AFL Round 3
At the MCG:
Collingwood 5.5 5.9 8.15 13.17.95
The idea of the Maggies being the Cats' nemesis has received a battering over the last month. Jahlong thumped the Poise in the NAB Cup final and followed up with an easy-enough win here. Poi fans would point to their winning first term and some appalling goal-kicking inaccuracy which wasted a good third quarter. But that ignores the fact they were thoroughly out-played in the second term and the last too. And have a few players down on form - is there any danger of Travis Cloke getting a kick? In selection the Cats made three changes to the side victorious over the Tiges, they reckon Brad Ottens (strained medial ligament) will only miss 2 or 3 games now, while Simon Hogan and Ryan Gamble were dropped. Hogan in fact debuted last week, he's from Warrnambool. Incoming were back-up ruckman Trent West and small forwards Mathew Stokes and Shannon Byrnes. One change for the Pies, Dale Thomas returning at the expense of Alan Toovey.
Game started in dream fashion for the Pies. Strong tackling pressure forced the Cats into a series of retreating handballs until they lost the ball and Alan Didak cantered into the sticks to poke it through. It proved the first-quarter pattern as the Maggies swarmed 'round the ball. "In every shot on the TV you see more Collingwood players than
Leigh Brown missed for a third time early in the second stanza, none of the shots difficult. The Cats fired back into it, led by Chapman, Jimmy Bartel and forward Steve Johnson. But all over, the Cats moved the ball with great speed and skill. A terrific move from the kick-in of the Brown point ended with Chapman lobbing a handball for racing David Wojcinski to hammer a sausage. Under-pressure Pie backman Simon Prestigiacomo hacked a clearing kick straight to some Cat, the ball went to Bartel and his pass found Stokes alone for a mark and goal. The Pu55ies won the following centre-clearance and a free to Johnson, his shot postered. A bit later Chapman was biffed high by Nathan Brown at a ball-up, a free-kick and a 50m penalty was added as Heath Shaw came in and shoved the umpire gently in the shoulder. Dunno why he did that, Shaw was reported as well and he's since been fined and suspended for one game. Chapman majored from point-blank, reducing the Pie lead to 2 points. Johnson was flattened by Maxwell off-the-ball (two games for the Pie skipper) and Josh Fraser missed poorly from 30m, right in front as the Pies began to get rattled. Byrnes intercepted a telegraphed Cox kick and punted the Catters into attack, Travis Varcoe did very well to win the ball, swap handballs with Ablett and Varcoe poked a goal. Cam Mooney led long to mark in the centre-square and dish off a handpass to Chapman, he passed noicely for leading Johnson to grab and convert. Lockyer scored a behind for the Poise before Cat Steve Johnson did very well at a throw-in, diving to win possession and fire a handpass which led to a goal for Varcoe. A bit later Shaw shanked a clearing kick on-the-full and Johnson's quickly-taken free allowed leading Tom Hawkins to mark ahead of Nathan Brown, Hawkins majored and the Cats led by 21 points. A ridiculous newspaper column last week declared Hawkins a failure. He's 20 years old and played 20 games. The Catters won the following centre-clearance, Hawkins clutched a strong grab again and missed from a tough angle. But the Cats finished off well, Chapman galloped forward and passed wide to Johnson, he lined-up before stabbing a pass back to unopposed Chapman, who played-on and thumped it through. Cats by 27 points at the long break, eight goals to none for the second korter. To complete the terrible half-hour for the Pies their Ben Johnson limped off with a fractured leg, his night and possibly season were over.
Into the third and the Cats dominated the early minutes but Mooney and Johnson missed shots. The Pies narrowed the gap and ended their goal-drought after Medhurst leaped for a good mark over taller Cat Harry Taylor and booted truly. Leigh Brown showed some great skill to scoop a loose ball and pass smartly to Lockyer, but he missed weakly. The Cats moved swiftly downfield from the kick-in and Steve Johnson had a goal-square free-kick for O'Bree's holding, Johnson majored and the Pu55ies led by 28 points. The Pies lifted though, rediscovering some of the pressure and moving the ball more slickly. But they cruelled it in front of the sticks. Didak and Beams kicked points, at the other end Cat Johnson was shoved face-first in to the turf by O'Brien, hard enough to break his nose, possibly. It certainly bled a lot. That wasn't a free-kick though, to general disbelief (Johnson's especially). Didak kicked another Pie behind and Marty Clarke ran relentlessly to start and end a move from half-back, but he missed a set shot as well. The Poise got one finally, Medhurst turned smartly and found leading Thomas with a pass, Thomas chipped ahead for lurking Brad Dick to mark and convert. A hard-to-believe, skilful pick-up and handpass from Prestigiacomo found Leigh Brown in space and he finally managed to kick straight from distance, the Pies'd narrowed the deficit to 15 points as McAvaney rumbled "they're coming!" in that throaty, drop-an-octave 'dramatic' voice he uses. But Travis Cloke, quiet, shanked a very soft free-kick out-of-bounds and Thomas and Fraser proceeded to kick behinds from set-shots. Fraser's, after the siren, was particularly deflating for Poi fans as the Cats led by 14 points at the final change. Bomber could be seen giving his lads a stern word and the Catters killed off the Maggies with three quick goals to start the final Mario. Wojcinski sped clear of a ball-up and kicked long, the pill spilled off Mooney's hands and Johnson was there to soccer it through left-footedly. Then Ablett - big second half - found leading Johnson for a grab, he played on, Mooney tapped-on and Hawkins handballed for Byrnes to snap a major. A minute later Bartel's strong defensive pack-mark initiated a rebound move, Byrnes punted long and Mooney roved his own contest to snap another Cat sausage (mmmm, Cat sausage). The Pu55ies led by 32 points with barely 5 minutes gone for the term. The Pies hung in there, Fraser missed yet another set-shot before a good, sharp move ended with 'Neon' Leon Davis stabbing a low kick for full points. But Geelers scored the next two, Chapman goaled after being awarded a mark from a Johnson pass which travelled about 10m, then Hawkins clutched a strong goal-square mark against two Poise and booted a major.
Big game from Paul Chapman (35 disposals, 7 marks, 4 goals) with great efforts from Steve Johnson again (19 touches, 6 marks, 3 goals) and Jimmy Bartel (28 possies, 9 marks). Gary Ablett (37 touches, 7 marks, a goal) started slowly but had a big second half when playing more on-the-ball, in attack Travis Varcoe (16 disposals, 2 goals) showed great skill and did some very good things. Corey Enright (24 touches, 7 marks) and Joel Selwood (26 possies) were solid contributors. Tom Hawkins and Mathew Stokes booted 2 goals each. For the Poise ball-hunter Dane Swan (30 possessions, 8 marks) and loping wingman Scott Pendlebury (25 disposals) played well, Paul Medhurst (16 touches, 8 marks, 3 goals) was a useful forward and Shannon Cox (22 possies, a goal) did a decent job carrying the ball from defence. The press was happy with Josh Fraser (19 touches, 8 marks, 22 hit-outs) but his return of 1.3 was frustrating. Junior Dayne Beams (21 disposals, 9 marks, a goal) was okay. Mick Malthouse played the eccentric again, declaring
At Docklands:
St. Kilda 5.2 15.2 20.7 25.11.161
West Coast 2.4 4.5 9.7 9.10.64
The Saints franked their early season form by absolutely smashing the Weegs at Docklands. Some people thought this might be a good game, following on from the Eegs' big win last weekend. But Sinkilda's hard tackling pressure and strong forward line-up saw the Weegs beaten very early and easily. Both sides were unchanged following round two wins, my apologies to Weegle David Wirrpanda as he missed last week (and this, and the next couple maybe) with a hamstring injury, he wasn't dropped as I said.
The early stages were close-ish. The Saints started Brendon Goddard in a forward-pocket and it proved a very successful move as he bagged four first-quarter goals. Goddard had two sausages within the opening four minutes, the first came as Nick Riewoldt led wide to collect Nick Dal Santo's wayward pass and handball inboard to Clint Jones, he stabbed a pass for leading Goddard to mark and steer through from a tight angle. The Stainers won the following centre-break and a cool series of handballs was completed by Leigh Montagna's pass to a diving Goddard, who marked and converted again. The Weegs replied presently, Tyson Stenglein lobbed a punt forward from a ball-up and Adam Hunter, between two Saints, was awarded a mystery free. Hands-in-the-back, mebbe, Hunter majored. A few minutes later Mark LeCras slotted following a decent mark of Ben McKinley's kick and scores were level. But Sinkilda's Luke Ball won the following centre-clearance with a great blind-turn and his kick was marked by Goddard again, too wily for young opponent Mitch Brown. Goddard booted his third, Weegs Priddis, Cox and Fletcher proceeded to kick behinds before Goddard's fourth sausage arrived as he roved a big pack 20m out and stabbed it home. The Saints led by 9 points. Riewoldt kicked a behind before Justin Koschitzke emerged, Riewoldt led long into the centre to mark and dishoff to Hayes, who passed for leading Koschitzke to mark and convert. The Stainers led 16 points at korter-time.
They really put the hammer down in the second. LeCras's early goal, a free for held back by Gilbert, narrowed the gap to 10 points but the Saints rammed through four goals in the next eight minutes, dominating contested ball and unafraid to kick to contests as a result. Ruckman Steven King was gifted the first, marking Geary's pass 35m out on a tricky angle, King was clattered by late-arriving Stenglein (stupid stuff) and duly majored from a point-blank shot following the 50m penalty. Montagna bagged one after brilliantly snaffling Weeg Mackenzie's handpass, I think it was, then Koschitzke scooped up James Gwilt's under-hit pass, wheeled about and blasted it home from 50m, another great goal. Sinkilda's Jones won the following centre-clearance and, after some handballs about, Jarryn Geary juggled an excellent one-handed mark with Brett Jones all over him. Geary majored and the Saints led by 34 points. A LeCras behind broke the run before Stephen Milne got in on the act, Eegle Embley hacked a clearing punt straight to Montagna who drove it back, Koschitzke flew too early and missed the ball but lurking Milne gathered and dribbled it through. The Saints began to lairize as Koschitzke led to mark on the 50m line and handball off to Goddard, he passed to Riewoldt, leading into the pocket, whose quick handball saw Dal Santo thread it through off one step. Saints by 45 points. LeCras managed a sausage roll for the Weevils at this point, Gwilt coughed up possession in a tackle and Adam Selwood collected the loose ball, LeCras gathered Selwood's grubbered pass and snapped truly. But the Saints completed the job with another four-goal salvo in time-on. Andrew McQualter snapped one with some great roving after Koschitzke absolutely crashed through a pack, killing some Eeg backman. Shoulda been a free to him. Koschitzke himself then booted one, set up by Riewoldt's brilliant interception of a cross-goal kick from Mark Nicoski. The Stains won the following centre-clearance and Gwilt took a strong overhead grab of Dal Santo's pass, Gwilt then chipped a kick for ex-Weeg Michael Gardiner to mark and punt truly. The Sainters' ten-goal quarter was completed by Weeg skipper Darren Glass turning over in tackle and Milne gratefully accepting Geary's handball to snap it through. Stinkilda led by 63 points at half-time and it was well-and-truly over.
Just to ensure there would be no way back for the Eegs, the Satiners scored the first three goals of the third term. Koschitzke booted the first following an emphatic pack-mark of King's lobbed kick. The Wiggles hung in there for a few minutes until Jason Gram was pleased to accept Goddard's handball and thump an idiomatic running goal from 50m. A minute later Weeg man Daniel Kerr accidentally soccered on-the-full in his back-pocket and Montagna quickly chipped the free for Kerr's opponent, Clint Jones, to mark 15m out, play-on and slam it through. Jones was giving Kerr a bath as the Saints were doing to the Weegs, Sinkilda leading by 82 points now. The pressure eased and the Wiggles managed some goals, Nicoski cleverly intercepted a Riewoldt handball (bet he'd been sweating on that) and kicked long where Quinten Lynch seized a strong mark over Zac Dawson, Lynch goaled. A bit later Shannon Hurn managed a rare bouncing run and long kick, McKinley took a decent grab and majored. There were a handful of behinds before Hunter booted a goal after out-marking Sam Fisher and the Eegs had 'slashed' the margin to 54 points. But then Gwilt and Dal Santo combined to set up an easy mark and goal for Gardiner, Gardiner and Dal Santo then cleared the subsequent centre-bounce and Dal Santo soon re-appeared on the forward flank, his long punt resulting in a major for Adam Schneider. The Weegs constructed an end-to-end move from a kick-in and LeCras handballed for McKinley to snap accurately, the stanza ended with Lynch booting a 55m sausage and the Saints led by 66 points or 11 goals at the final tyrnabout. After Lynch and Hurn missed early shots in the final Mario the Eegs turned it up and set about damage control, with limited success. They were also pretty tired; it was warm day in
Blonde Sainter throw-back Clint Jones (25 disposals, 6 marks, a goal) won praise for his game on Kerr and Brendon Goddard (28 touches, 12 marks, 4 goals) made a very useful forward. Leigh Montagna (31 possies, 8 marks, a goal) was great early while midfield fellow Nick Dal Santo (31 touches, 7 marks, a goal) was consistently good. The big forwards played well again, Justin Koschitzke (8 marks, 8 kicks, 4 goals) is up and going, Nick Riewoldt (26 possies, 12 marks, a goal) played much better than the first two rounds. Sam Gilbert (21 disposals, 11 marks) gave another very assured performance at CHB, with Matt 'Goose' Maguire supposedly ready to return. Michael Gardiner kicked 2 goals, fifteen Saints overall scored goals. Ruck-rover Matthew Priddis (30 disposals) was the Weegs' most consistent performer, Daniel Kerr (27 disposals) had a bit of the ball, often in the back-line and he wasn't very dangerous. Dean 'Big' Cox (24 handlings, 11 marks) and Andrew Embley (18 possies, 5 marks) were both handy, although Cox is being accused of kick-chasing. Full-back Darren Glass (10 touches, 4 marks) went alright considering. Mark LeCras booted 3 goals while there were 2 each from Adam Hunter, Ben McKinley and Quinten Lynch. Worsfold said "The result was very hurtful . . . embarrassing and disappointing. You'd hate to think (the Satins) could go any better. There's no doubt we were outplayed by a far superior side, but the extent (of the loss) is disappointing . . . they're a very good side but we were well below what's acceptable . . . There were certainly occasions when (Wiggle) players didn't go as hard at a contest as we expect them to do. They've got to put everything on the line and they've got to look their team-mates in the eye regarding that. If they can't, they should ask not to play for us." Ross Lyon is trying to keep a lid on. "It was a bit like the
At the Gabba:
Whenever a streak is brought up, you can be certain it's going to be broken. The Lyin's hadn't beaten the Swans for five years or something, a period covering nine games and the fact was raised repeatedly in previews of this game. So of course, with the new coach in place, Brisbun ended the run with an emphatic win at a rain-soaked Gabba. You could add in 'with old Swans in place' too. The Bloods were as listless as they were determined last week and every loss they have is going to be accompanied by end-of-an-era type speculation. Sidderney always take time to get going in any year, so again patience is required. But this wasn't much of an effort. The Lyin' side here was missing Rhan Hooper (ankle injury) and ruckman Jamie Charman from the loss to
Steady rain greeted the players and although it came-and-went through the night, the ground was slippery. Swan Jarrad McVeigh's point was the only score in the opening five minutes, the most noteworthy event being Lyin' ruckman Matthew Leuenberger injuring a knee. He returned later but we've discovered since he's got a damaged meniscus and will miss 12 weeks - tough break. Eventually the Lyin's attacked and their captain Jonathan Brown allowed Notting's pass to skid off his hands, but was clothes-lined by Swan backman Lewis Roberts-Thomson. Brown booted a goal from the resulting free. A coupla minutes later Simon Black lobbed a noice pass for Notting to mark and convert and the Lyin's led by 11 points. The Swans responded quickly as the heavens opened, Jarred Moore won the ball well, punted long and Barry Hall out-maneuvered Dan Merrett to mark, play-on and poke it through. Quite a bit of scoreless wet weather slog after that, but the Lyin's enjoyed the bulk of possession. Lyin's Bradshaw and Power missed shots before Jed Adcock collected a ball which'd squirted from a pack and found space to run to 50m and thump a long sausage. Brisbun were running, leading by 13 points. Bradshaw and Brown missed shots before the first break but Brown also booted a goal, taking a diving, sliding mark of Josh Drummond's pass and also walloping it home from 50. Signs weren't good for the Bloods as they trailed by 20 points at the first break. They opened the second term with a determined effort, Hall again bumped off Merrett to take a mark and Hall steered a great kick for a goal from the boundary-line, the pocket it's impossible to kick accurately from according to Malcolm Blight. Swan Jude Bolton tumbled a kick forward from the restart, Brisbun backman Ashley McGrath marked - but he'd pushed Siddey man Brett Meredith in the back, and Meredith booted a great long goal from the resulting free - the first of his career. The Lyin's lead was cut to 8 points, but Malceski and Barlow failed to score with opportunities and the Brians steadied. The Swans also lost veteran stopper Jared Crouch with a hamstring problem. Brown found space to lead into and took a sliding mark of Travis Johnstone's pass, Brown booted a steadying goal. Johnstone had been Crouch's man. Then the Lyin's harder work and better ball-use began to be reflected on the scoreboard. Trying desperately not to be pinged for a deliberately rushed point, or a deliberate out-of-bounds, Roberts-Thomson was simply pinged for 'bawl' and Justin 'The Shermanator'
The Swans made an effort in the third stanza but could never exert the coach interstate's beloved favourite, scoreboard pressure. Bradshaw booted the opening goal, benefitting from
Scuttling Lyin' midfielder Jed Adcock (25 disposals, a goal) enjoyed the conditions and the Lyin's also received a good game from Josh Drummond (25 possies, 12 marks, a goal) and his raking left boot. Drummond's last two seasons were ruined by injury but he's enjoying a good run at the start of 2009. Big forwards Jonathan Brown (11 kicks, 7 marks, 4 goals) and Dan Bradshaw (7 kicks, 7 marks, 4 goals) have started the season well too as has the usually less reliable Justin 'The Shermanator' Sherman (13 possies, 3 goals). Joel Patfull (9 disposals) kept Goodes quiet while Travis Johnstone (14 kicks) did some classy things. For the Swans, in-and-under man Jude Bolton (29 disposals, 5 marks) battled away and ruckman Darren Jolly (11 disposals, 6 marks, 46 hit-outs, 2 goals) played well again. Kieran Jack (17 touches) tagged Luke Power effectively and backman Ted Richards (19 possies, 8 marks) was alright. Barry Hall booted 3 goals. Paul Roos acknowledged the Brians' superior effort. "Teams that can tackle really well and put pressure on the opposition are the teams that are going to be successful again in 09,
At the MCG:
Essendon 1.4 8.6 15.7 17.14.116
An upset to be sure as the Bommers and their fired-up skipper Matty Lloyd pricked the Bluies' balloon. A great response from the Dons to a week of fairly negative press and exciting for their fans to see some of The Kids come on. A few pundits have pointed out the Blooze don't have the strongest of back-lines and they were exposed here, especially without Michael Jamison (shoulder), set for an extended absence. Bluie fans could whinge about several factors; the gee-up the press had given the Bummers; their own Brendan Fevola's bizarre inaccuracy; the umps handing the Dons one of those ridiculous double-goals during the third stanza. Such is life, as Ben Cousins's stomach says. The Blues had Nick Stevens return from a pre-season suspension and called up half-back Shaun Grigg. They replaced Jamison and dropped veteran Heath
Huge crowd of 70,400 turned out and they saw a great game, one of a recent series between these two. It's a bit difficult to put some of these Blue/Bommer clashes into context, as certain players and the teams as a whole never to seem to match the performance before or after. The Bluesers began very well but didn't put it on the board. Brendan Fevola had Darcy Daniher as an opponent and out-marked him twice in the early minutes, but missed both times, albeit from tight angles. Simon Wiggins - arguably the worst shot for goal in the leeg - also kicked a point before the Bluies managed a goal, ruckman Matthew Kreuzer slapped a throw-in out the back and Chris Judd gathered, he was tackled while kicking but Jordan Russell scooped up the ball and wobbled a snap through with his left boot. The Dons scored a coupla behinds before Eddie Betts snapped a major for the Bluies, from a ball-up about 30m out. Carton led by 13 points. The Dons cleared the restart, Brent Stanton went long and Matty Lloyd leaped to juggle a two-grabber over Bret Thornton. Lloyd booted his first goal of the season and a "sense of relief swept the ground" according to one TV commentator - Gerard Twhately, possibly. But Juddy and the Carlton Crew continued to dominate (where's Mick Gatto?), Judd started a move from half-back and Jeff Garlett passed for leading Fevola to mark strongly in front of Daniher and punt truly this time. Judd lobbed a high kick forward from the restart and Wiggins leaped for a emphatic grab, he quickly handballed to running Marc Murphy who slotted. The Blues led by 20 points but Fevola missed again, as did Simpson. Lloyd and Jetta obliged for the Dons and Carton were still 20 points up at the first break. Into the second Mario (Condello?) and Fevola got on-target again, after maneuvering Daniher under the ball and marking 12m out, right in front. The Blues led by 27 points but the Dons began to get moving now, receiving a lift from midfielders Andrew Lovett and Jobe Watson and forward Angus Monfries. Paddy Ryder, (briefly) shifted to the ruck won the next centre-clearance, resting David Hille gathered and handballed for an Alwyn Davey six-pointer. Then Henry Slattery's tap-on and Ricky Dyson's great pass set up a running major for Courtenay Dempsey, a terrific goal. Dempsey soon bagged another, from a 50m penalty against Grigg who slightly encroached the mark, the Blueser lead was cut to 10 points. The Blues replied as a Nick Stevens pass intended for Fevola dropped short but Ryan Houlihan chipped in to mark it, Houlihan majored. The Bombouts replied rapidly as Lovett passed wide to find Stanton, who played-on and roosted a superb kick from 50m for a sausage roll. A minute later David Hille fisted a throw-in goal-wards and Watson ran onto the ball to snap it through. Dons were only 3 points down, 2 after a Lovett miss. Fevola supplied relief again for the Bluies, a hopeful high punt from Cam Cloke spilled from a big pack and Betts swept up the ball and passed to leading Fev, he majored. But Murphy was done for 'bawl' at the restart and Hille passed for leading Lloyd to hold a noice grab and boot truly. Fevola missed a shot and there was good Don move from the kick-in, Dempsey twice involved before Hayden Skipworth passed for leading Scott Lucas (remember him?) to take a mark and boot a goal. Fevola missed yet again prior to half-time, where the Bummers led by 2 points.
The balance of power see-sawed through a free-scoring third stanza. The Bluies scored direct from the opening bounce, Murphy punted forward and Betts did very well to retrieve the ball despite having his head sat-on (almost), Betts's handball was gathered by Wiggins who snapped truly. Another Fev behind before Lucas replied for the Dons, converting after being awarded a diving mark he appeared to trap on the half-volley. A minute later
Brent Stanton (26 disposals, 8 marks, 2 goals) was very good for the Dons, as was Andrew Lovett (21 touches, 5 marks) who seems to save his best for
At
Port Adelaide
Ah, Port confirmed most people's thoughts by thumping a weaky, the Deez. Of course thuggery was involved, Port's captain Dom Cassisi involved in a particularly craven example which's cost him a week. Let's see how the Powermen go against the Hawks at the 'G next week. At this stage of 2008 the Demuns had almost lost their first three by over 100 points each, so they could be said to have improved. They're a chance for a win against the benighted Tigers this Sundy. Port made three changes to the side embarrassed in
Another warm sunny day and the first half was reasonably competitive until the Powder kicked clear with a barrage of goals just before half-time. The opening minutes were fairly tight until the Power were handed a goal, Dom Cassisi was pushed in-the-back at a ball-up and had a free, a 50m penalty was added when Dee Colin Sylvia dumped Josh Carr a few metres away. Sylvia was reported, but not suspended. Cassisi majored. A few minutes later Warren Tredrea fought hard to win the ball, swapped handballs with Robbie Gray and raced into the goal-mouth to snap it through. The
The Power stretched the lead over the error-prone
Six goals from Warren Tredrea (13 disposals, 9 marks) represented his best haul in four years. Steven Salopek (33 touches, 6 marks) played very well midfield as did Peter Burgoyne (35 touches, 6 marks, a goal), pity about his temper. Travis Boak (30 handlings including 23 handballs, a goal) and Danyle Pearce (28 possies, 7 marks, a goal) joined in the midfield stat-fest while Nathan Krakouer (31 disposals) has quickly carved a spot for himself on a back flank. Chad Cornes (29 possies, 9 marks, 2 goals) motored up-and-down the ground to good effect, Daniel Motlop bagged 3 goals in his milestone game while Robbie Gray kicked 2. For the Deez Aaron Davey (30 disposals) tried very hard and Brent Moloney (18 touches, a goal) and Brad Green (17 handlings, 11 marks, 3 goals) battled away. Green is playing as a key forward in the absence of a useful alternative. Younger midfielders Nathan Jones (25 possessions), Brock McLean (21 touches, 4 marks) and Cale Morton (28 touches, 9 marks, a goal) were decent performers. Cam Bruce (29 disposals) kicked 2 goals, so did Brad Miller and Matthew Bate. "I think it's clear our young players are going to gain from the experience," began
At Docklands:
Hawthorn 4.1 10.4 15.5 19.9.123
The Hawkers broke the ice with an impressive win over their bogey side, North. The Kanger players were allegedly subdued following 'Chickengate', a video they made of a rubber chicken, er, 'interacting' with a frozen supermarket chicken which, inadvisably, made its' way onto the web. A huge fuss was made of this, with senior players Adam Simpson and Daniel Pratt fined over it. Anyway, the Orcs got back to some great running footy over the lackluster
The opening quarter was pretty ordinary with players seeming half-asleep on a warm, sunny Easter Sunday. The best early chance for a goal came when Hawk Brent Guerra turned and passed towards his own goal, but there was no-one there. Roo Lindsay Thomas gathered the ball but his shot sliced for a behind. Kanga Michael Firrito broke the ennui with a free-kicked goal, Sam Mitchell literally ploughing him into the ground at a throw-in. But soon Mitchell was winning a stack of possession and Jarryd Roughead got the Hawks got moving. Their first major soon arrived as Roughead scooped up Cyril Rioli's strange under-hit pass, wheeled around onto the left boot and banged it through. Again a long scoreless spell, the Hawks engaged in much chip-about before Rioli speared a much better pass for Roughead to mark strongly in front of the pack and wallop through. A minor floodgate opening in time-on, Rue Matt Campbell benefitted from the new rule against 'dumping' to win a free and 50m penalty, he goaled and Norf led by a point. Campbell missed an equally easy shot a minute later and now 'Buddy' fired, leading wide to take a great grab between opponent Josh Gibson and Scott McMahon.
With Hale off (he's alright, playing this week apparently) Roo coach Laidley re-organised his forward-line for the third term, sending McMahon forward and Josh Smith to CHF, Petrie to the goal-square. It gave the Kangers brief hope, Petrie booted an early goal following a diving mark of Gavin Urquhart's kick. Then McMahon kicked one after a smart pass from Thomas and the Kangers loitered 17 points down. The Awks responded with the next three goals, a fairly scrappy backwards-handballing move ended with Ryan Schoenmakers's long kick and Morton took a brave back-pedalling mark on 50, he scored full points with a great punt. A minute later
Hawk rover and skipper Sam Mitchell (37 disposals, a goal) rebounded from his poor effort last week to have a great game and runnin' defender Brent Guerra (38 touches, 5 marks) carried the ball forward time and again. Chance Bateman (29 possies, 10 marks, 2 goals) was also very good. With Buddy a little subdued, Jarryd Roughead (14 handlings, 7 marks, 5 goals) provided the forward spark and half-forward Cyril Rioli (18 possies, 4 marks) was excellent again. There was a great effort from third-game wingman Brendan Whitecross (29 disposals, 10 marks) and long-time listee Garry Moss (15 possies) was handy on Brent Harvey too. Lance Franklin finished with 4 goals, Stuart Dew bagged 3 and Jarryd Morton kicked 2 goals. Hard to spot a winner for Norf, Josh Gibson (19 touches, 6 marks) won praise for a decent but not brilliant effort on
At Subiaco:
Fremantle 3.5 3.7 7.12 11.14.80
Tough all over for Freo as they led by a goal early in the last quarter here, but were over-run by a wind-assisted Camry side who used the ball more smartly in the end. 'Twas hot and windy in
Windy day at Sooby and it produced a scrappy, poor-quality game. The Dockers had first use of the breeze and started well, their Ryan Crowley bagged the opening goal, lurking cheat-like in the goal-square to gather Garrick Ibbotson's wobbly snap and poke it through. A bit later Paul Hasleby (very good here) lobbed a pass for leading Matty Pavlich to mark and convert, a coupla poor behinds from Hasleby and Josh Head gave the Shockers an early 14-point lead. The Camrys opened their account thanks to a Freo error, of course, Gilmore's terrible clearing kick went straight to Bernie Vince and a coupla handballs later Brad Symes was snapping truly. But it was against the run, unfortunately Freo couldn't convert as
Adderlayed's defensive set-up and canny running served 'em well in the third stanza too. Freo had the wind again and pressed forward early, but found scoring difficult. There were a coupla behinds before Hill snapped a noice goal, following a battling effort from several Dockers to win possession and Mundy's handpass to Hill. But in the next five minutes they only managed a couple more points, as did the Cows. Antoni Grover's kick-in from the second of those went straight to Camry Andrew McLeod, who assessed options for quite a while before passing wide to Porplyzia. He marked and majored with a great kick from the flank. A minute later a good Corolla handballing combination sent Tyson Edwards running inside 50 with a bounce and Edwards drilled a sausage, sending the Cows 22 points clear. The Shockers scored the much-needed next goal after Dean Solomon took a gutsy mark on 50 - he was 'tunnelled' - and dished off to David Mundy, who thumped it home on the breeze. But the Camrys continued to do more attacking, scoring a few more points before a passing move ended with Doughty kicking for Nathan Van Berlo to mark on the flank, VB played-on and hooked it between the big posts. The Priuses led by 25 points now and Freo hadda do something. They did, scoring two late goals. The ball spilled loosely from a weak throw-in and Hasleby sharked a Camry handpass to snap a major. A minute later Michael Johnson intercepted a clearing Camry kick and passed towards leading Tarrant, except Byron Schammer nipped in ahead of Taz to mark and boot a goal. The Dokkers trailed by 12 points at the final change and put some pressure on with three quick into-the-wind goals to start the final Georgeco Stanza. Hill's speedy run and long kick found Pavlich one-out against Andy Otten, Pav wrestled off the Camry man to gather the ball and snap truly. A minute later a dithering Walker was run down by Crowley, the ball went to Nick Suban and he chipped a pass to Tarrant, who goaled and thus leveled the scores. A bit later Head's clearing kick found Solomon in anuge amount of space, Solly floated a pass for
The kids were the talk of this game, although it took some experienced Camrys hands in Scott Thompson (22 disposals, 5 marks) and wingman Michael Doughty (21 handlings, 7 marks) to steady the tiller. Nevertheless forward Taylor Walker (8 marks, 12 disposals, 3 goals) and hard-running midfielder Patrick Dangerfield (20 touches, a goal) were very impressive. Jason Porplyzia (12 possies, 5 marks, 4 goals) has the priceless ability kick goals when needed, Brent Reilly (22 possessions, 5 marks) went well in midfield and later as a defender on Tarrant, while Simon Goodwin (20 touches) orchestrated the defensive half. Ben Rutten (16 disposals, 7 marks) did a strong job at full-back, although wind is often a key defender's best friend. For the Freo men Paul Hasleby (28 disposals, 7 marks, a goal) showed his best form yet and ruck-rover Garrick Ibbotson (22 handlings, 8 marks) played well, Matthew Pavlich (13 kicks, 5 marks, 3 goals) battled in attack. Junior midfielder Stephen Hill (15 possessions, a goal) did a bit, gratifyingly for Freo fans after the overlooked Daniel Rich's flying start for Brisbun. Rich is a more mature body-type than Hill, though. Michael Johnson (26 touches, 9 marks) played well and rover Rhys Palmer (20 touches) was busy. Ryan Crowley kicked 2 goals. Mark Harvey knows the problem(s). "Our young side got a bit of a run-on in the last quarter. We gave ourselves a little glimmer of hope . . . then it was taken away from us quite quickly,"
At Docklands:
Footscray 0.6 6.11 10.13 16.14.110
Another Richmond-bashing opportunity for the pastimes' many enthusiasts was afforded by the Tiges' latest error-filled performance. Amongst the torrent of talkback radio abuse, scathing 'analysis' from meedya pundits and speculation as to exactly when Kevin Sheedy will replace Terry Wallace as coach (gawd), some actual useful comment came from Bulldog coach Rodney Eade. "We were second to the ball in the first quarter but then we increased our pressure and they seemed to turn the ball over." 'Rocket' could've added the Tiges' confidence dropped like meat-containing dishes on Kevin Rudd's airline dinner tray as the Bulldogs pulled away to an impressive win. The Dogs were professionalism personified and have earned three good wins as they face a tough month. In selection here the Bullies made a late change, defender Stephen Tiller replacing Jarrod Harbrow. The Tiges brought in Richard Tambling at the expense of last week's debutant Robin Nahas.
The Tiges were good early, boring in hard to win the contested ball and exerting much midfield tackling pressure. They didn't score enough, though. Richmun had an early goal as Dean Polo gathered Bully Daniel Cross's wayward forward punt and sent the ball wide to Joel Bowden, he passed for leading Jack Riewoldt to mark and convert. There followed a succession of behinds over the following ten minutes as both sides flooded back heavily. The Bulldogs' misses were more due to being forced into shots from distance and out wide than poor accuracy. The Tiges scored a second goal eventually, managing a quick switch and Jake King kicked long for Matt White to hold a with-the-flight grab, keep running and spear it through. The Tiges led by 12 points at this stage. More behinds including the first poor miss, from Tigger Troy 'Snake' Simmonds. Into time-on and Bully Matthew Boyd's poor clearing kick was picked off by Tige skipper Chris Newman, he handballed inboard for running Nathan 'Axel' Foley to dob a sausage. A couple more points including a poor snapped effort from Bulldog Josh Hill left the Tiges 16 points up at quarter-time. The momentum swung after the break as the Dogs lifted their work-rate and pushed right up on the Tiger defenders, who subsequently panicked when they couldn't clear the back-half and either made poor disposal choices or simply turned over possession. Bulldawg Jason Akermanis scored their seventh point before a goal arrived, ruckman Ben Hudson took a strong pack-grab from the kick-in, the ball went inboard to Dylan Addison. His shot fell short but was marked on the point-line by Josh Hill, he passed infield for Daniel 'Guido' Giansiracusa to snap it through. A minute later Tige Jay Schulz's panicky clearing kick went straight to Hill, he handballed to Lindsay Gilbee who placed his kick smartly for Shaun Higgins to mark in front of the pack, Higgins goaled. The Bullies trailed by 4 points and there was a series of behinds as the ball became clogged in congested forward-lines, although Tige Luke McGuane missed appallingly following a great pack-mark and Akermanis raced into an open goal only to hack his kick into the post. Finally Higgins set up the next goal with a smart cross-field punt to find Dale Morris marking behind the pack, he converted. It proved the prelude to a flurry of Puppy sausages (mmmm, puppy sausages). Brad Johnson was spoiled as he led to a pass but good recovery work from Akermanis and Dylan Addison allowed Johnson to banana-snap a running major. Callan Ward punted the Bulldogs into attack from the following centre-bounce and Higgins was awarded a dubious free for arm-chopping against King, Higgins booted a major. Higgins, going pretty well, then collected Gilbee's wobbly pass and lobbed a centering kick for Will Minson to take a big grab over Bowden, Minson popped it through and the Bullies had jumped to a 20-point lead. The Tiges had spent most of the quarter trapped in their own half but finally managed a break-out thanks to Brett Deledio's hard running, Deledio's kick found Schulz in plenty of space and he in turn punted forward for speeding White to mark, play-on and slam it through. The Bulldogs led by 15 points at half-time but had out-scored the Tiges 6.5 to 1.4 for the term, a fair indicator.
The third term opened cagily with the ball again stuck in the back halves. The Tiges had a chance when Akermanis dropped an easy mark in the Dogs' attack, the sun probably a factor. The Toigs rebounded and White passed for leading Nathan Brown to mark and convert, the Dogs' lead was back to 9 points. But their strong pressure enabled rapid responses, a floating Tigger clearing kick towards Matthew Richardson enabled Hill to spoil, Gilbee gathered and kicked long to a big pack; Brad Johnson roved smartly and snapped truly. A minute later a risky cross-goal pass from Tige Jake The Turnover King set up the hapless Richo once more, Hill again spoiled and Mitch Hahn collected the pill to dob a major. The Pups led by 22 points. The Toigs won the following centre-clearance and Brown did well to create a chance for himself, which he missed. There were a few slogging minutes, twice the Bullies kicked out on-the-full in their own back-line but the Tiges didn't punish 'em. Richmun's Mitch Morton postered with a free-kick from 15m out, at the other end Cross missed poorly on-the-run. A bit later Tigger Richard Tambling's first kick of the afternoon, greeted by
Lots of good efforts from the Pups, Lindsay Gilbee (28 disposals, a goal) was allowed a stack of possession and half-forward Shaun Higgins (24 touches, 2 goals) played very well, Jason Akermanis (23 touches, 8 marks, 4 goals) sealed it with those three goals early in the last quarter and Daniel Cross (27 possessions) was a busy rover.
Ladder after Round 3
Pts. % Next Week
St. Kilda 12 172.7 Fremantle (Docklands, Sat. night)
Footscray 12 156.3 West Coast (Subiaco, Sunday)
Port
Essendon 8 100.3
------------------------------------------------
Collingwood 4 108.0 Brisbane (Gabba, Fri. night)
Hawthorn 4 102.5 Port
West Coast 4 83.1 Footscray (Subiaco, Sunday)
Fremantle 0 66.2
Cheers, Tim.
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