AFL Review Round 2
Brisbane 16.11.107 Defeated Carlton 12.16.88
The result may have been what was predicted by the experts and the betting odds but the result was in doubt until well into the final quarter. When the Blues snuck ahead in the 3rd quarter, a term in which they added 7 goals to the Brisbane Lions’ 2, the general consensus was that Brisbane would not have the legs to finish the game. Nobody told Carlton that they needed to mind Jonathon Brown who turned on exhibition of centre half forward play reminiscent of Wayne Carey at his best. Brown finished with 7 goals for the match and add that to Fevola’s 3 goals and again this week the Brisbane forward combo kicked more than half the Lions score. O’Halpin surprised by kicking 4 goals for the Blues but Eddie Betts had 4 costly misses. At half time Carlton had 14 scoring shots against 11 scoring shots to Brisbane and were 22 points down. It took Carlton about 7 minutes to level the score in the 3rd quarter and kick on to have a handy 7 point lead. A 6 goal last term by the Lions, Brown kicking 3, put paid to a Carlton upset. Murphy had 34 possessions for Carlton to be their best but BOG had to be Brown who virtually led the Lions to victory in the last.
Collingwood 12.14.86 defeated Melbourne 12.13.85
Not listed as a blockbuster due to their relative positions this game was heart attack material for both Melbourne and Collingwood supporters. I reckon Malthouse is still scratching his head wondering how the Pies got away with the win. I am. The Demons were irresistible in the first term and it was hard to recognise these players as the same guys that came out against the Hawks in round 1 last week. If only Petterd had held the mark with 7 seconds to go. The lad had kicked 4 for the game but he just could not hold on in that desperate last second to make it 5 and win the game for the Dees. Punters would have taken Collingwood at 35 plus points to win this match and it was only a patch of Leon Davis brilliance from another Demon turnover that gave the Pies the 1 point lead which they hung on to. Umpiring was noticeable because of a number of confusing (dare we say ‘wrong’) decisions but it was probably even for both sides. Beames and Pendlebury kept the Pies in the contest while Collingwood forwards Didak, Cloke, Anthony and Medhurst had a dirty day. Petterd and Green for Melbourne were their best score contributors and Davey was a livewire around the ground. Jamar was the dominant ruckman and it must be a bit disappointing for the Pies who recruited Jolley from Sydney but he has not made a great impression yet. A lot of skill errors, plenty of turnovers but a close, exciting game.
Port Adelaide 13.11.89 Defeated West Coast Eagles 12.14.86
The Power has started the season with two wins, this game against the Eagles a great effort, while West Coast have fallen to zip two after 2 rounds. A loss at home against a mediocre team is a very poor result for the Eagles and might be one they rue at the end of the season. The game was littered with errors and poor skills, particularly West Coast whose players just could not hit their mark with kicks to position. Until West Coast can improve that part of their game they could be in for a long and unsuccessful season – a bit like last year. Port won much of the contested ball particularly in the last quarter when it mattered and somehow Davenport was always in the right position to kick the goal. The end result was just a 3 point margin but even with 5 minutes to got the result was written in stone. Forward problems at West Coast were exacerbated with the puzzling exclusion of Lynch. The reason? He had been playing in the ruck and had forgotten how to play up forward and needed to re-learn that skill. Go figure. One thing that was obvious to West Coast supporters was that not playing Lynch was a huge mistake. The Eagles had 60 inside 50’s to Port’s 37. Natanui was great in the ruck and around the ground and while not dominant his footy nous is a treat to watch. Kennedy for West Coast was a good target when they kicked accurately to him and he finished with 4 goals. The Power has set up the season well with two early wins and the Eagles will struggle to make the finals based on that performance at home.
St Kilda 23.5.143 Defeated North Melbourne 6.3.39
Welcome to the AFL Brad Scott. This match was like watching Sunday metro football where one team dominates the whole game and kicks an embarrassing score against the mild opposition. The Saints kicked the first 10 goals of the game! North didn’t trouble the scorers until the second quarter! Reiwoldt kicked 7 for the Saints, that was enough to win the game off his own boot. North Melbourne coach Scott stated after the game, amongst other things no doubt: “ I’ll be interested to see how we respond next week.” Amen to that.
Sydney 18.10.118 Defeated Adelaide 11.9.75
Here’s another game that was over by half time. Sydney was totally dominant and the game was played mostly in eerie silence as the Crow supporters had nothing to yell about. Ryan O’Keefe for Sydney played a blinder with 29 possessions and 3 goals. It was nice to see Seaby make a reasonable showing after being given limited opportunities with the West Coast Eagles. Just put this down to another tip gone wrong and a game in which I lost interest at half time. The season for Adelaide is heading down the gurgler.
Fremantle 17.11.113 defeated Essendon 9.15.69
Fremantle had not won in Melbourne for 3 years, they hadn’t beaten Essendon away for 9 years and yada yada yada. It was obviously a weekend for records to be broken so the Dockers went out in this game and in a last quarter burst shot the Bombers out of the sunny Melbourne sky. The curtain got stuck when Essendon fans unveiled the Matthew Lloyd stand at Etihad and the curtain came down on a poor last quarter by the Bombers. Michael Barlow for Fremantle continued on from where he left off last week with another 30 plus possession game. It was a tight contest up to three quarter time but in the last session Freo kicked 6 goals to Essendon’s 2 points to run out comfortable winners by 44 points and place themselves in 2nd position on the ladder after 2 rounds!! The local newspapers are running amuck with Fremantle headlines and did you know that the odds for the Dockers to win the premiership has been cut from $110 to $34? Amazing! Personally I don’t think they’ll win the flag. Reality bites next week – they play Geelong albeit at home.
Western Bulldogs 17.18.120 defeated Richmond 7.6.48
Another inglorious defeat for the Tigers and although it was expected it is certainly turning into a disastrous season for them. Two new coaches in Hardwicke and Scott are learning their trade the hard way with both their teams sitting last and second last on the ladder. This game also was over by half time and the last two quarters were played simply to determine the final margin. It was a 12 goal defeat for Richmond this week and a 10 goal loss last week. It’s doubtful the Tigers will beat Melbourne this year. The Bulldogs rebuilt a bit of pride in this game after a surprise loss to the Magpies last week. Gilbee, Cross, Cooney and Akermanis stood out for the Bullies while Morton kicked 3 for the Tigers in a total return of 7 so his efforts were pretty good. Johnson did not play his 350th due to the calf injury that has kept him out for a couple of weeks already.
Geelong 14.16.100 defeated Hawthorn 13.13.91
This was the game of the round so it was a monty that neither a direct nor a Foxtel telecast would grace our TV screens. And so it was. By all accounts it was a great game of footy with pressure, turnovers, acts of courage, poor kicking for goal, the game had the lot. The experts that say Geelong will struggle to play in another grand final might have to eat their words because the Cats came out after half time facing a 4 goal deficit against a good team like Hawthorn and over the next two quarters ground out an unlikely win. Roughead and Franklin kicked 6 between them while Cam Mooney and Byrnes kicked 7 for the Cats. Bartell was back to his Brownlow form and the Hawks captain Mitchell played made his usual, strong contribution. Melbournites love their footy and this was clearly evident when 70,000 fans went to watch the game at the MCG and were treated to a great game.
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