St Kilda 7.7.49 Defeated Western Bulldogs 6.10.46
Less than a total of 100 points kicked in a game of football. You could say the defences were on top except for a short period of about 5 minutes in the last quarter during which the Saints basically doubled their score and won by a nose. Giansiracusa played another great game for the Bulldogs and Montagna and Hayes racked up possessions midfield for the Saints. For those football lovers who live between Port Augusta and Norseman I am sure the TV stations apologise for not providing a telecast at a reasonable time. The Saints are at 5 – 1 but the Western Bulldogs are now at 3 – 3 for the early part of the season which is disappointing considering they were being touted as premiership possibilities. The Saints still are formidable opposition without Reiwoldt.
North Melbourne 15.14.104 Defeated Melbourne 12.6.78
The Demon’s bubble was burst rather surprisingly, for some, by North who have won 3 of their last 4 - as has Melbourne. The games between those teams in the middle of the ladder are proving difficult to pick. After a tight first quarter North kicked away by 5 goals by half time. Melbourne supporters got excited in the 3rd quarter as the Demons came back with a 6 goals to 2 goal effort and a 14 point deficit going into the last was well within their capabilities. But you have to hand it to North Melbourne who kept at it and outscored the Dees in the last to win by 26 points. Green was the best forward for Melbourne with 4 and Wright and Hale kicked 3 for the Shinboners.
Port Adelaide 14.13.97 Defeated Adelaide 10.14.74
Well the game was anybody’s heading into the last quarter but the Crows were able to show us just why they will be hard to pick to win more than a few games this year. The Power looks a little tougher this season and with almost a handful of wins it looks like they might take Adelaide’s place in the Finals. It was an Adelaide home game and the home ground support seemed to lift the Crows and at the start of the last quarter they were in with a chance. Most of that crowd started leaving the ground 15 minutes later as the Power kicked 6 goals to 1 in the last quarter. Self belief is just not there for Adelaide and with 0 – 6 the coaching team and supporters must be wondering how this team will win a game in the season. All is not lost because the Crows will play Richmond eventually. Tippett and Porplyzia kicked 3 each for Adelaide and Robbie Gray chipped in with 5 for Port. Scott Stevens kicked 1.6 for Adelaide. Maybe a reason to hang a loss on...??
Essendon 15.16.106 Defeated Hawthorn 9.9.63
Essendon has maintained the form of this season that sees teams thrashed one week but go on to win the following week. Inconsistent form by the Bombers indeed but it has been really consistent stuff by the Hawks who continue to lose. Essendon, who don’t boast the greatest backline in the competition, kept the Hawks scoreless in the final quarter. Buddy Franklin had already kicked 5 for his team so his job was done but Clarkson and Hawthorn have got some serious problems. They beat Melbourne in the first game and have not won since. The Essendon form is puzzling to say the least. Impossible to pick them to win at times but unbeatable in a couple of games this year are the Bombers. Hurley booted 4 for Essendon.
Sydney 16.11.107 Defeated Brisbane 13.9.87
The Swans are playing very good football and at the moment it is an act of stupidity to tip against them. The Lions have now lost 2 in a row so for Voss and his boys it’s a reality check. Sydney will reward their outgoing coach with a place in the finals. Their form was irresistible in the first half during which they had built what proved to be an unbeatable lead. Bradshaw welcomed his former team mates back with 3 goals in the first quarter and 6 for the game – that’s two weeks in a row. The Brown Fevola kicked 8 but this was just not enough. Bolton, Goodes and Jack played well for the Swans but it was a great team effort.
Geelong 24.17.161 Defeated Richmond 7.11.53
Some say the game was over at the end of the first quarter. It was over as soon as the bus carrying the Richmond team turned onto the Geelong freeway to head down to Skilled stadium. 7 goals to 2 points in the first quarter and I think the few Tiger supporters, the real masochists amongst them, had their gloves and boots off to work out the possible goal deficit that might greet them at the end of the game. Podsiardly, Johnson and Mooney all kicked 5 for the Cats and remember Ablett and Scarlett were not playing. Geelong lost to the Blues last week, today was a walk in the park, next week they play an in-form Sydney Swans. The Tigers really need to start looking at being a tad more competitive in their remaining games because they are beginning to lose all credibility as an AFL team.
Collingwood 24.11.155 Defeated Carlton 16.6.102
The Pies kicked almost as high a score as Geelong, but the Magpies were playing Carlton, not Richmond. It was a great win against reasonable opposition in front of 80,000 at the MCG.The result was a speed hump for the Blues but a day of glory for Collingwood. Apart from an even first quarter it was pretty well the Pies after that. They led at every change and finished with an almost 9 goal win and a very impressive score line. Judd had 39 touches for the Blues but when you lose by 53 points it’s kind of academic and I am sure Chris would agree. Dawes, Ball and Medhurst all kicked 3 each for Collingwood while O’Halpin booted 5 for the Blues and Eddie Betts chipped in with 3. There was just a handful of Carlton supporters left half way through the last quarter as Collingwood pressed home its advantage and added a bit of percentage.
Fremantle 17.9.11 Defeated West Coast Eagles 10.13.73
Close all day but Fremantle are showing some great last quarter form this season. The Dockers are really looking like finals material and the Eagles are looking like football fodder. This was a real tough derby game with both teams giving it everything they had in the first 3 quarters but in the last it was all Freo. They slammed on 7 goals to West Coast’s 2 and it was game over. This aspect of their game has been one of the biggest changes to Fremantle’s style of footy – their last quarter. Pav kicked 5 goals for the Dockers alongside Johnson who contributed 3 which, for their half back was a pretty good effort??? Kennedy remains a rock of consistency for West Coast up forward and even though they added Lynch to the side he can’t win the game off his own boot. The Eagles are looking at a 3rd consecutive year out of the finals but on the other hand Freo look like genuine final 8 material.
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