AFL Round 1 Part 2
At the MCG:
Hawthorn 3.2 8.4 10.6 16.7.103
Geelong 4.8 8.16 14.19 15.21.111
Intriguing Grand Final re-match (he says, taking a puff of his pipe with a hand tucked into his cardigan pocket). The Cats dominated an under-strength Hork line-up for three quarters, didn't kick too straight (as in the GF) but then Mark 'Bomber' Thompson tempted fate with some ill-advised positional moves and Horforn came rattling home. The Katz hung on, but the Hawks would've gone home none too worried. Coming off a difficult pre-season with a number of injured players, the Orcs had talked down their prospects for this game. Famous blowhard Hawk president Jeff Kennett made a token effort the day before, saying the Pu55ies "lacked the psychological drive" of his Hawks. No, I don't know what that means either. The Hawks had several premiership players absent, in addition to those retired they were without Trent Croad - still recovering from the foot he broke in the GF - suspended Jordan Lewis and injured Xavier Ellis, Rick Ladson and Robert Campbell. In addition Luke Hodge, Lance Franklin and Campbell Brown all had injury 'queries' coming in. The Orcs had three new players, all debutants in the tall, athletic first-round pick Ryan Schoenmakers from Tea Tree Gully (SA), Zillmere wingman Brendan Whitecross and Matthew Suckling who's been on the Hawks' rookie list for three years. Michael Osborne played his 100th game. The Catters had no new men and were missing skipper Tom Harley and backman Josh Hunt, both injured. Hunt did a knee ligament a fortnight back and he'll miss the season, poor bloke.
The Cats, impressive winners of the NAB Cup, were dominant early with Gary Ablett a ball magnet. But just like the GF, they didn't convert. Hork tyro Cyril Rioli actually produced the first poor miss, from the resulting kick-in the Cats advanced and advantage allowed for Joel Corey and Cam Mooney to find Ryan Gamble marking on-the-lead, he converted. But then Mathew Stokes, who had an awful game in the 09 GF, missed with a close-range dribbly kick and Gamble postered after another lead and mark. Horforn made their thrusts count as Chance Bateman, sans dreadlocks, lobbed a clever pass for Michael Osborne to mark and boot a major. Travis Tuck took the ball away from the restart and found leading Lance 'Buddy' Franklin marking strongly, of course Franklin missed - tough shot though, from 55m. The Cats had Matthew Scarlett as Buddy's opponent, with Harry Taylor on Jarryd Roughead. The Cat midfield held sway, good work from Jimmy Bartel (odd 'New Romantic' haircut) and Joel Selwood led to a goal for Travis Varcoe and the Cats led by 8 points. Selwood was targeted a bit, slung to the ground in a tackle from Hodge and then kneed in the head by Hork ruckman Simon Taylor, for which Taylor was reported. A bit later Taylor, all alone in his defensive goal-square, punched an incoming kick through for a point - that's supposed to be a free-kick against under the new rule banning rushed behinds, but it wasn't paid. Cat Steve Johnson missed a set shot as his side crept along to 2.6. Weight of opportunity meant they eventually managed another goal, Corey tumbled a kick goal-wards from a throw-in and Varcoe handballed for Andrew Mackie to snap truly. Ablett had a free at the following centre-bounce, held by opponent Brad Sewell, Ablett's punt went over leading Mooney but Gamble pounced and bounced a snap through for a six-pointer. Catters by 22 points. The Awks pulled one back, young Ryan Schoenmakers had a free and dished it off to captain Sam Mitchell, his long kick allowed Roughead to lurk behind Taylor for a good grab and tight-angle major. Mooney and Varcoe both missed poorly after marks 20m out, just before the first break hefty Hawk Stuart Dew roved a throw-in and slotted a great snap for a goal. It was déjà-vu all over again as the Cat lead was reduced to 12 points at quarter-time. Roughead missed poorly with an early second-term chance, but a minute later Franklin tapped a throw-in down to Mark Williams and his quick, tumbling kick found Osborne in front of Mackie for a mark and goal, and the Pu55ies' lead was down to 5 points. The Catters responded, cool under-pressure efforts from Ablett and Corey set up Johnson's good, left foot snap for full points. But the Orcs cleared the restart, Sam Mitchell coming to life, Franklin held a good grab against Scarlett and booted a tremendous goal from the flank. A poster each and the Hawks lost Osborne for the night with a torn hamstring. The Hawks closed the gap to a point courtesy a Mackie clanger, a centering kick straight to Rioli who chipped a pass for Bateman to mark and convert. Cue much GF reminiscing in the Channel Seven commentary box. Selwood missed an easy shot, in the build-up the Geelong Stokes had been clattered by Hawk Hodge and it triggered a bit of handbags, it'd been a tough game so far. Hodge's influence had been minimal as he was tagged by Max Rooke, and the Cats avoided bombing it in. The Hawks grabbed the lead following a terrific effort from Sewell to win the ball against Cameron Ling, Sewell's centering kick was marked by Hawk Cameron Stokes, he majored and Horforn led by 3 points. The Katz hit back, a wayward Hodge handball picked off by Paul Chapman, Corey kicked to find Mooney all alone and 'Moons' managed to kick accurately. Noice work from Matty Stokes and Varcoe set up a running, 50m bomb for Ablett, the Pu55ies managed more behinds before Ling exchanged handballs with Corey and lobbed a kick to CHF for big Mark Blake to juggle a grab and boot a sausage. The Catters had jumped to an 18-point lead. The Orcs pulled one back just before half-time, Sewell roved a throw-in and Clint Young produced an excellent pass with his (wrong) right foot to find Rioli, who majored. Cats by 12 at the long break.
The Pu55ies moved clear in the third stanza, by kicking straight. A few minutes in Hawk Stokes hesitated badly and the Cats whipped the ball away, Chapman exchanged handballs with Johnson and smacked a running goal from 50m. At the restart Cat Rooke was reported for nothing more than a hip-to-hip bump on Mitchell. It was off-the-ball, but the Hawks appear to have taken diving lessons over summer, something coach Clarkson was good at in his playing days. Some cagey keepings-off from both sides for a while - that damnable Hawk zone - before Chapman broke it up by marking, baulking around Brent Guerra and kicking long for Mooney to mark behind the pack. Mooney converted from close range. Slick work from Mathew Stokes, Ling and Selwood enabled the Cats to clear the restart and Corey Enright kicked for Rooke to mark, play-on and convert. Geelagong led by 29 points. Ablett made a curious decision to try a weak pass when kicking a goal seemed easier - Leigh Matthews suggested Ablett was tired - while struggling Hork forward Roughead was shifted to defence. A series of chipped passes set up another mark and goal for Rooke and the Cats led by 36 points. The premiers weren't the only rusty ones. Dennis Commetti described the quiet Cat forward Tom Lonergan as "kickless in Seattle." Eh? Franklin missed a shot for goal and Brooce McAvaney reckoned it was like "Picasso smudging the paper." Yeah, 'cause Buddy's so phenomenally accurate normally. A terrific Catter rebound ended with Lonergan taking a back-pedalling mark and being punched in the face by Hodge, who was reported too. Probably accidental, but Hodge gets no benefit of any doubt. The resulting 50m penalty gave Lonergan an easy shot, Cats by 41 points following 5 unanswered goals. The Awks broke the run when Campbell Brown fired a great handpass out from a ball-up and Dew slotted a noice one. A minute later good work from Mitchell released Guerra and he kicked long, Franklin shoved off Taylor, marked and converted. The Cat lead was back to 29 points, but a wobbly kick-in from Hodge allowed Selwood to intercept and centre a pass to Johnson, he thumped it home from 50m. Pu55y ruckman Brad Ottens missed poorly late in the stanza, the Katz led by 37 points at the final change.
Early in the last Rooke chipped a cool pass for Enright to mark and dob a six-pointer, sending the Catters 43 points ahead. Franklin managed to take a grab when Taylor slipped over, Franklin goaled and returned the gap to 37 points. Now Bomber Thompson displayed some arrogance. Scarlett, who'd copped a bit of a knock, and Taylor were benched and Lonergan and Milburn took over defensive duties on Franklin and Roughead. Sewell began to win a stack of ball as the Awks advanced again, Roughead employed his new-found diving skills and was rewarded with a free, he goaled. Mackie became the fourth bloke reported on the night when he gave Hawk Brent Renouf a punch in the stomach - really a 'love tap', the sort of thing ignored if it's delivered by Barry Hall, but punished severely if dealt by Fraser Gehrig. Soon Roughead marked within range, bullocking the smaller Milburn aside, and kicked another sausage, reducing the Orcs' deficit to 25 points. Scarlett and Taylor returned but the genie was out of the bottle. Mitchell was clouted high at a ball-up and handballed his free to Tuck, who punted smartly for Franklin to mark over Taylor, play-on and slot it through. Guerra had an ill-advised pot-shot from range when he should've passed and Dew fumbled badly when the goals gaped before him as the Hawks pressed on. The Cats began to over-use the ball and duly coughed it up, Bateman speared a pass for Roughead to mark strongly ahead of Milburn and boot another Orc major. Into time-on and a good handpass from Dew allowed Williams to run clear, his punt was marked impressively by Franklin against Taylor and Buddy couldn't miss as the Cats' lead was cut to 7 points. A tough series of ball-ups and throw-ins in the Cat forward-line ended with a free plucked out, to Cat Johnson, but he missed. This was with 3:30 remaining. The most meaningful remaining act came when Ottens intercepted a Mitchell kick on the wing and the Cats played keepings-off to the end.
Young Gary Ablett (35 disposals, a goal) was terrific early when the Cats were going, with key assistance from Joel Corey (28 touches) and Joel Selwood (25 handlings). Steve Johnson (27 possies, 9 marks) was busy in attack, as in the GF, but only marginally more accurate with 2.3. Paul Chapman (30 handlings, 7 marks, a goal) made some telling interventions and Brad Ottens (22 handlings, 9 marks, 22 hit-outs) won the ruck but kicked 0.3. Max Rooke (15 touches, 8 marks, 2 goals) did very well against Hodge. Ryan Gamble (12 touches, 6 marks, 2 goals) was handy early but faded, Harry Taylor was good for 3 quarters. Cam Mooney kicked 2 goals. Hawk skipper Sam Mitchell (34 touches, 7 marks) was excellent all night, shrugging off Ling's tag. Lance 'Buddy' Franklin (8 marks, 12 kicks, 5 goals) started slowly but involved himself up the ground and finished like All Silent. Travis Tuck (31 disposals, 7 marks) and half-back Grant Birchall (29 handlings, 6 marks) provided some running power and Chance Bateman's new short haircut didn't stop him from playing well, he had 24 disposals, took 10 marks and bagged a goal. Jarryd Roughead (6 marks, 4 goals) came to the party late, as did Brad Sewell (20 disposals) after failing to stop Ablett. Michael Osborne and Stuie Dew kicked 2 goals each. "We came here wanting to win the game, and that's the case with every side we put out on the park and we're disappointed we didn't get the result," Clarkson said. "Geelong were just a little bit better than us when it mattered the most and we need to improve from that . . . I thought when the whips were cracking early, I thought Geelong were better at hunting the footy than what we were. They were a bit more experienced and stronger around the clinches in the early part of the game. [It was] great that we were able to get ourselves back into the contest . . . but the damage was done early on." Bomber Thompson said "It is not as if we can't kick goals from set shots, we have proven that we can. It is just a little thing we are going through. I hope it doesn't continue. In the end the result really didn't matter (yeah, right), we were pretty happy with our first three quarters . . . We were giving a few messages from the box at that stage (Hawk final-quarter comeback) because we did lose our structure a bit. It was disappointing that it had to come to that, that we had to fix it up from the box. Not saying we did a great job and won the game from the box but we settled the game back down and got our structure right. It was disappointing that we lost it."
At the MCG:
Collingwood 2.0 7.1 12.3 13.8.86
Adelaide 5.5 8.8 11.9 13.12.90
Surprise result as a young Addleaide side got the jump on the Pies, who worked back into it but never got on top. Pie fans fumed over the umpiring, with justification, but other observers thought Mick Malthouse was out-coached by Neil Craig. Not a good sign for Mick, the oldest coach in the league entering his eleventh flag-less year (so far) in charge of the Pies. The meedya made some play with that fact in the weeks before round one, along with president Eddie McGuire being at the helm for 12 years now. Lengthy stints without a premiership to show for it. The Pies plan to win one "soon", Eddie reckoned. Probably why they had strong tilt at the NAB Cup. No new players for the Pies but only two notable absentees, no prize if you guessed Anthony Rocca (injured) along with Heath Shaw. Rocca might play next week though, he reckons. In contrast the Camrys have bitten the rebuilding bullet, thus not expected to do much in 2009 but their pre-season was strong and Craig wouldn't hear of a lean year. Three new Cressidas here, lanky flanker Myke Cook of North Adelaide, feisty rover Jared Petrenko from Woodville-West Torrens and beefy teenage forward Taylor Walker from North Broken Hill. Forward Trent 'Potential' Hentschel was back after 2 years out with a terrible knee injury. Tall young midfielders Andy Otten and Patrick Dangerfield were also selected, they spent all summer in the gym by the looks of 'em. The Cows were missing Brett 'Birdman' Burton, injured, and Graham 'Stiffy' Johncock on compassionate leave.
The Corollas set up with a flooded defence, experienced men Andrew McLeod, Simon Goodwin, Nathan Bock and Michael Doughty strung across half-back. It worked superbly, especially as McLeod was allowed to run free by Malthouse, always a very risky tactic. Malthouse also started his men 'Neon' Leon Davis and Scott Pendlebury on the bench, perhaps a tag-busting move but it didn't really work either. Things started well enough for Collywobble, Dane Swan cleared the opening bounce and sent the ball wide to Tarkyn Lockyer (McLeod's alleged opponent), Lockyer passed for leading Travis Cloke to mark and steer it home with his fluoro-green left boot (er, his right boot was the same colour). All in 40 seconds, the Pies wouldn't score again until the final minute of the stanza. The Poise moved the ball slowly and broke down awfully at CHF, where Cloke found himself heavily out-numbered. The Priuses rebounded swiftly and easily, their first goal coming with McLeod's smart kick to find Tyson Edwards in the corridor, Edwards's long punt was marked by Scott Stevens, juggling with-the-flight and he popped it through. We were reminded Stevens kicked 6 goals in the Camrys' elimination final loss to the Maggies last year. Edwards missed a coupla shots, he was very busy early, before Poi backman Harry O'Brien was done for 'bawl' and small but aggressive Camry rover Jared Petrenko handballed for Richard Douglas to thump a long sausage. Camrys by 9 points, a Pie chance disappeared when Alan 'The Murderer's Apprentice and Lying Alcoholic' Didak rubber-chested a mark. Tactical play for a while, until McLeod again cantered forward and kicked towards Nathan Van Berlo, who was dragged down without the pill by Marty Clarke and Van Berlo free-kicked a major. That was a free but overall the Pies didn't do very well out of an erratic performance from the umps, it must be said. Stevens missed after out-marking Simon Prestigiacomo, restored with the retirement of Shane Wakelin. A minute later though, Stevens roved a ball-up and snapped truly, the Cows led by 22 points. A long, clearing kick from Pie Shannon Cox was intercepted by Stevens, he passed to Hentschel who sent the ball wide to junior Taylor Walker. The mop-haired Walker slotted a great kick from the boundary for full points and it were Camrys by 28 points. Very quiet in the 'G. Didak atoned for his earlier error when plucking a great mark over Doughty at half-forward, Dids centered a pass for Marty Clarke to mark and punt a goal. Addleaid led by 23 points at the first break, with 11 shots (one on-the-full) to 2. The Scraggies began to work a bit harder in the second term. Malthouse could be seen having a long chat - not a rant - with Swan, Clarke and Lockyer in the break and they were integral to the Pie improvement. A good kick from Lockyer allowed Clarke to mark in-stride, play-on and slot the first goal of the second, then a bad handpass from Cow full-back Ben Rutten led to a throw-in from which Leon Davis snapped a very good sausage. The Cows' lead was back to 11 points. Didak suffered a cork thigh and departed for a while as the Camrys steadied, Pie Cloke coughed up a free and a 50m penalty under the new rule against 'dumping' blokes, his opponent Bock converted. Back came the Pies as some terrific pressure forced a turnover and a free-kick to Pendlebury, he quickly stabbed a pass to leading John Anthony who marked and majored. Pie metro Dale Thomas amused by refusing to use his left boot, instead kicking right-foot bananas. One of 'em, a shot at goal, sailed on-the-full. A lovely tap-on from Stevens allowed Pat Dangerfield to slot a running goal for the Crows, they led by 17 points again. Back came the Poise as Cloke took a Hawk-like dive at a throw-in and won a free, Cloke majored. Big Cow Ivan Maric missed a shot before Jason Porplyzia coolly extracted the ball from a pack and stabbed a goal. The running slowed and the chip-about started as the players tired, but late in the term another absurd Thomas running banana-kick was marked strongly by Anthony who thumped truly from 50m. It reduced the Camry lead to 13 points at orange time.
The Pies made a decent start to the third term as their midfield began to run harder. It incorporated Paul 'Steak Knives' Medhurst, who'd seen very little ball in a forward pocket during the first half. Clarke marked at the junction of 50m and boundary-lines and had to take his kick 4 times due to umpire Anal, eventually Clarke had no option but to lob it to the 'square, where new Poi captain Nick Maxwell roved the pack to snap an extraordinary overhead goal. If he tried it a dozen times Maxwell wouldn't do it again. A skilful gather and handpass from Anthony allowed Swan to kick to the goal-square, it bobbled about a bit before Medhurst soccered a goal. A long poster from Ben Johnson leveled the scores. Swan scored a superb goal to put the Poise ahead, smothering Van Berlo's clearing kick with an outstretched hand and chasing down the ball to soccer it through. The Camrys burned a few scoring chances, no-one wanting to take the shot, before Medhurst ran onto O'Bree's long kick and gathered to slot another Poi major. Anthony seized a strong grab wide on the flank and kicked smartly for Maxwell to hold a back-pedalling mark, Maxwell booted his second sausage-roll. The Magpoise led by 18 points now, having scored the previous six goals of the game. "I've heard the Crows (sic) might be lacking fitness," said commentator Gerard Healy. This seemed unlikely, given Craig used to be the fitness coach. Crown ruckman Kurt Tippett was biffed in the head at a ball-up, his free went via a chain of handballs to McLeod who passed for leading Petrenko to mark and convert, breaking the Poi run. A minute later Edwards was awarded a rubbish free - he dropped the ball cold when tackled - and switched the ball wide to Hentschel, he centered to Van Berlo who thumped a 55m major. Hentschel had been moved to a wing, successfully. The umps helped the Camrys out again when they reversed an advantage call, seemingly at the request of Petrenko. The Camry kicked long and Stevens was awarded a very dubious free for 'hands-in-the-back' against Prestigiacomo. Stevens goaled to put the Camrys in front again, you can probably imagine the reaction of the Poi fans. A minute later Van Berlo dropped it like a hot scone when tackled by Davis, the ump called 'play-on' and Davis's snap hit the post to level the scores at three-korter-time. Much booing. Slow opening to the final stanza, mainly due to tiredness as players no longer could produce the running required to bust the lines. The closeness of the scores had something to do with it too, reducing risk-taking. So there was much chip-about. Scraggies Johnson and Anthony kicked behinds to nudge the Poise ahead, Swan had the goals gaping but inexplicably fumbled and dropped the ball. A 50m penalty against Didak gave Corolla Bernie Vince a chance, but he missed. Thirteen minutes in the Cows managed the stanza's first goal, a poor kick-in from Cox and a lucky free-kick to Douglas made the chance, Douglas chipped a centering pass to Chris Knights who booted a goal. The Camrys led by 5 points. Thomas won the ball smartly and dribbly-snapped a goal from the boundary - but he'd run out-of-bounds before kicking, so it was nothing. Thomas was also denied another chance for the slightest of hands-in-the-back on Rutten. Camry rookie Myke Cook held a good grab 20m out, but missed. Finally the Cows crept further ahead when Rutten seized a strong grab on the wing and centered to Van Berlo, he passed for leading Porplyzia to mark and convert. Cows by 11. The Scraggies cleared the subsequent centre-bounce, leading to a mark for Pendlebury 35m out but he missed. The Cows tried to run the clock down from the kick-in, eventually Bock was forced to kick to a pack and Swan roved it, he stabbed a kick to the 'square where Pendlebury marked and finally booted a goal. The Magpiss trailed by 4 points with 2:20 remaining. A lucky free to Davis allowed him to find Medhurst on a long lead, but Steak Knives's shot from 50 drifted wide and was punched through for a point. Dangerfield kicked a behind with 35 seconds to go, the final scoring act.
Great performances from the Camry veterans, led by free-running Andrew McLeod (30 disposals) and Tyson Edwards (28 touches, 10 marks). Bernie Vince (33 possies, 11 marks) did a solid job on-the-ball, with assistance from Nathan Van Berlo (21 touches, 7 marks, 2 goals). Across half-back Simon Goodwin (29 posessions with 20 handballs) mopped up coolly and Nathan Bock (22 touches, a goal) had the better of Cloke, with assistance. Scott Stevens (11 disposals, 6 marks, 3 goals) was a handy key forward, with a promising effort from new lad Jared Petrenko (15 touches, a goal). Jason Porplyzia bagged 2 goals. Dane Swan (28 disposals, 7 marks, a goal) was the Pies' best by a distance, with support from Scott Pendlebury (29 touches, a goal) and Shane O'Bree (28 possies). Shannon Cox (25 disposals) enjoyed a free role in defence, but paled in comparison with McLeod, who had the same role for the Camrys. Leon Davis (21 disposals, a goal) did a bit and Marty Clarke (20 possies, 7 marks, 2 goals) wasn't bad, the rest played in brief bursts. Travis Cloke, Nick Maxwell, John Anthony and Paul Medhurst kicked 2 goals each. Mick refused to blame the umps, instead focusing on his own players. "Round one is notorious for the unknown. You don't know how sides are travelling, you don't know how fit they are . . . There was nothing mysterious about the way Adelaide played because we know that they're a well-disciplined side . . . By half time we should have been better suited to the scoreline. In the third quarter, I don't know if we sat back in easy street or if tiredness took over or if it was the heat, but the last three goals killed us. It allowed them to set up the last quarter." Not tagging McLeod? "Sometimes you only relay the problems from one player to the next," Malthouse said. "It certainly wasn't designed that McLeod had 30 possessions. They look for that player, and if you tag that player, Goodwin gets out. If you tag him, Bock gets out. It may well be better to close one down, two down or three down but then you're almost static in your forward line and you become a reactionary side. You have to be careful about over-analysing what one player gets." Yeah, but he killed youse. Neil Craig puffed up with pride. "The end result is obviously fantastic for us, but probably the process is more important for us as a club - for our younger players to go through that, irrespective of the result. I know [the result] is important, but to experience that on the MCG, where we haven't beaten Collingwood for 11 years or something . . . You can't buy that experience - win, lose or draw. It's the place to play footy, [Collingwood's] one of the most famous clubs in the AFL, our record against them hasn't been great - so all those things out together . . . It'll be a day they remember, for sure."
At Docklands:
St. Kilda 1.1 4.4 9.6 12.8.80
Sydney 5.4 5.6 5.6 9.11.65
Not a lot different from the corresponding 2008 fixture, which featured 6 goals each. Okay, Sinkilda played pretty well after a poor first term, the Bloods' performance went the other way. But for those who reckon Ross Lyon's game plan is designed to beat the Swans and no-one else, this game provided little comfort. The Sainters finished fourth last year but both the Hawks and Cats beat them by 10 goals in the finals, based on this performance it isn't obvious how that gap is going to be closed. But it's a long year and you can't knock a win. Popular opinion is Swan coach Paul Roos is going to the well once too often in declining for yet another year to try and rebuild, now toting the oldest list in the comp. Summer was unsettled with Ryan O'Keefe unsuccessfully trying to leave, Tadhg Kennelly up and leaving in the early new year and continued uncertainty over Barry Hall's future. The best you could say about 'em here is that they looked very rusty, but as commentator Tim Lane noted, the Bloods are slow starters most seasons. The Stainers featured two new players, running man Farren Ray for whom they traded with the Bulldogs and former Hawk backman Zac Dawson, who hadn't played a senior game for two years since his notorious shredding at the hands of Anthony Rocca. Dawson was playing as Max Hudghton was absent with the 7,638th groin/hamstring/calf strain of his career. Lenny Hayes (hamstring) and Xavier Clarke were also absent, but Steven Baker was back following only 2 games last year due to suspension and injuries. The Swans had one new player, former Pie Rhyce Shaw. Missing were injured veterans Mick O'Loughlin, Luke Ablett and Leo Barry along with exciting junior Patrick Veszpremi.
The Swans started impressively 'cause the Sainters were half asleep, maybe. Siddey ruckman Darren Jolly tapped the opening bounce to 2008 club champion Jarrad McVeigh, McVeigh delivered a pass to leading Jarred Moore who marked and missed. A mark dropped by Rhyce Shaw - what were the odds? - set up the Stainers' first shot, but Jason Gram missed it. Barry Hall was opposed by Zac Dawson, Hall was clattered by Dawson early on - Bazza was blind-sided and off-balance - but Hall soon had revenge as lazy Saint Brendon Goddard coughed the ball up in a tackle and Hall snapped a goal. Paul Bevan galloped clear of the restart and roosted a long sausage, a bit later Hall spilled a marking chance but Jude Bolton gathered and hooked a kick for Kieran Jack to mark and boot a goal. The Bloods continued to run free from the sluggish Sinkilda men, Brett 'Captain' Kirk's strong spoil was collected by Moore, his punt allowed Jolly to out-mark Sam Fisher and kick another major. Swans by a comfortable 24 points. Gram produced another awful shot at goal for the Stainers, leading to a throw-in. From it Sinkilda ruckman Michael Gardiner was awarded a mystery rucking free and booted their first goal. The Satiners began to lift their intensity at this point and the game became the tough, pack-bound slog most had expected. Amon Buchanan and Ryan O'Keefe missed shots for the Swans before they were gifted a goal by hopelessly slow Saint Jarryn Geary, who blundered into a fierce tackle from Hall and the ball spilled for Adam Goodes to collect and stab through. Swans by 27 points at korter-time. The Saints really did lock it down in the second term, surrounding the Swans and clogging up the corridor to force them wide. Big lift from on-ballers Nick Dal Santo and Luke Ball, half-back Sam Gilbert was very good too. But it was pretty tedious stuff to watch. The Sainters scored an early goal in the second, Goddard lobbed a very high kick to CHF, Swans Jolly and Craig Bolton managed to spoil each other and Stephen Milne swept up the crumb to slot it through. Not much happened for a long time, there were some familiar incidents when Nick Riewoldt hooked a set shot from 30m, right in front, and Justin Koschitzke burned a chance or two with his amazing clumsiness. Riewoldt then snapped on-the-full and Milne followed-up with a set shot-on-the-full as both sides deployed extra men in defence. It was a bit pointless from a Siddey point-of-view, what they really needed was a forward target apart from Hall. Jolly was one of the Swans dropping back, he rode Koschitzke for a big grab but big 'Kosi' had his revenge a few minutes later when he got to climb on Jolly for a speccie, with the added bonus of then kicking a goal. Sydney's lead was reduced to 14 points. A long sequence of side-to-side chip-about by the Saints brought booing from their (unenlightened) supporters, turning to cheers when Gilbert ran inside 50 and speared a low kick which would've been a goal, 'cept Milne elected to mark it right on the line and poke the major himself. The Swans still led by 8 points at the long break, despite having scored 2 behinds for the stanza. The Saints had lost Raphael Clarke with a hamstring strain.
Stinkilda grabbed the lead quickly in the third as the new pattern remained unchanged. Dal Santo was awarded an absolutely disgraceful free-kick in the early minutes, he goaled. Roos is a little paranoid about 'anti-Swans' new rules, or interpretations, there were a plethora of frees in this game for off-ball holding with the Swans most often penalised. Anyway the Saints soon claimed the lead, Michael Gardiner marked 50m out and dished off a handball to Goddard who thumped it home. Saints by 4 points. Big packs and tight slog for a few minutes. I'd forgotten Robert Walls is an annoying clown. As my mate Boris pointed out, Walls simply reads out context-free stats by way of informed analysis. "Barry Hall hasn't had a kick for forty minutes," he blathered. Both his co-commentators quickly pointed out the Swans had barely been inside their attacking 50 for forty minutes. "Um, er, well," was Wallsy's response. Later he pointed out the Swans had scored two behinds in two quarters. Thank Richo he was there, eh? Towards the end of the term a three-goal blast put the Saints firmly in control. Gram drove a long kick forward and the ball bounced handily for Andrew McQualter to gather, he executed a superb 360-degree blind-turn around Ed Barlow and then baulked Jolly before snapping a sensational goal. Commentator Anthony Hudson likened McQualter to Robert Harvey. Steady on. Jolly's tap at a ball-up in Sinkilda's forward-line was sharked by Dal Santo who snapped truly, a bit later a noice kick from Farren Ray found Jason Blake alone in the centre, Blake kicked towards leading Koschitzke who had his arms chopped in the contest. Koschitzke free-kicked a major and the Saints led by 24 points at the last change. Channel Ten replayed the two behinds the Swans had scored since quarter-time. Ta. Sinkilda sealed the result early in the last stanza, Gram roved a throw-in and tumbled a kick forward, Swan ruckman Jesse White spilled a mark and Milne pounced to dribbly-kick a major. A minute later Gram was involved again, he marked in the centre and late-arriving Kirk slapped the ball out of his hands, a 50m penalty and Gram duly majored. Tim Lane was shocked that Kirk would commit such an undisciplined act. Frustration gets to everyone, eh? The Sainters led by 36 points and it was over. Within the next few minutes Riewoldt, Koschitzke and Gardiner were benched for the remainder, Riewoldt had hamstring cramp. With the pressure off the Swans started to score, Goodes (tagged by Goddard) and Buchanan kicked behinds. Hall entertained the (Sinkilda) crowd by clothes-lining Goddard and slicing a tight-angle shot on-the-full. The Saints attacked and as Goddard and Lewis Roberts-Thomson wrestled under an incoming kick, the whistle sounded and the ump handed a free to the Sainter. Goddard goaled and the Saints led by 42 points. The Swans scored some belated goals, Marty Mattner roved a ball-up and steered it through - huzzah! - then Craig Bird won the pill from another ball-up and found O'Keefe on the lead, O'Keefe in turn delivered to leading Heath 'Reg' Grundy, who goaled with noice kick from the flank. Jolly was awarded a free at the restart and the ball ended up with leading Hall, whose shot hit the post. It wasn't his night. But the Swans pressed on, disgruntled O'Keefe marked Bevan's long kick close-in and popped it through. McVeigh should've had a shot from a tight angle, he wasn't far out, but instead handballed to Grundy in the goal-square who was tackled by Leigh Montagna and the ball spilled for a rushed behind. McVeigh kicked another point but Gilbert clangered the kick-in straight to Grundy, who booted another goal. The Bloods trailed by a flattering 15 points, the siren sounded upon the following centre-bounce.
Sinkilda won it with a lift in midfield intensity, Nick Dal Santo - often tagged as a softy front-runner - was very good (27 disposals, 2 goals) as was Luke Ball (25 touches), while Sam Gilbert (20 possies, 9 marks) was terrific at CHB. Farren Ray (23 disposals) made a useful debut and Brendon Goddard (26 touches, a goal) had the better of Goodes. Big man Justin Koschitzke (11 marks, 15 possies, 2 goals) played well in attack as Riewoldt was held, Michael Gardiner (15 touches, 5 marks, 2 goals) was serviceable in the ruck. Jason Gram (16 disposals, a goal) was handy and Stephen Milne bagged 3 goals. The Swans' best was probably Craig Bolton (16 disposals), a winner against Riewoldt. Not many others performed. Darren Jolly won the ruck against Gardiner and King, Brett 'James Tee' Kirk (24 disposals) battled away and Jude Bolton (18 possies) and Adam Goodes (21 handlings, 5 marks, a goal) did a bit. Craig Bird (26 possessions) found a bit of the ball, didn't do a lot with it. Heath Grundy kicked them 2 late goals. Roosy cuts through the BS. "You can talk about tactics and where the game's going with the rolling zone and all those sorts of things, but the one common theme in footy is it's all about effort and intent," he said. "Our effort was very high in the first quarter, dropped off in the next two, and picked up in the last. If you're fluctuating [like that] it makes it really hard to win. The history [of our team] is as soon as our effort drops off we struggle with our ball use, we struggle with our decision making, we lose our match-ups and all those sorts of things. That really hasn't changed for us as a footy team for six years . . . We've probably had worse losses, but I don't think we've had back-to-back quarters like that." Ross Lyon reckoned "I thought our effort [was pleasing], not against the odds, but when you lose one bloke (Raph Clarke), it was pleasing. . . . It doesn't matter how much pre-season training you've done, it doesn't prepare you for the assault that takes place in round one, so it was pleasing to get the points. I think our fans can see what we're trying to do with our midfield in Goddard, Gram, Dal Santo and Montagna and the ruck combination and the acquisition in Farren Ray and Zac." He went on to wax lyrical about those last two. Easily impressed, is Lyon.
At the Gabba:
Brisbane 2.1 5.3 14.6 14.11.95
West Coast 6.2 9.4 11.8 13.8.86
Relief in Brisbane as Michael Voss opened his coaching career with a win. Signs over summer had not been good, with the Lyin's struggling and managing to get beaten by Melbourne in a practice game at the Gabba. Vossy wrapped senior players in cotton wool and had to allay fears a fortnight back. Things didn't look good at half-time here either, but problem child Rhan Hooper sparked a big third quarter and the Lyin's held on in the traditional final-quarter sauna-plus-tropical downpour that is Brisbane in autumn. The Weegles are still in rebuilding mode, they have a good record at the Gabbatoir and looked set for another win here but couldn't quite do it. Brisbun had one new player, highly-rated junior midfielder Daniel Rich from Subiaco, expected to go in the top three in last year's draft but somehow slipping to no. 7 when Freo didn't pick him. The Lyin's may thank them one day. Simon Black, who barely appeared during the pre-season, was a late withdrawal here. The Weegs didn't have any new players but did feature Daniel Kerr and rated junior Chris Masten, both of whom missed a lot of 2008, and youngster Mitch Brown who missed all of it following a knee reconstruction. Unfortunately 'Worsfold junior' Beau Waters will miss all of this season with an elbow injury. Adam Hunter and Brett Jones weren't available and, curiously, promising junior forward Ben McKinley was left out.
A typically steamy night in early-season Brisbane. Worsfold and his Weegs sprung a few moves on Mick Voss and the Lisbon Brians, with David Wirrpanda running rampant early, from a back pocket, and Mark LeCras being very dangerous in attack. Lyin' spearhead Daniel 'The Dudshaw' Bradshaw (probably shouldn't call him that any more, he's actually very good) booted the opening goal but LeCras, who enjoyed an excellent pre-season, kicked the next two. Wiggle on-ballers in ruckman Dean 'Big' Cox, Matt Priddis and Daniel Kerr were also dominant early as Weegle key forwards Ash Hansen and Quinten Lynch proceeded to boot goals, sending the Weegs 19 points clear. The Lyin's managed a rushed behind before LeCras booted his third goal, cleverly created by the highly agile Cox. Hansen soon bagged his second to send the Eegs 5 goals ahead, before Lyin' small forward Rhan Hooper was awarded a goal-square free and kicked one. The Wiggles led by 25 points at korter-time. More of the same in the early second, Kerr opened with a terrific goal thundered from 50m on the boundary, following a throw-in clearance. Then LeCras bagged yet another, leading out to mark Andrew Embley's pass and thump it through from 50m. Joel Patfull was LeCras's opponent, if you're wondering. The Wiggles led by a healthy 38 points now, but the Lyin's got moving a bit. Daniel Rich, an inside-50 delivery specialist at junior level, was involved; his long kick picked out doubling-back Jonathan Brown for a mark and major, then Josh Drummond took a noice grab and found leading Bradshaw who also converted. The Lyin's were 26 points in arrears. LeCras missed a shot, a few goal-less minutes followed as the Lyin's worked into it. Then the busy Rich delivered again, to Travis Johnstone who marked and majored. But LeCras capped a superb half with another goal, set up by Hansen's gather and handball, and the Eegs led by 25 points at the long rest.
Vossy made some successful moves to start the second half, placing Ashley McGrath on LeCras ('cause their names rhyme, see?) and moving Johnstone onto the ball. The Brians opened with a few behinds before a quick rebound through Hooper and Johnstone allowed Cheynee Stiller to find Brown marking unopposed, the Lyin' captain goaled. Rich's long free-kick to the pocket spilled from the pack, Luke Power kept the ball in play and Hooper soccered a superb goal from the tightest of angles, with his left boot. Ruckman Jamie Charman, Power and Michael Rischitelli combined to win the following centre-clearance and Johnstone slotted a running sausage, the Lyin's deficit was cut to 5 points. The Weegs broke the run through Shannon Hurn, Hooper's opponent, who showed his chief skill by walloping an enormous running kick for a goal, about 70m. But Hooper responded for the Lyin's, almost immediately, gathering Power's wobbly kick and snapping smartly on the left boot. A rapid move from a kick-in allowed Rischitelli to mark alone and convert, leveling the scores. Then Hooper kicked another after sweeping onto a loose ball and brushing an off-balance Hurn aside. A Lyin' centre clearance and a long kick from Matthew Leuenberger allowed Bradshaw to fly for a strong grab, he kicked another. McGrath, running effectively from the back, got in on the act with a goal thanks to a free and 50m penalty under the new anti-dumping rule. Brisbun led by 19 points, having kicked eight goals to one for the quarter. The Weegs managed some possession and attacking late in the term, Masten and Kerr missed shots before LeCras booted a goal, a great win and snap following Mark Nicoski's long punt. But Jonathan Brown kicked the final goal of the korter, benefitting from Power's quickly-taken free. The Lyin's led by 16 points at the final change. The speed of the game slowed markedly in the final term, the sapping humidity followed by a late downpour both factors. Eight minutes in the Weegs managed a goal, Hansen from point-blank range. The Lyin's scored a handful of behinds over the next fifteen minutes, with Jonathan Brown missing a coupla shots, and they led by 15 points into time-on. Then Cox snapped a close-range goal, set up by Brent Staker, and the gap was down to 9 points, but that was the final score.
Talented Brisbun small forward Rhan Hooper disappears every summer, prompting a delisting threat two years ago and a 40K fine this year. But Hooper delivered here with 4 goals to complement 18 disposals and 5 marks. Travis Johnstone (37 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals) was very good and a key in the fightback, assisted by Luke Power (35 touches, 5 marks) and Bradd Dalziell (28 disposals, 10 marks). Note the heavy ball-use, a contrast with the Leigh Matthews style. Joel Macdonald (28 possies, 10 marks) and Joel Patfull (21 handlings, 10 marks) provided run from the back and Ash McGrath (17 touches, a goal) was very good in the second half. Daniel Bradshaw and Jonathan Brown booted 3 goals each, effective once the ball started arriving. Daniel Rich had 21 possessions on debut and looked a very composed type. Forward Mark LeCras was the Weegs' standout, bagging 6 goals (the most in round one) from 7 marks and 14 possessions. Dean Cox (23 disposals, 26 hit-outs) demonstrated how good he is again and David Wirrpanda (21 possies) was on fire early, Matthew Priddis (29 possesions) was solid all night. Despite trouble with Hooper, Shannon Hurn (16 disposals, a goal) provided some excellent rebound. Rover Chris Masten (19 touches) showed his ability and Ashley Hansen (19 disposals, 9 marks, 3 goals) played alright too. Worsfold lamented the Brians' third-quarter run-on. "There's reasons why [we let them kick goals in the third quarter] and we have to address those reasons . . . It's definitely a work in progress because we haven't solved the answer yet, obviously . . . (But) the work of the players for most of the game was really heartening. I was really pleased with Darren Glass - back to some of his best football - and Eric Mackenzie I thought worked really hard (on Jonathan Brown). Mitch Brown has got his career back and going so we're rapt with that." Always positive, is Woosha. Vossy projected relief. "Round one - the team getting a win on the board - can't ask for anything better," he said. "I thought it was a game where we persisted. It was going to take an enormous persistence from us to be able to keep coming at the opposition . . . and the guys did it. It wasn't flashy, it wasn't great but I don't know too many round one games that are. They're hard work, they're hard and tough . . . I liked it (coaching). The one thing I love is that you're competing again."
At the MCG:
Melbourne 3.3 6.5 9.6 10.7.67
North Melbourne 3.3 7.6 11.8 15.11.101
You'd award A for effort, about C for ability. Maybe a D for the Dees (ha!). Both sides went in hard but you wouldn't see this many turnovers in half-a-dozen Geelong-Hawthorn games. In the end the Kangas had enough of a class and experience edge to run away comfortable winners, but they had to work for it. Melbun's effort was admirable but they kept coughing the ball up. The Dees've got some good kids though, they're about where the Hawks were four or five years ago. Without a Franklin. The Dees had four first-gamers for round one, strongly-built back-flanker Kyle Cheney from North Ballarat, ruckman Jake Spencer outta Townsville and two small, speedy Aborigines from WA, Neville Jetta and Jamie Bennell. Jetta, cousin of Essadun's Leroy, played in the forward-line and Bennell in defence. Always-injured backman Jared Rivers was playing, so too Ricky Petterd who missed most of 2008 with a punctured lung. Not playing were Russell Robertson, still suffering with the achilles tendon he damaged last year, along with injured trio Austin Wonaeamirri, Daniel Bell and Stefan Martin. Melbun's no. 1 draft pick Jack Watts is unlikely to play this year, or at least not very often, he's in school. The Kangers had one new bloke, making his AFL debut was highly-rated midfielder Jack Ziebell from Wodonga. Injured Jesse Smith was unavailable.
A bit of handbags pre-bounce suggested the players were keen. Norf produced a good bit of play early, Matt Campbell collected a loose ball, exchanged handballs with big David Hale and stabbed a smart pass for Lindsay Thomas to mark, Thomas goaled. "They're just like the Krakouer brothers, aren't they" blathered Liam Pickering. How does a player manager get to be a commentator, I've wondered? The niggle exploded when Roo forward Drew Petrie clothes-lined new Dee skipper James 'Junior' McDonald, a lazy and potentially dangerous effort which provoked a decent fight. Roo forward Josh Smith, appearing much fitter than last year, missed a shot before Petrie did something positive for Norf, producing a good spoil; a coupla handballs later and Campbell was snapping truly off the left boot, the Kangers led by 13 points. The Deez managed some attacking, the busy Neville Jetta missed with a snap and Paul Johnson missed from a tight angle. A Demun goal arrived, Rivers jabbed a short pass to Petterd on the flank and he drove a low kick to the goal-square, Matthew Bate couldn't mark from behind but roved his own contest and snapped it through. Both sides were getting men back and delivering the ball awfully to their own forwards, so there was some end-to-end stuff. Dee forward Brad Miller should've had a free when clattered head-on in a marking contest, the ump waved play-on but Aaron Davey gathered and snapped truly. A bit later Bate roved a throw-in and handballed to Brent Moloney, whose quick snap bounced handily over Roo man Daniel Wells and through the big sticks, giving Melbun a 5-point lead. The Ruse responded, Thomas and Sam Power combining to find leading Brent 'Boomer' Harvey for a mark and goal. A terrible miss, really, by Demon McDonald ensured tied scores at quarter-time. The second term was similar. A rapid move from a kick-in by the Dees brought an early goal; Petterd, playing as a forward, marked wide on the flank and punted cross-goal where Jetta lurked for a mark and converted. North reclaimed the lead when 'Lethal' Leigh Harding, very good in this one, speared a pass to leading Smith, he dished a handball to Power who found Thomas with a pass. Thomas booted his second goal and the Kangaz led by a point. Back came the Dees when the ump ended a tough but scrappy passage with a mystery free to Petterd. I think it was for holding-the-ball against Daniel Pratt, ridiculous if it was. Petterd goaled nonetheless and it was Dees by 4. The Ruse managed consecutive majors. Scott McMahon, playing in a back-pocket, ran the ball outta defence and kept on running into the forward-line to receive Harding's pass, McMahon booted a long goal. Soon Ed Lower marked on a long lead and kicked towards ruckman Hamish McIntosh, who seized a strong grab under some pressure. McIntosh majored and the Roos led by 8 points. The Deez replied with another slick end-to-end move - although these tended to be the exception, you could see what coach Dean Bailey is trying to do. Two Roos flew against Miller and Brad Green waited down to gather the spilled ball and slam it through from point-blank. A bit later a great tackle from McDonald set up an easy chance for Petterd, but he missed woefully. Roo man Daniel Wells roved a throw-in and punted a centering pass to Power, his kick found lurking Harding who marked and squeezed his punt home for full points. Green missed with a fortuitous free before the break, leaving the Ruse 7 points ahead.
North looked like they might kick away early in the third Mario, scoring the first two goals. Dee defender Colin Garland's poor decision to kick cross-field allowed Wells to intercept, he kicked long to find Petrie unattended who marked, played-on and popped it through. A minute later Harding plucked a strong grab, out-muscling McDonald, played-on with a bounce and passed to leading Campbell who marked and converted. The Ruse led by 19 points, the largest differential so far. The Dees kept plugging away but wasted some scoring chances with poor delivery or decisions going forward. At the other end Petrie let them off the hook a bit, missing from 15m out following a mystery rucking free. The Dees moved into attack again and a great effort from Green to keep the ball alive allowed Jones to gather and handball to Petterd, who steered a great banana-kick from the boundary for full points. A minute later Jetta led out, spilled a mark he went at a little too hard (Jetta did that a bit), Roo McMahon gathered but was tackled forcefully by Green. 'Bawl' and Green free-kicked a sausage. The Kanga lead was back to 8 points and a Miller snap which hit the post high-up reduced it to 7. But a mistake from the hapless Garland gave the Ruse a break, Garland got the ball in the centre with hectares of space but dithered fatally and his kick was smothered by the charging Harding. Frustrated Garland then grabbed Harding before the Roo could collect the ball, conceding a free. Harding passed to Adam Simpson on 50m who booted a long major. Coulda been deflating but soon Roo veteran Brady Rawlings obliged with a back-line clanger of his own, booting the Sherrin straight to Cale Morton who punted a goal. Another bad kick allowed the Ruse to respond, the otherwise excellent Dee debutant Kyle Cheney hacked a punt to Roo Andrew Swallow, his pass found lurking McIntosh who marked and majored. Petrie missed awfully with another mystery rucking free - maybe he has an ideological problem with 'em - leaving the Kangers 12 points ahead at the final change. Norf finally did kick away in the final Mario Lanza. They opened with a salvo of behinds, including a terrible miss from Campbell, before Lower's excellent gather and handpass allowed running McIntosh to boot his third goal. Wells hooked a shot on-the-full before Dee backman Matthew Warnock was pinged for a hand-in-the-back on Hale. Warnock had done an excellent job on Hale, although Norf fans gave this free an ironic cheer. Hale goaled and the Ruse led by 27 points. The Deez cleared the restart and Miller took a mark on-the-lead, but missed. A bit later Roo Michael Firrito marked on the wing and Paul Johnson ran through the mark, a 50m penalty and Firrito kicked a major. Norf led by a decisive 33 points now. McIntosh had a chance for a fourth goal but hit the post, Dee Jones kicked into space for Brock McLean to gather and find Paul Johnson for a mark and belated goal. Petrie booted the closing sausage following a brilliant/flukey diving, one-handed mark in the goal-square.
'Lethal' Leigh Harding's (28 disposals, 12 marks, a goal) aggressiveness and hard running were great for the Kangers, another bonus was the mobility of Hamish McIntosh (21 touches, 7 marks, 3 goals), given a metaphorical foot up the backside at the conclusion of last season. He'll have tougher opposition, though. Sam Power (21 possessions) proved a handy link man and Adam Simpson (24 touches, 8 marks, a goal) and Brady Rawlings (21 disposals) won their share of the ball. Scott McMahon (20 possessions, 6 marks, a goal) made a decent fist of his new defensive role. In attack Lindsay Thomas (16 touches, 5 marks, 2 goals), Drew Petrie (12 handlings, 6 marks, 2 goals) and Matt Campbell (11 possies, 3 marks, 2 goals) were all useful. Some handy efforts for the Dees, Brad Green (18 disposals, 2 goals) did some noice things, defender Kyle 'Spike' Cheney (22 possessions, 7 marks) was great on debut and Ricky Petterd (16 touches, 9 marks, 2 goals) was a lively forward. Clint Bartram tagged Roo Harvey effectively and Brent Moloney (29 touches, 4 marks, a goal) worked hard, as mentioned Matthew Warnock beat Hale. Neville Jetta (16 disposals, a goal) showed a bit. Something for Bailey to work with, apart from the errors. "Today the effort was OK, but I'm not going to put any spin on anything - we got beaten and we didn't come here today to get beaten, I can tell you that," he said. "I thought our start was good. At quarter time we were even and we had our chances, but turnovers killed us at the end of the day . . . and there were too many simple (North) goals . . . We need to be consistently competitive every week and they (supporters) want to see us every week be closer, more competitive, tackle more effectively, kick more effectively and make better decisions - that's what they want to see. We need to improve in those areas". But he did go on to praise the first-gamers. 'Angry' Dean Laidley said "It was easy for the media and people to say that North Melbourne would win this game of football. We always knew we were going to have a real battle on our hands, and I thought it was a pretty fierce battle in the first half under some trying conditions. I thought our second half - and the further the game went, the better we got - but let's not take anything away from Melbourne. To end up winning by 34 points was a very good win for round one, and to get no injuries was pleasing." He went on to praise McMahon, Harding and Lachie Hansen - the last one's a mystery.
At Football Park:
Port Adelaide 4.3 8.7 11.12 15.17.107
Essendon 1.1 4.3 8.8 9.12.66
The Power are everyone's pick for big improvement this year after the 2007 Grand Finalists tumbled down the ladder last year. They were okay here against what is a rebuilding Essadun side, Port demonstrating their key philosophy: When in doubt, bash 'em about. A talented bunch of players certainly, but they tend to thump the weaker sides, then capitulate meekly against the better, tougher ones. We'll see. Essadun are rebuilding and aren't expected to do much this year. The Demuns are wooden spoon favourites but the Dons could give 'em a run for their money. If the Tiges don't get there first. Port were bolstered for round one with the return of hard men Chad Cornes and Jacob Surjan, both of whom missed large chunks of 2008. They had one 'new' bloke, 2004 premiership player Josh Carr returning from a stint with the Shockers. The Powder were pretty-much full-strength, injured full-back Toby Thurstans probably the only notable absentee. Essadun had two new players, AFL debutant Michael Hurley from Macleod, a strongly-built teenage defender, and former Camry midfielder Hayden Skipworth, who's been playing with the Dons' VFL affiliate Bendigo for the last two years. They also had a number of players injured last year return including Alwyn Davey, who missed all of 2008, Jason Winderlich, Courtenay Dempsey and, er, probably a couple others. Missing were tough backman Kyle Reimers, Jay Nash and the luckless Scott Gumbleton, the no. 2 draft pick from a few years ago has ongoing back problems.
A very warm, 30-degree day in Adelaide and Port came out fired-up, targeting the Bommers' Andrew Lovett for some reason. Maybe it's because Lovett is, famously, not the most committed bloke. Powder ruckman Dean Brogan gave Lovett a pre-bounce biffing, for which Brogan was reported, followed by the 'I'm watching you' forked-fingers gesture once it broke up. Port fired outta the blocks, speedy Danyle Pearce prominent. Pearce booted the first goal, running the ball from defence, passing to leading Brett Ebert and keeping on to receive Robbie Gray's handball and stab it through. Full-back Alipate Carlile, playing on Matty Lloyd, lurked forward to bag a major and then Ebert kicked one, leading to mark a pass from new skipper Dominic Cassisi. A rapid 18-point lead for the Flowers. The Bommers appeared very slow but they steadied, with a few Port disposal errors creeping in. Eventually Adam McPhee got them on the board with a free, shoved over as he led out to Skipworth's long kick. A bit later Daniel Motlop, who's tormented the Bombouts in the past, booted his first goal by soccering a long Pearce punt for full points. The Power led by 20 points at the first break. Peter Burgoyne free-kicked a major early in the second to send Port 26 points ahead. Bomma Jobe Watson was absolutely flattened by a crunching hit from Brogan and Warren Tredrea cleaned up Dempsey in some typical Port play. But Tredrea generally struggled against the impressive first-gamer Hurley. Don Brent Stanton swept up McPhee's under-hit pass, swung onto his right boot and kicked a great goal. A tough effort from Lovett to win the ball set up a goal for Jay Neagle and the Dons' deficit was reduced to 15 points. More disposal mistakes crept in as the heat exerted an effect. After a bit Port's Justin Westhoff snapped a goal, noice tidying-up by Ebert and Travis Boak after Brogan dropped a mark. The Bummers replied following a great defensive mark from Hurley, Watson running and finding McPhee who passed to leading Angus Monfries, he converted. The Powder scored the final two majors of the half though, Gray lurked forward for a mark, swapped handballs with Tredrea and then handpassed for Justin Westhoff to jab it home. Gray also assisted on the next, marking on a long lead and kicking for Ebert to take a strong grab in front of Henry Slattery. Ebert majored and the Powermen led by a handy 28 points at half-time.
The Bommers started very well in the third, with coach Matthew Knights shifting Davey and Bachar Houli onto the ball. Missed shots from Motlop and Ebert helped 'em a bit, although McPhee and Davey responded with behinds of their own. Then Lovett and Watson combined to find Stanton lurking near goal to mark and convert. A minute later Lovett marked in the forward-pocket, made to play-on and was felled by a dreadful clothes-line from Michael Pettigrew - as Lovett lay on the ground, Pettigrew stood over him and gave a mouthful, a pretty unedifying display. Pettigrew's effort was weak and he isn't the toughest bloke going around. Made you wish Earl Hickey is right about karma. Anyway, Lovett gave the best response which was to calmly slot his resulting free-kick for a goal and the Bommers trailed by 16 points. Motlop responded for Port, leading wide to mark Carr's pass and then scoring full points with a terrific kick from the boundary. Dons Scott Lucas and Watson missed shots before Skipworth, who played well, free-kicked a major for Essadun and they were 15 points behind. Gray responded for Port, leading out to mark Kane Cornes's pass and convert. Carr completed an end-to-end move from a kick-in with a strong grab and goal and Port led by 26 points again. The Bommerz hung around though, a complicated move eventually set Ricky Dyson free and his kick found an unattended Dempsey, who majored. Behinds from Tredrea and Pearce left the Flowers 22 points up at the final change. Peter Burgoyne and Pearce combined to clear the opening bounce of the final stanza, Motlop collected the ball in the forward-pocket and stabbed an inboard pass for Gray to mark and convert. Port led by the handy 28 points again. The Dons kept battling though, Lucas plucked strong grab against Troy Chaplin and booted an idiomatic long goal (wind-assisted). Tough for a while, with a series of behinds from both sides as they wilted in the heat. Bomma fans would be upset about some of their misses and a probable goal denied Alwyn Davey, he soccered a loose ball through as Pettigrew dived to smother. The goal-ump seemed to think it was a goal but was apparently talked out of it by the fieldy, who reckoned it might've been touched. So a behind it was and the Bommerz trailed by 23 points instead of 18. Not that it affected the result, really. Watson was cleaned up for a second time, blind-sided by a shepherding Justin Westhoff. He's the Dons' very own Koschitzke, maybe. Port kicked clear, a throw-in found its' way to Brogan and then to unopposed Motlop 20m out right in front, he majored. Brendon Lade, Pearce and Gray combined to win the next centre-clearance, the ball came to Ebert out wide and he passed for Westhoff to mark and convert. David Rodan clutched a decent mark out wide, played-on and passed to leading Motlop who duly marked and majored and it was over, Port leading by 41 points.
Big game from Danyle Pearce (31 disposals, a goal), subject of a great new stat; he ran-and-carried the ball for a total of 848 metres. A hundred ahead of the next best for the round, apparently. Kane Cornes (29 disposals) and Steven Salopek (24 touches, 6 marks) were strong midfield performers while Peter Burgoyne (32 touches, a goal) was effective swapping between half-back and on-ball, Dom Cassisi (22 possessions, 8 tackles) played well. Alipate Carlile (12 handpasses) kept a slow-looking Lloyd goal-less while Daniel Motlop (20 disposals, 8 marks, 4 goals) was the sprightly leader of a forward-line in which Brett Ebert (17 touches, 8 marks, 2 goals) and Robbie Gray (also 17 possies, 8 marks and 2 goals) were handy too. Nice effort from Nathan Krakouer (20 disposals) as a rebounding half-back, Justin Westhoff finished with 3 goals. The Dons received good efforts from Jobe Watson (31 disposals, 8 marks), who ran and kicked a bit more than in the past, Brent Stanton (26 touches, 11 marks, 2 goals) and Hayden Skipworth (30 touches, 12 marks, a goal), who makes up for some average skills with weight of effort. Dustin Fletcher (17 possessions) was as solid in defence as ever, supported by the very good first-gamer Michael Hurley (14 possies, 5 marks against Tredrea) and Paddy Ryder (14 touches, 5 marks) - might be a decent back-line in future. Alwyn Davey (16 disposals) used his speed to effect and there were decent efforts from half-back Heath Hocking (25 touches, 7 marks), he tagged Shaun Burgoyne, and Bachar Houli (18 possies). Matty Knights blamed a slow start for the loss. "We felt as if we stayed with Port long enough, we were a real opportunity to win the game," Knights said. "What was disappointing was when we had those opportunities to get shots on goal or score we didn't take them and put enough scoreboard pressure on Port. We never did that. We could never get to that under 10-point margin, which would then put the pressure back on Port. Port was still able to play with the same freedom. They didn't tighten up at all and we couldn't get close enough." He went on to praise Hurley, Tayte Pears, Hocking and Skipworth. Port coach Mark 'Choco' Williams, who continues to state he'd like to coach a Victorian club, said "To start the year so positively with a win was great. I thought Essendon kept at the game and challenged us right to the last part, but it was great to have our fitness shine through. We probably didn't take all our chances as the game went on, but I thought most players did their little bit. Some of our skills weren't as good as they should've been and we'll clean that up. I thought our effort was good . . . It's round one. We'll build on it, but understand that it's only one game."
At Subiaco:
Fremantle 4.4 7.5 12.12 13.16.94
Footscray 6.1 13.4 17.4 25.7.157
Them disposal errors'll kill ya. The all-new Dockerators tried hard enough but kept giving the Dogs the ball, or missing the goals, or each other. The Bulldogs sweated 'em until they cracked, smarts and superior skill carrying the day. At the end of 2008 Freo's underachieving old battlers shuffled off into retirement and the Dockers had a decent crack at the draft. Some folks are tipping Freo to make the eight now Mark Harvey's fully in charge, with Robert Walls suggesting they'll finish fourth. That's enough for me to predict they won't make it. The Shockers had two draftees debuting here in no. 3 pick Stephen Hill from Quinns Districts and Bacchus Marsh rover Nick Suban. The Dokkers went for Hill ahead of another much-touted local boy, Daniel Rich, presumably because Hill is significantly faster, based on this weekend's evidence. Not that Rich is slow. Anyway, the Shockers also had Paul Hasleby back after he missed all of last season with a knee reconstruction, but Des Headland, Roger Hayden and Chris Mayne were unavailable. No new players for the Bullpups, who've flown under the radar despite being prelim finalists last year. No reason to think they can't go at least as well this season. Only Robert Murphy was missing from their full-strength side, injury-prone young defenders Tom Williams and Andrejs Everitt lined up.
Dream start for Dokker debutant Stephen Hill, held after getting a handball away from the opening bounce he benefitted from this extremely harsh new rule which awards such players a free and a 50m penalty. Hill majored. The Dokkers soon had a second goal, Andrew Browne hacked the ball forward from a throw-in, Bulldog Lindsay Gilbee spilled a goal-square mark and Rhys Palmer pounced to dribbly-kick a sausage. Dockers by 12 points, their Michael Johnson, playing as a forward, missed a shot before Ryan Griffen sparked the Bullies to life. Capping a great move from the kick-in of that Johnson behind, Griffen received Matthew Boyd's handpass on the wing, lobbed a long handball to Daniel Cross, ran on to receive it back from Cross and thunder a 50m running sausage. A minute later Jason Akermanis - good to see him out there - drifted wide to mark Will Minson's pass and chip one to leading Brad Johnson, Johnno kicked quickly to the 'square where unopposed Mitch Hahn lurked for a mark and goal. Johnson also played donor a minute later, nearly messed it up but Dylan Addison's strong mark allowed him to boot a goal. Daniel 'Guido' Giansiracusa, Adam Cooney and Griffen combined to win the following centre-clearance, a handball exchange and Cooney booted a running goal. The Dogs then engaged in a bit of chip-about before Boyd wobbled a kick inside 50, smart play from Johnson and Josh Hill set up another goal for Griffen and the Bullies led by 16 points, on the back of 5 straight goals. Dockerator Brett Peake broke the run with two quick goals, the first came as he ran onto new lad Nick Suban's long punt, gathered and slotted from the flank. A minute later Bulldog Gilbee, caught on his non-preferred left foot, sliced a clearing punt on-the-full, the Freo free went into the centre and Josh Head, whose long kick cleared the pack and Peake marked at the back, he goaled. The Doggies' lead was cut to 3 points but they managed the final major of the term, a gutsy defensive grab by Tom Williams initiating a rebound, at the other end back-pedalling Dokka Luke McPharlin couldn't hold a difficult grab and Dog Matthew Boyd gathered and passed for Griffen to mark and boot his third major already. Dogs by 9 points at korter-time. The Bullies moved clear again in the second quarter, helped by their opponents. First Puppy goal came when Gilbee roved a large pack and a series of handpasses released Boyd inside 50, he slotted. Very typical Bulldog play. Another sharp rebound move via Brian Lake and Akermanis was finished by Gilbee, marking on a lead, playing-on too easily around Marcus Drum and spearing it through. Footyscray led by 22 points. Two quick goals from Dokka Michael Johnson narrowed the gap again, both coming from centre-clearances engineered by Aaron Sandilands and Paul Hasleby. Johnson roved himself to snap the first and benefitted from slick handballs from Matthew Pavlich and Antoni Grover for the second. Pavlich battled in this game, shadowed by Dale Morris. At the other end Chris Tarrant was tried as a defender, lining up on Bulldog evergreen Brad Johnson. The Dockulaters trailed by 10 points as McPharlin, who symbolizes football Taoism, wasted a chance with a horrible fumble. Turnover and the Dogs raced away, the ball flicking from Johnson, to Giansiracusa, to Hahn and finally Akermanis who dobbed a sausage roll. An awful Michael Johnson clanger wasn't punished by Giansiracusa but a minute later Ryan Crowley's mongrelled clearing kick went down the throat of Ryan Hargrave, the ball went to Gilbee who was dumped after disposal. New rule, it's a free plus a 50m penalty and Gilbee booted a goal. A minute later a floating Stephen Hill kick from defence was picked off by Boyd, his pass found Shaun Higgins alone 30m out and Higgins converted. Higgins is wearing retired Scott West's no. 7 guernsey. The Bullies led by 30 points and Pavlich was switched onto the ball. Freo had a chance when Browne marked in the pocket, but he played on and speared a low kick for a point. His intention wasn't clear. Another floating kick from the Docker defence allowed Hargrave to charge in and spoil, Sandilands gathered but Akermanis smothered his handpass and it lead to a goal-mouth tap-through for Higgins. Griffen cleared the subsequent centre-bounce and kicked long, Brad Johnson won a free on the point-line for Tarrant's holding and Johnno chipped backwards for Cross to mark and convert. Another five straight for the Dogs and they led by 41 points. Pavlich free-kicked a desperately needed late goal for Freo, under the You Cannot Touch Pavlich rule. In fact Griffen did grab a handful of Pav's jumper. Bulldawgs by 35 points at half-time.
Fremandible powered back into it in the third term, led by McPharlin in attack who did everything except kick accurately for the sticks. The breeze (the 'Fremantle' Doctor) had sprung up in the twilight, also aiding the Dockerz. But them turnovers . . . an awful handball in the centre (didn't spot the culprit) caused an early one, Akermanis kicked long to find Hahn for a close-in grab and goal. Bulldogs by 41. McPharlin, Pavlich and McPharlin again all missed shots for goal, finally they got one when McPharlin affected a strong spoil from behind, then bumped Bulldog Stephen Tiller off the ball and handballed for Byron Schammer to snap truly. The Dokkers won the following centre clearance, McPharlin gathered, spun out of trouble, ran clear and hit the post. Bah! But reward for effort came as Akermanis kept the ball in play when he shouldn't have, Freo's Garrick Ibbotson collected it and passed to Kepler Bradley, who in turn honored McPharlin's lead. Big McP marked and finally bisected the big sticks, reducing the Dogs' lead to 25 points. They answered, Nathan Eagleton was awarded a very lucky free against Grover for in-the-back and Eagleton dobbed an excellent 50m into-the-wind major. The square-up came quickly as Freo's Browne received a nonsense free, 50m out, but hit the post. Peake blazed a long behind when he should've passed to Pavlich, but a minute later cool work from David Mundy set up a strong grab and goal for Ryan Murphy. Soon Freo were attacking again, Peake sped inside 50 with a bounce, baulked smartly around some Bulldog, had another bounce and speared it through. The Dockers were 16 points down, having kicked four of the previous five goals. But like a good side the Bulldawgs steadied late, good tackling pressure forced a turnover and the ball was rapidly switched to the opposite flank, Giansiracusa passed for Gilbee to mark and convert. A minute later Crowley - terrible - blasted his kick into an oncoming Dog, a rebound and Boyd's great handpass allowed Giansiracusa to slot a running goal. Dogs by 28 points but Freo got a very late one, first-gamer Nick Suban steered a ripper of a kick from the boundary for full points, after Ibbotson's strong spoil made the chance. Bullies by 22 at three-korter-time. Freo helped 'em out with two crucial misses early in the ultimate Mario, from the opening bounce Hasleby led, marked and missed, then Josh Head received a 50m penalty just behind the centre, he had a shot from about 40m but also behinded. Freo deflated. Akermanis converted a free after being slung to the ground by Dodd at a throw-in, then a tired Paul Duffield blundered into Hahn's strong tackle and was done for bawl, allowing Hahn to boot a major. Doggy Josh Hill managed two comical misses - one a poster from inside the goal-square - and Gilbee blazed wide as the Dogs began to lairize. Another Docker clanger, McPharlin's handpass, led to a mark and goal for Giansiracusa, followed by Michael Johnson's tired mongrel of a clearing kick which went straight to Eagleton, who thumped it back for a major. The floodgates were open as Hahn booted another six-pointer to send the Dogs 53 points ahead. Murphy scored one for Freo with another lead and mark - he's probably too slow, Murphy, but he can kick long and straight. Sandilands enthused the crowd by flattening Brad Johnson with a strong shepherd, but another terrible kick from Crowley wasted the resulting scoring chance. Bulldogs Callan Ward, Hahn and Eagleton scored goals in junk time as Freo turned it up as well as over.
Great midfield and on-ball efforts from Matthew Boyd (33 disposals, a goal) and Daniel Cross (29 handlings, a goal) led the way, with Ryan Griffen (23 possies, 3 goals) kicking the Bullies' running game into action. Lindsay Gilbee (33 possessions, 3 goals) was also happy to run up and down the ground, with Mitch Hahn (12 touches, 4 marks, 5 goals) and Daniel Giansiracusa (28 possies, 6 marks, 2 goals) lurking effectively in attack. Marauding full-back Brian Lake (19 disposals, 10 marks) played well and Dale Morris (17 possessions) did the stopping job on Pavlich. Nathan Eagleton finished with 3 goals, Jason Akermanis and Shaun Higgins kicked 2 goals each. No real stand-out for Freo, despite one or two late errors Paul Duffield (26 disposals) was good as the loose, rebounding defender and speedy Brett Peake (13 touches, 5 marks, 3 goals) provided some highlights. Paul Hasleby (18 disposals, 5 marks) will only improve and Chris Tarrant (12 touches, a mark) was good as a backman, certainly beating Brad Johnson. Rover Rhys Palmer (26 handlings, a goal) was handy and Michael Johnson (14 possessions, 7 marks, 2 goals) showed his ability. Ryan Murphy kicked 2 goals. The key factors in the Freo loss didn't escape Mark Harvey. "Our inability to hurt the opposition when we had the ball and their ability to be able to hurt us every time we made a mistake or turnover was significant. I think they got something like 18 goals from our turnovers. It's been a disappointing night, particularly from that point of view. It was an area of concern tonight. We weren't able to hurt the Bulldogs in any way, shape or form and we weren't causing them to make mistakes and cough up the ball. The team was working so hard and it was only a simple error in some cases and then they'd punish you on the scoreboard. That's the sign of a good side." 'Rocket' Rodney Eade said "It was a pleasing four-quarter effort. Our focus and mission was to come over and just get the four points because we knew it was going to be hard with the travel and Fremantle's pre-season form was encouraging. The mission was to get the four points but to win by that much was a credit to the players for persevering with their physicality and we still had a lot of run at the end, which was good . . . Griff set the game alight and was terrific but that's where we want to share the load in the midfield and not rely on him or Adam [Cooney]. Crossy was good, Matthew Boyd played well, Giansiracusa was good and Higgins went through there, so it was a good mix."
Ladder after Round 1
Pts. % Next Week
Carlton 4 223.9 Brisbane (Docklands, Sat. night)
Footscray 4 167.0 North Melbourne (MCG, Sunday)
Port Adelaide 4 162.1 West Coast (Subiaco, Sunday)
North Melbourne 4 150.7 Footscray (MCG, Sunday)
St. Kilda 4 123.1 Adelaide (Football Park, Fri. night)
Brisbane 4 110.5 Carlton (Docklands, Sat. night)
Geelong 4 107.8 Richmond (Kardinia Park, Saturday)
Adelaide 4 104.7 St. Kilda (Football Park, Fri. night)
------------------------------------------------
Collingwood 0 95.6 Melbourne (MCG, Saturday)
Hawthorn 0 92.8 Sydney (Stadium Australia, Sat. night)
West Coast 0 90.5 Port Adelaide (Subiaco, Sunday)
Sydney 0 81.3 Hawthorn (Stadium Australia, Sat. night)
Melbourne 0 66.3 Collingwood (MCG, Saturday)
Essendon 0 61.7 Fremantle (Docklands, Sunday)
Fremantle 0 59.9 Essendon (Docklands, Sunday)
Richmond 0 44.7 Geelong (Kardinia Park, Saturday)
Cheers, Tim.
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