AFL Round 12 Part 2


Club memberships closed during the week. From highest to lowest:
Adelaide         42,014 (down 882 from 2000)
West Coast       38,649 (down 219)
Essendon         36,227 (up 1949). A flag helps.
Port Adelaide    33,296 (down 1629). Surprising given their good start.
Collingwood      31,455 (up 2513). Plenty of room on the Eddiewagon.
Hawthorn         30,140 (up 3261). Puss had a big litter.
Sydney           28,022 (down 2155). SCG increased chardonnay prices?
Carlton          27,725 (up 154).
Richmond         26,501 (down 368).
Geelong          25,420 (down 175).
Fremantle        23,898 (down 1027). Who can blame 'em?
St. Kilda        22,248 (up 4393). The power of Blighty.
North Melbourne  22,940 (up 784).
Melbourne        21,409 (up 3182). Club record. And haven't the team
responded?
Footscray        19,085 (up 1029). Club unhappy - wanted 20,000.
Brisbane         18,330 (down 1965). Biggest fall in percentage terms.


Geelong became the latest club to announce their Team of the Century
during the week. Unlike some others it contained many players from
pre-WWII, including full-back George Todd, the entire half-back line of
Dick Grigg, Reg Hickey (captain-coach) and Joe Slater (Grigg and Slater
both pre-WWI) and centreman Edward 'Carji' Greeves who was also the
first-ever Brownlow Medallist in 1924. Of more modern players Sam Newman
was there in a back-pocket as no. 2 ruckman to Graham 'Polly' Farmer,
Garry Hocking was selected as ruck-rover and Gary Ablett was named on a
half-forward flank. Ablett didn't attend, still laying low after being
associated with a teenage girl's OD death last year. Wingmen were the
father-son pairing of Leo and Michael Turner, a nice touch. Newman paid
$41,000 for a painting of the team and Hocking's framed guernsey drew
the most in auction, about $25,000 I think.


At Colonial:
Collingwood  4.5   13.8   20.12   26.17.173
West Coast   5.3    6.4   10.5     14.8.92


It was easy for the Pies. Too easy. West Coast gave up during the second
term, about the time Peter Matera and Dean Kemp got injured yet again.
The Wiggles were pathetic, their average losing margin from their last
four Melbourne trips now 92 points. It's difficult to convey just what a
demoralised rabble they were. The TV threw out stats to help - fifteen
minutes into the third term only four Eagles had touched the ball for
the quarter. Of course Collingwood looked good, but as a barometer this
game was not useful. Unless you're a long-range forecaster - this was
Collingwood's first victory over West Coast since 1994. In selection the
Pies reckoned they could rest Buckley for another week and made just one
change, tagger Carl Steinfort back from injury at Andrew Ukovic's
expense. The West Coast regained some good players, Dean Kemp, Chad
Morrison and promising defender Darren Glass. Axed was Mark Merenda
along with juniors Kane Munro and Jeremy Humm.


The Weegs were okay in the first quarter, when the Gardiner/Cousins/Kemp
combination controlled the centre and ball-ups, David Wirrpunda ran from
the back and the forwards tackled quickly and often. Collingwood were
keen though and scored three of the first four goals, Brodie Holland and
Anthony Rocca from marks, Jarrod Molloy roving in the goalsquare. They
led by 12 points when Wiggle veteran Glen Jakovich - playing at CHF -
was held at a throw-in by Mark Richardson and free kicked a goal. Eagle
Phil Matera completed a good upfield effort from Andrew Embley with a
nice rover's goal - Phil had snaggled their first as well - and scores
were level. Then a slow but precise series of foot-passes took the ball
from Wirrpunda deep in defence to Travis Gaspar in the forward pocket,
he kicked the Eagles 7 points ahead with a good shot. Travis Gaspar is a
big lad. I'm sure he'd like to join brother Darren at Punt Rd. one day
soon. Peter Matera, who'd just passed to Gaspar, disappeared for the
night with an injured hamstring and Magpie Paul Licuria hit Chris
Tarrant on the lead for a Maggie goal. However the Weegs pinched the
lead back at quarter-time, courtesy a free-kick to Richard Taylor.


That was about it for the competitive aspect. Seven's cameras caught Ken
Judge pleading with his players in the huddle, "Don't drop off, don't
drop off." But they did. The Maggies kicked eight unanswered goals to
open the second term. Nick Davis bagged the first two, a lovely recovery
and snap after being spoiled for a mark, then a free kick when his
tackle forced Eagle Andy Williams into a throw. The next was from a free
too, Anthony Rocca shepherded out of a contest. The Pie pairing of Josh
Fraser and Steven McKee overwhelmed Gardiner in the ruck, the Eegs lost
Dean Kemp (more concussion), soon followed by Michael Braun (knee)
allowing Maggies Shane O'Bree, Tarkyn Lockyer and Paul Licuria to take
over in midfield. And while Jakovich stood glistening and immobile at
CHF, Collingwood scored two goals direct from ball-ups in their forward
line. James Clement roved the ball from one and passed nicely for a goal
to Steinfort, for the next Tony Rocca simply grabbed the agget and
snapped it through. O'Bree punted the Poise forward from the restart,
Molloy roved and handballed for a Holland major and the Maggies led by
32 points. You'd think Jakovich would've been the ideal match-up for a
Molloy or Rocca, but no, Gaspar and Trent Carroll had to deal with 'em
while Jako was benched. It's hard to feel sorry for Judgey. Leon Davis
had a hand in the next two Pie sausages, his long run ended with a
handpass to Tarrant who snapped accurately, then 'Neon' Leon was
clobbered in a pack and he free-kicked truly. TV man Dermott Brereton
managed to get the word 'contemptuous' out and was so pleased he
repeated it twice in the following 5 seconds. Pies by 44 points when the
Wiggle goal-less spell was broken by Josh Wooden with a running thump
from 50m. Collingwood then suffered their only setback of the evening, a
hamstring injury to Nick Davis. Their Fraser ended the half by gathering
a loose ball and snapping a skilful banana-goal.


The Eagles were completely terrible in the first half of the third
stanza and the Magpies scored three of the most pressure-free goals
you'll see. Ruckmen Fraser and McKee converted from uncontested marks
and Fraser banana-ed another one, capping off Leon Davis's smart play.
Just before that Magpie Tyson Lane had punted truly from a lengthy
set-shot on the boundary, those four quick goals put the Pies 70 points
up and commentators wondered aloud if the Pies might better Carlton's
119-point win over the Weegs a fortnight back. Suddenly two West Coast
goals arrived from nowhere, Gardiner found unmarked Callum Chambers for
the first, tough play from Chambers then got the ball to Phil Matera who
ran a two-bounce 50m to the goalsquare with Glenn Freeborn unable to
catch him. Cheeky. Pies by 58 points and majors were traded for the rest
of the stanza as the Wiggles made a bit of an effort. Three Collingwood
goals were gifted by the Eegs, 50m penalties to Chris Tarrant and Josh
Fraser (both fully justified) and an Eagle kick-in that went straight to
Steinfort. Fraser's came about when frustrated Eagle Taylor decided to
start thumping people, he was benched to simmer down. For the Eegs Scott
Cummings snapped one (yes, he was playing although you wouldn't have
known) as did battling skipper Ben Cousins. Only interest of the final
term was to see if the Pies could crack a triple-digit lead. Looked a
chance early when O'Bree, Leon Davis and Molloy majored, placing the
Maggies 86 points ahead. But the Eegs responded with three six-pointers
of their own, two from Cummings who suddenly decided to lead.
Incredible. When three Eagles stood and watched Jarrod Molloy re-gather
a spilled mark and stab it through, I'd had enough.


No Pie stood out but plenty impressed, their fans would again be excited
by Josh Fraser who swapped between ruck and the forward line for 4 goals
from 8 marks and 21 disposals. Across half-forward Jarrod Molloy played
contemptuously for 20 touches with 6 marks, he kicked 3 goals. Solid
midfield work came from Shane O'Bree (20 disposals, a goal) and Paul
Licuria (15 touches), Tarkyn Lockyer enjoyed his role as a half-forward
with 19 handlings and a goal. Leon Davis enjoyed the lack of pressure
for 2 goals from 13 possies and Rupert Betheras played usefully in
defence for 19 touches. Although he only played a half, Nick Davis was a
game-breaker with 2 goals from his 10 disposals. There were lots of
goals elsewhere of course, 3 for Chris Tarrant, 3 for a relatively quiet
Tony Rocca, 2 each for Carl Steinfort, Brodie Holland and Steven McKee.
McKee had 5 kicks and 13 handpasses. Eagles had a few that were alright,
captain Ben Cousins ran himself into the ground for 34 disposals and 3
goals, the silky David Wirrpunda (16 disposals) was alright in defence,
battling half-forward Andrew Williams (18 touches, 5 marks) and feisty
Richard Taylor (22 touches, a goal) were okay. Cunning Phil Matera
bagged 3 goals from 11 possies. Ruckman Michael Gardiner plugged away.
Scott Cummings kicked 3 goals, two in the last quarter. No quote about
from Judge, while Mick Malthouse expressed some sympathy. "I feel very,
very comfortable that we won. I feel fantastic for our players and I
feel a tinge of sadness that a great and mighty football club that I
spent ten years with has bounced along the bottom...I did everything
humanly possible as a coach to make sure we won by as much as we could
have, but there is a very big element of sadness for blokes I have
coached..."


At the MCG:
Hawthorn         7.2   11.7   13.10   15.11.101
North Melbourne  2.3    6.8   10.10   14.14.98


Rough'n'tough contest that ended dramatically. If there's one thing
better than seeing Roo David King streaming goalwards, ball tucked under
arm, it's seeing David King caught in a superb tackle while streaming
goalwards, ball tucked under arm. Jonathan Hay was the Hawk hero.
Hawthorn were relieved to end their losing streak, North face a
difficult task to make the finals for a ninth successive season. They'll
probably need at least twelve wins - seven more with ten games remaining
- plus a decent hike in their percentage. The Hawthorn side was greatly
strengthened with the return of stars Shane Crawford, Nick Holland,
Daniel Chick, John Barker and (ahem) Lance Picioane. Out, all dropped,
went the juniors Tim Clarke and Nathan Lonie plus some under-performing
seniors in Glenn Bowyer, Aaron Lord and Anthony Rock. Norf had Wayne
Carey return earlier than expected from strained ankle ligaments, tubby
foward Digby Morrell received another chance. They came in for Mick
Martyn (hamstring) and Drew Petrie (dropped).


The Hawks bounced out with the first five goals. Chick and Crawford were
busy midfield, forwards John Barker and Nick Holland were also keen on
their return. In contrast a one-legged Carey limped about Norf's forward
line, easily outplayed by Hay. Ben Dixon kicked the first two goals,
including a miraculous snap along-the-ground from the boundary. Crawford
and Chick converted from set shots, Holland bagged one. It took a great
smother from Anthony Stevens to create the Kangas' first, a snap from
latter-day goal-machine Byron Pickett. But the Hawks answered it, and
they stayed well in front in the second stanza. Roo Shannon Grant
poached a very long goal which bounced and rolled through, but the Hawks
had more majors from Chick, created by the busy Angelo Lekkas. Nathan
Thompson slotted a beauty from the boundary before things swung a little
the Sydneyroos' way later in the term. John Barker, who'd taken 7 marks,
kicked a goal and dealt some heavy hits, departed with a thigh strain
after falling awkwardly from a pack. Norf coach Pagan benched Carey and
Digby Morrell came on for a run, he managed a couple of quick goals
before the main break.


North pressed on in the third, the lack of match fitness starting to
tell on some of the restored Hawks. Carey returned to do a little bit
across half-back and Morrell bagged another sausage early. Hawthorn
replied when Crawford was decapitated by Jason McCartney, Brett
O'Farrell kicked the major as Crawf went off with a blood nose.
O'Farrell booted another, however late grabs and conversions from Glenn
Archer and Sav Rocca cut the Horks' lead to 18 points at
three-quarter-time. Rocca led to John Blakey's pass to kick the opener
of the final korter and the gap was 12 points. Hawthorn managed the next
two majors, thefirst when Carey kicked on-the-full and Lekkas took full
toll. Rocca missed a shot and Rayden Tallis kicked another for Horforn
thanks to a smart tap-on from Thompson. Hawks by 23 points and they
seemed home. On came the Roos though, Shannon Grant goaled and Adam
Simpson converted from a screaming pack mark. When Brady Rawlings scored
maximum points from a towering snap the Hawks were just three points up.
The following centre-bounce was wayward, allowing Nathan Thompson to
send the Hawks forward. But the Roos rebounded and Kingy charged
goalwards, only to be stopped by Hay's terrific tackle.


In addition to that Jonathan Hay played very well, first on Carey and
Rocca later for 18 disposals and 5 marks. Also down back there was more
classy rebounding from Joel Smith (19 disposals) and Mark Graham (22
possies, 8 marks). Angelo Lekkas played very well on a wing, he had 21
touches, 9 marks and kicked 3 goals. Nathan Thompson and Brett O'Farrell
struggled against Roo Burton in the ruck but Thompson was useful
elsewhere with 4 marks, 12 touches and a goal, O'Farrell kicked 2 goals.
Ben Dixon lurked about to boot 3 goals from 13 touches. There was a
handy comeback effort from Daniel Chick (18 handlings, 2 goals) and John
Barker had 9 kicks, 7 marks and a goal in just under a half (did I
mention that?). Trent Croad, who made a bit of a dill of himself in a
newspaper interview a fortnight ago ("I'm more an athlete than
footballer...I don't see football as the main part of my life.")
struggled again. For the Roos rover Anthony Stevens is back to his best,
he tore in around packs for 25 disposals and planted 11 tackles. Fellow
small man Brent Harvey was busy with 23 touches and the other Roo runner
Shannon Grant was vital too, kicking 2 goals from his 27 touches and 8
marks. Half-forward Brady Rawlings, like his Hawthorn brother Jade a
tall, skinny lad, booted a goal amongst his 23 disposals on a forward
flank. Matthew 'Spider' Burton rucked very well again as the Roos won
hitouts 28-18, Spider also had 12 touches. Digby Morrell might be more
than a comical name and physique, he booted 3 goals. Sav Rocca bagged 2
goals from 6 marks, 9 touches. They could've used a few more
contributors. Denis Pagan said "You can look at it two ways: you can say
lucky to be in it; or you can say spirited fightback. To be within three
points, we certainly had opportunities in the finish." Peter Schwab was
pretty happy. "If you look at the wash-up, the first quarter was the
quarter that won the game. We played as well that quarter as we have all
year."


At Colonial:
Richmond  4.3   7.6   12.10   12.14.86
Sydney    3.4   3.8    5.11    8.12.60


Ugly but effective win for the Tiges as they out-flooded the Swans and
managed enough variety in their own attack for victory. The Tigers also
had a good deal from the umps. Most of 'em were there, of course. A
let-down for the Siddeysiders who'd been going well before the break.
The win was more satisfying for the Tigers given their missing players,
Matthew Richardson with hamstring trouble, Duncan Kellaway (achilles)
and Rory Hilton (shoulder). Replacements were David Bourke, Steven
Sziller and debutant Kayne Pettifer, Richmond's first-round draft pick
last October. He's from the Murray. Sydney made one change to the team
victorious over Port a fortnight back, captain Andrew Dunkley returned
to replace hamstrung defender Andrew Schauble. There were a couple of
milestones, Tiger Matthew Knights played his 250th game and Swan Matthew
Nicks reached 100.


The Tigers flooded their defence like the Swans taught, played close and
tight everywhere else and Sydney struggled to manufacture goals all
night. Their cause wasn't helped by a clearly unfit Michael O'Loughlin,
who could barely move his left arm. "We wanted Michael to take one of
their good players, which he did (Gaspar) and maybe kick a goal," said
Eade. Goal-less 'Molly' was benched late in the third term. Sydney
scored the first goal of the game, good work from Stu Maxfield and Paul
Williams allowed Jude Bolton to kick long, Adam Goodes marked in the
goalsquare. Brad Ottens replied for the Tiges from a lead and mark.
Ottens was at the spearhead again in Richardson's absence. Bolton was
involved in the Swans' second goal too, a handpass for Dan McPherson to
run in and drill it. Knights centered the ball to Mark Chaffey for a
Tiger goal. Richmond were attacking more quickly and had a target in
Ottens, his goalsquare snap was smothered but spilled to Clinton King
whose snap wasn't impeded. New Tiger Kayne Pettifer came off the bench,
his first kick was a pass to Paul Broderick. Pettifer ran on and
Broderick attempted a return pass which was spoiled, illegally according
to the official and Pettifer free-kicked a goal. Paul Kelly's excellent
tackle on Joel Bowden created a major for Swan Matthew Nicks prior to
the first break. The Tigres really tightened the screws in the second
term and the Swans didn't help themselves with a couple of poor misses.
Richmond had control around packs with Matty Knights and Clint King
doing well, in defence Ben Holland stuck close on Goodes. Sausages were
hard to come by for both teams, once again Ottens provided the break for
Richmun with a mark and pass to Leon Cameron. Ottens bagged another
himself and some quick handpasses - Wayne Campbell's mighta been a throw
- sent Knights away for a major, giving the Tiges a handy lead at the
long break.


The Big Pussies took a stranglehold in the third stanza with some great
individual efforts. Early Gaspar drifted forward, marked and kicked for
Ottens to take a backpedalling grab and goal. David Bourke went to
full-forward and climbed on Paul Kelly's shoulder for a terrific hanging
screamer. BWERRKEEE, we cried. He converted. Bourke also missed a couple
of shots though. Confident ruckman Ray Hall grabbed the ball from a
throw-in, barged clear and punted the ball between the big sticks.
Andrew Mills was spoiled incorrectly by Stuart 'The Traitor' Maxfield,
Millsy free-kicked a major. The Tigers led by eight goals when the
Swans' barren spell ended. Canny roving from Matthew Nicks gained him
possession about 70m out, he ran inside the 50 and punted a low shot
home. Richmond responded through a rare right-foot kick from the busy
Joel Bowden to leading Matthew Rogers. Paul Williams booted a major for
the Bloods, but earlier Bolton had postered poorly and Goodes had kicked
a shocker. The last quarter dropped significantly in intensity. Tiger
ruckman Brendon Gale departed with a sore shoulder and Ottens went onto
the ball, robbing the Tiges of their marking forward. Tige backman
Darren Gaspar went into attack and might've taken a couple of marks if
not spoiled by team-mate Rogers. The Swans weren't playing well enough
to win it but they did manage a few goals. Nic Fosdike's kick bounced at
right-angles and Williams arrived to soccer it through. Williams booted
another with a good kick and just before the finish he created a chance
for Jon Stevens, who snapped accurately under pressure. The end would've
been a relief for all.


Hard to pick a stand-out but Tiger winger Joel Bowden was excellent
collecting the ball from defence and moving it into attack, he had 31
disposals (24 kicks) and took 6 marks. Around packs Matthew Knights (21
disposals, a goal) and Clinton King (25 touches, a goal) were very good,
Knights used in a tagging-type role on Wayne Schwass. In defence Andrew
Kellaway was handy again with 8 marks and 22 possessions, Ben Holland
played well on the dangerous Adam Goodes. Mark Chaffey was busy on a
wing with 17 kicks, 12 marks and a goal. At the spearhead Brad Ottens
kicked 3 goals from 6 marks, 15 handlings. There was an encouraging
effort from young big man Ray Hall (11 touches, 5 marks, a goal). The
Bloods' best was Paul Williams, with the speed to break the flood and
some good ball use in his 27 disposals, he also kicked 3 goals. Matthew
Nicks did some damage with 2 goals from 11 touches and Stu 'The Traitor'
Maxfield played alright too, 17 kicks on his wing. Too few others did
much, Ben Mathews gathered most of his 20 touches deep in defence, I
can't remember many of Schwass's 20 possies. Dale Lewis (19 disposals, 7
marks) did a couple of nice things. Paul Kelly clearly needs more games
under his belt, by Eade's reckoning Kelly played about three-quarters of
this one, for 13 disposals. A heavy-looking Greg Stafford had 3
possessions. "We were trying to create an option that wasn't there,"
said Eade. "Instead of getting the ball and going forward quickly we
tended to muck around and try and manufacture something that wasn't
there." Danny Frawley said "The amount of work we did in the first three
quarters and our ability to shut them down and still score ourselves was
some of the best attacking defensive football we've had this year." I
presume he understands what that means.


At Football Park:
Port Adelaide  2.4   5.5    8.6    10.10.70
Carlton        4.3   7.8   13.11   15.14.104


Excellent win for the Blues who tackled, crunched and harrassed the
Powermen out of the game. A performance to establish themselves as
Essadun's true rivals. Port didn't like it up 'em, as Jonesy would say
and they've a toughish run now with three away games in the next four.
In selection Port half-back Michael Wilson will miss the rest of the
season, he needs a knee reconstruction. Brent Guerra and Brayden Lyle
were discarded. Into the Port came Peter Burgoyne, the hero in this
fixture last year, along with Nathan Steinberner and Jared Poulton. The
Blues made four compulsory changes, outgoing were Kris Massie with a
broken leg, Brendan Fevola with strained knee ligaments, Ryan Houlihan
with a sprained wrist and Jordan Doering, suspended one game for biffing
Tiger Nick Daffy. Chances were given to juniors Simon Wiggins, Ben
Nelson, Jim Plunkett and Simon Fletcher. Port's inaugural captain Gavin
Wanganeen played his 200th AFL game.


Carlton manned up tightly and tackled fiercely to squash the normally
productive Port midfield. Most significant was Darren Hulme's effort on
Nick Stevens, but wingers Anthony Franchina and Mick Mansfield silenced
running pair Fabian Francis and Stuart Dew respectively. Blue 300-man
Silvagni started in defence where he thrashed Tredrea. Blue runner Scott
Camporeale received plenty of attention again, including a
non-too-subtle biff in the face from Josh Francou, but he came up with
an early goal, as did Anthony Koutoufides playing at full-forward. The
Power were already struggling in attack despite keeping fairly close
throughout the first half, Wangeneen and Josh Carr kicking some goals.
Despite the efforts of Flower skipper Matt Primus the Bloos won most of
the disputed balls, with young Jim Plunkett, Camporeale and Brett Ratten
winners. The game broke open in the early third term when Carlton kicked
four unanswered goals. Koutoufides took some big grabs and kicked one of
them, another came from an easy canter into the goalsquare. Lance
Whitnall also goaled from a mark and Camporeale bagged one, sending the
Blues 40 points ahead. Port mounted a comeback of sorts, a rare flowing
move created a major for Nick Stevens and Wanganeen used his skill to
manufacture a pair of sausages. But it all went awry when a woeful Port
kick-in was pounced on by Matt Lappin as if it were a bourbon and coke.
The silence from the home crowd told the story at the last change as the
Bluies coasted in, Koutoufides with the final goal to cap off a great
personal effort. The Age report makes me laugh. "Mindful that
state-of-origin matches used to be played at this time of year, it was
no consolation for the crowd...having to admire the skills of South
Australian expatriates Scott Camporeale, (Andrew) McKay and Craig
Bradley, who were among Carlton's standout performers." I wonder if they
admired the skills of Victorian expatriates Matthew Primus, Nick Stevens
and Brett Montgomery then?


Carlton were led by the constantly running Scott Camporeale (25
disposals, 2 goals) along with Kouta, who cruised about the forward line
to boot 4 goals from his 22 touches and 11 big grabs. Back to his
near-best. The midfield won much praise, with the pack-work of Jim
Plunkett (22 disposals) and Brett Ratten (21 handlings, 2 goals)
crucial, along with good efforts from Craig Bradley (21 possies, a goal)
and Darren Hulme, who kept Stevens to 12 touches and a goal while having
18 disposals himself and bagging a goal of his own. Defensive rebounding
from Andrew McKay was excellent as ever with 18 touches and 7 marks and
Silvagni looks much more comfortable in defence these days, he held
Tredrea to 4 marks and one goal. Many other Blues made solid
contributions including half-forward Adrian Hickmott (19 possies, 2
goals) and big man Trent Hotton, giving ruckman Mark Porter some relief.
Speaking of the ruck, it was the one area in which Port won clearly with
Matthew Primus winning nearly double the number of hitouts to his
opponents (40-21) and having 15 disposals to boot. He tried manfully as
usual, but those around him couldn't help. Roger James, Port's leading
possession-winner with 19, wasn’t too bad and half-back Jared Poulton
played alright with 17 disposals. Gavin Wangeneen showed flashes of
brilliance to boot 3 goals from 9 possies, he was Port's only effective
forward as they kicked their lowest score since round 19 last year.
Tagger Josh Carr kicked 2 goals, Jarrad Schofield and Josh Francou
plugged away. Coach Mark Williams said "It was a tough battle in the
first quarter...and I thought Carlton, to their credit, stuck at it
longerthan we did. We missed some important opportunities and they
outworked us around the ball." Wayne Brittain reckoned "It's always
pretty hard - Port Adelaide over here. Port's one club that's got more
wins against us than we have against them, so it was a good effort by
our blokes to come over here and play the way we did. Players like
Hulme, Freeborn and Plunkett...they've been given an opportunity they've
got a great attitude and great work ethics." Not because of the injuries
of course, Wayne.