AFL PREVIEW ROUND 13
Last Week 7 from 8 = 75 / 96 =78.1%
I understand Ben Cousins is ever grateful to Wallace and Laidley for falling on their swords and taking the heat off him over the past few weeks. The coaching merry-go-round is much more fascinating than the player draft and the resignation of older players during which the shedding of tears is cause for a little emotional discomfort. The names of great coaches are bandied about like famous movie stars at a Hollywood extravaganza only the coaches' names have far more meaning to us AFL fans. How good is Buckley? He would have to be of the same ilk as Voss I guess but I am very doubtful that he would take the position on offer (rumoured) at North Melbourne. Truth be known even I would baulk at that one – if offered. And let's not muck about here. If we are looking at coaching vacancies don't forget Bailey's job at Melbourne isn't a position of long tenure either. How about Buckley to Collingwood, Malthouse to Richmond or Melbourne, keep Crocker at North, or look at Chocko from Port Adelaide going to North Melbourne because he will be free as well next season. The permutations are almost endless and there are a few coaches that haven't hit the radar yet. Will Guy McKenna be a consideration at Richmond or North Melbourne. I think yes. Wallace? Well he's destined for 3AW or Foxtel or channel 7 or the lot. Teams that have young players who haven't developed to their potential need a coach that can motivate and mentor them through those first 2 seasons. Work out who you think is the best at that amongst those mentioned.
Well we are more than half way through the season and I have no hesitation in telling you all that I am leading 2 competitions and coming 2nd in another using my previews. Nyah! Nyah! Tipsters who have made slight, very slight, alterations to some of my tips will be even further ahead in their respective comps. As much as I would like to put this down to brilliant weekly deductions I am more inclined to think that the effort of 6 AFL teams is probably more likely the reason. If you tipped Geelong and St Kilda every week you will have scored 24 points. If you didn't ever tip Melbourne you can add another 11 points. Refuse to tip Richmond, Fremantle and the Eagles every week and there's another 27 points. There's a total of 62 points without trying so if you believed the early season predictions of the experts who nominated both Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs to be right up there you could have polled another 15 points. With a total now of 77 points you are almost untouchable at the top of your tipping ladder. The mathematical geniuses amongst you will be quickly pointing out that these teams played each other at some stage so the 77 is not quite correct but I really couldn't be bothered going into it that deeply when I was on a roll!!
Stick to the above system for this week and you will see very little hesitation and a great deal of speed in making your selections.
To the reader two weeks ago who pointed out rather correctly that the weather in Tasmania is as cold, possibly even warmer than Melbourne, I was writing the preview from Rockhampton, a place in north Queensland where the winter weather is equivalent to a heat wave in Tassie. I am back in Kalgoorlie where the weather of late has ice on car windscreens and a wind chill factor of -2 during the day. Please invite me to Tasmania! Good luck.
Essendon V Carlton MCG Friday Night
Last time these teams met I believe Essendon caused the upset of the round and burst the Blues bubble in no uncertain terms. The game is at the MCG and is a sell out and I for one will be staying up to watch. It should be a great game of footy and I am wishing for a draw. It was pretty close last time. The Bombers are playing some exciting footy and the exuberance of youth is taking them to ladder heights most undeserving. They were expected to beat the Demons last week and did. They were expected to lose the previous two games and they did. They are expected to lose this game against Carlton and they will.
Carlton by 13
Collingwood V Fremantle at MCG Saturday
Oh the joy of seeing the mighty Pies sitting fourth on the ladder is wonderful. The additional joy of seeing them play the Dockers this week to consolidate that position is joy twofold.
Collingwood by 33
Adelaide V Sydney AAMI Saturday
Beware the wounded Swan they have been saying for the past couple of years. Barry is playing his 250th a feat thought impossible when you look at the number of games he has been rubbed out for. Should be playing his 300th I guess. Edwards, McLeod, O'Loughlin and Big Bad Barry have about 1200 games between them. Speaking of stats it appears the Crows are number one in the AFL for kicking accuracy or conversions inside their forward 50 or being able to park their cars in the AAMI car park in no more than two movements. Stats – love 'em. The damning stat for the Swans is that they haven't beaten Adelaide at AAMi for 129 years so their chances of trying to break a rather impressive winning streak that the Crows are currently enjoying are slim. My tip is that I don't think they can do it but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Swans take it right up to the Crows as they did with the Pies last week. However, when you are on top of the tipping ladder safety first I say.
Adelaide by 13
West Coast V Hawthorn Subiaco Saturday Night
I don't want to give up my silly tips just yet and I have a feeling that the Eagles may cause an upset here. However, the Hawks have been the subject of a few 'upsets' this season so another one this week won't go down so much as an upset bur simply a judgement of their form which has been lamentable. The Hawks will not be playing in the grand final this year and will also be struggling to win this game at Subiaco against West Coast. The weather forecast is for a bleak day, rain and wind. West Coast might want to celebrate the fact that their coach will be with them for another 3 years or so, then again, maybe not. While Whoosha has taken the Eagles to two grand finals and a premiership his win loss ratio is only at 55% and the Eagles in the past two season have not been exciting their fans. This might cost me a tipping point but then again it might be a flash of genius.
West Coast by 23
Brisbane V Melbourne Gabba Saturday Night
The Lions continue on their roll and there is nothing in what I have seen of the Demons that will make me think that they can win their second game of the season. Nothing!
Brisbane by 88
Geelong V Port Adelaide Skilled Stadium Sunday
Port Adelaide was beaten by 93 points last week in Darwin by the Bulldogs. What, apart from a frontal lobotomy, would make me think that the Power will even come close to the Cats playing them on their own kitty litter tray? Nothing!
Geelong by 77
North Melbourne V Western Bulldogs MCG Sunday
North Melbourne has a new coach and you know what they say? Crocker will have to somehow get his players to overcome a disability to kick a reasonable score. Only 4 goals last week against Adelaide in appalling conditions but still. The Bullies, since that close loss to Geelong, have taken all before them and are showing us that they are possibly genuine contenders for the grand final if not the flag. North cannot win this game. Even Laidley thought so hence his departure.
Western Bulldogs by 51
St Kilda V Richmond Sunday
The top teams Geelong and St Kilda have been showing stuttering form as they try to continue their amazing winning streaks and hopefully they will continue winning this week until the showdown next week. The round 14 game will have a wonderful symmetry to it if both Geelong and St Kilda go into it undefeated. Anyway, to this game. The Saints would not want to let down their guard too much like they did against North a couple of games ago because they might find it a bit harder to come back against the Tigers. The Saints have far too much power up forward and they have the stingiest backline in the competition. All too much for the Tigers I reckon, with or without Ben.
St Kilda by 43
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Collingwood Fixture 2008
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
[AFL-Review] AFL Round 12 Part 2
AFL Round 12 Part 2
Surprise last week with North coach Dean Laidley quitting. Laidley decided he'd had enough, basically, and revealed he'd offered to quit at the end of last season following the
At Docklands:
Essendon 6.3 10.7 17.13 19.17.131
Comfortable win in the end for the Bommers, which kept 'em in touch with the eight. The
Tight and scrappy opening few minutes before the Dons managed a goal, defender Cale Hooker marked on the attacking side of the centre-square and tangled awkwardly with
The
The Dons kicked away in the third term, dominating contested ball and possession in general. Lloyd kicked an early point, Frawley played-on from the kick-in and punted to a pack where Bomma Adam McPhee took a ride on and big grab over
Bummers are quietly excited with some senior men returning. Dustin Fletcher (18 disposals, 5 marks) slotted neatly back into marshalling the defence and in the middle Brent Prismall (26 handlings, 7 marks) and Jobe Watson (28 possessions, a goal) were both very good. Sam Lonergan (17 touches, 4 marks, 2 goals) and Alwyn Davey (14 disposals, 3 marks, 2 goals) were busy small forwards with Lonergan doing some tough stuff again. Scott Lucas (19 touches, 5 marks, 3 goals) is coming back to form although he also missed three shots. Andrew Welsh (25 disposals) made a very promising return. Matty Lloyd kicked 3 first-quarter goals, Angus Monfries, Hayden Skipworth and Mark McVeigh bagged 2 goals each. For the Dees Brent Moloney (24 touches, 7 marks) worked hard midfield and Matthew Bate (13 disposals, 5 marks, 2 goals) was their most reliable forward. Brad Green (27 touches, 6 marks) and Cameron Bruce (27 handlings, 4 marks, a goal) collected their usual touches about the ground. James Frawley (10 touches, 4 marks) did well on Lloyd after quarter-time and Brock McLean (24 disposals, 8 tackles) battled on-the-ball. Brad Miller, Russ Robertson and Jack Watts kicked 2 goals each. Dean Bailey's complaints were familiar. "Just a lack of concentration and errors in the last two minutes of the second quarter and they went in 16 points up," Bailey said. "Then, the start of the third was really disappointing. I think our possession count was low and we kept kicking the ball back to them. Lucky for us they didn't kick (as many) goals because that flattered us on the scoreboard . . . It's disappointing we can't continue to play like (in the second quarter) for longer periods of time, that's the disappointing part. The players are trying to play like that for as often as they can. I think they're trying to do it, but a couple of mistakes and we became hesitant in the third quarter when the scoreboard started ticking over against us. We didn't really take it on when we got to three or four goals down which is something we should have done. But, when you turn then ball over it just costs you and that's still an area of the game we work on and will continue to work on. We need to reduce the number of turnovers and I think the difference in the scoreboard will start to get closer than what it is now." Bomma man Matty Knights said "I guess to win by 48 points and to get game time through Welsh, Fletcher, McVeigh, Prismall and Reimers was a real positive for us because you do run a little bit of a risk when you bring that many players back in that haven't played a lot of footy. So I guess that was a bonus of the night, to get game time through them . . . I think Welsh was the amazing one, after 16, 17 weeks [and] the horrific injury that he had . . . to come back and actually contribute the way he did tonight was an excellent effort . . . To the credit of the players . . . they raised those (second-quarter) issues at half-time themselves in our meeting. It was good to see them address them because we were very, very shabby defensively in that second quarter. They turned it around and out of that effort defensively we got some good scoring opportunities."
At Stadium
Collingwood 4.2 7.7 9.9 13.11.89
Credit to Mick Malthouse and the Pies, who jumped up to fourth with their fourth-straight win since being thumped by the Bluies. The victory continued a run of wins over their biatches, the Swans, who were a very frustrating side for much of this. Siddey's pack-bound battling appeared a relic of another era, despite dominating stoppages here they badly lack running power and the ability to move the ball quickly. Running men Amon Buchanan and Nick Malceski were dropped for this one, deservedly as their form has been poor, but it just exacerbated the problem. The Poise enjoyed a bit of luck in scoring and from the umps but it was also a great effort from them, especially considering the early loss of Scott Pendlebury to a knee injury. Alan Didak, Heath Shaw and Harry O'Brien were terrific. In pickin' the Swans called up youngsters Ed Barlow, Kristin Thornton and Nick Smith to replace Buchanan, Malceski and injured backman Craig Bolton (knee soreness) - bit of a loss, that last one. The Pies made one late change, ruckman Cameron Wood replacing defender Nathan Brown (knee). Mick Malthouse coached a side for the 600th time, only Kevin Sheedy and Jock McHale have coached more games in the VFL/AFL. They won more flags than Mick . . .
It's been very wet in
Roosy must've delivered the message at half-time as the Bloods began to run about a bit in the third, the Pies began to look a bit slow. Later in the term they had more injury trouble, too. Early on Kirk and McVeigh combined to clear a throw-in and Mattner drove a long punt to the top o' the 'square, where the rarest event in footy occurred - a free-kick to Barry Hall, either for Prestigiacomo's holding or Brown's front-on spoil. Hall majored. The Poise replied soon, Didak was angry with himself after dropping Swan's pass and the ball went for a throw-in. But Didak sharked Jolly's tap from the throw-in, sped clear and booted a great goal. Hall was roaming about to get involved, he missed a long, running shot. A bit later the Siddey supporters and TV folk were angered when Jude Bolton went down in a one-on-one marking contest with Heath Shaw, 20m out and the ump waved play-on. But the replay suggested there wasn't much in it.
The Swans pressed forward in the early final term, but couldn't capitalize in a heavily populated attacking half. Cox tumbled a clearing kick on-the-full, but O'Keefe's pass with the resulting free-kick was bad and the Poise cleared. Richards missed with a snap and Barlow's later effort was rushed through by a leaping O'Brien. Barlow booted another, long behind after Cox and Maxwell made a mess of a clearance, which levelled the scores. A minute later Jack roved Goodes and O'Brien's contest and booted yet another long point, which had the Swans ahead by the margin. The Poise managed an attack, Swan Roberts-Thomson got a clearing kick away but it hung and Lockyer spoiled Smith's marking attempt, Didak gathered and tumbled a quick kick forward where 'Neon' Leon Davis marked in front of the pack.
Terrific game from Alan Didak (34 disposals, 6 marks, 2 goals), arguably the best he's played. Not a good bloke, but a very good footballer. The Poise defence was very good, led by rebounding man Heath Shaw (26 touches), Harry O'Brien (18 handlings, 4 marks, a goal) on Goodes and loose man Nick Maxwell (21 possessions, 11 marks). Simon Prestigiacomo (14 disposals, 7 marks) battled solidly against Hall, with help. Dane Swan (29 touches, 9 marks, a goal) collected plenty of it in midfield again. 'Neon' Leon Davis (17 touches, 3 goals) had three quiet quarters but came to life in the last, Shane O'Bree bagged 2 handy goals. Ryan O'Keefe (41 disposals, 8 marks, 2 goals) was brilliant for the Bloods and the following grouping of Darren Jolly (14 touches, 4 marks, a whopping 53 hit-outs), Brett Kirk (41 disposals) and Jude Bolton (29 possessions) won plenty of the ball. The Swans just didn't do anything with it. Ted Richards (15 possies) did alright in defence, in Craig Bolton's absence, and Kieren Jack (19 disposals, 3 marks, 2 goals) did well on Davis for three quarters, at least. Adam Goodes (23 possies, 5 marks, a goal) started well, but faded. Credit O'Brien there. Barry Hall kicked 2 goals. Roos paid the Poise a compliment. "The class of Collingwood was just better than the workmanlike performance of the Swans and that was the difference in the game, really," he said.
"(We made) far too many errors to beat a quality, class team. Teddy (Richards) handed them a goal at the end of the third quarter - you just can't win games of footy like that. We had blokes who had a lot of the footy but might as well not have had a lot of the footy. Their effort was super but the execution was just poor. There are guys who didn't use the ball well tonight who are normally better than that so you hope their performance will lift. We certainly had enough possession and enough of the footy, but just the chasm was enormous between when they had the ball and when we had the ball. Whether we had just a shocker with the ball tonight or whether that's an indication of where we are, that will be determined over the next 10 weeks." He admitted an unfit Crouch shouldn't have played. He should've been retired last year. Mick Malthouse said "I thought they [the Swans] were coming and coming hard and we just seemed to have no answer for the run and ball-getting power through the middle. Fortunately our system held up so they didn't blow us out of the water in that third quarter and by rearranging just slightly we used the ball reasonably (in the last term). When you've got your backs to the wall you've got to make every possession stat count. And I thought we put ourselves in a position at least to be able to score . . . (Didak) is a beautiful user of the football . . . We lost a key player in the first minute (Pendlebury) and they put themselves into the fray to make sure we held up and were able to interchange those players. So it was a great team effort." Mick was asked to comment on his 600th game in charge of a side. "Don't tell the players that but I might sit down with my wife and have a red. This thing (his mobile phone) hasn't stopped, but a lot of terrific people have hit me with these sorts of congratulations," Malthouse said. "I didn't go out from my corner and fight a bloke 600 times. I was able to do this with a fantastic family, a partnership. Every football club, whether playing or coaching, have people who've stayed in my life. That's what it is, it's a simple team game and I just happen to have the title 'coach' but there are so many other people who can share this. That's what makes team sport unique."
At Subiaco:
Fremantle 2.4 4.5 9.7 11.9.75
Following an average effort against the Weegs a fortnight back, Bomber Thompson had promised a full-throttle Catter performance against the Dockers, post-break. But this performance was worse in many ways, scrappy and underlining how the Pu55ies' forward-line can be exposed when they Pu55y-foot around too much. Paul Chapman in particular had a 'mare in front of the sticks and great efforts from Dockers Tarrant and Broughton kept Mooney and Steve Johnson mostly subdued, in the end the Katz could be thankful for Shannon Byrnes's 5 goals. That may belittle the Shockers' performance, they chased and tackled furiously but their own delivery to forwards was pretty ordinary. You couldn't fault their effort, though. Folks recalled this fixture last year, a tremendous game in which Freo led at three-quarter-time but were over-run in the final term. This game was close, but not as good as that one. In selection Freo were strengthened with the return of Luke McPharlin and Antoni Grover from injury, they replaced axed pair Josh Head and Brett Peake, the latter dropped for disciplinary reasons. The Cats swung the axe too, dropping David Wojcinski and Mathew Stokes along with the more marginal Tom Lonergan and Nathan Djerrkura. Stokes was hard done-by but events would show thePu55ies selected the correct small forward. The Katz also had to re-incorporate Joel Corey, Harry Taylor and Max Rooke, all returning from injury, while David Johnson was given another chance.
A still, sunny winters' day in Perf and Freo certainly came out determined to chase, tackle and harass the Cats. Byron Schammer, who followed Gary Ablett about, and young forward Michael Walters kicked behinds and Steve Johnson, opposed by Greg Broughton, missed an early snap for the Cats. The ball went back-and-forth between half-back lines before Freo managed a goal, Stephen Hill roved Andrew Foster's marking contest in the centre and handballed to Matt de Boer, he handballed back to running Foster who kicked long where Aaron Sandilands juggled a grab over Cat ruckman Mark Blake. Sandilands majored and the Dockerators led by 7 points. A lengthy goal-less spell followed, initially the Dokkers were forced into much defensive tackling as the Cats controlled possession. As mentioned, full-back Chris Tarrant did very well along with Greg Broughton and Paul Duffield, but Taz was helped as Mooney failed to make the distance from 50m after marking and Chapman committed the first of several poor misses. At the other end Scot Thornton snapped a behind and Schammer missed poorly. Mooney departed briefly with a dislocated finger before the Dockulaters scored a second goal, Sandilands marked a Catter clearing kick and punted back to the top o' the 'square, Cat Cameron Ling collected the pack-spilled ball but a strong tackle from de Boer forced it free and Thornton handballed for Matty Pavlich to snap the sausage. Freo led by 14 points with a few minutes left in the term and the minds of the TV folk boggled at the idea the Cats would experience a goal-less quarter. A bit later the Cats had a throw-in at half-forward, Steve Johnson won the ball from it and handballed to TomaHawkins, his snap hit the post. Johnson was apparently clobbered after getting his handpass away and there were some follow-up handbags or something during which Freo's Antoni Grover was reported. The TV didn't show us a replay, they're not allowed to when a bloke's reported. Anyways, Johnson had a free-kick from which he booted a goal. Freo's day was summed up a minute later when their Duffield saved a potential
Solomon and Pavlich combined to win the ball from the opening bounce of the third term and Hill's handball set up a goal for de Boer. Freo weren't going away, but you were waiting for the Cats to click into gear and produce one of those decisively brilliant scoring bursts. They never did, though. Immediately following that de Boer sausage the Catters produced a running move down the wing and Jimmy Bartel lobbed a centering kick towards leading Mooney, Tarrant spoiled but Byrnes roved at pace and slotted a major. The Catters rebounded and attacked rapidly now as the Dockulaters foundered at half-forward. Pavlich was playing on-the-ball and forward Adam Campbell appears to be the sort of bloke who'd need three or four attempts to grab a glass of water successfully. Kepler Bradley was useless too. McPharlin was shifted to full-forward but the Cats wasted their dominant spell again, Varcoe, Johnson and of course Chapman missed shots, Chapman also dropped an uncontested mark 20m out and roving Byrnes's snap was rushed through by Freo backmen. Jahlong scored five consecutive behinds before a superb Varcoe effort set up a goal, Varcoe smothered Garrick Ibbotson's handball at half-back and soccered and paddled the ball ahead until he could pick it up, great speed from Varcoe saw him go clear and punt towards leading Steve Johnson. Broughton spoiled but Johnson managed to tumble a kick forward, Gamble gathered as Varcoe arrived on the scene. "If there's justice, Gamble should give this to Varcoe," said commentator Russell, but Gamble sold a dummy and booted the goal himself. By their own standards the Cats were stuttering along but led by 24 points now. Freo's forward delivery continued to be terrible, so Tarrant ventured forth to have a go. He gave a hospital handball to Hill, who was crushed by Ling. But Hill got rid of the pill and it came back to Tarrant, who chipped a good pass for Duffield to mark and boot a Freo goal at last. Ling had lain on top of Hill for longer than was necessary and a blue erupted in which Ling gave Schammer a bit of a tummy-tap, the Dokker dropped as if shot. No umpire action was forthcoming and Ling's every touch thereafter was loudly booed by the locals. It wasn't as annoying as Russell's continual references to Ling as 'The Mayor of Geelong', though. Solomon punted the Shockers into attack from the next centre-bounce and Hasleby won a free-kick for a very slight push on the shoulder from Darren Milburn, 'Dasher' couldn't believe it but Hasleby booted a goal and Freo were 13 points behind. A great Freo move ended with a mark for steaming McPharlin on the lead, but he missed poorly. Russell was disturbed as some sling-tackles weren't punished by frees, in fact it was free-for-all. An unconfident Gamble missed from 50m and Chapman failed to make the distance with a set-shot from 30m, it was awful. Freo closed in late, there was a scrap from a throw-in at half-forward, Foster failed to sell a ridiculous dummy but after some more scrambling Schammer got a handball away for Nic Suban to snap a goal. From a secondary centre-bounce Pavlich tumbled a punt forward,
Again the Catters moved clear in the early final Mario. Freo's McPharlin proved to be mixed value as a forward, he led and marked strongly but in a desire to play-on quickly, booted the ball into Cat Blake. The Katz rebounded and the ball went towards Steve Johnson, Broughton spoiled but Varcoe gathered the Sherrin and handballed back to Johnson, who bagged a running goal. Good play from Gary Ablett at the restart forced the ball forwards for the Pu55ies and a slick handpass from Varcoe led to Hawkins passing for Byrnes to mark, 15m out. Byrnes lobbed an over-the-top handball enabling Steve Johnson to poke it through from point-blank. Johnson was lifting as the Katters led by 13 points. Freo butchered the ball going forward, a long Pavlich miss was followed by terrible clangers from McPharlin and Ibbotson to Joels Corey and Selwood, respectively. But the pressure paid off soon, Sandilands tapped a ball-up on attacking 50 down to Schammer and Schammer handballed for Ibbotson to punt truly. Cats by 6 but they replied, as a Freo clearing kick emerged Corey got away with a questionable spoil on Foster, handballs from Steve Johnson and Ling set up Byrnes for a running major. Ablett, who'd been pretty quiet, out-marked Schammer 20m from the sticks, slight angle, played-on and produced another awful miss for the Katz. Grover's long kick-in was marked strongly by Hasleby, he drove a long punt into the centre where running Tarrant held a one-handed mark and played-on with a kick towards Pavlich and Taylor. Pav was awarded a pretty soft free - You Can't Touch Pav - which he converted into a goal. The Cats' lead was back to 7 points and became a goal exactly following Mundy's long behind. Freo fans were soon fuming again when Kelly marked at half-back and ambled away from the mark, unaware of the rapidly approaching McPharlin. 'Bawl' they cried as Kelly was tackled, but he was allowed an age to get a dubious handball away. No free to McPharlin. A bit later Corey sent an attacking kick very wide towards Johnson and Gamble, the latter gathered and hooked a centering kick where Freo men Dodd and Foster collided and Byrnes collected the ball to snap a major. Byrnes also cleared the restart and Hawkins set up a mark for Mooney 15m out, Moons played-on and produced possibly the worst miss of a game which excelled in those. But the Freo men were tiring and the Cats sealed the game shortly afterwards, under pressure from Bartel the Dokkers' Hill clangered a kick straight to Ling, he passed to Byrnes who found Chapman marking 50m out. Chapman played-on and finally managed to raise the twin calicoes, the Catters led by 19 points with about 4 minutes remaining. They closed it down from there.
The Cats could thank Shannon Byrnes (26 disposals, 9 marks, 5 goals) for his effort and the solid midfield performances of Joel Corey (30 touches, 8 tackles) and Jimmy Bartel (26 disposals, 8 tackles). Cameron 'Krusty the Klown of Geelong' Ling (27 disposals, 7 marks) actually played very well, having the better of Hasleby. Corey Enright (19 touches, 7 marks, a goal) and James Kelly (21 possessions, 5 marks) ran well off half-back and Travis Varcoe (19 handlings) did some very good things. Paul Chapman (31 touches, 10 marks, a goal) had plenty of the ball but his woeful goal-shooting (1.3 plus two no-scores) kinda tempered the effort. I said Ablett didn't do much but he ended up with 29 touches (24 handballs), so there you go. Steve Johnson (16 possies, 7 marks) bagged 3 goals in the end, Tom Hawkins kicked 2 goals. Freo's backline was very good, led by Chris Tarrant (16 disposals, 6 marks) on Mooney, Greg Broughton (29 touches, 11 marks) on Johnson and rebound man Paul Duffield (29 disposals, 7 marks, a goal). Aaron Sandilands (20 possies, 5 marks, 37 hit-outs, a goal) was terrific in the ruck and small-but-tough guys Matt de Boer (21 touches, a goal) and Byron Schammer (24 disposals) were impressive against Selwood and Ablett respectively. Matty Pavlich (31 disposals, 4 marks, 2 goals) battled against close attention from Mackie. Mark Harvey took some positives from the effort of his young, injury-depleted side. "The effort of the guys - against a side that we all think is going to play in the grand final - was substantial. We gave ourselves an opportunity and put ourselves in the game in the last quarter, and had an opportunity to dethrone a winning sequence (what?). I think our competitive nature was right up there with what I would expect from a group that was playing against a great side . . . (Poor forward play) really hurt us. I spoke to (the forwards) throughout the course of the game about just taking a competitive mark . . . we weren't able to do that (and) we didn't have enough crumbers at times. I think in time when we get a better balanced team - with Headland and Ballantyne around the corner and Hayden and Johnson around the corner, too - that's what we look forward to . . . We've got to really make sure everything is spot on in our preparation in the build up to a big game at the MCG. We haven't played there this year (and) they (Collywood) are in good form." Mark Thompson conceded his lads didn't play very well, and Freo put the pressure on them. "The five minutes before three quarter time was really poor," Thompson said. "We did a lot right in the third quarter but we kicked points instead of goals and we left the door open. To go in at three quarter time (level) wasn't exactly how we planned it. In the end we controlled the last quarter and came away with a reasonably comfortable win . . . We really enjoy being in games that are a little bit tight and I think it's great to get into a habit of doing that (and) being able to think your way through. We've done it most weeks which shows a maturity and experience and a confidence, and sometime they're better games to play in . . . I'm really sympathetic to the Western Australian teams and how they have to travel to
Ladder after Round 12
Pts. % Next Week
St. Kilda 48 173.6
Footscray 32 123.9
Collingwood 28 109.5 Fremantle (MCG, Saturday)
Essendon 24 98.6
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Hawthorn 24 94.9 West Coast (Subiaco, Sat. night)
Port
West Coast 12 86.9 Hawthorn (Subiaco, Sat. night)
Fremantle 12 79.7 Collingwood (MCG, Saturday)
Cheers, Tim.
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Monday, June 15, 2009
[AFL-Review] AFL Round 12 Part 1
AFL Round 12 Part 1
Thanks to people who mailed in Brad Dick jokes, a few of you pointed out James Hird's "Dick's popped up from nowhere" on 'On The Couch', although Jim flushed violently right after which didn't help sell the line. Andrew Rodgers pointed out ABC radio's Dan Lonergan producing "Dick hard on the boundary-line", which isn't bad. Still prefer Tim Lane's effort from last week (which he's since admitted was deliberate), but it's early days yet. McAvaney, who likes to play on his camp persona, must be champing at the bit to do a Collywood game.
At Docklands:
St. Kilda 7.2 9.5 13.7 16.8.104
There are many ways you can bet on the footy these days and if you'd backed Sainter defender Zac Dawson to kick the final and match-sealing goal here, very well done by you. This was a very good game in which the Bluies survived an initial Sainter onslaught and came back to compete very ruggedly. But Sinkilda managed to dig deep and find something to stay in front all night. Both teams emerged with credit, prior to their break. The Bluies made two selection changes following their good win in Brisbane, Jordan Bannister coming in for his first game of the year and Mark Austin was recalled, they replaced Bret Thornton (hamstring) and the dropped Brad Fisher. Seemed harsh, although Fisher did nothing last week. The Stainers lost Steven King for a month, suspended, and dropped Raphael Clarke and James Gwilt. Harsh too on Gwilt, but he probably hasn't been getting enough of the ball. They went to accommodate Sam Gilbert, Stephen Milne and Michael Gardiner, returning from injuries and suspension respectively.
Furious start from the Saints, their now trademark relentless tackling placed the Bluies under huge pressure, and the Bloobaggers wilted. The Blues were the better side in the first few minutes and managed a rushed behind before the Saints rattled on five straight goals. The Stains raced downfield from the kick-in of that point, Leigh Montagna passed towards leading Nick Riewoldt who was shoved under the ball by his man Paul Bower, but Stephen Milne ran onto the pill, executed a terrific blind-turn to avoid tackling and handballed for Adam Schneider to slam it through. From the following centre-clearance Saint man Andrew McQualter extracted the ball from a pack and lobbed a kick forward, the ball spilled from a Riewoldt-centered pack and as on-running McQualter roved the contest he was pushed over by Bloo Grigg. Free and there was a 50m penalty too for some reason, McQualter booted a simple goal. Riewoldt took the ruck contest for a ball-up at CHF, which he tapped down perfectly for Schneider to gather and boot another major. Riewoldt bagged some goals of his own, Justin Koschitzke lobbed a punt to the top o' the 'square and Riewoldt seized an excellent grab between Bloozers Bower and Hampson. 'Rooey' popped it through. A bit later Riewoldt goaled from the almost-identical spot as panicky Bower hauled him out of a marking contest. Twelve minutes in and the Stains led by 29 points. But the Blooze steadied a bit and managed to do something late in the stanza, led by the unlikely Kade Simpson. Simpson had already hurt Brendon Goddard with a slamming tackle, now Simpson found some rare space to run ahead and kick long, Max Hudghton spoiled Brendan Fevola but roving Eddie Betts gathered and saw his snap bounce through for the Blooze first goal. Riewoldt led out for another grab but his shot from 50m hit the post. The Bluies majored again, from a throw-in Marc Murphy was tackled without the ball by Farren Ray and Murphy's free-kick crept over the line from 50m. The Stains' lead was reduced to 18 points but they answered quickly, bad fumbling from Bluies Stevens and
The Bluesers scored an early goal in the second Mario, Simpson with a fairly weak free-kick as he dived following Gilbert's alleged high contact. Sinkilda continued to make the running though, Riewoldt again led out to mark 50m from goal and he speared a great pass for Gram to take a with-the-flight grab, Gram converted. Lenny Hayes, playing very well, won the following centre-clearance and kicked towards Riewoldt who clutched yet another grab, low-down. Bower could be consoled by the fact he'd be in all the highlights, but Riewoldt missed this shot. A minute later Bloo man Setanta O'hAilpin mongrelled a poor kick into the centre, causing an eventual turnover. Nick Dal Santo chipped a kick into the pocket for Justin Koschitzke to run out and mark, Koschitzke steered a sausage from the tight angle and the Saints led by 31 points. Stainer Sam Fisher snapped a point and Bloo spearhead Fevola appeared in the back-pocket to mark Gibbs's kick-in. Fev's first touch brought some sarcastic cheering but he'd had pretty ordinary service from his embattled midfielders. Then O'hAilpin produced another poor kick forward but Betts managed to collect it on-the-bounce and get a handball away to Shaun Grigg, he in turn found Carrazzo who snapped truly. The Saints led by 26 points as a change came over the game now, the Bluies lifted their intensity and started to become the hunters instead o' the hunted, exerting the pressure rather than being subject to it. But Carton also committed a few clangers to cruel their chances. Eventually Simpson's great, surging run from deep in defence set up a goal, Fevola gathered skillfully on-the-bounce and got a handball away for running Murphy to have a shot from 55m, Murphy's low kick was left by O'hAilpin to bounce and roll through for a goal. A bit later Sainter man Michael Gardiner marked at half-back and held the ball aloft, the 'sign' for the Stains to slow down prior to half-time, four minutes away. But it didn't work out that way. Soon Steven Browne was punting the Blooze into attack, an off-balance Gardiner flapped one-handed at the mark and his man Shaun Hampson gathered the ball to slot a goal off a step or two. Nick Stevens booted the Bluesers forward from the restart, after some scrap for possession Fevola's brilliant knock-on set up a snapped major for Grigg. Judd and Stevens combined to win the next centre-clearance, Betts roved a pack at half-forward and handballed for Jordan Bannister to curl a snap for full points. Four quick goals and five in-a-row from the Bluies, they trailed by 2 points. Riewoldt soccered a late behind to have the Saints a slender 3 points ahead at the long break.
The Saints recovered their steel to kick away again early in the third stanza. Maybe it had something to do with midfield rotations. Early on Gram collected the ball on the wing, aided by Gilbert's heavy shepherd, and jabbed a pass to Hayes, he in turn stabbed one for leading Riewoldt to mark wide on the flank and have a shot from 55m which just cleared Hampson on the line for full points. Close for a few minutes before Bloo Betts coughed up possession when tackled and Jarryn Geary kicked to unopposed Riewoldt on the wing, he chipped inboard to find running Dal Santo, then a handball ahead to Milne who finessed a bit before having a shot from just inside the 50, which bounced through. A bit later Grigg's free-kick from the back-pocket was sent suicidally towards a pack containing Riewoldt. Simpson scragged the red-hot Sainter, conceding a free-kick and worse, no Bluie guarded the mark, allowing Riewoldt to run in and bomb his fifth goal already. Gilbert's quick kick from hard on the boundary-line found Schneider marking 60m out, he handballed off for running Brendon Goddard to run inside 50 and roost a major. The Saints led by 27 points, but again the Bluebaggers responded in the latter half of the term. They did most of it without Chris Judd too, Juddy'd suffered a horribly broken nose in a clash-of-heads with team-mate Browne and the subsequent torrent of blood which gushed from Judd's hooter and mouth saw him frequently off the ground for ever-more elaborate bandaging. Fevola missed his first shot of the night but soon a smart switch-of-play saw Bannister marking on the 50m line, Bannister's shot just crept home. Some more behinds followed before the Bluies had some good luck in the final thirty seconds of the term, the Saints messed up an interchange which resulted in a free-kick to Fevola, 30m out and more-or-less right in front. Fevola converted and the Sainter lead was reduced to 13 points at three-korter-time. Why make an interchange 30 seconds before a break? Into the ultimate Mario and things tightened up considerably now, no goals in the first ten-or-so minutes of the stanza but a handful of behinds including misses from Bluies Betts and Fevola and Sainter Milne. Both sides were tackling hard, fewer risks were taken in playing-on. The Saints eventually managed a goal from a forward-flank throw-in, Bloo Murphy was flattened by a heavy bump and Schneider handballed backwards to Dal Santo, who lobbed a very good kick for the six-pointer to have the Satiners 17 points ahead. 'Dal' was pretty happy about it. Fevola rode Fisher for a great grab, but missed the shot. The Stainers lost the ball on the kick-in however and Carton managed a sausage, Ryan Houlihan chipped a poor pass which curved frustratingly away from leading Fevola but the ball eluded the Sainter backmen too and Betts raced onto the loose Sherrin to gather and spear the goal. A bit later Houlihan gathered Garlett's erratically-bouncing punt and fired a quick handball away, O'hAilpin did something good for a change by controlling a difficult ball very well before stabbing a short pass for leading Fevola to mark. Fev booted truly at last and the Satiners' lead was down to 4 points. The TV cut to Judd having several miles of tape wrapped around his bleeding schnoz. The Sainters replied, Steven Baker's smart kick found Goddard at half-forward, he handballed for Montagna to bomb a superb running kick for goal, from wide on the flank. Saints by 10 points. The Bluies' Browne tumbled a kick forward from the restart, it bounced away from leading Fevola but O'hAilpin collected the ball, sold a dummy and stabbed a goal. O'hAilpeeeen! and the Blues trailed by 4 points again. Then Bower's strong, back-pedalling grab set up a Bloo rebound, Simpson passed for leading Houlihan to mark on the 50m line but Houlihan's shot faded wide for a point. Saint Fisher drove the kick-in to a contest at half-back, the ball emerged to Hayes and he passed to leading Riewoldt on the wing, Riewoldt kicked ahead to find Schneider marking at half-forward. Schneider chipped a pass for
Sainter forward Nick Riewoldt (17 disposals, 10 marks, 5 goals) dominated poor ol' Bower, while Sinkilda midfielders Lenny Hayes (30 touches, 7 marks, 10 tackles), Nick Dal Santo (34 disposals, a goal) and Leigh Montagna (36 handlings, 11 marks, a goal) all continued their fine form. Max Hudghton (17 disposals, 6 marks) won praise for his game on all-important Bloo Fevola, although as mentioned Fev didn't have decent service or produce sufficient accuracy, the latter an ongoing problem. Hudghton was good, though. Clint Jones (15 possies) kept Judd pretty quiet, even before the latter's busted conk, Jason Gram (23 possessions, 2 goals) and Brendon Goddard (25 handlings, 8 marks, a goal) were handy. Adam Schneider bagged 2 goals. The Bluies were led into it by Kade Simpson (23 disposals, a goal) and Bryce Gibbs (25 touches). With the Blooze main midfield men squeezed out of it by the Sainter pressure, others like Steven Browne (18 disposals) and Shaun Grigg (28 possessions, a goal) stepped up to win the ball. Andrew Carrazzo (26 handlings, a goal) played well and defender Michael Jamison (11 disposals, 5 marks) did a very good job on Koschitzke. There are those who reckon Setanta O'hAilpin (10 possies, 5 marks, a goal) played well at CHF. He did some good things at the end there, but wasn't so great overall. Nick Stevens (19 possies) was alright. Marc Murphy, Jordan Bannister, Eddie Betts and Brendan Fevola kicked 2 goals each, Fev scored 2.3. Brett Ratten fingered the problem. "If you give the opposition five [goals] to zip in about fifteen minutes in a head start, against a team that's conceded on average about 58 points per game to the opposition . . . we made it pretty tough," Ratten said. "They got their hands on the ball really early and their cleanness with the footy . . . At one stage, it was 39 possessions to 12, when we yelled out in the [coaches'] box, so it was all going one way. The opportunities that were created for their forwards outweighed ours by tenfold, so from that point, we just played catch up. We tinkered with the centre-bounce structures and personnel, so we got it back on even keel by half time, but it took a bit of work . . . We asked the players to get on the front foot and we thought we could have a free hit - we had nothing to lose - let's have a go and let's see what could happen or eventuate and we kicked 3.5 in the last and blew an opportunity or a window right there in the end of the game . . . We spoke about how after today we'd actually see where we're at and how far we are off a legitimate team. They've played some fantastic footy, St Kilda, and they deserve to be where they are - they're got some great players and some dangerous players and to a man, they stick to their roles. They were a great challenge for our young group and I thought after the first 12 or 15 minutes, we stood up and we actually confronted and at times played better. But at end of the day, they actually just had a bit more skill and execution of the footy." Ross Lyon said "The competition is littered with teams that have been in strong positions and fallen away dramatically in the last seven or eight [rounds]. I've had a look at our draw and we still have got to go interstate three times and we've got the Hawks and Geelong and we've got Richmond after the bye which will be pretty tough with the new coach. So we've got a lot of challenges in front of us for sure." He was asked about
At Marrara Oval, Darwin:
Footscray 4.2 8.5 13.9 21.11.137
Port
Footyscray have run into a rare patch of form, dishing out another thumping here in
Typically warm, steamy night in the top end with plenty of moisture in the air and on the ground. The Doggies had plenty of the ball early with Daniel Cross and Adam Cooney busy 'round packs, Ryan Hargrave picked up a welter of touches running off half-back. Hargrave was involved in the opening goal, lurking up to half-forward to accept Jason Akermanis's pass and then punt into the pocket where Brad Johnson held a strong back-pedalling mark under pressure from Chaplin. Johnno threaded it through. But not much happened for the next ten minutes as players struggled to handle and kick the greasy, dew-slicked ball. Eventually the Pups scored a second goal, with a switch-of-play and running Hargrave again passed for leading Akermanis for a mark on the 50m line, Aker bombed a kick to the goal-square where Will Minson out-marked Toby Thurstans and booted a goal. The Dogs led by 12 points. Port put together a decent move, Peter Burgoyne handballed for Robbie Gray to run forward and lob a pass for leading Daniel Motlop to mark and boot a very good major from 50m. Motlop's kick bisected two thin, leaning posts that appeared to be made of bamboo. The Dogs missed a shot and Port's Steven Salopek, who started well, drove the kick-in to pack from which the ball spilled, Doggy Lindsay Gilbee soccered the ball ahead and won a free for, um, something. Gilbee booted a goal. Late in the term the Pups had a throw-in in the forward-pocket and there was a bit of what thugby league folks refer to as aerial ping-pong before Ryan Griffen snapped a very noice goal. The Dogs led by 19 points at the first break and they eased away with two quick goals to start quartier le deuxieme. Cross extracted the agget from a pack at half-forward and handballed to Cooney, he chipped a backwards pass to tagger Liam Picken in space and Picken played-on to boot the sausage. A bit later Cooney grabbed the ball from another contest at half-forward, Kane Cornes smothered Cooney's kick but the ball rebounded to Hargrave, a handpass and Shaun Higgins passed for leading Josh Hill to mark and convert. The Dogs led by a handy 31 points now. There were a few tight minutes as Port battled a bit, they began to move the ball a little better. Ruckman Brendon Lade had a free at a ball-up on the wing, he honoured Warren Tredrea's long lead with an accurate pass and Tredders played-on quickly to kick for Brett Ebert to take a grab behind Dale Morris. Ebert majored. The Bullpups replied with string of short-passes to move inside 50, Higgins attempted one to no-one really but Powderman Rodan's diving punch knocked the ball to Bully Callan Ward, who slotted a goal. Carr won the ball from the restart for the Flowers and fed the ball wide to Tom Logan, he stabbed a pass back into the centre for Lade to mark and Lade passed for leading Tredrea to mark comfortably and boot truly. Port went on to score consecutive majors, Dean Brogan tapped a ball-up perfectly onto David Rodan's chest, D-Rod sped clear with a bounce, dummied around Gilbee, ran inside 50 with two more bounces and speared a terrific goal, much like a couple Rodan booted last week. The Dogs' lead was reduced to 22 points but they scored a late goal, Mitch Hahn passed for leading Minson to mark, just like the full-forward the Dogs have been trying to make him for a year or three. Minson converted and the Bullies led by 28 points at the long rest.
There was a slow start to the third term, five minutes in Port's lack of interest showed when two blokes left Chaplin's pass for each-other and Doggy Nathan Eagleton nipped in to mark it, he jabbed a short kick to Hahn who played-on and bombed a 50m goal. The Dawgs led by 34 points and strained to put the Powder away. Hill rode Salopek for a great grab at half-forward but missed the shot, a minute later Hill marked in the pocket but sliced on-the-full. Akermanis marked in the opposite pocket but missed awfully. Finally, the Bullies opened a decisive gap with three quick majors. Burgoyne's long kick-in from the Aker miss was marked by Ward, he handballed to Murphy who passed for Akermanis to mark 40m out and convert this time. Murphy played in defence here, on Ebert. A minute later Higgins scooped up a loose ball with some skill and handballed to Matty Boyd, he handballed to Hahn who booted a terrific 50m goal off a couple of steps. Puppy ruckman Ben Hudson had a free at the following centre-bounce, he handballed off to Higgins who had a run-and-bounce and kicked long for Johnson to take an idiomatic back-pedalling mark in the pocket. Johnson dobbed it and the Bullies led by a handy 53 points. Aker reverted to missing and the Power managed a goal, Gray got a good handball away while being tackled and Danyle Pearce passed for leading Ebert to mark and boot truly. But the Pups had the final say of the term, Brian Lake gave a free-kick to Minson and he passed unusually sideways and backwards to Boyd, but Boyd played-on, dummied around a pathetic effort from Carr before booting a long major. A late Gilbee behind and the Doggies led by 55 points at the last change. Mist hung over the ground and Daniel Motlop didn't start the final quarter, due to ankle trouble. The Dogs moved further ahead, Picken won the ball smartly and fired a long handpass forward to Eagleton, he had a long shot which Daniel 'Guido' Giansiracusa marked by the point-post. Giansiracusa stabbed a pass back to Akermanis on a better angle, but the ump called the ball back. Giansiracusa hooked a left-foot snap for a goal, but the ump called the ball back. Giansiracusa chipped another inboard pass to Higgins, but the ump called the ball back. Finally, Giansiracusa was allowed to hook a second left-foot kick for the goal. Sheesh. A minute later Griffen sent a long, switching kick to Giansiracusa, he passed for leading Hill to mark and boot one. Dogs by 67 points. A bit later Burgoyne's chipped pass went straight through Cornes's hands but fortunately for Port their Justin Westhoff gathered and snapped a good major.
A very even effort from the Bulldoggies, rover Daniel Cross (37 disposals including 30 handballs) was pretty good and Ryan Hargrave (29 touches, 10 marks) ran about to good effect, as mentioned before Adam Cooney's form (35 possessions, 5 marks) has paralleled that of his team's. Jarrod Harbrow (22 disposals, 7 marks) played well again and Ryan Griffen (22 handlings, 9 tackles, a goal) did some useful things. Liam Picken (14 touches, a goal) kept Pearce quiet and Lindsay Gilbee (31 possessions, a goal) was his usual, classy self. Will Minson, Brad Johnson and Josh Hill kicked 3 goals each, Mitch Hahn and Danny Giansiracusa booted 2 goals each. Port didn't win enough of the ball. David Rodan (18 touches with 14 handballs, a goal) won some and Kane Cornes (36 disposals, 12 marks) and Dom Cassisi (19 touches, 9 tackles, a goal) plugged away, but they're not match-winners. Steven Salopek (18 possies, 5 marks) started well, but faded. Full-back Toby Thurstans (24 disposals, 7 marks) played alright and held Welsh goal-less and Warren Tredrea (15 handlings, 9 marks, a goal) did a bit. Brett Ebert kicked 2 goals. Mark Williams said "Anytime a result like that comes around, it is not good for the club or any individual - players, coaches and staff. So that's just how footy is . . . They really did expose us; their skills were outstanding. We made really fundamental errors that cost us. We noted how well the Bulldogs could execute their skills, and even when we did force a turnover, we could not get a result from it while they kicked nine goals from our turnovers. We tried to shut the game down . . . but nothing seemed to come off. So, we're really disappointed. There was not much spirit tonight, but our club and our players do have spirit - it is just it didn't shine out tonight, that is for sure. Our effort was not up to standard. We gave some people some opportunities and they did not play well tonight . . . We have too many sitting on the sidelines. Everyone has to share the load - and tonight we didn't. We're 6-6 and in the middle of a lot of teams. We just have to keep grinding away to find a way to make the finals by the end of the year." 'Choco' would go on to flog his blokes on the training track, including carrying lots of bricks around. Eade said "We thought we had been building since the
At Docklands:
West Coast 2.0 6.2 9.7 11.11.77
The Tiges can't even get tanking right. Perhaps it was the sacked-coach effect, then again the Weagles haven't won an away-game for two years. But new Tige coach Jade Rawlings bit the bullet by dropping a bunch of aging, under-performing players, going with the youth and being rewarded with a first-up win. Now, the Big Pu55y Cats are only three games out . . . Rawlings's appointment as the Tiges' interim coach was criticized on several bases; at 31, he's younger than several of the players; the Tiges also made Rawlings's interim status very clear, stating they'd be throwing the position open at the end of the season. The meedya couldn't understand this second point, even though Hawthorn did exactly the same thing with Donald McDonald before appointing Clarkson. Further fallout from Wallace's departure included the retirement of Kane Johnson, who becomes an assistant coach. The Tiges' immediate past-captain hadn't played a game this season due to a knee injury and finishes with 220 games, two premierships with the Camrys and a best-and-fairest for the Toigs in 2006. In selection Rawlings adhered to his yoof-brief by dropping Joel Bowden, Troy Simmonds, Jordan McMahon, Mark Coughlan and Kayne Pettifer from the side thumped by the Bulldogs, although Rawlings claimed the quintet were axed for form reasons which, with the exception of perhaps Bowden, would be fair enough. In came Shane Edwards, Angus Graham, Robin Nahas, Tom Hislop and first-gamer Tyrone Vickery, a dreadlocked ruckman from southern
Not the greatest game on paper (or on the ground, as it turned out) but it had some interesting features coming in; Rawlings's debut as Richmun coach, the playing debuts of Naitanui (in particular) and Vickery, and some bloke called Cousins playing against his old side. Mysteriously, Cuz escaped the axe in the Tiges' new youth policy and gave the in-room camera a poo-eating grin before the game. The Tiggers started with great energy and enthusiasm in the first fifteen minutes, there's a theory they set up the win right there. Those people haven't seen many Richmun games. Richard Tambling and Mitch Morton were key early protagonists, Morton had a hand in the opening goal as he led long to mark Brett Deledio's pass, then stabbed a wobbly kick which was probably meant for Tambling, who marked it at least. Tambling stabbed a short, centering pass for ruckman Angus Graham to mark and boot the major. A minute later Tambling led up to mark on the flank and he punted to the top o' the 'square where Morton held a sliding mark behind Matt Spangher, Morton goaled. Deledio marked in the centre and handballed off to running Tambling, he swapped handballs with Shane Tuck and kicked long where doubling-back Morton marked, played-on and hooked it through as he likes to do. The Tiges led by 19 points but had dominated possession and displayed an unusually skilful, disposal-heavy style. Tom Hislop missed a shot before the Weegs got on the board, some scrappy handballing from a throw-in fed the ball back and into the centre where full-back Darren Glass managed to get a kick forward, Mark LeCras gathered and hooked a blind punt which dropped handily into the arms of Josh Kennedy. Kennedy majored. The Tiggers continued to dominate possession but wasted it a bit with four consecutive behinds, including two terrible set-shot misses from Morton. When he can't run-out and hook it, he's not too good. Finally Deledio, also responsible for one of them misses, booted a good goal from the flank following a gutsy mark backing into a pack. A bit later Nathan 'Axel' Foley ran down the wing and chipped a centering pass for Andrew Collins to mark on the 50m line, he passed for the ubiquitous Morton to mark and boot his third goal of the stanza. The Tiges led by 30 points. The Wiggles scored a late major, at the following centre-bounce Jamie 'Wrong Way' McNamara had a free-kick and dished off to Brad Ebert, his wide kick was gathered by Mitch Brown who hooked a punt to the top o' the 'square where the absurdly athletic Nick Naitanui roved his won contest and handballed for Matt Priddis to banana-snap a goal. Tiges by 24 points at the first break.
The Weegs worked into it in the second stanza, led by Priddis and big forward Kennedy. Some tight early minutes before Weeg ruckman Dean 'Big' Cox tapped a ball-up at half-forward down to Priddis, his pass to David Wirrpanda switched flanks and Wirrpanda punted to the goal-square where Kennedy shoved off Alex Rance to mark and pop it through. The Tiggers' lead was back to 18 points. A bit later Toig skipper Chris Newman chipped a good pass for Adam Pattison to mark 60m out, Patto handballed inboard to Robin Nahas who sent one further wide for Shane Edwards to gather, Edwards booted a running goal. The Weegs answered, Kennedy led up to mark Cox's pass on the 50m line and boot a good long major. Then the Tiges, Morton led up to clutch a strong mark in front of Glass and kick to the pocket where Jack Riewoldt held a better grab ahead of Spangher, Riewoldt threaded it through. The Tiges led by 25 points, prior to a tightish spell in which the Weegs scored a couple behinds. The running and intensity the Coasters had against
The third term started slowly. Tyson Stenglein had replaced Glass as Morton's opponent, while Tigger Luke McGuane tightened up on Kennedy. Evidence accumulated to support this being a game between thirteenth and fifteenth. There were a couple of points each in the opening ten minutes before the Tiges scrambled a goal. Weeg Shannon Hurn bumped Collins off the ball to gain possession but Hurn was himself tackled by Trent Cotchin, who handballed to Nahas who gave one on to running Hislop. Glass dived superbly to smother Hislop's shot for goal but Hislop followed the ball into the pocket were it squirted free and Hislop snapped a sausage roll. A bit later Weeg rover Chris Masten, once hailed as 'The New Cousins', roved a throw-in and lobbed a kick to the top of the 'square where LeCras roved the pack and snapped truly. The Tiges led by 18 points, still. Weeg Mark Nicoski and Tigga Deledio kicked points before Collins wobbled a kick forward and new Tigger Tyrone Vickery had his arms chopped in the marking contest. Vickery's free-kick just squeezed through for a goal. The Weegs replied with some good play from Matt Rosa, Rosa speared a pass for leading Naitanui to mark on the 50m line, Naitanui handballed back to on-running Rosa who strode inside the 50 and booted a long goal. Richmen by 18 points again, some more behinds occurred before the Weegs scored, you guessed it, a late goal. From directly in front of the interchange benches their McNamara lobbed a centering kick for Scott Selwood to take a running mark, Selwood ran to the 50 and booted long where Adam Selwood appeared to shove Edwards in the back in order to take a grab, before playing-on and bagging a goal. Between marking and kicking, Selwood paused and looked back at the ump, kind of a giveaway you'd think. The goal stood though and the Tiges' lead was down to 11 points at the final change. But the Big Katz took charge with two quick goals in the final Mario, Ben Cousins played well to steady them. An early, defensive rebound and Cousins's long kick found Hislop marking at half-forward, he booted long where Morton shoved off Stenglein to mark and boot a regularly drop-punted goal. Daniel Jackson kicked the Toigs into attack from the restart, following some scrambling at half-forward Jackson arrived to have another go, hooking a punt to the goal-square where Morton clutched a pack-mark, ran wide for a hooky-kick and booted his fifth goal. Richmun led by 23 points, three minutes into the korter. Naitanui had given some glimpses of his ability and soon excited the Weegle supporters with a big ride on Polo and speccie-tacular mark on the point-line, unfortunately for the Weegs Naitanui missed the subsequent, very tight-angle shot. Newman's long kick-in spilled from his ruckmen and roving Weeg Priddis handballed for LeCras to pot a long major. The Wiggles were still hanging around, 15 points down. The Tiges clung on for a few minutes, Masten missed a shot while Tuck and Morton kicked behinds for the Tiges. In time-on the Tiggers had a throw-in in their forward-pocket and Foley pounced on the loose ball, he sped clear and handballed for Edwards to lob a left-foot kick for a goal. Effectively the sealer, as the Toigs led by 22 points. But Priddis won a free at the following centre-bounce and stabbed a pass wide to venturing Glass, he passed for leading LeCras to mark and boot a great goal from the flank. Naitanui showed his primary ability, winning clearances, at the following centre-bounce. He leaped over Graham to win the tap and also gather the ball, Naitanui handballed for McNamara to run clear, inside 50 but hook a poor kick for a behind, for the Eagles - you can never be sure with McNamara. Newman's kick-in required Cousins to take an overhead mark, as he did so Weeg Daniel Kerr barreled into Cousins's ribs. A 50m penalty to Cuz and he and Kerr had a chat and chuckle as they trotted up the field together. No doubt they had a big night later.
Rover Nathan 'Axel' Foley (31 disposals, 7 marks) was the Tiges' most consistent performer with Richard Tambling (28 possessions, 14 marks) interpreted by some meedya folk as having 'arrived' here. A big call, he requires consistency but has played okay in recent weeks. Mitch Morton (18 touches, 12 marks, 5 goals) seems happy Plough is gone and Ben Cousins (28 possies, 4 marks) played well, as did Brett Deledio (23 touches, 11 marks, a goal). Shane Tuck (30 disposals, 6 marks) found plenty of the ball again and Daniel Jackson (16 touches) engaged in a game-long wrestle with Kerr. Luke McGuane (23 touches, 8 marks) was good in defence. Tom Hislop and Shane Edwards kicked 2 goals each. Reliable rover Matt Priddis (33 disposals, 7 marks, a goal) was the Weegs' best. Josh Kennedy (12 possies, 7 marks, 4 goals) covered much territory in attack and David Wirrpanda (23 touches, 5 marks) played alright as the rebounding defender. Adam Selwood (20 handlings, 3 marks, a goal) battled on-the-ball and Chris Masten (29 possessions) found a fair bit of it. Mark LeCras (22 touches, 9 marks, 3 goals) was very handy in attack. "We didn't get our hands on the ball early. They thrashed us at stoppages. We've been pretty good in that area," said Weevil coach Worsfold. "We get frustrated at times in the coaches' box, but the names that come up are the kids in their first dozen games that are making some mistakes. They're excited, they're nervous, they rush, they feel like they're under pressure the whole time. As they get used to it, they'll get a better realisation of how much time they may have and take that extra fraction of a second and use the ball better. The majority of the errors come when the ball is in the hands of the very young players and I'm prepared to wear that. They're aware of it and they're working on it, but they need to keep that focus and stay motivated to keep working on it – not drop their confidence or their bundle." Tigger man Jade Rawlings said "They (Tiges) are a good group and obviously a very young one that went out there tonight, but they enjoy each other's company and we had a good build-up during the week. The most pleasing thing for me was we were challenged a couple of times, particularly in the second half, and we were able to react. I thought we looked a bit shaky in the third quarter and at three-quarter-time we said to the players we need to score. We weren't going to hang on to the game because they (West Coast) were coming with a rush. We still turned the ball over too much and there are a lot of areas of our game that we can work on, but generally the messages we put out there were carried out reasonably well. As I said to the players last week, 'It's about the footy club, it's not about me'. I come in and I'm lucky enough to do this role. If they can keep focusing on what they can do for the team, this footy club will move forward at a rate of knots."
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Hawthorn 3.3 6.5 7.7 7.9.51
Very good win for the Lyin's in cold, windy Tassie. Horforn's better ball-use in the first half had them ahead but after half-time Brisbun dominated possession. From the start of the third quarter to halfway through the last, the Hawks had seven inside-fifties. By then, the Lisbon Brians led by six goals and the game was over. Those concerned by injuries and substitutes could ponder a few things; the Brians played the second half with 20 men but out-scored the reigning premiers by ten goals to one. The Hawks complain about injuries but, apart from Cyril Rioli, no important Awk was missing here. Don't give me Trent Croad. You could argue a few Horks aren't fully fit, I guess, but the fact is Horforn are not playing well. Their president agrees, Kennett apologizing for and delivering sharp criticism of this effort on the club's website the next day. Comparisons are being made with the Essadun sides of 1993/4. The Orc side here didn't have Rioli (hamstring) or the league's youngest player Liam Shiels ('flu), but Campbell Brown returned along with Thomas Murphy. The Lyin's called up Jason Roe to help out with their defender-crisis and Troy Selwood returned, they replaced injured Josh Drummond (calf strain) and the dropped Travis Johnstone.
No rain but a stiff, icy breeze in Launceston. Wary of their under-manned back-lines and the opposition's power forwards, both teams had an extra man in defence, the Lyin's two at times. The Awks had Campbell Brown at full-back on Dan Bradshaw and Luke Hodge against Lyin' Jonathan Brown, although Robert Campbell was back there as the extra man and the Brisbun Brown was usually double-teamed. At the other end Brisbun had Lachie Henderson on Jarryd Roughead and Jason Roe against Buddy Franklin, with Jed Adcock as the extra man in the 'hole'. Luke Power was down there a bit, too. What it meant was the ball being locked at one end of the ground or another for lengthy periods, with both scoring and clearing difficult amongst all the congestion. The Hawks started with the aid of the steady, if diagonal wind, but the Lyin's managed the opening goal. Hawk Beau Muston threw the ball right in front of the ump and Lyin' Michael Rischitelli punted the resulting free-kick to the goal-square, Awks Simon Taylor and Tom Murphy towered over Lyin' Rhan Hooper but Taylor managed to drop the mark comically and Hooper bagged the roving major. A Daniel Rich shot hit the post as the Lyin's controlled the opening ten minutes. Hawk
The Awks led by 5 points at the first break and they moved ahead a bit in the second term, despite kicking against the breeze. Dew saw an early shot blown off-target, a bit later Hodge's good mark on the defensive wing and a smart switch-of-play saw Mitchell kicking into CHF, Williams read the breeze-inhibited punt best to mark and boot his third sausage already. Hooper missed twice for Brisbun, including a poster from 20m. The Orcs manufactured a good move from the kick-in of that, they had some luck in the centre when Bateman's aimless handpass-while-tackled was collected by Campbell who passed for leading
The Brians struggled along to 3.11 early in the third Mario, following misses from Polkinghorne and Power. At the other end Roughead blasted a shot into the post. But the Lyin's midfielders were winning more of the ball than their Hawforn opponents. Hooper roved Brown's contest on the forward-flank and finessed a bit before hooking a kick back towards retreating Brown, Campbell spoiled but Rischitelli roved at pace and ran clear to snap it through. The Hawks managed a reply from a throw-in on the wing, handballs from Lewis and Sewell put Dew into space and The Tubby One's running shot from just outside 50 carried through for a major. The Orcs led by 12 points and Brisbun lost another player, ruckman Mitch Clark with a thigh problem. He limped back on briefly later, but didn't do much. Brisbun began to finally convert possession into points late in the stanza, led by their captain. Firstly, Jonathan Brown ripped the ball free of a ball-up, twisted clear and snapped a great goal. A bit later Orc defenders Murphy and Muston managed to spoil each-other in a marking contest, Rischitelli gathered and lobbed a high kick which Brown marked, with the aid of a decent, un-penalized shove into Hodge's back. Brown goaled again, putting the Lyin's in front. Hawk
Brisbun's captain Jonathan Brown (18 disposals, 6 marks, 5 goals - no misses) was the match-winner in the end but some great work was done by Simon Black (29 touches) and Jared Brennan (19 disposals, 4 marks, 12 hit-outs) before and during that, looks like Brennan might have to carry the ruck for a while. Michael Rischitelli (20 possessions, a goal) was very handy as a small forward and Luke Power (36 touches, 8 marks, 10 tackles) was very busy as usual, before being injured Mitch Clark (13 disposals, 4 marks, 18 hit-outs, a goal) was handy and Justin 'The Shermanator' Sherman (29 touches, 2 goals) did a bit. Kudos to Lachie Henderson on Roughead too, although the Hawk man had limited chances. Brad Sewell (28 disposals, 5 marks, a goal) and Sam Mitchell (31 touches, 6 marks, 10 tackles) worked hard for the Hawks, but they didn't have much help. Jordan Lewis (32 possessions, 8 marks) started well but faded, blokes like Bateman, Tuck, McGlynn and Xavier Ellis had very little influence, although Ellis (33 handlings, 9 marks) did see a lot of the ball. Michael Osborne (18 touches, 5 marks) did a bit and Campbell Brown (17 touches, 6 marks) played well at full-back, holding Bradshaw goal-less. Mark Williams (9 disposals, 5 marks) bagged 3 goals. "They smashed us for clearances; they smashed us for inside 50s, they smashed us for hardness at the footy. They taught us a footy lesson," said Clarkson. "We just weren't good enough in the second half and they showed us they're obviously a very good football side . . . If the ball's quickly spread from clearances and goes into the opposition half, you're just waiting for the dam wall to break really, and that's what happened. I put that influence down to the significance of
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Steady rain and wind and Norf's committed flooding made hard work for the Camrys, but Adderlayed kicked away in the end to win and climb to fifth, for the time being. Norf suffered more injury problems and have a long road ahead this season, although captain Brent 'Boomer' Harvey should return after the mid-season break. Hardly the ideal circumstances for Roo Adam Simpson to celebrate his 300th game. The Roo pack-warrior and keen amateur film-maker has been a great player for Norf. There's been a bit of debate about Dean Laidley's future as North coach, it's easy to mock his oddly naïve public performances but footy people claim he's a very good coach. Does Laidley lower expectation though, in order to magnify his successes? In pickin' here the Corollas had some trouble themselves, with Simon Goodwin (knee), Graham 'Stiffy' Johncock and Richard Douglas ('flu for both) unavailable following the high-scoring win over the Bommers. Goodwin was actually injured early in that game, something I overlooked. Replacements were Brent Reilly, Jared Petrenko and tagger Robert 'Don't Call Me' Shirley. Norf lost Ben 'Milky' Warren (fractured cheekbone), Matt Campbell (hamstring), Daniel Wells (ongoing hip/groin trouble) and Sam Wright (knee) from the Stinkilda game, and David Hale was a late withdrawal - when Laidley saw the weather, probably. Kanga replacements were experienced men Daniel Harris and Corey Jones, juniors Lachy Hansen and Jack Ziebell and first-gamer Cruize Garlett, a rookie-listed small forward from
Windy 'n' wet, but not really wild at
Not much changed into the third Mario. The Camrys started it without the luckless Brent Reilly, a hamstring problem. Some more early attacking from the
Truly a team effort for the Camrys with Scott Thompson (31 disposals) and the very good wingman David Mackay (24 touches) probably the midfield stand-outs. No doubt Jason Porplyzia (20 possessions, 4 marks, 3 goals) was important in attack while running defenders Nathan Bock (19 touches, 6 marks, a goal), Brad Symes (25 handlings, 7 marks) and Andy Otten (20 disposals, 9 marks) were all important. Further afield Tyson Edwards (19 handlings, 5 marks, a goal) and Michael Doughty (31 possies, 7 marks) were pretty useful. Norf battlers Michael Firrito (22 disposals) and Adam Simpson (19 touches, 4 marks) worked very hard to win the ball for their side, they had trouble doing much with it, though. Brady Rawlings (20 touches, 5 marks) was in that category, too. Ruckman Hamish McIntosh (20 touches, 6 marks, 23 hit-outs) played well and backmen Nathan Grima (20 possies, 7 marks) and Scott Thompson (16 handlings, 7 marks) weren't bad. Laidley had the weight of the world upon him. "One man down again," Laidley reflected. "We have played twelve games and finished ten of those with twenty-one men, but it is still not an excuse not to run out the game like that . . . 60-odd possessions to 100-and-something in the last quarter (126-69) . . . Our intensity and our fight were super, but we turned over the ball at critical times when we had some good space, and our forward line was not functioning at all. It's a concern because I've felt apart from the
Ladder after part-Round 12
Pts. % Next Week
St. Kilda 48 173.6 Bye
Footscray 32 123.9 Bye
Collingwood 24 107.7
Hawthorn 24 94.9 Bye
------------------------------------------------
Port
Essendon 20 94.0 Melbourne (Docklands, Fri. night)
West Coast 12 86.9 Bye
Fremantle 12 79.7
Cheers, Tim.
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