AFL Elimination and Qualifying Finals


Ah, it's a bit late. But I've only just stopped laughing at Port
Adelaide.


Last week Hawthorn rover Sam Mitchell won the 2003 Rising Star Award for
the best young player in the leeg, with Fremantle's tall defender Graham
Polak and St. Kilda rover Luke Ball in the second and third place
respectively. All three were in their second year of league football
officially, although Polak and Ball had their initial seasons massively
curtailed by injury (in fact Ball made his debut this season). You've
gotta ask what Adam Schneider had to do to crack a vote.


First Elimination Final at Subiaco:
Fremantle  2.2   3.4    4.6     8.9.57
Essendon   3.3   7.6   11.8   15.11.101


There's nothing like experience and the first-up finals Fremantle felt
the force of the focussed, committed Bombers and their champions, James
Hird and Matthew Lloyd. The Dokkas have got by without a marking forward
for much of the season but they really needed one here, credit to Sheedy
too for winning midfield match-ups. Afterwards the Dockers ran a lap to
salute their fans, a tremendous 42,770 of whom crammed into Subiaco and
produced an ear-splitting din of magnificent support. Some criticised
the Dockers for doing such a 'lap of honour' after a disappointing,
hefty loss, which was nonsense - their supporters were great and
deserved acknowledgement. In the build-up, Bommer coach Sheedy had tried
his usual tricks; goading Freo coach Connolly into an argument over who
was the 'dirtiest' team; urging Eagle supporters to turn up and barrack
for Essadun; claiming a squad of thirty players was flying over for the
game. The Dockers went into the game without Troy Cook (torn ankle
ligaments), the tough rover hadn't missed a game since crossing from
Sydney three (four?) years ago. On the plus side, defender Shane Parker
returned. Another Docker with an injured ankle in Trent Croad was
selected, but didn't make it to the game, earning Troy Longmuir a
reprieve. Jeff Farmer was okay after appearing to snap his back in half
last Saturday. In the end the Dons made just one change to the side
beaten by Collingwood, Cory McGrath coming in for Mark Mercuri. The Dons
also had a retirement during the week in Paul Barnard, the hard-man
utility played his 150th game (including 11 for Hawthorn, where he
started) on his last appearance in round 17. Sheeds reckoned Barnard
might still be selected this September. If someone requires sniping
(Sheeds didn't say that last bit, actually).


The Dockers started well, with Peter Bell and Paul Hasleby winning in
the middle. They scored the first two goals, the first to Farmer in
typical fashion. Farmer led out to mark in front of Bummer Andrew Welsh,
then turned to shove the ball in Welsh's face. Welsh slapped the ball
away, conceding a 50m penalty and goal. 'Wizard' enjoyed that and it set
the tone for fair degree of niggle and spite in the game. Hasleby roved
a pack, ran clear and thumped a 50m-running goal to have Freo 12 points
ahead. The Dons began to work into it as James Hird appeared everywhere.
Ruckman David Hille managed their first score, a behind, greeted by
raucous booing. A few minutes later Hille slotted a very good goal from
the boundary-line, then Matthew Lloyd out-bustled opponent Robert
Haddrill to mark and convert, the Dons led by a point. With thirty
seconds remaining in the term the Dons had a throw-in in their
forward-pocket, Hille tapped down for Hird to gather and snap through.
Dons led by 7 points at the first change. Essadun took control of the
game in the second term, Hird (13 disposals for the quarter) and Damien
Peverill were very good across the middle while their defence was
impenetrable, Mark McVeigh took care of Medhurst while Welsh stopped
Farmer, Scott Lucas and Danny Jacobs did plenty of rebounding. In the
middle Mark Bolton was tagging Matthew Pavlich - very closely. After
Lloyd kicked the opening goal of the second term, a tap-through set up
by Hird, Pavlich decided to start a brawl with Bolton which attracted
other participants rapidly. The umps allowed play-on, to the Dons'
advantage but they scored a point only. A minute later Bummer Lucas
gathered the ball and centred to no-one in particular, but Hird arrived
and a series of handpasses ended with Damien Peverill booting a long
goal. Jason Johnson missed a running shot before Lloyd collected the
ball from a throw-in and bullocked out of a couple of tackles, then
handballed for Jason Johnson to snap truly. The Bombouts led by 26
points and it didn't look good for Freo. They may have been forced to
question their deity(s) when, 20m from Freo's attacking goal, Don
full-back Dustin Fletcher slapped the ball out-of-bounds in the most
obvious 'deliberate' ever seen. Yet the ump called for a throw-in. The
Dons cleared it and moved forward, under-pressure James Hird's kick
sliced wide and appeared certain to bounce out-of-bounds - but no. The
cursed Sherrin took the flukiest of right-angle bounces over the
on-coming players' heads and trickled through for a goal. Hirdy and the
Dons had karma on their side as they led by 32 points, having kicked the
previous seven goals of the game. Freo had some luck and scored a
desperately-needed major late in the half. Don Damian Cupido was
penalised for running too far without bouncing the ball, and decided to
express his displeasure to the umpire using expletives. A 50m penalty
resulted and young Dokka Luke Webster converted. The Dons ran the clock
down to half-time.


Freo emerged with renewed vigour for the second half, roared on by their
vociferous fans. But ten minutes of attack yielded a behind only, from
Troy Longmuir as the Dons soaked up the pressure. Finally the Dockers
broke through after Bell's diving tap-on and Webster's handpass, Matthew
Carr passed to unattended Des Headland. Big Des converted and Freo
trailed by 19 points. As the pressure mounted the Dons became a little
rattled, Dustin Fletcher floored Roger Hayden with late, high forearm to
the head. He could be rubbed out for it, but Dusty was reported for
doing exactly the same thing to Camry Brett Burton a few weeks ago and
was cleared, so it's anyone's guess if Fletcher will be punished or no.
With four minutes of playing time remaining in the term, Don Damien
Peverill roved a throw-in and handpassed to running Ben Haynes, Haynes's
long kick cleared the pack and bounced through for a major ahead of a
despairing Carr. With three minutes of playing time remaining, Scott
Lucas galumphed down a wing and centred a lovely kick for leading Lloyd
to accept and pump through from 50m. The Bommers attacked from the
following centre-bounce, Damian Cupido roved the pack expertly to snap
truly on his left boot. There followed another Don centre-clearance,
Haynes tumbled a kick forward which bounced away from Lloyd and Haddrill
and directly to Cupido - a right-foot snap for another sausage. Four
goals in four minutes and the Dons carried a decisive 44-point lead into
the final Mario. The locals' enthusiasm dipped just a bit. The Dons went
on to kick the first two goals of the final term, from Aaron Henneman
and Lloyd again (free-kick against Haddrill for holding), steaming to a
56-point lead. It was turning into a rout. James Hird was benched, his
work done, and Freo managed to boot four of the final six goals of the
contest - two each for Matthew Pavlich and the previously invisible Paul
Medhurst. It's called a finals lesson.


The bloke James Hird can play alright - Hirdy had 20 disposals and
kicked 2 goals in the first half (exactly the same stats as Nathan
Buckley the next evening, coincidentally) on the way to 28 possies and 7
marks in total (still the 2 goals). Scott Lucas (23 touches, 6 marks)
was terrific at CHB and many are tipping he'll be the All-Australian CHB
on tonight. Andrew Welsh (22 disposals, 9 marks, a goal) played well
outright and saw Farmer benched, Mark McVeigh (13 touches, 7 marks) kept
Medhurst quiet until it was over and Danny Jacobs (7 marks, 19 touches)
was also good in the Bommer backline. Damien Peverill (25 disposals, a
goal) and Mark Johnson (21 touches) played well in midfield while Mark
Bolton (16 touches) frustrated Pavlich - literally. Up forward Matthew
Lloyd booted 5 goals from 3 marks and 6 kicks, ruckman David Hille (17
disposals, 6 marks, a goal) played well around-the-ground. Damian Cupido
chipped in with 2 handy goals. Freo's best were straight-running
ruck-rover Paul Hasleby (28 disposals, a goal) and experienced
campaigner Peter Bell (26 possessions). In the absence of some others
standing up, wingman Antoni Grover (23 disposals) and fourth-gamer Luke
Webster (18 touches, 7 marks, a goal) played very well. Matthew Pavlich
battled against Bolton for 18 touches, 6 marks and those 2 last-quarter
goals, ruckman Aaron Sandilands thrashed Hille in hit-outs (the Docks
won 56-14) and managed 12 possessions. The Dockers simply could not turn
possession into points with their mosquito-forwards blanketed. Of their
tall forwards Justin Longmuir (3 marks, no score) had a pretty average
year, the inconsistent Croad was out injured, ruckman Simmonds managed 6
marks but kicked 0.2. Clive Waterhouse (remember him?) had his season
interrupted by osteitis pubis. But they're on the way. "In the
short-term, we're very disappointed. We'll use this game to motivate us
next season," said Chris Connolly. Football manager Steven Icke said "We
have an opportunity with this football club, both on and off the field,
to do something special. We are starting to win some genuine respect
across the competition and we've got an enormous challenge ahead of us.
We've got to keep improving." Kev Sheedy said "It is our first win in an
interstate final and we needed to get with all the interstate clubs that
have had the courage to win a Grand Final in Melbourne and other finals,
and we had let ourselves down in that area." The Dons rate themselves
against Choke Adelaide and might play the Pies in a prelim. That'd be
big.


Second Elimination Final at Football Park:
Adelaide    3.4   7.6   11.12   16.17.113
West Coast  1.1   3.4    5.7      8.9.57


Camry coach Gary Ayres promised "all-out attack" in this final after his
struggling side finished the home-and-aways with three consecutive
losses. It wasn't quite like that, but the Cows still managed a
comfortable, hefty win over the Weegles at Foopall Park - a venue at
which the Weegs have a very poor record. The Eagles finished the regular
season as the highest-scoring team in the leeg, but were very poor in
attack here - Phil Matera restricted superbly by Ben Hart. In selection
the Camrys regained defender Hart and forward Mark Stevens, full-back
Nathan Bassett was also recalled. Rover Chris Ladhams was very stiff to
be dropped, Ken McGregor ('flu) and Graham Johncock (thigh strain) were
late withdrawals earning reprieves for full-forward Ian Perrie and
junior Brent Reilly. The Eegs came in bedevilled by injuries to David
Wirrpunda (hamstring), Glen 'Robocop' Jakovich (hamstring) and Andrew
McDougall (broken jaw) while Callum Chambers was dropped. They were able
to select Andrew Embley while David Haynes, David Sierakowski and junior
Adam Selwood were recalled. As things turned out, this was the final
game for veteran Eagle full-back Ashley McIntosh. McIntosh played 242
games for the Eagles, winning a club best-and-fairest and All-Australian
selection in 1998. McIntosh also played as a forward occasionally,
booting 108 goals in his career. McIntosh played in both of the Eegs'
premiership-winning teams, he was a standout performer in 1994 against
the in-form Cat forward Bill Brownless. He's had plenty of knee-trouble
in recent years, prompting the retirement decision.


As part of his alleged "all-out attack" strategy, Ayres started Andrew
McLeod in the centre. The local press had carpeted Ayresey for playing
McLeod off half-back against Port last week. But it was couple of Camry
'negators' in Robert Shirley (on Chris Judd) and Tyson Stenglein (Ben
Cousins) that had most significant early influence as the Cows started
with the aid of a breeze. Shirley collected seven first-quarter touches
to Judd's three, while Stenglein cut Cousins right out of it. Another
Camry in Tyson Edwards came steaming outta the centre, only to boot 0.3
for the term. Wayne Carey led a combative forward-line, Carey took 3
marks and had 7 kicks in the opening stanza, worrying ol' McIntosh, but
was also a bit off-target. McLeod welcomed his return to the action, his
fierce tackle on Wiggle Daniel Kerr created the game's first goal, for
Scott Welsh. Welsh and another usual fringe-dweller, Ronnie Burns,
actually attacked opponents and attempted to win the contested ball. In
the second term Cousins and Judd began to win some midfield possession
for the Weegs, but struggled to find a winning forward. Michael
Gardiner, limping, was okay in a forward pocket but as mentioned Matera
was silenced by Hart and David Haynes couldn't kick straight. And the
Cressidas still dominated possession as Mark Ricciuto fired and Mark
Bickley de-benched. The Corollas won the quarter despite kicking against
the breeze, Carey's late tap-through goal sending them 26 points clear
at the long break.


The Weevils made one threatening run at the Crows, with two early goals
in the third term. Andrew Embley battled to tumble the ball forward,
Gardiner arrived in the goal-square to soccer it through. A minute later
Cousins had a running shot, Ben Hart ran back and looked to have touched
it through, clearly - yet the goal-ump awarded full-points, to the
demonstrable anger of the usually placid Aderlayed man. Replays showed
the source of Hart's rage. The Weegs were 16 points down at that stage
but didn't score another goal in the quarter, the Cows booted four. By
the final change they'd cleared out to a 41-point lead, more then the
Weegs had scored to that point. And as a wise friend of mine says, when
you've gotta kick more in the last quarter to win than you've kicked all
day, it's time to go home. The Camrys duly strolled in.


Tyson Edwards set the early tone with his all-out attack from half-back,
finishing with 19 disposals (14 kicks) and 2.4. Wayne Carey might've
played in the finals before, he confirmed McIntosh's retirement with 8
marks, 21 disposals and 1.4. If those two had kicked straighter it
could've been a real massacre. Mark Ricciuto (22 disposals, a goal)
charged about in typical style and Robert Shirley (23 disposals, a goal)
eclipsed Judd. Simon Goodwin (21 touches with 17 kicks, 7 marks, a goal)
played well and Mark Bickley (24 touches) likewise. The non-Carey Camry
forwards worked hard, Kris Massie galloped about, rode some big hits,
took 6 marks, had 18 disposals and bagged 2 goals. Ronnie Burns kicked
one goal but didn't have just one kick - in fact 22 possessions with 12
handpasses. Mark Stevens kicked 2 goals. And we'll mention Ben Hart (10
touches) one more time - Phil Matera 5 touches and one point. Eagle
captain Ben Cousins recovered from his slow start to finish with 22
disposals and 3 goals, injured Michael Gardiner battled manfully from a
forward-pocket for 3 goals from his 5 marks and 12 possies. Daniel Chick
(22 touches) and Rowan Jones (17 possessions) were prominent at times
and Andrew Embley also plugged away for 7 marks, 12 kicks and 2 goals.
The astute amongst you will notice Cousins, Gardiner and Embley kicked
all of the Eegs' goals between them. The Camrys had thirteen
goal-scorers. Wiggle coach John Worsfold reflected on a season in which
the Eegs finished in the same possie as last year. "The personnel we've
got need to understand that the level we are at is a bit below what is
good enough to win a premiership. So the amount of work and effort we
put into our football has to be even greater. We need every one of our
players on the list to improve." Ah well. It's still a vast improvement
on the Judge era. Was Gary Ayres relieved to win the sudden-death game
after the Camrys blew a top-four finish? He said "You never feel relief
because we had to win. I'm genuinely happy that the guys played well.
I'm happy for them, but relief's not something you feel unless you're
lucky enough to win a premiership. We should get some heart out of that
performance. Finals are about attack and we've just got to keep
attacking the opposition, regardless of who it is - whether it's
Collingwood or Brisbane." He didn't know at that stage, of course.


Second Qualifying Final at the MCG:
Collingwood  2.2   5.5   6.8   9.12.66
Brisbane     3.2   6.5   7.5    7.9.51


"These are the great games, the great games," said Pie coach Mick
Malthouse just after his side had overcome their nemesis at the 'G. Beg
to differ Mick, it might've been great for you and all the Collingwood
supporters but it was a pretty tedious, defence-dominated slog for any
neutrals (i.e. people who wanted Brisbane to win). Also less than great
was a bizarre umpiring performance that saw free kicks go Brisbane's way
12-3 in the first half, only for the Pies to receive nine frees to one
in the second. Credit to the Poise though, who overcame the Lyin's with
a typically committed effort. Brisbun's crucial Michael Voss injured (or
aggravated) his knee early and was a non-factor, with injuries and
things in general the Lyin's aren't having the rub of the green this
season. They're still in it though. In selection the Poise made just one
change, recalling solid defender Simon Prestigiacomo at the expense of
junior Dane Swan. Following their injury problems last week, the Lyin's
made just the two changes in losing Brad Scott (broken ankle) and Aaron
Shattock (strained knee). They were replaced by Mal Michael and Martin
Pike, both returning from injury. Brisbane's helmeted veteran Shaun Hart
played his 250th game, a fine achievement.


In the early going, on a cool but dry night (apart from dew), the game
appeared to be developing along similar lines to the previous
Pies/Lyin's contest six weeks ago. The Pies scored an early goal as
Jason Cloke marked in their back-line and received a 50m-penalty
courtesy a late-arriving Jonathan Brown. Cloke passed to Nathan Buckley,
who drove it home from 45m. Then a tall Brisbun forward tormented the
Poise, although this time it was Alastair Lynch instead of Jonathan
Brown - not that Brown didn't trouble Cloke as well. Lynch led out to
mark on the boundary-line in front of the Olympic Stand, play-on to
reduce the angle and smack a terrific goal. A minute later Hart roved a
ball-up and hooked the ball goal-wards. Lynch crept in front of opponent
Shane Wakelin to hold an uncontested mark and boot truly. A few minutes
later Lynch had his third, again sneaking ahead of a disoriented Wakelin
to mark Clark Keating's tumbling punt and kick the major from 15m. The
Lyin's led by 13 points but the Poise prevented further scoreboard
damage before quarter-time, thanks chiefly to some tremendous midfield
battle from Nathan Buckley and Paul Licuria. About this stage Voss
slipped over as he attempted to change direction and his troublesome
knee buckled. Voss stayed on the ground for the next two quarters but in
a forward-pocket mostly, he didn't do much. Late in the first the Poise
scored a goal as Chris Tarrant marked on the wing, as he moved off
direct opponent Justin Leppitsch grabbed 'Tazza' by the foot - a 50m
penalty from which Tarrant converted. The Pies proceeded to score a goal
directly from the opening bounce of the second term, Ryan Lonie
collected the ball and handpassed forward, Tarrant tapped-on cleverly
for running Buckley to gather and drill it. Brisbane led by a point but
went on to control the next fifteen-odd minutes, through the aggression
of ruckman Clark Keating. Brown was also going very well at CHF against
Cloke, his tough mark and long kick forward cleared Lynch and Wakelin,
Ashley McGrath sped onto the loose ball and dribbly-snapped a great
goal. Lyin' Jason Akermanis cleared the restart, Jonathan Brown gathered
the free Sherrin, barged through tackles and had a left-foot shot bounce
through for full-points, aided by a Lynch shepherd. A Buckley pot-shot
missed before the Lisbon Brians goaled again, Keating slapped a throw-in
to the advantage of Akermanis. Aker did the classic
hold-ball-in-while-I'm-out-of-bounds play, re-balanced and slotted a
superb goal from in front of the Members' Stand. Brisbane led by 17
points and were all over the Pies. Brown missed poorly following a huge
grab and Lion Tim Notting missed after a woeful Pie turnover. The Poise
mucked up the resulting kick-in, forcing Wakelin to rush another Lyin'
behind. Notting had just been reported, incidentally, for charging Heath
Scotland. Scotland's run off half-back, and Keating's departure for a
rest, helped inspire some late Pie goals. Scotland passed to Tarrant who
marked on the 50m line and smacked an excellent, crucial goal. The Pies
won the subsequent centre-clearance and forced a throw-in about 55m out,
their Ben Johnson hooked a high kick goal-wards where it bounced over
players' heads and neatly through the big sticks. Consensus was the Pies
were lucky to be just 6 points down at the long break. Pie fans blamed
the officials, 60,000 booing the umps vigorously as they departed. It
must've worked.


Not many moves were made at half-time, the Poise shifted the beaten
Cloke to the forward-line while Simon Prestigiacomo picked up Brown, the
Lyin's sent Shaun Hart to tag the rampant Buckley, who'd managed 20
first-half possessions. More significant were the general tactics - both
sides played an extra man in defence and neither bothered to contest
possession in the other's defensive half. Brisbane had only two men
inside their attacking 50m, Lynch and the one-legged Voss. Yet the Poise
retained six men to oppose them. The strategy on both sides was to stop
the other mob scoring, and hope they make a mistake to allow us to
score. In fairness to Malthouse, it worked for him. Eight minutes
elapsed before Cloke managed the first score of the quarter, a point.
Tarrant did very well but postered, then Pie Shane O'Bree intercepted
Nigel Lappin's cross-field kick but missed, poorly. The Magpiss were
improving, having more of the ball and general play. But Brisbane
managed the first goal of the term, Brown gathered a throw-in and
handpassed for Lappin to snap an excellent sausage. Brisbane's first
score of the term, they led by 9 points. It also proved to be their last
goal of the evening. Late in the stanza Pie Ryan Lonie kicked long,
Tarrant raced into the goal-square and soccered it through. Lyin's by
three points at the last change. The Brians commenced the final Mario
with Voss and Akermanis on the bench and Keating in the rooms, having
his right shoulder strapped - it'd been hurt in a heavy bump. The Pies
continued to grind forward interminably, like the plot of the book I
read on holiday. The umps continued to confound, allowing the Poise
advantage as Ben Johnson broke away, then kicked a point. "Can't call it
back - skill error," said the man in gold, audible on Channel Ten's
mike. For the second time Anthony Rocca was denied a clear mark, on this
occasion 30m from goal. Richard Cole missed poorly for Coll'nwood.
Scores were level after Scott Burns marked about 10m out, on a toughish
angle, and missed. Pie Andrew Williams led and marked 40m out, but the
ump took the ball off him after a very, very minor scuffle between
Tarrant and the Brians' Robert Copeland. Just to show the umps could be
even-handedly bad, Al Lynch was denied a three-grab mark about 20m out.
"Touched," said our man. Brisbane led by a point after a McGrath snap
was touched through by Paul Licuria, the Poise took the kick-in to Shane
Woewodin who held a strong mark on the wing, he found last-quarter
specialist Alan 'Sharpie' Didak in plenty of space. Didak ran afield and
drilled a very good goal - thank Richo for some skill and action, the
Poise led by 5 points. Licuria cleared the restart, Rocca clutched an
incontrovertible grab and thumped it through for full points. Brisbane
won the subsequent centre-clearance but gained a rushed behind only,
from the kick-in the Scraggies chipped the ball forward until Didak
marked, 40m out on the boundary-line in front of the Olympic Stand. He
went back, settled for some time and steered a beautiful left-foot kick
for a goal. Collywood led by 16 points. Brisbane had one more chance to
score, Justin Leppitsch with a set-shot which he rushed as the time
ticked away, he missed. The Maggies milked the clock as they counted
down to the siren.


No doubt the Pies' best was their skipper again, Nathan Buckley superb
in the first half with 20 disposals and 2 goals, he finished with 32
possessions (no more goals). Chris Tarrant worked hard in attack for 9
marks, 17 disposals and 3 goals, he saw off Leppitsch and finished with
Dan Bradshaw as his opponent. The Pies' back-line deserves praise, in
particular the attacking run of Heath Scotland (19 disposals), Ben
Johnson (23 touches, a goal) and Richard Cole (16 handlings) with good
defending from James Clement (16 touches, 9 marks) and Simon
Prestigiacomo, who eventually silenced the very good Jon Brown. Once
again ruckman Josh Fraser (23 disposals) proved more effective around
the ground than in actual ruck contests, although he didn't do much
mention should be made of Alan Didak with those two deciding goals in
the last quarter - no-one else looked like kicking any. The Lyin's CHF
Jonathan Brown 'presented' (it's modern jargon for leading) continually
and took 9 marks, had 21 disposals overall and kicked a goal - no
touches in the last quarter, however. Full-back Mal Michael (10 marks,
13 disposals) saw Anthony Rocca moved away, then off, while fellow
backmen Darryl White (20 disposals, 8 marks) and Robert Copeland (17
touches, 8 marks) were also quite good. Midfield was more of a problem,
where Simon Black (26 possessions) often seemed to be fighting a lone
hand. Nigel Lappin (26 disposals with 22 kicks, a goal) collected stats
without doing a lot of damage and Jason Akermanis (20 touches, a goal)
was occasionally dangerous, but often appeared a bit slow and
indecisive. Al Lynch kicked 3 goals, all in the first quarter, before
being double- and triple-teamed. Luke Power (19 touches) plugged away.
The three-peat appears a long way off. "We're still alive," began Leigh
Matthews, "but we didn't get what we came for. You can't kick one-four
in a half of footy and expect to win, eventually the dam wall breaks.
That was the most disappointing aspect, our attack on goal dried up
completely in the second half." Mick Malthouse repeated an oft-heard
refrain. "I don't think we are the best side, talent-wise, in the
competition, but we want to be the best team in the competition.
Personnel-wise, we've got doers and that's what we rely on." They've got
a golden opportunity to be the best team this year, facing either Port
or Essadun at 'G in a fortnight. A huge game either way.


First Qualifying Final at Football Park:
Port Adelaide  3.2    4.7   10.8   13.10.88
Sydney         4.4   11.5   14.8   15.10.100


Shaun Burgoyne must've thought the ball was toxic, such was his
reluctance to grab it. In the feverish last quarter, Chad Cornes and
Nick Stevens tapped-on rather than grabbing the thing. Josh Carr became
paralysed and stood still so the Swans could tackle him. Ahhh, Port the
finals chokers. The miserable face of arrogant Mark Williams as his team
lost yet another final delighted footy fans all over Australia (apart
from the ones who barrack for Port, I guess). That's taking away from
the injury-blighted Swans, who produced a magnificent team effort to
secure a home preliminary final, a needed week off and who knows? - they
could confound the experts yet again. But Port need the job-lot of 22
mirrors. Only a flag will erase the bitter taste of this latest
September failure. They've got the ability, no doubt. In selection the
Powder regained Chad Cornes - but not Roger James - and recalled Brent
Guerra at the expense of Toby Thurstans and Che Cockatoo-Collins. The
Swans had well-documented problems, needing to replace star forward
Michael O'Loughlin and Jarrad Sundqvist, both with his torn hamstrings,
along with useful goal-kicker Ryan O'Keefe who damaged a shoulder at
training. The Bloods did regain forward Matthew Nicks and called up
Scott Stevens and the rarely-seen Luke Ablett. Luckily Daryn Cresswell
and Brad Seymour shook off minor injuries to take their places.


Sunny day in Adelaide and a decent crowd (34,000) was in attendance as
the AFL (or perhaps the 'Snaffle') worked to reduce ticket-prices which
saw many Port fans stay away last year. The Swans dominated the opening
quarter-hour mainly through a superb performance from ruckman Adam
Goodes, who used his outstanding athletic ability to leap all over the
taller Dean Brogan. Pack-rovers Cresswell and Brett 'James Tee' Kirk
were also good, Kirk proving untouchable as far as the umpires were
concerned. Goodes leaped for a great mark over Brogan and chipped a pass
for leading Barry Hall to mark and thump the opening goal from 55m. With
O'Loughlin and O'Keefe out, the pressure was on Hall to deliver the
goals. And he did. Port's first attack saw Nick Stevens deliver a nice
pass to leading ruckman Brendon Lade, who'd started at full-forward.
Lade's goal levelled the scores. Hall collided with a Port defender and
limped away, within a few seconds Hall marked the ball but postered with
his shot. He was okay, though. Good work from Matthew Nicks sent Nick
Davis in for a close-range goal, Goodes collected his own tap to clear
the restart and the ball bounced up for Lewis Roberts-Thomson to punt
truly. All Swans as they led by 13 points. Port managed a goal against
the run as a nice tap-on from Warren Tredrea allowed Stu Dew to handpass
to Stevens, he snapped truly. Now the Power got moving as Goodes
departed for a rest, to be replaced by the uncertain Stephen Doyle. At a
ball-up in Port's forward-line Doyle whacked Lade in the ear, free-kick
and goal for Lade. A minute later though, Port were clearing defence
when their Stuart Cochrane thumped Swan Jared Crouch to the ground 40m
from the action, for some reason. Siddey free-kick at the ball's
location, in Wanganeen's hands 20m from the goal. Daryn Cresswell punted
the sausage. Hall missed a set-shot before the siren. If Port fans were
a little non-plussed by the first-stanza action, they were deathly
silent in the second term, their faces creased with pained
incomprehension. Siddey ran manically to force contests everywhere,
Siddey coach Paul Roos realised he'd best leave Goodes in the ruck for
as long as possible. Captain Stuart Maxfield booted a long sausage to
open proceedings, then some fierce Swan tackling in their own
forward-line ended with Hall collecting the loose ball and steering it
through for full points. Port scored a behind, the Bloods steadily moved
the kick-in the length of the field where Cresswell passed for leading
Barry Hall to mark and slot it through from a tricky angle. Port's
dangerous Byron Pickett found himself in plenty of space but hooked his
shot on-the-full, the Swans swept forward from the resulting free-kick
and a string of handpasses sent Paul Williams in for a running major.
The hits kept comin'. Port defender Matthew Bishop collected a throw-in
but his attempted kick was smothered and rebounded for a goal to Swan
Jude Bolton. A slow Swan build-up finished with Crouch chipping a pass
for leading Hall again, Barry curled it through from deep in the
left-pocket. The Swans had kicked seven consecutive goals (including the
last of the first term) and led by 42 points. Adam Schneider should've
made it 48 when nicely set-up by Nic Fosdike, but he missed. Port
managed a goal at last, after some desperate handpasses on their
half-forward line Brent Guerra had a flying shot from 50m which sailed
through. Siddey had the answer though, created by a magnificent,
spectacular spoil by Leo Barry - the rebound led to a running goal for
Cresswell. Port attacked desperately in the closing minutes but managed
three behinds only, the last a poor set-shot miss from Brett Montgomery
who kicked so perfectly from the same place last week. The quiet ground
echoed to nervy cries of 'Come On' as the players departed for the
break.


Local reporter Mark Aiston told us that 'Choke-o' Williams had gone
beserk at half-time, and judging by ruckman Brogan's effort in the
second half he must've copped the brunt of it. There weren't many moves
to speak of, apart from 'hard man' Damien Hardwick being shifted into
the centre. Brogan was far more combative against Goodes, he helped
clear the opening bounce of the third term and Jarrad Schofield found
Brendon Lade on the lead, Lade booted his third goal. Brogan and pals
forced the ball forward from the restart, Guerra got a high kick forward
and Nick Stevens roved the goal-square pack to stab it through. Two
quick goals and the crowd found their voice, Port trailed by 28 points.
The Swans began to run into injury trouble, Tadhg Kennelly copped a
game-ending cork thigh in the build-up to that Stevens goal, they'd also
lost ruckman Doyle (ankle) and the luckless Brad Seymour (knee). But
they kept on, Cresswell again finding Barry Hall on the lead, Hall
slotted a very good kick from the right-pocket this time. That was
enough for Choke-o, finally Darryl Wakelin was moved away from Hall and
replaced by Matthew Bishop. Port majored again as Tredrea was given a
rather soft free-kick for in-the-back against opponent Andrew Schauble,
although it may have been a square-up for an earlier, un-paid but clear
free to Wanganeen, who was playing in attack now. The Swans continued to
play alright, Jude Bolton missing two low-pressure running shots before
Goodes won a throw-in, Crouch handpassed to Williams and the ball
speared onto Barry Hall's chest again, Big Bazza thumped his sixth
major. The Power clung on, Lade winning a free-kick after being scragged
by the inexperienced Roberts-Thomson. Lade converted - they'd have been
in trouble without him. But still - Hall led up into the centre of the
ground, marked and dished off to running Maxfield. Maxfield kicked long,
the ball rolled, bounced and tumbled away from Montgomery and through
for a goal. Siddey in the box-seat as they led by 36 points with one
minute remaining in the stanza. Yet Port gave themselves a chance with
two goals in that minute. The first was from a free-kick, again, to Kane
Cornes for a high tackle. The second came after Chad Cornes climbed over
the pack for a big chest-mark. Replays revealed it to be the sort of
mark which wouldn't have been paid in the Pies/Lyin's game the previous
night, but Chadley Cornes's effort was fair enough. His goal had Port 24
points down at the final change.


Now it was Roos's turn to become animated while Choke-o appeared calm.
Early in the final stanza Port's Dew had a snap-as-tackled which bounced
kindly over Leo Barry, then cruelly into the post. At the top level, one
of the best attacking situations is a kick-in. The Swans duly moved into
attack where some excellent battling by Barry Hall saw him centre the
ball for Nick Davis to hold a one-handed mark. Davis sausaged, having
the Swans 29 points ahead. From there, the tiring Bloods with just one
fit player on the bench determined to hang on. Nick Stevens sent the
Powder forward, a series of handballs ended with Peter Burgoyne snapping
a goal. The Swans missed a shot, the Power rebounded. Tredrea led out to
mark on the 50m line. He handpassed to Montgomery, Monty's centring kick
was clutched strongly by Brendon Lade again. Lade doesn't miss and the
Bloods' lead was cut to 18 points. The TV clock showed just under nine
minutes remaining, Sydney proceeded to keep the ball on the centre-wing
for two-and-a-half minutes with a series of ball-ups and throw-ins,
Goodes and Hall alternating ruck-work. Port fans bayed for 'bawl' or
'deliberate', to no avail. Eventually the Swans got the ball moving
again, Fosdike passed nicely for leading Davis but Davis missed. The
danger of the kick-in...it went forward where Peter Burgoyne marked on
an acute angle. His shot went cross-goal but was marked by brother Shaun
adjacent to the point-post, Shaun Burgoyne chipped back to Josh Carr.
Goal and Siddey led by 13 points. Unlike their broadcast partners,
Channel Ten decline to show the count-down clock in the final five
minutes of a game, so it was tension all 'round as the Bloods held off
the Power in the final minutes. A Chad Cornes point was the only other
score though as the Swans held on for a terrific win. They belted the
song out with gusto in the rooms, while the Port players looked
miserable. As they should.


Fantastic game from the athletic Adam Goodes, who threw himself into
ruck and every other type of contest for 18 disposals (14 in the first
half) and 3 marks. At the spearhead Barry Hall did the job, booting 6
goals from 9 marks and 14 disposals altogether. In midfield Brett Kirk
(24 disposals) and Daryn Cresswell (18 disposals, 2 goals) were
excellent, complemented by Nic Fosdike (19 touches) and the attacking
defender Craig Bolton (18 touches). Ben Mathews (14 touches) did a great
job to keep Pickett goal-less while evergreen captain Stuart Maxfield
(17 touches, 2 goals) and defender 'Leapin' Leo Barry (6 marks, 12
handlings) provided some handy inspiration. There were some skilful
cameos from Adam Schneider (14 possies) and Nick Davis (12 touches, 2
goals) as well. Few to mention for Port, Brendon Lade was clearly their
most effective player with 5 goals from 4 marks and 13 disposals. Nick
Stevens (27 disposals, 2 goals) ran hard to collect the ball and Josh
Carr (17 touches, a goal) was prominent early, when most Port players
weren't, before fading. Chad Cornes (7 marks, 13 disposals, a goal)
offered some sort of forward threat, Warren Tredrea (8 marks, 13
touches, a goal) was often forced well up the field to get the ball. His
midfield couldn't supply it. Williams didn't choke on his words. "We
really let our club down in the first half. We played pathetic, I
thought it was soft football. If I believed the effort in the second
quarter or the first half was actually a true indication of how the
players are, then I'd be very disappointed. (But) I really believe in
the guys. I'm a person who thinks that if it doesn't always run
perfectly for you, you've got to help yourselves up...We're very
focussed on the fact that we need to go and play four quarters like we
did in the second half, and we'll win (next week)." A stunned Paul Roos
said "It's just one of those wins you like to sit back and savour for a
while. We had a set way we wanted to play and I felt our guys carried it
out to the letter. I don't know how the other team reacts...I played
300-odd games and I can't remember too many like that. You don't often
get over the line when you're playing against a team at home in these
circumstances...It's beyond comprehension in some regards..." It is for
the Port folks.


Next week - Semi Finals:
Brisbane v Adelaide, Gabba, Friday night. Winner to play Sydney in
Preliminary Final at Stadium Australia.
Port Adelaide v Essendon, Football Park, Saturday night. Winner to play
Collingwood in Preliminary Final at the MCG.