AFL Round 10
Day became night, lions lay with lambs and other biblical unlikelihoods occurred as Demetriou and Anderson admitted they'd made a mistake (gasp). The post-it note-driven interchange system was scrapped - hurray! - and now official statisticians Champion Data will monitor interchanges. There were other stupendous, unheralded events, Sam Newman was suspended from TV for sexism - it's his entire act! - and Hawk pair Roughead and Franklin kicked nine goals between them, without a miss! But then Pie supporters declared a glorious reign of certain flags because their battling lads managed to win two games in a row, so maybe it isn't the apocalypse yet.
At Football Park:
Adelaide 1.6 4.7 7.16 9.20.74
Essendon 3.3 5.5 7.6 10.9.69
Tipsters would've been very nervous 'til the last minute, especially if you'd picked the Cows in a tontine. But weight of possession told in the end and the wayward Camrys ground to victory at the damp, dew-laden Foopall Park. The Dons were much better than last week and had Scott Lucas return here, so they can look forward with a bit of optimism. Selection suggested the Camrys regarded last weeks' thumping by the Eagles as an aberration, making no change to the 22. As mentioned the Bommers had Lucas return from the knee ligament he damaged in round one, Bachar Houli returned too and young backman Tayte Pears was recalled, they replaced Darcy Daniher (sore back), Jobe Watson (knee tendonitis) and Jay Neagle (foot).
Cold, misty night in Adelaide with a heavy dew on the ground, both ball and surface were slippery and the thick atmosphere made it difficult for anyone to kick further than 40m. The Bombouts started very well, David Hille missed with a free-kick but they recovered the kick-in and Brent Stanton passed for Adam McPhee to mark and convert, using his ridiculous electric-blue boots. A relief for Bummer fans as their lads hadn't scored a first-quarter goal in either of the last two games. Jason Porplyzia missed the Camrys' first chance and Don man Dustin Fletcher played-on from the kick-in, went long and Andrew Lovett marked in the centre, he chipped a pass to McPhee and his to leading Jason Winderlich brought a second Essadun major. Houli punted the Dons forward from the restart, Angus Monfries did very well to gather and handball to Stanton, his stabbed centering kick was grabbed by Mark McVeigh who punted a third Essadun goal, they led by 18 points. It were raining Bomma goals, Houli and Hille wasted further scoring chances, too. Camry man Simon Goodwin copped a black eye in a collision with Jay Nash, Brett 'Birdbath' Burton provided some comic relief by kicking into the man-on-the-mark, then missing from separate set shots. Porplyzia cantered into an open goal and sliced his kick for a point, Burton led, marked and missed again as the Camrys wasted some pressure. Finally big Ivan Maric out-marked Hille just 15m out and popped it through, reducing the Dons' lead to 8 points. Burton delivered a high hit on Henry Slattery as the Don crouched over the ball, the ump took no action over something that's been routinely reported. In the early second Mario Burton didn't make the distance after marking 40m out, then hooked a running shot on-the-full. He was getting the ball at least, prompting Don coach Matty Knights to replace Pears with Slattery as Birdman's opponent. Soon Camry Chris Knights got some space to have a bounce and kick long, Porplyzia held a good grab in front of Slattery and booted a goal, cutting the Don lead to 4 points. The game tightened as the Dons 'forgot' Knights's espoused attacking philosophy and flooded back, in fact they played a lot like the Swans; numbers back, tackle hard, hit 'em on the break. After a tough, scoreless spell Corolla Brent Reilly led up for a mark and kicked to Robert Shirley lurking in the pocket, Shirley's deep centering kick was marked by high-leaping Graham 'Stiffy' Johncock for a goal and the Cows led, by 4 points. The Dons'd done little attacking since that early burst but they responded presently, Winderlich was awarded a free at a throw-in when tackled without the ball and a 50m penalty was added as Andrew McLeod altercated with his tagger, Monfries. Winderlich lobbed it through from the goal-square and the Dons led again, by 2 points. Another rugged spell followed with a behind each, then Cow Scott Thompson roved a throw-in and handballed to Richard Douglas, whose high snap curled through for full points. Camrys by 2 points again but Essadun regained the lead prior to half-time, Johncock was run down by McPhee as the Cressida tried to clear the backline, from the turnover Monfries handballed for Matty Lloyd to scramble it through from the goal-square. Dons by 4 at orange-time.
McLeod produced a forceful technicolour yawn in full view of patrons as he waited for the third term to start, illness may've explained his lackluster performance in this one although special comments man Mark Ricciuto reckoned McLeod often had a vom at half-time. The Bommerz started well again, McPhee's poor centering kick took a flukey bounce over Thompson and allowed Kyle Reimers to gather the pill, Reimers's shiny orange boots hooked the ball to the goal-square where Monfries held a strong grab in front of McLeod and booted a goal. McVeigh kicked the Dons into attack from the next centre-bounce, Winderlich's tough collect and handpass to Lucas led to junior David Myers snapping a left-footed sausage and the Dons led by 15 points. The Cows snapped into action, led by skipper Goodwin. But they continued to kick behinds, Maric, Van Berlo and Reilly adding to the tally as the Dons defended stoutly and in numbers. Eventually Burton marked Goodwin's pass and finally kicked straight, reducing the Don lead to 4 points. Don fans could be angry when Pears was penalized for dropping it when the tackle in fact tripped him, and Hille wasn't paid a mark 30m out. But the Camrys managed points only from both those chances. Kurt Tippett missed poorly before the Cows scored another major. Bomma captain Lloyd conceded a 50m penalty by trotting dopily through the mark after Tyson Edwards marked in defence , from Edwards's long kick Tippett roved his own contest and had a snap, it dropped into the goal-square where Burton soccer-volleyed it from mid-air for full points. A bit later Burton marked on a long lead, turned and kicked quickly for Thompson to mark behind Leroy Jetta, Thompson converted and the Camrys led by 10 points at the final change. The Dons pressed on through, with Lloyd (useless) shifted out to CHF and Lucas, suffering from lack of fitness, going to full-forward for the last korter. Early in the stanza Jetta did well to rove Lucas's contest and kick across-ground for Winderlich to mark, he stabbed a short inward pass for McPhee to (just) mark and boot a goal. The Cows led by 3 points, a bit later their full-back Ben Rutten lurked forward to take a mark and kick long, the ball cleared the pack but Burton did very well to keep it in and hook a centering kick for Porplyzia to mark, a 50m penalty against late-arriving Pears made it a simple six-pointer. Addleaid led by 9 points, Bommer Jetta postered with a free-kick and Hille missed a shot he should've kicked, as did Camry Douglas and Porplyzia's attempted 'Daicos' hit the post. Then Lloyd dropped an uncontested mark but roving Winderlich handballed to Jetta, who lobbed a punt for McPhee to mark running with-the-flight. McPhee kicked a major and the Cows' lead was back to 3 points. A bit later Douglas's vice-like tackle on Lovett forced a turnover, Knights kicked long and roving Bernie Vince's handpass allowed Reilly to snap truly. Camrys by 9. The Dons wouldn't go away, Lucas led up for a good grab and chipped a pass to McPhee, another found Sam Lonergan alone and he thumped the longest goal of the night. Camrys by 3. The Cows won the next centre-clearance but managed a rushed behind only, there followed some tough footy but Essadun advances were increasingly rare. Lovett's tired clanger snuffed out their last chance, from it Douglas kicked a point with 15 seconds to go.
The Dons struggled to match Brett 'Birdman' Burton who had 21 disposals, took 9 marks and kicked 2.3. Scott Thompson (33 touches, 8 marks, a goal) and Simon Goodwin (27 handlings, 5 marks) were crucial midfield and Nathan Bock (24 touches, 8 marks) did a power of rebound running again. Jason Porplyzia (16 possies, 4 marks, 2.3) was dangerous in attack again as was Richard Douglas (18 disposals, 7 marks), if a little wayward with 1.4. Ben Rutten (14 possies) kept Matty Lloyd very quiet. For the Bommers forward Adam McPhee (12 marks, 16 disposals, 3 goals) was outstanding and Jason Winderlich, playing out of a forward pocket, was also very good with 10 marks, 21 possies and 2 goals. Andrew Lovett (22 touches, 7 marks) took on a more responsible midfield role and junior David Myers (17 handlings, 6 marks, a goal) was handy in defence. Angus Monfries (13 disposals, a goal) did a great job on McLeod, who's becoming more taggable these days, while Dustin Fletcher (14 possies) was his usual solid self. "(Tonight) you just had two footy sides going at it and I didn't think we took a backward step all night," Matty Knights said. "Right to the last 30 seconds we were still resourceful and still trying to win the game. It (the loss) leaves a hollow feeling, not only for myself but our players. (But) you can be proud of efforts. We played our roles, we stuck to them. You look at young Monfries on McLeod, you look at David Myers and Bachar Houli and Sam Lonergan playing against guys like Scott Thompson, Tyson Edwards and Simon Goodwin. We saw some of our young players evolve tonight. But it's only one week. Now we have to back it up against Hawthorn next week and show we can do it two weeks in a row. And until you do that you probably don't earn much respect. We've come a small margin tonight, but we've got to back it up." Neil Craig reckoned "I'm relieved with the result because with the way it's panning out, that's a really important win for us, particularly after last week when our performance was sub-standard. I think the best thing for our supporters is that the guys set themselves for a really tough game of footy tonight, which it was. It was a really strong contest, but our response from last week, when we were so bad, was good. To come back after having a long weekend of travel and to play a tough brand of footy in a difficult game [was pleasing]. A lot of our inexperienced players would never have had that demand put on them before, in terms of having to respond at AFL level and really quickly too."
At the MCG:
Collingwood 5.5 12.8 19.10 27.11.173
West Coast 1.4 7.6 8.8 10.13.73
Pie fan Barrie Cassidy was on TV early on Sunday morning: "The last time Collywood had consecutive ten-goal wins was five years ago." Who thinks up these stats? This'd be further evidence the Maggies are flat-track bullies I guess, if they hadn't mashed Geelong the previous week. You could argue the Wiggles are very ordinary, which we knew already. It didn't stop 50,000 Poi nuts turning up though, and becoming excited, particularly over a terrific goal kicked by Dale Thomas. The Pies made one late change to the team which ended the Cats' unbeaten run, Anthony Rocca withdrawing with 'soreness' again and being replaced by Shannon Cox. The Weegs regained Daniel Kerr following suspension and Beau Waters from injury, at the expense of Chris Masten (soreness, i.e. he was rested) and dropped junior Ryan Davis.
The Pies went forward from the opening bounce and Scott Pendlebury held a tough grab in traffic, he goaled. The next several minutes were fairly tight though as the Eegs competed a bit, a few behinds were scored. But the Poise accelerated towards the end of the term. Paul 'Megastar' Medhurst gathered his own wayward kick to snap a major, then Dane Swan gathered Nathan Brown's long kick and stabbed an inboard pass for Rhyce Shaw to mark and kick a long sausage. Tough work from Alan Didak set up a snapped goal for 'Neon' Leon Davis and the Poise led by 24 points. The Eegs had a rare chance when Ben McKinley marked on a long lead, his shot from 55m fell short but Steven Armstrong managed to snap a major from the middle of a big pack. But Swan marked Davis's long kick in the goal-square and popped it through, the Maggies led by 25 points at the first break. The hard-tacklin', hard-runnin' Pie midfield looked to break the game apart early in the second stanza, Shane O'Bree slotted a running goal and then Travis Cloke converted from a mark, Shannon Cox marked on a long lead and his shot from distance was poked through from the goal-square by Didak. The Scraggies'd jumped to a 43-point lead but the Weevils' leaders instigated a mini-comeback. Dean 'Big' Cox roved his own tap from a throw-in and handballed for Daniel Kerr to boot a great goal from the flank. Good work from David Wirrpanda got the ball to Josh Kennedy for a strong grab and goal, the Weegs cleared the restart but Matt Rosa grubbered a terrible kick forward. No mind, 'Big' Cox showed considerable skill to gather and snap it through under pressure and the Weevils'd cut the margin back to 24 points. Goals alternated for a bit, Didak kicked another for Pies and Beau Waters snapped a good one for the Coasters, Quinten Lynch sausaged for the Eegs and Nick Maxwell got one for Collywood, then there was one for each teams' Cox (eh?). But the highlight came late in the term as Dale Thomas collected Rhyce Shaw's handpass on the defensive side of centre and surged clear of Weegs with a burst of pace, had four bounces as he sped inside 50 and speared a terrific goal. Pies by 32 points at the long break.
Thomas also kicked the first goal of the third Mario, after marking Marty Clarke's pass. Lynch responded for the Eegs following a decent grab but the Wiggles rarely threatened again. Running Leon Davis swapped handballs with Ben Johnson and kicked a great goal, Pendlebury did likewise with Swan as the Poise motored ahead. Josh Fraser collected a loose ball to snap one, Cloke slotted one from a tight angle. Davis marked on a long lead and centered a pass to leading Thomas, he converted to send the Poise ten goals ahead, 62 points to be precise. Weegil frustration boiled over as Wirrpanda flattened Tarkyn Lockyer after the latter marked, a 50m penalty gave Lockyer an unmissable shot and he didn't miss. The Maggies led by 68 points at the final change. Quick, successive majors to Davis and Cloke opened the final term as the margin expanded to 80 points. Lynch broke the Pie run with a noice snapped major, 11 minutes into the term and you wouldn't have picked a 100-point margin. But Medhurst conformed to stereotype by bagging 4 goals in the final quarter-hour. Firstly Tyson Stenglein's weak attempt to paddle a rushed behind gifted Swan a goal, the Medhurst gathered Cloke's long kick and snapped one. Weeg McKinley majored with a free-kick but then Medhusrt got a couple, both set up by Didak. Typically, Medhurst dropped attempted marks on both but was allowed to stab it through anyway. Didak kicked one of his own before Medhurst booted the goal that put the Poise 101 points ahead, gathering Swans' mis-hit snap. Brent Staker had a chance to reduce it to two figures late, but he missed.
Pies racked up stats, with 13 blokes kicking goals. Dane Swan had 36 disposals, took 10 marks and kicked 2 goals. Scott Pendlebury (23 touches, 2 goals) was also very good with small forwards Leon Davis (21 touches, 5 marks, 3 goals) and Dale Thomas (20 touches, 7 marks, 3 goals) damaging. Alan Didak (28 disposals, 8 marks, 3 goals) continued his fine form and Travis Cloke (17 possies, 7 marks, 3 goals) is also going well. Paul Medhurst kicked 5 goals, four in the final 15 minutes as mentioned. He'd love that, so would Weegle and Dokker fans. Dean Cox (30 disposals, 7 marks, 36 hit-outs, 2 goals) stood tall for the Weegles and Daniel Kerr (22 possies, a goal) tried hard but struggled with an ankle problem he suffered in the Hall o'Fame game. Matthew Priddis (31 disposals) saw a lot of it as did Andrew Embley (31 handlings, 16 marks), Quinten Lynch (14 touches, 6 marks, 3 goals) and Josh Kennedy (11 kicks, 7 marks, a goal) did alright with limited supply. Despite Lynch calling the Eegs' performance "diabolical", John Worsfold put a brave face on it as usual, saying the Weegs were in a "rebuilding phase . . . Well, one option is to stick with the kids and let them keep learning, that's certainly an option. The other option is see who's available and deserves the opportunity to play next week through WAFL form. We're building towards finding out about players, and who's going to take up to where we want to get to." He talked a bit about Sam Butler, who hasn't played since the 2006 Grand Final due to injury. Mick Malthouse again tried to dampen the expectation of Pie nutters. "There's no doubt we played better last week than we did this week," he said. "Right now, and thinking about last week, I thought we played better football last week. You can play well and win by a point or play poorly and win by five goals. It's not the result, it's more the way we played." Was he worried about a let-down following the Geelong win? "Absolutely," Mick said, "I don't hide from the fact I am a worrier. Coming here I thought the players who you thought you wanted to have some urgency about them, had the urgency. The captain (Scott Burns), O'Bree, Wakelin, Lockyer, and I'm talking about mostly senior players. It's important that those players are always filtered into the club because they keep the urgency level higher."
At York Park:
Hawthorn 2.2 5.2 9.2 12.2.74
Footscray 3.2 8.8 12.11 15.16.106
The Dogs' newly-found toughness was to the fore as they out-played the Hawks from start to finish here. The Awks' attacking efficiency and goal-shooting accuracy prevented a bigger scoreboard blowout as they were beaten comfortably by every other statistical measure. Your Hork fan could make excuses for their winning streak ending, being 'up for a long time' and having a few blokes missing, notably Hodge and Crawford. But this was the Bulldogs' day as they stamped themselves serious contenders, producing some terrific tackling and defensive pressure. In selection the Hawks had Jordan Lewis return to replace Stuart Dew (hamstring), the Dogs recalled Stephen Tiller at the expense of Cameron Wight whose weak tackling efforts at the end of the thriller against the Ruse didn't look good. Hawk skipper Sam Mitchell was found guilty of tripping last week and earned enough 'points' to be excluded from the Brownlow, but not get suspended if you can follow the system.
The first-against-third clash had received anuge build-up in Tasmania, with the game sold out well in advance. They hadn't been so excited in Launceston since the sale on six-fingered gloves. In future the AFL may have to revise start times for mid-winter games at York Park, despite it being a clear, sunny day it was quite dark by the end, the low sun was a problem and the lights were on. The Hawks had a goal direct from the opening bounce, a free-kick for, um, something and Cyril Rioli's slick pick-up and handpass found Lance 'Buddy' Franklin in the clear, he ran in before lobbing a handball to Jarryd Roughead for a goal-square tap-through. Mark Williams missed with a soft free-kick but the Dogs took control, winning the contested ball with some exemplary tackling and stopping the Hawk run with same. Their first major came soon as Matthew Boyd was grabbed without the ball, he handballed his free to Cross and the ball went via Griffen to Adam Cooney for an accurate left-foot snap. A bit later Brad Johnson roved a throw-in and stabbed a pass to leading Jason Akermanis, he played-on quickly and kicked long for Will Minson to hold a grab in front of the smaller Stephen Gilham and boot a goal. There followed several minutes of cagy chip-about as neither side was prepared to risk a running turnover, eventually some good Puppy pressure forced Hork Tim Clarke into a wild handpass, Boyd was again tackled without and lobbed his free-kick to back-pedalling Johnson for a grab and major. The Bullies led by 11 points. Mitch Hahn missed poorly and Lindsay Gilbee also hooked it wide as the Hawks rarely advanced beyond half-forward. When a rebound move did come off, Lewis stabbed a smart pass to leading Roughead who converted. A Robbie Campbell miss left the Dogs a goal up at the first break. The Bulldogs put together some very good running moves early in the second term, but Akermanis missed a sitter and ruckman Ben Hudson also missed poorly. The Hawks applied some strong tackling pressure of their own to stop a Doggy rebound, Jarryd Morton emerged with the ball and kicked to unopposed Franklin who ran in for a tap-through. A bit later Bully full-back Brian Lake stopped a Hawk thrust with a great mark, but played on madly and put Cross under pressure, Cross's telegraphed handball was intercepted by Franklin who coasted in for another easy major and the Horks led by 4 points. The Bullpups responded after Hahn bullocked the spindly Clarke out of a contest and kicked to Akermanis, his long punt went towards leading Scott Welsh who was awarded a free against grappling Gilham and a 50m penalty after Lewis kicked the ball away. Easy conversion for Welsh put the Dogs in front again. A coupla Bully misses before Johnson's quick handball sent Nathan Eagleton running, his long kick saw Welsh mark and kick another goal. Hawk Xavier Ellis was flattened by a solid shirtfront from Rob Murphy, for which Murphy was reported. Head-high contact will have him in trouble. Griffen capped a slick move with a simple running goal as the Bullies started to put their control on the board. The Hawks pulled one back, good efforts from Rioli and Rick Ladson allowing Roughead to slot one from the flank. Brad Johnson copped a whack on the head which produced some claret and saw Johnno roll about on the ground like a drama queen, he departed for a rest. But some good short-passing got the ball to Welsh again on 50m, he booted an excellent long goal, then Gilbee speared a pass to Eagleton who also raised the twin calicoes. The Bulldawgs led by 24 points at the long break.
The third Mario didn't start well for the Bullies and for a moment it appeared the Hawks might overhaul 'em. Akermanis missed another kickable chance before Footscray backman Tim Callan's day ended due to hamstring trouble, then a Cross clanger was picked off by Morton who handballed for Roughead to run inside 50 and thump an excellent long major. Roughead and Franklin had never kicked so straight, just as well for the Hawks as no-one else could get the ball in their attack. In contrast Welsh missed a set-shot for the Bullies, then Ladson's smother saw the ball rebound to Morton, he passed for leading Franklin to mark and boot a sausage. A minute later Orc Trent Croad gathered in defence and kicked down the middle to the busy Morton, he passed quickly for, a change, Simon Taylor to mark and boot a major. Three unanswered Horforn goals and they trailed by 8 points. Taylor helped the Dogs steady, the big Awk held a good grab deep in defence but his lobbed kick into traffic was plucked by Bulldog Gilbee, who booted a goal. At the subsequent centre-bounce Hawk Michael Osborne coughed up the ball in a tackle, Rob Murphy ran clear and found the returned Johnson on-the-lead, Johnson's pass went to leading Cooney for a mark and goal. More rugged Bully tackling won possession again, Akermanis kicked long and Welsh juggled an excellent grab against the exposed Gilham, Welsh's fourth goal had the Dogs 26 points ahead. Horforn managed a goal, Mitchell hacked the ball forward from a ball-up and Franklin clutched a tough grab in front of opponent Tom Williams. Franklin majored but the Dogs soon replied, also from a ball-up, Murphy's skill under pressure getting the ball to Boyd whose quick punt went very high but Ryan Griffen was allowed to mark while surrounded by Orc midgets Bateman, Rioli and Osborne, who mis-timed his jump terribly. Griffen poked it through from 10m. Franklin missed for the first time, slicing out-on-the-full as the Doggies led by 27 points at the final break. The Hawks tried to produce more running play early in the last, Ladson was involved in a very good rebound to find Clint Young, Young's kick was a shocker but Franklin read it well to out-mark Williams and boot a major. That was Franklin's 50th goal of the season and we're not halfway yet. The Bullies led by 22 points, they won the following centre-clearance thanks to a free for some off-ball incident. Gilbee kicked for Hahn to hold a strong grab, he dished off to steaming Akemanis who was shoved in the back while kicking, by Rioli. A free and Akermanis converted this time, restoring the Dogs' 28-point lead. 'Guido' Giansiracusa and Murphy missed shots for the Dogs before Akermanis's smart kick allowed Griffen to mark with-the-flight, he handballed for Boyd to stab it home from close range and the Bullies led by 37 points, it were over. The (training) lights came on with ten minutes to go, the grandstand casting a big, dark shadow due to the low North Tassie sun. Young booted a long, running major for the Hawks but a bit later Mark Williams failed to make the distance from 40m, he did little again in this one. Giansiracusa maneuvered for a clever mark near the point-post, played-on and hooked it through and Footycray led by 37 points again. The Hawks won the next centre-clearance, Campbell Brown ran and kicked forward where Robert Campbell won a free for holding, he kicked a goal. The Dogs ran the clock down in the final minutes.
Jason Akermanis (24 disposals, 6 marks, a goal, 7 tackles) is playing very well, those tackles, mostly at ball-ups, were important. Matthew Boyd (25 touches, a goal) won a tough battle with Mitchell and Adam Cooney (28 handlings, 2 goals) was good again, Lindsay Gilbee (23 touches, 6 marks, a goal) showed improved form and runnin' Ryan Griffen (23 possies, 7 marks, 2 goals) was handy. In attack Scott Welsh (7 marks, 11 disposals, 4 goals) was very important and Rob Murphy (18 possessions, 7 marks) played well again, he could be missing next week. Brian Lake (15 possies, 7 marks) did a good job on Roughead despite the Hawk's 4 goals and ruckman Ben Hudson (12 possies, 18 hit-outs) was handy. The Hawks had two clear winners in Lance Franklin (8 marks, 15 disposals, 5.0 - plus an on-the-full) and second-game midfielder Jarryd Morton (21 touches), who got where the ball was, to paraphrase Jack Dyer. Jordan Lewis (23 disposals) wasn't bad, there was a question on his and Brad Sewell's match-fitness. Rick Ladson (25 handlings) was alright and Jarryd Roughead managed 4 goals from just 3 marks, 11 possies. A scowling Al Clarkson refused to blame injuries. "We played against a very good football side today and we didn't play as well as what we could have," he said. "I thought at different stages of the game, we stopped the Doggies from playing the way they wanted to play too, but we just couldn't apply much scoreboard pressure to the Bulldogs because we got trounced at the stoppages. We couldn't get the ball into our forward half of the ground regularly enough to be able to kick a score . . . (lack of) personnel wasn't the excuse today. We were beaten by a side that was hungrier at the contest than what we were, and that's been an area of our game that's been really good for the first nine matches of the season. It wasn't up to that standard today and it needs to be next week against the Essendon footy club otherwise it will be a real tough contest again." He than had a blue with a local football journo for saying Lewis and Sewell weren't fit. 'Rocket' Eade said "We think our tackling has really improved this year, even though the stats show we're 14th in the competition. I think the players have been a bit disappointed where we sat, it hasn't been consistent, but today we really made a bit more of a focus and we knew Hawthorn are very good around stoppages and in tight. We needed to win the ball but if we couldn't, we needed to put big pressure on them - I think every player responded to that, which was great. Even though we've only lost one game and there's a draw, we've been inconsistent in our own minds. The thing is, we're still improving, today goes a long way towards cementing some real confidence and some thought processes, that we need that intensity for four quarters."
At the Gabba:
Brisbane 4.7 11.12 15.17 18.21.129
North Melbourne 2.2 6.2 12.3 15.8.98
Six goals each again from Lyin' power forwards Brown and Bradshaw consolidated their place in the eight, and put Norf's in jeopardy. The Ruse have a tough run ahead and will need to play at their best to make the finals. In Brisbane the talk's about Jonathan Brown's request for a 5-year contract, which the Lyin's are hesitant to give; the theory being that, like Brereton and Hamill, Brown's kamikaze approach to the game won't see him last another 5 years. An apparently serious knee injury here, which turned out to be a false alarm, spiced the pudding. Hamstring injuries to running players were more of a worry for the Lisbon Brians. In selection the Lyin's made no change to the side which embarrassed Stinkilda, Norf lost Daniel Wells with a knee strain, not too serious apparently, and selected Gavin Urquhart for his AFL debut. He's a local Brisbane lad, from Morningside.
A slow start to the game, with fierce storms forecast for the night. They didn't eventuate, luckily. Seven minutes and a few behinds were scored prior to the first goal, Roo Scott McMahon ran inside 50 and was a bit lucky to be grabbed high as he tried to dummy around a Lyin', McMahon free-kicked a goal. But the dominant pattern soon emerged, Brown out-marked opponent Josh Gibson and booted a goal. Gibson looked like a little kid next to Brown. Gibson got his own back by lurking forward for a mark and handballing to Matt Riggio, he placed a good pass for David Hale to mark and convert. The Ruse led by 6 points at this early stage, but the Brians were coming. They scored three straight behinds, including two tight-angle posters from Brown, before big Jonafan gathered Mitch Clark's hopeful punt, turned and whacked a great major from 50m. Anthony Corrie and Travis Johnstone combined to create a goal for Tim Notting, Brown missed again before Daniel Bradshaw bagged his first goal, plucking a grab over Michael Firrito. The Lyin's led by 17 points at the first break. Jamie Charman's tough work at the opening bounce of le deuxieme trimestre sent Brisbun forward again, Ashley McGrath punted for Bradshaw to hold a tough grab on-the-lead and convert. Charman also cleared the next centre-bounce, handballing to Simon Black. Black kicked and Brown out-marked Gibson again, he majored. The Lyin's led by 29 points, Ruse Gibson and Firrito swapped opponents. But it didn't help much. Bradshaw missed a shot before Johnstone soccered the Lyin's forward again, Brown gathered and handballed for on-coming Johnstone to bag a sausage. A rushed point had the Lyin's 37 points ahead, they were winning the midfield too easily. North lifted, Nathan Thompson marked out wide and chipped a smart pass to Matt Campbell, who steered it through. Justin Sherman kicked a goal for the Lyin's but then new Roo Gavin Urquhart won the ball, he was tackled while kicking but Drew Petrie did well to collect the pill and snap truly. Hamish McIntosh's long kick and tough work from Riggio set up a snapped goal for Brent Harvey and Norf had cut the deficit back to 25 points. The Lyin's responded with consecutive goals from Charman and Sherman, both from free-kicks. Didn't see 'em, can't comment. But Norf won a centre-clearance and Petrie handballed for Harvey to boot a goal, they were still about. Brown missed a couple more shots but Bradshaw punted a goal, the Lyin's led by 40 points at the long break. Joel Patfull, Jason Roe and McGrath had hamstring problems, though.
Brown, wayward on the night, missed another shot at the start of the third. A bit later the Kangers won the ball from a throw-in, Harvey's switching kick set up running Daniel Pratt to thump a terrific long goal. A bit later Pratt initiated a defensive rebound, Ed Lower swapped handballs with McMahon and kicked long, McIntosh marked in the goal-square and popped it through. The Kangers were working their way back, 23 points down now. Brisbun won the next centre-clearance, Corrie kicked long and Brown clutched another grab, he goaled. But then under-pressure Patfull blazed a poor kick out on-the-full and Harvey hooked a terrific kick for full points. Brown helped the Lyin's out again, with another good grab and goal to complete hard work from Joel Macdonald and Michael Rischitelli. But a minute later Brown hyper-extended his knee while jumping for a grab and went down writhing in considerable pain. A hush descended over the ground as Brown limped off. Roo man Daniel Harris won a hard ball and handpassed for Petrie to snap truly. Rischitelli missed a shot for Brisbun, Pratt played-on from the kick-in and a chain of handballs set up Campbell for a terrific running goal. The Ruse were only 19 points down and going well. But Bradshaw came to Brisbun's rescue, he couldn't mark Johnstone's kick, under pressure from Gibson, but hit the ground and hared after the ball, gathered and steered a left-foot dribbly kick for full points. As the ball was run back to the centre, Brown jogged back on to cheering from the locals. The Brians won the next centre-clearance, Rischitelli kicked forward and steaming Bradshaw leaped for an emphatic grab. He thundered a great kick for a sausage and Brisbun led by a healthy 32 points at the final change. Norf kept coming, McIntosh won the ball from the opening bounce of the final term, a few handballs later and Harris kicked a goal. Bradshaw kicked another for Brisbun, but Roo Lindsay Thomas created a goal for Campbell. Ten minutes to go and the Ruse were 26 points down, close but not quite close enough. Leigh Harding marked about 30m out, but he missed, their last real chance. Brown marked and kicked the sealer for the Lyin's to the pleasure of their fans, Corrie and Corey Jones kicked some late majors.
Once again the Lyin's supply came from Simon Black (30 disposals, 7 tackles), the finishing from Jonathan Brown (13 marks, 19 disposals, 6.7) and Dan Bradshaw (7 marks, 12 disposals, 6 goals). Funny how blokes find their best form during contract negotiations. Luke Power (26 disposals) was pretty good too, along with Tim Notting (22 touches, a goal) and Travis Johnstone (23 handlings, a goal). Jamie Charman (15 handlings, 25 hit-outs, a goal) performed well in the ruck, Justin Sherman kicked 2 goals. The Ruse usual hard workers played well, Adam Simpson (29 disposals) and Brady Rawlings (22 handlings) while backman Daniel Pratt (29 disposals, 8 marks, a goal) was very good. Hamish McIntosh (15 possies, 26 hit-outs, a goal) helped their efforts, Daniel Harris (19 touches, a goal) and Leigh Harding (21 disposals) were alright and Gavin Urquhart (21 handlings) did well on debut. Brent Harvey bagged 3 goals from his 22 possies, Matt Campbell booted 4 goals and Drew Petrie kicked 2 goals. But they couldn't get forward enough and couldn't stop the Lyin' key forwards. Dean Laidley said "We didn't win enough football and got out-pointed in the midfield and I was pretty disappointed in that area of our game. We only went inside (fifty) 38 times and had 22 scoring shots so when we did get it in there our forwards did a pretty good job but we just didn't get it in there enough, we didn't win enough ball." He was asked about the defenders. "It's all we've got," Laidley said. "We could have put Petrie back there but he was kicking goals. We still kicked nearly 100 points and when we were getting it in there we were scoring. We got to within 18 or 19 points at the 20-minute mark of the third quarter so even though they were kicking goals at that end we just needed to kick consecutive goals. If we had have kept winning more ball and getting it inside our forward 50, we keep scoring, because the pattern of the game shows you that." Leigh Matthews said "That's as good as we have played. Except the conversion part, it was a bit sloppy. That kept the scoreboard close, but it was an exceptional win against competitive opposition. It is encouraging that we have been able to win three games convincingly." He was asked about Fremantle next week. "They have this strange, quirky thing where they have bad last quarters," Matthews said.
"We haven't gone great in last quarters, but when we had to be okay we were which was last Saturday. They (Fremantle) have been in most games but haven't squeaked out the win - they haven't been playing horribly." He was "optimistic" Brown would play next week, but not so about McGrath, Roe and Josh Drummond.
At the MCG:
Geelong 2.7 7.10 13.18 19.19.133
Carlton 2.2 6.3 6.4 12.5.77
Bomber Thompson's threat last week, for the Cats to stop being on the receiving end of physical pressure and start giving it out, was realized here as they belted the young Bluesers in every sense of the word. But the Katz undermanned and clunky forward-line saw scores stay reasonably close for a half, until the Bluies wilted. There was more heat in the commentary box, where Channel Ten's Tim Lane became excited over the rules regarding tackling, and cut up rough when gently stirred by his co-callers. Meanwhile Rob Walls wittered on like your grandmother over modern tackles being too violent. Let's face it, there wasn't much to talk about after half-time. Geelong made four changes to their first losing side of the year, Josh Hunt and Cameron Mooney (shoulder problems both) were unavailable while Ryan Gamble and Trent West were dropped. On the plus side Brad Ottens was in for his first game of the year after shaking off a knee problem and Tom Lonergan played his first senior game for 2 years, after losing a kidney in a terrible collision. Max Rooke and Shannon Byrnes were also recalled. The Bluies lost Jarrad Waite to suspension and dropped Darren Pfeiffer and Jake Edwards, but Cameron Cloke and Bret Thornton were regained and Dennis Armfield given a debut, he's a tallish blonde backman from Swan Districts in WA.
The Pu55ys' revenge was exemplified early as Cameron Ling, tagging Chris Judd, slammed his man into the ground and the ball spilled loose, Mathew Stokes slotted a goal. Tom Lonergan, who'd started at full-forward, and Steve Johnson kicked behinds as the Catters began purposefully. But then the Blooze did a bit, Eddie Betts missed a shot and Brendan Fevola marked on-the-lead ahead of Matthew Scarlett, Fev's long shot dropped short and was punched through by Cat backmen. But Judd cleverly intercepted Milburn's kick-in and booted a goal, leveling the scores. A minute later Cloke, who'd started in the Bloo forward-line, marked on a long lead, turned quickly and delivered a good pass to Fevola who thumped it through from 50m, Carton led by 6 points. They didn't score again in the opening stanza. Scores were soon level again as Gary Ablett sprinted downfield and handballed for Byrnes to slot a goal. The Cats proceeded to boot plenty of behinds, including three from a nervous Lonergan and a shocker from Ottens which went on-the-full. The Cats led by 5 points at korter-time and started the second term with Lonergan and a formless Tom Hawkins on the bench, leaving Steve Johnson as their lone key forward. Johnson snapped an early major after Bloo backman Steven Browne sent a switching-kick on-the-full. The Bluies cleared the restart with a free and Shaun Hampson chipped a kick for Kade Simpson to mark with-the-flight, he punted forward and Fevola juggled a one-handed mark while holding off Scarlett with the other. Fev majored. A bit later Adam Bentick won a tough contested ball and handpassed to Nick Stevens, he kicked long and Cloke leaped for a big grab over Fisher and Harley. Cloke goaled and the Blues led by a point. Judd missed poorly following a Pavlich-like free (you can't touch him), the Catters swept downfield from the kick-in and Jimmy Bartel punted long, Blue rookie Dennis Armfield's tap-on to Stevens put his team-mate under the hammer and Stokes bagged a goal. The Pu55ies cleared the restart and Milburn passed for leading Max Rooke to mark and convert, shortly O'hAilpin's panicky handpass and a Marc Murphy fumble allowed Cat Joel Selwood to collect the ball and set up another easy goal for Stokes and the Cats had jumped to a 16-point lead. Joel Corey slammed an easy running chance into the post the Cats began to steamroller the Bluesers. But the Blues advanced from the kick-in of the Corey point and Bryce Gibbs showed class to shrug a tackle and handball for Heath Scotland to stab a sausage. The Cats pressed on, Byrnes missed before Steve Johnson produced a smart-ar5ey look-away, over-the-shoulder handpass to send Corey running and pass to Milburn for a mark and goal. "That's the best handpass I've seen in three years," said special comments man Luke Darcy. Eh? The Cattres led by 18 points and the Blues panicked a bit, upon a raised-ball signal from Judd they went into a prolonged bout of keepings-off which upset Wallsy: "These young people today" etc. It worked though as they milked four minutes off the clock and scored a late goal, Stevens had a free for being hit high and then a 50m penalty for Ling blocking Judd's run off-the-ball. Stevens's major reduced the Cat lead to 13 points at the long break.
Odd start to the third, the Cats absolutely dominated midfield possession with Ablett having the ball on a string, but showed little confidence their strange forward set-up featuring Johnson, Stokes, Byrnes and regular defender Milburn now. A coupla aimless bombs were rushed through by grateful Bloo backmen, then Johnson wasted a particularly brilliant piece of Ablett play with a poor miss, Byrnes also sprayed a fairly easy running shot. Ablett seized a good pack-mark and chipped a smart kick for venturing backman Andrew Mackie to grab, he goaled finally and the floodgates opened. Ling out-marked Judd and gave the ball to running Ablett again, his lengthy punt cleared the pack and roving Travis Varcoe handballed for Byrnes to thump it through. Rebounding Bloo Paul Bower lost his bearings and was crunched between two Cats, he was done for 'bawl'. Bower suffered an injured shoulder in that and was clearly in a lot of pain, yet he hunched unsteadily on the mark, so Johnson trotted around the wobbly Bloo and slotted an easy goal. "That tackle was in-the-back," grumbled a simmering Lane. Milburn and Mackie added to the burgeoning Cat behinds-tally before Lonergan, back on the field, punted a belated goal with a free-kick against holding Gibbs. The Cats led by 43 points now, Ablett kicked 'em forward again from a throw-in and Johnson roved Byrnes's contest at pace to bag a very good sausage. David Wojcinski completed a weaving run with a long kick and Lonergan marked in front of Thornton, he booted another and the Cats led by 55 points. A Blue man (Shaun Grigg, I think) was grabbed 'round the head as he stooped to gather the ball, the ump called for a ball-up. "That's a high tackle under the rules and it's NEVER penalised these days," Lane said. "Well, he ducked into the tackle," suggested his co-callers. "No, he had to bend down to pick up the ball," argued Lane and I agreed with him, but when master-stirrer Anthony Hudson suggested Lane'd be happy if the Blues "did some more keepings-off", Tim got angry. "You misrepresent me, this isn't a Carlton issue, it's a football issue!" Anyway. The Cats led by 56 points at the last change, the Bluesers having scored a rushed behind for the quarter. Bartel kicked an early goal in the last, Betts soccered a point for the Blooze but a minute later he marked Judd's pass and kicked a goal. Hurrah! Goals mainly alternated for the remainder of a low-pressure stanza, Ablett, Stokes and Corey combined to make one for Byrnes, then Simon Wiggins got one for Carlton with a good tackle on Mackie. A centre-clearance allowed Gibbs to bag one for the Blues, Ottens's tap from a throw-in saw Varcoe snap truly for Jahlong. Johnson hooked one through after marking on the point-line, Stokes kicked another and Johnson elected to hook an over-the-shoulder snap from 30m when under no pressure to do so, the Cats led by 73 points. Fevola marked on a lead and thundered a huge kick for a goal, his first touch for 78 minutes Wallsy said. That didn't seem right. Fev'd been paid plenty of respect by Scarlett though, who'd forgone his normal running to have just four disposals, sticking by Fev all night. Bluies Betts and Gibbs kicked late majors.
Gary Ablett (32 disposals, 5 marks) played very well again as did Joel Corey (34 touches), the Cats' two best players last week. Steve Johnson (12 marks, 29 disposals, 5 goals) had commentators purring as he led the attack, Darren Milburn (21 possies, 12 marks, a goal) played well as Mathew Stokes (19 possies, 9 marks, 4 goals) and Shannon Byrnes (16 handlings, 7 marks, 3 goals) kicked the goals they were supposed to. Andrew Mackie (22 disposals, 9 marks, a goal) and David Wojcinski (19 disposals) were good. Tom Lonergan kicked 2 goals, igniting debate as to whether he or Hawkins will be retained when Mooney returns. For the Blues Chris Judd (28 disposals, a goal) battled hard against Ling. Perhaps too hard; commentator Luke Darcy reckoned the Blues should look after Judd and give him some handball receives, as the Katz do for Ablett. Kade Simpson (22 touches, 9 marks) and Bret Thornton (21 handlings, 6 marks) were okay and Dennis Armfield (23 possessions) played well on debut as a running backman. Bryce Gibbs (21 disposals) was okay. Brendan Fevola kicked 3 goals and Eddie Betts 2. Brett Ratten knew the score. "The way they (Geelong) reacted in most things was a lot quicker than us with the ball or without the ball. They were off the mark quicker, they handballed quicker, they chased us down, they hunted us up, so from all aspects, [in terms of] quickness as a whole I thought they just did it so much better than us. It was disappointing. We've spoken about what we needed to learn from the game individually and collectively. They had around 80 tackles to our 46 so what Collingwood did to them last week, they just did the flip side to us and they smashed us. We over-possessed the ball at times, but they hunted us up and that's why they're a good team." 'Bomber' said "If we had have kicked better we would have had a bigger lead at half time. Overall we played much better than we have for a long time. I think we played pretty reasonable footy for most of the night." He went on to single out Johnson and Lonergan for praise, and bag the media for questioning the Cats. ("I don't know what you blokes have been on about all week.").
At the SCG:
Sydney 6.4 13.7 16.11 21.13.139
Richmond 0.2 1.6 4.7 8.9.57
About three minutes into the second quarter Swan Henry Playfair marked on the boundary-line, 30m out. "If he kicks this, I'm going home," I said. Of course he kicked it, to make the Bloods' lead 43 points. I went home . . . mentally. Like Mark Harvey I visualized winning, knowing I wouldn't experience it. Ten minutes later the Swans led by 70 points, the Tiges hadn't scored a goal yet. The Swans were terrific, the Tiges not. Plough Wallace called it "a step back". Off a cliff. In selection the Siddey side had Tadhg Kennelly return just two weeks after dislocating a kneecap, he replaced Tim Schmidt. Forward Michael O'Loughlin played his 300th game in all competitions (including state games, pre-season games etc.), earning life membership of the AFL. The Tigers made no change to the side which beat the Bombers.
Overcast and damp underfoot in Siddey. Some Tiges clearly hadn't noticed during their half-hour warm-up as they slipped over like circus clowns all afternoon. Jake King appeared to be playing in ballet slippers. Swan Amon Buchanan bagged the opening goal, a free-kick after being ridden into the ground at a throw-in. It was fairly tight for a while, the Tiges won some possession but wasted the ball with their own poor disposal and some fierce pressure from the Bloods. Getting beyond half-forward was a real problem as they were forced into hurried bombs to out-numbered men. Then Brett 'Captain' Kirk found Nick Malceski alone for a mark and goal, a quick rebound move ended with Luke Ablett's long kick allowing Buchanan to hold a back-pedalling grab and convert. Just prior to time-on Adam Goodes gathered a loose ball and snapped a terrific sausage, the Swans led by 27 points, 4.3 to nort. Still wasn't too worried, on possession the Tiges were competitive. The 0.0.0 on the scoreboard was a worry, admittedly. From the centre-bounce following the Goodes goal, 'Spida' Everitt tapped perfectly to Goodes, he sped clear and chipped a pass for leading O'Loughlin to seize and convert. Next centre-bounce, a repeat move except this time Goodes sold a dummy, raced forward and thundered a long major himself. Suddenly the Bloods led by 39 points. Twenty-six minutes had elapsed when Tige Shane Edwards snapped a hurried point, their first score. Matty Richardson went to full-forward and two minutes later, held a good grab over Craig Bolton. Richo postered from 15m and that was the quarter. Early in the second came the aforementioned Playfair goal, when a VFL-standard battler starts threading them through from all angles, you know it's gonna be a long afternoon. Still, the Swans could be appreciated. Kennelly had already executed a superb smother, gather and handpass all in one motion and Goodes had been great. Backman Craig Bolton majored with a free-kick and then Goodes intervened again, his long kick into the pocket was gathered and snapped through by Buchanan. Ablett drilled a terrific long, running goal and then Jarred Moore converted from a mark. The Swans led by 70 points, 11.6 to 0.2. Richo snapped a hopelessly 'unco' over-the-shoulder point, to much jeering from the Swan fans. Twenty-one minutes into the quarter Tige Joel Bowden marked 60m out and passed over leading Jack Riewoldt's head, but Trent Cotchin swooped on the loose ball and slotted a goal. Huzzah! Within a minute Swon Leo Barry's long rebound run ended with a pass to Playfair, he stabbed a short, bad pass to Jarrad McVeigh who nevertheless gathered and bagged a goal. O'Loughlin led wide to the flank for a mark and then passed inboard for leading Ryan O'Keefe to mark and kick a long sausage, the Bloods led by 73 points at half-time.
The remainder was kinda boring. As a small consolation the Tiges did better in the second half, the Swans relaxed. O'Loughlin kicked the first goal of the third, a gift after Everitt marked close-in and slipped him a handball. Bowden scored the Tiges' second major, a good kick from the flank following a 5m pass from Kayne Pettifer. A bit later Richardson's mongrelled shot was gathered by Cotchin, his wayward snap was marked on the point-line by Nathan Brown who played-on and snapped it through. Consecutive Tigger goals, no less. Then a slick rebound and O'Keefe's clever pass set up Paul Bevan, running into the 'paddock', to mark with-the-flight and canter in for an easy sausage roll. Buchanan's run and handpass created a similar goal for Craig Bird. The Tiges battled for a bit and the Swans missed a few, late in the term O'Keefe over-ran the ball in defence and Tigger Kel Moore scooped it up to boot a goal. Into the last stanza now as the sky darkened. McVeigh bagged a good early goal, then Toiga Will Thursfield over-stepped the line on a kick-in and from the resulting ball-up O'Loughlin snaggled a six-pointer. The Swans led by 89 points now and a triple-figure margin seemed a certainty. Luckily for the Tiges rain arrived, or at least luckily for those not wearing runners. My English mate was shocked by the sight of patrons running for cover. "In England you don't move!" Presumably because it's raining all the time. Brown dished off a free-kick for Brett Deledio to boot a long goal, a bit later Nathan Foley won the ball in the centre, sped clear with a bounce and lobbed a kick through for a very good goal. A Playfair goal put the Swans 83 points ahead again but consecutive Big Pu55y majors from Deledio and Jay Schulz ended the chance of a 100-point Blood victory. McVeigh got the last sausage of the game.
Adam Goodes (19 disposals, 2 goals) did the early damage, then seemed to lose interest amid lengthy spells on the bench. Bigger fish to fry etc. Ryan O'Keefe (27 touches, a goal) was very good and Darren Jolly (39 hit-outs, 10 disposals) dominated the ruck. Brett Kirk (23 disposals) nullified Foley and Jude Bolton (21 possies) played well, Jarrad McVeigh (20 touches, 3 goals) was good. Martin Mattner (18 possies) was a key part of a very tight backline. Mick O'Loughlin and Amon Buchanan kicked 3 goals each, Henry Playfair and Craig Bird bagged 2 each. Richmond's best was probably Chris Newman (24 disposals, 8 marks) with Brett Deledio (32 handlings, 2 goals) busy. Nathan Foley (24 touches, a goal) and Joel Bowden (22 possies, 7 marks, a goal) were okay. "It couldn't be more disappointing," Wallace said. "We came up here really keen to see if we could get our season really alive. We thought we'd taken some real strides forward and then to be clinically taken apart like we were in the first half was unacceptable. We're really disappointed as a group in ourselves . . . we certainly today took a big step backwards. You can lose six or seven weeks very quickly and that's what I spoke to the players about, that we just can't afford to lose the six or seven weeks of really good footy in one display. That's, I suppose, going to be our task and my task over the next six days - to make sure that some of the things that happened in the first half aren't repeated in six days time." Paul Roos said "It was a very, very good effort. I think at the moment, we've got probably our best team . . . apart from Hally." Hear that, Playfair? "I thought the two (ruckmen) today probably had their best game as a duo . . . which is good," Roosy continued. "They really complement each other. Peter's (Everitt) a really smart player and Jols has actually become a lot more aggressive with his running, both offensively and defensively. We've got a really good balance between defence and attack."
At Docklands:
St. Kilda 5.4 10.6 12.12 19.15.129
Melbourne 2.2 3.4 3.6 7.8.50
The Saints confirmed their ability to punish the weak by thumping the poor old Demuns at Docklands. Sinkilda's five victories so far feature just one win over a side in the eight, the round-one squeak past the Swans in a game featuring twelve goals in total. Still, all you can do is beat the other side and the percentage boost here was handy. The Saints' next couple, against the Dogs and Swans in Siddey, should be more indicative. Melbun were disappointing again and lost Russ Robertson here, probably for the season with a torn achilles tendon which take forever to heal. Not what they needed. The Stains made two changes to the side thumped by Brisbane, young rover David Armitage and rarely-seen backman Matthew Ferguson recalled at the expense of Leigh Fisher and Aaron Fiora. Five changes for the Deez, Aaron Davey missed with hamstring trouble and Cale Morton had 'flu, Shane Valenti, Mark Jamar and Ben Holland were axed. In came Lynden Dunn, Colin Sylvia, Paul Wheatley, Jeff White and lawks-a-mercy, Adem Yze. Remember him?
Melbun ran out in their 'away' guernsey, a very ordinary silvery-white affair with a flash of red and blue down the bottom. Dee fans got most excited over it (in a bad way). Robertson managed an early grab for the Dees but kicked into Max Hudghton on the mark. With their hardness questioned, pressure came early from the Saints as Nick Dal Santo and Adam Schneider kicked goals. What was that about flat-track bullies? Justin Koschitzke converted from a big grab as the Saints spurted to a 20-point lead. Sam Fisher and Jason Gram ran freely from the back, while the Stainers' classy on-ballers dominated, the Deez apparently more concerned with tagging than winning the ball. Under-pressure Dee kicks sailed high to no-one. Lynden Dunn snaffled a Sainter clanger to boot their first goal, but then Gram and Luke Ball replied for the Stains in rapid succession. Dee James 'Junior' McDonald made a mess of an attempted shot but Adem Yze gathered and won a free, he goaled and the Saints led by 20 points at the first break. The margin stretched in the early second as Saints Clint Jones and Stephen Milne bagged majors, Jones was playing well. Matthew Ferguson had started at full-forward for the Saints, he proved good at marking, not so good at kickin' straight. In fact, as both sides realized the outcome, the pressure slackened and a string of behinds were scored. Halfway through the stanza Milne booted his second major, thanks to Michael Gardiner's good work at a throw-in and Leigh Montagna's quick kick. The Stains led by 39 points. Ferguson held a strong grab on 50 and chipped a pass to Nick Riewoldt, strapped up like Moss Trooper/Tutankhamen/insert heavily bandaged stereotype here. Riewoldt's tentative shot wobbled through for a major, but he also failed to make the distance from 30m with a terrible shinned shank. Robertson marked on the boundary 70m out, milked a 50m penalty off Mr. Angry Hudghton and booted a goal for the Deez. But Ball punted Sinkilda into attack from the restart, Schneider gathered and kicked a sausage. Saints by 44 points at the long break.
Pretty awful third term ensued as Sinkilda scored 2.6 to Melbun's 0.2. Robertson was clattered as he sat under a hospital kick in the centre of the ground and went down clutching his ankle, he staggered off. Shane Birss kicked a goal for the Saints and Ferguson got a big jump and classic, hovering ride at the back of a big pack for a great grab, but he missed the simple shot. Halfway through the term Montagna's solid tackle on a dithering Sylvia forced a spillage and Schneider bagged a goal, the Saints led by 57 points. Riewoldt missed a couple more times before the final break. Into the ultimate stanza and Sainters Montagna and Schneider kicked a goal each in the first three minutes. Ferguson missed again, then Sylvia kicked Melbun's first goal for 45 minutes after gathering Brad Green's long punt. Birss replied presently for the Saints, after Riewoldt opted to pass backwards rather than have a shot himself (from the boundary, admittedly. Unselfish team play). Another point to Ferguson before Yze took over Robbo's job of kicking meaningless last-quarter goals, bagging two in three minutes, with a free and a mark on-the-lead respectively. Another goal from Sainter Schneider was sandwiched in-between, from a good grab. Koschitzke, Demun Cameron Bruce and Milne kicked majors as the clock ticked down, incredibly the Saints opted for some 'tempo football', i.e. keepings-off in the back-line, in the final minutes as the Dees flooded. Even former Swan Sean Dempster couldn't cop that, marking Goddard's backwards kick in the centre he played-on with a coupla bounces and thundered a long sausage to close proceedings.
Nick Dal Santo (28 disposals, a goal) and Luke Ball (29 disposals, a goal) were very good for the Saints, with ruckman Michael Gardiner (21 hit-outs, 8 disposals) playing his best game for Sinkilda to date, which isn't saying much. Nick Riewoldt (13 marks, 21 possessions, 1.3) worked hard across half-forward but his goal-kicking confidence is very low. Lenny Hayes (20 touches) did well despite Dunn's tag and Adam Schneider (14 disposals, 5 marks) snaffled 5 goals with some good roving, mostly. Sam Fisher (27 possies, 11 marks) and Jason Gram (27 touches, 7 marks, a goal) did plenty of rebounding. Stephen Milne kicked 3 goals and there were 2 each for Shane Birss and Justin Koschitzke, Matthew Ferguson kicked 0.4 from 8 marks and 9 kicks. Better Dees included long-kickin' rebound backman Paul Wheatley (23 disposals, 7 marks) and battling on-baller James McDonald (25 touches). Brock McLean (20 disposals) and Cameron Bruce (21 touches, a goal) were okay, Adem Yze (14 kicks, 6 marks) finished with 3 goals. Dean Bailey borrowed Tiger coach Wallace's "backwards step" line. "The players have been fully aware of the responsibility they have at Melbourne," Bailey said. "There's no doubt about that, but unfortunately [with] their actions they've let themselves down. Next week is a great challenge, with David and Russell not there, they now need to put their best foot forward in a big match against Collingwood. It will be really testing on them to see what they provide next week. There's a lot of expectations that are on them now. David's not there, Russell's not there, and they've now got to get out there and prove a point to themselves, and our members and supporters. We let them down terribly today. We were really poor . . . The significance of tackling and chasing is that everyone can do it - it's an attitude. That will be certainly a focus for us next week against Collingwood." Ross Lyon mumbled unexcitedly as per usual. "It was a real challenge coming here today, so to walk away with four points and a convincing win is pleasing for the psyche of the group, but all it puts us is five-five," Lyon said. "You don't earn respect in a week. We're five-five, so we're in the hunt, but next week we go to the Western Bulldogs who have lost one game and are the form team of the competition. We'll clearly go in underdogs and they go in red-hot favourites. I was down there yesterday in Launceston and their contests and pressure and tackling against the Hawthorn Football Club was outstanding. We'll get a wake-up call pretty quick; there's certainly no relaxing here. They'll enjoy the next few hours and recover and have a little bit of banter, but from then on it's the review and preparation for the red-hot team of the competition."
At Subiaco:
Fremantle 5.1 5.7 9.13 10.15.75
Port Adelaide 2.1 8.3 10.5 16.7.103
Yes, Freo led at three-quarter-time and lost again. You suspect opposition teams let them get ahead deliberately now. Mark Harvey back-tracked from calling in psychologists, but he should - to play! The win was handy, if not vital for Port to keep their finals aspirations alive and Daniel Motlop came up with a goal-of-the-year contender, a Daicos which even Daicos was impressed by. Freo's Titanic-related deck-chair circling involved Josh Carr returning from suspension and Marcus Drum from injury, they replaced injured Peter Bell (back) and Steven Dodd (calf). Port lost Brett Ebert with his rolled ankle and Dom Cassisi ('flu), in came juniors Nathan Krakouer and Paul Stewart.
Freo started with Matty Pavlich in the midfield, he was good early and Aaron Sandilands was handy in attack, he answered Brendon Lade's soccered opening goal with a big pack-grab and accurate punt. Freo scored again in idiomatic fashion, Chris Tarrant marking 70m from goal, on the flank, and kicking inside 50 for Pavlich to hold a strong grab and convert. Motlop pounced on a Dokka fumble to snaffle his first, but the Dokkers kicked clear. Sandilands missed following a big grab but Paul Duffield's smother led to a running major for Heath Black, Brett Peake passed for Jeff Farmer to mark and convert, then Sandilands booted his second goal after being spotted by Pavlich. Freo by 18 points at the first break. The Flowers lifted in the second stanza, led by David Rodan and Steven Salopek in midfield and the smarts of Motlop in attack. Eight minutes ticked by before Sandilands managed the term's first score, a behind. The Powder advanced from the kick-in and Robbie Gray marked wide-out on the 50m line, he dished a handball to Motlop who sold a dummy and curled a great kick for full points. Salopek passed for Warren Tredrea to mark and convert, Salopek himself then booted a major after Lade and Peter Burgoyne won the ball from a throw-in. Freo led by 2 points at this stage, they were having a lot of trouble scoring as Port's sometimes wonky backline held up. A Motlop goal put the Power ahead, marking unopposed just 15m out. Chad Cornes wobbled a kick forward but Tredrea did very well to gather and snap a terrific major, a minute later Danyle Pearce booted the Flowers into attack and Tredrea marked over Antoni Grover, he booted another. Port led by 14 points at orange time.
The Shockers' goal-drought ended early in the third, backman Grover running onto Rhys Palmer's handball to thump it home. Full-back Luke McPharlin went forward and Byron Schammer was sent to tag Rodan. Sandilands and Farmer missed shots before Pearce bagged a goal for Port, then Rodan raced inside 50 to boot a sausage and the visitors led by 21 points. Freo knuckled down, McPharlin doubled-back to collect Black's wayward pass and snap truly, Scot Thornton converted a free-kick after Pavlich won the ball from a throw-in. Pavlich's handball also set up the next goal, for Ryan Crowley, and Freo had drawn level. But misses continued to accumulate, from Farmer again and Pavlich to nudge the Dockerators 2 points ahead by the final break. Harvey took the huddle down in front of the supporters in his latest attempt to avoid the dreaded final-stanza choke. Early in the last korter Port man Pearce drove a long kick into the pocket, Motlop gathered, slipped away from Crowley and sent an outside-of-the-boot dribbly-kick towards the sticks, as he tumbled over the boundary-line. Naturally the ball trickled through for full points as Justin Westhoff strove not to touch it. As mentioned, even Peter Daicos acknowledges Motlop as the master of such goals. Port led again, but Freo men Sandilands and Palmer combined to win the subsequent centre-clearance, Peake kicked forward and Garrick Ibbotson snaffled a goal. A McPharlin behind had the Shockers 3 points ahead, but then Westhoff marked Logan's pass and booted a very good goal from the flank. Motlop missed and there was no score for about eight minutes as the sides hammered each other, about four blokes ended up with cut heads. Then ol' Freo battler Shaun McManus marked deep in defence, tried to play-on around Port ruckman Dean Brogan and wasn't successful. Rodan swept up the loose ball and snapped a sausage. Lade, Rodan and Salopek combined to win the Sherrin away from a ball-up, Krakouer's long kick found Gray lurking in the pocket and he majored. Port led by 16 points and Freo fans saw the writing on the wall when Pavlich postered with a set-shot from 30m. Goals to Westhoff and Motlop sealed Port's victory.
Mercurial Daniel Motlop (11 disposals, 2 marks, 5 goals) was Port's x-factor with David Rodan (24 disposals, 2 goals) and Kane Cornes (31 touches) very good in the middle, along with Steven Salopek (19 handlings, 6 marks, a goal). Half-back Tom Logan (27 touches, 8 marks) did well and Toby Thurstans (22 possies, 4 marks) was good defensively too, Danyle Pearce (16 touches, a goal) did some useful things midfield. Warren Tredrea (6 marks, 12 possies) kicked 3 first-half goals, Justin Westhoff booted 2 last-quarter goals. Gigantic Aaron Sandilands (20 disposals, 8 marks, 24 hit-outs, 2.3) led the way for Freo again with rover Rhys Palmer (28 disposals) also good, Ryan Crowley (25 touches, a goal) did a good job on Peter Burgoyne and running backman Michael Johnson (17 touches, 7 marks) played well. Kepler Bradley (22 touches, 8 marks) did a bit more rucking with Sandilands forward, Matty Pavlich (22 possies, 7 marks, a goal) was busy midfield but it was a trade-off as Freo struggled to kick goals. Farmer finished with 1.3. Harvey identified 'composure' as a problem. No, really. "Statistically you'll take what we had any day; it's the composure thing that's the problem. There wasn't a lot in any area of the game, but they did get their goals easier than we did," Harvey said. "There wasn't a lot in the clearances at stoppages, which was an area we focused on and in the end it was our lack of composure when going forward. That included skill level; decision-making and simple things like receiving a handball and not taking it cleanly, those things really cost you." What about addressing the choking? "We might have done something different last week that we don't want to discuss and we might do something else this week. We'll do it internally whatever it is," Harvs said. "They are a resilient group and keep on coming whether you want to hear that or not. If we can just have better composure and they keep working on the things during the week that they need to improve then we will be a better side." Mark Williams talked pride and finals. "To me Fremantle's record wasn't significant. It was our record as to how much we wanted to play in the finals and that's all we had to drag out. The Fremantle crowd did a wonderful thing in trying to get their players up and you could certainly hear the noise. But we had a real goal to work towards and that was whatever slim chance we still have (of making the finals) to keep it going. We've still got a chance of making it and if we play well, we will." He talked up Motlop's goal. "That goal he kicked at the start of the last quarter, you had to be here to see it didn't you?" Williams said. "It was one of the great goals of all time and I know he doesn't get too much respect outside of South Australia but I'm looking to see what goal beats that."
Ladder after Round 10
Pts. % Next Round
Hawthorn 36 130.3 Essendon (Docklands, Sat. night)
Geelong 36 129.7 North Melbourne (Docklands, Fri. night)
Footscray 34 128.5 St. Kilda (Docklands, Sunday)
Adelaide 28 117.3 Richmond (MCG, Saturday)
Sydney 26 136.5 West Coast (Subiaco, Sat. night)
Collingwood 24 125.9 Melbourne (MCG, Monday)
Brisbane 24 111.4 Fremantle (Gabba, Sunday)
North Melbourne 22 97.0 Geelong (Docklands, Fri. night)
------------------------------------------------
St. Kilda 20 100.4 Footscray (Docklands, Sunday)
Port Adelaide 16 100.8 Carlton (Football Park, Sunday)
Carlton 16 90.4 Port Adelaide (Football Park, Sunday)
Richmond 14 92.4 Adelaide (MCG, Saturday)
West Coast 8 71.2 Sydney (Subiaco, Sat. night)
Essendon 8 70.6 Hawthorn (Docklands, Sat. night)
Fremantle 4 85.1 Brisbane (Gabba, Sunday)
Melbourne 4 58.6 Collingwood (MCG, Monday)
Cheers, Tim.
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