AFL Round 11


It's half-time in the Season of the New Millennium and the ladder is
jammed-up. The Bombers are clear favourites but under them it's a
lottery. Horforn have stumbled to three losses in a row and while Port
are going well, they've played one final in their brief history (for a
loss). Two wins separate fourth from thirteenth and only the poor, mad
Saints and the completely buggered West Australian teams are out of
contention. As usual we'll have a better idea when everyone's played
each other, before the vagaries of the fixture take over. Not much news
this week so let's get on with it.


At Colonial:
St. Kilda  2.4    6.6    9.6     13.8.86
Essendon   6.3   13.6   18.11   19.14.128


Perfunctory win for the rebounding Dons over the injury-hit Saints. We
were in the Medallion Club as a guest of a certain retailer, with a
marvellous view, free refreshments and those fold-out individual
televisions whose main function seems to be giving passers-by a cork
thigh. But a superb location for football viewing. Unfortunately we were
surrounded by Bommer fans, who heavily outnumbered the Stains despite
this being a St. Kilda home game. The Don supporters have taken smugness
to a whole new level ("Ho-ho, I guess we can let Harvey get a few kicks
- it's not going to matter!") combined with righteous indignation when
something doesn't go the Bommers' way, like the opposition receiving a
free kick or daring to spoil Lloydy or Hirdy or something. St. Kilda
will be without leaders Stewie Loewe and Nathan Burke for somewhere
between six and eight weeks each, strained knee ligaments for both,
while Steven Lawrence will also be out for a while with yet another
hamstring injury. In addition Blighty dropped youngsters Caydn Beetham
and Jason Blake. Key defenders Fraser Gehrig and Max Hudghton returned
from injury while Steven Baker, Damien Ryan and Justin Peckett were
recalled. Essadun have plenty missing too of course, this week Dustin
Fletcher joined them, suspended a week for tripping Craig McRae last
Saturday night. Mark Bolton was dropped and coming in were Judd Lalich
and first-gamer Marc Bullen, a tough 18-y-o half-back from the Murray
Bushrangers.


Must start off by complimenting the Colonial people, the surface looks
perfect now and they're attracting bigger crowds - no doubt the decision
to have the roof closed for all games is a factor. The surface is very
hard though and the stadium has big financial problems. Anyway, it was
quickly obvious that the Dons would stream forward cleanly and precisely
while the Saints' forward thrusts were slow, uncertain and directed to
Barry Hall, who was supposed to outmark about seven opponents. The Dons
dominated opening exchanges, led by Dean Rioli who played very well.
Looked in a different class, even to his team-mates. Rioli created the
opening goal, for Chris Heffernan on the run, and then ruckman David
Hille dobbed one from the flank. Saint leader Rob Harvey landed
awkwardly in a marking duel, falling on Jason Johnson's head, and winded
himself. Harvey went to the bench for a few minutes while Johnson
trotted away unfazed. Hall kicked a good goal for the Saints but later
punched Mark Johnson in the stomach, could be some action over that. The
Dons surged on, a very good chase and tackle from Damien Peverill on
Saint Andy Thompson forced a turnover and goal for Rioli. With Joe
Misiti set to return, Peverill will have to return to the rookie list
soon. It’s been suggested injured Dean Wallis would retire to allow
Peverill to stay on the list, but Sheedy denied it. A few Don fans
around us suggested Scott Lucas should be dropped off. Anyway, the
Saints battled on before a flood of Bummer goals late in the term, Dean
Solomon snuck forward and snapped an excellent major, Matt Lloyd
beautifully converted a pass from Lucas and Rioli goaled from a mark.
Busy Aaron Hamill missed poorly for the Saints but Barry Hall bagged a
very late sausage from a good mark.


St. Kilda came out with renewed vigour in the second term, starting to
win the ball in the centre with ruckman Peter Everitt and ruck-rover
Andrew Thompson going well. Lively ex-Don Steven Milne ran frenetically
in attack, he kicked a marvellous goal after Don Aaron Henneman spilled
an uncontested mark, Hamill converted from a mark and Everitt snapped
truly. The Sainters were 15 points in arrears when Don skipper James
Hird moved into the centre and sparked another late blast of goals.
Conceding goals in time-on has been a chronic Stakilda problem. Lloyd
back-pedalled in the goalsquare and held a terrific one-handed mark for
the first of those, Hird goaled from a grab and Jonathan Robran came off
the bench to kick two. One of those came when St. Kilda were effecting
an interchange, Tim Elliott sprinted 100m from the boundary but couldn't
arrive in time to stop Robran marking 40m out. At half-time it was over,
although the Saints kept plugging away. Full-back Gehrig was doing well
on Lloyd, but the weight of Bommer midfield possession ensured plenty of
chances for others. Jason Johnson and Hird continued to gather a welter
of touches, Rioli snapped a terrific third, Peverill bagged one and Adam
Ramanauskas, also playing well, kicked a nice goal. Everitt had shifted
forward for the Saints and took a couple of marks, kicking some goals.
Essadun led by 59 points late in the third stanza but the margin was
narrowed in the final term as the Dons switched off. Barry Hall kicked
two final-term goals and the Saints scored four consecutively, narrowing
the gap to 36 points, before Rioli closed the scoring. After the game
Blighty had the Saints warm-down on the ground again.


Dean Rioli's handling and disposal skills, ability to find space and
teammates from any position stamped him as a very good player - perhaps
half as good as Uncle Maurice. Rioli had 25 disposals, took 6 marks and
kicked 4 goals from a half-forward flank. Essadun captain James Hird was
also very good, moving into the centre in the second term and ending
with 28 disposals (22 kicks), 8 marks and 2 goals. Also in the midfield
winger Adam Ramanauskas (17 disposals, a goal) and centreman Jason
Johnson (19 disposals, a goal) played well. Damien Peverill was opposed
to Robert Harvey and had 20 handlings and a goal (Harvey had 31 touches,
many inside his defensive 50m). Danny Jacobs, playing at centre
half-back, underlined his improvement with 20 possessions and 8 marks.
Important winger Paul Barnard (15 disposals, 8 marks, a goal) was handy.
Chris Heffernan, Jon Robran and Matt Lloyd kicked 2 goals each, Lloydy
with a wasteful 2.5 although a few of those were tough tight-angle
shots. St. Kilda's best was the hard-working Barry Hall at full-forward,
he covered plenty of territory to kick 4 goals from 11 marks and 14
kicks against Aaron Henneman. At the opposite end Fraser Gehrig played
well, helped by Matty's inaccuracy, while running off for 17 disposals
of his own. In between Andrew Thompson (18 disposals) inspired the
Saints' best period and ruckman Peter Everitt did alright, bagging 4
goals from 17 touches and 5 marks. Forward Aaron Hamill tried hard for
16 touches, 5 marks and a goal. Young Justin Koschitzke (11 touches)
will be a good player and there were reasonable efforts from forward
pocket Steven Milne (13 touches, a goal) and winger Justin Peckett (21
disposals, a goal). Mal Blight said "Football is about decision-making
and the decision-making process is letting us down. I think Essendon
(sic) has taken that to new levels in the past eighteen months and I
guess every team is chasing them." Kev Sheedy reckoned "We have split
the team through injuries and suspensions. All our cards are on the
table at the moment and nobody has definitely got a position in the
Essendon (sic) side. Who would have thought that after winning the
premiership last year?" Well, we all hoped for it...


At Colonial:
Geelong   2.5   5.5   10.8    14.9.93
Hawthorn  3.2   5.4    9.8   13.12.90


The Cats kept their season alive with a narrow win over Hawthorn, who
slumped to their third straight loss. Cat excitement may be tempered by
a knee injury to ruckman Steven King, although it's not too bad
apparently. In picking the Cats regained an experienced midfield, Gary
Hocking, Glen(n?) Kilpatrick and Peter Riccardi and also called up Corey
Enright. Rumours of Hocking’s imminent retirement spread during the
week, 'Buddha' supposedly frustrated with his bad knee and limited
ground-time when he does play. Hocking was on the ground for the entire
game here. Out went forward David Mensch with a strained foot while
David Wojcinski, Joel Corey and James Rahilly were dropped. Mensch
played his 150th game last week. The Hawks lost another key player in
forward John Barker, suspended a game for biffing Port's Matt Primus
last week. Luke McPharlin was out with a groin strain while rover Lance
Picioane was dropped. The Horks called up veteran rover Anthony Rock for
his first game of the season plus two teenagers for their first games
ever, half-forwards Bill Nicholls from North Shore in Geelong and former
Dandenong Stingray Nathan Lonie. He's the twin brother of Collingwood's
Ryan Lonie. Mark Graham played his 150th game for the Hawks.


The first half was fairly dull with plenty of turnovers, but featured
much physicality from two desperate teams suffering from accusations of
softness. The first goal arrived quickly, Hawk Tony Woods handpassing
for ruckman Brett O'Farrell to banana-snap truly. Geelong replied soon
with Hocking roving a pack and spearing one on the run. Hawthorn's other
ruckman, Nathan Thompson, seized a strong grab at CHF and was hammered
afterwards by Cat Darren Milburn, resulting in a 50m penalty and easy
goal. Thereafter the Hawks' keepings-off game, utilising much short
passing, slowed the action for a while. Eventually Cat Ronnie Burns
roved a pack and snapped a terrific goal, but another string of Hork
short-passes ended with Bill Nicholls finding Thompson on the lead, he
goaled again. Some more misapplied aggro led to the first goal of term
two, as Cat Darren Milburn ran into goal team-mate Burns biffed opponent
Luke McCabe in the stomach. The free-kick led to another goal for
Thompson and Horforn led by 9 points. Even the Clarke brothers started
wrestling. Across the middle Justin Murphy and Adam Houlihan gave the
Cats the upper hand, Murphy picked out Ben Graham on the lead and the
Cat captain goaled. Namesake Mark Graham, skippering the Hawks for the
day, turned over leading to a Geelong goal for Houlihan, then Brenton
Sanderson marked on the wing and was dragged down by Nicholls, giving up
a 50m penalty and Cat sausage. Geelong by 8 points. The spite and
niggling continued, late in the term Hawthorn pulled one back when Woods
passed for O'Farrell to convert. But Ben Dixon missed a shot on the
siren.


Geelong's King didn't appear for the second half, a strained medial knee
ligament the reason. Ben Graham went into the ruck. Their Kilpatrick
bombed a long goal early, Daniel Harford replied for the Hawks after a
very scrappy passage of play. The standard wasn't great. The Cats had
another good spell, Hork Mark Graham was palpably caught in possession
and Cameron Ling thumped the free kick home from 50m. A poster each and
a poor miss from Ling followed before Burns threw McCabe aside - no
whistle - gathered the ball and handpassed for David Clarke to goal on
the run. A minute later Burns 'n' McCabe were in the action again, Burns
marked Hocking's pass and was pulled down by McCabe as he threatened to
play on, it cost the Hawks a 50m penalty and goal. The Cats led by 19
points, the greatest differential thus far. Nathan Thompson replaced
O'Farrell in the Horforn ruck and inspired the Hawks, he thumped the
ball forward where Tim Clarke collected and handballed for first-gamer
Nicholls to convert. From the restart Thompson grabbed the ball and
wobbled a kick forward, team-mate Jade Rawlings judged it best for a
mark and major. Peter Riccardi roved for a Cat reply but Thompson had
the last word for the stanza, climbing over Cat Matthew Scarlett for a
big grab and goal on the siren to leave the Hawks 6 down.


The last korter went goal-for-goal. TV commentators opined that neither
team was good enough to win it, although that was harsh. The mistakes
continued though. The Cats got the first goal, Hocking's strong tackle
on Rayden Tallis forced the ball loose and Corey Enright handballed for
Riccardi to grub it through, Cats by 11 points. Harford missed a shot
for Hawthorn but Cat full-back Scarlett obliged by punting the kick-in
straight to Mark Graham, he booted back over Scarlett's head for a
major. Cats by 4 points. Woods missed a shot before Ronnie Burns pounced
on pack spillage and snapped his third, Cats by 9. A throw-in at the
other end and Hork O'Farrell tapped for Brett Johnson to rove and snap
his first career goal, Cats by 3 points. Another Cat sortie, Clint
Bizzell and Kilpatrick combined to create an easy goal for Paul Chapman,
Cats by 9 points again. Brett Johnson handballed for Bill Nicholls, he
converted, Cats by 3 points. Woods found Johnson but the Hawk missed a
set-shot, Cats by just the 2 points now. Burns provided Cat relief once
more, snaffling a ball-up on the 50m line and hooking it through, a
great goal. Nicholls got the Hawks within 2 points again with a
double-soccer effort but a crucial, strong mark on half-forward from
Clint Bizzell - and a soft free kick against Hawk Jade Rawlings -
allowed the Catters to run the clock down to the end. David Clarke's
long kick after the siren was allowed to bounce through for a point, a
bit poor from the Horks. Their fans verbally assaulted the departing
umpires.


Cat coach Bomber Thompson identified Ronnie Burns as a player who'd
promised to 'stand up' at half-time, Burns booted 4 good goals from 7
kicks, the exemplary poacher's game. Garry Hocking answered a few
critics - or was allowed to answer them - by gathering 20 disposals and
kicking a goal swapping between the centre and half-forward. Who
Buddha's critics are isn't clear - he reckons the match committee.
Hard-running David Clarke was very good with 23 disposals and a goal,
fellow midfielder Glenn Kilpatrick worked hard for 17 touches and a
goal. Carrothead forward Cameron Ling (22 disposals, 7 marks, a goal)
provided a lift when he came on and tough full-back Matthew Scarlett (21
touches, 7 marks) put in an honest performance. Justin Murphy (18
possies, 7 marks) played alright. Peter Riccardi kicked 2 goals.
Hawthorn were led by Nathan Thompson, who kicked 4 goals to go with his
10 marks, 16 disposals and strong rucking game. He and fellow ruckman
Brett O'Farrell (11 marks, 21 disposals, 2 goals) handed the Hawks a
significant advantage which wasn't capitalised upon. Of their
midfielders only Daniel Harford (28 disposals, a goal) did much.
Half-back Joel Smith provided plenty of attacking run again with 24
disposals and Brett Johnson (13 disposals, a goal) provided some spark
off the bench. First-gamer Bill Nicholls is a 'goer', not the most
skilful bloke on the ground but he put himself about for 17 disposals
and kicked 3 goals. Many other Hawks were quiet, most notably Trent
Croad. "If we're not one-hundred percent disciplined we are not going to
be the side we want to be," began Schwab. "Things are not being followed
to the absolute letter. They know what we want and they don't do it.
What we have got to work out is the players who can't do it physically
or don't do it because it doesn't suit the way they want to play. The
players have got to have football smarts. There's a quote from a great
rugby league coach, Jack Gibson, 'Dumb players get you the sack'..."
Later Schwabby backtracked desperately. "I didn't call our players dumb,
don't say that because that's not what I said..." Bomber Thompson said
"The standard wasn't great, but it's better to play badly and still win
than play well and get beaten. I never thought we'd get beaten...I
thought we deserved to win, but didn't think we knew how to win in the
closing stages."


At Football Park:
Adelaide   5.3    7.4    9.8    14.13.97
Footscray  7.4   12.8   13.12   19.13.127


Chris Grant inspired the Bulldogs to another win over the Camrys, their
fifth in a row since the 1997 prelim final. We knew Grant was in for a
big game when Seven's Bruce McAvaney chose to continue his anti-Grant
campaign. "Grant is about as close to a champion as you can get" (What?)
and "That was Carey-like" said Bruce of the Bulldog forward, in addition
to casting more aspertions on Grant's goal-kicking ability. He kicked
6.1. Just one change in selection for the Camrys, half-back flank Robert
Shirley replacing fellow backman Nathan Bassett. The Dogs made three
changes, losing versatile Simon Cox with illness while Mark Alvey and
Todd Curley were dropped. Curley's form has disappeared since he was
suspended for colliding with an umpire six weeks ago. Incoming Dogs were
juniors Lindsay Gilbee, Adam Contessa and first-gamer Daniel
Giansiracusa, a second-round draft pick in 1999. Daniel's a local boy,
from Williamstown.


Terry Wallace adopted the North Melbourne game-plan of old, Chris Grant
was isolated in an open forward-line (Wallace's Wasteland?), the Dogs
played on relentlessly and got ball to boot as quickly as possible,
staying in the corridor. It worked very well. Much of the game was
played in light rain. Unfortunately for the locals their Brett Burton
went off injured in the first ten seconds, twisting his ankle. The first
quarter featured plenty of goals, Daniel Giansiracusa became the
nine-million-and-first player to goal with his first-ever kick, from
Grant's handpass. Then the Crows kicked three in a row, two from Tyson
Edwards - a mark from Peter Vardy's miskick, a free kick for a high
tackle plus 50m penalty - and Bryan Beinke wobbled a mongrel punt
through. Then the Dogs kicked the next four. Grant booted the first of
those, from a good overhead mark in the slippery conditions. Dog
defenders Rohan Smith and Matthew Croft had started in attack, Croft
collected a loose ball and kicked a very good sausage, then marked
Smith's kick strongly in a pack and converted. Tony Liberatore,
revelling in the wet, found Smith on the lead and Smithy punted the
Bullies 13 points ahead. Corolla coach Gary Ayres had bowed to pressure
and started tall Ben Marsh in attack, Marsh took a big grab and received
50m when Craig Ellis slapped the ball away, an easy goal. Straight from
the restart Marsh goaled again, spilling a mark but soccering it
through. Scores level. Bulldog Smith cleared the next centre-bounce and
kicked long, Croft sprinted into Wallace's Wasteland and executed a
skilful soccer kick for a major. Camry Andrew Crowell's poor kick from
the back-pocket gifted Bulldog Adam Contessa a goal to complete a hectic
first quarter.


Grant made the second stanza his own with all of Footscray's five goals.
It was a superb effort. Aderlayed's Beinke goaled first, from a strong
grab, and the Bullies led by 7 points. Then Giansiracusa intercepted Ben
Hart's telegraphed handpass and handballed for Grant, he ran inside 50m
and bounced a low shot home. Hard-up on the boundary, Rohan Smith fired
a handpass and Grant swung onto his right boot and drilled it from a
very tight angle, a great kick. Ken McGregor replaced Mark Stevens as
Grant's opponent. It was tight for a while before the Dogs attacked
again, Grant won a dubious free kick for a pushout and converted it. The
Dogs led by 27 points now, the busy Scott West punted the Dogs forward
again, Grant and McGregor pursued the ball into the Wasteland.
Unfortunately for McGregor he fell over and Grant soccered another goal.
Grant bagged his fifth for the quarter from a regulation lead and mark
and the Dogs led by 40 points, before Scott Welsh broke the Camry
goal-drought with a goalsquare mark of Ben Marsh's kick. When the teams
emerged for the third quarter Nigel Smart had the job on Chris Grant.
Smarty did quite well and the Cows fired up in the midfield, led by Mark
Ricciuto and Mr. Third Quarter. However the Cressidas failed to convert
their dominance into points, after Peter Vardy snapped an early
close-range goal they scored three behinds until Grant intervened on
behalf of the Dogs, gathering a loose ball and spotting Paul Hudson in
acres of space, Huddo sausaged. That Hudson goal made him the fourth
player in history to kick 200 goals for two different clubs. How about
that? Crow ruckman Matthew Clarke missed woefully before Mark Stevens
marked and goaled after the siren, a very good long kick. The Camrys
also scored the first major of the last stanza, Andrew McLeod gathering
a ball-up and spearing it through. They trailed by 22 points but the
Pups booted three consecutive majors to effectively end it. Adam
Contessa did very well to get the ball forward where Hudson slotted on
the left foot, Grant and Smith combined to create the chance for
Giansiracusa, then it was Grant and Mark Robbins sending the ball to
leading Hudson, he sausaged again. The Bullies led by 39 points and were
comfortably home. Mark Stevens kicked consecutive goals for the Camrys -
he was recruited as a forward, you know - Nathan Brown escaped Tyson
Stenglein's tight tag to do likewise for the Doggies, Rohan Smith, Scott
Welsh and Tyson Edwards kicked goals before the end.


Chris Grant ended with 6 goals from 17 disposals and 7 marks, the
game-plan was orchestrated around him but he was the difference, a
superb performance. Around packs Tony Liberatore was excellent, he had
23 disposals and planted a terrific 11 tackles. Rover Scott West played
very well for 35 disposals and on the wing Brad Johnson ran his innards
out to gather 21 kicks. In attack both Rohan Smith (20 kicks, 2 goals)
and Matthew Croft (8 kicks, 3 goals) were very useful, in defence the
tough play of Steve Kretiuk (16 disposals) and Mitch Hahn (17 touches)
was a factor. Paul Hudson kicked 3 goals from 5 kicks, Daniel
Giansiracusa and Nathan Brown booted 2 goals each. The Crows didn't have
a stand-out but captain Mark Ricciuto (19 disposals) inspired their best
period. Andrew McLeod was their leading possession winner with 26 but he
turns the ball over a bit too often, McLeod also kicked a goal. Nigel
Smart (11 touches) slowed Grant after half-time and big man Ben Marsh
played well with 17 touches and 2 goals. Back-flankers Kane Johnson (22
possies) and Mr. Third Quarter (19 disposals, 8 in the third term) made
useful contributions and Mark Bickley (17 kicks) wasn't bad. Tyson
Edwards and Mark Stevens kicked 3 goals each, there were 2 goals each
for Bryan Beinke and Scott Welsh. "Our inability to adapt to the
conditions was very disappointing,"is Gary Ayres's only quoted comment.
Terry Wallace said "Conditions being what they were, we just tried to
play the paddock and leave the openings there for Chris Grant in the
first half." And he took them.


At Subiaco:
West Coast  3.1   7.2   9.5      9.8.62
Brisbane    2.5   5.7   8.13   11.18.84


An improved effort from the Eagles but the Lisbon Brians roused
themselves to carve out the victory. The whole of WA football is in
turmoil apparently, with a few knives out for Weegle coach Judge now
Drummy's copped the axe at Freo. Harsh, it's hardly Judge's fault. As an
Age article on Saturday pointed out, the West Coast's drafting has been
very poor for the last four or five years. Their policy seems to have
been recruitment of blokes named Chad. The Eagles made six changes in
response to the Princes Park disaster, Greg Harding was out with a
broken foot while the axe fell on Chad Fletcher, David Haynes, Adam
Hunter, Troy Wilson and, as a statement, Chad Morrison. Replacements
were big ruckman (as opposed to small ruckman) Dean Cox, Callum
Chambers, Richard Taylor, Kane Munro, midfielder Josh Wooden for the
first time this season and a debutant, feisty half-back Jeremy Humm from
North Ballarat. The Lions were strengthened with the returns of
full-back Justin Leppitsch and ruckman Beau McDonald, youngsters Jamie
Charman and Craig Bolton made way.


On a cold and damp Perth night a fired-up West Coast started well, as
usual ruckman Mick Gardiner and muscular rover Ben Cousins led the way
but they received support from Michael Braun and David Wirrpunda. At the
focal point Scotty Cummings actually did something, booting two
first-quarter goals from a mark and a downfield free-kick. In defence
Travis Gaspar did well on Lion tyro Jonathan Brown and Trent Carroll
battled with Al Lynch at full-back. Brisbane's in-form on-ball trio,
Simon Black, Michael Voss and Jason Akermanis, won some touches but
their forwards couldn't kick straight. By the first break the Eegs had
won a quarter of football for the first time in five matches. Eagle
whippet Phil Matera fired the home crowd at the start of the second
term, roving a pack and racing along the boundary line into the
goalsquare to thump it through. Another Cummings goal and one for Mick
Braun sent the Wiggles 18 points clear before Al Lynch and rookie Rob
Copeland helped the Lions come back late in the stanza. Lyin' backman
Justin Leppitsch's return lasted just two minutes before he re-injured
the hamstring. Ouch. The Weegs started the third term in determined mood
but Cummings, Braun and Phil Matera all missed shots (Matera twice). The
Lyin' midfield got moving and wingers Tim Notting and Nigel Lappin won
some touches. Notting thumped a 60m sausage, Dan Bradshaw came off the
bench to boot one and Akermanis kicked a goal. The Eegs scored two more,
one from Gaspar thrown forward, but the Lions had crawled ahead by two
points at the final change. The heavens opened during the final break
and West Ghosts's resolve was washed away. Not much scoring in the final
term but Akermanis's loose-ball gather and slot sealed the win for the
Brians. Their Chris Scott and Eagle Richard Taylor must have been
playing kick-to-kick in the last term, Scott had 13 kicks and Taylor 10
for the quarter.


Brisbane's Simon Black was benched late in the game with a shoulder
injury but he was very good again before that, gathering 25 disposals
and kicking a goal. He and on-ball compatriots Jason Akermanis (27
disposals, 2 goals) and Michael Voss (23 disposals, a goal) made the
difference in the end. Winger Tim Notting fired for a big second half to
end with 22 disposals, 7 marks and a goal. In defence, flanker Brad
Scott (15 disposals, 7 marks, a goal) played well and athletic Daryl
White was good, after an early, influential run at CHF he shifted back
and ended with 16 touches and 7 marks. Al Lynch kicked 2 first-half
goals. Eagle following pair Michael Gardiner (13 disposals, 4 marks, a
goal) and skipper Ben Cousins (30 disposals) battled honourably for the
home side. On the wing tagger Rowan Jones had 14 disposals and kicked a
goal in a good duel with Lappin, restored to the backline David
Wirrpunda was more comfortable with 20 disposals. Trent Carroll (12
disposals) probably beat Lynch on the night and the paper's got kind
words for Daniel Kerr again, he had 12 disposals. Scott Cummings looked
for the ball kicked 3 goals in the first half. No coach’s quotes
available, unfortunately.


At the SCG:
Sydney         3.4   10.5   16.11   18.17.125
Port Adelaide  2.2    5.10   6.15   10.18.78


Swan leader Paul Kelly returned to inspire the Siddeysiders to their
best performance of the season, comfortably beating the high-flying
Flowers. Although the gutsy win over Collingwood last week probably had
more to do with it. Power coach Williams described it with a
Keatingesque 'loss we had to have'. Along with Kelly ruckman Jason Ball
and defender Brad Seymour returned to the Swan side, out went injured
trio Daryn Cresswell (calf strain), captain Andrew Dunkley (knee) and
Heath James (hamstring). The Flowers had one late alteration,ill Peter
Burgoyne replaced by Brent Guerra. Sydney small forward Paul Williams
played his 200th game, 190 of which were played with Collingwood.


Kelly was used sparingly by Eade, but Rocket had a plan. The Swans
flooded the midfield instead of their defence, stifling Port's runners.
Winger Stuart Maxfield blasted two long goals to kick-start the homies,
one created by a fierce attack on the ball from Nic Fosdike who was
benched for much of the remainder. Their small quarter-time lead
expanded greatly in the second term as Wayne Schwass, Matthew Nicks and
Dan McPherson started gather regular possession. Adam Goodes led a
multi-pronged attack. The Bloods' forward line was soon deprived of a
prong though, when Michael O'Loughlin damaged a shoulder flying for a
mark and had to be benched for the duration. It's allegedly not too
serious though, O'Loughlin may only miss one game. Against Richmond.
What a shame. Port's runners couldn't get involved, apart from Nick
Stevens. Ruckman Matthew Primus was double-teamed by Swans Ball and Greg
Stafford, Brad Seymour returned strongly in defence as Andy Schauble
countered Warren Tredrea. Any thought of a Port comeback was stifled in
the third term as the Swannies piled on six goals to one, Ball shifted
forward to boot two of those and Nicks bagged a brace as well. Jude
Bolton collected 8 kicks for the stanza and the Bloods led by a
comfortable 56 points at the last change. They eased down in the last as
Port kicked some late goals. In the final seconds Swan Jon Stevens tried
to mark the ball with his back, a difficult skill he hasn't mastered.


A victory for Eade and the Swan midfield, led by ruck-rover Matthew
Nicks with 20 disposals, 11 marks and 2 goals. Around him Stuart
Maxfield (18 kicks, 2 goals), the much-improved Dan McPherson (20
disposals, 2 goals) and Wayne Schwass (27 disposals, a goal) provided
the winning edge. Another strong game in the ruck from Jason Ball (19
disposals, 7 marks, 2 goals) nullified Primus as a factor. Speedy Paul
Williams enjoyed his afternoon with 2 goals also, from 21 possessions.
Dale Lewis continues to improve after his comeback, he took 12 marks and
had 14 kicks including a goal. Adam Goodes kicked 3 goals from 4 marks,
10 kicks and Brad Seymour (15 touches, 6 marks) played well down back.
Only Nick Stevens could do much damage for the Pooer, he had 25
disposals (21 kicks) and booted 1.3. Defensive rebound men Brett
Montgomery (25 touches, 8 marks, a goal) and Adam Kingsley (24 touches)
were busy and although Josh Francou and Fabian Francis won plenty of
touches - Francou 22 and Francis 18 kicks with 10 marks - neither were
their usual effective selves. Forward Chad Cornes worked hard for 7
marks and 14 disposals, but contributed a wayward 0.3. Che
Cockatoo-Collins and Stuart Dew kicked 2 goals each. Rocket said "(Port)
were probably cherry-ripe for a loss...They were 8-2 and didn't have
many injuries and there can be a sense by the players that they're
travelling okay. But our team carried out instructions and played good
football, so that is our best win so far." Mark Williams said "It was
disappointing, the Swans played well though. We've got the week off so
hopefully we can re-group and press on in the second half of the
season."


At the MCG:
Richmond  2.4   5.6   8.7   13.10.88
Carlton   1.3   4.7   6.12   8.13.61


The Tiges spoiled Steven Silvagni's big day by actually putting in a big
one. Carlton and the Tiges turn 7-4 at the half, but both have plenty to
prove. Still it was a great day for Silvagni who was playing his 300th
game. Silvagni is one of the most skilful, honest and genuinely great
players going around. Not only a champion player but a champion bloke, a
unique combination for a Carlton player. That accolade of Full-Back of
the Century was pretty well-deserved. It was Silvagni who inspired
Carlton's huge 1999 Preliminary Final win, throw in a bucket of
All-Australian guernseys, a proud State-of-Origin record and two club
best-and-fairests and you get a picture. Silvagni is also well-respected
by his peers, Richmond formed an honour guard as SoS departed after the
siren. Anyways, in selection for this Richmond regained Matthew
Richardson and rover Clinton King for the first time since round 1. They
replaced half-back Craig Biddiscombe (knee) and dropped junior Mark
Coughlan. For the fourth consecutive week Carlton made no change.


This was an old-fashioned Richmond/Carlton game in front of 71,765,
every player out there was fully committed, no ball was easily won and
no physical clash shirked. Injuries aplenty, there were a lot of
ball-ups and skills weren't great. The first term featured many
turnovers, indeed Richmond got their first two goals courtesy Blue Scott
Freeborn. His dropped mark allowed Matthew Richardson to lead, mark and
convert from the flank, later Freeborn's pass proved too high for Kris
Massie and Greg Tivendale pounced to boot the major. In the same
incident Massie's leg was broken and he had to be stretchered off. The
mistakes weren't one-way though, Tiger spearhead Richardson contributed
two horrible misses from close range and team-mate Joel Bowden's poor
kick allowed Mick Mansfield to pass to leading Lance Whitnall for the
Blues’ first. Silvagni started in attack again but he has real problems
kicking since the downstairs trouble. Carlton were confounded by the
Tiges' flooded defence and they themselves lacked a genuine marking
target with Whitnall and Kouta struggling. At the other end Richardson
proved a handful for Simon Beaumont, Richo’s tap-down allowed Matthew
Rogers to snap a close-range left-footer, then Richardson led to Nick
Daffy's centering kick for a mark and conversion. TheTiges led by 19
points, they were doing well around packs with Brendon Gale rucking
superbly and untagged Matthew Knights gathering touches. Carlton
rebounded well from defence via Craig Bradley and Darren Hulme. The
Bluebaggers combatted the Richmond flood by: outpacing it, Matt Lappin
with a goal on-the-run; going over it, Bradley with a torpedo goal from
60m; and through intervention from a greater power, umpire Bocelli
awarding a ridiculous free-kick to Whitnall. Those three goals levelled
the scores before Richardson nudged the Tigers ahead again prior to
half-time, a good goal from Tivendale's daisy-cutting pass.


Similar ebb-and-flow in the third term. The Tigers cleared away early,
admirable battling from Joel Bowden set up an early snap for Tivendale.
Daffy worked hard to loop a kick forward, Rory Hilton grabbed it and
sausaged. Brad Ottens, playing at CHF this week, soared in the
goalsquare for a huge grab and hooked it through, the Tiges led by 22
points. Carton re-organised, Brendan Fevola came on for his first run at
full-forward and Whitnall retreated to defence. Whitnall took a couple
of strong marks in the last line and Fevola won some possessions,
although his wayward kicking made it a lottery for Carlton forwards. At
first it was good, Whitnall pushed afield to mark and goal from a Fevola
mis-kick. Whitnall then kicked a magnificent goal, collecting a dribbly
kick and snapping while being tackled by Darren Gaspar, a great effort.
But then Fevola was bad, he missed two fairly straight-forward shots,
and some more Bloo behinds before the last change wasted a good spell
for them. The tight, tough nature of the match spilled over when Richmun
skipper Wayne Campbell was crunched, a fracas ensued in which Carlton's
Jordan Doering was reported for punching Nick Daffy. A nice right it was
too, right in front of us. Richardson failed to appear for the final
term, more hamstring trouble and Rory Hilton was also off with a damaged
shoulder. The Tigers scored the first goal when Paul Broderick snapped a
lovely banana on the run, created by Knights's good handpass. Blue
pensioner Craig Bradley kicked an equally skilful banana-goal at the
other end, snaffling Gale's miskick. The Tiges were 8 points ahead but
pulled away now. Tivendale punted a ripper from the boundary-line and an
exceedingly rare Andy McKay mistake, dropping a mark, allowed Broderick
to snap another goal. The Blues ran into more injury trouble after
Fevola and Anthony Franchina ran into each other, Franchina limped away
with a sore shin but Fevola was stretchered off, a jarred knee. Bowden
threw the ball to Rogers and he snapped truly from 5m, from the restart
Gale gathered, handpasses to Knights to Clinton King to Ottens saw the
croweater dob one and the Tigers were well and truly home - we were
already singing the song. Doering snapped Blue consolation.


Although it was a big day for Silvagni, it was also Tiger ruckman
Brendon Gale's testimonial night and he played very well, rucking the
entire game, tapping superbly and gathering 20 disposals with 7 marks
around the ground. Running left-foot twins Greg Tivendale (17 kicks, 3
goals) and Joel Bowden (27 disposals, 7 marks) both played very well.
The Richmun defence was excellent, led by Darren Gaspar who had 13
touches and kept unfit Koutoufides quiet, Leon Cameron with 26 disposals
and Andrew Kellaway with 23 possessions and 10 marks. Around packs Wayne
Campbell (29 touches) and Matthew Knights (21 with 14 handpasses) worked
hard and Duncan Kellaway tackled Brett Ratten furiously. Matthew
Richardson kicked 3 first-half goals, Brad Ottens, Paul Broderick and
Matt Rogers kicked 2 goals each. Carlton's best was the 'natural
footballer', Lance Whitnall with 4 of their 8 goals from 7 marks and 12
disposals. He was very good. Normal midfield drivers Camporeale and
Ratten struggled with close attention, the Blues' best middlemen were
Darren Hulme (29 disposals) and veteran Craig Bradley, opposed to
Knights the Blue had 15 kicks and booted 2 goals. Other decent Blues
were rare, half-forward Matthew Lappin (25 possies, a goal) worked hard
to get things happening and although beaten, ruckman Mark Porter was
useful. Silvagni played well enough with 16 disposals and 9 marks and a
good performance on Ottens, although as mentioned his kicking's gone
awry. Winger Adrian Hickmott (18 touches) wasn't bad. Bloo coach Wayne
Brittain said "I don't think we ran out of numbers (referring to the
injuries), we just didn't get the ball through the goals. We had
opportunities and didn't capitalise." Tigger coach Frawley said "I
wouldn't have thought it was the prettiest game of football...but it's
one we've got to put in the library for the belief factor, beating
quality opposition. We've still got to emulate what happened today,
that's the big challenge for us." Too right Spud, the Tiges turned 7-4
last year and didn't make it, so still plenty of work to do.


At Colonial:
North Melbourne  5.1   11.5   20.11   23.16.154
Fremantle        4.2    7.4    9.6     10.8.68


No alarms and no surprises as Norf thumped the demoralised Dockers for a
needed percentage boost. Roo Carey will be missing for six weeks with
strained ankle ligaments, also out of the Norf side was discarded
ex-Docker Jess Sinclair. Roo replacements were Shannon Motlop and
ruckman Drew Petrie. The Dockers regained spearhead Tony Modra and coach
Ben Allan explored his list further, calling up former Essadun ruckman
Simon Eastaugh along with rover Ben Cunningham and flanker Troy
Longmuir. They replaced injured runners Brad Dodd (strained knee), Jason
Norrish (hamstring) and Brad Bootsma (knee) while Antoni Grover had
Sesame Street commitments.


Docker coach Ben Allan was quite happy with the first half. Tony Modra
booted a couple of goals as Freo scored three of the first four and it
took a late surge and majors from Corey McKernan, Corey Jones and
Shannon Motlop to squeeze the Roos ahead at quarter-time. Shaun McManus
and wingman Heath Black were winning some touches for the sandgropers.
Roo deserter Peter Bell, in his first game against the old club, was
being tagged by Adam Simpson. In the second term North did what all
experienced favourites do to young challengers, they belted the Dockers.
Freo ruckman Justin Longmuir was clobbered by Leigh Colbert and driven
off on the little blue cart. We had one of these at the MCG and it was
the most mobile blue thing out there, we quipped. I digress. Later on
Freo backman Leigh Brown concussed himself by falling head-first onto
the concrete-like Cloanyel surface. Three goals from McKernan stretched
North Canberra's lead in the second term, Freo stayed in touch as
Matthew Pavlich raised the twin calicoes a couple of times. But the
match was really blown apart early in the third Mario Lanza with three
goals in the first five minutes from Norf hard-man Byron Pickett. The
first two were fairly straightforward, the third involved eluding two
tacklers and roosting a torpedo from 50m. Thereon the Kangarse set about
building percentage.


Byron Pickett played his usual game with lots of crunchin' blokes but he
also bagged 5 goals, something he doesn't do every week. Pickett had 22
disposals altogether. Rover Anthony Stevens is approaching top form
eighteen months after his bizarre accident, Stevo worked diligently
around packs for 27 disposals (21 kicks). Age journo Jake Niall suggests
this game will be remembered as "The Day Corey McKernan Played Two Good
Games In A Row." Harsh. McKernan kicked 5 goals from 9 marks, 12 kicks.
Elsewhere defender Glenn Archer (21 touches, 6 marks) played well,
running Brent Harvey gathered 27 touches and flanker Shannon Grant (26
handlings, 10 marks, a goal) put himself about. Adam Simpson engaged in
decent battle with Bell, ending with 20 disposals. Lots of Kangas kicked
goals of course, there were 2 each for Shane Clayton, Sav, Shannon
Motlop, former Dokka 'Spider' Burton and and Corey Jones. Freo were led
by co-captain Shaun McManus, once again battling hard for 24 disposals.
The paper reckons Ashley Prescott was their next best with a total of 5
possessions - I assume he was tagging someone, probably David King.
Heath Black (25 touches) and Pete Bell (24) weren't their worst and up
forward Tony Modra did a bit with 4 goals, Matthew Pavlich kicked 2
majors from 16 possies and 5 marks. Ben Cunningham also kicked 2 goals
and junior Adam McPhee at least knows how to get the ball, he had 19
disposals. Allan said "There was a drop-off real quick in confidence;
no-one was really prepared to stand up and show a bit of steel. At half
time - they were four goals ahead - but I thought they (North) would
have been concerned." Denis Pagan didn't admit to it. "We had a process
in place and that's the result of really placing a strong attack on the
football and taking your chances when they're presented." Norf must be
back, Denis is saying the same old things.


At the MCG:
Melbourne    1.2   4.5    6.7      8.9.57
Collingwood  5.4   9.9   14.15   19.20.134


On the Queen's Birthday holiday - many happy returns, Liz - the Magpies
regained momentum by thrashing the struggling Demons. The Poise did it
without Buckley, they did it in June, all sorts of hoodoo-breaking
things. Look at Melbun's record thus far and you can't help but be
unimpressed. Last-gasp wins over Stakilda, Fremantle and Sydney (at the
MCG), decent wins over old-model Norf and the equally dubious Cats.
Neale's got some work to do. The Pies replaced hamstrung Buckley with
ruckman Steven McKee, the Dees dropped Chris Lamb for half-forward Ben
Beams. Originally Jeff Farmer, who kicked 9 goals in this fixture last
year, was supposed to come back from a torn hamstring to replace Lamb.
But the Dees decided against risking The Wizard. David Schwarz played
his 150th game for the Dess, following three knee recos.


Mick Malthouse had clearly done some work on the leadership question in
Bucks's absence, going to work on Anthony Rocca. The inconsistent Pie
galoot played a blinder at CHF, ruckman Josh Fraser and rover Shane
O'Bree were also very good. Rocca not only took big grabs and kicked
goals but he also clattered Demon David Schwarz in the first quarter,
ensuring the Dee blowhard watched the rest of the game. Rocca kicked the
first goal, a big goalsquare grab from Brodie Holland's kick, then
reciprocated for Holland by tapping a throw-in into the former Docker's
path. A lovely piece of individual skill from Demon winger Adem Yze
allowed Dave Neitz to boot their first but it were all Poise. Josh
Fraser booted one home from 50m, then Nick Davis bagged a pair from good
marks, Rocca, then Chris Tarrant sending the ball down. Collingwood's
only problem was kicking straight. Melbourne's best period came in the
early second quarter, when their midfielders actually won some
possession. After Pie Paul Licuria committed a woeful miss early in the
stanza, the Dees went the length of the field from the kick-in and Neitz
snapped truly. Anthony McDonald ran afield with a couple of bounces and
passed for Scott Thompson, the emaciated teenage Demon goaled. From the
restart the Dees attacked again, Shane Woewodin steered a running
left-footer between the big sticks and wheeled away in delight (it was
his first kick), the Demons had cut a 27-point deficit to 10.


There followed the game's highlight, which gets its own paragraph.
Collingwood cleared the centre bounce following Woewodin's goal and Pie
forward Chris Tarrant soared over the pack for a stupendous screamer,
the best example of the genre for several years. A ripper you're bound
to see several times on the TV. And Tarrant kicked the goal.


A minute later Licuria hooked the ball forward, Jarrod Molloy clutched a
one-handed mark and goaled. The Maggies laid siege to the Demons'
backline before high-flying Tarrant intervened again, a big leap forced
the ball down, Rocca gathered and Tarrant sprinted to the goalsquare to
take a with-the-flight chest-mark and boot accurately. Rocca ended the
half by leading to Nick Davis's pass and converting, the Pies led by a
comfortable 34 points at the long break. Demon fans were less
comfortable with the 6-17 free kick count against their team.


Melbourne made few alterations after the spell, Brent Grgic moving
forward about the only one. It made little difference. Nick Davis picked
out Tarkyn Lockyer for the first goal, to Collenwood. Rocca managed to
hit the post from inside the goalsquare but the Dees muffed the kick-in
and Molloy got a sausage. The Pies led by 49 points now. The Fuchsias
managed a couple of goals from the talented Cameron Bruce, but the Pies
answered each in turn from Steven McKee (a nicely-worked move involving
O'Bree and Rocca) and an easy one for Nick Davis, when Rocca's lengthy
kick cleared the pack. Rocca himself kicked the next two goals of the
game, sandwiching the three-quarter-time break, placing the Pies a
possibly decisive 68 points in front. The Dees turned it up and
Collingwood charged towards a triple-digit margin. Josh Fraser picked
out Tyson Lane for their net six-pointer, goals followed for Holland,
Ben Johnson and Holland again as the Pies went 90 points up. Two late
Demon goals provided cold comfort.


Anthony Rocca had a good day, hauling down 12 grabs, booting 4 goals (4
behinds too) and creating a number of other majors from his 21
disposals. But typically it was in the midfield where the Pies won it,
with a good around-the-ground performance from ruckman Josh Fraser (22
disposals, 11 marks, a goal) and rover Shane O'Bree (27 disposals).
Their defensive efforts as whole were good too, Collingwood planted 47
tackles to the Dees' 29. Fraser didn't do so well at the centre bounce,
at one stage he and McKee both flew against Melbourne's Jeff White and
were stopped from doing so again by the umpire. The very talented Nick
Davis booted 3 goals from a half-forward flank and was busy with 15
kicks and 6 marks, the honest Tarkyn Lockyer plugged away on a wing for
25 disposals and a goal. Jarrod Molloy (7 marks, 2 goals) and Chris
Tarrant (6 marks, 2 goals) helped form an aerially-dominant Pie forward
line, Brodie Holland lurked on the ground for 3 goals. Young defender
Ryan Lonie (15 disposals) played well. The Dees had triers but no
winners, captain David Neitz bagged 2 goals from 10 kicks, 7 marks but
ended up in defence. Adem Yze (22 disposals including 18 kicks) and
second-gamer Scott Thompson (19 disposals, a goal) battled away and Jeff
White jumped high and tapped the ball very well, however his rovers
couldn't do much with the ball. Cameron Bruce showed some individual
skill to kick 2 goals from 10 touches. The Dee midfield was slaughtered,
Brownlow Medallist Shane Woewodin had 10 disposals, Daniel Ward 16 with
6 in the last quarter, Andrew Leoncelli just 9 touches which included a
kick on-the-full. The McDonald brothers fared a bit better but exerted
spasmodic influence. "That was an absolute shocker and the sooner we put
it behind us and get onto the next game, the better," said Neale
Daniher. He added "A very ordinary effort...we couldn't get our hands on
the ball early in the game." Mick Malthouse said "We probably got a bit
carried away with ourselves and missed far too many goals, but I think
the most important thing was that we got the right match-ups. It's all
part of reinforcing our belief, beating quality opposition. I mean, they
came second last year." Maybe, but they sure-as-hell won't this year,
Mick.


The next round is split over two weeks, giving the players a mid-season
rest.