AFL Elimination and Qualifying Finals

You should see the bus carrying the Essadun premiership team some time
this week, travelling down your street on their Tour of Victory. The
other big winner of week one was the new finals sytem itself, a much
better deal.

The 2000 All-Australian Team was announced on Monday:
B: Damien Hardwick (Ess), Dustin Fletcher (Ess), Andrew Kellaway (Rich)
HB: Andrew McKay (Carl), Darren Gaspar (Rich), Simon Goodwin (Adel)
C: Scott Camporeale (Carl), Brett Ratten (Carl), Scott West (Foot)
HF: Andrew McLeod (Adel), Wayne Carey (NM), James Hird (Ess)
F: Michael O'Loughlin (Syd), Matthew Lloyd (Ess), Jeff Farmer (Melb)
Foll: Steven King (Geel), Anthony Koutoufides (Carl), Nathan Buckley
(Coll)
Inter: Mark Ricciuto (Adel), Brent Harvey (NM), Lance Whitnall (Carl),
Brad Johnson (Foot)

Eleven players were picked for the first time. The most contentious
selection was Simon Goodwin, who did have a pretty good year and on a
broader scale of three players from a side that finished eleventh with
nine wins (the Crows). No-one would argue with McLeod, but Ricciuto's
form dropped off after mid-year. Unluckiest to miss out was Melbourne
midfielder Adem Yze, indeed the side finishing third on the ladder had
just the one player. And if you were picking a centre half-forward
purely on form in 2000 then Whitnall would edge out Carey. At the
presentation dinner Carlton president John Elliott continued what's been
a vintage year for him, swallowing copious amounts of ale before
fondling the wife of an AFL Players' Association executive, then
verbally abusing Fremantle coach Damien Drum, believing him to be an AFL
Commisioner. Carry on Johnny.

The Morrish Medal, for the best and fairest in the VSFL Under-18
competition, was won by Calder Cannon rover David Rodan. Rodan was born
in Fiji and played both rugby union and footy until recently when he
decided on footy. Over at the Crows captain Mark Bickley and
vice-captain Nigel Smart both resigned their positions.

At Colonial:
Geelong   3.4   6.5    9.9   12.11.83
Hawthorn  4.2   6.3   11.5    14.8.92

The late Nineties saw Hawthorn score a series of narrow wins over the
Cats, mainly at Kardinia Park in the rain. Different conditions here but
a similar result as the Horks held on for survival in a rugged,
see-sawing game. Sad elimination for Geelong who spent the entire season
in the eight. But looking back to the end of last season when their
coach and captain quit, Mick Mansfield was traded for a draft pick and
the club was almost crushed by debt, they've ended up alright. Two
changes for the Cats in selection, veteran forward Barry Stoneham
recalled for his last game, as it eventuated, along with half-forward
Adam Houlihan from injury. Cameron Mooney missed with a shoulder problem
while Marcus Baldwin was dropped. The Horks regained defender Luke
McCabe from injury, junior Brett Johnson made way.

Colonial's last game of its debut year ended typically. The grass had
been cut short and heavily watered ahead of some international cricket
on Wednesday and players slipped over all night, a disgrace. And the AFL
won't have full control of the stadium until 2030. Geelong began the
better as the nervy Hawks made plenty of mistakes. They slipped over
more often and were the victims of aggressive early umpiring, two bawwl
decisions enabling the Cats to go forward where Darren Milburn kicked a
point. Hawk backman Jade Rawlings's kick-in was picked off by Cat Peter
Riccardi, he sent it back for full points. The Horks were on the board
when Daniel Harford found Mark Graham in a fair amount of space, he
dobbed it. But relentless Cat tackling and more Horforn errors saw the
Cats move ahead. David Mensch and Houlihan missed shots before a long
Riccardi kick panicked Hawk elder Paul Salmon into an attempted
defensive soccer, he missed it and Houlihan volleyed it through.
Riccardi created the next goal too, a very good centering kick for
leading Clint Bizzell to mark and convert. Catters by 15 points and the
Horks looked troubled, but the move of Dan Harford into the middle fired
'em up. First Shane Crawford marked a clearing Cat punt and helicoptered
it into the goalsquare where John Barker roved and goaled. Riccardi
postered for the Geelers before Hawk Daniel Chick gathered, wheeled and
speared a pass to Anthony Rock, he majored. At the following centre
bounce Salmon tapped perfectly to Harford who raced clear and passed for
leading Barker, he marked and goaled so the Hawks led at the first
break. The Mayblooms' run extended into the second term, Trent Croad
burst forward from CHB and hit Nathan Thompson on the lead, he punted
the Horks 10 points up. Thompson the Cat coach switched his Ben Graham
forward but Graham's first shot at the sticks fell short, then Hawk Glen
Bowyer curled an absurdly brilliant running banana from the boundary
between the big posts. Hawthorn out to a 17-point lead. Bench usage
changed the balance of power as the Cats introduced Stoneham, speedy
rover David Spriggs and tough-nut Paul Chapman. Meanwhile the Hawks
benched Salmon - he had a hip injury and took little part thereon - and
the busy Tony Woods. Ben Graham and Stoneham battled tenaciously to set
up a goal for Spriggs, Chapman copped a high tackle - one of a series -
and converted the free kick into a sausage, Spriggs punted forward for
Bizzell to reel in a one-handed mark and boot the Cats ahead by
half-time.

By the third stanza the gods favoured the Hawks again, with their A-team
back on the ball. Chick was happy to see a throw-in clear the pack and
bounce into his arms, he ran away and speared the Hawks back into the
lead. Their Ben Dixon had done little except concede free kicks, a Dixon
shot sprayed out on the full but team-mate Nick Holland marked the Cat
free and passed for a sausage to Woods, now the Hawkers led by 9 points.
Geelong icon Garry Hocking reversed the trend with an inspired spell,
firstly pinching a Hawk handpass and spearing a team-lifting goal. Cat
David Wojcinski sped clear from the restart, his kick didn't really go
anywhere but eventually they got a goal out of it, to Milburn. It put
the Cats ahead again and Mensch extended the gap to 9 points with a nice
piece of roving to Bizzell. Geelong had a decent spell but not enough
scoreboard reward, the Hawks soaked up the pressure until they managed a
break-out, Barker held a good grab and hooked a pass nicely for Crawford
to mark and convert. Barker kicked his own goal from a subsequent grab
and Horforn were in front again. A couple of poor Jahlong mistakes
allowed another Hork goal before the final break. Milburn pushed Woods
to the turf as Jason Snell drove the ball into their attacking
goalsquare, Woods's free was intercepted by Cat Glen Kilpatrick but his
cross-field pass set up team-mate Brad Sholl to be ridden and speccied
upon by Crawford. Crawford's kick was marked by Dixon in the goalsquare,
Hoks by 8 at the last break.

The Cats scored a sausage from the opening bounce of the last quatrain,
Riccardi to Hocking with a handpass and Buddha's kick was marked by
Mensch, gol. Dixon wasted a good Hawforn build-up with a poor kick as
the Hawks looked fresher. Exhausted Cat (and All-Australian) ruckman
Steven King was parked in a back pocket, Hocking was similarly slowed
and soon benched. Crawford kicked a key goal, milking a momentary hold
from Wojcinski for a very soft free kick, then copping a 50m penalty
when the teenage Cat didn't return the ball directly. Milburn dropped a
grab in the teeth of goal before Dixon managed a great goal for the
Hawks. He spoiled at a boundary-line contest, was lucky enough to
recover and sweep the ball up before it trickled out and curl a superb
shot inside the near post. A 16-point lead to the Hawkers. Ben Graham
shuffled forward again for the Cats. They fought back again, a
magnificent diving spoil by Kilpatrick, in which Oysters hurt himself,
led to Riccardi booting a running sausage. Houlihan roved at a throw-in
and chipped the ball backwards to the very quiet Ronnie Burns, he
steered an excellent shot home and the Hawks led by 3 points. But the
elusive Barker steadied the Hawks, Rock did very well to avoid traffic
and spoon a very short pass to Barks, they led by 9 points with three
minutes remaining. Hocking trotted back on, Burns pounced on a
half-chance but missed, a Dixon shot was rushed through as the Hawks ran
the clock down and won.

John Barker was playing his first final after being one of the
unemployed at Fitzroy's end and he proved very difficult for the Cats to
contain. Barker booted 4 goals from 9 marks and 12 kicks, beating Tim
McGrath and Matthew Scarlett. Blonde wingers Glen Bowyer (23 disposals,
a goal) and Raydon Tallis (18 kicks) were very good and there similarly
solid midfield efforts from Daniel Chick (20 disposals, a goal) and
prolific Tony Woods, who had 31 touches and a goal, although Woodsy
wastes a bit of it. Backman Luke McCabe did the job on Burns, keeping
him to one goal. Shane Crawford (18 touches, 2 goals) and Dan Harford
(20 possies, 7 in the first quarter) contributed handy cameos, both
spent a lot of time in the forward line. Nathan Thompson's effort in the
ruck played a part after half-time, he ended with 21 touches, 8 marks
and a goal. Ben Dixon kicked 2 goals. Hard to find a Cat who played a
solid four quarters, oldies Garry Hocking (26 disposals, a goal) and
inspirational Peter Riccardi (19 possessions, 2 goals) were their best
with 11 of Riccardi's touches coming in the first half. David Spriggs
fired 'em up when he came on and ended with 16 handlings and a goal,
Brad Sholl (17 touches, 7 marks) worked hard down back. Plenty of
touches for midfielders Darren Milburn (23, a goal) and Jason Snell (24)
but Milburn in particular wasted it a bit. Forwards Clint Bizzell and
David Mensch kicked 2 goals each, Mensch took 6 marks. Tom Harley did
alright on Holland. Cat coach Mark 'Bomber' Thompson said "We were in it
all the way to the end. We missed some easy shots on goal and they were
kicking them from everywhere, from the boundary line...there were lots
of little mistakes." And some not so little. Fellow first-year coach
Peter Schwab said "It was a good game, a tough game, and we just held in
there all night and just managed to keep our nose in front at the
finish. It was very satisfying. We can get more out of blokes like
Holland and Croad..."

At the MCG:
Essendon         9.1   15.6   25.9   31.12.198
North Melbourne  4.2    6.3    9.4    11.7.73

Did they get the Cup a couple of weeks ago? Was it handed over? Perhaps
the Bombers could go on their end-of-season trip now. If each Bummer
drinks his own weight in tequila every day for the next three weeks, the
Grand Final might be competitive. This scary shredding of the reigning
premiers broke the record for highest score in a final, all sorts of
club records for greatest winning/losing margins etc. and Matty Lloyd
got the six he needed for his ton. In picking the Bombers recalled all
the stars, Mark Mercuri, James Hird, John Barnes, Damien Hardwick and
(ahem) Dean Wallis. Outgoing Bombers were Mark Bolton, Mark McVeigh, Jon
Robran, Sean Denham and Michael Prior all discarded. Denham is retiring
at the season's end and round 22 was widely regarded as his final game,
a total of 180 with Geelong and Essendon. Denham was a very good rover
and tagger with both clubs, famed for his battles with Greg Williams.
Just one change for the Roos, Adam Lange dropped for lithe half-forward
Shannon Motlop.

Sheedy has been counting down the hours to the finals and with their
arrival the Dons blasted off. After Roo winger David King speared a very
good goal from the boundary to open the scoring, the Dons rammed through
five without a miss in seven minutes. Didn't see the first three of them
but Joe Misiti and Jim Hird were involved. Saw Lloydy kick the fourth
and fifth. The Dons were slaughtering Norf at the centre bounce, Barnes
wasn't out-tapping Matthew Burton or Corey McKernan so much but Misiti
or Justin Blumfield kept clearing it. Bommer Mark Johnson departed early
with a shoulder injury but Paul Barnard came on to the wing and gathered
8 touches in the first quarter, on the other flank Adam Ramanauskas was
similarly prolific. All-Australian captain Wayne Carey started at CHF,
he hadn't had a touch at this stage and his first attempted kick was
aimed at opponent Dustin Fletcher's head. The Don run was broken by Roo
rover Peter Bell's gutsy head-on attack, it enabled Winston Abraham to
find King who weaved around a couple of tackles and booted his second.
Norf managed a centre clearance and Motlop steamed away but his long
shot missed. Handily Fletcher put the kick-in directly to King and he
scored another sausage, the Roos had clawed back to 10 points in
arrears. But the Dons scored another immediately. Carey reduced it to 10
again with his first kick, a free after being clattered by Dean Solomon
and receiving a 50m penalty for back-chat. At the restart there was some
hard, violent tackling until Barnard got the ball to Barnes, a handpass
to Misiti and he slotted. Barnes picked out Lloyd on the flank, he
centered for Hird to mark and convert, then Barnard and Mercuri combined
to set up Blake Caracella. Dons by 29 points at the first break. A rare
Bommer mistake allowed Motlop to sprint clear and pass for King to take
a diving mark and boot the first goal of the second stanza. Bell punted
'em into attack at the restart, Motlop was grabbed without the ball and
paid the free but he missed. The Roos trailed by 23 points and were
never as close again. Caracella sent the Dons forward where Hird roved
his own pack and passed for a Gary Moorcroft major. Misiti cleared the
next centre bounce, the ball spilled and Mick Long THREW it to Hird,
Gentleman Jim bagged another. Long was getting a bucket of kicks too, by
the way. The hits kept on comin' for the Kangas, Burton departed with
injury as did Byron Pickett, one of their few good performers so far.
Pickett limped back on but he couldn't run too well. Carey did well to
fight off Fletcher and Sean Wellman and get the ball to Brent Harvey for
a goal, Wellman responded by drifting forward to mark Barnard's wobbly
kick and boot a goal of his own. The next Don goal summed up the game,
North attacked into Pagan's Paddock but Ramanauskas outmarked Motlop, he
got the ball to Caracella on the wing, to Blumfield, ball hits Hird's
chest laces out and Jim booted his fifth. Another centre clearance and
this time Mercuri marked and sausaged. TV didn't bother showing us the
final Essadun goal of the half.

Three Dons combined to clear the bounce commencing the second half,
Solomon got the ball forward where a sharp interchange between Hird,
Long and Lloyd saw Lloydy snap truly. Dons by ten goals now. Roo David
King was reported in an off-the-ball incident for whacking Chris
Heffernan (cleared since). Norf got a goal, Shannon Grant with a good
mark of McKernan's centered punt and long set shot. But it was
exhibition time by now for the Dons, they made Norf look like a pathetic
rabble. A kick-in was moved swiftly to the goalsquare at the other end
for Mick Long to kick a goal and a mongrel Misiti punt wobbled through.
Rapid Harbourroo goals to King and McKernan, set up by King, briefly
reduced the gap to under ten goals again but Essadun kicked the next
seven before the final break. The only worry for them was Hird limping
off during the avalanche. His foot was sore from kicking the ball so
often. The Don bench players got involved, Jason Johnson, Steve Alessio,
Evil One. "The Dons' second-stringers would be stars in any other team,"
opined Robbo. Wayne Carey was benched at 3/4 time and didn't return, a
groin strain the official reason. He'd had 5 kicks and one mark. Anyway,
Lloyd snapped one of the seven so he commenced the final quarter needing
two more for the ton. They arrived quickly. Early on Long soccered the
ball into Moorcroft's path, he collected and found Lloyd well in front
of Mick Martyn. Number 99 sailed through and a minute later the ball
spilled free in the Don forward line after Hardwick's tackle on Pickett,
Long collected it and delivered to leading Lloyd once more. Straight
through from 25m and Matthew Lloyd became the first Essadun player to
boot 100 goals in a season since Geoff Blethyn in 1972. John Coleman's
the only other Don to achieve the feat. The usual ground invasion halted
the game for seven minutes and when we resumed Lloyd kicked another
goal. Evil One booted a couple as well as Essadun cantered past the the
30-goal mark. The only consolation for the Roos was David King, who
kicked two more goals giving him seven for the game.

The massacre began in the centre and Joe Misiti was brilliant in there,
ending with a mammoth 43 possessions (21 kicks, 22 handpasses) and
bagging 4 goals too, 3 in the first quarter. Guess I better stop bagging
him. Smokin' Joe was responsible for many of the Dons' 30 centre
clearances and was heavily involved around packs. Jim Hird kicked 5
goals before half-time, having 10 kicks and 6 marks in the same period.
Just the five touches after the long break as he had a rest, the leg
injury's a cork thigh. Mick Long used the ball superbly again with a
hefty 32 disposals and a goal, on the wings Adam Ramanauskas (19
disposals) and Paul Barnard (23, 9 marks) were very damaging to the
Roos, especially early. Justin Blumfield did well on the ball and up
forward for 23 touches, 8 marks and a goal. And I guess we'll mention
Lloyd, he kicked 7.3 from 9 marks and 21 disposals, giving poor ol' Mick
Martyn a bit of a hiding. Dustin Fletcher (17 possies) thrashed Carey
and there was so little for Damien Hardwick (18 touches) to do he spent
the last quarter on the forward line. Gary Moorcroft had 20 kicks and
booted 3 goals, Scott Lucas, Blake Caracella and Evil One booted 2 each.
Such was the Dons' dominance and willingness to share the ball that
every one of them had 10 or more disposals, apart from the injured Mark
Johnson. David King was far and away the best Kangaroo, kicking 7 goals
without a miss from 20 kicks with 4 marks. Jason McCartney attacked the
ball aggressively at CHB and had the better of Lucas, gathering 20
disposals and rover Peter Bell was similarly desperate, with 30
possessions. The rest were barely sighted. Denis Pagan didn't mince
words, again. "I thought the way we started, the first goal to David
King, with enthusiasm and keenness...but Essendon kicked the next three
and that quickly dissipated. If you look back now...during the game
you're hoping there's going to be some pride and some self-respect, that
the players were going to do something. It certainly wasn't the case. If
we've got ten individuals who want to play and ten individuals who
don't, so be it. I'm a great believer that you get what you deserve."
Kevin Sheedy reckoned "It was a day when our players got it right
together. I think we've been waiting for the finals. To be able to bring
five experienced players into the side, I thought was always going to
win this for us."

At the Gabba:
Brisbane   3.6   7.10   11.15   15.20.110
Footscray  3.3   5.7     7.13   10.16.76

Despite their past month of heroics the Bulldogs went out at the first
hurdle, beaten again in Brisbane. The Lions played a disciplined and
aggressive game, whether they can challenge the Melbourne teams in
Melbourne remains to be seen. In selection the Lions dropped forward Tim
Notting for midfielder Craig Bolton, playing his first game in weeks.
The Bulldogs regained ruckman/forward Luke Darcy after six weeks out
with a knee injury, also returning were Brad Johnson after suspension,
defender Kingsley Hunter from injury and tough half-back Josh Mahoney
was given a chance. Backman Mitch Hahn missed with an ankle injury while
Mark Alvey, Jim Plunkett and Paul Dooley were axed. Bulldog champ Tony
Liberatore played his 250th game while Lions Michael Voss and Nigel
Lappin played their 150th.

Pre-game speculation focussed on backline flooding, would the Bulldogs
do it and how would the Lions counter it? In the event Chris Grant lined
up in defence for the Dogs as part of a 'limited flood', Hunter began at
full-forward as he once did for the Dockers. Hunter kicked the first
goal, a free kick for high contact, a bit later Stephen Lawrence found
Jarrod Molloy, starting in attack again for Brisbane, he slotted one
from the flank. Fast and long attacking was the Lions' plan to break
down the Bullies, Daryl White ran forward with two bounces and passed
for Luke Power, he in turn found Al Lynch on the lead to boot the Lions
a goal ahead. Lynch kicked the next goal too, a strong mark from
Molloy's long kick. Brisbane by 12 points before an outbreak of poor
goalshooting, Simon Garlick and Brad Johnson missed simple shots for the
Bulldogs, a punt from Brisbun's Des Headland appeared to have gone
through prior to Dog Kretiuk punching it into the post, or so we
thought. Later a clear Bradshaw goal was disallowed by sight-impaired
field umpire Brett Allen, who thought it hit the post. No-one else did,
including the goal umpire. It was tough in the middle and Bulldog
Johnson was hammered by Steve Lawrence, forced off with concussion.
Molloy kicked consecutive points for Brizzy before a Rohan Smith bomb
reduced the margin to 8 points. More bad shots, from Jason Akermanis,
Bullies Trent Bartlett and Nathan Eagleton wasted some great lead-up
work. Bulldog Josh Mahoney had been selected specifically to play on
Akermanis and Liberatore was picking up Simon Black, both moves worked
well in the first half. Pup ruckman Scott Wynd marked the kick-in from
Eagleton's point and a series of handpasses ended with Simon Cox
sprinting down from half-back and dobbing a long goal. Early in the
second quarter Lion backman Chris Scott did a hamstring as he pursued
leading Hunter and departed for the evening. Pup full-back Matthew Croft
dropped the ball under pressure and Power goaled from the free kick, a
quick punt forward from Craig Bolton saw Lynch mark in front of Croft
and boot his third goal to put the Lyin's 13 points up. Michael Voss was
playing another blinder for Brisbane, he'd got the ball a huge 15 times
in the first quarter but his hospital handpass to Marcus Ashcroft set
the rover up to be flattened by Wynd and stagger off. Perhaps feeling
guilty, Voss snapped a superb left-foot goal from the middle of a pack
and the Lions led by 18 points. Chris Grant was sent forward by Wallace
and the Dogs clawed back, Simon Cox slotted a great major on his left
foot and the Pups cleared the restart, Grant marked and converted.
Brisbane by 6 points and they kicked four consecutive behinds, Power
with two of 'em, Dan Bradshaw and Shaun Hart the others, before Nigel
Lappin punted forward quickly for Power to clutch a great one-handed
mark in the goalsquare and boot it through.

Voss cleared the opening bounce of the second half, raced forward and
delivered to Molloy who marked on the edge of the goalsquare. As Voss
was congratulated by team-mates, Molloy booted the ball firmly into the
goalpost. That set the tone for a very lacklustre twenty minutes. Cox's
strong mark deep in defence set up the Dogs' best move, he played on,
found Liberatore in the middle, onto Grant and a chip over the top set
up Mahoney for a tap-through. Liberatore received a free kick at the
restart and the ball ended with Paul Hudson, but he missed. A bit later
Grant pounced as two Lions defenders made a mess of it and snapped the
Bulldogs within 3 points. A Hudson shot was touched through before Power
replied for the Lions thanks to good work from Lappin and Brett Voss.
There wasn't a goal scored for the next 12 minutes, steady drizzle
didn't help the skill level. The Lisbon Brians had more of the ball as
Black and Akermanis started to get involved but delivered it woefully to
their forwards, continually picking out Dog defenders Cox, Contessa or
Croft. When they did get it forward, points occurred. The Dogs were
struggling in attack with Justin Leppitsch heading a very good Brisbane
backline. Three Brisbane goals late in the quarter broke the game open,
firstly Lappin delivered accurately at last to Lynch on the lead, he
dobbed it. At the centre bounce Molloy crashed through Cox, Akermanis
booted long for Power to clutch a goalsquare chest mark. Power returned
the favour with some very good finessing and a pass to Akermanis, his
goal had Brisbane 26 points up at the last change. And two more Lion
goals early in the final stanza sealed the win, Bulldog defenders were
more concerned with their opponents than the ball allowing Power to
steal in and boot another sausage, Ashcroft (back on) won the pill at
the restart and Mick Voss punted their lead out to 38 points. Lyin's led
by 40 when the Bulldogs made a final effort, Hudson booted a rover's
goal, a strong Liberatore tackle forced a turnover for Garlick to
deliver to Bartlett on the lead, he booted a major. Lion Molloy twisted
his reconstructed knee in a tackle and went off, Brad Johnson returned
for the Dogs and his long kick was marked and converted by Grant. The
Puppies were 23 points down with 6 minutes remaining but Lynch stopped
their run with a massive 60m roost for a goal, Brett Voss kicked the
final sausage of the game. Retiring Bulldogs Scott Wynd and Steve
Kolyniuk were chaired off by their team-mates.

Brisbane centreman Michael Voss's outstanding recent form is due to his
being injury-free for the first time in a few years and he was very good
here once more, 36 disposals including 21 handpasses and 2 goals as Voss
threw himself into packs. His contribution was important as Black and
Lappin struggled. Small forward Luke Power has also had a very good
year, his bouyant skill carried him above the flood for 5 goals from 22
possessions with 6 marks. Power's third goal took him to 50 for the
season, a very good effort. More traditional forward Alistair Lynch, a
big, muscly bloke, also booted 5 goals without a miss (unusual for him),
taking 12 marks and having 18 kicks in the process as he pushed upfield
a bit. Down back Justin Leppitsch did very well against Grant and
several other opponents, ending with 28 disposals and 11 marks. He had a
run at full-forward in the third term but kicked 0.3. Chris Johnson's
rebounding from defence was excellent and ruckman Beau McDonald was
alright, Simon Black had 28 touches, mostly after half-time but a lot of
them were misdirected handpasses. Offenders in front of goal included
Molloy (1.4), Headland (0.3) and Leppitsch. For the Bulldogs half-back
Simon Cox was very good, taking 7 marks and pushing forward for 2 goals
from his 18 disposals. In the middle Tony Liberatore played strongly in
his milestone game, quelling Black and having 24 disposals of his own,
no doubt revelling in the loud booing accompanying his every touch. Josh
Mahoney did his job well on Akermanis, 18 disposals and a goal to Aker's
22 and a goal although Akermanis was influential after half-time. Chris
Grant worked hard for 3 goals from 10 kicks, 5 marks and wingers Rohan
Smith (21 touches, a goal) and Simon Garlick (23, 10 marks) were a
constant threat. In the middle there were plenty of possessions for
Scott West (26), Jose Romero (22) and half-back Nathan Brown (27), but
none of the three had much impact on the game, they mostly scrapped and
cancelled-out Ashcroft, Lappin and Hart respectively. So after a
summertime clean-out the Pups beat each of the top three, Carlton twice,
but their erratic form and injury-punctuated season ends in first-round
finals elimination again. Plough said "Injuries on the night and in the
latter half of the season really made it an uphill battle. We've really
been in a position all the second half of the year where we were
fighting to put fingers in the dykes (?) to try and come up with
different ways to get results. I think you've got to be realistic about
where we sit at this point in time." Lethal Leigh said of the Lions
"Great achievement to beat a team of the calibre of the Bulldogs. To
make the finals they had to beat both the top two sides that were
beating everybody, and that's just indicative of the quality they've
got, so when you triumph on an opposition like that, you can really feel
like you've done a job."

At the MCG:
Carlton    4.4   8.8   10.14   12.15.87
Melbourne  3.4   6.4    8.5     15.6.96

Haven't been able to trot out the "too old, too slow" line about Carlton
this year but Melbourne provided the opportunity as they overran the
Blues in the final quarter, with teenager Brad Green leading the way.
True, the Blues should have wrapped it up in the third quarter but
kicked too many points. Then the on-fire Aaron Hamill got hurt. But the
Dees stormed into a preliminary final and the Blues face the long road
home, via Essadun in a prelim again. Beforehand Carlton selected revered
ancient Craig Bradley but he didn't play, earning Darren Hulme a
reprieve. No change for the Dees.

The biggest crowd of the weekend, 75,570, saw Carlton begin quickly.
Lance Whitnall, opposed by Alistair Nicholson, took 3 marks and had 5
kicks in the first quarter, kicked a goal from a dubious grab in front
of Dee ruckman Jeff White. The Blues tackled hard and swept the ball
forward just as easily as last Sunday, reserve ruckman Mark Porter
booted a goal from a 50m penalty, then Porter's tough grab in the centre
and some hard tackling allowed Hulme to snap a goal. Carlton were 12
points up. Melbourne had a goal through a strong mark by David Neitz but
he was struggling against close attention from Glenn Manton and Silvagni
stopped David Schwarz. The Dees rallied when Adem Yze found centreman
Stephen Powell leading from a forward pocket, he goaled. At a throw-in
Bloo Scott Camporeale gathered and raced away, passed to Adrian Hickmott
who kicked to Matt Lappin for a goal. Schwarz dragged the gap back to 6
points at the first break with a mark over Silvagni, baulk around SoS
and sausage. Starting the second term Powell grabbed the ball from a
throw-in and snapped the scores level, then Dee midfielder Anthony
McDonald got the ball to passing defender Peter Walsh, Cameron Bruce
scooped Walsh's wobbly kick and handballed to Schwarz for an easy goal.
As he ran in Schwarz held the ball aloft, one-handed, then blasted it
through. TV's Mal Blight was angered by it and he had a point, taunting
the opposition when you're five goals up with 30 seconds to go is one
thing, a goal up a few minutes into the second quarter is another. From
the subsequent centre bounce Hickmott booted high into Carlton's forward
line, Whitnall outbustled Nicholson for a mark and goal to level the
scores again. Demon coach Neale Daniher switched Anthony Ingerson onto
Whitnall. Schwarz's action had ignited passions and it got very hot for
a while, until Ingerson dragged Bloo forward Brendan Fevola down, Fevola
chipped his free to Fraser Brown who pumped it through. Some exemplary
Camporeale roving got the ball to Lappin on the boundary 40m out, he
baulked around a Dee, had a bounce and steered it between the big posts
to put Carlton 12 points up. They were streaming forward now, Hulme
missed a shot before Andy McKay mopped up another failed Dee attack,
found Brett Ratten in the centre, he passed to Lappin and a high snap
sent Carlton 18 points clear. Blighty carpetted Schwarz again. The Dees
halted the trend with a bit of luck, an Yze set-shot fell short and wide
but Walsh was allowed to mark unopposed on the point-line. He lined up
uncomfortably but banana-ed it through. Silvagni limped off, briefly,
with a sore ankle as a superb tackle by team-mate Ryan Houlihan on Yze
should have led to a goal by Camporeale, but he missed.

Campo's miss on half-time set the pattern for the third quarter. Carlton
kicked two points to open the stanza before Whitnall and Lappin combined
to set up a goal for Ratten, Bluebaggers by 24 points. Hulme was
decapitated at the restart, his free kick went via Hamill to Whitnall
for a mark but the tubby bloodnut missed. Lappin behinded too as the
Bloos wasted their dominance. Daniher swung his team about, Brad Green
came off the bench to full-forward, Neitz shifted out to CHF and Schwarz
swapped in the ruck with Jeff White. Green accepted Guy Rigoni's pass
but pointered before Aaron Hamill, playing very well for Carlton,
grabbed the agget from a ball-up and speared it through. Blues by 31
points now. Melbun had to do something, quickly. Jeff Farmer had been on
the bench for a while but he returned and passed the ball to McDonald
for a badly-needed Dee goal. Carlton should have replied when Yze's
terrible kick from defence went straight to Camporeale, he passed to
Hamill but another behind resulted. Just before the final break Bruce
clutched a good grab for Melbun and passed to Schwarz, he delivered to
Green on the lead for a major. TV declined to show us Hamill getting
hurt, but he had blurred vision and wasn't there when the last quarter
started. Carlton kicked another point to lead by 21 at the last change.

And change it did. From the opening bounce of the last quarter McDonald
won a free kick, he passed to Steven Febey on the wing who booted long
where Green seized a strong pack grab. He goaled. Farmer's soccer-ahead
and handpass released attacking Febey, he delivered to Green again for
another Demon goal. They were 9 points down. Carlton hadn't been forward
yet, when they did manage an attack Fevola marked on the boundary line
but missed. McKay was on Green now and took to constantly elbowing the
teenager in the ribs, but with the next Demon thrust Green sped out and
applied a crunching tackle, another one by Schwarz on McKay saw the ball
spill and Bruce snap a sausage. Carlton by 4 points. At a throw-in
Schwarz scrambled the ball goalwards, Yze arrived to soccer-volley it
through and the Dee supporters erupted. They were in front. The frenzied
Dees went forward again from the centre-bounce, a terrific smother from
Schwarz led to Green snapping another sausage. Dees by 8. Simon Beaumont
went onto Green. From the restart the Dees charged forward once more,
Daniel Ward's kick was marked by the ubiquitous Green yet again but he
missed. At the other end Nicholson and Ingerson were spoiling like
zealots and Carlton had no roving, until at last Houlihan scooped a
loose ball and snapped a very good goal. Then Camporeale's excellent
vision found Hulme in plenty of space, he delivered to Whitnall on the
lead and the big Blue punted Carlton back in front, by 3 points. There
were about five minutes left. Silvagni went to full-forward for the
Blues but Melbourne cleared the centre again following Whitnall's goal,
Yze punted forward and Andrew Leoncelli snapped them ahead again. With
two minutes remaining Cam Bruce collected the ball from a throw-in and
hooked it through, sending the Dees 9 points clear. And they stayed
there 'til the end.

In less than a half Demon forward Brad Green booted 4 goals from 7 marks
and 9 kicks. He was muchly compared to Matthew Lloyd, Greeny kicks with
the left, has the same pudding-like countenance, isn't as tall but moves
a little more fluidly. Adem Yze played very well again, 26 disposals
with 22 kicks and a goal. He was very goodwin. Andrew Leoncelli had 7
touches in the last quarter, for a total of 26 with a goal and Greeny's
mate, sapling half-forward Cameron Bruce stood tall for 6 marks, 12
touches and 2 goals. Anthony Ingerson played stoically at the back,
credited with 18 'spoils' in the paper. In the last quarter Dave Schwarz
had 7 of his 16 possessions and he booted 2 goals overall. Midfielder
Stephen Powell was handy with 22 handlings and 2 goals. A big last
korter too from Daniel Ward, 7 disposals of his total of 19. Carlton
were well ahead for three terms before staggering into a hole. It's
because Braddles and Kouta were out, still. Matthew Lappin was very good
with 3 goals from 19 disposals with 7 marks and half-back Andy McKay was
omnipotent until destroyed by an 18-year-old, with 17 touches off
half-back. Glenn Manton did an excellent job on Neitz and Dean Rice
shackled Farmer. In the middle Scott Camporeale had 31 disposals
incorporating 26 kicks but missed all three shots at goal. Couldn't do
it last week, eh? Brett Ratten beat Dee mover Shane Woewodin with 27
touches and a goal to Woey's 14 handlings. Lance Whitnall thumped 3
goals from his 11 kicks and 8 marks, Aaron Hamill got the ball 18 times
and accepted 9 marks in three terms, he also kicked a goal. Silvagni (22
handlings, 8 marks) was alright. But lots of 'em played three quarters.
Dave Parkin was all bitter, 'cause they're finished. "Performance
indicators showed we were one-third better performed than them up to
three-quarter time. At no stage did we get a good result for our
work...and that's the story of the day." He blamed the bad goalshooting.
Daniher said "Carlton played better football for three quarters but were
not ble to put us away. We got a sniff in the last quarter and with a
young team hungry to achieve something, we got a roll-on. For Brad Green
to come on and kick four second-half goals really gave everyone a lift."
Let's all cheer for a Brisbane/Melbourne Grand Final.

Next Week:
North Melbourne v Hawthorn, MCG, Friday night.
Winner plays Melbourne in preliminary final.
Carlton v Brisbane, MCG, Saturday.
Winner plays Essendon in preliminary final.