AFL Preliminary Finals
Good results 'cause we've got the best two sides in the big one, unlike last year when the planets aligned to let a mediocre Port side into the GF. Should be great. It was a week ago but it's tradition, so here's the All-Australian side:
B: Dale Morris (Foot) Matthew Scarlett (Geel) Tom Harley (Geel)
HB: Luke Hodge (Haw) Nathan Bock (Adel) Sam Fisher (StK)
C: Adam Cooney (Foot) Jimmy Bartel (Geel) Joel Corey (Geel)
HF: Matthew Pavlich (Frem) Nick Riewoldt (StK) Steve Johnson (Geel)
F: Brendan Fevola (Carl) Lance Franklin (Haw) Paul Medhurst (Coll)
Foll: Dean Cox (WC) Chris Judd (Carl, capt.) Gary Ablett (Geel)
Inter: Matthew Richardson (Rich) Aaron Sandilands (Frem) Corey Enright (Geel)
Most unlucky to miss was Hawk Sam Mitchell, who led the leeg in clearances and had a terrific season. There were 'only' seven Geelong players, down from nine last year despite them losing one game all season, as opposed to four in 2007. Of those 'dropped', Matthew Egan didn't play at all in 2008 and Darren Milburn was a lucky pick last season, but folks wondered what Cameron Ling had done wrong. Sandilands appeared pretty lucky to be selected ahead of Bomma ruckman David Hille, while the choice of Judd as skipper ahead of his Geelong counterpart, Harley, was also a bit controversial. A few people reckon Pavlich has replaced Mark Ricciuto as the non-Victorian bloke who gets picked every year. It was pointed out Pav now has six AA guernseys to Jonathan Brown's one.
A few more retirements since the season's end, Collywood skipper Scott Burns (264 games) has given it away, as have team-mates Shane Wakelin (252 games, quite a few for the Saints) and Ryan Lonie (knee problems, 123 games). Jess Sinclair (192 games, 50 for the Dockers) and Nathan Thompson (179 games, 119 for Horforn) are finished with the Ruse, Thompson was told he was a 'required player' before two very ordinary Kanger efforts in round 22 and the finals respectively prompted Norf into a re-think. Gary Ablett is $2.40 favourite for tonight's Brownlow Medal, ahead of team-mate Jimmy Bartel ($3.50) and North's Brent Harvey ($4.40). Others are double-figures, the bookies may have it right.
At the MCG:
Geelong 5.3 8.8 10.9 12.11.83
Footscray 4.3 5.5 7.9 7.12.54
Ah, the Doggies had a red-hot go but simply could not crack the watertight Cat defence. Add in a few crucial misses, dubious umpiring and some slick Cat moves and the Pu55ies won easily enough in the end, but as the TV folk noted it 'felt' close most of the night. Geelong were unusually sluggish and subject to some tough tackling pressure from the Pups, but they also scraped through the prelim last year and still went on the smash the Powder in the big one. Disappointed the Bulldogs will be, but this has been a pretty good season for them. As Eade pointed out afterwards, thirteenth to third was the biggest ladder-jump in the AFL this season. A second consecutive late-season fade-out was a worry but didn't affect them in real terms, the abject effort in the final against Horforn was poor but they've played pretty well in the two games since. Taking marks up forward continues to be a problem, Scott Welsh was okay during the season but useless in the finals, Will Minson and Mitch Hahn have stood up at various times, but struggled here. But there's improvement in this Footscray side still. In pickin' the Cats replaced injured Brent Prismall (torn knee ligament) and Paul Chapman (tight hamstring) with James Kelly and David Wojcinski, both returning from injury. Hard luck for Prismall, who'd earned his spot. No change for the Bullies, Daniel 'Guido' Giansiracusa playing his 150th game.
Tough all night with both defences going well, Brian Lake led the Bully backmen superbly while Tom Harley was great for the Catters. Jason Akermanis, who'd stirred the Cats during the week, labeling them arrogant, was slung to the ground in an early tackle which drew cheers from Pu55y supporters. Cameron Ling hacked a quick punt for a behind to open the scoring before Cameron Mooney led long to mark inside the centre-square, handballs to Ablett and then running Matthew Scarlett who sent the ball long and Mathew Stokes held a with-the-flight mark, he played-on and hooked it through. Typical Cats but the Doggies began to win the ball. Shaun Higgins gave Milburn some early run-around, unfortunately for the Dogs Higgins snapped a behind with his first chance and then missed a sitter from 30m, right in front. A minute later Ryan Griffen chipped a pass towards leading Brad Johnson, he went to ground but Higgins swept up the ball and bounced a very good left-foot snap for full points. The Dawgs led by a point. The Cats replied as Ablett was allowed to go 360 in a tackle and get a handball away to Kelly, who produced an excellent kick across the ground for Jimmy Bartel to mark with-the-flight and thump through from 50m. Cats by 5 points before the Doggies enjoyed a good spell, applying plenty of pressure. Cat Andrew Mackie was tackled strongly by Minson at a back-pocket throw-in, the ball spilled to Brad Johnson who poked it through from close range. A great move by the Doggies saw Josh Hill stab a low pass to Lindsay Gilbee, he in turn speared the ball onto the chest of Higgins who steered another goal from the pocket. That sort of passing was the way to beat a zone defence, Leigh Matthews pointed out. Tough for a bit, Bulldog Lake rushing a coupla behinds for the Cats 'Bowden-style'. After a while Matthew Boyd kicked towards leading Minson, who took his man Taylor under the ball but Akermanis raced onto it to gather and snap a superb left-foot sausage from a tight angle. The Dogs led by 11 points but lost Giansiracusa at this stage with a hyper-extended elbow, Guido returned later but clearly favoured his damaged arm. The Cats hit back late, a poor handball from Doggy Robert Murphy (terrible early) led to a turnover and Ablett kicked to Travis Varcoe forward of the centre, Varcoe handballed to running Wojcinski whose long punt bounced through for a major. A minute later Corey Enright snuffed out a Doggy attack with a gutsy mark running backwards into the pack, the ball went to Mark Blake whose lobbed kick forward was well-marked by Max Rooke, he converted. Puppy Nathan Eagleton missed a tight-angle shot and the Cats raced afield from the kick-in, Ablett held a good grab on the forward-flank and kicked quickly where Tom Lonergan was awarded a mark in the goal-square, he popped it through. Cats by 6 points at the first break. The second term was tight for a long time. Milburn, carved up by Higgins, started it on the bench with Enright now picking up the Bulldog. Hahn scored an early behind for Footyscray with a long pot-shot, Wojcinski did likewise for the Pu55ies. The Dogs burned a few chances, Eagleton clangered a pass inside 50 when he had plenty of time and Brad Johnson had a selfish, hurried go when he should've handballed ahead to Jarrod Harbrow, in hectares on space. At the other end Mooney twice dropped marks he should've held, although Dale Morris was doing well on Mooney. When Mooney did hold a grab his shot hit the post, but thirteen minutes into the stanza the goal-drought broke. Bartel kicked wide to find leading Stokes, he jabbed a low pass for leading Steve Johnson to mark and convert from a tricky angle. Cat skipper Tom Harley marked behind the centre-circle and was clattered late by Ryan Hargrave, a 50m penalty and Harley wobbled a punt for a rare six-pointer. The Catters were finding space in the corridor now and after tough play from Joel Selwood won possession, Enright lobbed a kick forward and Morris's spoil on Mooney saw the ball fall to Brad Ottens, who poked a major from point-blank. Three straight from the Catters and they led by 26 points, but the Pups managed to get one late in the term. Cooney roved a forward-pocket throw-in and handballed to Eagleton, who snapped it through. The Dogs were 21 points behind at half-time.
The Katz were supposedly ready to lift in the third term and scored an early goal, Joel Corey stabbed a daisy-cutter pass onto the chest of leading Mooney who played-on by accident really, and chipped a centering kick where Varcoe marked despite slipping over. Varcoe's subsequent goal had the Pu55ies 27 points ahead. But the tight scrap resumed, both sides finding it difficult to crack the other's defence. The Bulldogs were tackling hard, forcing the Cats into atypical errors but the Dogs were chipping the ball about, retaining possession as they couldn't find a way forward. Josh Hill was reported for smashing his hip into Mackie's head, a bit later Selwood missed a shot. The Doggies finally managed a goal with a quick rebound, Higgins kicked long and Hill won a free-kick for having his arm chopped by Taylor, Hill majored. A bit later more good Bulldog defending saw the ball out to the wing, Harbrow roved smartly and centered the ball to Cooney, on to Higgins who dithered a bit before handballing back to on-running Harbrow, who swerved onto his left foot and booted a goal with an across-the-body snap. The Bulldogs were in it, 15 points down. They exerted plenty of pressure, after some prolonged chip-about Brad Johnson got the ball in the forward-pocket, he kicked backwards and centrally to find Higgins marking 40m out - but Higgins's weak punt didn't make the distance and was marked by Taylor. A rushed point to the Doggies followed, then some more chip-around before Eagleton kicked long and Minson plucked a strong grab in front of Ottens. But Minson missed too. Hahn's bombed behind from 50m whittled the Cat lead down to 12 points but the Catters finally escaped with a rapid move from the kick-in, Varcoe kicked long and Mooney drifted behind Morris to take a mark and pop it through from 15m out. Geelagong led by 18 points, the margin at three-quarter-time as Lonergan marked in the goal-square, fractionally after the siren. The Dogs exerted more pressure in the early final term, but still couldn't convert. Boyd marked 40m out but sliced his shot on-the-full, a bit later Cat Milburn was the victim of a harsh 'bawl' decision but Minson, normally a pretty reliable shot, missed again from 40m out, no angle. Higgins ran inside 50m but his wobbly kick bounced out for a throw-in, from which the Catters cleared. Twelve minutes in and the Cats led by 17 points, before they managed a controversial goal. Bulldog Morris collected the ball on his half-back flank and kicked a cross-field pass towards Brad Johnson, who was crunched head-on by Rooke. The ump waved play-on and Lonergan collected the spilled ball, he handballed back to Rooke who kicked a goal. Much booing from Bulldog fans as the TV replay showed Rooke had taken his eyes off the ball and had no intention of trying to mark it - he just wanted to hit Johnno. The Cats led by 23 points, in the next few minutes the Bulldogs managed a rushed behind only and the Cats started to control the ball and slow the game down. Corey missed after a mark on-the-lead, the Dogs had another behind as Scarlett affected a great spoil on Minson. Late in the piece the Cats advanced on a defensive rebound and Ablett kicked long, Steve Johnson was held back by Hargrave and Johnson free-kicked a goal. The Pu55ies led by 28 points with 2:40 to go, they were into another Grand Final.
The Cats' backline was very good, led by Andrew Mackie (29 disposals, 7 marks) and Tom Harley (18 touches, 3 marks, a goal), the latter terrific early. Matthew Scarlett (14 possies) came into it as the game progressed. Further afield Cameron Ling (22 handlings, 6 marks) beat a sluggish, apparently 'flu-afflicted Cooney and Jimmy Bartel (27 disposals, 6 marks, a goal) had a big second half, Brad Ottens (17 touches, 6 marks, 22 hit-outs, a goal) had the better of the rucks. Joel Corey (28 possessions, 6 marks) was classy as usual and as the key forwards struggled, Travis Varcoe (18 handlings, 7 marks, a goal) and Max Rooke (9 disposals, 5 marks, 2 goals) were important attackers for the Cats. Steve Johnson kicked 2 goals. The Bulldog back-line was also very good, led by Brian Lake (22 disposals, 8 marks) on Lonergan, Dale Morris (9 touches) on Mooney and Ryan Hargrave (19 disposals, 5 marks) did very well against Steve Johnson. Daniel Cross (32 disposals, 8 marks) was their stand-out midfielder, back-flankers Tim Callan (23 possies, 7 marks) and Lindsay Gilbee (25 touches, 8 marks) did some attacking running. Daniel Giansiracusa (24 touches, 8 marks) wasn't bad despite his damaged wing, the speed of Jarrod Harbrow (16 possessions, 2 goals) was handy at times. Shaun Higgins (12 touches, 5 marks, 2 goals) was their only dangerous attacker. "I think the main lesson is that there are fruits of your labour if you do work hard enough," Eade said after the game. "And then the extension of that is that close enough is not good enough. I think there's a lot of pride and a spirit in their efforts - a lot of people wrote us off two weeks ago, and we showed last week and this week that there's a fair bit of spirit within the group. I think there's a real big positive for the season, but there's something to learn. We've got to have the same hard work, the same focus for next year, and we've got to be prepared to take those steps forward again next year." On the game itself, Rocket said "I think we made some goal-kicking errors and some execution errors at times, and I think against good teams you've got to be able to take those chances. It's all ifs, buts, maybes - you kick a couple of goals before three-quarter time, you might go in one goal down and then obviously you get a real sniff, and then a couple at the start of the last quarter, but as I said, you've got to be able to take those chances, and we didn't." Bomber Thompson brushed off the Cats' below-par effort. "I don't think it has to be convincing," he said. "In the end all you have to do is win in finals and that's why you see a lot of times teams in comfortable positions take their foot off the pedal. Not that you deliberately want to do that - you never want to do it from the box - it just seemed to be what happened. There's no need to win by a lot. As far as convincing, we were happy to win the game . . . It's been a pretty pressurised year, it really has. The longer it's gone, the more pressure people are putting on us. The expectation to win, the supporters are expecting to win every game they play. The media and all of the people from other clubs - that's a hard thing to carry. I think our guys have just handled it terrifically well. We'll just put our heads down this week, go about our business and give ourselves the best shot to play the best footy we can next week." He praised Rooke's probably illegal late goal. "I like that. I thought it was significant. It just made a statement. One of the reasons why he is in the side, Max Rooke, is because he does those things. He runs straight, he plays for keeps and we love him," Thompson said. "I had a look on the replay and I wasn't sure [if it was a free kick]. Sometimes they pay them, sometimes they don't. Was Darren Milburn unlucky when he got pinned for holding the ball? Maybe. They pay them sometimes. Every game there's a lot of decisions which aren't consistent. And you've just go to live with them. We don't ever whinge or moan about decisions. Ultimately they don't help you win or lose the game - 99 per cent of the time."
At the MCG:
Hawthorn 4.4 11.5 15.8 18.10.118
St. Kilda 2.3 3.6 7.7 9.10.64
Retiring Saint legend Robert Harvey summed it up best; he couldn't wait for the final siren. The Hawks out-played the Saints from start to finish, despite a reasonably close first quarter. Too tough, too fast, too good. An added bonus for the Awks was the big win coming with no meaningful contribution from Lance 'Buddy' Franklin, due to a great game from the Saints' full-back Max Hudghton and the Hawks' own tactics. Afterwards Robert 'Banger' Harvey was chaired off by Hudghton and Lenny Hayes through an honour guard of players from both sides, ending a magnificent 21-year, 383-game career with two Brownlow medals and countless club champion and All-Australian awards. No player, ever, has had a career spanning 21 seasons. Harvey's genius as a player was his incredible ability to get to contests and win the ball, turning or carrying a game through sheer weight of possession. As a few have noted Harvs wasn't one for the spectacular, he didn't have explosive speed, a booming kick, take big grabs or kick bags of goals; the one criticism of him has been the lack of goals he's kicked through the years. But he was the first midfielder to regularly get 30+ disposals a game, in the era before the current heavy-possession style. And Harvey did it regularly, the mark of a true champion; they don't have great games or great years, they have great careers. If only the Saints could be so consistent. They were written off numerous times during the season, only to pull out a big win; overall, the Stainers had a good second half of the year, as they did in 2007, but this game showed how far they are behind the true contenders. They're still half-a-dozen decent players short and it'll be interesting to see what they do list-wise. Trade for more experienced players as they did last season, or bring in more kids which they haven't tended to do. In selection here the Hawkers made two changes to the team which thumped the Bulldogs a fortnight back, Cameron Stokes (hamstring tightness) and Thomas Murphy (alleged back injury) missed out, replaced by Xavier Ellis and Stephen Gilham. Gilham picked up Riewoldt and was always going to play. The Sainters picked hamstrung Luke Ball but he didn't play, to little surprise. Instead Aaron Fiora replaced Jarryd Allen (torn hip ligament).
The umpires were the key early players, awarding a bucket of technical frees and 50m penalties which led to goals. But as the game wore on the Hawks' superb, fast ball-movement and rugged play wore the Sainters down. As mentioned Gilham picked up Saint leader Nick Riewoldt, with help from Trent Croad. Nick Dal Santo was tagged very closely by Chance Bateman. The Saints had Hudghton on Franklin and Jason Blake, instrumental in the Saints' win over the Hawks earlier in the season, started as a forward-flank tag on Luke Hodge. Young Saint Robert Eddy had some early chances but he nervously fumbled a marking chance 20m out, then saw a low snap smothered. Hawk Mark Williams missed badly with a free-kick, as things evolved Williams was the forward the Hawks went to most often, with early success. Smart, disciplined play to sparingly use defender-magnet Franklin. The Saints scored the first goal, Adam Schneider marked on the wing and was grabbed briefly by the late-arriving Croad; a soft but technically correct 50m penalty was awarded and Schneider majored. Williams missed again for the Awks, a quick snap following a turnover by Saint Raphael Clarke. The Orcs soon had a goal as Cyril Rioli dived after the ball at a throw-in and was grabbed 'round the neck by Brendon Goddard, no doubt it was a free-kick and Rioli converted. Sainter Stephen Milne free-kicked a point after being tripped by Hodge, then the Saints benefitted from another 50m penalty as Sam Fisher marked on the forward-flank and had his jumper grabbed by Michael Osborne. Fisher booted a goal and Sinkilda led by 5 points. Commentator Robert Walls raged against the ump's technical decision, as co-expert Mick Voss pointed out the players should know the rules. Wallsy had a go at coaches during the season for being too old and out-of-touch; a saying involving black kettles and glasshouses comes to mind. Anyway, the Hawks soon replied as leading Williams had his arms chopped in the marking contest by opponent Sam Gilbert, Williams slotted his resulting free for full points. More whistledge a minute later as Jarryd Roughead was awarded a Mystery Rucking Free at a throw-in (Koschitzke's arm briefly brushed his shoulder), Roughead managed to kick straight from the pocket and the Hawks led by 7 points. Saint Leigh Montagna intercepted smartly and set up Milne for a shot, but Milney missed poorly. It was tight for a few minutes and tough with a few blues breaking out. Bateman was all over Dal Santo and Riewoldt got plenty of attention from the 'unsociable' Hork backmen. The Hawks crept ahead after Ellis cleared a ball-up at the second try, a handball went to Clint Young and he roosted it through from just inside 50, Horforn led by 12 points. A key incident came soon afterwards, Koschitzke soared over back-pedalling Hodge to take a good grab, of a ball which was out-on-the-full so the mark didn't count. But Kosi's hip smashed into Hodge's ribs in the contest and Hodge was visibly hurt, doubling over in pain and coughing up blood for the next few minutes. Looked like rib damage but Hodge refused to go off, his side 13 points up at the first break.
The Hawks moved further ahead the further the game went. A terrific move from a throw-in, involving the excellent Sam Mitchell and Jordan Lewis, set up an early second-term mark for Williams but he missed, should've had a 50m penalty given what'd happened in the first term. The heavy niggle continued, Riewoldt was knocked down off-the-ball by Robert Campbell and after Hodge slumped on one knee following a marking contest, clutching his ribs again, he was given a very light bump by Hayes, which earned Hayes copious booing for the rest of the night from the easily outraged Hawk supporters. Hodge went off for a brief rest. Franklin's first shot came now, a running right-foot effort which wobbled out-of-bounds. But a minute later Brent Guerra drove a long kick in and Williams was clearly held by Gilbert, a free-kick and Williams popped it through from 15m. Gilbert was struggling. A skilful effort by Lewis got the ball to Rioli, he kicked long and Campbell Brown lurked behind Williams and Gilbert for a chest mark, Brown majored and Horforn led by 26 points. Sinkilda's Clint Jones had a free at the restart, bringing Bronx cheering from Saint fans - they hadn't had many, just goals from 50m penalties. But from the attacking kick Koschitzke spoiled team-mate Eddy. The Orcs rebounded, Bateman dived to take a good grab on the boundary-line and he punted forward where Osborne held a decent mark under pressure from Jason Gram, Osborne converted and it were Hawks by 31. The Saints pulled one back, a Hork handballing move from defence came unstuck when Crawford's look-away effort went straight to Aaron Fiora, he booted a major. The Hawks replied immediately, at the next centre-bounce Koschitzke's big punch went to Goddard but he was tackled hard, Lewis gathered the spilled ball and handpassed to Williams, another released Bateman to run clear and lob it through from 55m. The Saints were wilting, demonstrated when Gram ran forward and tried a torpedo shot from 60m which wobbled into the arms of unopposed Croad. Horforn effectively ended the contest with three late goals. From that defensive Croad grab a possession-heavy move ended with Brent Guerra lobbing a pass to leading Williams in the pocket, Willo played-on and hooked it through. The Sainters scored a point but the Hawks took the ball to the other end with two long kicks; a ball-up in their forward-pocket and Sinkilda's Blake leaped over the ruckmen only to slap the ball directly to Roughead, who snapped a sausage. Another Mitchell centre-clearance followed, Osborne gathered at half-forward, was tackled and fired off a handpass towards the boundary but Shane Crawford swept up the ball and slotted a superb goal from the boundary-line. The Hawks led by a very healthy 47 points at half-time.
Any chance of a Sinkilda come-back was snuffed out by another three goal Hawker blast to start the third stanza. A rebound from Sinkilda's opening thrust saw the ball go towards Sainter Clarke, he couldn't hold a difficult back-pedalling mark and Hawk Brown gathered, he drove a low kick to the goal-square where Franklin out-maneuvered Hudghton for the first time to mark in-front and pop it through. Mitchell and Lewis combined to win the following centre-clearance for the Horks, Brown was spoiled in the marking attempt but the ball came back to him and Brown hooked a pass to find Roughead marking alone, he converted. A Brown behind (?) a minute later had the Horks exactly 10 goals in front and it was kinda hard to maintain interest. Soon enough Lewis dived to force the ball clear from a throw-in, Bateman gathered and lobbed a handball inside for running Rioli to steer it through with his left boot. The Hawks led by 66 points. Franklin missed with a free-kick and another rushed point saw the Hawks reach their biggest lead, 68 pointes. Not for the first time Goddard lost his temper and felled Mitchell with a right hook, should ensure a late start to 2009 for Goddard. The Hawks eased up a bit, benching Franklin and later Hodge for a break - Buddy'd jarred his thumb in an early marking contest. Sinkilda backman Gilbert attacked the ball well and manufactured a rebound, Gram passed to Schneider and another pass found Riewoldt marking 40m out, he chipped further ahead for Montagna to mark and convert. The Hawks replied as leading Williams spilled the mark, but recovered the Sherrin and jabbed a pass to Young who thumped it home from 50m. Now Riewoldt enjoyed a good spell, he'd been starved of opportunity really. Lewis was penalized for a throw and Fisher kicked his free towards leading Riewoldt, whose arm was dragged down by Hodge. Riewoldt free-kicked a goal from 50m. A minute later some Sainter chip-about was broken by Gram going for a run, he kicked wide where leading Riewoldt marked easily and steered a good punt for a goal from the flank. Goddard had a free-kick at the restart, pushed in the back, and he drove a long, skilful pass for leading Riewoldt to mark again and boot a third straight major. Sinkilda had reduced the margin to 49 points. Roughead switched to defence as the term wound down dully, save for Brown appearing to knee Schneider in the head. It'll be looked at. The Hawks scored an early goal in the final Mario, Franklin gathered Mitchell's wobbly punt on-the-bounce, fended off Harvey with a hand to the neck and passed to Williams in the pocket who booted his fourth goal. Harvs raised his arms in appeal to the ump, to no avail. Not much happened for the next few minutes although the Hawks drew praise from their fans for some hard hits and general efforts, from Brad Sewell especially. The Saints managed a goal eventually as Riewoldt seized an excellent pack-mark and switched flanks with a pass to leading Fisher, who converted. A minute later Williams dived on prone Hudghton's head, which could have him in real trouble although Max appeared to 'duck' just at the right time. The Hawks produced a great move as Hodge drilled a pass to Campbell, he handballed to Mitchell whose lobbed kick allowed Franklin to soar over Gilbert for a terrific grab. Franklin handballed immediately to Williams, who coasted in for a point-blank major. Montagna won the following centre-break for the Saints and kicked towards Riewoldt, he couldn't mark but Schneider roved and fired a long handpass to the goal-square where 'cheating' Milne lurked to poke a point-blank goal. Franklin flattened Clarke with a heavy (legal) bump before the Hawkers scored the last goal, Roughead juggling a strong grab against Fisher and converting. After the final siren Harvey departed through the honour guard, to a standing ovation from the packed 'G.
Sam Mitchell (33 disposals, 5 marks) and Jordan Lewis (27 touches, 9 marks) dominated contested-ball wins for the Awks and from them everything flowed. Long-kickin' Clint Young (21 handlings, 8 marks, 2 goals) was very good and Brad Sewell (27 possessions) demonstrated his toughness, we were reminded every few seconds about Luke Hodge's bravery (24 disposals, 11 marks). He's pretty good, though. Mark Williams (17 handlings, 5 marks, 5 goals) was the Horks' key forward and Jarryd Roughead (18 touches, 8 marks, 4 goals) was pretty useful, Brent Guerra (26 possies, 11 marks) and Grant Birchall (23 touches, 12 marks) did some penetrating running from the back. Cyril Rioli bagged 2 goals. The Saints' best would have to be Max Hudghton (13 disposals, 7 marks), limiting Franklin to 2 marks and 1.1. Hudghton's considering retirement, apparently. Brendon Goddard (33 disposals, 10 marks) and Lenny Hayes (27 touches, 10 marks) tried hard as usual and Sam Fisher (22 handlings, 11 marks, 2 goals) did pretty well on Roughead, who ventured down the ground a lot. Raphael Clarke (25 disposals, 9 marks) confirmed his late-season improvement. Nick Riewoldt (11 kicks, 9 marks, 3 goals) enjoyed a decent second half, but the game was over by then. Robert Harvey had 19 possessions in his final game. Over to Ross Lyon, concerning whom the jury still out. "I think you'll get a great grand final. They (Geelong and Hawthorn) are clearly the two best teams and they have two unique systems that are in some ways similar. It will be won and lost in the midfield as it was tonight . . . I take no satisfaction in it (making the preliminary final). If you've been involved in any role at a club it's not about making preliminary finals. In the wash-up we've improved and we know where we're heading. Everyone's trying to head to the same spot. It was a turnaround (this year), no doubt about it . . . We felt we've unearthed some young talent. If you analyse every list closely there's additions from drafting and trading. There were a couple we thought about playing like Jack Steven and we gave Benny McEvoy a game. It's a relentless competition and we need to go away in the cold light of day and assess our list. Those that can take the club to a premiership and be successful, whenever that is [will stay] . . . It's not a time for flippancy from me as senior coach now. We've got good people who will sit down and analyse and make (draft and trade) decisions. We'll add talent, we'll improve our systems and we will demand hard work and they are a couple of key ingredients to be successful . . . (Tonight) won't be swept under the carpet. We've got to bridge the gap between the top three. We thought we'd be closer than we were tonight." Hawk coach Alastair Clarkson said "It's good for the coaching staff that it wasn't a nail-biter, I can tell you that. I was really pleased . . . with the endeavour and spirit of the group tonight. It's been a great effort by the whole football club, not just the playing group but the coaching group and the administration to get ourselves in a position where we can be in a grand final. The next challenge, obviously, is to give ourselves every chance of winning it. We demonstrated with our attack on the footy and our use of the footy that we're a very worthy grand finalist this year and we intend to go as hard as we possibly can next week . . . We come up against a side ironically who is very, very similar - and the pioneer and benchmark in that regard in the competition in Geelong. We're aspiring to be like them in that regard, it's the reason why they've been the premier side over the last two years, but we're chasing really, really hard and we get an opportunity next week to see how close we've come in that chase." Should be a cracker.
Next week, Grand Final:
Geelong v Hawthorn, MCG, Saturday.
Cheers, Tim.
The AFL Review is sent via an automatic email list. To join or leave the list is easy.
Please visit our website at http://www.footy.com.au/fts/newsletters.htm
OR
If you have difficulty with the above please email lists@footy.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment