard for his 3 goals, Nick Davis (17 possessions) was alright and bagged 2 goals. Are the Swans in trouble, Roosy? “The main thing, as I said to the players afterwards, that during your footy career you're going to go through form slumps as individuals, and probably as individuals we've got a few too many that aren't playing good footy at the moment,” he said. “Collectively that permeates through the footy team. It's just one of those things, the players going through a poor patch of form and we're just not in good enough form against teams that are playing well to be able to win games. Last week was 16 points, this week was four goals. So it's not as if we are getting belted. We just need a few more players playing better footy to give us a chance to win.” Big game against Port next Sunday. Ross Lyon is quite a phlegmatic guy. "I don’t know about our best [game], but you are happy to take four points,” he said of the win. “It’s a really tough competition. All it does is make us four and three and really, from tomorrow morning, we are planning for Hawthorn, so there is no respite. It's sort of a relentless competition. As a young coach, I’m starting to understand that more and more.” What about beating Roosy and your old side? "There's no increased joy. The apprentice (and) master got boring and repetitive and I'd be a bit disappointed if it was reported like that.” Too late.

At the Gabba:

Brisbane   3.6   5.8    6.12    9.15.69
Adelaide   4.2   6.8   10.13   14.16.100

A terrific win for the Camrys as they broke out of the straitjacket. The Camrys were locked into a boring, rigid game-plan which had yielded fewer than 10 goals in each of their previous three games. So here they played faster, kicked longer, scored 100 points for the first time this season and recorded a very handy win at a venue where they have a poor record. Bit of a reality check for the Lyin’s. The Brisbane side here was unchanged following the win over Fremantle, the Camrys replaced injured rookie John Hinge (hamstring) with forward Luke Jericho. Lyin’ coach Leigh Matthews was coaching the Brians for the 200th time, for the Cressidas Tyson Edwards played his 250th game, a superb achievement. Forward Scott Welsh chalked up 150.

A quick start for the locals, two goals including one thundered home from 60m by a running Tim Notting. They led by 13 points before their affliction, poor goal-kicking, came into play. Last week’s star Ashley McGrath was the main offender. But the Camrys’ Simon Goodwin was the chief player of the first quarter with 10 touches and two goals, he also created another for Scott Welsh. The Coronas also tagged Luke Power effectively with Robert Shirley. Big Ben Rutten did well against Jonathan Brown. The croweaters led by 2 points at the first break and 6 at half-time, following a dour second term in which a late goal from Shirley made the difference. The Crowns made the decisive move early in the third term. Simon Goodwin burst away from the opening bounce and stabbed to ball to leading Ian Perrie, he converted. Scott Welsh marked on a long, wide lead and centered the ball to Scott Thompson, he majored. Nathan Bock bagged one and the ‘new’ Camry style was shown when Perrie marked in the centre, played on quickly and simply belted it forward. Ruckman Jon Griffin doubled back for a mark and major. The Crows led by the better part of 5 goals and held out the Lyin’s for a long while, until McGrath broke Brisbun’s goal-drought with a late sausage from a mark. But the Cressidas scored a goal direct from the opening bounce of the final term, Goodwin again involved as his handpass released Edwards to roost it through from distance. A 31-point lead to the Corollas and Brisbun had a task ahead. Three more Camry goals including one for Welsh had the visitors 47 points clear before late consolation goals from Lyin’s Brown and Scott Harding.

Great game from Simon Goodwin (30 disposals, 2 goals), with key support from Chris Knights (29 touches, a goal) and milestone man Tyson Edwards (33 handlings, 10 marks, a goal). Scott Thompson (22 possessions) got forward to kick 3 goals, important for the Camrys, and Andrew McLeod (23 touches) was at his sweeping best across half-back. Ben Rutten (11 marks, 15 disposals) held Brown to 5 marks and 9 touches, although Brown got 2 goals. Scott Welsh (8 marks, 13 possies) was a useful contributor with 3 goals. For the Lisbon Brians, back-pocket Jed Adcock (30 possessions) had a very good game and ruck-rover Simon Black (22 handlings) battled hard. Tim Notting (22 touches, 2 goals) was terrific in the first half and CHB Jared Brennan (15 kicks, 8 marks) was handy again. Developing some consistency. Runners Michael Rischitelli (14 touches, a goal) and Justin Sherman (18 possies) were okay. Leigh blamed inaccuracy and poor disposal. "All we can do is lick our wounds and get ready for the next contest. We had nine set shots that were behinds, so when we did have chances we didn't take them. We had 17 handball clangers which are handballs that go straight back to the opposition. They tackled better than we did and forced us into turnovers. We used the ball badly and we didn't run and spread and didn't have enough energy - when a teammate had the ball, there was a distinct lack of movement. Maybe it's because we played on a sunny hot Sunday afternoon (against Fremantle last week) and six days later didn't quite have the life in our legs." Excuses. Neil Craig would have to be happy. "I think (the result) a great credit to our playing and, in the bigger picture, a great credit to the kind of club we're trying to build," he said. “It was a huge task to come up here and play a top-three side on their home ground, where our record over a period of time has been poor. They were in good form and it's a fast ground, so it was a sensational win for us. The guys should be really proud of themselves. Our ability at stoppage work was very good tonight against probably statistically the best stoppage unit in the competition."

At Kardinia Park:

Geelong     4.4   6.8   11.12   16.13.109
West Coast  4.2   5.5    5.9    10.10.70

Okay. The Cats legitimized their walk-in-the-park last week by beating the previously undefeated yardstick Weegles. Jeelong produced the same tough, committed effort to gain victory. You could qualify the result, though. West Coast haven’t been playing at their best lately, a combination of injuries (no Cox or Embley here) and a drop-off from a fairly intense start to the season which featured a Grand Final rematch, a Derby, all the Cousins fracas. And the Wiggles don’t have a good record at Kardinia Park, last year’s comeback from nine goals down a rare KP highlight for them. The Wiggles’ best three players that day: Cox, Cousins and Embley. But I digress, the Cats were the story and they were very good again. In selection the Pussies replaced injured Paul Chapman (hamstring) with small forward Mathew Stokes. One change for the Weegs too, Dean ‘Big’ Cox out with a sore back, replaced by junior Mitchell Brown.

A sunny but mercifully still day at the Cattery. Cat tagger Cameron Ling was deployed on Daniel Kerr, with Chris Judd semi-free against Joel Corey. The Weegs scored first, Michael F..king Braun with a kick right in front. The Cats replied as Nathan Ablett roved Mooney’s contest, shrugged a tackle and snapped truly. The first term was pretty even. Weeg forward Ashley Hansen completed a running, handballing move with a tight-angle major. The Cats ran the ball very quickly from defence, David Wojcinski missed a running shot. Cat forward Cameron Mooney wasn’t paid a mark, he wasn’t happy, but from the subsequent ball-up ruckman Brad Ottens tapped for Jimmy Bartel to snap truly. Ottens and Bartel were terrific in this game. A noice effort from Braun sent the Weegs forward, Adam Hunter was clattered front-on by Corey Enright and Hunter free-kicked a goal. At the other end Tom ‘Tomahawk’ Hawkins took a very good mark over Dan Chick - but he’d put his hands on the back, a free-kick to Chick. The Weegs advanced and got the ball to Shannon Hurn in space, he thumped an idiomatic 50m running sausage and the Wiggles led by 11 points. From the restart James Kelly punted the Cats forward, Stokes did well to ferret out a handpass to Mooney and he slotted. A defensive rebound saw Geelong’s Joel Selwood kick towards Steve Johnson, he couldn’t mark but recovered to snap truly on his left foot. The Cats led by a point then and 2 points at the first break. A tighter second term followed as both sides butchered the ball going forward, backlines very much on top. At a ball-up in their forward line Weeg Matthew Priddis intercepted Andrew Mackie’s handpass and snapped a major, the Weegs led by 4 points. A scoreless few minutes followed, the Cats tackling very hard. Eventually Nathan Ablett marked on a long lead and dished off a handpass to Kane Tenace, his long kick spilled from Mooney’s contest and roving Steve Johnson snapped a goal. Another dry spell for scoring, defenders on top. David Wirrpanda was especially good for the Weegs. With just over a minute remaining in the half Ottens seized the pill at a ball-up and tumbled a kick through for a goal, giving the Catters a 10-point lead. The Wiggles cleared the next centre-bounce, Hansen marked on a lead but missed. Cats by 9 points at the long break.

The Pussies took charge in the third quarter as their following division dominated, led by Ottens and Bartel. Early on Mooney snapped a goal, roving his own contest. Gary Ablett steamed clear of the restart and passed to brother Nathan, he missed. At the other end Hunter sliced a shot on-the-full and he was soon switched to defence. Gary Ablett free-kicked a goal, dragged down by his minder Adam Selwood at a throw-in and the Cats led by 22 points. p*ssy fans were excited when young ruckman Mark Blake marked, 20m right in front. Blake doesn’t like kicking the ball, he’s bad at it and not surprisingly is yet to score a goal in his career. He didn’t here, wobbling the ball into the post. A minute later Mooney held a strong pack-mark and passed to Blake again, this time Blake handballed so Gary Ablett could spear a goal. Matthew Egan ran outta the backline and put a long pass onto leading Ottens’s chest, the big man thumped it home from 55m. Ottens created the next goal, collecting a throw-in and handballing for Stokes to snap truly on his left boot. Five unanswered goals from the Cats and they led by 41 points. Their defensive pressure was great too, denying the Weegs any time in possession. The Weevils did manage some attacking late in the quarter, young Brown and Steven Armstrong missed shots. Late in the piece Armstrong marked at the top of the goal-square but decided upon a handpass to unsuspecting Hunter, Matty Scarlett tackled and forced the ball loose, it trickled through for a point. Woops. Typical of the game, sages thought. Early in the final term Weeg Brent Staker kicked on-the-full under pressure, Cat Hawkins handballed to Wojcinski, his kick was collected and stabbed through by Travis Varcoe. Cats by 45 points and home, surely. But the Eegs gave ‘em a fright. Their Matt Rosa swept up a loose ball, broke a coupla tackles and booted a goal, the Weegs’ first for a long time. A laboured, side-to-side build-up was ended by a burst of speed from Chris Judd, he handballed for Hansen to punt a goal. Cats by 32 points before Ottens marked on a long lead again, his shot was hooked but marked on the boundary-line by Nathan Ablett, who steered it through. Still the Weegs came, Hunter (back in attack) marked on a long lead and dished off a handpass for Judd to spear a sausage roll. A high kick into the Weegs’ attacking pocket took some flukey bounces before Rosa hacked a left-foot grubber kick, it rolled miraculously through for a goal. A chain of handballs was completed by Wirrpanda’s kick to unopposed Hansen, he majored and suddenly the Weegs were only 21 points behind. Memories of ‘06. The Cats steadied, some smooth interchange between Scarlett and Stokes ended with Stokes’s pass to leading Nathan Ablett, he goaled. A hard run and noice dummy from Gary Ablett set up a mark and goal for Mooney. A bit later Wirrpanda was caught in possession as he tried to run free, Mooney collected the ball and snapped it through left-footedly. The Cwats led by 39 points, which well reflected their general dominance.

Arguably the best game Brad Ottens (20 disposals, 8 marks, 14 hit-outs, 2 goals) has played in a Geelong jumper. He’s a ruckman. Jimmy Bartel (32 touches, a goal) was very good and Joel Corey (25 possessions) did quite well against Judd. Cameron Ling (21 disposals) kept Kerr to 10 touches and none at all in the second half, although Kerr looked listless and lethargic for much of it. Needs to get back on the gear. The Cats’ backline was also very good, led by Matthew Scarlett (26 handlings) on Lynch and flankers Darren Milburn (24 touches, 8 marks) and Corey Enright (28 disposals). The forward-line was good too, Cameron Mooney (10 marks, 20 disposals, 4 goals) playing very well at CHF with Nathan Ablett (13 touches, 5 marks, 3 goals) developing as a full-forward. Gary Ablett (23 handlings, 2 goals) improved after being beaten by Selwood in the first half. Steve Johnson kicked 2 goals. The Weegs’ best was probably back-pocket David Wirrpanda (31 disposals, 9 marks), tough back-flanker Beau Waters (29 touches, 13 marks) was good too. Chris Judd (29 possessions, a goal) inspired their better spells, wingmen Matt Rosa (28 disposals, 13 marks, 2 goals) and Michael F..king Braun (14 handlings, a goal) played well too, Braun powered the midfield early. Ashley Hansen (14 marks, 17 disposals, 3 goals) gave some focus in attack as did Adam Hunter (7 marks, 17 touches, a goal), although Hunter doesn’t kick too well. John Worsfold said “We really let them get hold of us and dictate in that third quarter. The stat that stood out to me was that we tackled a lot more. We normally get tackled more by the opposition because they're really working hard to nullify us and we're getting the football. Today, Geelong, I thought, got in harder and won the ball more, from a lot of different situations, the contested areas. They seemed to get their hands on the footy earlier than us and we had to tackle." Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson emphasized the need for consistency, again. "The key for us is to go back now and restart and play that sort of footy again next week, which has been something of a problem for a while here. I'm confident we're capable of doing that, that we're capable of playing that way more often . . . They're (Cats) probably playing the kind of footy they're capable of playing. There's been a couple of games there where it hasn't always been the case. It's a great example of them wanting to play a certain style, implementing it, and seeing how good that style actually is.”

At Docklands:

Footscray   4.1   10.5   12.12   16.16.112
Melbourne  6.1    7.6    10.9    16.10.106

Ah, the poor ol’ Dees. They’re getting close. They hit the front, three times, late in this see-sawing battle but were denied by the genius of Bulldog Brad Johnson. Although Johnno might be in trouble for a ‘fight’ between he and Demun Ben Holland, from which both emerged with scratched heads. Sounds right. The Dogs had to fight hard all the way but they found a way in the end. Melbun are improving. In selection the Bullies lost forward Robert Murphy (hamstring) but regained rugged on-baller Mitch Hahn, his first game in nearly a year following a knee reconstruction. Ruckman Peter Street and rookie-listed wingman Jarrod Harbrow were also recalled, they replaced Will Minson and the dropped Sam Power. Nathan ‘The Bald Man’ Eagleton played his 200th game. The Dees were without promising junior Ricky Petterd (hamstring) and Jared Rivers (back) but had some handy returnees in Brad Green, Daniel Ward and Ben Holland. Byron Pickett was dropped and later suspended by the Dees for drinking, apparently.

The Dees fired outta the blocks, Travis Johnstone showing his best form for ages while Lynden Dunn, pressing up to midfield from half-forward, Adem Yze and Aaron Davey were all good. Yze and Brad Green got some early goals as spearhead David Neitz was shackled by in-form Puppy full-back Brian Harris. The Dogs trailed by 12 points at the fist change but got their fast, running action happening in the second term, rebound man Lindsay Gilbee prominent along with rover Daniel Cross. Scott West was being tagged by the Dees’ hated Simon Godfrey, at one stage Godfrey went down behind play in an ‘incident’ involving Westy. The Bullies kicked 6 goals to 1 in the second term and led by 17 points at half-time. For the third quarter Dee Cameron Bruce, who’d played on Johnson in the first half, was switched onto the ball and helped power a Melbun resurgence. They scored the first three goals of the term, the last from Yze reducing their deficit to a point. Some rugged footy before Hahn scored a typically dogged goal for the Doggies and Adam Cooney followed up a similarly idiomatic running blast, the Pups led by 15 points at the last change. The Dees kept on. Davey, who was terrific all day, lifted for the final stanza but the Bullies dominated the first few minutes. But the Dees began to reel them in and Davey’s accurate snap 10 minutes in put them in front. Johnson gathered a loose ball and handballed for Ryan Hargrave to boot an answering major for the Dogs, they led by 5 points. Into time-on and Neitz, who’d been benched earlier in the quarter, returned to clutch a grab on-the-lead and steer through a long goal to give the Deez a 1-point advantage. Some tough, intense footy before Eagleton found space for the Dogs and blasted a long major, Dogs by 5. A bit later Johnson gave away a 50m penalty and Matthew Bate advanced, kicked long and rover Colin Sylvia held a strong mark in front, at the top o’the ‘square. Syvia majored, Dees by 1. There were 3 minutes to go. At the restart Doggy rover Cross won a free for being ploughed by Nathan Jones, he kicked towards Brad Johnson who gathered the ball on the bounce, wheeled away from pursuers and speared a superb goal from 50m. The Dogs led by 5 points again and now flooded back. Jason Akermanis, who played well in the final term, scored a behind with a boundary-line snap with one minute to go. The Dees managed to get forward, Yze found himself on the boundary-line 50m out but as Neitz doubled back to the goal-square, Yze dropped in a short kick and it was swallowed by Harris. Siren.

Brad Johnson (21 touches, 4 goals) was the Dogs’ saviour. Daniel Cross (26 touches, a goal) turned in another fine performance with running men Lindsay Gilbee (18 possies, a goal) and Nathan  Eagleton (16 touches, a goal) playing well, Eagleton enjoying his milestone. Brian Harris kept Neitz to 3 kicks and 1 goal, he’s becoming one of the elite full-backs of the comp. Daniel Giansiracusa (21 handlings, a goal) was good too. Mitch Hahn (12 disposals, 2 goals) made decent comeback and Jason Akermanis (16 handlings, a goal) was important in the last quarter. Shaun Higgins kicked 2 goals. For the Dees Aaron Davey (29 disposals, 10 marks, 3 goals) was fantastic, becoming a true game-breaking midfielder. Travis Johnstone (25 touches, a goal) showed some belated form as mentioned and Colin Sylvia (20 touches, 9 marks, 3 goals) played well. Jeff White (22 handlings, 10 marks, a goal) monstered lumbering Street in the ruck, Cameron Bruce (24 possessions) provided the drive for the second half and Adem Yze (20 possies, 2 goals) was good. Lynden Dunn (15 disposals, a goal) showed skill as a midfielder. Brad Green kicked 2 goals. Ah, Neale. He blamed the second quarter. “There was just a lapse there,” Daniher said. “We started the quarter well but we just couldn’t score. We let them off the hook for 15 or so minutes. On reflection it cost us. We won three quarters . . . but couldn’t get the job done in the end. We weren’t quite slick enough up forward for the opportunities that we had, but we had a crack . . . I’m really pleased with the endeavour of our team as a coach. If they keep that up the tide will turn.” ‘Rocket’ Eade said “I think we showed a fair bit of fight. Last week (against West Coast) was a real turning point for us the way we played and the spirit we showed. I think that was evident again today and that was pleasing. We’re pleased to win. We did kick inaccurately, though . . . I still think we were playing better football at this time last year . . . I think we’ve been very scratchy. (The win today was) probably desire, maybe a bit of luck thrown in, maybe having a superstar being able to kick a goal for you helps, but it's a bit of belief as well. After we hit the front the last time I think we controlled that pretty well . . . we were able to show a bit of belief and a bit of poise."

At Subiaco:

Fremantle  1.1   6.6   10.10   14.12.96
Hawthorn   3.3   6.6    9.11   11.14.80

Midway through the second term Freo’s season was on the line as they trailed the Hawks by 5 goals, having only kicked one themselves. But the Shockers rallied and finally found some running ability, steadily overhauling the determined Hawkers. They needed to. In selection the Dockulaters made four changes to the side which wilted in Brisbane, outgoing were the suspended Dean Solomon and axed trio Shane Parker, Troy Cook and Robert Warnock. Connolly getting tough. In came Adam Campbell, Daniel Gilmore, Paul Duffield and James Walker, who’d shaved his head for some reason. The Orcs lost captain Richie Vandenberg (back) and dropped Jarryd Roughead, in came Chance Bateman and first-gamer Garry Moss, a tallish, skinny local lad (East Perth) who captained the WA U18s last year.

Horforn’s plan was to flood back in numbers and run the ball out quickly to an open forward-line, featuring Trent Croad at full-forward. Many sides arrive at Sooby with such a plan, but it’s difficult to maintain as the ground is so big. Horforn started very well, though. Two quick defensive rebounds brought the first two goals for Croad, first from a mark on-the-lead, the next a free-kick against opponent Luke McPharlin. The Dokkers were becoming mired in the Hawks’ packed backline, not getting in quickly enough. Chris Tarrant saw a shot from 55m slice on-the-full, before Hawk Bateman ran down the wing and centered the ball towards Croad, it went over his head but Sam Mitchell arrived and fired a handpass to Tim Boyle, he poked it through. The Orcs led by 19 points. The natives were restless, although a large contingent of Orc supporters were quite happy. The Horks seem to be well supported in WA. With 5 seconds remaining in the first stanza a messy scramble ended with the ball squirting out to Docca James Walker, he booted a long goal off a coupla steps. The Hawks cleared the opening bounce of the second term and worked some steady short passes to Croad, but he missed. A minute later Hawk ruckman Robert Campbell marked in the centre and was held, briefly, by Des Headland. The ump awarded a soft-as-butter 50m penalty, Campbell jabbed a pass to Jordan Lewis who converted. Freo had decided to commit men forward and were hit on the break again, Hawk Rick Ladson capping a long 2-bounce run with a 35m goal. A great running move ended with nascent Hawk hero Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin marking on-the-lead, he postered. Steven Dodd was Franklin’s opponent. The locals were very quiet as Freo trailed by 27 points, and they’d kicked one goal. From the kick-in of that Buddy behind Freo’s Heath Black drove a long kick forward towards Pavlich. Dokka Adam Campbell, lurking in front, won a free for over-the-shoulder. He goaled. There followed a couple of behinds each before busy Dokka Paul Hasleby intercepted an awful, telegraphed kick from Hawk Tom Murphy and bounced a shot through. Freo back-pocket Roger Hayden intercepted a Hok kick and sent Freo forward again, Campbell Brown got a good spoil on his man Pavlich but roving Des Headland snaggled a major. A minute later Headland repeated the dose, racing by a Pavlich-centered pack to collect the pill and ram it through. Shocker fans were much happier now as their side were moving the ball more quickly, they trailed by 2 points. A minute later Tarrant, playing well, soccered the ball forward, Black collected and handballed for Campbell to pop it through, Freo led by 4 points. Five in-a-row they’d kicked, but the Hoks stopped the rot when Boyle marked strongly on half-forward and centered the ball, Croad couldn’t mark but roving Ben McGlynn bagged a goal. The Horks led by a point at that stage, scores all level at the long break. During the term both Antoni Grover and Ben Dixon had been reported for wrestling and biffing each other.

Into the third quarter and Freo continued to find running and long-kicking productive. Paul Duffield did just that and Tarrant marked against Croad, who’d been shifted to defence now. Tazza converted. Michael Johnson drove another long kick in and Adam Campbell, third-in-line, found himself marking 10m out, he slotted. A bit later the Hawks’ Campbell won a free at a throw-in deep in defence, played on and blundered hopelessly into trouble, tackled by Ryan Crowley. BAWL! Crowley free-kicked a sausage and Freo were cruising along, 18 points in front. A measure of the Hawks’ struggle was shown when Franklin bombed an aimless kick forward, to three unopposed Dokka defenders. But soon McGlynn saw Tim Boyle ahead, Boyle held a good pack-mark and booted a much-needed Hork goal. Some great, committed play from Luke Hodge allowed Franklin to pluck a mark over Dodd, ‘Buddy’ majored and the Horks had cut the deficit to 7 points. The Dokkers responded in kind, David Mundy ran long and kicked to leading Tarrant, he marked and sausaged. Mundy had ignored Pavlich’s lead in the process, which angered the Dokka forward. He’s a decoy now. Some hard running from McGlynn got the ball to Bateman for the Orcs, he held a very good mark and stabbed the agget to Tom Murphy, alone 10m out. Easy goal and Freo led by 6 points. Murphy had another shot after the three-quarter-time siren, intercepting Mundy’s disastrous cross-goal kick. But Murphy missed. All set for a big final stanza. Early in it Brown embarked on a rebound run for the Hawks and passed to leading Boyle, he marked and majored to level the scores. Then Clint Young sped down the wing and centered with his left boot, McGlynn roved the pack and bagged a goal to have the Hawks 6 points ahead. They weren’t done. Freo’s Walker missed with a free-kick before good play from Luke Webster sent them forward again, Campbell was awarded a very doubtful, juggling mark behind Hork Stephen Gilham who had first hands on it, clearly. But Campbell booted a goal and the Dockulaters led by a point. A miss from Michael Osborne, who tripped over his own shorts, and McPharlin’s rushed point had the Orcs in front again, from the kick-in of the latter Pavlich marked strongly out wide and passed to Josh Carr, his centering kick found Walker for a grab and goal. Four minutes to go when Osborne was pinged for running too far, Black thumped the free-kick forward and Pavlich lurked behind the pack to dribble it through. Headland punted Freo forward from the restart, Tarrant collected the ball and handballed for Josh Carr to ram it through. Freo led by 17 points with the last four goals and were home.

Freo’s best was probably Chris Tarrant (10 marks, 23 disposals, 2 goals), working hard to provide a target. Ryan Crowley (23 touches, 12 marks, a goal) played well and there was some run provided by Heath Black (32 disposals, 11 marks) and Paul Hasleby (25 touches, a goal). The surprise factor was forward Adam Campbell (4 goals from 4 marks and 9 disposals), easily the best game of his three to date. Luke McPharlin (8 marks, 13 possies) silenced Croad after early trouble, he and Steven Dodd (20 touches, 8 marks) kept Franklin to one goal (1.4, so Buddy didn’t help himself). I’ll always mention the excellent Roger Hayden (15 touches). Des Headland and James Walker bagged 2 goals each. For the Hawks Campbell Brown (13 disposals) was terrific on Pavlich, playing short but strong, mobile men on key forwards is the fashion sweeping the leeg. Other usual suspects were to the fore, Sam Mitchell (31 possessions), Luke Hodge (27 touches, 9 marks), running Chance Bateman (20 handlings, 8 marks) did some good things. Hopefully for the Awks he can stay fit. Tim Boyle (7 marks, 14 possessions, 3 goals) showed promise as a forward again and wingman Clint Young (19 touches) was busy. Handy Ben McGlynn (12 touches) kicked 2 goals and Trent Croad got them 2 early goals. "We played well, particularly early," Hork coach Clarkson said. "There were probably patches in the second quarter where we just let the game, let the momentum get back into Fremantle's favour for about a 10-minute period. I think they kicked three or four goals in that time and we went in at half-time all level. The first 40 minutes of the game, I thought we controlled the tempo and perhaps if we'd kicked a little bit more accurately, we'd have placed a bit more scoreboard pressure on the Fremantle side. But they're a good side, they did well to get themselves back into the game. We corrected a few things at half-time and did well to hang in there and stay in the game. Even with only five minutes to go, scores were level and if we'd have nailed a couple of our opportunities . . .. Connolly was on the plane back to Victoria halfway through the second term. "The feeling from us in the coaches box was (Chris Tarrant) was probably the number one player," Connolly said. "He arrested the momentum our way. When momentum swings, and it does, you need individuals to inspire the team to arrest the momentum. He is probably the number one man there . . . It's good to win without Matthew influencing the game the way he usually does. We need a third foil there and Adam's been in outstanding form. West Perth have done a fantastic job with him."

Ladder after Round Seven

                 Pts.    %      Next Week

Port Adelaide    24    122.9    Sydney (SCG, Sunday)
West Coast       24    120.6    Melbourne (Subiaco, Sunday)
Collingwood      20    110.8    Footscray (Docklands, Sunday)
Geelong          16    149.1    Fremantle (Kardinia Park, Saturday)
Adelaide         16    110.9    Richmond (Football Park, Fri. night)
Brisbane         16    109.0    Essendon (Docklands, Saturday)
North Melbourne  16    105.5    Carlton (Carrara, Sat. night)
Hawthorn         16    104.0    St. Kilda (MCG, Sat. night)

---------------------------

St. Kilda        16    102.4    Hawthorn (MCG, Sat. night)
Footscray        16     96.0    Collingwood (Docklands, Sunday)
Sydney           12    105.9    Port Adelaide (SCG, Sunday)
Essendon         12     99.4    Brisbane (Docklands, Saturday)
Fremantle        12     94.2    Geelong (Kardinia Park, Saturday)
Carlton           8     77.0    North Melbourne (Carrara, Sat. night)
Melbourne         0     72.1    West Coast (Subiaco, Sunday)
Richmond          0     65.0    Adelaide (Football Park, Fri. night)

Cheers, Tim.