AFL Round 9
At Docklands:
Footscray 3.2 8.3 11.8 17.12.114
Gyaaahh! What an ending. Bulldog veteran Brad Johnson missed a banana-shot from about 10m, after the final siren, leaving the Bullies 2 points from causing anuge upset. This was a great game too, the second half in particular as the Dogs came back from 6 goals down in the third term. The result underlined how good the Cats are but also some weak links; Brad Ottens's importance was demonstrated as they were thrashed in the ruck and with Mooney absent (suspended) the forward-line struggled. Other regulars Milburn and (by the end) Chapman were missing too. Okay, they had excuses. But straight after the game Steve Johnson echoed his coach about how the Pu55ies 'like a challenge'. Would they have enjoyed it as much if they'd lost? It's the sort of arrogant dickishness which doesn't endear you to the Catters. The Doggies have been underwhelming so far this season and now sit at a tenuous 5-4, but this performance was very good and suggested they can be a contender. In pickin' the Katz regained Gary Ablett and Paul Chapman and called up Ryan Gamble and David Johnson. An unusual four changes for the Cats necessitated by injuries to Darren Milburn (ankle) and Shannon Byrnes (hamstring), Cameron Mooney was suspended for clobbering Roo Thompson and Tom Lonergan was dropped. The Dogs selected an unfit Shaun Higgins and called up Callan Ward and Tim Callan, they replaced Rob Murphy (hamstring), Andrejs Everitt (knee) and Dylan Addison (knee). Jason Akermanis played his 300th game, a great achievement for a bloke who's had a great career. Aker'd used the attention to engage his legendary mouth during the week, belittling Michael Voss's coaching ability and (again) whingeing about the circumstances under which he left Brisbun.
Quick start for the Catters as the Dogs struggled with the pressure and conceded a bucket of frees. Cat man Mathew Stokes held a strong grab on the wing and quickly dished off to running Ablett, who had a mountain of first-half touches. Ablett kicked towards Paul Chapman, awarded a free for 'on the shoulder' from Tim Callan. Chappy free-kicked a goal. A few points before Ablett was awarded one of those excessively punitive free-kicks-plus-50m-penalties for being slung to the ground after disposal in a tackle. Gablett passed his free to Joel Selwood, who booted a goal. Cats 13 points ahead but Bulldog Lindsay Gilbee hacked a punt forward from the next centre-bounce and noice work from Mitch Hahn, Jason Akermanis and Shaun Higgins set up a point-blank goal for Brad Johnson. From the following centre-bounce Puppy Callan's poor pass towards Matthew Boyd dropped short and Boyd overran the ball, Cat Andrew Mackie soccered the agget forward and TomaHawkins gathered, he kicked to the top o' the 'square where Steve Johnson was given a free for Dale Morris's holding. Johnson majored, he was playing more forward this time with Mooney absent. Soon Steve Johnson bagged another goal, out-bodying Morris (no mean feat) to mark Harry Taylor's wobbly punt forward. The Catters led by 19 points. Akermanis was awarded a free-kick at the next centre-bounce, for being held back by Cameron Ling. Aker passed wide for leading Josh Hill to mark on the 50m line, Hill chipped a pass for Daniel 'Guido' Giansiracusa to mark and dob a sausage. The Bulldogs began to work into it and raise their intensity, but they didn't put it on the 'board. There was a poor miss for Catter Steve Johnson before Selwood did very well to extract the ball from a pack and fire a handpass away, Chapman kicked long and Stokes held a handy two-grab mark in front of Jarrod Harbrow. Stokes goaled and a bit later the Cats scored again, Mark Blake tapped a ball-up to Selwood and he lobbed another terrific handball to running Chapman, who duly thumped a 50m sausage roll. The Cats were cruising with a 26-point lead, but the Doggies managed a late goal as Gilbee speared a pass to leading Scott Welsh and Welsh in turn passed for leading Akermanis to mark strongly in front of David Johnson. Aker majored and the Katz led by 20 points at the first break. A break which was timely for the Puppies as they started the second stanza in good form. Ruckman Will Minson tapped the opening bounce to Boyd, his quick punt cleared a pack at CHF where Welsh gathered and handballed for Brad Johnson to dob a goal. Johnno'd had a heap of touches already, but most of 'em in the Bulldogs' back half. A bit later Higgins dummied around Jimmy Bartel, who threw out a leg and tripped the Bulldog. Everyone in the ground saw it except the umpires, apparently, as play proceeded amongst much booing from Doggy fans. But Giansiracusa tumbled a punt forward and it dropped for Brad Johnson to mark in the goal-square, Johnson popped it through. Ablett missed a shot after staging appallingly (and successfully) for a free, a bit later Ablett and Steve Johnson messed up a chance and had words. "It's like Einstein disagreeing with Beethoven," said McAvaney, bizarrely. "Were they even contemporaries?" asked Commetti. Anyway, soon some good efforts from Brad Johnson and Cross got the ball to Akermanis, Aker's well-placed kick allowed back-pedalling Giansiracusa to mark amongst three Catters and Guido goaled. The ball went wide from the restart and Higgins punted the Dawgs into attack, Cat man Taylor spoiled Welsh but
The early third quarter recalled the Dogs' only home-and-away clash with the Catters last year, when
Cross had a free at the opening bounce of the final stanza, his kick forward was a shocker but Giansiracusa trapped it coolly and handballed to running Griffen, whose banana-kick scraped through for a goal with the aid of some heavy Hahn shepherding. Just 16 points the diff now and both sides were committed. The tackling was incredibly intense, players weren't just grabbed, they were crashed to the ground and blokes just off-the-ball were usually knocked down too - the umps ignored a lot of it. Both teams were doing it and the pill was very hot. After a while the Catters found some space, Bulldog Hill's hurried dribbly-shot from 30m rolled into the opposite pocket and Pu55y David Johnson did well to clear, the ball went to half-forward where Rooke gathered and punted to the top o' the 'square, the pill spilled from Hawkins's contest and roving Steve Johnson stabbed it through.
At Docklands:
Fremantle 6.5 9.7 10.10 12.13.85
Not the greatest game ever but a decent win for the
A pretty ragged, low-skill game unfolded in front of the sparsely-populated stands. The opening goal was typical, Rue Scott McMahon ran forward and wobbled a mongrelled punt into attack, it bounced erratically past several players but 'Lethal' Leigh Harding pursued the ball doggedly into the goal-square where he soccered it through. But the Dokkers' on-ballers did better early, shown at the following centre-bounce where Aaron Sandilands tapped to Paul Hasleby, he poked a kick ahead which Matty Pavlich gathered and looped a handball wide to running Hasleby who booted a great goal. A bit later Hayden marked alone on a forward-flank, weaved onto his right boot and stabbed a pass for leading Luke McPharlin to mark, McPharlin converted. Michael Johnson missed a shot before the Dockulaters attacked again, Brett Peake drove a long kick in and Roo Ziebell leaped to get a big sideways spoiling punch in, Johnson gathered in the pocket and handballed for Pavlich to dribbly-kick a major. The Dokkerz led by 14 points. Roo Ben 'Milky'
The Dockulaters had some early chances in the third, but McPharlin and Headland missed shots. From a ball-up in their back-pocket Freo man Hill attempted to run clear, he was tackled while kicking and the ball flopped into the arms of Kanger Sam Power, a pass to Gibson and he delivered one to leading Hale. Hale sausaged. The Docklanderators stayed ahead, Hayden passed for Ibbotson to mark 45m out, right in front, and Ibbotson dished off for running Headland to boot the goal. Freo led by 7 points and stayed there-abouts through a long spell of rugged, goal-less, scrappy football. The Dokkers lost Hayden in this period, with a leg injury. Norf seized the upper hand with three goals in the final four minutes of the korter. For the first Power hooked a left-foot kick to the goal-square, the Sherrin bounced over wrestling pair McIntosh and Grover and Dokka Steven Dodd arrived to punch it through for a rushed point . . . deliberate! The fickleness of fate saw Dodd become the second-ever man punished under this rule and Aaron Edwards free-kicked a goal from a very tight angle. A bit later McIntosh lumbered away from a ball-up he'd contested and received Gibson's handball, McIntosh lobbed an up-and-under kick to the goal-square which Docca Thornton fisted clear, but straight to Wright who snapped a goal. Wright missed a shot and from the kick-in Tarrant lobbed a telegraphed pass towards Grover, McMahon swept in to spoil and Thomas jabbed a pass to Rue ruckman Todd Goldstein, alone in the goal-square. Goldstein popped it through and the Kangers led by 13 points at three-quarter-time. Norf also scored another goal from the opening bounce of the ultimate stanza, Firrito fired a great long handpass to Power who punted long and Hale marked on his chest as he pushed back into Grover. Hale's major had the
Big David Hale (11 disposals, 7 marks, 5 goals) delivered his first bag for a while and Drew Petrie (16 possies, 6 marks, a goal) was effective, wandering about from a wing. Josh Gibson (20 disposals) had the better of Pavlich after quarter-time and midfield men Brady Rawlings (24 touches, 4 marks, a goal) and Leigh Harding (15 handlings, 6 marks, a goal) did well too. Michael Firrito (22 touches, 9 marks) is a tough performer in the middle and backline. Gavin Urquhart (19 touches) was okay, Ben Warren kicked 2 goals. Freo rely on too few. Paul Hasleby (26 disposals, 2 goals) was terrific again and Matthew Pavlich (18 possies, 3 marks, 3 goals) was pretty good early. Garrick Ibbotson (24 touches, 6 marks) is a good player and Aaron Sandilands (12 touches, 43 hit-outs) dominated the ruck again. Luke McPharlin (13 handlings, 6 marks, 4 goals) did well at the spearhead, Stephen Hill (21 touches) and Steven Dodd (20 disposals, 5 marks) were alright. But others need to contribute. "With some of our players the difference between their good and their bad is still too much at the moment," Freo coach Mark Harvey said. "I've got to make them realise that and understand the missing link in between (surely Richard Lounder is too old?), otherwise we rely on too few to try and win these games. Once again there was evidence of that today . . . It was a good start, but we need to be able to sustain that on the road, particularly. [We need to] get right on top of oppositions and don't give them any hope of thinking they're a chance in the game. They started winning the contested ball after the first quarter. I did manage to hear Dean [Laidley] let go at his players at quarter time, so I made our players aware of it. They knew what was coming."
At
Committed on-ball and tackling efforts from the Camrys allowed them to crush the handball-obsessed Bluies in the first half and survive Carton's minor second-half comeback. A great way to celebrate Andrew 'Bunji' McLeod's record-breaking 313th game for the Corollas, surpassing Mark Ricciuto. After the game McLeod said he'd share the memories with Ricciuto and Ben Hart "when I've finished in four or five years." The Bloozers, well, with the wind at your backs, you're supposed to kick the ball long. This fundamental truth was forgotten by the handball-happy Bloozers who blew it in the first quarter. Their full-forward didn't play there again either, and by the time the Bluies woke up, they were too far behind. And they'd lost Jarrad Waite. In pickin' the Camrys made one change, ruckman Ivan Maric replacing small man Jared Petrenko. Tremendous faith in the losers from Craigy. One late change for the Bluies, Simon Wiggins returning to replace concussed Heath
The Bluies has the aid of a stiff breeze in the first quarter but found the Camrys' relentless tackling pressure stifling, and the Blooze declined to actually kick the ball, a handicap considering. Once again Brendan Fevola lined-up at half-forward with Jarrad Waite at the spearhead. I seem to recall Fevola kicking 99 goals last year. How many'd Waite kick? Not 99, at least. But as the Cows poured forward the early 'highlights' came from their Patrick Dangerfield, who led swiftly, marked strongly and kicked like a 5-year-old wearing gumboots. Dangerfield scored 0.2 and an out-on-the-full (point post hit) from three early set-shots, all from marks. From the second Dangerfield point, Bloo Bryce Gibbs's kick-in was stabbed too low and Kurt Tippett snaffled it, he snapped a goal. The ball was in the Camrys' attack a lot, and from a ball-up in the forward-pocket Michael Doughty snapped a terrific sausage. Doughty was Chris Judd's nominal opponent but the Cows in general swarmed all over Juddy. Ivan Maric missed with a long shot before Fevola appeared, to gather the ball on the wing. With no-one ahead of him, Fev launched a long, wind-assisted torpedo-punt which bounced out-of-bounds in the Bloo forward-pocket. From the resulting throw-in Bluie ruckman Matthew Kreuzer was awarded a dubious free-kick, he missed. The Cressidas' kick-in went to Simon Goodwin but his kick was marked strongly by Kreuzer on the wing, he punted long where Fevola clutched a decent grab. But missed. A bit later Waite went down, hyper-extending a knee as he landed awkwardly from a marking contest. Waite's day was over and in the same sequence of play Goodwin stabbed a centering pass for Jason Porplyzia to mark and boot a goal, 'cause the Porpoise never misses a set shot. The Camrys led by 18 points. The Camrys continued to lock the ball in their attacking half, the Bloozers hung in there but skill errors didn't help 'em. Fevola had another go from distance but sliced on-the-full, late in the stanza Bloo backman Bret Thornton clangered a clearing kick to Brent Reilly but he missed. Cows by 19 points at the first break. The locals had more joy with the wind behind 'em, in the second korter. Dangerfield , confidence drained, managed to kick another point but a bit later Bloo Kade Simpson coughed up possession when tackled, leading to a 55m running goal for Corona defender Andy Otten. A career-first major for the Camry lad. A bit later Bluie rover Marc Murphy chipped a centering pass but Blooze Kreuzer and Dennis Armfield left it for each other, Camry Tyson Edwards swept upon the pill and kicked for Chris Knights to take a with-the-flight grab, Knights goaled. The Camrys led by 32 points, Carton still goal-less. Soon Knights benefitted from Porplyzia's great running and passes, Knights hammered a wind-driven punt from the (forward) point of the centre-square for a major, it bounced on the goal-line. Fevola led for a mark on the 50m line and his subsequent shot hit the post right up near the top, a pretty decent effort into the wind but just a point, all the same. The Cressidas scored a point and Bloo Jamison's kick-in went wide to the flank, Camry Brent Reilly recovered the ball and Doughty punted smartly for Knights to mark unopposed, 15m out. A purple-patch for Chris Knights as he booted his third consecutive goal for Addleaid, they led by 44 points now. The Bluies decided to try and stem the bleeding and slowed the tempo of the game, Murphy was thrice-involved in a very slow move which ended with him dribbly-snapping a behind. The Bloo backmen survived a few hairy moments, until their junior Chris Yarran placed Camry Bernie Vince in a head-lock at a throw-in. Vince smacked his free-kick for a 50m goal and the Cows led by 49 points at the long rest.
The Bluebaggers mounted a bit of a challenge in the third term, with the wind again. Add in the fact that the Camrys are very bad in third quarters. But first Tippett free-kicked a goal, his arms chopped by Bower in a marking contest. Tippett's six-pointer had the Camrys a ridiculous 55 points ahead, considering the Bluesers still hadn't scored a goal. Some handbags ensued after that, but the Bluies soon got moving at last with the aid of Kreuzer. The Bloo ruckman tapped a throw-in down and it was tapped-on smartly by
Big game from McLeod's rival, Tyson Edwards (32 disposals, 7 marks). Michael Doughty (26 touches, 5 marks, a goal) won much praise for his game on Judd, although he was the leader of a tagging team. Chris Knights (15 possies, 5 marks, 5 goals) had a day out as a small forward and Scott Thompson (30 disposals, 7 marks) and junior wingman David Mackay (26 possies, 5 marks) both continued good recent form. The defence was very good, led by Graham Johncock (20 touches), rebounding man Andy Otten (23 disposals, 7 marks, a goal) and Ben Rutten (14 handlings, 6 marks) had the better of Fevola. Who doesn't these days? Kurt Tippett, Jason Porplyzia and Bernie Vince kicked 2 goals each. The Bluies had three decent performers, Marc
Murphy (23 possessions, 4 marks, 2 goals), Nick Stevens (32 disposals, 8 marks, 2 goals) and junior ruckman Matthew Kreuzer (11 touches, 2 marks, 17 hit-outs, 2 goals). Backman Paul Bower (25 handlings, 6 marks) was okay and Steven Browne (25 disposals, 7 marks) was a handy midfielder after being toweled up by Knights in the second quarter. "Structurally we got hurt a little bit by trying to put some pressure and some numbers around the ball, but we did it far too much," Bloo coach Ratten said. "They (Camrys) got their hands on the footy very early and were very sharp compared to us and we were really reactive as a group to win back the footy. Going forward we were very slow and reluctant to release the ball to a contest. We thought we could [get back into the game]. It's a pretty big ask to go eight goals down and turn it around. There was a patch there where we thought 'here we go, here we come'. If we could get down to around 20 points we could recharge the batteries and go into the last quarter. We never got into that scenario and that's all hypothetical and we were beaten on the day by a team that was really hungry for the ball and probably won more one on one contests." Then came the typical Ratten excuses for the fact we're not sure if the Blooze are coming. "We're the youngest team in the AFL by experience on our list . . . I think we're averaging about 61 games per player. We've played seven kids under 15 or less games and we've had five kids that have debuted this year. We can grow as a group and move up the ladder, but we're mindful that we need to develop our stocks from underneath," said Ratts. Neil Craig enjoyed a win. "We played some good footy last week in the first half against the Brisbane Lions and the summary of the day [today] was that we saw it for a bit longer again," Craig said. "From a coaching perspective, I didn't feel today the way I've felt in the [third quarter of the] previous two weeks. I thought we were still in the game and had some control of it and our last quarter was fantastic. We've improved from last week, as we did from the week before, so hopefully we can continue to do that . . . Michael Doughty was absolutely fantastic . . . To do that sort of job on Chris Judd requires not just one player's effort but a team effort. If we, or any side this year said they'd hold
At Subiaco:
West Coast 3.4 3.8 5.10 9.12.66
Collingwood 1.4 4.10 8.12 12.16.88
Monday's experts nodded sagely about the Poise' excellent interstate record, which ignored the fact Collywood had been rubbish at Sooby until recently. But 'Neon' Leon Davis led the Maggies to an emphatic if tediously slogging victory over the Weegles, whose general attitude was typified by their indigenous star, Daniel Kerr. He made a handful of disposal errors early and rapidly lost interest. In selection the Weegs had Kerr return from his groin trouble and called up Brad Ebert, the midfielders replaced dumped Jamie McNamara and late withdrawal Mark LeCras (illness). The stricken Maggies regained one 'regular' in Josh Fraser and recalled Tyson Goldsack and local (
With key forwards and a few midfielders still missing the Poise set out to make the game a low-scoring, pack-bound slog. And succeeded. Leon Davis lined up at half-back and was allowed to roam free, a mistake by the Eeg planners. Thirteen battling minutes had elapsed with just behinds from Dane Swan and David Wirrpanda to show. Then Pie Brad Dick marked 40m out, his shot hooked wide and short but 'Jack' Anthony marked in the pocket and banana-kicked a major. The Weegs replied rapidly, their Sam Butler tumbled a quick kick forward from the restart, Wirrpanda over-ran it but Ben McKinley gathered and handballed back to on-running Wirrpanda who speared a running goal. Soon Adam Cockie won the ball from a forward-pocket ball-up and lobbed a handpass for Brad Ebert to stab a sausage and the Weegles led by 7 points. A few behinds over the next few minutes, including a couple from Weeg Matt Priddis, before Adam Selwood roved a ball-up on the forward flank and stabbed a very short pass to brother Scott on the 50m line, S. Selwood punted long to the goal-square where Wirrpanda's clever tap-on allowed Josh Kennedy to snap a major. The Weegs led by 13 points at that stage and 12 at the first break, after a few more points. The Maggies scored a goal from the opening bounce of the second Mario, Fraser marked on the wing plus a 50m penalty for sumthin', Fraser's shot dropped into the goal-square where Anthony removed Dean 'Big' Cox from the contest with a hefty bump, Anthony marked and booted a point-blank major. The Weegs led by 6 points and some more pack-bound battle followed, thank Richo predicted heavy rain had held off. Skills were average but Pies Swan and Scott Pendlebury began to gain the midfield ascendancy. Inevitably a goal came from another stoppage, Pie Shane O'Bree lobbed a handball clear of a ball-up at half-forward, Swan gathered and sent one across the 50m line for running Heath Shaw to collect and boot a long sausage. The Maggies trailed by a point after that. A few minutes later the Poise grabbed the lead, Weeg Mark Nicoski was tackled by Swan near the boundary-line and coughed up the ball, Lockyer passed for leading Anthony to mark and thump it home from 50m. Anthony had three of the Poise four goals, they were 4 points up and kicked a barrage of behinds to end the half, with misses from Davis, Dick, Lockyer and Cameron Wood, the last a long set-shot after the siren. Pies by 8 points at half-time.
The second half opened a little more brightly, Swan took a diving mark of Dick's flat punt 35m out, Swan went back and had a chat with
Leon Davis (32 disposals, 10 marks, 3 goals) had a great night, aided by the Weegs' decision not to oppose him. Scott Pendlebury (38 possessions, 9 marks) and Dane Swan (36 touches, 11 marks) were very busy midfield and Tarkyn Lockyer (25 handlings, 12 marks, 2 goals) played very well at half-forward, on his milestone. Those four were the stand-outs although defender-without-portfolio Nick Maxwell (29 disposals, 12 marks) and Harry O'Brien (16 touches, 4 marks), who started on Wirrpanda, both played well and ruckman Cameron Wood (23 disposals, 9 marks) was upright against a flaccid Cox. Ahem. John Anthony's 3 first-half goals were useful too. For the Weegs midfielder Adam Selwood (26 possessions, 9 marks) worked hard again and wingmen Andrew Embley (26 disposals) and Matt Rosa (20 touches) did a bit, Darren Glass (13 disposals, 5 marks) got on top of Anthony in the end. Ben McKinley (13 touches, 5 marks) bagged 4 goals and Quinten Lynch (18 handlings, 5 marks) tried hard. But Worsfold wasn't happy. "Tonight was just a disappointing effort, I though, in terms of our intensity," Worsfold said. "Last week (narrow loss in
At the MCG:
Essendon 3.1 7.4 13.6 19.11.125
Confidence is an interesting thing. For two-and-a-bit quarters the Tiges intimidated the Dons with their intense, seemingly totally committed effort. But then a few Dons took a few big grabs, the Dons scored a coupla exciting goals and the Bommers collectively grew a foot each, while the Tiges' tissue paper-thin bravado was rent asunder. The Tiges'd had a very Richmond week in the build-up, on Tuesday morning rumours circulated to the effect that coach Terry 'Plough' Wallace had been sacked, the Tiges called a press conference only to announce Plough had not, in fact, been sacked but then the press hemorrhaged details over the next few days of a rift or rifts between Plough and 'senior players'. Some ambivalence from Review HQ on the Plough question, where you may have divined there's some empathy for the Big Pu55ies. The head says keep Plough, 'cause it's tankin' time and he's proved himself very good at not winning. On the other hand, WHERE was Jack Riewoldt - dropped to 'regain confidence' in the VFL, kicks 6, but no, not selected and the Tiges take an underpowered, midget forward-line into a very winnable game. In selection the Toigs recalled Adam Pattison and Daniel Connors to replace Ben Cousins (broken hand) and ruckman Angus Graham (hamstring). Shane Tuck played his 100th game, congrats to the battling on-ball weirdo. Why are his ears taped closed? One change to the Bomma side which threatened Sinkilda, Leroy Jetta returning at the expense of David Myers.
This was the annual 'Dreamtime at the 'G' game, the highpoint of a round celebrating Aboriginal players. The pre-game featured "traditional indigenous cultural activities", read Channel Ten's
McPhee returned to the fray for the second half and Toiger Foley was wearing guernsey no. 47, not his normal 41. The korter started slowly with quite a few ball-ups and throw-ins. The Toigs scored a coupla points and led by 18 before Bomma Sam Lonergan passed into the centre for leading Winderlich to mark, he passed quickly and short for Watson to grab 35m out and Watson confounded history by kicking accurately for goal twice in the same game. The Toigs didn't help their cause by missing kickable shots, Polo the first culprit. The Bummers put together a good move, started by Watson again, Lloyd led up into the centre for a mark and handballed off to Jetta and he passed for Monfries to mark and boot truly. The Bommerz trailed by 7 points and they got some shots of adrenaline, first Nathan Lovett-Murray soared and hovered for a big ride and screamer over Pattison at half-back. Mark Coughlan missed poorly for the Tiges but a minute later Pettifer punted 'em forward and was flattened by a late, high shoulder from Lovett-Murray. Should be a week or three holiday for Lovett-Murray but in the meantime Nahas marked Pettifer's kick and lobbed a handball into the goal-square for Morton to stab a major. Tiges by 14 points, preceding a fairly ragged spell with turnovers from both sides. Then more Don adrenaline as they put together a trademark runnin' handballin' move, finished by Winderlich kicking for Davey to mark behind Connors. Davey slotted and then Watson powered the Dons, he jabbed a handball free from a throw-in and further handballs from Winderlich and Zaharakis allowed Andrew Lovett to slam a left-foot shot for full points and tie the scores. Momentum had clearly shifted as Watson also got the crucial touch at the next centre-bounce, a handpass to Hocking who hacked a kick forward where Lloyd was awarded a free for McGuane's alleged holding. Lloyd's resulting sausage gave the Dons a 6-point lead. The Dons also won the next centre-clearance, an area in which they'd been thrashed in the first half. This time Brent Stanton kicked 'em into attack and Jay Neagle bundled it wide to Monfries, he handballed for Lloyd to snap truly. Three-korter-time couldn't come fast enough for the Tiggers as the Dons led by 12 points at the break. But a few quartered oranges made no difference. Into the last Mario and Nahas and Lonergan missed set shots for their respective sides, from Richmen's kick-in of the latter Don ruckman Paddy Ryder soared over the pack for a fantastic speccie. Ryder handballed quickly to Lovett, who passed for Lonergan to mark 30m out. Lonergan didn't miss this time, the Dons led by 18 points and with the Bombouts and their fans still buzzing from the Ryder grab, they could've blown the hooter right then. But that would've denied the Dons vital percentage. Tigger captain Newman's spoil on Neagle went straight to Winderlich who sprinted clear and slotted a goal. At the other end Morton marked in the pocket, played on indecisively and was caught. Bah. Lovett soon did the exactly the same thing, but wasn't held in Polo's tackle and Lovett scooted clear to bag a goal. The TV focused on a young Tiger fan shedding a few tears and being consoled by his Dad. This was the cue for some Toiger 'humour' from yer Channel Carlton commentary team. "He's got many years of crying ahead of him! . . . He'll curse his Dad in the future, ha, ha, ha." Thank Richo for the invention of the mute button. The Tiges were so abject they even made the blundering Hooker look good, sending the ball to Monfries who kicked for Davey to mark and boot another Don sausage. The Bummers led by 37 points, having scored eight unanswered goals. The Tiges broke the run thanks to a free-kicked goal from Collins, dragged down without the ball by Slattery. A bit later Newman drove a centering pass to Cotchin, who marked and booted a good long goal. But great work from Watson won the following centre-clearance for the Dons and Hocking passed for leading Zaharakis to mark and convert. Another Essington centre-break followed and Winderlich booted a running goal. Lonergan and Dempsey limped off with late leg injuries but it was a great night again for the Bombouts.
Thought Jobe Watson (24 disposals, 2 goals) was terrific in winning contested ball for the Dons, although the Yooiken Award for best on the night went to Jason Winderlich (28 possies, 12 marks, 2 goals). Paddy Ryder (20 disposals, 5 marks, 15 hit-outs) put in another very good rucking effort and Andrew Lovett (23 handlings, 6 marks, 2 goals) helped fire 'em in the second half. In attack Angus Monfries (17 touches, 10 marks, a goal) and Matty Lloyd (12 touches, 7 marks, 4 goals) were useful, as was David Zaharakis (11 handlings, 5 marks, 3 goals). Alwyn Davey bagged 3 goals. The Tiges' best on the night were Nathan Foley (27 disposals) and Daniel Jackson (26 possessions, 7 tackles against
At the SCG:
Port
Ah Port. Confronted with a game where defensive skills would be paramount, they contrived to be beaten after 21 minutes, when the Swans led by 43 points (7.1 to nothing). Every time the Bloods won the ball, they scored a goal. A lot more attacking than the usual Swans but when the opposition is standing around spectating, what else can you do? Some video last week, taken at Port's Alberton training ground, showed Daniel Motlop kicking some freakish goals, one hooked out, around and through from the steps of the stands, another with the ball flicked up off the ground with his feet and volleyed through, from the impossible angle. But if there were ever footage of Motlop chasing, tackling or manning-up, that'd be truly amazing. Too many glory-hunters at Port and not enough blokes prepared to win a hard ball, chase or tackle. The Swans made two changes to the team which scraped by the Weegles, Nick Malceski and Ol' Jared Crouch returning at the expense of Lewis Roberts-Thomson (hamstring) and dropped junior Brett Meredith. Port dropped Jason Davenport, David Rodan and Nathan Krakouer from the side which just beat the Tiges, but Steven Salopek returned only a fortnight after dislocating his shoulder and Josh Carr was recalled, also Daniel's cousin Marlon Motlop was given an AFL debut. Like cuz, Marlon's a lithe, athletic forward flanker, from Wanderers in the NT.
The Siddey goals came early and often, before I could get in the ground in fact. For the first Barry Hall leaped over a pack 30m out to pluck a good grab and dob it. Then Adam Goodes drove a long kick in, Mick O'Loughlin juggled and ultimately dropped a marking attempt, Hall gathered the ball but his snap was well-smothered by Chad Cornes. But the ball rebounded to Swan Brett 'Captain' Kirk, who snapped it through off the left boot. There was a minor 'lull' where the Bloods scored a rushed point. Then Marty Mattner collected a loose ball at half-forward and handballed to Kieran Jack, his under-pressure punt was lobbed very high to the pocket where Jarrad McVeigh marked far too easily and popped it through. Hall gathered Malceski's wayward pass and handballed to McVeigh, who shrugged off a weak tackling attempt and stabbed a centering pass to Amon Buchanan, Buchanan booted the next major. A minute later Jude Bolton roved a big pack on a forward-flank and handballed to Hall, Barry stabbed a cross-field pass for ruckman Darren Jolly to mark and get in on the goal-scoring festival. Next, Jolly turned provider, banging a long kick from the flank to the top o' the 'square where Goodes got a big leap in to take a great grab 15m out and boot truly. Following a secondary centre-bounce Kirk handballed clear and Jesse White thumped a running sausage from just inside the 50. The Swans led by 43 points at this stage, 7.1 to nuthin'. Port scored a goal at this stage, they'd been inside their attacking 50 once or twice but delivered appallingly. Warren Tredrea marked on the boundary about 70m out and dithered for a while before chipping a well-weighted pass for Hamish Hartlett to mark, Hartlett booted a terrific 55m goal from the flank (we were right behind that one). But the korter's last goal summed it up, from a ball-up at half-back Jolly tapped down to Kirk, he handballed for O'Loughlin to run clear, swapping handballs with Craig Bird before O'Loughlin banana-ed a kick into CHF. It bounced freely and Paul Bevan gathered, handballs from he and Hall set up Jarred Moore for a terrific right-foot snap for a six-pointer. We were behind that one, too. Swans by 43 points at quarter-time and eight blokes had kicked their eight goals. The remainder was a bit of an anti-climax. Tredrea kicked a goal early in the second, Robbie Gray found some space to run forward and hook a good kick for Tredrea to mark behind Ted Richards and convert. The Swans answered quickly, Kieran Jack's kick into space from a defensive rebound found both Mattner and McVeigh running onto the loose ball, as McVeigh was closer he gathered a speared a pressure-free sausage. A few minutes later Jude Bolton marked on the attacking side of the centre-square and chipped pass for leading Jolly to mark and bag another, Sidderney led by 48 points. The slightly goal-hungry Bloods then blazed a series of behinds, four in-a-row in fact, before Tredrea kicked a point for the Powder. From the kick-in of that, Mattner played-on and drove a long kick to the wing where Heath 'Reg' Grundy got a huge ride on Jolly and Port's Chaplin to take fantastic, enormous hanging grab. An absolute ripper which many are already hailing as mark-of-the-year, although I preferred Lovett-Murray's from the previous night. But Grundy's was 'higher' and certainly a classic. Didn't know he had it in him. Adrenaline pumping, Grundy then stabbed a short sideways pass to Ryan O'Keefe which went over O'Keefe's head and out on-the-full. Port scored a goal, Peter Burgoyne worked hard to win the ball and paddle it to Danyle Pearce, he kicked long and Daniel Motlop took a good diving-back mark in the goal-square, with both Craig Bolton and Rhyce Shaw in the contest. Motlop lobbed it through. The Bloods replied soon enough, Jolly lobbing a kick for Hall to mark strongly in front of a disappointed Alipate Carlile. Hall's goal had the Swans 51 points ahead, the margin at half-time.
Hard to maintain much interest in the second half as the Flowers never appeared likely to mount a comeback, while the Swans were in cruise control. Pordaddlaid started the third in a more determined mood, Robbie Gray scooted clear of the opening bounce and passed for leading Tredrea to mark and boot a goal, Pearce missed a shot before Powder skipper Dom Cassisi threaded a handball out of a pack and Hartlett bagged his second goal. Behinds from Tredrea and Motlop reduced Port's deficit to a still-hefty 36 points, or double their current score. The Swans steadied and in fact went on to dominate the remainder of the quarter, their defence doing a very good job. But kicking accurately for goal proved a problem, only two of their nine shots in the stanza raising the twin calicoes. O'Loughlin kicked one after a good, juggling mark as he was hit hard by Carlile, a bit later Mattner drove one through from outside 50 after marking on the flank. Jarred
Pretty even performance from the Swans, as usual Jude Bolton (29 disposals, 5 marks, a goal) and Brett Kirk (32 touches, 2 goals) got things moving with their contested ball efforts and Jarrad McVeigh (26 disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals) thrashed Peter Burgoyne. Barry Hall (17 possies, 7 marks, 2 goals) worked hard with many 'assists' and Adam Goodes's fine form (18 possies, 5 marks, 2 goals) continued. Ryan O'Keefe (21 disposals, 5 marks, a goal) played well and ruckman Darren Jolly (13 touches, 7 marks, 15 hit-outs, 2 goals) performed handily against Port's pair, Amon Buchanan (17 disposals, a goal) was very good early. Port's forwards received poor supply but credit must go to Craig Bolton (23 touches, 6 marks) on Daniel Motlop and Ted Richards (16 handlings, 6 marks) against Tredrea. Jesse White kicked 2 goals. No real winners for Port but Kane Cornes (23 disposals, 7 tackles) worked hard all afternoon and Hamish Hartlett (16 touches, 4 marks, 2 goals) did some nice things, Robbie Gray (21 possessions, 4 marks) again showed some ability as an on-baller. Danyle Pearce (15 possessions) and Dom Cassisi (21 touches, a goal) bobbed up occasionally. Warren Tredrea and Brett Ebert kicked 2 goals each. 'Choco' was at a loss to explain it. He shouldn't be. "We got here early enough, had a kick on the ground. We had a jog this morning, which is very similar to how we prepare for interstate trips," Williams said. "The last three quarters we were pretty competitive but we were fighting up hill and it's very difficult to start like that interstate and feel like you have a chance. Today we were as bad as we have been. That was one of our worst first quarters for a long time . . . The desire to run and chase certainly wasn't as good as it should've been . . . (Hartlett's performance) was one of the positives to come out of the game. He'd never been here before and he showed some great poise. His goal in the first quarter was a fantastic kick under pressure when it looked like we were going to get nothing." Paul Roos suggested the Swans may be building momentum. "I think they've got a little bit of belief now, hopefully. They know how to play but it's just about getting up every single week and that's the hardest thing in footy," Roos said. "We've got some really good game time into the young guys but probably today it was time for the experienced guys to show there's still a bit of fight and a bit of life in them. It was clearly the best we've played this year. I think we've played some good footy this year but it was our best four-quarter performance . . . It's probably the best Hally's caught the ball. He took some really good contested marks and Mick (O'Loughlin), every time he goes near the ball, he looks like he's going to make something happen and he generally does. They're in really good form together and they really complement each other. Having Mick and Hally in form certainly makes us a much better team . . . Every week's going to be a battle and next week we've got the Bulldogs, who played outstanding against Geelong. Hopefully we can get on a bit of a roll. That's two in a row and you've got to make hay while the sun shines."
At Docklands:
St. Kilda 4.2 5.9 8.12 14.13.97
Never before in the field of human history had so few won so many on-the-trot. That is, never before had two sides started the season 9-0. Last year you'll remember
With their best defenders missing and facing the most effective key-forward pairing in the leeg (on current form), the Lyin's lined up with Joel Macdonald on Nick Riewoldt and Josh Drummond against Justin Koschitzke, with Jared Brennan and Tim Notting back to help out. But things didn't start well as under-pressure Lyin' Ashley McGrath hacked a kick on-the-full and Nick Dal Santo passed the resulting free-kick to leading Riewoldt, who marked and slotted from the boundary-line. Ruh-roh. A minute later Riewoldt marked again on a lead, capping a slick Satiner rebound move, but this time 'Rooey' hooked his shot on-the-full. Ah. More traditional Riewoldt. The Lyin's manned up tightly in defence and had many men back, a flood which the Saints have proved themselves only modestly competent at breaking. The Lyin's did tackle with great zeal in their defensive half but were forced into long bombs forward, which the Sainter defenders cleared with ease. After a while the Lisbon Brians did manufacture a good move, an excellent Tom Collier kick allowed Michael Rischitelli to mark with-the-flight, Rischitelli handballed off to Luke Power whose pass found leading Jonathan Brown for a mark and 50m goal from the flank. Scores were level. A bit later Hayes sent an ambitious centering pass towards Jarryn Geary but Geary made it good with a terrific grab, sandwiched between two Lyin's. Geary fed the ball wide to Leigh Montagna, who booted a great running sausage. Soon another handballing Stainer move saw Raph Clarke wobble a kick into forward space, ruckman Michael Gardiner lumbered out to mark on his chest and bag a major. The Saints led by 12 points as Koschitzke marked in the pocket, 20m out but missed. The ball was spending long periods in the Brians' back half but they hung in there, however two forward sorties foundered on poor kicks from Scott Harding. Commentator McAvaney reckoned those efforts may be punished and sure enough Koschitzke led out to mark Montagna's pass in the dying seconds of the term and boot a goal after the siren. Saints by 20 points at the first break and the Lyin's had managed one scoring shot, so far so familiar. Early in the second Mario Sainter Stephen Milne's tackle on opponent McGrath injured both men, McGrath's shoulder and Milne's knee. Both departed for a bit. That was the 'highlight' of an opening fifteen minutes which featured a lotta ball-ups ands throw-ins. Oh, James Gwilt did snap a behind at one stage. There was a five-minute period where the ball moved about 20m along the Lyin's half-forward flank, with a dozen each of ball-ups and throw-ins. "It's like the 2005 Swans at their best," observed Commetti. Where'd Ross Lyon come from, again? More than half the quarter had elapsed before the Lyin's found some space and Simon Black stabbed a pass for leading Daniel Bradshaw to mark, Bradshaw thumped a 51m major. The Sinkilda lead was back to 15 points but they won the ball from the following centre-bounce with a series of handballs, eventually Clint Jones's fading cross-ground kick caused Riewoldt to find top gear in order to mark it and boot a very good 50m goal. The Lyin's replied, Harding's great second effort forced the agget out to Black and he stabbed a lateral pass to Bradshaw, who thumped another tremendous long goal. The Saints led by 15 points and were in a battle. They increased the effort but didn't convert, Montagna missed with a rushed close-range snap when he had more time to steady. Riewoldt missed woefully from 20m following a strong grab in front of young Aaron Cornelius, given a baptism of fire. A bit later Riewoldt missed again, a tougher shot from the pocket. The Lyin's managed to break the Sinkilda zone from the resulting kick-in, Daniel Rich wobbled a punt into CHF which Brown gathered on-the-bounce and handballed to Matt Austin, the young Brian switched onto his right boot and Austin's long punt dropped through for a goal with the aid of Bradshaw's shepherding. Saints by 12 points, they won the subsequent centre-clearance and Milne marked 40m out, he missed, then Gardiner hit the post from a tricky angle. Late in the term Sainter Stephen Baker marked at the back of the centre-square and the ump called play-on immediately, for a reason unclear. Baker was crunched by lurking Power and Lyin' James Polkinghorne gathered the ball, his punt bounced and rolled with much slowness in the vacant forward-line before trickling through for a goal. The siren sounded shortly and the Saints led by 8 points, the players departing to booing from the Sainter fans, unhappy about the ump's apparent sacrifice of Baker for that last goal. The commentators were mystified as to the reasons underlying the booing. They have no understanding of supporters.
The Sainters' big men threatened to take over in the third quarter, early on Koschitzke leaped for a big grab over little men Milne and McGrath, while callow Cornelius trailed behind. Koschitzke goaled and the Saints led by 14 points again. But at the following centre-bounce Brennan lobbed a kick forward for the Lyin's and Brown out-maneuvered his man Sam Fisher to take a diving-backwards grab, Brown majored. Then Goddard punted the Stains forward and Riewoldt leaped to take a terrific mark over big men Gardiner and Mitch Clark. Riewoldt booted truly and the Saints still led by 14. Vossy pulled a bold stroke by moving Bradshaw to full-back and Cornelius to full-forward. It paid a dividend soon as McGrath went for a zone-busting run and kicked long, the ball cleared the pack as Sainter Zac Dawson jumped too early and all over everyone else, a free against him but advantage was allowed for lurking Cornelius to bag a goal. A Goddard dribbly-shot missed prior to another Lyin' goal, as they found the cojones to run more. Rich booted a long behind but Fisher's kick-in to the pocket, intended for Clarke, was intercepted by Polkinghorne. Young Polkinghorne steered a great kick for full-points and the Stinkilda lead was reduced to a point. A bit later Lyin' Drummond, dropping into the 'hole', was clobbered at half-back by Koschitzke. Drummond sent his resulting free to the wing, Brennan tidied some messy play by loping clear, clutching the ball in one hand Koutoufides-style, and booting into CHF where Black was ridden into the turf by McQualter. Black's free-kicked major had the Lyin's in front, by 4 points. A ball-up on the Lyin's attacking 50m line was hooked forward by Brennan, a long kick which cleared Saints Gilbert and Geary and Cornelius marked behind them, Cornelius popped it through from point-blank. Brisbun by 10 points and questions were being asked of the Saints now. They continued to miss chances, Farren Ray missed from the flank and during the Lyin's kick-in their runner was in the 50, a free to the Stains which Montagna sent on-the-full. But late in the stanza Goddard kicked deliberately towards Koschitzke and Macdonald, Kosi was far too big and strong for the Lyin' flanker and marked emphatically. Koschitzke's sausage roll cut the Brisbun lead to 3 points at the final change.
The Lyin's hung in for a long time. They scored the opening goal of the ultimate korter, Fisher hacked an under-pressure kick away from a back-pocket throw-in and Lyin' Justin 'The Shermanator'
Sinkilda leader Lenny Hayes (31 disposals) played a very important 200th with handy midfield support from Luke Ball (26 touches, 10 tackles) and Leigh Montagna (33 possessions, 2 goals). Sinkilda's twin towers in Justin Koschitzke (8 marks, 13 disposals, 4 goals) and Nick Riewoldt (8 marks, 11 disposals, 4 goals) were certainly crucial and at the other end Sam Gilbert (18 touches, 3 marks) played well, he and Fisher double-teaming Brown. Brendon Goddard (31 possies, 5 marks) and Adam Schneider (24 touches, 6 marks) were kinda important as the day progressed and Stephen Milne (12 handlings, 5 marks, 3 goals) deserves some credit for his final-quarter effort. For the Lyin's, Simon Black (27 touches, a goal) and Jared Brennan (26 disposals, 7 marks) proved a contrasting but effective on-ball pair. Cheynee Stiller (10 disposals, 12 tackles) tagged Dal Santo effectively and Luke Power (20 possessions) worked hard across half-back too. Mitch Clark (21 disposals, 8 marks, 20 hit-outs) is performing better in the ruck than the Lyin's could've hoped and Dan Bradshaw (15 disposals, 8 marks, 2 goals) bolstered the defence when he went back there. Justin Sherman (26 possies, 2 goals) did some handy things in the second half. Jonathan Brown kicked 3 goals from limited opportunities, James Polkinghorne and Aaron Cornelius booted 2 goals each. "I'm not too sure what to feel, actually," Lyin' coach Voss said. "I said to them that if you bring that level of effort, then you're going to be able to match it with the best, and they really battled manfully right throughout the whole game. I don't think there was anyone we looked at and thought, 'you're not pulling your weight', or 'you're not trying to do something to help the team'. That was very pleasing because we had been working on that a fair bit over the course of the pre-season and the early part of the season. But, I'm also extremely disappointed because we had them on toast and we gave a couple of opportunities there for them and they took them as good teams do, and they were able to win the game. I don't know if pride is the right word but we certainly made progression, but at the same time, it was very disappointing we didn't get the win . . . In the early part of the year, we couldn't hit the side of a barn inside 50, and now we're being more precise when we're going forward. Our efficiency inside 50 and our skill component has gone up a lot. We also know there are some things we have to work on, and the group has high expectations of themselves so we'll keep looking for those things that make us better." Ross Lyon said "We were no doubt wasteful and you can feel that in the box because we were competing really well and creating opportunities, but we certainly weren't taking them. Some of them were gimmes really. I can remember four [where players were] running in 10 metres out. It was a concern, no doubt about that, but we found a way to win. We didn't fold the deck chairs, did we? We were challenged and dug in certainly didn't put it in the too-hard basket. To be able to kick six goals in the last quarter and to be challenged was a positive for the group, but we walk away with plenty of things to work on no doubt . . . In that last quarter we made them defend and we fixed our forward structure up a little bit. We changed the mix and went about it a slightly different way in the last quarter and we kicked 6.1 and walk off having honoured one of our great club men and champion player in Lenny Hayes which we felt was critical for us."
At the MCG:
Hawthorn 6.4 11.7 16.9 17.12.114
The class gap was evident early and often. Horforn romped clear but the Deez hung in there and caught up late as the Hawks switched off in the last quarter. Afterwards Hawk coach Clarkson blamed a few injuries for the late fatigue, but really they switched off. Commentator Brian Taylor, who walks that fine line between cleverness and stupidity identified in 'Spinal Tap', mentioned several times that a win would leave the Hawks "level with third". And eighth, as it tuned out. Two selection changes for the Awks, Stuart Dew was dropped for disciplinary reasons after he missed a training session and Travis Tuck was just plain dropped. In came Cameron Stokes and Beau Muston, the latter a tall, beefy midfielder making his AFL debut. Muston was recovering from a knee reconstruction when he was drafted in 2006 and he's had two more since, which is a worry but also a great story. The Dees had Brad Green return following his jaw being broken in round 4, the
Horforn started very well with on-ballers Sam Mitchell and Brad Sewell being very busy. Melbun battled a bit early and the first goal was a while in arriving, Chance Bateman ran through the centre to accept Jarryd Morton's handpass and wallop a running six-pointer from 50m. Then Lance 'Buddy'
The Hawkers put on another scoring burst to start the third Mario. Brent Guerra came steaming through the centre, swapped handballs with Sewell and Guerra drove a low kick through for a sausage roll. Sam Mitchell won the ball from the following centre-bounce and passed for leading Williams to mark, Willo bagged a goal and the Orcs led by 55 points. The Demuns now manufactured a scoring burst of their own, or rather Colin Sylvia did. McLean soccered the Dees into attack from the centre-bounce following the Williams goal, as Sylvia tried to reach the ball he was held back by Guerra and was awarded a free, Sylvia booted a goal. Sylvia's next was a bit of opportunism, pouncing on pack-spillage to snap it through from close-range. The
The Orcs on-ballers were very good, led by Sam Mitchell (31 disposals, 8 marks) and Brad Sewell (29 touches, 8 marks) and Jordan Lewis (31 possies, 8 marks) provided the finish with some great ball-use. Beau Muston (31 disposals, 10 marks, a goal) was terrific off half-back, the challenge for him now is to stay fit. Ben McGlynn (19 disposals, 8 marks, a goal) did a very good stopping job on Aaron Davey and big forwards Jarryd Roughead (10 touches, 4 marks, 3 goals) and Lance Franklin (14 touches, 8 marks, 4 goals) were handy, although Frawley battled well against Buddy. Cyril Rioli (16 possessions, 2 goals) provided several individual highlights again. Brent Guerra and Chance Bateman kicked 2 goals each. For the
Ladder after Round 9
Pts. % Next Week
St. Kilda 36 183.8
Footscray 20 106.6 Sydney (Manuka Oval, Saturday)
Essendon 20 102.0
Hawthorn 20 100.0
Port
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Collingwood 16 96.2 Port
West Coast 12 91.4
Fremantle 12 78.1
Cheers, Tim.
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