AFL Round 13
Remember it? I will, fondly.
At Docklands:
St. Kilda 4.3 6.3 9.5 10.5.65
Fremantle 2.0 5.2 7.6 8.9.57
Ross Lyon triumphed in the battle of the dud coaches. Perhaps he deserved it after taking the bold step of dropping Nick Dal Santo and Stephen Milne, and selecting three kids for their debuts. Dal and Milney were axed for breaking team rules regarding tackling and stuff, apparently. They were certainly rubbish last week. Michael Gardiner (hamstring) and Adam Schneider ('injury') joined the dumped big names on the Sainter sidelines, in came David Armitage and three first-gamers in ruckman Ben McEvoy from Dederang-Mt. Beauty, Jarryd Allen from Riddell's Creek and Robert Eddy, from Gippsland and promoted off the rookie list. The Dockers made no change to the team which recorded their second win of the season.
This was not a good game and the Saints didn't play a lot better than last week. Freo aren't the Swans, though. Flooding tactics and the lack of running power on both sides didn't help. The Sainters tend to start well in most home games and it was the same here, a lengthy move from a kick-in ended with Lenny Hayes bagging a goal and soon Sam Gilbert followed suit, a free-kick set up by good work from Steven King and Rob Harvey. Hayes managed a hefty 16 disposals in the first quarter, but injured a hamstring late in the stanza and his night was done. Luke Ball also went in hard and Nick Riewoldt was employed in Richo-like mode, roaming far and wide. Freo were out there, but managed two inside-50s in the first ten minutes, from one of which Jeff Farmer hooked a woeful shot out-of-bounds from his instep. They escaped further early punishment before a classic You Cannot Touch Pavlich, Pav clattered into the back of Saint man Jason Blake in a marking contest and the whistle blew. Pavlich rolled his eyes and tossed the ball to Blake, but no - Blake was at fault for 'shepherding' according to umpire Bozo. Pav slotted the free amongst copious booing. Riewoldt lurked forward and responded for the Stains, marking Harvey's jabbed pass 40m out and converting a tricky shot, to the relief of Stainer fans. A minute later Ball held a gutsy back-pedalling mark and was elbowed in the head by late-arriving Dokka stringbean Robert Warnock. Ball collapsed and some handbags broke out as Warnock was reported, although replays showed most of the damage was done by Ball kneeing himself in the chin while falling. A 50m penalty and Leigh Montagna booted the goal for Ball, Saints by 20 points. Dockulater rover Byron Schammer had a free at the restart and passed to leading Ryan Murphy, who booted a very good, long goal from 55m. New Saint Ben McEvoy led out to Charlie Gardiner's pass but the ball slipped through McEvoy's hands and hit him in the face - not an auspicious start to his career but he did win a dubious free for interference. Missed the shot, Saints by 15 points at the first break. The opening minutes of le deuxieme trimestre were dominated by heavy flooding from both sides and some very poor disposal, especially kicking. Ten minutes dragged by without a score, until Sainter Jason Gram ignored the law and actually played-on after marking, sold a dummy and sank a long punt for full points. The replay showed Dokker full-back Luke McPharlin got a finger on the ball, but you couldn't blame the goal-ump for not picking it up. A bit later Montagna won the ball at a throw-in and lobbed a rainmaker to the top o' the 'square, Brendon Goddard got away with a hefty shove on Ryan Crowley to take an easy mark and pop it through. The Sainters led by 27 points, a reasonable reflection of the balance of possession and effort. But the Dockulaters lifted a bit now, led by junior rover Rhys Palmer and their talisman Pavlich. Saint man Ball, back on the ground, missed the target with a handball and Chris Tarrant gathered, he slipped a quick handpass to Pavlich who steered it through. A bit later new Saint Robert Eddy turned over possession with a poor pass, the Shockers rebounded and Crowley booted long, Pavlich leaped for an excellent grab over Max Hudghton and he booted another. Soon the Dokkers had another chance, Tarrant marked out wide and played-on, his kick was half-smothered but Schammer collected the agget and stabbed a pass to Pavlich in the pocket, Pav marked, played-on and blasted it through. Palmer's disappointing late miss from a free-kick reduced the Saint lead to 7 points at half-time.
The Freo revival continued into the third as they realized long kicking towards Pavlich was working. Palmer was tackled 'round the head by Steven King, he dished off the free to David Mundy who drove the ball long and there was Pavlich again, marking too easily in the goal-square and lobbing it through. Scores were level, Pavlich having kicked five of Freo's six goals to this stage. The Saints hadn't troubled the scoreboard operator for over 20 minutes, now Riewoldt missed from a tight angle as did Gardiner with a snap. But Freo soon took the lead, the ump plucking out a free-kick from a big pile of players. 'Bawl' was the decision, against Ball, Montagna and James Gwilt simultaneously, apparently. Josh Carr kicked the goal and the Dockerators led by 4 points. Giant Aaron Sandilands missed poorly from a mark before Stinkilda got moving again with some luck, King marked at half-back and received a technical 50m penalty for some off-ball holding. King booted long and Goddard came in from the side to get a ride on McPharlin and pluck a grab, in the process cracking McPharlin's ribs. Goddard majored as the Dokka full-back limped off in some pain. Ball had a free at the subsequent centre-bounce and kicked for McEvoy to hold a strong grab, he punted long where Riewoldt was wrestled to the ground by Grover and Michael Johnson. Riewoldt free-kicked a goal. A minute later Michael Johnson fumbled awfully under pressure from Rob Harvey, Goddard gathered and centered a pass to Sam Fisher. He handballed to running Gram who thumped it home, the Saints led by 12 points with three handy late goals. A very late Palmer snap was just touched through by Hudghton, leaving the Stainers 11 points up at the last break. Again the start of the final term was tight with numbers back for both sides. Five minutes in a handy bounce gave Tarrant a chance, he stabbed a short pass for unopposed Crowley to mark and convert, reducing the Saints' lead to 5 points. The game began to open up a bit now but there was a typical passage after Riewoldt held a strong grab on the wing, there followed a series of chipped passes until the ball trickled out for a throw-in on the Saints' half-back line. Sainter fans voiced their displeasure. But they had a break later as young Dokka Ibbotson was caught in possession by Ball, he handballed to Harvey who lobbed a kick ahead of running Riewoldt. The big blonde Sainter gathered the ball and hooked a superb right-foot snap for a major. The Saints led by 9 points and it turned out to be enough. Freo bombed it in but Murphy was penalized for jumping too early and Sandilands wasn't paid a three-grabber. With four minutes to go Murphy missed a set shot, their last chance. The Saints held on, Riewoldt dropping back to take some saving marks in defence.
Luke Ball (32 disposals) worked very hard for the Stainers and Nick Riewoldt (25 touches, 18 marks, 3 goals) was vital, he is their forward-line at the moment. Rob Harvey (31 handlings, 12 marks) was good and Brendon Goddard (26 handlings, 10 marks, 2 goals) enjoyed a run midfield, Lenny Hayes's first term (16 possies, a goal) was important. Of the first-gamers tall forward-flanker Jarryd Allen (13 possies, 7 marks) was most impressive, Robert Eddy (17 touches, 6 marks) was alright. Jason Gram booted 2 goals. Matthew Pavlich (16 disposals, 7 marks, 5 goals) led the Dokkers again and Rhys Palmer (27 touches) was very good, Mark Harvey reckons the first-year man might be rested soon. Dean Solomon (23 handlings, 11 marks) was alright and Chris Mayne (21 touches, 7 marks) worked well up the ground, Aaron Sandilands (16 disposals, 29 hit-outs) and Ryan Crowley (21 handlings, 12 marks, a goal) went well. "The frustration of not being able to put a side away in the last quarter," Harvey said when asked his emotions post-game. "We had our opportunities and that's the frustrating part. It was a frustrating game because there was no quick ball movement. It was an ugly game it would be fair to say, and it was up for grabs throughout the course of the game - the game was there to be won. We didn't hurt them enough by foot when we should have." Unusually insightful from Harvs. Ross Lyon said "It was pleasing, but we can't get carried away. It was another home-and-away and we're 5-7 and they're what, 2-11?" What were the highlights? "I'd probably run with three," Lyon said. "Our leadership - our captain and vice-captain (Riewoldt and Hayes respectively) really led, and then the evergreens in Harvey, Hudghton and Sam Fisher really led exceptionally well, led the kids, and you could just see how excited they were before the game, to see McEvoy. We handed out the jumpers and Riewoldt hands out the jumpers and made a speech. There was just a real vibrancy that we all felt and clearly invigorated our leaders, and I thought it showed all night, the spirit. We competed really well - the contested ball - with nine players under 20, we won, and we out-tackled the opposition. They were the aims going in, and we achieved them, so we were really pleased."
At the MCG:
Hawthorn 2.3 5.8 7.12 10.16.76
North Melbourne 2.4 7.8 10.10 15.13.103
Norf did it to the Awks again, producing a rugged, hard-tackling effort to cause an upset. Any mention of a certain type of spirit will be avoided. The Horks had excuses; another bizarrely inaccurate effort from big forwards Franklin and Roughead; a mounting injury list. But they'd be happy to avoid Norf in the finals, you'd think. The Ruse still have a job to make it. In Hawker selection Chance Bateman (hamstring) and Tim Clarke (calf) joined Brad Sewell, Shane Crawford and Trent Croad on the sidelines for Horforn, Bateman and Clarke were replaced by returning Brent Guerra and Travis Tuck. Norf made multiple changes to the team thumped by Freo, Nathan Thompson, Corey Jones and Shannon Grant returned while Shannon Watt and juniors Lachlan Hansen and Alan Obst earned recalls. Unfortunately Hamish McIntosh might miss the remainder of the season with his knee injury, Sam Power (groin) was also unavailable while Scott Thompson, Leigh Brown, Ben Davies and Josh Smith were dumped.
With a recent history of violence between the teams, the build-up featured sniping between pot-stirring Roo Daniel Pratt and Hawks Jordan Lewis and Campbell Brown, basically deciding who was the 'softest'. There wasn't a lot of violence early, Norf set up with blokes back in defence and dropping into the 'hole' in front of Franklin and Roughead. 'Buddy' started as he would go on, managing an on-the-full, a shot which didn't make the distance and dribbly-kicked point in the first few minutes. Norf were clearly the more 'on' of the teams though, their first goal indicative as dithering Hawk defender Stephen Gilham was tackled superbly by Lindsay Thomas; the ball went to Brent 'Boomer' Harvey who handballed for Matt Campbell's goal-square tap-through. A bit later big Nathan Thompson ran down Tuck, leading to a mark within range for David Hale but he missed. Hork Grant Birchall tried to crash through Shannon Grant's tackle but the recently maligned Roo veteran clung on, 'bawl' and Grant free-kicked a major. North led by 14 points. Hawks Hodge, Lewis and Morton combined to with the following centre-clearance and roving Sam Mitchell snapped a good goal, he doesn't kick many. Hodge also won the next centre-break, Roughead marked but missed, not for the last time. Hodge messed up when he staged for high contact and was done for 'bawl', but redeemed himself later when clamping a good tackle on Shannon Watt. Hodge banana-ed his free through from a tight angle and the Roo lead was back to a point at the first break. Into the second and Hawks Williams and Roughead missed early shots, sandwiching a free-kicked goal from Roo Campbell. Franklin managed a goal, he nudged opponent Josh Gibson under Williams's pass, turned and gathered the ball and executed a left-footed dribbly-kick for a goal. At the following centre-bounce Norf's commitment was shown again, 'Lethal' Leigh Harding clamped a great tackle on Lewis to win a free for 'bawl', Harding passed towards Daniel Harris who had his arms slapped by Tuck, another free and Harris majored. Wells punted the Ruse into attack again from the next restart, Hork Campbell Brown got the ball as he headed towards the boundary and fired a blind over-the-shoulder handpass straight to Roo Harvey, who snapped a major. Norf led by 13 points. A long kick-in from Guerra to Lewis led to a Horforn goal, Birchall stabbed a pass to leading Williams and he majored. But Norf had the answer from the centre-bounce again, normally an area of dominance for the Horks - with Sewell playing. Harris did brilliantly to intercept a Mitchell handpass and handball for Grant to punt a long goal, to his great delight. The Kangers led by 14 points. The Orcs did win the next centre-clearance and Roughead marked strongly, he missed. A minute later Clint Young held a tough mark and switched play with a pass to marauding Guerra, he passed for leading Roughead to mark again and kick straight this time. There followed a few points including another from Roughead. Late in the term a string of Roo handballs ended with Harris passing to leading Thompson, he majored and the Ruse led by 12 points at the long break.
The Ruse put a gap in 'em early in the third. Junior forward Lachlan Hansen, a no. 3 draft pick two years ago who hasn't developed as quickly as the Ruse would've hoped, held a good grab at CHF and kicked for Grant to mark well in front of Guerra and boot a goal. Hawks Mitchell and Williams missed shots before Grant gathered Lindsay Thomas's kick, handballed to Rawlings and he gave it back to Thomas, the lithe Roo forward punted a very good major. Hale and Harris won the agget from a ball-up and Rawlings kicked for Corey Jones to mark, he booted another for the Ruse and they led by 29 points. The Orcs lifted a bit but didn't do much damage, Roughead marked a sliced Franklin shot in the pocket and threaded it through, Franklin missed a later chance and Young also shanked a shot, this time Hodge managed a decent grab and kicked a goal. Norf resisted further Hork thrusts and led by 16 points at the last change. The Kangers, led by Thomas, kicked away again at the start of the last korter. Thomas booted an early goal following an excellent grab. Watt ran down from the backline and had a crack, he missed but a minute later another quick rebound ended with Pratt finding Thomas alone for a grab and another goal, Norf led by 29 points once more. Hork leader Hodge steamed clear of the subsequent centre-bounce and booted a terrific solo goal, giving the Orcs a bit of hope. Dissipated slightly over the following minutes when Franklin managed to hit the post from 15m, right in front, and Roughead again missed a fairly easy set shot. And a bit more when Hodge and Jarryd Morton made a mess of a chance, Harvey ran the ball clear for Norf and Hale gathered Boomer's wayward kick out wide, he handballed for ball-magnet Thomas to boot a very good goal from 40m. Rue captain Adam Simpson did very well to win the ball at the next centre-bounce and as Jones moved to mark he was clattered head-on by Gilham. Jones's free-kicked sausage had Norf a comfortable 33 points ahead. Roughead missed awfully with 7 minutes to go, soon Roo man Hale marked strongly at CHF and handballed for Wells to punt truly. Norf by 38 points, it was even more over now. Tim Boyle and Mark Williams booted late consolation goals for the Hawks.
Roo rover Daniel Harris (32 disposals) produced his best effort of the season, Brent Harvey (31 touches, 5 marks, a goal) is always pretty good value and Lindsay Thomas (15 touches, 4 marks, 4 goals) provided some class in attack. Drew Petrie (19 touches, 10 marks, 11 hit-outs) was handy as a ruckman and Josh Gibson won praise for his game on Franklin (4 marks, 1.3), similarly Shannon Watt was effective enough on Roughead thanks to the latter's 2.5. Daniel Wells (25 disposals, a goal) was good and Shannon Grant (14 possies, 6 marks, 3 goals) made a timely return to form. Matt Campbell and Corey Jones kicked 2 goals each. Sam Mitchell (38 disposals, a goal) and Luke Hodge (20 touches, 3 goals) were the Hawks' best, with junior Jarryd Morton (33 possies, 6 marks) showing he's a very promising player once again. Rebound men Brent Guerra (26 touches, 9 marks) and Stuart Dew (22 handlings, 8 marks) were busy and Jarryd Roughead took 8 marks and had 10 kicks, there's just that pesky 2.5. Mark Williams kicked 2 goals. Clarkson chose to praise Norf, and mention the Orcs' injuries. "I think you have to give full credit to the Kangaroos, they played a hungrier brand of footy than what we did today, and they made the most of their opportunities and we didn't make the most of ours, and that's good footy. Full credit goes to the way that they played today . . . We've got four or five of our best runners out of the side at the moment, and we just couldn't get that overlap run that has been such a feature of our play for the last 18 months to two years. With Bateman and Clarke out of the side for this week's game, it really hurts us in that regard." Laidley was happy with the response following three straight losses. "I thought our effort today was terrific, from our senior guys through to our younger guys, but I knew they'd play well today after last week," Laidley said. "I just know my players. I said to them after the last game that it was probably the worst performance we've had, certainly since I've been coach, in regard to our softness. I just thought we were out and out soft and today we competed aggressively. This game is a pretty simple game. You can throw it around any way you like, but if you win the contest and you tackle hard, nine times out of 10 you're going to win the game." Dean's great with stats like that.
At Football Park:
Port Adelaide 6.2 11.6 14.8 19.9.123
Richmond 9.1 12.3 19.6 20.7.127
The Tiges clung on for a rare win in Adelaide over the thuggish, struggling Powder. The local press is full of dark talk of trouble down at Alberton, whatever the case there's plenty of on-field evidence that Port are in a mess. A Grand Final to a 4-9 record after thirteen, with no obvious excuse (i.e. injuries) is a pretty spectacular slide. Stats show Port are the worst in the competition at hard-ball gets, contested ball wins etc. The Tiges got an unexpected bonus (apart from the win) in the form of 11 goals from Cleve Hughes and Mitch Morton, plus a 39-disposal, 23-mark game in defence from Joel Bowden who was "too old and slow to play in the backline," so Plough reckoned a few weeks ago. Bowden turned 30 on this day. One of Port's problems is the second-year blues experienced by some juniors, here two of 'em were dropped in Justin Westhoff and Jacob Surjan, they were replaced by Brett Ebert and Matt Thomas returning from injury. The Toigs called up Hughes and Dean Polo to replace Daniel Jackson (leg injury) and the dropped Jay Schulz.
Last time these sides met, each kicked 8 goals in the first quarter. This one started similarly as Port bagged two quick goals, ex-Tigger David Rodan snapped one after roving Dean Brogan's tap at a throw-in, then a laborious Tigga rebound broke down with a turnover from Nathan Brown and Port's Steven Salopek passed for leading Ebert to mark and convert. But the Tiges soon got moving with Shane Tuck and Nathan Foley going well on-the-ball, they also had the aid of a stiff breeze assisting their plan to 'get it in quickly'. A long, spectacular run from Rodan ended with his rubbish kick straight to Bowden, the Tiges rebounded swiftly with a long kick from Morton and Brett Deledio's great handball allowed Brown to snap a major. Port restored their 12-point lead with a goal for Warren Tredrea, created by opponent Graham Polak's mistake. A minute later Tige youngster Trent Cotchin drilled a great running goal, created by Chris Hyde's strong tackle on Peter Burgoyne followed by a Jack Riewoldt handpass. An emphatic Riewoldt grab and pass set up a mark and goal for Hughes and scores were level. Port went ahead again with a coupla behinds before Tredrea played on quickly after marking, allowing Brendon Lade to hold a juggled grab and convert. But Tuck cleared the restart for the Tiges, Brown marked wide on the flank, played-on and hammered a wind-assisted punt for full points. Soon Tuck drove the Tiges forward again, Mitch Morton was clattered head-on by Lade and Morton free-kicked the Tiges to a 4-point lead. Port replied as good play from Robbie Gray allowed Daniel Motlop to out-maneuver Kel Moore for a clever grab and goal. Port by 2 points but the Tiges got a run-on now. Morton snapped another after marking Richardson's kick in the pocket, Tuck won the following centre-break and Hughes roved Riewoldt's contest to bag one, another centre-clearance engineered by Polo and Matt White ended with Richardson marking, playing-on and popping it through. The Big Pu55ies led by 15 points. Port pulled one back thanks to Tigger Trent Simmonds, who fired an obliging handball straight to Kane Cornes, he snapped truly. But Rodan was done for 'bawl' at the restart and Foley handballed for Hyde to boot a long sausage, Tiges by 17 points at the first break. Port had the breeze in the second stanza and clamped down on Tuck and Foley. Backman Troy Chaplin, Richo's nominal opponent, kicked an early goal after Tigger Moore spilled a difficult marking chance. A bit later Peter Burgoyne punted long and Motlop marked after shoving Tige Luke McGuane meatily in the back. The umps allowed it and Motlop goaled, the Toiga lead cut to 4 points. Hughes missed poorly for Richmun, then a Jordan McMahon clanger (does he do any other sort of kick?) led to a mark and goal for Tredrea and Port led by a point. The Tiges made a few unsuccessful thrusts before Flowerman Tom Logan found Motlop on a long lead, Motlop's mis-hit flat punt carried 60m, over Richo's head for a remarkable major and Port led by 6 points, with four unanswered goals for the term. The Tiggers hit back, a long, tough run from Polo to keep the ball in-play ended with his handpass for Riewoldt to stab it through from 10m. Tuck and Deledio managed a good switch of play and McMahon booted a long into-the-wind goal (okay, not a clanger). Ruckman Adam Pattison had a free at the restart, McMahon punted long and Morton roved the goal-square contest to snap another. Three sausages in three minutes for the Tiges and they led by 11 points. Port's Chad Cornes can barely move but his rugged tackle allowed Port to reply, Ebert marked on a long lead and kicked smartly for Motlop to mark and boot one. Boak missed a late set shot, leaving the Tiges 3 points up at orange time.
The Big Pu55ies had the wind advantage again in the third and pressed forward quickly. McMahon's good tackle on Danyle Pearce forced an early turnover, Tuck kicked for Richardson to hold a good grab and he converted. Richo rarely misses these days. McMahon won the ball at the restart (he was playing alright, in fact) and his wind-assisted punt allowed Hughes to mark at the back of the pack and boot truly. A bit later Foley lobbed a very high kick from a throw-in to the goal-square, Richo forced the pack-spillage goal-wards and Morton soccered it through off the line. The Toigs led by 21 points now and Port began to resort to thuggery, Brogan floored a few off-the-ball and Chad Cornes decided to knock a few rovers over. The Tiges continued to go alright though, Polo and Richardson missed long shots before Bowden chipped a pass for leading Hughes to mark and boot a sausage, the Tiggers led by 29 points now. Port broke the run as Tredrea was allowed an uncontested mark by the point-post, he passed back for Shaun Burgoyne to mark and convert. But the Big Pu55ies cleared the restart with a Richardson handpass, Foley kicked long and Morton clutched a good pack-mark, he goaled. The Powder battled to reel in the deficit, the impressive Gray marked on a long lead, played-on quickly to find Motlop's lead and Motlop majored. Motlop returned the favour soon, kicking for Gray to hold a strong mark in front of Tige junior Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls. Gray sausaged and the Tiger lead was down to 17 points. But Richmun surged again thanks to the youngster Cleve Hughes, he led out and was coat-hangered by Chaplin, a free-kick which Hughes converted. Port attacked for a bit but a behind from Gray was their only reward, late in the stanza Bowden engineered a rebound and was flattened by Port's sniper Thomas in the process, but Nathan Brown stabbed a 6m pass for leading Hughes to mark and boot his fourth goal of the term. Tiges by 28 points at the last change. Fuming Port coach Williams gave his men the hair-dryer treatment in front of the (sparse) outer-wing crowd. They had an early lift as Brogan seized a strong mark in defence and initiated a counter-attack, Dom Cassisi drove a wobbly kick long and Ebert clutched a grab in the goal-square, he lobbed it through. Port streamed forward from the restart but Gray missed a shot. The Tiges had a break when Shaun Burgoyne ran too far with the Sherrin and was caught, Matt White drove a low kick in for Richardson to mark in the pocket, play-on to open the angle and spear it through. The Tiges led by 27 points and began to go into 'tempo football' mode, way too early. Plus they're not very good at it. Curses were uttered when Brown wasn't awarded a free when placed in a headlock 20m from goal. Objects were hurled at the TV when Port's Tom Logan did get one at the other end a minute later, for a similar thing. Logan goaled. More clock-draining from the Tiges before Chad Cornes clobbered Polo, allowing Cassisi to play-on from a mark and set up Travis Boak to slot a great goal from the pocket, the Tigger lead was down to 15 points. A bit later Gray held a with-the-flight mark, ran on and kicked for Motlop to mark and boot another major. Tiges by 9 points. Richmun managed a rushed behind and from the kick-in Port rebounded with a long, unlikely run from big Lade, Logan roved Motlop's contest and snapped it through. Tiges by 4 points with just over a minute left. Shaun Burgoyne won the following centre-clearance and kicked long, Bowden doubled back to mark in front of Motlop and that was it. The Tiges retained possession to the end.
Shane Tuck (32 disposals) was a terrific ball-winner all day for the Tiges and Joel Bowden (39 disposals, 23 marks - 2 contested) relished his return to the defensive 'sweeper' role. Tige supporters could be very happy about the efforts of junior forwards Cleve Hughes (5 marks, 9 disposals, 6 goals) and Mitch Morton (12 touches, 5 marks, 5 goals). Runners Nathan Foley (30 possessions) and, yes, Jordan McMahon (29 disposals, a goal) played well as did evergreen Matty Richardson (17 disposals, 10 marks, 3 goals). Nathan Brown bagged 2 goals. Port had committed efforts from midfielder Dom Cassisi (23 disposals, 11 tackles) and classy spearhead Daniel Motlop (7 marks, 7 kicks, 6 goals). Dean Brogan (15 touches, 6 marks, 23 hit-outs) played well and Travis Boak (22 possies, a goal) and David Rodan (20 touches, a goal) were good in patches. Kane Cornes (21 handlings, a goal) beat Deledio. Warren Tredrea, Tom Logan and Brett Ebert kicked 2 goals each. A bitter Williams faced the meedya. "For the seventh time this year, we've lost by 17 points or less, which has destroyed any chance of us making the finals. I officially call that off. We have no chance," Williams said. "It was nice to think that we gave ourselves a chance to win [against Richmond], but we didn't take it. I know our supporters will be devastated by it and certainly we are. There are no smiles and it's a very empty feeling, but it's the truth and that's where we sit. A couple of years ago we put ourselves on a path to get back to having the opportunity to win a Grand Final and last year we far exceeded anything we anticipated. In fact, we thought we might finish in the bottom four when we put that plan together. This season was [supposed to be] another progression towards the eight, without actually making the eight - that's where the plan was. It seems like this year it is more falling in line with how things should have gone [last year]." Excuses. Tigger coach Wallace said "We're a young developing side that's showing improvement, that's getting better performances more regularly. We still have our ups and downs, but we're getting better performances more consistently out of more players. We still wanted to play an attacking game, which it was in the first quarter, but the balance between the two is what we've got to get right. We said at three-quarter time that we believed if we kicked three goals in the last quarter we thought it would be beyond the opposition. We kicked one. There were shades of a couple of other games we've played in this season - particularly the Western Bulldogs game, where we drew it - where we were well in front. It's something that we need to get better at." Yes.
At the Gabba:
Brisbane 3.3 4.7 7.14 11.17.83
Adelaide 2.5 6.7 8.10 10.10.70
Slogging, sloppy game typical of many Camry contests but the Lyin's marginally better ball-use helped them to victory. Losses to the Bluies and Collywood improved Brisbun's place on the ladder and with the Dees visiting before the break, then the Bombers, Eagles and Tigers after it, they can taste September. The Camrys should make it but the top four is looking a way off now. The Lyin's made four changes to the side thumped by Footyscray, Justin Sherman missed with a back complaint and Matthew Leuenberger was dropped while Travis Johnstone and Jason Roe succumbed to the Brisbun disease, hamstring strains. Replacements were Michael Rischitelli, Robert Copeland, Lachie Henderson and first-gamer Tom Collier, a lump of a kid from Lauderdale in Tasmania. The Cows had Brett 'Birdman' Burton return from suspension and called up another forward in Nick Gill for his first appearance this season, Brent Reilly returned too. They replaced ruckman Jonathan Griffin (hip injury) and dropped juniors David Mackay and Andy Otten, who debuted last week.
Slow start to the game, dominated by some awful kicking from both sides. Burton missed a sitter as a quarter-hour dragged by with five behinds being scored. Then Lyin' debutant Tom Collier, very comfortable with the ball, found Anthony Corrie alone 30m out and Corrie booted a major, thank heavens. A long shot from Corolla Simon Goodwin was marked right on the line by Lyin' ruckman Jamie Charman, he kicked the ball straight to Camry Chris Knights who booted a point. There was a bit of that. A good tackle by Lyin' junior James Polkinghorne forced a turnover and Corrie passed for leading Jonathan Brown to take a diving grab and convert, Brisbun led by 10 points. Brown postered a bit later before a particularly woeful kick on-the-full from Cow backman Nathan Bock led to another major for Corrie and the Lyin's led by 17 points. Adderlayed seemed barely interested at this stage but soon Lyin' man Ashley McGrath helped 'em, kicking the ball directly to Tyson Edwards. He punted long for Bernie Vince to take a grab and kick a goal. A bit later Edwards launched a very high, wayward snap from a throw-in and Jason Porplyzia took an apparently great diving, with-the-flight mark on the boundary line, leaped up and snapped a superb goal. But Lyin' fans booed and the replay showed Porplyzia'd dropped the grab. Ah well. Gill kicked a long point after the siren so the Brians also led by 4 points at the first break. More slog in the second stanza, early on Brisbun man Rob Copeland shanked a shot on-the-full. The Cows advanced with a very slow series of chipped passes before McLeod booted long and Burton was awarded a free for in-the-back against Joel Patfull. Burton converted, putting the Camrys 2 points ahead. The Lyin's went ahead again after Mitch Clark seized a very good grab against Bock at the top o' the 'square and popped it through. But the Coronas were focused on moving the ball more precisely, if very slowly. McLeod switched play and Reilly passed towards leading Nick Gill, he couldn't mark but gathered the spillage, spun out of a tackle and slotted a very good goal. Ten minutes ticked by with a bucket of points scored by both sides, eventually Vince's smothered shot saw the ball rebound to Richard Douglas and he snapped truly. Soon Gill had a hand in another Cressida goal, he collected a loose ball, handballed to McLeod who found leading ruckman Ivan Maric with a pass, Maric sausaged. The Camrys led by 13 points. Brisbun were hopeless going forward at this stage, with Brown well held by Ben Rutten and no other Lyin' forward appearing dangerous in the slightest.
The Lyin's gradually rectified that in the second half. Not that he's a forward but Luke Power was playing a slashing game for them. Brisbun scored a goal in the first minute of the third term, Brown collected Power's scrubby kick, shrugged off Rutten and walloped a great punt from 50m for a goal. But the Lyin's proceeded to score five consecutive behinds (two rushed), from the last of those the Camry kick-in travelled to Scott Thompson on the wing, he won a free and found Bock lurking forward for a mark and sausage. The Camrys led by 8 points at this stage. Camry Luke Jericho missed a couple of time including a poster with a simple shot, but Jericho finally got on-target when found all alone 30m out by Nathan Bassett's pass. Bassett was being kinda violent. The Camrys were still in nominal control, leading by 15 points now. Corrie postered for the Lyin's before they found a way back, aided by some Addleaid mistakes. Chris Knights's centering kick was spoiled and spilled to Power, he kicked quickly to find Copeland alone and the Lyin' man majored. The Cows had Scott Stevens in the ruck, he was awarded a free-kick at the following centre-bounce but his short pass missed the target awfully, going straight to Jared Brennan. Tim Notting punted Brisbun forward where Clark was awarded a very soft hands-in-the-back free kick. Clark goaled and the Addleaid lead was down to 2 points. Misses from Gill and Brown kept the margin there at the final change. Brisbun made the ultimately decisive break at the start of the final term, with three very quick goals. Charman and Jed Adcock combined to win the ball away from a 'secondary' opening bounce, Clark seized a great grab by the point-post, played-on and hooked it through on the right boot. Rischitelli's great smother at the following restart saw the ball rebound to Power, he handballed for running Brennan to boot a great team goal. Rischitelli punted the Lyin's into attack from the next centre-bounce, Brown tapped-on while being clobbered by Rutten and Corrie won a free for being biffed in the head by Bassett. Advantage was allowed for Copeland to boot a major and the Lisbon Brians led by 16 points. The Camrys responded courtesy their own square-up, soft free-kick for hands-in-the-back to Porplyzia from which he punted a major, which reduced the Lyin' lead to 11 points. They hung tough for a bit as Brisbun midfielder Adcock departed with a twisted ankle and Clark missed with a long shot. A bit later Power received the ball from a throw-in and found Notting with a smart centering kick, Notting ran on and hammered a superb 60m kick for full points. Brisbun led by 18 points and in the context it felt like 6 goals. Fifteen minutes remained but the Camrys looked tired, all run gone and trying to short-pass their way up the ground. Stevens booted a late consolation goal after marking Gill's shot on the goal-line.
Leigh Matthews reckoned he hadn't seen Luke Power (40 disposals, 6 marks) play a better game. Jared Brennan (31 touches, 12 marks, a goal), a midfielder these days, and Michael Rischitelli (21 possies) were also important for lifting the Lyin's to victory as Simon Black struggled with a groin injury, suspiciously like OP. Ash McGrath (18 disposals) played a solid game in the backline, as did running men Josh Drummond (19 disposals) and Joel Macdonald (20 handlings). First-gamer Tom Collier (17 possessions) was impressive. Joel Patfull did well on an inaccurate Burton, who suffered from very slow delivery. Mitch Clark (11 touches, 5 marks, 3 goals) was handy in the end, Anthony Corrie, Jonathan Brown (13 touches, 8 marks) and Rob Copeland kicked 2 goals each. Michael Doughty (38 disposals, 9 marks) was prolific for the Camrys but not as damaging as Power. Usual suspects Tyson Edwards (27 handlings), Andrew McLeod (20 possies) and Graham 'Stiffy' Johncock (20 touches, 9 marks) were good. Young Chris Knights (28 disposals, 7 marks) found plenty of it. Defender Nathan Bock (19 disposals, 9 marks, a goal) played well again and Ben Rutten had a good battle with Brown. Jason Porplyzia (17 possies, 9 marks, 2 goals) struggled like all Camry forwards with the stultifying pace of their play. Craig agreed. "We're a slow footy club at the moment, moving the ball," he said. "I think we need to look at the training we do. Our quicker movement of the ball, getting off the mark, and want to play-on a bit more, rather than just go back and chip. That's my responsibility to address that. I think it's the way we've trained and we need to change some of our training. Sometimes the opposition are too good and stand the mark, I understand that. But there were too many times tonight where we could have got around and played on and not been too perfect going into the forward line, but just dropped it in there and put some pressure back on the Brisbane Lions. But we wouldn't do it." Matthews said "It was a good result given where we were half time and even three-quarter time. It was a losable game and we ended up winning. We played well tonight and won. Last week we didn't play well enough to be in the contest. It's very hard to score against Adelaide and, if you kick 10 or 12 goals, it's a reasonable night. You just have to make sure they score less and we did that." On the games ahead he said "I don't look at the draw. The only people at the club who look at the draw are the people who arrange our travel and have to know in advance. But the fact is we will be playing a few teams below us on the ladder (I thought he didn't look at the draw?) and, if we want to make anything of our season, we have to win the majority of those games."
At Subiaco:
West Coast 1.5 2.9 3.14 5.17.47
Geelong 7.3 13.6 23.10 28.14.182
Either the Weegs are definitely not tanking, or making a thoroughly good job of it. Tanking was the talk of last week, of course everyone at Weegleland bridled at the suggestion but it appears to be academic now anyway. Their percentage took a massive hit here, giving Melbun a look-in at climbing off the bottom, should they manage to win another game. On the other hand Cat coach Bomber Thompson said the Cats were back to their best after this huge win, they also went a game clear of losers Horforn. As usual the Weegs made multiple changes to their side, the senior men dumped last week, Chad Fletcher, Michael Braun and Daniel Kerr (he was injured, officially) were recalled along with forwards Ashley Hansen and Ben McKinley. Outgoing were Chris Masten (hip injury) and dropped men Ryan Davis, Mark Seaby, Jamie McNamara and Brent Staker. No change to the Cat side which cruised in against Port.
Goals arrived early and often for the Pu55ies, who dominated every part of the game. Those players already in sizzling form, i.e. Gary Ablett, Paul Chapman and Steve Johnson, were prominent. Skipper Tom Harley played very well in defence, allowed to run back with-the-flight into packs for a series of grabs. An indictment on the Eegs, that. You'd reckon Roughead, Fevola or Hall would put an end to that type of maneuver in short order. The best part of the game for the Eegs was the opening 5 or so minutes, in which they managed three shots at goal to Jahlong's one. Unfortunately Weegles Hunter, Embley and Wirrpanda all missed their chances while Cat Chapman bagged a goal. Soon James Kelly had one and when junior Cat defender Harry Taylor ran down from the backline to boot a long, running sausage, yer Wiggle fan must've been worried. Max Rooke, having a run from a forward-pocket, converted from a mark on-the-lead and when Kelly kicked his second the Pu55ies were already 29 points ahead. The Weegs managed a goal at this point, good work from Mark Nicoski allowing Mark LeCras to take a grab on the lead and slot it through. But then Cat spearhead Cam Mooney replied and right before the break Steve Johnson marked on the boundary, stood about peering infield for options before steering an easy-as-you-like 35m banana for full points. Geelong led by 40 points at the first break. The Pu55ies bagged two quick majors to start the second stanza, from Tom Lonergan and Chapman. The Eegs won the centre-clearance after the Chapman major and it led to a LeCras goal, then Braun kicked a point! The Weegs hung in there for a while, Rooke booted the next goal for the Katz but nearly ten minutes passed without a six-pointer. Weegle tagger Adam Selwood was injured during this time, an accidental chop to the throat which appeared serious. Selwood was taken to hospital and he's okay, apparently. The Cats booted three late goals, from Mooney, Chapman and Ablett, the last due to a Weeg clanger. Cats by 63 points at the long break.
A real barrage opened the third stanza, the Cats scoring seven unanswered goals. Travis Varcoe kicked two of an early three-goal salvo (Mooney got the other). Chapman and Andrew Mackie added majors and when Kelly collected Lonergan's handpass to slot it through, the Cats led by 101 points - fifteen minutes into the third quarter. Wiggle supporters were leaving in large numbers, those remaining showed decent appreciation of Ablett and co. Mooney booted the next major but Hunter broke the sequence with a goal for the Weegs, dragging the margin back to an even 100 points. Brent Prismall, Lonergan and Mooney majored in succession to complete the Pu55ies' ten-goal korter, they led by a healthy 116 points at the last change. And as part of their 'respect the opposition' shtick, the Catters didn't ease up in the last, although the final term was the Eegs' best scoreboard-wise as they only conceded five goals while scoring two. The second-last goal of the game, kicked by Ablett, was a beauty as he executed a weaving run past tired Weeg defenders before slotting it home from 40m.
Gary Ablett (37 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals) had supporters of both sides rapt in appreciation, Paul Chapman (26 touches, 8 marks, 5 goals) and James Kelly (26 possies, 9 marks, 4 goals) also had nights out. As mentioned Tom Harley (18 disposals, 9 marks) played very well in defence, his performance studded with courageous with-the-flight grabs. Cameron Mooney (18 touches, 9 marks, 5 goals) enjoyed the healthy supply and running backmen David Wojcinski (21 possies) and Corey Enright (25 touches, 8 marks) were busy. Steve Johnson, Tom Lonergan, Travis Varcoe and Max Rooke kicked 2 goals each. Weegles Andrew Embley (28 disposals, 10 marks) and Brett Jones (21 touches, 5 marks) found a bit of the ball and Mark LeCras (9 possies, 3 marks, 3 goals) gave 'em something up forward. As usual Dean 'Big' Cox (25 possessions, 19 hit-outs, a goal) tried very hard. John Worsfold put a brave, optimistic face on it. "It was, just, very disappointing . . . (But) it doesn't shake my belief at all - all it does is gives us good teaching points. [The players'] belief is in working hard to come good and be a premiership winning side. Confidence is about believing in what you want to do, and we believe in what we want to do, and our focus will be on becoming a premiership winning side and that will not be dented at all. So therefore our confidence on what we want to work on and where we want to is full steam ahead." 'Woosha' and the Eegs were later criticized for not being upset enough by the massive hammering, so Worsfold allowed himself to be wound up on Perth radio by Brad Hardie. Bomber Thompson said "We never in our wildest dreams thought we'd win by this much. It's up there (as one of their best wins ever). To win by 135 points interstate against West Coast, which is a pretty proud club, is a great effort. We've had some horrible days here over the years, so we were pretty pleased to take that. It's just nice, it's sweet. It's great to see a group of guys play so well for a large period of time . . . Since then (Collywood game) they (players) seemed to have sort of turned the corner and got back to playing the footy similar to what we played last year."
At Manuka Oval:
Melbourne 2.2 5.3 10.5 11.8.74
Sydney 7.2 10.5 12.10 17.12.114
Big story came afterwards as Adam Goodes was suspended - yes! - for clattering into yet another bloke's head, this time Dee man Clint Bartram. Perhaps Goodesy'll stop doing it now. It ended a run of 200-odd consecutive games for Goodes, he was about 40 shy of Melbun president Jim Stynes's record. In the game itself a rapid start by the Swans allowed them to record an easy-enough victory over ladder-proppers Melbun. With the Camrys losing in Brisbun, Siddey went two games clear in fourth spot to confirm people's belief in their 'dark horse' status although, of the three asides above the Bloods on the ladder, two have beaten 'em (Cats and Dogs). Swan supporters might argue they didn't have Barry Hall in those games. Melbourne played well in patches but again it was a bad patch, namely the first fifteen minutes, which let them down. It's doubtful they'd have won anyway. In selection the Deez had Matthew Whelan in following a lengthy absence and ruckman Mark Jamar was recalled, they replaced dropped pair Adem Yze and Cale Morton. No change for the Swans. Jude Bolton played his 200th game for the club, a noteworthy effort after the Bloods shopped him around during last year's trade period. He's been in good form.
Just under 12,000 at the Canberra ground, near enough to a full house. As mentioned the Swans started very well, led by Goodes and Hall. Goodes had a free at the opening bounce and dished off to Jarrad McVeigh, he kicked for leading Hall to mark and thump it through. Goodes then majored from a free-kick plus 50m penalty against mark-encroaching Dees, Amon Buchanan also converted a free after being ploughed at a throw-in and the Bloods led by 18 points after six minutes. Matthew Bate kicked a point for the Dees before two more Hall sausages, yet another free was involved as Henry Playfair passed one to leading Hall, he converted. Nick Malceski won the ball away from the restart and Ryan O'Keefe was involved a couple of times in getting it forward, Hall maneuvered Paul Wheatley under the pill to double-back and poke it through from point-blank. The Swans led by 29 points, 5.0 to 0.1. Cameron Bruce now got Melbun's first goal, running a long way to find space and accept Aaron Davey's pass. Siddey's 29-point lead was restored as Marty Mattner ran down from defence to collect Malceski's tap-on and boot a long sausage. The rate of scoring slowed as the Deez began to wake up, Bate gathered Brad Green's under-hit pass and slotted a good goal from the pocket, but Siddey ruckman Darren Jolly bagged a late major with a great kick from the flank, following a very complicated build-up from the Bloods. Swans by 30 points at korter-time. Goodes was tagged by Lynden Dunn thereon and Davey helped get the Deez moving as did Bate, playing at full-forward. The Swans scored a goal direct from the start of the second stanza though, O'Keefe with yet another free. The umps love 'em. They were 36 points up now, but a bit later Wheatley's pass found Bate lurking in the pocket and the Fanta-pants Dee booted a major. Brett Kirk took the Swans forward from the restart and Mick O'Loughlin clutched a good grab 20m out, he popped it through. The Dees replied again, a series of short passes ending with James Frawley passing for Austin Wonaeamirri to mark and convert. The Dees hung tough for a while until Hall booted his fourth goal in time-on, a strong pack-mark of Goodes's long kick. The Swans led by 37 points. Goodes collided with Bartram's head at a ball-up shortly afterwards, although it was a glancing blow at best and more damage seemed to be done by Bartram hitting a team-mate in the aftermath. But it was avoidable, if Goodes'd gone at the ball. His unpunished 'priors' were a big factor in getting a week off. Bartram's free-kick was handballed to Green, a pass to Brad Miller and another to leading Bate brought the Demuns a late major, they were 32 points behind at the long break.
The Dees drew closer in the third stanza, Paul Johnson playing unexpectedly well at CHF. Miller kicked a goal in the first minute, found by Green's short, stabbed pass. Chris Johnson played a one-two with Brock McLean and kicked long towards Paul Johnson, he was clattered by Leo Barry and Johnson (Paul) free-kicked a major. The Dees were 19 points down. The Swans missed three consecutive shots before the Dees attacked from a kick-in, Paul Johnson involved again. Tough efforts from Whelan and Dunn to retain possession led to a successful snap-under-pressure from Wonaeamirri and the Dees were 16 points behind. The Swans won the next centre-clearance and Mattner's long kick was marked emphatically by Hall. He converted. The Demuns replied as Colin Garland worked hard from defence to pass to Miller, run on to receive Miller's pass and then pick out McLean with a good kick. McLean majored. Hall missed a shot and the Deez went (slowly) end-to-end with the kick-in, Mark Jamar marked on the 50m line and dished off a handball for Bate to thunder it home. The Dees were only 11 points behind at this stage. O'Loughlin kicked a late goal for Siddey, with a good, diving mark and behinds from Hall and Wheatley left the Bloods 17 points ahead at the last change. The first five minutes of the final Mario were tight, before the Swans advanced rapidly from a kick-in and Mattner booted a sausage with the aid of a mystery 50m penalty. Five more minutes elapsed with just a behind from Mattner scored, the Swans containing the Dees now. Smart play from Paul Bevan found Jude Bolton marking on the 50m line, he jabbed another short kick for Malceski to mark and punt truly. Just before time-on Lewis Roberts-Thomson did well to win a hard ball and force it towards Hall, he chipped back infield for sprightly Roberts-Thomson to mark and convert. The Swans led by 35 points and it was well over. The pressure eased and Wonaeamirri, Playfair and Buchanan booted late goals.
Runnin' Marty Mattner (19 disposals, 2 goals) played well for the Swans and at the other end Barry Hall's early burst was a big factor, he finished with 11 marks, 16 kicks and 5.5. Followers Darren Jolly (15 touches, 6 marks, 24 hit-outs, a goal) and Brett 'Captain' Kirk (27 disposals) were busy and Mick O'Loughlin (8 kicks, 6 marks, 2 goals) took some good contested marks. Craig Bolton (19 touches, 7 marks) and Ryan O'Keefe (16 possies, a goal) were solid in an even team effort. Amon Buchanan kicked 2 goals. Melbun had good efforts from Matthew Bate (14 touches, 4 marks, 4 goals), playing as a forward here, and Lynden Dunn (10 possies) who restricted Goodes to 12 touches. Aaron Davey (16 disposals) and big forward Paul Johnson (17 touches, 6 marks, a goal) worked hard for the Dees, Brad Green (24 disposals) and developing backman Colin Garland (15 touches, 8 marks) were okay. Austin Wonaeamirri (3 marks, 4 kicks) bagged 3 goals. Dean Bailey again bemoaned a lack of within-game consistency. "You need to have that (third-quarter effort) for the whole game. If we'd had that at the start of the game, then the game would've been close at the end of the first quarter. So it's nice to see, but you want to see it from the start and that's where we need it to be. We spoke about starting well and we let ourselves down at the stoppages. The stoppages really hurt us today - and they made us pay. We got off to a really poor start, and we spoke about getting off to a good start in the first quarter. We gave away some free kicks that really cost us, and that was really disappointing to be so far behind early in the game." Paul Roos looked ahead to a week off. "I just felt today we didn't play our best footy, but we still came away with a really solid win and we have a week off, so it's more about 13 games, rather than today. Still, a seven-goal win in AFL footy is a good win. We've had some tough games, as all clubs have, and [we] probably didn't put them away early when we really had an opportunity, but they've got some good players. They used the ball really well and kicked the ball well to their forwards, and they made the most of their opportunities. They only had 30 inside 50s, but they were able to score 19 out of those 30 . . . To only have lost three games at this stage is really pleasing, but there's still a lot of footy ahead." Indeed, their bogey side Collywood after the break, then the Hawks, Bluesers away and Adelaide. Testing.
At the MCG:
Carlton 1.2 5.4 9.6 15.11.101
Essendon 7.5 8.9 12.13 20.16.136
The Bluies briefly took the lead in the last quarter before the Bommers steadied and won in a fairly epic encounter. It was a vintage week for the Bluies, president Richard Pratt had to resign after being formally charged over shifty business practices, spearhead Brendan Fevola knocked back a three-year contract offer (and booted 7 goals here) and the loss ended the Bluesers' brief visit to eighth spot. Ratten blamed hubris for the loss. But the Dons have played well in recent weeks and were well worth the victory here. Just one selection change for both sides, the Bluies dropped ruckman Shaun Hampson for midfielder Steven Browne, the Dons regained Andrew Lovett at the expense of Jarrod Atkinson.
The Dons' terrific first quarter propelled their victory, although it took a while to get going. The Bommas scored from the opening bounce, Jobe Watson punted them forward and Matty Lloyd clutched a strong grab against Michael Jamison, Lloydy converted. The next ten minutes were tough and goal-less. Leading Fevola leaped for a grab and (accidentally) smashed his knee into the face on oncoming Henry Slattery, the Essadun man was stretchered off as folks feared another Hird-like injury but it's turned out to be 'just' a fractured cheekbone. Nevertheless Fev was shaken by the incident and he was subdued for a bit. Later, opposing skippers Lloyd and Chris Judd collided head-on as they pursued the ball, Judd got there first and was more exposed. Heads clashed and both went down for a bit but Judd suffered worse, he was off-and-on the ground for the rest of the day and had little impact on the game. The Dons broke the deadlock as Angus Monfries won a free against clumsy Andrew Carrazzo and kicked to a big pack, Leroy Jetta gathered the spillage and booted a major. A bit later Jay Neagle held a strong grab and kicked towards Lloyd and Lucas again, more pack spillage and this time roving Monfries bagged a goal. Kyle Reimers won the ball well and sent it forward, David Hille battled hard to get a handpass away and Lloyd snapped it through. The Dons led by 25 points, 4.2 to Bryce Gibbs's behind. The Bluies managed a goal, Kade Simpson embarked on a long run and kick and Eddie Betts snaggled it. But the Dons pressed on. Adam McPhee, playing well, marked on a lead and centered the ball to Andrew Welsh, his wobbly mongrel of a kick was gathered and snapped through by Mark McVeigh. Hille executed a smart switching-kick to find Neagle in space, he kicked long and Monfries won another free against the hapless Carrazzo to boot another goal. Sam Lonergan won the following centre-clearance and Monfries did well to set up a strong mark in-front for Neagle, he goaled. Dons by 39 points at the first break. The Bloos made a few changes in midfield for the second term, notably to get Carrazzo away from Monfries. Nick Stevens and Marc Murphy lifted their efforts and Fevola fired up. Bombouts Reimers and Stanton missed shots early in the second, then Bloo man Browne found Fevola on the lead and Fev kicked his first. Simpson drove a kick-in long to find Carrazzo, he passed further afield to Gibbs who played-on and speared it to leading Fevola, mark and goal. Simple. The Bommaz replied as Stanton used a free-kick to find Neagle on-the-lead, he marked and goaled. Fevola missed a shot but soon Carrazzo tapped-through after a chain of handballs. A bit later Fevola led wide to Carrazzo's pass, it dropped short but Fevola gathered, turned and slotted a superb kick for full points from the boundary. Three goals in the quarter from Fev as the Dons' lead was reduced to 23 points at half-time.
The Blooze edged closer in the third stanza. The opening minutes were tight, no score for nine minutes in fact as both sides had an extra man in defence. Then Essadun's Jetta used his speed to 'break the lines' and handball to Monfries in space, the small Bomma forward bagged his third goal. Fevola led wide and was hampered by Fletcher, a free kick and Fev again steered it home from the tricky angle. Lucas and McVeigh missed for the Dons before McVeigh did well to gather the ball and find Lloyd on the lead, the Bommer skipper majored. A bit later McPhee clutched a strong grab over Thornton and converted, the Dons'd kicked out to a 36-point lead. Tyro Matthew Kreuzer won the following centre-bounce for the Bluies and Simon Wiggins soccered forward, Adam Bentick gathered and kicked for Fevola to mark strongly in front of Fletcher and convert. Essadun replied just before time-on, Monfries again with mark in the goal-square. Still 36 points ahead but the Bluies hung around with two late goals, Kreuzer tapped a throw-in to Shaun Grigg, he handballed for Stevens to bag a sausage roll. Murphy converted late following a mark and the Dons led by 25 points at the last change, still enough you'd think. The Bluesers went all-out attack for the final term, allowing Stevens, Judd and Murphy to run forward from the centre. Simpson got them going with a superb running left-foot kick for a goal, from a tight angle. A few points were scored before Fevola juggled a one-handed mark in front of Fletcher and kicked truly, reducing the Bommer lead to 12 points. Brad Fisher had passed for that Fev major and he also set up the next goal, passing to Stevens on the 50m line and Stevens thumped it home from distance. Grigg wobbled the ball forward from the restart, Carrazzo gathered and slotted a noice kick for full points and the Bloozers led, by a point. A Gibbs miss extended it to 2, Fletcher drove the kick-in to Lonergan, he handballed to David Myers whose kick found Lloyd marking strongly on a lead. Lloyd thumped a captain's goal and the Dons led again. A minute later Jason Laycock roved Lloyd's contest to snap a great over-the-shoulder major and the Dons were 10 points up. Stevens cleared the restart after swapping handpasses with Judd and kicked long, Fisher clutched a decent grab and majored. Hille helped extend the Don lead, he and Monfries combined to create a goal for Lucas, then Hille won the Sherrin from a ball-up and Stanton handballed for Reimers to slot a goal. Dons by 19 points but the Bloo crowd roared hugely when Fevola kicked another boundary-line ripper, from 45m with no space after swapping handpasses with Carrazzo. The Dons' lead was 12 points now but 27 minutes had gone in the term and the Bommers surged to the line. Andrew Lovett kicked consecutive sausages, the first a long punt capping a burst of speed through the centre, the next a close-range snap. McPhee set up a major for Reimers and McPhee also assisted on the game's final goal, for Lovett again. Three in the last five minutes for him.
Essadun fans were very happy with the performance of Angus Monfries (25 disposals, 12 marks, 4 goals), arguably his best game for the club. David Hille's ruck dominance (22 touches, 5 marks, 37 hit-outs) was important and skipper Matthew Lloyd (15 touches, 8 marks, 4 goals) played well again. Jobe Watson (27 possies) and Brent Stanton (23 handlings) were handy midfielders and Andrew Welsh won plaudits for his game on Judd, although as mentioned Juddy was off with the pixies probably. Adam McPhee (15 touches, 6 marks, a goal) was handy, Andrew Lovett kicked 3 goals in the last few minutes and there were 2 goals each for Jay Neagle and Kyle Reimers. Brendan Fevola (11 disposals, 6 marks, 7 goals) maintained his manager's hand in negotiations although it has been noted 30 of his 57 goals this season have come in 4 games against Collywood and Essadun. Nick Stevens (30 touches, 7 marks, 2 goals) was very good as was Marc Murphy (25 touches, a goal) and Kade Simpson (16 possies, a goal) was a handy contributor, Andrew Carrazzo (27 disposals, 2 goals) recovered from a horror start to be effective. Jarrad Waite (19 handlings, 8 marks) roamed effectively from defence. "We are never talking finals again," Brett Ratten said. "It was great that we got to have a look [at the top eight] but as soon as we got our head above the horizon, it seemed to get kicked off. That was the challenge I threw to the group to stay in the eight but now I think it is just about us winning games and the development. We have still got a lot of learning to do so to worry about playing finals football . . . if it came it would be fantastic, but let's just worry about the Richmond game next week. We had started fairly well but today, instead of jumping out of the box, we were stuck in the banana lounge you could say. It was terrible, it was the worst start to a game we have had this season." Matty Knights reflected on the early loss of Slattery. "To play with 21 from that point onwards, in a pretty up-tempo game of footy, was another real plus for us. To hold them off with the run and then come again strong with 21 was a big plus from a coaching point of view. They didn't go back into their shells. We spoke about [it] before the game, whatever the result, whether we were five up or five down, [the need] to stay focussed, stay in a good zone." He went on to give Hille a big wrap.
At Docklands:
Collingwood 1.3 6.8 11.9 13.11.89
Footscray 2.2 5.4 12.5 15.9.99
The Bullies jumped into second with this tough win over the Poise. Collywood were the better side for large chunks of the game but didn't put it on the 'board; the absence of a decent key forward (Rocca injured, Cloke suspended) was blamed by Pie supporters afterwards, including their coach. Malthouse glossed over the non-contributions of blokes like Dale Thomas and Alan Didak, although their opponents played well. But we were told afterwards the Bulldogs are 'real contenders' now, if a record of 10-1 and a draw coming in hadn't hinted at it. The Pies' decision to play proppy Rocca was a late one and, if I heard a pre-game interview with assistant coach Guy McKenna correctly, not unanimous. They've defended it heavily in days since. Also into the Poi side were recalled Tyson Goldsack, Alan Toovey and ruckman Cameron Wood, they replaced the suspended Cloke (one game), dropped Shane Wakelin and injured Leon Davis (ankle) and Josh Fraser (knee). So a few key Poise missing, then. No change for the Dogs.
This game featured a lotta strong tackling and pressure in general, with goals hard to come by. The opener was typical, the Bullies forced the ball forward through tap-ons and handballs-while-tackled, eventually Poi Rhyce Shaw handballed straight to Ryan Griffen who got a wobbly kick away and it bounced handily past Pie backman Harry O'Brien, Rob Murphy gathered and snapped truly. Several tough minutes followed, the Pies trying to bomb the ball long to Medhurst and Didak which didn't work, the Doggy defence holding firm. After a while Heath Shaw, terrific here, decided to actually pass the ball and his captain Scott Burns marked 40m out, Burns's punt just cleared the pack for a major. The Bullies did more defending as the Pies pressed, a long Rocca shot faded wide. Deep into time-on Footyscray managed a second goal, ruckman Will Minson slapped a ball-up into the path of Griffen and his low, angled snap bounced through. Dogs by 7 points at korter-time and Collywood were a man down, Ben Reid with a broken foot. The Poise began to convert their pressure in the second stanza. Youngster Sharrod Wellingham used an early free-kick to find big Cameron Wood on-the-lead, Wood converted. A bit later ruckman Chris Bryan tapped a ball-up noicely for Dane Swan to run onto the pill, gather and slot and the Maggies led by 7 points. Tarkyn Lockyer missed poorly before the Dogs got one, a strong grab from junior Callan Ward began the move and after several passes Minson handballed for Nathan Eagleton to punt it through off a step. It was against the run though, pacy Rhyce Shaw missed a couple of times for the Poise, sandwiching a goal for Burns also from a ruck contest, Bryan with a big overhand fist from a throw-in. Heath Shaw clutched a good grab on the wing and handballed to O'Bree, his pass found Rhyce Shaw lurking 30m out and 'Rice' kicked truly at last. The Pies'd jumped to a 16-point lead. The Dogs hit back late in the term with two goals from Mitch Hahn, sent to full-forward. Both were from goal-square marks, the first with a strong grab of Eagleton's long kick, the second created by Jason Akermanis marking on the 50m line and kicking long, quickly. Hahn lurked behind the pack to mark, play-on and poke it through. The Pie lead was cut to 3 points and another weak miss from Lockyer didn't help, but late in the term O'Bree's pass picked out Bryan for a mark and long sausage. Poise by 10 points at half-time.
The third term saw the Dogs draw closer early, Farren Ray's bounce-obsessive run down the wing (he had 5 in about 25m) ended with a long punt and Brad Johnson clutched a decent grab over young Toovey, he goaled. Johnno was clearly being beaten by Heath Shaw, though. The Pies continued to dominate with strong pressure, Bryan used his brain to lob a pass to retreating Medhurst in the pocket, Steak Knives converted. Rocca gathered a loose ball and booted a very high snap for full-points, it looked dubious but the goal-ump was okay with it. A minute later Lockyer led up for a mark 50m out and then passed to leading Medhurst, the Megastar was shoved over by Ryan Hargrave and a 50m penalty ensued, allowing Medhurst an easy major. The Scraggies led by a game-high 23 points now. Bulldogs Daniel 'Guido' Giansiracusa, Boyd and Cross combined to win the next centre-clearance, Minson got a wobbly punt away and there was the Poi nemesis Hahn again, playing in front to take Minson's mongrel on his chest and pop it through. The Poise had a quick answer though, Rocca gathered in space on the wing, ran a bit and kicked long, Wood clutched a very good grab over Hargrave and booted a goal. Pies by 23 again but Rocca'd done his recently operated-upon ankle in kicking that ball, his night and possibly season were over. The Bullpups proceeded to score four goals in time-on, with middlemen Cooney and Giansiracusa lifting. A series of short passes ended with Akermanis marking on the 50m line, playing-on and steering a great kick for full points. A bit later Scott Welsh chased a wayward pass into the pocket, gathered on the boundary-line, wheeled away too easily from opponent Brown and bounced a terrific left-foot dribbler for a major. Cross dished off his free-kick for Lindsay Gilbee to thump it home, a minute later Murphy's smart switching kick found Andrejs Everitt in space, he passed for leading Welsh to mark and convert. The Dogs led by a point. Collywood regained the lead briefly, Ben Johnson's surging rebound run and kick saw Scott Pendlebury hold a very good grab in front of Addison, the frustrated Bully slung Pendlebury to the ground adding a 50m penalty and goal. But the Dogs reclaimed the lead prior to the siren, Hahn's cool centering kick under some pressure allowed Minson to mark unopposed and punt truly. The Dogs led by a point then and 2 points at the last change, taking some momentum into the final Mario. Murphy kicked a goal in the opening 30s, Boyd drove a long kick in and Brad Johnson roved the contest, handballing for Murphy to snap it through. A minute later Thomas tried to crash through a Boyd tackle, unsuccessfully. 'Bawl' and Thomas copped a mouthful from Boyd. The ball went to Everitt who had a ping from distance and Giansiracusa leaped for a solid grab next to the point-post, he passed backwards for Murphy to mark and kick another. Murphy turned provider a bit later, finding Brad Johnson alone for a mark and conversion. The Bullies appeared certain winners now, leading by 19 points with seven of the previous eight goals. But the Pies mounted a late challenge. There was no scoring for a few minutes, before Medhurst capped a good run with a centering kick for Lockyer to mark and kick straight, finally. A bit later Bully full-back Brian Lake held a good grab in the last line and picked up a 50m penalty for some minor thing. As Lake approached the centre-square he made to play-on and was tackled strongly by Dane Swan, the ball spilled and Swan scooped it up, raced clear and booted a great goal. The Bulldog lead was back to 6 points but they held on, extending it with some late behinds from Akermanis, Welsh and Johnson.
Brownlow contender Adam Cooney (27 disposals) was an increasingly influential factor for the Dogs, with Daniel 'Guido' Giansiracusa (23 touches) also important in the midfield. The Bullies' defence was important, especially early, led by Ryan Hargrave (22 possies, 9 marks) and Dale Morris (20 disposals against goal-less Didak) with rebounding Lindsay Gilbee (29 touches, a goal), Addison and Lake also solid. Matthew Boyd (26 touches), whom Gerard Healy kept referring to as 'Brad', also played well, he was on Thomas mostly (Boyd, that is). Daniel Cross (29 disposals) was handy too and Mitch Hahn (10 touches, 3 marks, 3 goals) a vital forward. Robert Murphy (20 possies, 8 marks, 3 goals) was handy, Scott Welsh and Brad Johnson booted 2 goals each. The Pies received a great game from Heath Shaw (31 disposals, 11 marks) with great support from Scott Burns (23 possies, 2 goals) and runnin' Rhyce Shaw (24 touches, 9 marks, 1.3). Ben Johnson (23 disposals) and Scott Pendlebury (28 handlings, a goal) were good and Chris Bryan (12 possies, 6 marks, 15 hit-outs, a goal) stood up in the ruck. Shane O'Bree (21 possies) battled away. Cameron Wood, Dane Swan and Paul Medhurst kicked 2 goals each. Malthouse blamed the injuries to Reid and Rocca. "I've got no doubt today that we just didn't have the flexibility in the end to hold on and get back in the game at the right time, or put more pressure on them," Malthouse said. "But that's the luck of the draw under today's rules. There's almost a case for the bench being enlarged to have players that are just for injured players. You have to be able to convince the powers that be that you've got a legitimate injured player that can't come back on. I think there's a lot of substance to that." Never has these ideas when the Pies win. 'Rocket' Eade said "Collingwood are a tough side, to be able to hang in there and be able to forge ahead like we did, I think we got about three [goals] up at one stage, I think was a fair credit to the resolve of the group. Full credit to Collingwood, they were fantastic, their pressure was terrific and they out-worked us, I thought, for most of the game, but to be able to win tough, win a fairly tough game [was good] . . . I think the group has responded very well and now that the group is assured a spot in the finals, we've got to aim for the top four." Should be on-target.
Ladder after Round 13
Pts. % Next Week
Geelong 48 143.5 Bye
Footscray 46 131.2 Port Adelaide (Marrara Oval, Sat. night)
Hawthorn 44 125.1 West Coast (MCG, Fri. night)
Sydney 38 136.5 Bye
Adelaide 32 116.3 Bye
Brisbane 32 106.7 Melbourne (MCG, Sunday)
Collingwood 28 117.8 Bye
North Melbourne 26 94.7 St. Kilda (Carrara, Sat. night)
------------------------------------------------
St. Kilda 24 95.9 North Melbourne (Carrara, Sat. night)
Carlton 24 92.9 Richmond (MCG, Saturday)
Richmond 22 92.7 Carlton (MCG, Saturday)
Port Adelaide 16 95.0 Footscray (Marrara Oval, Sat. night)
Essendon 16 77.0 Fremantle (Subiaco, Sunday)
Fremantle 8 89.6 Essendon (Subiaco, Sunday)
West Coast 8 67.5 Hawthorn (MCG, Fri. night)
Melbourne 4 62.3 Brisbane (MCG, Sunday)
Cheers, Tim.
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