AFL Round 2
It's official, there'll be a 17th team kicking off in 2011 with the Gold Coast club rubber-stamped by the AFL last week. What it means for your club (if it's not the Gold Coast) is they better not finish down the bottom in 2010, 'cause the GCFC will have eleven first-round draft picks reserved for them. They also get a crack at an un-contracted player from every club, so your mob better get signing next year.
I'll be away over Easter so the round-three report won't appear 'til next Thursday - about the usual time anyway, eh?
At Football Park:
Adelaide 2.2 5.3 9.8 10.9.69
St. Kilda 4.2 6.7 10.7 15.11.101
A very good win for the Saints, after I pooh-poohed their slogging first-up victory over the Swans. Sinkilda pooh-poohed my pooh-pooh. They produced an amazingly intense, tough, harassing man-on-man performance to worry the Camrys out of it, stopping the free-running rebound which so troubled the Pies last week. The Cows weren't helped by the absence of injured Scott Stevens, an important figure in their current line-up, and the umpires weren't as kind to 'em as last week. But the Corollas were outplayed, ultimately. Trouble later when Nathan Bock allegedly assaulted his girlfriend outside an Adelaide pub; charges have been laid and the Camrys have suspended Bock for a week, for the time being. Stevens was out with a hamstring problem and junior Myke Cook was dropped, replaced by Graham 'Stiffy' Johncock and Scott Thompson. Forgot about him. The Sainters had Lenny Hayes available to replace injured Raphael Clarke (hamstring).
A stiff breeze at Foopall Park aided the Camrys to start with, but it was kinda strange that the team kicking against it did better, for three quarters anyway. A reflection on the modern game, most teams are better at runnin' and handpassin' than kicking long to a target. The locals scored the opener, but the Saints' pressure was evident early. Tyson Edwards's kick wide to leading Kurt Tippett fell short under-pressure, Tippett gathered but was tackled he scrambled a kick further afield, Jason Porplyzia scooped the ball but he was also being tackled when his kick wobbled for full-points. Nick Riewoldt majored for the Saints with a free-kick, the Sainters then produced an excellent running-and-handpassing move through the centre, kinda lucky when Clint Jones spilled the ball in a tackle but Adam Schneider was on-hand to gather and kick for Justin Koschitzke to mark and dob a great team goal. 'Kosi' was involved again a minute later, taking a strong grab of James Gwilt's centering kick, then kicking quickly to the goal-square where ruckman Steven King marked emphatically and lobbed it through. Three quick ones to the Sainters and they led by 12 points. The Cows hung tough for a while until a quickly-taken 50m penalty to Andy Otten allowed 'em to escape the pressure, Otten kicked long to Chris Knights who played-on and went long to the 'square, Trent Hentschel held a decent grab and popped it through. But the Saints had the final say of the stanza, Steven Baker collected the ball out wide and centered a pass for Koschitzke to mark and convert again. Sinkilda led 12 points at korter-time. The Stainers had the breeze after the first break, but the Camrys did better early. In Stevens's absence, Kurt Tippett had been pressured by his coach to kick some goals and he got the first two of the stanza. The first was courtesy one of them amazingly soft hands-in-the-back frees against Zac Dawson. The Cows cleared the restart and a Richard Douglas snap just missed, at the other end Nick Riewoldt missed a set-shot woefully for the Saints. Riewoldt keeps clutching at his knee and limping about, no way he's fully fit. Noice play from Scott Thompson set up the next goal, he chipped a wide pass to Andrew McLeod who drove a centering kick for Tippett to clutch strongly and convert. Stinkilda's lead was cut to a point. Saints Jarryn Geary and Luke Ball missed shots (Geary on-the-full) before the Cows grabbed the lead, Douglas hooked a kick to the top o'the 'square and ruckman Ivan Maric marked well over team-mate Pat Dangerfield. Maric popped it through, the Cressidas led by 4 points. The Sainters finished the stanza well though, with some disciplined efforts. Gwilt won a free wide on the flank for being held, he kicked quickly to find Dal Santo at CHF who then sent the ball wide to the opposite flank, classic switching play which allowed Leigh Montagna plenty of space and Montagna walloped it home from 50m. A bit later Koschitzke led up onto the wing for a grab and again centered a pass, to Schneider, his long wind-assisted kick saw Farren Ray take a contested, overhead mark about 12m out. Never seen that before. Ray goaled and the Saints led by 9 points, becoming 10 at half-time. Just prior to half time Corona Hentschel had limped off, to some concern given his history. The Camrys claimed later it was a thigh strain, Hentschel didn't return.
An even third, the Camrys had the wind again and began to kick the ball more and handball less, to the ironical cheering of their supporters. But it was the tight, tackling pressure of the Saints which'd forced a lot of the handballing. Geary scored a great early goal for the Stains, he backed into Camry Andy Otten to take a gutsy mark of Michael Doughty's risky cross-field kick, Geary immediately played-on and his into-the-wind punt bounced through an empty 'square for full points. Lyon is persisting with Geary, who often doesn't use the ball very well. That goal was very good, though. The Camrys replied courtesy a Sainter defensive mistake, under-pressure Sam Fisher hacked a kick on-the-full and Bernie Vince hooked the resulting free for a noice sausage roll. The Saints replied with Geary involved again, his weak hands-on-the-back free against Otten was sent towards Koschitzke who couldn't mark but Stephen Milne did his job, crumbing and snapping a major. A bit later there were some handbags at a throw-in, Maric throwing a punch at Michael Gardiner who played it up. Gardiner was awarded a free and a 50m penalty after Maric argued, big Gardiner majored and the Saints led by 22 points. The crowd wasn't happy about that but their vocality (?) probably earned Douglas a free a minute later, a pretty soft one for in-the-back. But Douglas missed, badly. Soon Sainter Jason Gram helped 'em out, telegraphing a kick from the back-pocket which was picked off by Tyson Edwards, he jabbed a pass for Taylor Walker to mark and punt truly. The Saints replied after Corolla David Mackay sliced on-the-full, Schneider gathered Ray's free-kick, swapped handballs with Geary and ran right in to spear a sausage. Saints by 20 at this point. The Camrys finished the term strongly with two Jason Porplyzia goals, for the first good team pressure forced the rebounding Stains to lose possession and a smart kick from Edwards found Porplyzia marking 50m out, the wind helped his very good punt home for a six-pointer. A minute later Chris Knights had a two-bounce run - the first time I'd seen a Camry allowed time for a running bounce, such was the Sinkilda pressure - and kicked long, Porplyzia leaped to mark over team-mate Tippett and boot another. The Stinkilda lead was back to 7 points, young Camry Walker had two scoring chances late in the term but his pot-shot from 50m hooked for a behind when he probably should've handballed to running Porplyzia, Walker proceeded to miss a set-shot after the siren. So the Saints led by 5 points at the final break, coming home with the wind. Saints Gwilt and Geary kicked behinds early in the final term before the Cows narrowed the gap. McLeod drove the ball forward, strong Addleaid tackling put the Sainters into trouble and Dawson was done for 'bawl', Tippett free-kicked a goal. The Saints led by a point. But they responded quickly, moving the ball rapidly with the breeze at their backs. Gram's snap from a ball-up struck the post before Gardiner drove a long kick in and Schneider snapped a goal with some great front-and-square roving to Riewoldt's contest. A bit later Maric's lazy effort cost a free to Dal Santo, who passed to leading Riewoldt 40m out. Riewoldt sliced his shot awfully but Koschitzke, perhaps expecting it, was in position to out-mark Rutten and boot a major. The Saints led by 14 points. Tough for a while, the Camrys scored a coupla points and Riewoldt missed again. We were into time-on when Dal Santo punted the Stains into attack, Milne gathered the ball and shocked observers by handballing to Koschitzke, who stabbed a low kick for full points. The wind went outta the Camry sails and the Sainters added percentage, Riewoldt managed to have shot from close enough that he couldn't miss and Goddard free-kicked one. Saints home by 32 points, Camrys off to the pub for some partner-bashing. Allegedly.
Another very good performance from big Sainter forward Justin Koschitzke (12 touches, 7 marks, 4 goals). Fingers crossed. Leigh Montagna (21 disposals, 12 tackles, a goal) is emblematic of a tougher Saint outfit and rebound man Sam Fisher (26 possies, 10 marks) was good, Nick Dal Santo (35 handlings, 6 marks) was kinda busy and Steven Baker (11 disposals) limited the influence of McLeod. You can't hear any comment about the Saints without Baker's importance being mentioned. Runnin' Jason Gram (24 possies, 8 marks) and small forward Adam Schneider (16 disposals, 2 goals) were good, limping Nick Riewoldt kicked 2 goals. The Camrys looked to Jason Porplyzia (16 possessions, 3 goals) for inspiration and Scott Thompson (27 disposals, 7 marks) was handy, as was Graham 'Stiffy' Johncock (22 possies, 8 marks). Kurt Tippett (11 handlings, 2 marks, 3 goals) did a bit at full-forward and veteran Tyson Edwards (29 possies) played alright. Nathan Bock (29 disposals, 8 marks) had the better of a proppy Riewoldt. Not so good later on, obviously. Ruckman Ivan Maric (13 possies, 6 marks, 25 hit-outs, a goal) was decent. Neil Craig spun it as a great Sinkilda effort. "The thing that won the game for St Kilda was their unbelievable pressure at the ball carrier all over the ground for long periods of the game," Craig said. "It was as good as I've seen, in that area of the game for that length of time in a minor-round game of footy. They were fantastic. To be exposed to that in round two of the AFL season shows us some of the areas where our game broke down. Secondly, it gives a lot of our players - not the Simon Goodwins of the world because he knows it - but at least half of our squad that that level does exist. You often don't see that level until finals and we've seen it in round two." Ross Lyon was more circumspect, 'cause it was round two. "Our effort was really good and that allowed our system and structures to stand up and kick in. The focus was on tackling, pressure and contested ball and we delivered on that," Lyon said. "We kicked 15 goals and were pretty efficient and defended reasonably [which allowed] the balance of attack and defence to be there. We felt we were second to the ball a bit, especially in the third quarter, but sometimes teams that handball a lot invite tackles, but if you don't tackle you can get hurt pretty quickly . . . We know (the season's) a rollercoaster. There are plenty of teams like Sydney and Adelaide last year that won a lot early and then had a bit of a slump. It's a really long year, it's a marathon."
At the MCG:
Collingwood 3.1 8.3 14.7 17.15.117
Melbourne 5.2 7.2 9.4 10.4.64
The Pies awakened from their slumber with a storming second half to over-run the hapless Dees. Melbun played alright early but, following a rocket from Malthouse, Collywood fired after quarter-time and moved further ahead the further the game went. The Poise let blood following their round one defeat, Chris Bryan, Tyson Goldsack and Ben Reid were dropped while Dale Thomas (gastro) was a late withdrawal. Incoming Pies were returning Heath Shaw, junior Brad Dick and two new men, former Kangaroo utility Leigh Brown and first-gamer Dayne Beams, a lively half-forward from Southport in Queensland who pointedly rejected the new Gold Coast team. Beams played well in the NAB Cup. The Dees had defender Stefan Martin and tough Colin Sylvia come in - forgot about Sylvia - in place of injured pair Simon Buckley (groin) and Colin Garland (foot). Garland would've been dropped, probably.
The Demuns played well early, producing some very slick running football. If you remember this time last year, the Dees' attempts at moving the ball were slow, telegraphed, poorly executed and just plain terrible. So they're improving. Aaron Davey and CHF Brad Miller were particularly good, Davey's three-bounce run from defence led to the opening major as Matthew Bate passed for lurking Miller to mark behind his man and convert. A bit later Nathan Jones produced a very well-weighted kick - if it was intentional - for Brad Green to mark in traffic and Green curled his punt for a goal. The Pies stopped the Dee run for a bit and scored their first major soon enough, 'Neon' Leon Davis and Ben Johnson combined to switch flanks smartly and leading John Anthony marked Johnson's pass, Anthony majored. A battle at the following centre-bounce was eventually tidied by Pie Marty Clarke, he handballed for Tarkyn Lockyer to run inside 50 and spear a goal, leveling the scores. Brock McLean booted the Deez into attack from the next centre-bounce, Miller did well to win the ball in a pocket and handball to Bate, who lobbed a centering kick for Paul Johnson to mark and convert. The Pies responded as Trav Cloke handballed for Lockyer to bag another, but the Dees ended the korter strongly. Their Paul Johnson won a free at a throw-in and chipped a pass to Davey, who in turn found Cale Morton for a mark and goal. Davey was soon involved again, starting a quick rebound which saw the ball flick 'round the outer wing and end up in the hands of leading Green, from Bate again. Green steered it through from the pocket and the Dees led by 13 points at the first rest. Malthouse gave his lads a blast and the Scraggies managed the first goal of the second stanza, Dane Swan sharked Paul Johnson's tap at a throw-in and slotted a running major. The Demuns replied with another sharp rebound move, Miller marked at CHF and sent the ball wide to Cameron Bruce, he kicked to the goal-square where Ricky Petterd held a strong grab and dobbed it. Melbun's first bit of weak play allowed a Poi response, Swan kicked long and Anthony maneuvered around Martin far too easily to collect the pill and slot. Shot of a pensive Pie president Eddie McGuire. The Redlegs atoned with some terrific tackling pressure in their own forward-line to hold the ball in, Pie Johnson fell onto Bate's back and Bate free-kicked a major. Melbun still led by 13 points, but the Pies piled on three goals late in the quarter. Alan 'Not a good bloke' Didak scored the first two, the first one of those gifted by an awful, shanked kick-in from Dee Kyle Cheney which went straight to Didak. Not sure why the Demuns have a second-gamer taking the kick-ins. Didak gratefully booted a goal and a minute later he kicked another, playing-on after marking Davis's pass on the boundary and walloping it through with his very good left boot. Scores were level and a bit later the Pies won a contested ball on the wing, Davis was involved again as his long, low kick was perfect for Paul 'Steak Knives' Medhurst to pluck and steer through from a tricky angle. The Pise led by 7 points at half-time.
The Dees hung in there for a while in the third term, but Pie ruckman Josh Fraser, Didak, Swan and Davis were starting to carve them up. Great tackling pressure brought the Scraggies an early major, Dee defender Matthew Warnock was caught badly in possession and junior Maggie Nathan Brown free-kicked a six-pointer. A bit later Fraser and Shane O'Bree forced the Sherrin goal-wards from a throw-in and Anthony soccer-volleyed a great goal from the 'square. It took a coupla bounces to get the ball outta the centre after that, finally Fraser tapped to Clarke and then slipped forward to mark Medhurst's pass and boot a goal. The Pies led by 27 points on the back of six unanswered goals. They did something similar last week before letting the Camrys back into the game. So when the Deez scrambled the ball forward messily, it squirted out to Cheney who stabbed the ball to skipper James 'Junior' McDonald and he passed for Green to mark and boot a terrific goal from a tight angle (phew), there might've been some Pie jitters. But Demun Bruce missed a shot and the Pies answered, some tough battle for the ball on a forward flank ended with Medhurst kicking for Anthony to mark and boot a goal. A bit later Davis tracked, toed-ahead and gathered the ball in traffic before snapping a superb across-the-body goal, he's very good. The Poise led by 34 points now. Melbun stayed in touch as Bruce led wide for a mark and was shoved meatily in the back by, er, some Pie I didn't pick up. Kinda silly, as the resulting 50m penalty turned Bruce's very difficult shot into an un-missable one. But new Pie Beams, playing well, kicked an excellent 50m set-shot goal to end the stanza. The Pies led by 33 points and coasted to the line in the last korter, failing to bury the Dees thanks to a bucket of missed shots. Swan, Leigh Brown and Medhurst all kicked behinds before Didak's good, long kick found Lockyer who played-on and passed for leading Cloke to mark and boot a goal. Soon Cloke kicked another, Brad Dick's skilful grab set it up and Cloke gave Dee Martin a decent nudge in the back to mark Dick's kick. No free for Martin and Cloke sausaged again. The Magpiss blathered more behinds, Dick missed a coupla times, prior to late goals for Didak and Dee McLean.
Dominant games from Pie ruckman Josh Fraser (25 disposals, 8 marks, 26 hit-outs, a goal) are infrequent but this was one of 'em. Alan Didak (29 touches, 10 marks, 3 goals) mightn't be a very good bloke but he is a great footballer. Dane Swan (33 disposals, 10 marks, a goal) is consistent and spearhead John Anthony (4 goals from 5 marks, 10 kicks) is probably keeping Rocca out of the side at the minute. Tarkyn Lockyer (23 possies, 12 marks, 2 goals) was good and Leon Davis (23 disposals, a goal) is also pretty decent. Pie fans were excited about Dayne Beams's debut (18 disposals, 5 marks, a goal). Travis Cloke kicked 2 goals. The Demuns had Cameron Bruce play well (30 disposals, 7 marks, a goal) and Aaron Davey (31 possies with 27 kicks) was great running from the back. Matthew Warnock (12 touches, 6 marks) kept Cloke very quiet, 'til the end there. Brad Miller (16 touches, 14 marks, a goal) and Brad Green (23 handlings, 13 marks, 3 goals) were very good and Nathan Jones (26 disposals) and Cale Morton (25 possies, 6 marks, a goal) played well, a relief for Morton following his poor round one effort. Dean Bailey tried to explain the fade-out. "We still tried to move the ball, but I thought Collingwood's pressure and their intensity around the stoppages really showed. They're a good stoppage team and they compete very hard at the stoppage and that's what really cost us in the third quarter," Bailey said. "They put a lot of pressure on us, which not only showed on the scoreboard, but [we] turned the ball over at times in the second half. In the first quarter and a half, we moved the ball quickly and we created options - lots of options for us." Bailey went on to praise Pie Fraser and his own Miller. Malthouse expounded on one of his favourite topics, ruckmen. "I thought Josh (Fraser) was pretty good all day," Malthouse said. "Ruckmen are ruckmen. If you're not a ruckman yourself then sometimes it is a little bit difficult to understand ruckmen. Some people crave 'go for it' and come off and 'go for it again' and come off. But I think there are others that like a little bit of extra time to establish what they want to do." He went on to praise Beams's effort.
At Kardinia Park:
Geelong 5.3 8.9 11.11 15.15.105
Richmond 1.1 4.2 12.6 13.7.85
I'm with Foxtel commentator Gerard Healy. Early in the final quarter, with the Tiges leading by a goal, he said that the Tiges had done what they had to in the game, putting in a much tougher effort than last week and running the Cats close. But they had a chance to win the game, said 'Gerhard', and causing a massive upset at a ground where the Tiges hadn't won for decades, following on from the round one debacle, would've been a brilliant statement about the team and club, and light years away from a somewhat cynical 'decent effort'. But then Gary Ablett and Steve Johnson fired and lifted the Catters over the line. The worry for Geelong from the game was a knee injury to Brad Ottens, he'll be out about 6 weeks they reckon. In selection the Catters axed Tom Lonergan and Mathew Stokes - poor performers last week - and brought in 'Tomahawk' Tom Hawkins and young midfielder Simon Hogan. The battlin' Tiges had to replace injured pair Ben Cousins (hamstring) and Andrew Raines (knee) - they'll both be out a month, allegedly - while Jordan McMahon, Richard Tambling, Will Thursfield and rookie ruckman Andrew Browne were dropped. In came Jake King, Dean Polo, young ruckman Angus Graham and three new players; ex-Bomber party animal Tom Hislop and AFL debutants Robin Nahas, a speedy half-forward from Port Melbourne, and defender Alex Rance from Swan Districts. He's the son of former Wiggle and Bulldog Murray Rance.
Overcast but dry day at the Cattery. Some had predicted the Cats might be flat, following on from a committed NAB Cup campaign and the round-one game against Horforn. But it didn't start that way. Hard Cat Max Rooke missed an early shot, capping a sweeping rebound which Rooke himself initiated with a crunching tackle. All day, blokes had trouble kicking for goal at the Hickey Stand end. The Cats recovered the ball from the Tiges' uncertain kick-in and Andrew Mackie punted long to the 'square, Tom Hawkins roved his own contest to poke it through for a goal. The Tiges responded, Chris Newman ran forward and kicked for Matty Richardson to mark over Jimmy Bartel, Richo chipped a pass ahead for Nathan Foley to mark and convert. The Toigs were using the ball better than last week, moving more slowly and carefully, but they weren't putting a lot of defensive, physical pressure on the Katz. Steve Johnson hit the post with a seemingly easy shot following a clever one-handed mark. Paul Chapman led out to mark Darren Milburn's pass and received a 50m penalty for being dragged down by King - a marginal decision, but Chapman majored and the Catters led by 8 points. Terrible misses from Toiga Kel Moore and Cat Milburn followed, then a lull. Jahlong fired up with a slick rebound and Gary Ablett smacking a running sausage from 50m, a bit later Ottens stooped to collect Ryan Gamble's low punt and delivered a great handpass for Travis Varcoe to stab it through from close-range. The Cats led by 20 points and the new rule against rushed behinds got the Tiges into trouble, hapless Troy 'Snake' Simmonds tried to avoid doing so and messed it up, Gamble bagged a goal. The Cats led by 26 points but at the following centre-bounce Ottens injured himself, landing awkwardly from the ruck contest. It's a strained medial ligament, six weeks they say. Richo disheartened Tige supporters late in the term with some aimless bombs into CHF and the quarter finished with the Cats 26 points up. The Big Pu55ies knuckled down a bit early in the second korter, Mitch Morton gathered the ball and turned smartly around Matty Scarlett, Morton lobbed a neat pass for Nathan Brown to mark 30m out and punt truly. Better ball-use in attack, that. A few behinds each before a great gather and burst of speed from Toig Matt White allowed him to find Jay Schulz alone, Schulz played-on and drilled it through. Geelong's lead was cut to 15 points. The Tiges were flooding and deigning to tackle a bit. Rooke's good cross-field pass countered the flood and found Corey Enright marking 50m out, Enright thumped an excellent major. The Tiges answered, a good series of chipped passes ended with Brett Deledio kicking for Richardson to mark over Bartel again, Bartel was picking up 'midfield Richo'. Richardson booted a goal. Steve Johnson scored next for the Cats, with a pretty weak free-kick for in-the-back against King. The Cats led by 22 points and left some Toiger errors unpunished with a couple of behinds from Scarlett and Cameron Ling. But late in the term a lightening handpass from Chapman released Johnson and his centering kick was marked strongly by Rooke, who majored. The Pu55ies led by 31 points at half-time, about the expected margin at this stage.
The Tiges came out firing in the second half. Chasing and tackling suddenly featured, Brown, Deledio and Shane Tuck gave 'em a big lift on-the-ball; curiously, Tuck did a lot of ruck-work around the ground. Foley won the ball from the opening bounce and punted forward, a great tap-on from Schulz allowed Jack Riewoldt to dribbly-kick a goal with his left foot. A bit later Brown roved a ball-up and punted forward, Richardson bullocked aside new opponent Mackie to mark and boot a goal. Simmonds cleared another ball-up and kicked forward, Scarlett gathered but tried to bust tackles and didn't; 'bawl' it was and Brown free-kicked another major for the Tiges, they were 13 points down. Cat Joel Corey had a free plus mystery 50m penalty at the restart, but he missed. Then a contentious incident, Tige King clangered a clearing kick straight to Cam Mooney, who went back and kicked a great 50m goal (that's not the contentious part). After the ball sailed between the posts, Tigger backman Luke McGuane punched it into the crowd. That's another shot at goal, under the rules, and Hawkins gratefully popped it through; one of them idiotic double-goals which put the Cats 26 points ahead again. As plenty of commentators have pointed out since, this rule is stupid; it's designed to stop time-wasting but the clock stops after a goal is scored. Furthermore, there's a bag of footys behind the goals thanks to the play-on-after-a-behind rule, so no actual time is wasted anyway. Bah. The Tiges were going well though and pressed on, a slick rebound move ended with Deledio dobbing a running goal. The Cats replied from a throw-in where Corey was tackled and slung after disposal by Daniel Jackson, that's a free and 50m penalty (not crazy about this rule either), Corey's resulting goal had the Cats 26 points ahead once more. Richardson and new Tige Robin Nahas kicked points before Morton snapped a ripper of a goal from the boundary, following a great gather and duck under Scarlett's attempted tackle. Deledio had a free at the following centre-bounce and passes went to Riewoldt, Richardson and then Shane Edwards who slotted from the flank. Steve Johnson appeared in the Pu55ies' backline but his wobbly clearing kick went to Tige Joel Bowden, whose long return punt saw Morton ride Enright for a big goal-square grab and major. Ottens's absence was noticeable during this Tige run-on as the Catters were thrashed in clearances. Richmun trailed by 5 points, Mooney sliced on-the-full after a very good mark before the Tiges claimed the lead, a goal for Tom Hislop from a lucky holding-the-'bawl' free against Enright. The Tiggers led by a point at the final change. Into the final Mario and Mooney's long kick for a behind leveled the scores. Soon Tuck lobbed a high kick forward from a ball-up and Bowden marked on the boundary, he went back and steered a terrific kick for full points and the Tigers led by 6 points. Healy made his point about the difference between a good losing effort and winning, as the Cats lifted with big contributions from Ablett and Johnson. It's fair to say the Tiges' pressure dropped off, too. A rapid rebound and Corey's long kick saw Johnson gather and snap a major, with good shepherding from Mooney. James Kelly lobbed a punt forward from a throw-in and Varcoe's lovely tap-on set up Chapman for a close-range slot, the Cats led again by 6 points. Johnson missed inexplicably from point-blank, at the other end Richardson soared for a great grab but missed the shot. Tough for a while before Ablett fired a handball out from a ball-up and Johnson snapped a fantastic goal from the boundary-line. Geelong led by 13 points and began to slow the game down, playing keepings-off. A poor Jackson pass over Edwards's head allowed 'em another goal, Milburn barreled Edwards off the ball and passed to Mooney, who centered a pass for Johnson to mark and boot his third goal of the stanza. The Cats led by 19 points then and won by 20.
Great effort from 'mercurial' Steve Johnson (24 disposals, 10 marks, 4 goals) to lift the Cats at the end. Joel Corey (25 touches, a goal) and defender Darren Milburn (28 possies, 14 marks) were their best complete-game performers. Gary Ablett (29 disposals, a goal) started and ended well, Corey Enright (20 touches, 7 marks, a goal), Joel Selwood (22 possies) and Max Rooke (10 touches, 5 marks, a goal) weren't bad. Paul Chapman and Tom Hawkins bagged 2 goals each, Hawkins's performance doing little to settle the 'Lonergan or Hawkins?' debate. Ageless Tige Matty Richardson (28 disposals, 14 marks, 2 goals) was pretty good again but he's not the best user of the ball in midfield. He shouldn't be the 'run and carry' guy. Brett Deledio (30 touches, 8 marks, a goal) played well as did Nathan Brown (29 possies, 10 marks, 2 goals). Shane Tuck (24 handlings) was useful and Daniel Jackson (25 disposals, 5 marks) had more of the ball than his tagging assignment, Selwood. Mitch Morton (11 disposals, 3 marks, 2 goals) did some great things and runnin' backman Alex Rance (18 possessions, 6 marks) debuted impressively. 'Plough' was with Gerard 'n' me. "When I'm driving back up the Geelong Highway I don't think I'll be too heartened," Wallace said. "You come to win a game of footy and we didn't get the result . . . I probably feel flatter today (than last week). I suppose a lot of people would find that strange, but I suppose we've got a lot of self-belief in what we're doing and what we are as people, and I thought that wasn't us last week . . . The game's about winning and we were never going to be in a winning position last week, but [today] we were in with a real chance to win a game of footy which would have been a fantastic game of football for us to get victory. Unfortunately we couldn't get the job done, so that irks me even more." Mark 'Bomber' Thompson said "We were just tired from the Hawthorn game. We knew Richmond would come here after a hell of a week and be better than the way they were [last week]. I think generally it's hard to play this game. Last week it was a big build-up emotionally and we played the game physically until the end. Today we just got out-played by Richmond. I thought it was a great effort to win the match. I thought Richmond was fantastic [today] and hopefully you guys might stay away from Richmond this week because they were so good. They're a fantastic team. Leave them alone." I'm really hoping Bomber followed that up with "all of you. . . ALL OF YOU." But he probably didn't
At Stadium Australia:
Sydney 3.4 8.7 16.9 22.11.143
Hawthorn 5.4 8.9 12.12 15.15.105
Impressive Siddey performance, albeit against a greatly weakened Horforn side. Injuries abound at Waverley, with eight premiership players and a handful of others missing - that's cheating a bit as retired Shane Crawford is included. Still, you can only beat what's out there and the Swans dominated clearances after half-time to romp away. Unfortunately they picked up some injuries late in the contest, most worrying a groin strain for Barry Hall. The Bloods made two changes to the side beaten by Sinkilda, Ed Barlow and Amon Buchanan were dropped and replaced by Luke Ablett and first-gamer Brett Meredith, a midfielder from Bundoora in northern Melbourne. Lewis Roberts-Thomson played his 100th game. The Orcs had only 24 fit players to choose from, allegedly. Travis Tuck (shoulder), Michael Osborne (hamstring), Brad Sewell (um, injured) and Matthew Suckling (corked thigh) were unavailable following round one, along with Simon Taylor suspended one game for kneeing Joel Selwood in the head. Replacements were Xavier Ellis, Josh Kennedy, Jarryd Morton, Mitchell Thorp and former East Perth rover Garry Moss, making his AFL debut in his third year with the Hawks. Forward Mark 'Shotgun' Williams played his 100th game.
Despite the absentees the Hawks started very well, with Cyril Rioli and Mark Williams on fire. The Orcs forced the ball forward from the opening bounce and Chance Bateman managed the first clean possession, lobbing a kick for back-pedalling Williams to mark and convert. A bit later Josh Kennedy roved a throw-in, his kick was smothered but spilled to Rioli who passed to Williams alone 30m out, play-on, goal. Swan spearhead Barry Hall, opposed by the not-very-good Thomas Murphy, missed appallingly with a close-range shot before the Hawks bagged another major. Young man Ryan Schoenmakers gathered Swan Darren Jolly's tap at a throw-in and wobbled a punt forward, it cleared Lance 'Buddy' Franklin and his man Craig Bolton but Hawk Cameron Stokes sprinted onto the loose ball and soccered it through, quite casually. Kinda quiet in the not-very-packed stadium as Horforn led by 17 points. Hall kicked another point, a long effort, before the Swans finally got on the board with a very scrappy, ugly passage. The ball was wrestled towards the goals until Jolly managed to pick it up and handball for Jarrad McVeigh to jab it through, almost stumbling over the line in the process. A few misses each before the Hawks scored more goals, Jarryd Roughead dropped Rioli's pass but had time to gather the pill and slam a seemingly high-risk but very straight punt through from a tight angle. The Hawks were rebounding very well and Grant Birchall's pass found leading Williams marking on 50m, Willo thumped his third goal and the Orcs led by 22 points. The Swans scrambled late, Jude Bolton won the ball from a throw-in and his centering punt allowed Hall to bullock Murphy aside for a mark and convert, finally. A minute later Brett 'Captain' Kirk, who was tagging Awk skipper Sam Mitchell, passed wide to Ryan O'Keefe and he squared a pass to Adam Goodes, who marked and majored. The very under-manned Hawk back-line looked shaky indeed as their lead was cut to 10 points. Franklin and Jarryd Morton missed shots to end the korter.
The Swarns began to take charge in the second term, with ruck pairing Darren Jolly and Jesse White lording it over solo junior Hawk Brent Renouf, while Kirk and Luke Ablett clamped down on Mitchell and Bateman. But the Orcs still produced some very good running footy, while the Swans moved the ball appallingly slowly in the face of the Hawk 'zone'. A great Hawk move from a Birchall kick-in - four long kicks - ended with Campbell Brown marking Rioli's punt just 20m out and popping it through, Hawks by 17. The Bloods finally managed a quick move of their own and Jarred Moore's good pick-up and handball allowed Jolly to float a kick where Goodes climbed on Schoenmakers for a big grab, although the Hawk kinda anticipated the ride and ducked, making it slightly less spectacular. The crowd loved it anyway and Goodes majored. Horforn answered as Rioli's two-bounce run from half-back and long kick gave Franklin a chance, he bustled Bolton aside and snapped a goal. Rioli's opponent, Marty Mattner, was driving us mad by continually allowing Rioli to lead him under the ball, turn him, mark or gather and race clear. For a defender, Mattner appeared to have little idea about defending. McVeigh had a free at the restart and passed out wide to leading Barry Hall, who goaled with a superb drop-punt from 50m on the flank. About time. Jolly tapped a ball-up to Moore and his quick kick was marked strongly by Nick Malceski, he sausage-rolled with an equally good punt from the opposite flank. The Orcs' lead was cut to 5 points. The Swans constructed a steady, if slow passing move from a kick-in and eventually McVeigh lobbed a kick to the top o'the 'square where Jolly had the sit for an emphatic pack-mark and goal, leveling the scores. They had the momentum but the Hawks pressed on, scoring three straight behinds (one a narrow miss from Franklin). Then Jarryd Morton had some luck, dumped after disposal he picked up a free and 50m penalty which allowed Morton to boot a goal. Hawks by 8 points but Siddey ruckman White booted a long goal after the half-time siren, to the great delight of himself and his team-mates. The Hawks led by 2 points at half-time, with Luke Hodge suffering from a collision with Craig Bird.
The Swans finally did take charge after the break. Pure stopper Jared Crouch was switched onto Rioli and Williams received more attention from Ted Richards. Coupla early goals, Hawk Roughead (who was otherwise very quiet) bagged the first after leading out to mark Franklin's long pass, 'Buddy' was helping out down back. Jolly and Jude Bolton combined to clear the restart and Ablett marked on the attacking side of the centre-square, he kicked for O'Keefe to mark over some hapless midget Hawk backman and slot from point-blank. Rioli maintained the Orcs' slender 8-point buffer with a very soft free-kicked goal but the Swans replied duly, advantage was allowed from Ablett's free-kick and new Swan Brett Meredith found Malceski hovering unguarded inside 50m, Malceski dobbed his second goal. Goodes had a free at the following centre-bounce and passed wide to Malceski, who stabbed a pass for Craig Bird to mark and convert and the Bloods led for the first time, by 5 points. A bit later Moore lobbed a high kick towards Hall, who was held back by Murphy and Bazza free-kicked a sausage to have the Swans 11 points ahead. The Awks hung in there as Brent Guerra gave 'em some run and Stokes was clothes-lined by Kieran Jack while attempting a mark, Stokes handballed his free to Roughead alone in the goal-square for a tap-through. Rioli and Morton missed shots, bringing Horforn within 2 points, prior to a goal-barrage in time-on. O'Keefe went long and high, Jolly gathered Hall's spillage and handballed for Moore to snap truly. Goodes lobbed it in long again - they'd worked it out - and O'Keefe converted a free, shepherded out of the contest. Siddey led by 14 points. Hawk debutant Garry Moss bagged a goal, set up by some great finesse and a handball from Rioli. But then Malceski roosted a ripper of a third goal, from the junction of 50m and boundary-lines, Bird, Kirk and Ablett sent them forward from the following centre-bounce and Hall again out-bustled Murphy for a mark on the point-line, Hall banana-ed it through and the Swans led by 21 points at the last change. Franklin booted the first goal of the final Mario, slipping ahead of Bolton to mark Moss's kick and drive it home. But the Bloodys slammed the door with the three quick majors. Hawk Kennedy's ugly kick from defence was collected by Heath 'Reg' Grundy, he punted towards Goodes who was clattered by a coupla Hawks and Goodes free-kicked a goal. Goodes also bagged the next, from a slightly less-clear free, and when runnin' Marty Mattner thundered a running punt home from 55m the Swans led by 33 points and you could put down your glasses, as Lou Richards might say. The Hawks hung in there with goals from Dew and Morton but dominating Swan Jolly bagged two more himself and Brett Kirk very much enjoyed his goal after marking 40m out. But there were injury worries, Hall strained a groin after slipping while tackling and Ablett and Crouch limped off late.
Darren Jolly (19 disposals, 7 marks, 42 hit-outs, 3 goals) enjoyed a night out, with assistance from Jesse White (28 hit-outs, a goal). At his/their feet Jarrad McVeigh (33 disposals, 7 marks, a goal) enjoyed a welter of touches, with Brett Kirk (13 touches, 9 tackles, a goal) thrashing poor ol' Sam Mitchell. Nick Malceski (13 disposals, 3 goals) played his best game for a while, allowed upfield as Rhyce Shaw (26 possies) did the running from the back. Adam Goodes (24 touches, 5 marks, 4 goals) roamed to great effect and Barry Hall (9 kicks, 5 marks, 4 goals) was good, in defence Craig Bolton (25 touches, 12 marks) did a solid job on Franklin, the Hawk required to help out in the ruck, and Lewis Roberts-Thomson (20 handlings, 9 marks) beat an ordinary Roughead. Ryan O'Keefe kicked 2 goals. Few standouts for the Hawks, midfielders Xavier Ellis (19 touches) and Jarryd Morton (13 disposals, 2 goals) reminded folks they can play and Cyril Rioli (16 possies, a goal) was very good. Mark Williams (12 disposals, 3 marks, 3 goals) started brilliantly but was barely seen after quarter-time. Lance Franklin (11 touches, 7 marks, 2 goals) tried hard and Jarryd Roughead (13 disposals, 1 mark) is flattered by his 3 goals. Al Clarkson blamed the injuries peripherally, preferring instead to praise the opposition. "That's Sydney's game," Clarkson said. "They love that (the stoppages) and we were unable to reduce the amount of stoppages. Teams that play Sydney, if you have 120 stoppages, you're not going to win many games of footy. I think they scored six or seven goals from centre bounces alone, which hasn't happened against our side in a long time . . . We'd rather be two-zip or one-one but we've played two pretty good sides . . . and Sydney is a very, very strong, competitive unit. Perhaps not as good a side as they've been over the last four or five years but still a very good side, and particularly up here, they're tough to beat." Typical back-handed compliment from Clarko there. Paul Roos said "This (Sydney) team's been really good responding (to a loss) over the years . . . You're hoping with this group that they're going to respond; they generally have and they've done it again tonight. Some of our goalkicking was important tonight. Malceski kicked some nice long goals that sort of kept us in touch . . . I've never been worried about the age; it's more the quality of the age. Adelaide have got their three best players over 30, Richmond have got some good players over 30 (really?). They've played a lot of footy over the last six years with finals but they all turned up tonight and played really, really well. They've got another 20 weeks to go, so hopefully they've got that in them."
At Docklands:
Carlton 3.2 11.5 13.8 18.11.119
Brisbane 3.3 4.6 10.8 15.10.100
The hype/arrogance dial is turned all the way up to 11 at Princes Park or whatever it's called these days. The Blues are top of the ladder on the back of two big wins. Well, one big and one a bit unconvincing. "Who've they beaten?" is the reply. The Lyin's played in a very similar fashion to last week; slow start, big third quarter but they couldn't get over the line in a free-scoring final stanza. This inability to close a game down was supposed to be Old Man Matthews's fault. The Blooze side was unchanged from that which thrashed the Tiges, Brisbun brought Simon Black and Albert Proud in to replace dropped Tom Collier and Scott Harding.
Rapid start, the Bluies opened the scoring as Brendan Fevola mowed down Lyin' Mitch Clark with a great chase 'n' tackle and Fev free-kicked a major from 50m. Brisbun's hero of last week, Rhan Hooper, booted their first, set up by Jonathan Brown who turned smartly away from Jarrad Waite. Bloo Eddie Betts slotted a lovely running goal from the boundary, the Brians answered as Travis Johnstone finessed smartly and passed for leading Brown to mark and convert. The Lyin's pressed late in the quarter as Luke Power and Simon Black won some ball, Waite's awful clearing kick caused a turnover and Black passed to leading Brown for another major. Michael Rischitelli missed a coupla shots to have the Lyin's 7 points ahead, but late in the stanza the Blues got one, Chris Judd's pass went way over leading Fevola's head but ruckman Matthew Kreuzer lumbered out of the goal-square to gather and handball to Marc Murphy, he slotted. Lyin's by a point at the first break. The Bluesers took charge in the second quarter as Judd, Murphy and Bryce Gibbs controlled the midfield. This Gibbs lad is a pretty decent player. A very ordinary Power kick from the Lyin' defence was swept up skillfully by Waite, he punted to the pocket where Fevola marked and banana-ed it through. A coupla minutes later Gibbs goaled courtesy a ridiculously soft 50m penalty and the Bluies led by 12 points. The Brians responded presently, a sweeping Daniel Rich handball found Brown in space and he passed for Dan Bradshaw to mark and convert. Against the run though, Betts won the following centre-clearance for Carton and Judd dobbed a running major, Betts himself then snapped a goal from a throw-in and, following a great tackle by some Bloo I couldn't pick up to force a turnover, Judd gathered and lobbed a centering pass for Cameron Cloke to mark over Johnstone. Cloke's sausage roll had the Bluesers 22 points up. And there was more in time-on, Lyin' Cheynee Stiller's attempted pass from half-back was picked off by a stretching Waite, a coupla passes later and Ryan Houlihan threaded a great kick from the pocket for full-points. Gibbs was twice involved in winning the following centre-clearance and Richard Hadley snapped a wobbly left-footed goal. A Judd tackle and a Gibbs handpass to Jeff Garlett also set up the next, Garlett dishing off for Murphy to slot one. The 'baggers had romped to a 41-point lead at half-time. Both sides were a man down, Lyin' Mitch Clark had limped off with a thigh strain but the Blues lost full-back Michael Jamison with a shoulder injury, he could be gone for a while they reckon.
The Lisbon Brians hit back in the third, Jamison's absence part of it as Bradshaw fired on the back of an improved midfield effort and fewer clangers. Bradshaw bagged an early goal, leaping to mark Rischitelli's kick close-in and pop it through. The Bloozers continued to apply the bulk of the pressure though, a string of short-passes 'round the city-side wing ended with Betts marking Simon 'Chief' Wiggins's pass and booting a goal from the boundary again - he's very good at those. There were a coupla rushed Bluie points before another well-executed passing move finished with Kade Simpson centering for Gibbs to mark, play-on and drill it through. The Bluies led by 48 points at this stage. Now the Lyin's fired. Good pressure forced a turnover and ruckman Matthew Leuenberger handballed for running Ash McGrath to race inside 50 and bounce a shot home. Troy Selwood was knocked out in a collision with Chris Johnson, the Lyin' Johnstone took Selwood's free and thumped it 50m for a goal. Selwood walked off under his own steam and is okay, apparently. Black won the following centre-clearance and Brown punted the ball further afield where Bradshaw had a free-kick, he slotted. Good Brisbun clearance work again, from a ball-up on the wing, resulted in Jed Adcock lobbing a kick for Bradshaw to mark strongly in front of Waite, Bradshaw goaled again with an ugly flat punt which just cleared Waite on the line. Another Lyin' centre-clearance followed and Brown marked Bradd Dalziell's wobbler, Brown converted although TV replays suggested his shot just clipped the inside of the post. But a Lyin' goal went on the scoreboard and the Bloo lead had been reduced to 17 points. Moments later Brisbun were denied a certain goal when Black and Brown spoiled each other in a marking contest 15m out, the Blues reached the final rest 18 points up. Carton had been trying to play keepings-off and slow the game down, but it hadn't worked in the face of ferocious Brisbun tackling. The break appeared to steady the Blues though. Bradshaw missed an early shot in the final korter, the Bluies moved downfield from the kick-in. Fevola led long to mark Simpson's pass, then dish off a handpass to running Murphy who steered a superb kick for a goal from the boundary. Simpson mowed down Dalziell with a great tackle, the turnover saw Cloke punt forward where Fevola maneuvered opponent Daniel Merrett under the ball, gathered and stabbed a major. The Blues led by 29 points. The Lyin's kept at it, Adcock lobbed a high kick from a throw-in and Bradshaw won a free for Paul Bower's manhandling, Bradshaw converted. Two goals from Justin 'The Shermanator' Sherman narrowed the gap again, the first came from a scrappy passage of play which resulted from Sherman's own poor pass to Bradshaw, the umps put the whistle away as Hooper's strong battling forced the ball loose and Sherman snapped it through. For the next Dalziell's cross-field pass found Sherman in space and he thumped a six-pointer on the run, the Bloo lead was back to 12 points. But a brace of Fevola goals sealed it. Solid Bloo pressure forced Black into a wild handpass, Simpson collected it and punted long to the 'square where Fevola rode McGrath for a strong grab, Fev pumped it through. A minute later Bloo junior Mitch Robinson drove the ball long, there was a strong hint of hands-in-the-back - or just a blatant push - as Fevola 'nudged' Merrett under the ball, gathered and snapped truly from 30m. The Bluies led by 25 points just shy of time-on. Hooper, Blue man Garlett and Bradshaw each booted late goals.
The Bluie midfield has some class with Bryce Gibbs (34 disposals, 15 marks, 2 goals) very good again, Chris Judd (25 touches, 10 tackles, a goal) and Marc Murphy (24 touches, 7 marks, 3 goals) solid as ever. I get the feeling those three are gonna feature a lot in Carlton's best. Brendan Fevola (10 kicks, 6 marks, 5 goals) is still hampered by a heel or ankle problem but he played well, Richard Hadley (27 touches, 8 marks, a goal) is recovering his best form. Ryan Houlihan (25 possies, a goal) is playing well while runnin' defender Jarrad Waite (26 disposals, 13 marks), ruckman Matthew Kreuzer (14 disposals, 7 marks, 21 hit-outs) and wingman Kade Simpson (24 possies) all contributed. Eddie Betts (13 touches, 3 goals) was handy too. Cameron Cloke bagged 2 goals. The Lyin's experienced midfielders were good too, Luke Power (33 disposals) and Simon Black (28 possessions). Daniel Bradshaw bagged 6 goals from7 marks and 15 disposals, CHF Jonathan Brown (18 touches, 8 marks, 3 goals) played well too although Thornton stuck to him. Running half-back Josh Drummond (30 possessions) did well, Jed Adcock (22 possies) helped in the third-term comeback when switched onto the ball, new boy Daniel Rich (19 disposals) and almost-new Bradd Dalziell (21 touches) were handy. Rhan Hooper and Justin Sherman kicked 2 goals each. Mick Voss wasn't happy with the second quarter. "They overlapped and ran on, and put our defence under enormous pressure," Voss said. "You can only hold that back for so long and we didn't keep the ball going forward and didn't keep the pressure in the contest. We weren't achieving that in the second quarter. Once we did that we obviously fought back into the game . . . Every side has opportunities, but we missed a lot of targets with our kicking efficiency problems in the second quarter. We picked that up over the course of the game, but those half-chances and all those easy balls coming through the middle . . . you have just got to hit your targets." Victor Brett Ratten wasn't completely happy either. "I suppose the first feeling was we could have played a little bit better through patches of the game, and we need to improve some of that. But when you look at it we haven't beaten Brisbane [here] in a home and away game, so that was a great effort. I suppose we've been into trying to eradicate records that haven't been that flattering towards our club and we're starting to build that and get some positives in that regard . . . The back end of the game [was a positive] when rotations were down a bit and players had to stand up and play a bit of extra game time."
At Docklands:
Essendon 5.2 9.5 14.7 16.13.109
Fremantle 1.4 6.6 10.8 10.11.71
Good win for the young Bommers in an entertaining if error-filled game. Lotsa mistakes by both sides again, the Bommers had an edge in speed. Or SPEED as it says in their rooms, apparently. The stats featured familiar reading for the Dockulaters; more inside-50s than their opponent and a late fade. Blame Mark Harvey; the Perth press do, apparently. The Dons are running into more injury trouble already; Sam Lonergan (fractured hand) and promising new lad Michael Hurley (thigh strain) were injured at training, Jay Neagle and Bachar Houli were also left out of the side beaten by Port. Harsh on Houli. Incoming Bommers were Darcy Daniher, David Myers and two first-gamers, lifelong Bomma supporter David Zaharakis from Eltham and international rookie Michael Quinn, an Irishman from Longford. Quinn's a teetotaller and dislikes going out, confounding national stereotypes. Freo called up Dean Solomon, about the only older bloke they didn't tap on the shoulder last year, and backman Scot Thornton. They replaced axed pair Ryan Murphy and Marcus Drum. Chris Tarrant played his 200th AFL game, a fine achievement for a bloke who's copped plenty of criticism through his career. Most of it deserved, mind.
After the Dons' loss in Adelaide there was much debate over the Richo-like role of goal-less skipper Matthew Lloyd. Lloydy lined up at half-forward with a commission to rove about the ground, a role which Bomma fans don't like, apparently. 'Cause he doesn't kick goals. Paddy Ryder played full-forward for all of this game with Scott Lucas commencing on the bench, along with Brent Stanton. The Dons' first quarter went a long way towards deciding the contest, their side was the better set-up early. Harvey's fault again. New Bommer David Zaharakis, a speedy, hard-running midfielder, assisted for the opening goal when his tumbling kick was gathered by Ryder, a coupla handballs later and Adam McPhee jabbed it through from close range. Then Dokka kick-in man Josh Head put his foot over the line, resulting in a ball-up. Freo lighthouse Aaron Sandilands fisted the ball straight out-of-bounds, which the ump decided was deliberate - it was. Bombout Alwyn Davey produced an excellent left-foot hook-kick for full points. Freo'd barely been out of their own half at this stage, as they trailed by 13 points. Now they did manage some attacking, David Mundy missed a set-shot but the Don kick-in trickled out for a throw-in, which Matty Pavlich gathered and lobbed a kick for Mundy to mark again. No mistake this time. Freo had Luke McPharlin at full-forward but his undoubted enthusiasm and athleticism are sometimes outweighed by his poor positional sense and kicking skills, as they were on the next few Docker thrusts. The Dons constructed a run-on late in the term as Lucas and Stanton came on. Stanton produced a smart kick to find Lloyd leading into the centre, he handballed to Jobe Watson who booted long where roving Hayden Skipworth handballed for Lucas to snap an easy sausage. The Melbun meedya were interested in Skipworth last week, for reasons unknown. He looks like Maxwell Smart, or Don Adams if you prefer. A poor pass from Shocker Ryan Crowley (!) produced a turnover and the Dons scrambled the ball forward in chaotic style, until Angus Monfries managed a clean possession and hooked a centering kick which McPhee marked and converted. A minute later Lloyd's strong tackle on Mundy in the Dons' back-line forced a turnover and rebound and Zaharakis passed for leading Ryder to mark, he booted another Essadun major. Dokka Steven Dodd's missed shot left the Dons 23 points up at quarter-time.
According to the TV folk Harvey praised Crowley's first quarter - I rest my case. Crowley had 'stopped' Andrew Lovett, apparently. At least Harvs swapped McPharlin with Tarrant, whose career as a full-back appears to have lasted five quarters. The Dons scored an early goal when Heath Hocking marked behind the centre and was knocked down by late-arriving Head, a 50m penalty and Hocking majored. Essadun led by 28 points but the Dockers began to run a bit. Crowley punted 'em forward from the restart and Brett Peake clutched a very good mark, sort-of behind himself. Peake booted a goal. A bit later a fumble by junior Don Tayte Pears caused a turnover and Freo made very hard work of the chance, but eventually Tarrant handballed for Byron Schammer to poke it through from the goal-square. Nick Suban missed a shot before Paul Duffield drove a centering kick for Pavlich to seize a strong pack-grab, Pavlich goaled and the Dockulaters had reduced the margin to 10 points, a subsequent Pav poster made it 9. The Dons responded as Ryder slapped a ball-up into the path of Lovett who gathered and speared it through. Commentator Danny 'Spud' Frawley criticized Crowley for allowing Lovett to get goal-side of him at the stoppage: "Here you see Crowley ends up chasing ar5e," he said. Chasing what? I know it's only cable TV, but still. Lucas wasted great play by Zaharakis and Dustin Fletcher by kicking on-the-full, before speedy Jason Winderlich exchanged handballs with Watson and snapped a terrific goal. The Dons led by 21 points. Freo pushed back, Paul Hasleby marked on the wing and was clattered late by Michael Quinn, resulting in a 50m penalty. Hasleby jabbed a pass to Garrick Ibbotson, in turn he passed for fast-leading Peake to mark and boot truly. A minute later Kepler Bradley delivered a pass to leading Tarrant, Taz chipped a pass to Rhys Palmer who booted a goal, good to see him convert a set-shot. Freo were 9 points down again. A long Zaharakis shot was just touched on the line but as Freo brought the ball in Skipworth produced a great smother, Davey gathered and lobbed a high punt to the 'square where David Hille reeled in a terrific one-handed mark - holding off Dodd with the other. Hille squeezed it through and the Bummers led by 16 points at half-time.
The match continued in much the same vein - Essadun's lead hovered around the 3-goal area, Freo unable to get closer but the Bommers unable to kick clear. McPhee bagged the opening goal of the third stanza, created by good work from Darcy Daniher. Lovett sped clear of the restart and speared a pass for leading Ryder to mark impressively at full-stretch. Ryder goaled and the Dons led by 28 points. The Dockerators responded, Sandilands flipped a throw-in out-the-back and Pavlich gathered to snap a superb goal - he gave opponent Pears some afters, which resulted in a Bomma free-kick from the restart. Nothing came of it, though. A bit later Pears was forced to send a clearing kick towards a pack, Hocking roved but Palmer intercepted his handpass and sprinted clear to slot a goal. The Dons' lead was reduced to 17 points. Goals alternated for a while, Freo man Duffield's kick outta defence was marked by Pears, who then received a 50m penalty as Andrew Browne refused to retreat on-the-mark. Pears majored. A bit later Hasleby leaped up from a heavy collision with Lloyd and kicked the Dokkers forward, an under-pressure Quinn handpass was snaffled by Dean Solomon who speared a major. Don fans loved that. The Dons replied as Watson, Lovett and Quinn combined to move the ball swiftly from a throw-in and Henry Slattery blasted his kick high into the stands; also between the big posts. A swift move from a kick-in resulted in the next goal for Freo, Mundy honoured Tarrant's lead and Taz quickly lobbed a short pass for Steven Dodd to mark and steer through. The Dons answered in turn as Davey's well-weighted kick allowed Courtenay Dempsey to hold a back-pedalling mark and Dempsey goaled. The Bommers led by 24 points, Freo peppered the sticks late but came up with two on-the-fulls (one from Solomon) and a point (also Solomon). Dons by 23 at the final turnabout. Into the final term Ryder and Sandilands kicked points for their respective sides. Sandilands was pushing forward a bit now. Lloyd rubber-chested a mark, bringing groans from the Don fans. Handily, Hocking gathered the spilled ball and found Skipworth lurking on a forward-flank, having just come off the bench. Skipworth majored and the Dons led by 29 points. Given the established pattern, you couldn't see the Dorkers closing the gap, despite there being plenty of time remaining. A bit later tiring Bomma Quinn lobbed a high, short kick forward and Winderlich leaped to hold a good mark over Palmer, Winderlich's subsequent sausage had the Dons 35 points up; that was the final goal with about 12 minutes to go. Lloyd, still goal-less for the season, started pushing forward to try and get one but managed three behinds. Tarrant couldn't kick a goal either and there was an amusing bit where Don defenders Fletcher and Slattery kicked the ball back-and-forth about three times. Like last week Freo faded badly at the end, but the Dons weren't keen or good enough to punish them further.
Even effort from the Dons, Jason Winderlich (27 disposals, 8 marks, 2 goals) likes to run fast, doesn't seem to care much about the direction. Dustin Fletcher (28 handlings, 13 marks) and Adam McPhee (15 disposals, 7 marks, 3 goals) were solid influences at either end of the ground and Jobe Watson (30 possessions - 21 handballs) played well across the middle. Tayte Pears (15 touches, 8 marks, a goal) produced a solid defensive effort against Pavlich and the impressive first-gamer David Zaharakis (21 disposals, 10 marks) picked up a Rising Star nomination. Courtenay Dempsey (15 handlings, a goal) did some classy things and Michael Quinn (20 disposals) did pretty well considering he played his first-ever game of footy two months ago. Paddy Ryder kicked 2 goals. On the Dokker side Paul Hasleby (24 disposals with 19 handballs) and Aaron Sandilands (17 disposals, 36 hit-outs) worked hard at stoppages, but the ball didn't go anywhere after that. Matthew Pavlich (16 touches, 5 marks, 2 goals) and David Mundy (20 possies, 8 marks, a goal) were just okay and Rhys Palmer (21 disposals, 8 marks, 2 goals) played alright. Brett Peake kicked 2 goals, he needs to be more involved. Overall, it was a pretty abject effort from Freo. Mark Harvey said "We're just not clean enough in close at the moment. It doesn't give us any real advantage when we fumble and we don't show enough initiative because of that. You find yourself on the back foot a lot on the back of not being clean enough. Aaron (Sandilands) is getting his hands on it but we're not clean enough to move the ball from stoppages. Until we get to the stage where all our midfielders are elite in that area then we're going to have some issues . . . We're not finishing off. If you have a look at inside-50s the last two weeks we've beaten the opposition but we're not capitalising on it. Hence the team starts to be reactive instead of showing initiative when we should be scoring." What's he gonna do about it, though? Knighta said "It does help when you get your first win and it obviously breeds a lot of confidence in what we're doing as footy team. We've had a significant week in that we were able to keep on track with what we were wanting to achieve, rather than be too disturbed by external influences (Port blokes bagging Lovett in the press; general criticism of Skipworth, Lloyd and Lucas). I spoke to the guys [in the defensive unit] earlier in the week and I said, 'It's your back line now'. That's what we're endeavouring to do with this footy club - to mould them and bring them through together. A few of them showed really good signs today." Knights went on to defend the performances of Lloyd and Lucas. Lloydy played okay and had he kicked straight (0.3) there'd have been no criticism. Lucas is playing like poop, though.
At the MCG:
Footscray 3.6 4.10 8.13 11.14.80
North Melbourne 1.5 3.6 7.8 9.11.65
Another milestone on the road to (hopeful) success for the developing Doggies. Norf have been their bogey-side for a few years now and beating 'em would've been sweet, ugly as it was. Rain turned the game into a slippery, pack-bound battle, but it's good for the Dogs to win that way. Not so good if you're a Kanga fan, of course. After a slow start, the Ruse appeared likely winners by halfway through the final quarter, but didn't quite get there. In selection the Bullies called up Jarrod Harbrow and rookie-listed Liam Picken for his AFL debut, he's from Williamstown and is a son of Collywood great Billy. Another of Bill Picken's sons, Marcus, played a few games for the Brisbane Lyin's. They replaced axed pair Andrejs Everitt and Stephen Tiller. Forgot to mention last week, Scott Welsh isn't playing. One change for the Kangers, an odd one given the weather with ruckman Todd Goldstein replacing key forward Josh Smith. Daniel Harris and Corey Jones are being left out of the Ruse side, currently.
The game was a benefit for the Emergency Services Relief Fund, in aid of those fighting the recent bushfire disaster north of Melbourne. The fact it rained during the game was commented upon several times. Strange start to the game, very open. There was barely a tackle or stoppage for the first ten-odd minutes. Passes with the wet ball skidded off blokes' hands so the players resorted to long shots, Norf's Leigh Harding, Doggy Shaun Higgins and Roo Daniel Wells all missed from distance. The Bullies enjoyed the bulk of early possession and scored a major eventually, Nathan Eagleton punted towards Josh Hill who out-maneuvered Scott McMahon to take a good grab, Hill passed for leading Brad Johnson to mark and also get pole-axed by oncoming Michael 'Dorito' Firrito. Johnno rolled about dramatically, as he usually does, before leaping up and dobbing a major. The Dawgs led by 5 points as a rain-shower drenched the ground, but players insisted on running handball so suddenly there was a lot of fumbling, tackling and ball-ups. After a bit Bully Daniel 'Guido' Giansiracusa whacked a terrific running goal from the flank to put the Pups 10 points up. The Dogs were working it out; long kicks were gonna be more effective. Eagleton galloped free of the restart and punted long, but a lunging McMahon managed to get a fist on the ball before it went through the big posts (not deliberately rushed, apparently). A bit later the busy Eagleton scooped a loose ball and lobbed a kick to the goal-square, Johnson arrived for an idiomatic with-the-flight grab and booted his second goal. The Bullies led by 17 points. North closed the game down with some big packs, the Dogs missed a coupla shots and the Ruse managed to score a goal with 20 seconds remaining in the stanza. Andrew Swallow got a kick away as he was slung in a tackle and the ball slewed randomly but usefully to Adam Simpson, who marked 40m out and booted a rare (for him) goal. A TV person (Commetti, I think) told us Simpson's best goal-haul in a game was 3, against Fitzroy. So it was a while ago. Into the second Mario and Roo backman Josh Gibson 'did a McMahon' in preventing a certain Bulldog goal with a diving, outstretched hand to touch the ball through. The Ruse hung tough for a bit before they managed a decent rebound move, the busy Simpson found Drew Petrie in a huge amount of space, he played-on and handballed for Matt Campbell to run right in and drill it through. Nuthin' happened for quite a while as the players slogged it out in the wet. Just before time-on Bulldog Johnson bagged his third goal, slipping McMahon to gather Callan Ward's long kick and stab it through. The Dogs led 15 points but the Kangers responded presently, Daniel Pratt won a hard ball on the wing and eventually Simpson drove the ball long, Wells ran onto it to soccer a goal. A Giansiracusa behind left the Bullies 10 points ahead at half-time.
The Bullpups moved ahead in the third. Josh Hill won the ball a bit but kicking goals is a problem for him, Hill missing a sitter following a with-the-flight mark. A bit later Hill wandered upfield, won the ball skillfully and handballed to Griffen, he passed towards Higgins who tapped-on smartly for big Will Minson to dob a point-bank major. Dylan Addison followed up with a goal and the Bullies led by 23 points. Skills were improving as the rain held off and the ground dried. Roo Daniel Pratt gave his side a chance with a long punt into attack, Swallow lurked behind Petrie's contest where he (Swallow) collected the pill and snapped accurately. A few behinds occurred as the contest got a bit willing. Bully Brownlow man Adam Cooney suffered a cork thigh in solid collision with 'Lethal' Leigh Harding, there was some tough play before the ball emerged to Jason Akermanis and he passed to leading Giansiracusa, who lobbed a handball to Hill in the goal-square for a shot even he couldn't miss. Firrito booted a long point but the Roos helped the Pups score a goal. Kanga juniors Jack Ziebell and Lachy Hansen collided going for the same mark, team-mate Sam Power looked like he'd collect the spillage but slipped over. The ball came to Bulldog Griffen who exchanged handballs with Johnson and curled a great running kick for a goal. The Bullpups appeared likely winners as they led by 28 points now, but Norf hung in. They won the following centre-clearance and the ball went wide to Wells, he lobbed a risky short kick but David Hale made it look good with a strong grab and goal. Griffen attempted to repeat his earlier goal but just missed, at the other end Lindsay Gilbee saved the Dogs with a superb goal-square tackle of Campbell. But the Ruse kept comin', Wells involved again as his handball set up Lindsay Thomas for an accurate snap. Norf soon produced a robust rebound move, Harding's long punt cleared the pack again and roving Thomas handpassed for his mate Campbell to snap a six-pointer. Footyscray's lead was reduced to 11 points at the final break. Petrie opened the last term with a long kick for a point. The Dogs caught a break when Hill was allowed an age to dispose of the ball in tackle, Akermanis gathered, exchanged handpasses with Eagleton and lobbed a pass for Hill to mark and kick a goal. Bulldogs by 16 points. The Ruse attacked, Gavin Urquhart's long kick spilled from Thomas's hands, hit Bulldog Addison on the leg and rolled towards the goals. Wanting the ball to go through for a rushed point, but unable to actually assist it through, Addison hesitated fatally and Kanger Ed Lower slipped in to soccer a major. There followed a scrappy passage with a bucket of midfield clangers, like kick-to-kick. Sure enough one of them proved costly, Bulldog Gilbee's risky cross-field pass to Brian Lake missed the target and Lake over-ran the ball too, Rue skipper Brent 'Boomer' Harvey scooted clear and kicked towards Hamish McIntosh who was clattered head-on by Addison, but marked anyway. McIntosh booted a goal which reduced the Norf deficit to 3 points. We had a game now. Akermanis sliced an under-pressure shot on-the-full and at the other end off-balance Simpson tried to back-heel pack spillage for a goal, but the ball trickled for a Roo behind. McMahon was denied a clear free 30m out as the Ruse pressed forward furiously, but couldn't score a goal. Relief for the Bulldogs came as Harvey was penalized for a throw. Daniel Cross ran the Pups into attack and kicked towards leading Minson, he couldn't mark but roving Hill collected the ball, swapped handballs with Akermanis and Hill slotted a goal. Simpson, trying to bust free from the subsequent centre-bounce, was caught and done for 'bawl'. Cooney passed the free wide to Hill, who kicked for Gilbee to mark just inside 50m. Gilbee punted a great, long major and the Bullies led by 14 points well into time-on, safe now. The Dogs also won the next centre-clearance and Gilbee had another long go, which missed. Whinging Brad Johnson conceded a 50m penalty on the kick-in, but it didn't matter.
Tough ruck-rover Matthew Boyd (28 disposals, 7 marks) has started the season very well for the Dawgs. In attack Brad Johnson (22 touches, 9 marks, 3 goals) and Josh Hill (16 handlings, 7 marks, 3 goals) played very important roles, upfield rebound men Brian Lake (25 possessions, 18 marks) and Lindsay Gilbee (22 disposals, a goal) were handy. Ryan Griffen (28 disposals, a goal) played well again, producing some run-and-carry plus long-kicking. First-gamer Liam Picken (9 touches) did a crucial stopping (or slowing) job on Brent Harvey and Jason Akermanis (19 possies, 6 marks) used the ball smartly in the wet. For the Ruse new midfielder 'Lethal' Leigh Harding (22 possessions, 8 marks) played very well again and Adam Simpson (27 disposals, a goal) had the ball on a string in the first half, he was a lot quieter in the second. Hamish McIntosh (17 handlings, 13 hit-outs, a goal) performed well in the ruck again and Daniel Wells (18 possies, 7 marks, a goal) was good, small forwards Lindsay Thomas (8 touches, a goal) and Matt Campbell (12 touches, 2 goals) were efficient. Andrew Swallow (19 disposals, a goal) battled hard. Dean Laidley has suddenly decided the Kangers are in rebuilding mode. "They're (Western Bulldogs) a terrific side . . . but the reality is, and this is not a message in a bottle, 25 games ago we lost a preliminary final and off our list or out of that side is 1600 games worth of experience," Laidley said. "We haven't dropped too many close games and this is not an excuse, but this is the future and this is the way that we're going and I reckon it should be exciting for our football club. And maybe perhaps I or the club haven't been really, really super strong in this message, particularly with the media. Our supporters who watch us every week get a clear vision of where we're going and what we're doing and we'll continue to go down that path." Rodney Eade said "At the end of the day we tried to lose it, but the pleasing thing was the maturity of the group. [The Kangaroos] are renowned for their grit and determination, and to be able to fend that off and kick those last two goals was really pleasing. To win a tight, close game because of the weather and opposition we had, I think that will cement more belief within the group. Sometimes you've got to win ugly. I know that's an old phrase but we certainly did that today . . . In the past, Harvey and Wells couldn't get to the ground quick enough when they play us. They slept here overnight the night before, I reckon, they were that keen to get here. We were really keen to have someone sit on one of them, and I thought for (Picken's) first game, he did really well."
At Subiaco:
West Coast 4.3 10.6 16.8 19.11.125
Port Adelaide 1.6 4.9 8.12 10.15.75
Big win for a Weegle side very different from the one beaten narrowly in Brisvegas last weekend. Their young but talented midfield overran the teasers from Port. No evidence here to counter the theory that the Powder are the flat-track bullies of the AFL. We'll wait and see. The Weegs might be on their way to a decent side; blokes absent for much of last season played well here, including Shannon Hurn, Chris Masten, Adam Hunter, Brad Ebert and Daniel Kerr. Worsfold made five changes to the Weevil side beaten by the Lyin's. Matt Spangher, Sam Butler, Brent Staker, Mark Seaby and, very surprisingly, David Wirrpanda were left out. Replacements were Adam Hunter, Adam Selwood, Brett Jones, Ben McKinley and Ryan Davis. In contrast Port made only one change to their round one winners, compulsory as Dean Brogan was suspended for roughing up Bommer Lovett. In came backman Toby Thurstans. Chad Cornes played his 200th AFL game, a great achievement, Shaun Burgoyne his 150th and Brett Ebert and Toby Thurstans their 100ths. Which made Port's bloodless performance all the more galling.
A rapid start from the home side on a very sunny, warm Perth day. The Eegs had a Hawk-like midfield zone, or something, according to 'Gerhard' Healy. These things are a bit hard to discern on the TV, so I'll take his word for it. What you could see clearly was Port's weird away-guernsey. Sturt-aqua (officially 'teal') on the back and white on the front with a lightening-bolt motif, the gear also featured white socks. Combined with the white boots most players wear these days, the overall Port look was very Mardi Gras. Wiggle wingman Matt Rosa, subject of a rocket from Worsfold apparently, was everywhere early. Rosa lurked short of CHF to accept a pass from Quinten Lynch, then deliver one to leading Ashley Hansen who booted the opening goal. Rosa also assisted on the next, passing to Matt Priddis on the 50m line; Priddis played-on uncertainly and jabbed a pass to Adam Selwood, no closer but Selwood booted a long sausage anyway. Next up Rosa passed to leading Ben McKinley who marked but missed from the flank. Bit of lull as Port got men back but turned over repeatedly midfield, caught in The Zone. Then Adam Hunter carried the ball from the Weeg backline and passed to Lynch 70m out, who played-on and smashed an huge punt for a six-pointer. Musta been 65m. The Weegs had bounded to a 20-point lead and Port re-organised, sending Chad Cornes back as an extra defender and placing Travis Boak on Rosa. Cornes was good as Port steadied and began to attack through Steven Salopek, the Burgoynes et al., but couldn't score a goal. Justin Westhoff and Robbie Gray missed hardly-difficult set-shots and Warren Tredrea sprayed a snap hopelessly wide from close-in. Thurstans and Westhoff again added to the behinds column before a goal arrived finally, Westhoff with a mystery rucking free from a forward-pocket throw-in. Port's Brett Ebert led, marked and missed which reduced the Weegs' lead to 8 points. The locals finished strongly though, Lynch lined up for another artillery shell of a shot, the Flowers' Danyle Pearce dived bravely to smother it but the ball came back to Lynch, who produced a noice left-foot kick for Mark LeCras to mark in front of the pack, LeCras popped it through. A Hansen miss left the Eegs 15 points ahead at quarter-time. Port scored early in quartier du, a smart rebound move featuring full-back Alipate Carlile and Salopek completed it with a long, running goal. The Weegs' lead was reduced to 9 points but they responded rapidly. A soft free-kick to Selwood, who ran into Shaun Burgoyne's back, allowed Selwood to dish off to Lynch who thundered a long sausage. Giving the ball off to Lynch or another long kicker, Shannon Hurn, was very much a Wiggle set-play; sure enough Hurn booted the next goal from outside 50, lurking to accept Hunter's handpass. The Weegs' zone swarmed the corridor and swamped the Powder rebound moves, Peter Burgoyne coughed up the ball with a under-pressure handball and Chad 'Coma' Fletcher punted the ball forward for West Ghost, LeCras was biffed high by Jacob Surjan and free-kicked a goal. The Weegs led by 27 points as Port managed a centre-clearance and Shaun Burgoyne led out for mark, but he missed. Weeg Weeg Port But the Wiggles replied with a centre-clearance and leather-magnet Rosa sent the ball wide to Ryan Davis, his long handball put Chris Masten under pressure but Masten responded with a terrific off-balance snap for a major. (Port). The Weegs led by 33 points at the long break.
Port made a modest effort to get into the game in the third stanza. The term didn't start well for 'em, Westhoff broke his foot, apparently aggravating a pre-existing problem, and took no further part. Then Shaun Burgoyne missed an absolute sitter. The Weegs punished 'em courtesy a mystery free-kick to Eric Mackenzie plus random 50m penalty, his kick cleared the pack and Andrew Embley lurked behind to soccer it home. Eegs by 38 points but Port replied thanks to Selwood's clangered kick from the centre, big Brendon Lade marked, ran and kicked long where Daniel Motlop led Mackenzie under the ball, wheeled, gathered and slotted a superb banana-kick for a major. The Eegs replied as Rosa handballed to running Daniel Kerr, he blasted it through from 50m. Kerr had a quiet first half but shifted up a gear in the second. Shaun Burgoyne was ploughed into the hard Sooby turf at the restart, a free and a few chipped passes saw Lade line up from 50m, he sprayed it on-the-full. But Mackenzie's subsequent free-kick was badly directed, a pack formed from which Peter Burgoyne extracted the ball, darted clear and slotted a goal. Port won another centre-clearance, eventually seeing Motlop mark on the flank but he missed. The Eegs bagged another, good play from Kerr got the ball to leading Hunter on 50m, he passed quickly to Brad Ebert alone who played-on and dobbed it. Looks like the Weagle Ebert (Weebert?) has grown a bit taller over summer. Eegs by 36 points prior to Port managing consecutive goals, their Brett Ebert led out for a grab and speared a good pass to Gray, he kicked quickly to the goal-square where Motlop was inexplicably alone. Easy poke-through. The Weegs scored a coupla points before Lade drove a long kick forward and Motlop had the sit for a great ride on Mackenzie and Darren Glass, Motlop plucked the classical speccie and gave off an unselfish handball upon landing, Gray had a tap-through for a goal. The Flowers were there-abouts, trailing by 26 points. But the Weegs slammed the door with three late majors. Davis's smooth roving saw him collect the Sherrin and pass to leading Hansen, the Weeg forward's shot faded across the goal where Dean 'Big' Cox stood tall to seize a mark, he steered it through. Lynch's textbook tackle on Kane Cornes led to the next goal, Priddis scooped up the loosed pill and majored on-the-run. And from a ball-up on the wing Embley handballed inwards to Kerr, who had a bounce, baulked around Troy Chaplin and walloped a running goal from 50m. The Coasters led by 44 points at the final change. The Weegs applied plenty of pressure early in the final term, the low afternoon sun was a real problem for the Port forwards and Weeg backmen who were facing it. The anti-rushing rule placed Port under pressure, their David Rodan was caught palpably in possession and Tyson Stenglein free-kicked a major. The Eegs led by 50 points and the pace slowed dramatically, it was pretty warm. And over. Port's Cassisi managed a goal but it was time for individual brilliance, particularly from Kerr who had 16 possessions in the final quarter. Kerr grabbed the ball from a bounce, broke a few tackles and hooked a snap for great goal. Peter Burgoyne limped off with a leg problem. A Motlop shot hit the post, but he had another chance from the kick-in, Motlop broke a coupla tackles and also curled a ripper of a snap for a major. Dean Cox booted a late Weevil goal.
The Weegs had many midfield contributors, freed of his usual tagging job Adam Selwood (33 disposals, 8 marks, a goal) was very good and Matt Rosa (26 touches, 5 marks) burned early, Daniel Kerr (28 disposals with 19 handballs, 4 goals) improved dramatically after half-time. Full-back Darren Glass was solid against Tredrea and Shannon Hurn (24 possies, a goal) ran off half-back to great effect, there were good games from Dean 'Big Cox (21 disposals, 23 hit-outs, 6 marks, 2 goals), Chad Fletcher (23 disposals) and Matt Priddis (22 possies, a goal). Quinten Lynch (17 handlings, 3 marks, 2 goals) put himself about and Mark LeCras kicked 3 goals. Port really didn't have a winner, apart from spearhead Daniel Motlop (11 touches, 4 marks, 4 goals). Brendon Lade (12 disposals, 27 hit-outs) battled hard in the ruck and running defender Alipate Carlile (15 possies, 9 marks) did a bit. Peter Burgoyne and Steven Salopek (both 28 disposals and a goal), along with Kane Cornes (33 touches) had good stats but minimal influence. Justin Westhoff kicked 2 goals. Mark Williams said "All credit to West Coast, they provided enough heat and enough emotion in the game. So whether it was a poor skill error or just perceived pressure on them, our players turned over the ball too many times, especially in our kicking. The amount of turnovers we created through the midfield compared to them was not as good as our usual. Their goals scored from that particularly area was huge . . . We seemed to get jumped early in the game, and I thought we fought back pretty well after the first 10 or 15 minutes. But when you can't kick straight, pretty easy shots on goal, we really lacked the ability to put any scoreboard pressure on the opposition." John Worsfold said "Both (Selwood and Rosa) we expect to keep improving throughout this season. Adam's unfortunately missed the last couple of weeks of the pre-season. He's an important player in our make-up, and Matt is ready to step up to the next tier as a player." He talked a bit about bringing junior players through, and said "It's a tough competition, but we expect to improve a lot on last year. That's our absolute key focus at the moment. Make it that teams know that they are going to be in for a lot tougher contest against us this year."
Ladder after Round 2
Pts. % Next Week
Carlton 8 161.1 Essendon (MCG, Sat. night)
Footscray 8 149.1 Richmond (Docklands, Monday)
St. Kilda 8 135.1 West Coast (Docklands, Saturday)
Geelong 8 114.9 Collingwood (MCG, Thurs. night)
Collingwood 4 131.8 Geelong (MCG, Thurs. night)
West Coast 4 124.1 St. Kilda (Docklands, Saturday)
North Melbourne 4 112.9 Hawthorn (Docklands, Sunday)
Sydney 4 112.4 Brisbane (Gabba, Sat. night)
------------------------------------------------
Essendon 4 98.3 Carlton (MCG, Sat. night)
Port Adelaide 4 95.3 Melbourne (Football Park, Sunday)
Brisbane 4 95.1 Sydney (Gabba, Sat. night)
Adelaide 4 85.0 Fremantle (Subiaco, Sunday)
Hawthorn 0 81.9 North Melbourne (Docklands, Sunday)
Fremantle 0 62.0 Adelaide (Subiaco, Sunday)
Melbourne 0 60.1 Port Adelaide (Football Park, Sunday)
Richmond 0 59.6 Footscray (Docklands, Monday)
Cheers, Tim.
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