AFL Round 4


Over summer Channel Seven lost the television broadcast rights for
footy, from next season a consortium of Channels Nine and Ten and the
cable provider Foxtel will be showing the game on TV. Many folks thought
that Seven would just go through the motions this year and provide a
cheap, no-frills service. Au contrere mon amis, Seven have clearly
decided to squeeze every last drop out of their ratings winner. There's
been an absolute poo-load of footy on TV in Melbourne so far, a bonanza
for coach potatoes everywhere. Of course, interstate Seven may have
quietly dropped its commitment, where the ratings are lower. I don't
know. But this past weekend in Melbourne, when horrendous weather forced
us indoors, there were four games shown in full and three others in
which at least half was shown. Huzzah Seven!

The off-field feuds, boring in a way, rumbled on. The Sheedy/Walls
confrontation on Talking Footy was a fizzer as both men proved
conciliatory. However soon Rob Walls landed in more trouble. A video
entitled "Passion To Play" is about to be released, it features an item
on former Brisbane player Shane Strempel. Strempel played for Brisbane
when Walls was coach there and from all reports was a bit of a tearaway
off the field, drinking, boozing and generally carousing and not
performing on the training track or during games. Walls decided to
remedy this at after training one night at the Bears' first home,
Carrara. Strempel was instructed to don boxing gloves and was surrounded
by a dozen teammates, who took turns to wear the other pair of gloves
and give Strempel a biffing. We learned about the incident from the
Herald-Sun, in its inimitable way. STOP IT OR WE'LL KILL HIM was the
screaming back-page headline, allegedly a quote from Brad Hardie which
ended the 'discipline' session and now Wallsy has to defend himself all
over again. Ah well.

Elsewhere club presidents got in on the "let's make a public goose of
ourselves" act. David Smorgon confirmed the Bulldogs would be suing
Tiger president Clinton Casey for defamation. Melbourne president Joe
Gutnick will be fined after making pre-hearing comments over a racial
vilification charge against David Schwarz (he called Geelong’s Justin
Murphy a "coconut". Since apologised and the matter's over). Gutnick
went on slag off Wayne Jackson, again. Other presidents spouted up over
various things. Yawn. On with the real stuff.

At the MCG:
Collingwood  3.3   4.7    5.9   10.11.71
Richmond     3.2   8.3   11.6    13.8.86

As per last week the Tiges worked hard to establish a winning lead and
stumbled in the face of a last-quarter comeback. The Maggies got within
a point before two late goals from the unlikely Paul Broderick sealed it
for the Toigs. For all their effort the young Pies have a few skills to
develop, especially their kicking. In selection the Maggies lost tagger
Carl Steinfort with a hamstring strain and ruckman Steven McKee was a
late withdrawal, they were replaced by Leon Davis and first-gamer Danny
Roach, a tall 19-y-o flanker from Tasmania. Richmond regained big man
Brad Ottens, Royce Vardy was dropped to make way.

There were 78,638 present on a cool Friday night and we saw the Pies
start well with the first two goals. Jarrod Molloy marked and converted,
"Hanging" Chad Rintoul received a free-kick right in front when he tried
to crash through two tacklers and copped one high. Richmond got moving
as Matty Knights and Mark Chaffey won some touches in the middle. Ben
Holland got their first from a good grab, Rory Hilton snapped a sausage
from Wayne Campbell's handpass and a bit later Hilton roved a goalsquare
contest and passed the ball back to Duncan Kellaway. The somewhat risky
Dunc majored. Shane O'Bree dobbed a nice kick to nudge the Pies ahead at
the first change. The match-ups were as expected, for the Tiges Dunc
"The Glove" Kellaway followed Nathan Buckley about while Darren Gaspar
played on Chris Tarrant and Andy Kellaway was on Molloy. The Pies had
Paul Licuria tagging Knights, Shane Wakelin on Matthew Richardson and
Brad Ottens was opposed by Mark Richardson. Richmond goaled early in the
second, Matt Rogers centred the ball for backman Jason Torney. Soon
afterwards Tiger Richardson marked on a tight angle, played on and
hooked a left-foot shot on the full. That chance blown, the Maggies
pressed forward and exerted much pressure but wasted it with some poor
goalshooting. Brodie Holland, Jim Clement and Josh Fraser all missed
shots before Nick Davis finally steered one through. But the Tiges went
on to kick the next four goals. Their defence held firm and they avoided
the poor disposal choices, and simple errors, which plagued the
Scragpies. Leon Cameron, again playing up forward, slotted a precise
kick from the boundary. Joel Bowden and Mark Dragicevic converted from
passes, Richardson's handpass sent Cameron in for a running slot.

Collenwood scored the first goal of the third term, Leon Davis running
down to mark in the goalsquare and bang it through from point-blank.
Richmun led by 14 points at this stage but they proceeded to take their
chances as the Pie forwards were well-held. Pie Rupert Betheras's poor
kick from defence went straight to Knights, he majored. Hilton threaded
a shot from a tight angle and Greg Tivendale's long punt bounced
through. By the final break Richmond led by five goals, but for yours
truly the memory of last week's jitters were too fresh to relax. And
sure enough, the Maggies mounted a comeback. Ruckman Josh Fraser was the
force behind it, his huge leap and athleticism forcing the Pois forward.
Brodie Holland, playing one-out at full forward, kicked two rapid goals
using his well-developed poaching skills close-in. Leon Davis bagged one
on the run. The Tiges tightened for a bit before Nick Davis marked on
the 50m-line. Steven Sziller gave away a 50m-penalty and Davis converted
the unmissable shot. Richmond led by 7 points now. Molloy had missed
horribly earlier in the quarter but atoned with a mark and conversion,
it was a point the diff. Richmond's Richardson led, marked and wobbled a
woeful punt out on the full. Expeltives flew from and around us as Richo
trotted to the bench for "instructions". He came back on and had a hand
in the Tigers' steadier, giving off the handpass for Broderick to
collect and slam through. A minute later Brendon Gale’s shot fell short,
there was Broderick again to rove the pack and snap it through on his
right (wrong) foot. Relief.

The Tigers won it with better ball-use, a best player is hard to
identify. Rory Hilton swapped between a forward pocket and the wing, it
seemed, to gather 22 possessions, take 7 marks and kick 2 goals. Leon
Cameron used the ball well and booted 2 goals from his 16 kicks. Duncan
Kellaway did the job on Buckley again, holding the narky Pie captain to
18 not-very-damaging possessions while Dunc himself got the pill 10
times and kicked a goal. Richmond's defence was good, led by Darren
Gaspar in keeping Tarrant goal-less, Andrew Kellaway was good with 11
marks and 21 disposals although Molloy, his opponent, also played well.
Jason Torney (20 touches, a goal) was cool in a back-pocket. Handy
midfield efforts came from Mark Chaffey (25 touches) and Greg Tivendale
(20, a goal). Paul Broderick, as mentioned, kicked 2 goals. Pie
following duo Josh Fraser, the ruckman, and rover Shane O'Bree were
probably their best. Fraser is going to be very good, he had 16 kicks
and took 4 marks including a big grab over Gale, and did well in
hitouts. O'Bree had 21 disposals and kicked a goal, finding space as
Buckley was suffocated. Up forward Jarrod Molloy took 8 marks and kicked
2.3, at least two of those behinds should've been goals. Paul Licuria
had 23 possies to opponent Knights's 17 although Licuria is a pure
receiver. In defence there were good efforts from Shane Wakelin, who
held Richardson goal-less with just 5 marks, and Mark Richardson with 12
possies against goal-less Ottens. And whoever was on Matt Rogers did
well too - mighta been Betheras. Brodie Holland, Nick Davis and Leon
Davis kicked 2 goals each. Malthouse wasn't pleased with the Pies'
inconsistency and skill errors. "We played football that was not the way
it is intended to be played at the Collingwood Football Club, (What?)
and that was we turned the ball over, we kicked the ball too short, we
didn't run and we didn't back up our teammates - a host of things went
wrong, apart from very minute periods where we actually got the game
going the way we wanted to." Tiger coach Dan Frawley said "   ",
according to the paper. There, got through the report without railing
against the absolute crucifixion of the Tigers by the appalling
umpiring.

At the SCG:
Sydney    1.5   2.6    4.13   6.19.55
Essendon  3.3   8.6   14.8   15.12.102

The lessons of last week were well-learned by the Bommers. Just like
Carlton in that game they were severely weakened here by the absences of
key players but produced a very solid, disciplined game to score a
comfortable win over the Swans. The Dons will be without ball magnet Joe
Misiti for up to 10 weeks with torn knee cartilage, Matty Lloyd was
suspended a game for clattering Blue Mansfield last Thursday and Gary
Moorcroft was lucky to get just one game also for biffing Matt Lappin.
In addition Justin Blumfield and Danny Jacobs were late withdrawals with
'flu. Five changes required then, in came veteran backmen Dean Wallis
and Jonathon Robran, youngster Daniel McAlister and two players making
their AFL debut, lithe winger Robert Forster-Knight from Barooga and
tallish midfielder Damien Peverill from Keilor Park via Melbourne's
reserves. Peverill impressed in an Ansett Cup game and was promoted from
the rookie list with Misiti's injury. Sydney were forced into one late
change, perennially injured forward Jason Ball withdrew with a thigh
strain, he was replaced by ruckman Stephen Doyle. But by the end they
had a bunch of blokes who'll need replacing next week.

Steady rain in Harbourtown made the hard SCG surface very slippery.
Apparently some of the water seeped into Rodney Eade's head as he
abandoned the team's renowned backline flooding and left the Bomber
forwards one-out against their opponents. Don captain James Hird, lining
up at full-forward, kicked the first goal and enjoyed the space
afforded. The Bloods' backman Andy Schauble crept forward to kick the
first goal of the second term, courtesy a free kick against Wallis, to
bring the Swans within 4 points. Esserdun kicked the next eleven goals.
Didn't see any as I was at the G, but Blake Caracella, Adam Ramanauskas
and Mark Johnson won plenty of touches, Scott Lucas marked in attack and
Hird and Caracella kicked some goals. Even Sean Wellman snaggled one. At
full-back Dustin Fletcher was so dominant he ended up having a 'stopper'
played on him and John Barnes cut loose in the ruck as Swan Stafford
departed with a groin strain. The Bommer rookies put in, Peverill more
than broke even with opponent Wayne Schwass and Forster-Knight came off
the bench in the second term to have 6 possessions for the quarter. Five
goals to half-time and another six unanswered majors in the third sent
the Bombers 62 points clear by the time we got to the pub and saw some
of the game. Robbie AhMat ended the Bommer run with a snapped goal and
in the last quarter the Swons at least limited the damage on the
scoreboard. On the ground it was different, in addition to Stafford
defender Leo Barry injured a knee in the first quarter when colliding
with a goal-post and Rowan Warfe was off early in the second, yet
another shoulder injury. Brett Kirk was reported for biffing Caracella.
All that might've contributed to the Esserdun goal spree.

At opposite ends of the ground the Dons were well served by full-back
Dustin Fletcher (17 disposals, 4 marks) and full-forward James Hird who
not only kicked 2 goals but set up several others from his 18 disposals
and 6 marks. Through the midfield there were plenty of touches for Adam
Ramanuskas (18 kicks) and Mark Johnson (23 disposals). Blake Caracella
had an enjoyable night in booting 4 goals from his 25 touches. Windy
Hill folks were very impressed by the debut of Damien Peverill, who had
20 disposals and kicked a goal. John Barnes drifted about for 17
handlings before going for a rest in thefinal term. All in all, a good
night for the Dons. Siddey's best were veteran centreman Daryn
Cresswell, who plugged away for 30 disposals (23 kicks), forward Michael
O'Loughlin with 22 touches, 7 marks and a goal and big man Adam Goodes,
16 touches and a goal. Jude Bolton got a lot of touches in the second
half and Robbie AhMat kicked 2 goals, but overall the Swans didn't
emerge well from the evening. "The easy way out is to say all the
mistakes were out of character," began Eade. "The dropped chest marks
and hitting the wrong targets, everything that could go wrong did go
wrong." Sheeds was pretty happy with his youngsters. "We came up with a
fairly exciting proposition as a team; after you win a premiership, just
don't go with the same 22 again. We've probably got six or seven
premiership players out, but we were able to come to Sydney and win a
game where other years we've probably struggled. Robbie Forster-Knight,
Bolton, McAlister, McVeigh, they've all played only ten or eleven games,
or none." And he saved special praise for Peverill.

At Princes Park:
Carlton   1.1   4.1   5.3   8.5.53
Adelaide  4.3   6.4   7.6   9.8.62

Terrific win for the Crows in terrible conditions at Princes Park. On
the Saturday morning of the game the Melbourne press was keen to report
the approaching end of Adelaide coach Gary Ayres's tenure, an alleged
rift between he, captain Mark Ricciuto and other senior players part of
the reason. The Camry officialdom denied it forcefully and, given
Ricciuto's performance in this game and on-ground bonding between
Ayresey and the team afterwards, perhaps we should believe 'em. Because
"Roo" and ol’ Darren Jarman were instrumental in this courageous victory
over a distinctly flat-looking Blue team, who have now lost their last
three games at Princes Park. In selection the Blues regained the Lost
Trio, Steven Silvagni, Craig Bradley and Anthony Koutoufides but lost
another star in Scott Camporeale, who did a hammy at training. Ben
Nelson and Murray Vance were dropped. The Camrys had four changes
following their hammering in the Showdown, Nathan Bassett and Andrew
Crowell were out with ankle and hip injuries respectively while Ian
Perrie and Hayden Skipworth were axed. They had handy inclusions though
in Jarman and Kane Johnson, also getting a run were forward Bryan Beinke
and speedy Ricky O'Loughlin. Ricciuto was cleared to play after being
forced off last week with a "mystery" virus.

Thunderstorms drenched Melbourne all weekend and the roof-less Princes
Park copped the brunt. It was raining domestic animals and lightening
regularly lit up the sky throughout the first quarter. From the start
Ricciuto and Jarman, the latter in his new role as a half-back flanker,
were prominent. Carlton scored the first goal with Ryan Houlihan roving
a throw-in superbly and spearing it through. So hard was the rain it was
difficult to see things clearly, even on the TV and especially for
Houlihan after he was absolutely clobbered by Ricciuto. Ricciuto threw
his weight around early, restored to an on-ball role instead of being
hidden in a back pocket. Corolla forward Scott Welsh was awarded a free
for a push and booted the Camry's first goal then Peter Vardy kicked
two, one a snap and the other from a mark of Jarman's low torp. Carlton
defender Dean Rice wasn't too happy with that as Vardy wrestled him
aside. Anyway, Ricciuto's physicality eventually provoked an
undisciplined response, within range of the goals as it happens and the
skipper kicked their fourth. The visitors 20 points up at the first
break. They led by 27 after scoring the next goal, Nigel Smart
determined to stay on his feet and force the ball forward, after some
goalmouth slithering Vardy snapped over-the-shoulder for his third.
Carlton invigorated the silently drowning Blue fans with a bit of
effort, Koutoufides punted them forward, Jarman was caught in possession
and Trent Hotton swept up the loose ball to snap a goal. It started a
run, Matty Lappin kicked another major and Kouta snapped one through
after roving a throw-in, the Camry lead was cut to 9 points. But at the
bounce after that goal a free kick to Kane Johnson sent the Cows went
forward, spendid roving by Ricciuto allowed him to kick a sausage.

The third term was a tedious slog, Carlton enjoyed the bulk of
possession and entered their attacking 50m 15 times to the Camrys' 7.
Silvagni and Kouta went forward and looked dangerous, Lappin and Hotton
started to get the ball. But packed defensive work by the Cressidas
stifled the scoreboard. The Bloos got the first of the two goals scored
in the quarter, Crow Ben Hart's poor kick from defence was picked off by
Kris Massie and passed to Hotton. He thumped it home. Crows by 7 points
but Ricciuto cancelled the Blue gain with magnificent running goal from
a ball-up on the half-forward flank. At the opening bounce of the final
term Crow Matthew Robran forced the ball forwards and Simon Goodwin
swept up pack spillage to spear a goal. A 21-point lead to the Coronas
now and it seemed, for once, they wouldn’t blow a lead at Princes Park.
The Blues tried hard to come back, a rushed point and Houlihan's missed
snap threatened but the only floodgates which opened were in the sky,
again. Eventually Crow defender Robert Shirley was justly penalised for
bawl and Lappin free-kicked the goal. The Bluebaggers attacked again,
Jarman was nearly decapitated but the ump waved play-on and Lappin
snapped another. Just 7 points the difference now. The Camrys managed an
attacking spell without reward until, with 3 minutes remaining, Ricciuto
roved a throw-in in front of the Carlton Social Club and snapped an
incredible goal. Teammates rushed to congratulate the skipper. Lappin
snapped another major almost as impressive just a moment later, but it
was too late, the Crows won it. Ayres rushed onto the ground and was
mobbed by his players. "Thanks for playing me in the right position, you
@#$%head," said Ricciuto. Actually I made that bit up.

The Camrys' team leaders did some leading. Mark Ricciuto kicked 4
excellent goals from his 12 possessions. Across half-back there were
very good efforts from Darren Jarman, whose skill shone in the woeful
weather for 24 disposals (21 kicks) and Simon Goodwin, 15 disposals and
a goal while stopping Craig Bradley. Another 'oldie' in Nigel Smart
worked very hard for 20 kicks, he was opposed to Kouta for part of the
game and had 11 kicks in the final quarter. The other heroic Crow
veteran was the maligned Peter Vardy, who bagged 3 goals in the first 35
minutes of the game. Elsewhere Ben Hart was solid down back and Matthew
Robran did some good work in the ruck after half-time - he'd been
purposefully rested in the first half. Ricky O'Loughlin's speed came in
handy at the death. Carlton were well-led again by relentless rover
Brett Ratten, who gathered a hefty 37 possessions. But the Bloos
struggled to convert, only the always-lively Matthew Lappin proved
dangerous with 4 goals from his 19 disposals. Another small bloke,
Darren Hulme, worked hard for 15 kicks and he planted 8 tackles. In
defence Adrian Hickmott had 19 touches and the reliable Andy McKay
managed 15 kicks. Trent Hotton kicked 2 goals. Blue coach Wayne Brittain
conceded it'd been lost in the first term. "They started very well
Adelaide, their intensity was a lot higher than ours earlier and they
kicked four goals in the first quarter and we were playing catch-up
football." We've all bagged Ayresey but he deserved his triumph here.
"There were twenty-two very courageous players out there today...it is
much about attitude, it is much about perserverance, it is much about
persistence and believing in each other."

At Colonial
Footscray  4.3   10.7   15.9    21.14.140
Brisbane   2.3    6.6   10.11   12.15.87

Karma dictated the Bulldog hammering last weekend but with the gods
appeased the Dogs bounced back, easily defeating another of their
traditional rivals in the Lions. Paul Hudson went almost kickless last
Saturday night but he had a day out here with 8 goals. For the second
week running the Brisbanites were ordinary in Melbourne, although they
were weakened by injury. The Bulldogs made just one change going in with
backman Mitchell Hahn dropped for small forward Simon Garlick. Brisbane
made five changes, unfortunately losing ruckman Clark Keating with a
groin strain along with Justin Leppitsch (hamstring) and Shaun Hart
(foot). Rookies Aaron Shattock and Richard Hadley were dropped.
Replacements included good players in Daryl White, Chris Johnson and
Daniel Bradshaw while former no.1 draft pick Des Headland and Craig
Bolton were given chances.

There was a bit of pre-game controversy when the Lions insisted,
rightly, that the roof be closed. Despite the rapidly approaching storms
the officials in charge at The Sandpit had decided to rely on the
forecast rather than their own eyes and leave the roof open. Eventually
the roof was closed. Didn't see much of the first term, apart from a
controversial goal awarded to Bulldog Nathan Brown. Brown kicked the
ball clearly after the siren had sounded for quarter-time. Without
Keating the Lions didn't appear to have a forward worthy of the
description. Voss had to do it all himself, an excellent bit of play by
him sent Jason Akermanis in for a running goal to open the second term.
The Dogs replied through Paul Hudson, leading to, marking and converting
Luke Darcy's pass. Brisbane scored the next two goals to level the
scores in their best period. Damien Cupido's strange lobbed kick was
roved in the goalsquare and popped through by Headland, then Jon Brown
held a good grab from another Cupido kick and goaled. The Pups responded
by rattling on four consecutive sausages. Hudson roved the pack for the
first of these, Brad Johnson slotted a lovely running punt from a tight
angle and Chris Grant hooked a even more miraculous goal from the other
pocket. Simon Cox extended their lead to 26 points before Alistair Lynch
narrowed the gap for the Lions. However Hudson got on the end of a
miskick from Brad Johnson and bagged his third of the term.

The Bullies could've buried the Lions in the third stanza, but Voss and
two late Brisbun goals delayed the inevitable. Footscray extended their
lead early when the Lions were caught out while changing Chris Grant's
opponent. Mal Michael couldn't get back in time to stop Grant marking
Johnson's pass. Voss replied for Brisbane with a jostling goalsquare
mark of Dan Bradshaw's long kick. They were 25 points in arrears and had
a good spell, Daryl White in the ruck giving them some momentum, but
didn't capitalise. Too many times aimless kicks forward went straight to
Bulldog defenders, to outnumbered forwards or nowhere in particular. And
they were punished when Pup Nathan Eagleton marked, dummied nicely and
ran off to boot a goal. Lyin Nigel Lappin's missed handpass in the
centre turned over possession leading to another goal for Hudson, the
Bullies led by 37 points. A splendid Voss effort, outmarking two Dogs,
playing on and slamming the ball into the stands, kept Brisbane alive.
But soon enough Scott West roved a throw-in and snapped a brilliant goal
on his un-natural right boot. Nathans Brown and Eagleton set up an easy
shot for Ben Harrison and the Doggies led by 42 points. Brisbane pressed
on, Headland missed a simple shot and Cupido postered before Headland
goaled from Marcus Ashcroft's pass. The rain ruining the spectacle
across town in Carlton was making a loud roar on the roof, but inside it
was dry. Late in the term White drove Brisbane forward, Marcus Picken
floated for a big grab in the goalsquare and he punted the margin down
to 28 points at the final change. Headland majored again early in the
final stanza and the Lyin's were within 4 goals, but that was it. The
Bulldog runners cut through to set up a series of goals, Johnson and
Garlick for Hudson, Smith and Brown for Johnson, Johnson and Luke Penny
for Mark Robbins. Hudson bagged his eighth after Lion Cupido dithered
and lost the ball.

Paul Hudson ended with 8.2 from his 14 kicks and 9 marks - just the one
handpass, a true forward. The Bulldogs won on the ball, with Lion
Keating absent Luke Darcy dominated in the ruck with 20 touches and 8
marks, surrounding him Scotty West gathered 24 possessions and a goal,
Nathan Brown got the ball 26 times and booted his post-siren goal. Brad
Johnson bounced back from his anonymous performance last week to kick 3
goals from 24 possessions and 8 marks. Simon Cox, normally a defender,
was pushed forward to play against Martin Pike and took 11 marks, had 19
touches and kicked a goal. In defence battling Matthew Croft and
Kingsley Hunter (20 disposals, 7 marks) stopped any aerial threat the
Lions might've posed. A quiet Chris Grant kicked 2 goals. For the Lions
the magnificent Michael Voss fought tremendously again, his numbers (18
disposals, 5 marks, 2 goals) mightn't be huge but every time he got the
ball something good happened for Brisbane. The inconsistent Des Headland
sparked the Lions' mid-game revival with 3 goals, unfortunately he
missed 4 times but did alright with 14 kicks and 9 marks. Speedy runners
Jason Akermanis (25 disposals, a goal) and Damien Cupido (12 kicks, 2
goals) weren't bad. Al Lynch kicked 2 goals. But too many Lyins didn't
do enough with the ball, Brisbane actually had more disposals than the
Pups - 316 to 311. Perhaps, for this reason, Leigh Matthews wasn't too
upset. "We didn't give much of a yelp today. When you're one win, three
losses, it doesn't give you much margin for error. Funnily enough, there
were some better signs today than last week. That's a bit perverse, I
know, because the scoreboard was terrible." Terry Wallace said "I
thought we were able to get the ball inside our fifty a lot more, and to
use it a bit more efficiently was very pleasing. Obviously they weren't
at full strength...It's very hard to say we're getting a more even
performance when we win one, lose one, win one, lose one." Indeed.

At Football Park:
Port Adelaide  6.6   10.8   14.10   17.12.114
St. Kilda      0.2    5.5    6.5      7.8.50

Port carried on winnin' as they hammered the hapless Saints on the back
of a rapid start. One day Port might be scheduled to play an away game.
Of their nine competitive games, including Ansett Cup, the Power have
played seven at Football Park. At St. Kilda, Mal Blight is a bit of a
worry. Not because of their results so far, it's Blighty's seeming lack
of a Plan. Apart from having Robert Harvey play more in the forward
line, there doesn't seem to be any strategy. Every other Saint has been
tried in every position and they're swapped about regularly within a
game. Perhaps Blighty's experimenting to discover players' capabilities.
Anyway, in picking the Power had Darren Mead return from suspension and
Jared Poulton made way. The Saints made three compulsory changes,
injured trio Jason Traianidis (ankle), Justin Plapp (calf) and Craig
Callaghan (hamstring) were replaced by red-heads Matthew Young and Tony
Delaney and a first-gamer in Stephen Milne, a 21-year-old small forward
from Dandenong via Essendon's reserves.

Port had a breeze in the first term but that wasn't the full reason
behind their big start. Once again it was their relentless band of
midfield runners, especially Nick Stevens, Fabian Francis and Josh
Francou, plus the lively forwards which swamped the Sainters. Port
could've been further ahead at quarter-time if not for a couple of Gavin
Wanganeen errors. Anyway, the goals started when Francou and Wanganeen
combined to find leading Che Cockatoo-Collins in plenty of space.
Wanganeen then blew a golden chance. I'll never understand why blokes
want to kick an oval ball along the ground. Wanga soon made up for that
with a mark and goal from Stevens's pass, Wanganeen then won a free for
being held by Nathan Burke and passed for Peter Burgoyne to major.
Burgoyne proceeded to create the next two sausages, both for Stuart Dew.
Late in the quarter a bad centering kick from Saint Fraser Gehrig missed
its target, Port's Francis pounced and rammed it through from 50m. At
the first break several of the huddled Stains were observed with hands
raised. Perhaps Blighty had asked "Who knows what position they're
playing?" For the second term Mal benched Burke, Lenny Hayes and Stewie
Loewe and introduced Mark Gale, Brett Moyle and Steven Lawrence. Barry
Hall went from full-back to full-forward and Brett Voss also went
forward.

No immediate effect as the Flowers' Jarrad Schofield came off the bench
to play a nice one-two with Francis and spear a running goal, Port
cleared the restart and Burgoyne roved a pack to snap yet another. The
Pooer led by 52 points, 8.6 to 0.2. Suddenly the Saints knuckled down
and found a way to the goals. Rob Harvey roved to his own pack, broke a
tackle and speared their first major of the game. St. Kilda won the
ensuing centre clearance and Gehrig passed the ball to Voss for a goal.
Some fierce Sainter battling in their own forward line lead to another
goal, for Mark Gale. Then Voss won a free kick and passed it to Gale who
thumped a long wind-assisted bomb. Four consecutive goals for Stakilda
and they were 27 points down. Wanganeen broke the run with his second
goal, but Steven Milne replied for the Saints with a mark and deserved
goal, created by Voss again. Milne had worked hard so far. Port
re-established their superiority with a late goal, defender Stephen
Paxman ran downfield and kicked long, superb roving from Burgoyne saw
him snap another one. Right before the siren Saint Aaron Hamill caught
Dew in a good tackle, but missed his free-kick shot.

Not as much scoring in the third term. St. Kilda seem resolved to
limiting scoreboard damage, their effort was fine but the skill and
ball-use wasn't so good. The Pooer opened with three rapid goals, Dew
blasted two trademark running missiles sandwiching another for Pete
Burgoyne, a free kick against Burke for a high tackle. Port by 52 points
at this stage. The Stains managed to halt the scoring for a while with
ultra-flooding of the backline, Steven Lawrence was the only Saint
forward of the centre. Eventually they got a goal of their own, Lawrence
and Harvey setting up Milne. But very late in the term Cockatoo-Collins
passed for Roger James to convert for Port. The last term featured a bit
of Port lairizing as they relaxed, the wind strengthened and as Port
kicked into it they found scoring difficult. Nevertheless James goaled
early following a very good one-two with Tredrea, Wanganeen and Stevens
managed goals too. With 30 seconds remaining Voss bagged St. Kilda's
seventh goal.

As mentioned, Port's midfield running is very good. The burden was
shared, early on it was Nick Stevens (23 disposals, a goal) but he
slowed after quarter-time and Jarrad Schofield came off the bench to
gather 29 touches (21 kicks) in three quarters and bag a goal. They were
admirably supported by wily Fabian Francis (18 possessions, a goal) and
Josh Francou (29 disposals). Francou isn't the most skilful midfielder
around, but he gets the ball enough to compensate. Port's forward line
is very good, especially the speedy and clever Peter Burgoyne, who was
just about BOG here. Burgoyne kicked 4 goals, created at least as many
and had 23 possessions. Several of his giveaways were for Stuart Dew (4
goals, 22 touches) and Gav Wanganeen (3 goals, 16 touches) functioned
well alongside them. Warren Tredrea roamed about for 11 marks but he's
not too keen on having a shot himself these days. Down back Mead, Paxman
and Montgomery teamed well. Roger James kicked 2 goals. Few Saints could
be happy, especially when their best player was making his debut -
Stephen Milne ran hard and showed he's got a football brain in gathering
17 possessions, taking 7 marks and kicking 2 goals. Robert Harvey tried
very hard and his sheer natural ability made him stand out, Banger had
23 disposals and kicked a goal. Brett Voss has been the best of their
recruits so far, he worked hard up forward for 15 touches and a goal and
Mark Gale wasn't bad either, he also had 15 disposals and kicked 2
goals. Justin Koschitzke, playing at CHB on Tredrea, showed some ability
after a nervous start. The endeavour of some others - Lawrence, Delaney,
Thompson - was obvious but they had little impact. And Gehrig - you can
probably smell him from wherever you are right now. "We've got some way
to go," understated Blight. "The best thing about tonight is if you want
to play footy - and the way I'd like to see footy played - it is the way
Port played. We'll probably learn more from that than we will from the
first three weeks." Alright then. Mark Williams said "I was really
pleased with that effort. To beat St. Kilda for the first time (true,
their record v the Saints was 0-5 going in) was very significant for our
club. Our confidence is building and we still think we've got room to
improve." Some are suggesting they've peaked too early, but you've gotta
win at least twelve to make the finals and points on the board now are
handy.

At Subiaco:
Fremantle   1.3   5.6   10.8    13.10.88
West Coast  3.4   7.9    9.14   16.16.112

It's assumed we in Melbourne aren't interested in the 'foreign' derbies
and I suppose, on a broad scale, that's true enough. But the infamous
Western Derby of last year, a long fight interrupted by occasional
football which the Dockers won by a point, was one of the highlights of
last year. Yet we still weren't shown any of this game, Channel Seven
opting for the less violent 'Silence Of The Lambs'. Anyway, with the
main protagonists of last years' famous battle, Eagle Phil Read and
Docker Dale Kickett, still absent through suspensions incurred there was
a lot less violence this time. Drummy kept faith with his men by making
just one change going in, Andrew Shipp recalled at the expense of rookie
Dion Woods. Despite Troy Wilson's seven goals last week the Eagles
recalled spearhead Scott Cummings and Callum Chambers also returned,
Kane Munro and Adam Hunter were dropped.

Fremantle made another sluggish start. West Coast coach Ken Judge
installed Cummings at full-forward and was rewarded with two
first-quarter goals, both from juggled marks. Andy Williams found
Richard Taylor in plenty of space to slot their third. Wilson, playing
on a flank, and Phil Matera both postered in the term. The Dockers got
moving in the second stanza with ruckman Justin Longmuir doing well.
They scored the first two goals including a nice roving one for Clive
Waterhouse after Modra was spoiled. Then a reminder of last year when
Shaun McManus was set up by Shipp's hospital pass, running with the
flight of the ball McManus marked it a split-second before being
absolutely hammered by David Wirrpunda. McManus rose groggily and punted
the ball through to put the Dockers ahead. Unfortunately for them
Waterhouse then limped off with a hammy and the Weegles hit back. Drew
Banfield kicked consecutive goals, one thanks to a 50m penalty against
Troy Cook and the other from a mark of a mongrel Glen Jakovich punt.
Wilson kicked long for Mark Merenda to gather and blast it through from
point-blank and the Eegs went to the long break 15 points ahead. For the
second half the Eegs switched ruckman Michael Gardiner to CHF and
proceeded to dominate most of the term. "Pregnant" Chad Fletcher, Peter
Matera, Ben Cousins and Andy Williams won across the midfield. But they
couldn't put it on the scoreboard. That Wilson bloke really should learn
to kick straighter. Drummy made an inspired move late in the term,
sending Justin Longmuir forward and putting Dan Bandy into the ruck.
Both players responded with a goal each as the Dockers kicked four in
nine minutes to level the scores at the final break. But big final-term
efforts from Cousins, Taylor and Gardiner got the Eagles home. Gardiner
kicked 4 goals in the last quarter to finally reward the efforts of
teammates upfield.

Mick Gardiner was almost the key player in the game, with 5 second-half
goals on the back of 13 kicks and 9 marks. Equally influential was
Weegle stalwart Drew Banfield, having one of his best games ever with 30
disposals and 3 goals running off half-back. Ben Cousins's very good
year continued with 28 disposals and 2 goals, he was ably assisted by
Peter Matera (22 disposals) and "Punched" Chad Morrison (also 22
touches). Full-back Ashley McIntosh held Modra to one goal, no marks and
Glen Jakovich also had the better of Matthew Pavlich. Cummings didn't
touch the ball again after his two first-quarter goals, Wilson kicked
2.4. Once again the Dockers' best were their small men, veteran Adrian
Fletcher (29 disposals, 7 marks), inspirational half-forward Shaun
McManus who kicked 3 goals from his 23 possessions and rover Peter Bell
with 29 touches. Justin Longmuir did well in the ruck in the first half
with 11 possessions, he ended with 16 disposals and a goal. Paul Hasleby
displayed his best form of the season to date with 30 handlings and a
goal, down back Matthew Carr racked up touches again, 25 with 21 kicks
and he also kicked a goal. Dan Bandy showed some form at last with 2
goals from his 13 possessions. But Norf's win the next day left the
Dockers anchored to the foot of the ladder as the only winless team.
Drummy looked ahead to next Sunday's visit to Queensland, where the
Dockers' last two visits have yielded losses by 107 and 114 points. "It
shapes as a real challenge, doesn't it?...We've got an awful lot to gain
and an awful lot to lose as well." Hmm. Again no quote from Judgey, the
silent man of the season so far as the Melbourne press in concerned.

At Kardinia Park:
Geelong          1.0   3.5   4.6     4.9.33
North Melbourne  5.4   6.6   6.10   7.11.53

When the North players awoke on Sunday morning and saw the rain
bucketting down, they would have been happy. All except Sav Rocca, who
immediately became 'injured'. For although Sav is even more lumberingly
leaden in the wet, the water suits the Roos' straight-ahead,
crash-through-or-crash style and pace and skill around packs- which they
don't have a lot of - is less important. And there was a lot of water.
The Cats had chances but lost the toss, were out-played early and wasted
some opportunities later, all of which contributed. In selection the
Cats had two changes, the luckless Jason Snell may miss the rest of the
season with the broken leg and dislocated ankle he suffered last week
while Garry Hocking was a late pullout. They were replaced by forward
Cameron Ling and half-back James Rahilly. The Kangas axed young Dylan
Smith along with Rocca, in came Jess Sinclair and a debutant,
20-year-old flanker Corey Jones. Jones was officially recruited from
SANFL club Sturt, but he's originally from Wycheproof in Victoria.

Did I mention it was wet? A deep layer of water covered the ground at
the start, it rained heavily for the duration and there was momentary
doubt as to whether the game would go ahead. There was a decent breeze
too and North had it first, they also had the advantage of kicking to
the slightly drier end. And the Siddeyroos won it in the first quarter
with their five goals. The Cats actually got the first major, Clint
Bizzell won a free on the wing for being pushed by Glenn Archer, then a
50m penalty. His kick slithered out of bounds by the point post, from
the throw-in Adam Houlihan soccered a goal. But the rest of the term was
all Norf. Down back they were excellent, led by loudly jeered 'traitor'
Leigh Colbert and John Blakey, while in attack Carey, Dave King and
Brent Harvey were very good. Carey's tough mark and long kick led to
their first goal, soccered through by Shannon Watt. Then Carey narrowly
missed KO-ing Cat Brad Sholl with a flying elbow. Pagan's Paddock came
into play when Brent Harvey punted long, King swept up the ball
one-handed and grubbed a kick between the big sticks. North led by 7
points and pressed on. Anthony Stevens's mongrelled free kick was
chest-marked in the goalsquare by Harvey, but he postered. Never mind,
King roved a ball-up at CHF and snapped a beauty and almost immediately
Carey brilliantly collected a slippery soccered kick, swivelled and
snapped truly, again along the ground. North led by 21 points and given
the mode of scoring to date, commentator Anthony Hudson wondered if
teams should employ a goalkeeper in such conditions. Soon enough he had
more action to call, Brent Harvey was awarded a technical free kick
right in the goalsquare for illegal shepherding and this time he didn't
miss.

The fact that Norf managed only two more goals for the match but still
won shows the benefit of that first quarter. Geelong started the second
term well enough, Mitchell White snapped a great left-foot goal. Jason
Mooney came off the bench to enliven the Cat forward line, he missed a
shot but Ronnie Burns roved the kick-in and steered it home. The Roos'
lead was cut to 15 points but the Cats wasted some further opportunities
and North re-organised, sending David King to defence and Mick Martyn
also came on to play down back. Everyone crowded within a 40m radius of
the ball. This made the Roos dangerous on the break, Shannon Grant
marked Blakey's dying pigeon of a kick right in front but missed and
Pickett also sprayed from close range. Not much happened for a while
before Carey was awarded a dubious free for being held, he passed to
Grant who converted this time. Just before the half-time siren Mooney
won a free 25m out but his kick swerved into the post. That might've
been handy. The third term was the very worst of wet-weather footy as
the Catters crowded into the defensive half to stop Norf using the wind.
A slippery, sloppery mess with the only "highlight" for twenty minutes
being another point-blank miss from Brent Harvey. Finally Geelong
managed a break-out goal, some nice skill from Clint Bizzell saw him
weave through traffic and punt into a forward line containing two
players - Burns and his Norf opponent, Troy Makepeace. Burns stayed
upright and kept the ball in front, Makepeace slipped and Ronnie raced
away to blast it through. They were 14 points behind at the last change,
coming home with the wind. On the negative side, they were exhausted,
the rain became heavier and it was very dark. As dark as he's ever seen,
reckoned Doug Hawkins and he played a bit of footy. Geelong's training
lights were switched on. Burns wasted a golden chance early in the term,
somehow left alone in the goalsquare he spilled Bizzell's kick, had time
to recover but missed. That hurt. There were a couple of rushed behinds,
Justin Murphy missed from a set shot and David Clarke hooked it on the
full. But as the quarter wore on North wrestled the play away from the
Geelong goals and late in the game they sealed it, if sealing was
required, when David King roved to a throw-in and snapped perfectly.

The Roos had a number of important contributors. David King swapped
between a defensive and attacking role, depending on wind direction, to
gather 23 disposals and kick 3 vital goals. The Kanga rovers revelled in
the slush, Brent Harvey won 22 kicks and bagged 1.4 with two terrible
misses, Anthony Stevens found the battling around packs to his liking
for 25 touches. In defence Leigh Colbert was very good, as you might
have predicted, he ended with 19 disposals and was ably assisted by John
Blakey who had 19 touches also and took 7 marks, the equal-highest on a
day when not a lot of marks were taken. As the game progressed Shannon
Grant (14 disposals, 1.3) became an important forward. Carey started
very well but as the game ground on Ben Graham shaded him. Still, Carey
had 13 kicks, 4 good marks and kicked a goal. Even lumbering Spider
Burton made a good contribution in conditions which must have been a
personal nightmare for the beanpole. The Cats were best served by
defenders Brad Sholl who worked well for 20 kicks and Ben Graham, 15
possessions and 7 good marks against Carey. Unfortunately they were
beaten in the midfield again. Buddha might've been handy. Only the
speedy David Spriggs (20 disposals) made much of an impact there. Ronnie
Burns was their best forward with 2 goals from 5 kicks ( 2 behinds
also), Jason Mooney slogged away. Half-forward Joel Corey (14 disposals)
wasn't bad, neither was half-back Tom Harley (18 touches). Bomber
Thompson wrote the day off. "Everything that could've gone wrong has
gone wrong. It was a bit of disaster on and off the field." Denis Pagan
breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought our senior players were terrific
today," he began, "the core group of leaders were good. We spoke a lot
about leaders this week. But when the ball was out there to get, we got
it." That about sums it up.

At the MCG:
Hawthorn   4.6   4.10   6.14   11.17.83
Melbourne  1.2   4.5    4.7     5.14.44

We all knew the Lord walked on water but we didn't know he was also
deadly around the big sticks in damp conditions. That weak,
Bracks-unapproved joke is meant to indicate that Hawk forward Aaron Lord
booted the Hawks to victory in the wet at the MCG, propelling them to
the top of the ladder as the only undefeated team after four rounds.
Melbourne might also figure that higher forces had a role, in the shape
of the umpiring and an unreasonable number of 'posters'. The Hawkers
went in still missing Nick Holland, but they regained Tony Woods. Kris
Barlow was dropped. The Dees made one change, young big man Paul
Wheatley replaced young big man Luke Williams.

The 'G copped nearly as much rain as Kardinia Park, the better drainage
ensured a drier yet still-slippery surface. And it had the same wind.
The Hoks had first use and booted four goals to one in the first term,
the in-form John Barker bagged two and Lord lurked near the sticks for
the other pair. Upfield Daniel Chick and ex-Camry rover lance Picioane
were going well. Melbun captain David Neitz had set himself  for a big
effort, seemingly playing anywhere in the centre-corridor he helped the
Dees back in the second stanza, booting a goal and having a hand in
majors for Brad Green and a flukey soccer-volley for Adem Yze. The TV
replay started in the third, when Horforn had the breeze again. They
started well, Angelo Lekkas had a free-kick shot touched through before
a long Shane Crawford punt bounced through a vacant goalsquare. The
Horks by 12 points. Lord was denied his third goal when the ump ruled
he'd pushed Demon Peter Walsh illegally. Lordy wasn't happy about that.
But a few minutes later Lord out-manouvred Walsh to mark Luke McCabe's
long kick and convert, legally. Let the umpire know about that one.
Hawks by 18 points, which the spectators might've known about had they
been able to see the scoreboard. It was just as dark here as in Geelong
and ironic cheers greeted the tardy activation of the lights late in the
quarter. Melbourne had trouble piercing the defensive cordon of Hawk big
men, Trent Croad, Luke McPharlin and Jade Rawlings. Right on the
penultimate siren Hawk Dan Harford marked 40m out, but he misssed.

Could Melbourne sail home on the breeze? Nup. They tried early, Neitz
took a terrific grab and booted on-the-full, then Shane Woewodin
gathered a loose ball and thumped a superb shot for a goal. Rookie
Darren Jolly missed a chance and the Dees were 11 points behind. Dee
supporters would say the match turned with the next goal, to Hawthorn's
Ben Dixon. Trent Croad reeled in a one-hander on the wing and passed to
Dixon, who marked 55m out. As Dixon marked he was bumped vigorously but
fairly by Andrew Leoncelli. Umpire Dick Fox awarded a ridiculous 50m
penalty, converting Dixon’s half-chance into an easy goal. Very harsh.
Still the Demons fought on, Neitz missed another set shot, David Schwarz
postered from a free kick and a Jeff White effort was touched through.
Hawthorn by 14 points but they scored two goals in rapid succession.
Dixon kicked them into attack, Demon defender Steven Febey was first to
the greasy ball but ran straight over it. Oops. Hork Lekkas gave the
ball to Lord for an easy tap-through. Hawthorn attacked again, Lord
missed the mark and was given a bit of bump by Anthony Ingerson. Another
marshmellowy free kick was converted into a goal, Lord's fifth. Demon
shoulders slumped and the Hawks rubbed it in with two more sausages, for
Dixon and Daniel Chick.

Aaron Lord used to have a physique like a junior Schwarzenegger but this
year he's slimmed down, relaxed on the weights and has improved as a
player. Here Lordy bagged 5 goals from 19 possessions. Last year the
Hawk midfield was slaughtered by Melbournes' but they turned the tables
this time. Daniel Chick was opposed to Brownlow Medallist Shane
Woewodin, although Woewodin played well Chick was just as good with 22
disposals (11 in the first quarter) and a goal. Hard-working rover Lance
Picioane had 19 disposals with 8 in the final term, following a mid-game
rest. Also in the Hawk midfield, the Immediate Past Medallist Shane
Crawford was handy with 26 possies, 6 marks and a goal while winger
Raydon Tallis gathered 17 touches in a  good game on Yze. Ben Dixon was
a vital forward with 19 touches and 2 goals, John Barker finished with 2
goals. As suggested Dee skipper David Neitz was fired up, he battled
hard all day for 19 disposals, 5 marks and 2 goals. Big man Alistair
Nicholson played an effective role in defence. On the ball Shane
Woewodin worked hard for 18 possessions and a goal and the much-improved
Daniel Ward was good on a wing, 21 disposals. But while some other Dee
midfielders got a few possessions - Anthony McDonald and Guy Rigoni in
particular - none had much effect. Injured Stephen Powell would’ve been
handy in the weather. Demon coach Neale Daniher made a reference to
Dixon's 50m-penalty goal in the last quarter: "It's a cop out as a coach
to use something like that as an excuse...I won't be looking at that at
all. We gave Hawthorn too much of a start and they deserved to win,
simple as that. I thought we came out of the blocks real slow...to the
credit of the boys they really fought back to get into the game. But
they were really able to take the game away from us in the second half."
Hork coach Peter Schwab said "A very good last quarter. We started well
and they fought back hard and the game was up for grabs in the last
quarter. They belted us in the midfield when they beat us last year, so
it was good to beat them in that area today."