The following information is provided by Tim Murphy - [t.murphy@rmit.edu.au], distributed via news groups and email and is updated here Monday evenings after the weekends games. All credit for this information goes to Tim and is being used with permission.
It's important in these early tumultuous rounds to remember that, like a John Howard election promise, they generally mean nothing. Unless one or two of your mob's precious handful of stars gets badly hurt. In fact, it's getting to the stage where the entire home-and-away round may mean little to most teams...you've just gotta win enough games to finish in the top half, then hope that form arrives on time in September, like it did for Adelaide and North last year and didn't for Geelong or Sydney.
Last year you may recall Fremantle and Sydney bleated to media about the "gutter" tactics of Footscray in supposedly causing deliberate skin wounds to opponents, forcing them off under the blood rule. Tony Liberatore was often fingered as the culprit, to the extent that he and famous "victim" Paul Kelly now appear in a tea commercial ..."One lump or two, Paul...Actually it was three Libba." Rubs head, yuk yuk. Anyway the Lions did it again last week when they claimed Libba had "deliberately scratched and eye-gouged" Steven Lawrence, who went off early at the Gabba under the blood rule. This time the AFL demanded the Lions make a formal complaint or shut up, they did and the case against Liberatore fell apart when Lawrence said he didn't know what or who had happened on him, in time-honored tribunal tradition. Afterwards the Doggies blasted "trial by media". While they were at it, they could have slagged off the new stats used by the papers. Can anyone understand them?
West Coast 3.4 9.8 13.11 17.14.116 Collingwood 1.0 3.2 6.4 8.8.56
Just like in the Ansett Cup, the Magpies were trounced by an Eagle team who are simply a lot better than them. The home team made two changes after last week's narrow loss to North, Evans and Read were dropped for Waterman and Donnelly. Collingwood have lost the luckless Burns for a couple of months with a broken arm and Monkhorst was out with a shoulder, Fuller was dumped. In came Wild, Matt Francis and ex-Tiger Jamie Tape for his first game with the Pies.
On a warm night the Maggies started vigourously, Schauble fenced Jakovich and they got the first goal via a dubious free to Sav Rocca. But it wasn't long before the West Coast's superb disposal and strength in key positions began to tell. Cunningly, Shawry decided not to give Jakovich an opponent and the Weegle monolith charged around the ground gathering kicks at will, Schofield and Pete Matera got plenty of the footy too. Pie skipper Brown was twice caught in possession in the opening term, leading to goals for Gardiner and Braun and Ball got another after a good mark in front of Richardson. The Eags could've been further in front at the first break if Phil Matera weren't such a very ordinary footballer, Russell thrashed him. Tom Hafey was telling us the visitors were already beaten as Cousins kicked a running goal from the opening bounce of the second quarter. Watson managed to dribble a reply through for the Pies but the Eagles kicked the next 5. Schofield kicked a great running goal, a superb pass from Braun led to one for Waterman, Schofield snapped another after the Pies muffed a kick-in and the Eags led by 36 points. Gav Brown's nightmare continued when his pass managed to pick out the only Eagle standing amidst three Pies, Gehrig benefitted. Browny was mercifully moved to the forward line and Buckley, at full forward for some reason, was moved to CHB on the rampant Gehrig. Another Eagle major followed, to Ball, before Williams managed a goal for the Pies right on half time.
To Collingwood's credit, they had a real dip in the third quarter and could've got a lot closer if Anthony Rocca hadn't missed a stream of set shots. Brown kicked the first goal of the term after being mauled by Morrison and moments later Crosisca snapped a nice goal. Eagle ruckman Gardiner replied with a lumbering running effort, shortly after the game was held up when Morrison had his head crunched by Watson and was stretchered off. A. Rocca goaled (after 2 misses) and the Pies trailed by 30 - McAvaney suggested the game was now close, lowering his voice and rattling a bit of phlegm in his throat in that annoying pseudo-emotional manner of his. Indeed the Pies were going better, the unlikely pair of Patterson and Mahoney were driving from defence and Wright and Buckley were going well, A. Rocca was a genuine threat in attack. But cruelly, the Eagles kicked the last 3 goals of the term, a great snap by Banfield was followed by 2 goals in the last minute from Braun and Pete Matera. The Pies were broken, highlights of the final term were two very good goals from difficult angles by Ball, Pete Matera moved himself to full forward and missed twice before kicking the last goal of the game.
Many good players for the Eagles. Centreman Jarrod Schofield had 21 possessions with 17 pinpoint kicks before going for a rest in the final term, Gehrig controlled the half-forward line with 13 marks, 23 disposals and a goal, McKenna, Jakovich and Peter Matera dominated in defence, at full back McIntosh slaughtered Sav Rocca. Young Michael Braun looks a good player. Ball kicked 4 goals and there were 2 each for Braun, Gardiner and Schofield. Not much to say for the Pies, Scott Russell did well early out of a back pocket but is clearly carrying a hammy, A. Rocca did a bit in the ruck and up forward, Patterson played a good second half, Osborne did OK with 16 kicks. Buckley had 9 of his 27 possessions in the last quarter and Shaw seemed unshaw of where to put him. The otherwise invisible Williams kicked 2 goals. Malthouse praised McIntosh and went on to slag the AFL, again. "Blind Freddy could see there's been a change in the seasons: it's too hot to play day games in Perth this early in the year, there need to be more night matches early on." Can't find a Shawry quote.
Geelong 4.2 8.8 10.8 14.15.99 Richmond 4.3 6.5 9.8 11.14.80
Good win for the Cats in a rugged game, which was close all day until they got clear in the final 10 minutes. The Tiges weren't disgraced. In selection Geelong made three changes, dropping Houlihan, Hargreaves and John Barnes, who trudged sulkily about the forward line last week, disappointed in being made second fiddle to Steven King. In came Mensch, Biddiscombe and draftee Tim Finocchiaro for his first game. Richmond made one change, recalling Richardson after a broken arm - prematurely as it turned out, he hurt it again - and dropping Manfield.
Recently retired Cat Bill Brownless did a lap of honour before the game, Ablett was invited too but didn't show. Geelong were quick from the blocks with Hocking throwing himself about and Riccardi busy on the wing. Forward Derek Hall, who tormented the Tiges in this fixture last year, kicked 2 early goals and 3 for the quarter as the Cats booted three before Richmond scored. Richmond got going when Gieschen dragged an overexcited Powell and replaced him with Merenda. He snapped the Tiges' first and then set up two more with long leads and kicks which were marked close in by Ottens and Holland, respectively. Ottens had started at CHF while Richardson stayed on the bench and young Brad took a number of marks in the opening term, proving a handful for Stoneham. Geelong received a setback when King damaged an ankle and took no further part, Mensch was drafted into the ruck. The Cats again sprang to an early lead in the second, Burns snapped a goal, Lowther caught Blurton in possession right in front and from the following bounce Hocking allowed Biddiscombe to charge clear and blast a long goal. But the Tiges dug their heels in as things got a bit heated. Spinks spilled an easy chest mark, elbowed Torney in the head and was reported. Moments later Knights whacked Spinks and was reported. Both will go, I'd reckon. Richmond stayed in touch with two more goals from Merenda, one a slot from the boundary right on the halftime siren.
Richmond's turn to put the pressure on early in the third, Knights and Prescott, Hocking's minder, kicked into the forward line where Holland took two good marks and converted both to level the scores and the Tigers went ahead when Powell steered a shot through from a narrow angle. Geelong coach Ayres moved beaten defenders Stoneham and Mansfield to attack and it paid off, Stoneham kicked a goal and set up another for Spinks to give the Cats the lead at the final change. Geelong kicked a stream of behinds early in the last stanza before Merenda snapped another goal to cut the margin to three points. Now Merenda, Moore and Richardson all missed kickable shots, Richo's behind levelled the scores. Then Cat Mansfield, embarassed all day by Merenda, won the game. He snapped a great goal with 11 minutes left to put Geelong back in front. A minute later Kellaway dropped an uncontested mark on the wing as Richmond cleared, the Cats pumped the ball back, Bulluss dropped a mark in the goalsquare and Mansfield was there to pounce. Oh the pain. Further goals to Burns and Spinks were the proverbial icing.
Garry Hocking played a great and archetypal Hocking game for the Cats. As well as clearing the centre, working hard around packs and gathering 24 touches, he also delivered crunching bumps on Knights and Daffy and indulged in a running battle with Prescott. Sanderson was very good again and McGrath played well in defence, Mensch did well in the ruck. Few other Cats contributed all day, Hall and Riccardi were good early but faded, Lowther and Burns flashed in and out. Burns and Hall finished with 3 goals each, Mansfield, Spinks and Lowther got 2 each. For Richmond Merenda was excellent, 14 kicks, 6 marks and 4 goals from the forward pocket, a pity he also missed 3 shots. Knights did well with 27 disposals and Daffy wasn't bad. Defenders Gaspar, Bulluss, Kellaway and Torney battled hard but the Tiges again struggled in attack, although the Cats did too. Holland kicked 3 goals. Said ex-Ayres assistant Gieschen "We're bitterly disappointed, we didn't play well...we felt we had a number of chances in the last quarter...we missed opportunities that really hurt us." Ayres said "Last Sunday their work rate was far superior to Essendon...so we've been talking about how our work rate had to be superior to theirs and ..zzzzz...².
Hawthorn 3.2 6.3 7.4 10.7.67 Port Adelaide 4.1 8.3 13.7 17.10.112
The last time the Hawks won a game - 10 games ago - it was this fixture. I'm tipping Judge will be the first coach this season who will be given full and unequivocal backing by the board, in about 2 or 3 weeks. Like last week the Hawks were badly exposed in the key defensive positions by a tough and committed Port. At selection Hawthorn lost Kappler with a hamstring and later Dunstall pulled out with a fractured sternum and Justin Crawford with an ankle. In came Dixon and two new players for their first AFL games, ruck-rover Brad Lloyd, brother of Essendon's Matthew, and forward Nathan Thompson. The Flowers made just one change, dumping Dew for Fabian Francis.
Hawthorn's problems were evident early as Port full-forward Cummings and CHF Lade each booted 2 goals in the first term. Francis did well on a wing and Francou and Eagleton were busy. In the second quarter Port's Rising-Star-Award-winning ruck rover Wilson cut loose, having 10 touches for the quarter. The Hawks slipped 4 goals behind before Krummel, at full forward, bagged a pair of late goals to keep them in touch. But the visitors kicked clear in the third term in what the "Age" journalist in front me quotes as "probably the worst (quarter) played by the Hawks in more than 15 years". You won't get that sort of ridiculous hyperboly from me. But who knows...perhaps it was that bad. Cummings bagged more goals, waltzing through non-existent defenders while Dickie came off the bench and joined in. Port cruised home with Tredrea coming off the bench to kick a couple of goals. Salmon, in his 250th game, broke his cheekbone late on and had to go off.
Wilson finished with 28 possessions - I think, the insane new stats the paper's adopted this year say he had 4 THBs (total handballs) and 8 EHBs (effective handballs). Go figure. Anyway, he seemed to do a lot on the highlights. Cummings finished with 7 goals from 8 kicks and 4 marks, Lade chipped in with 4 goals. Lyle, Francou and Francis contributed midfield (Lyle was reported for hitting Crawford) while Kingsley was excellent in defence, supported by Dickie and Mead, who slaughtered Holland. Not much to say for the Hawks, Mark Graham did well on a wing in the first half and finished with 20 touches and 11 marks, Krummel kicked 4 goals, Lekkas battled in defence and Taylor got the ball 32 times but wasn't as effective as his direct opponent, Wilson. Salmon boxed on and poor young Croad started in attack and ended up on Cummings, but still did well. A deathly Judge said "there were too many errors; too many decisional errors as well as executional errors (good choice of words, Ken). We tried hard enough, but we made errors..." OK Ken. Cahill: "I was really feeling the pressure (of not having won at Waverley). I thought if you lose two in a row, it really puts you behind the 8-ball. In the AFL today, you can't afford to drop a game." Relax, Johnny. Both last year's Grand Finalists lost three of their first four.
Melbourne 5.2 11.4 14.8 19.11.125 North Melbourne 1.4 4.5 11.8 15.10.100
Perhaps the Dees are better. Their forward line here boasted more guns than an American primary school student...Schwarz, Neitz, White, Lyon, Smith with Farmer lurking about, North's backline were simply swamped by it all. And you'd have to be thinking they're not gonna be the only ones. The Demons lost Viney with a knee strain and dumped Lamaro, but in came talisman Garry Lyon for his first game since round 8 last year, along with Leoncelli. North lost Freeborn suspended for belting Worsfold last week (should get extra Brownlow votes), but regained tough small defender Chandler. Not that they needed more small defenders. Mellington replaced late withdrawal Capuano.
Melbourne commenced with Schwarz and Neitz as twin half-forwards with Smith and White in the goalsquare. Stynes won handsomely in the ruck against inexperienced North pair Hewitt and Mellington, Hopgood and James McDonald got plenty of the ball...all they had to do was kick it in the air inside 50m. Farmer chipped to White for the first goal and raced in to dob the second himself, marks to Schwarz, Neitz and Smith (100th game) did for the next three. Lyon replaced Smith for the second quarter but first White marked over the pathetic McCartney for another. Macca was soon replaced by Martyn (originally at CHB on Schwarz) and North staged a brief rally with goals from Sholl and Mellington. Melbourne led by 16 points but late in the quarter piled on 4 quick ones. First the excellent Rigoni, then the Dee fans climaxed as Neitz passed to Lyon for Garry's first, Don Cockatoo-Collins was taken high by Archer right in front, finally Schwarz marked again and handballed over the top for Lyon to tap it through. North kicked the first two goals of the third term but then the livewire Farmer streaked away from King for another, White dragged in a one-hander and put the Demons 42 points clear. How easy was it?
But North rarely lay down and guess what...Carey inspired a comeback. He won a free for holding against Ingerson and handballed for Welsh to goal, marked and goaled himself and moments later Hewitt did likewise.
Lyon replied after being paid a dubious mark but then Carey dragged in an unbelieveable one-hander and gained full points. Dee coach Daniher switched Schwarz onto him. King, freed of chasing Farmer as the Demon departed with cramp, kicked a running goal and Melbourne's lead was cut to 18 points at the final break. On came the Roos. Abraham kicked a major early in the final term, Carey stayed down to rove a pack and goal and from the following bounce Shannon Grant walloped a long sausage...Melbourne led by 1 point. "Melbourne's season is on the line right here" yelled a hysterical Gerard Healy, but for those who think like him, the season was saved. The Dees attacked, Martyn's spoil was gathered by Neitz who threaded through a great shot and Farmer returned to weave superbly through 2 tackles and kick another, Schwarz landed great snap to seal it.
Forwards aren't much without midfield service and the Demons got it through some unlikely players. Hopgood, Yze, Rigoni (27 disposals) and Steven Febey (32) were excellent. Leoncelli and Woewodin did superbly mopping up at the back. Stynes won in the ruck. White, Neitz, Lyon and Farmer kicked 3 goals each and Schwarz got 2. For North Carey was the man again, 25 touches, 10 marks and 3 goals. Running defenders Blakey and Pickett did well, Stevens and Bell battled in midfield and Abraham was handy in attack with 16 disposals and 3 goals. Hewitt wasn't bad with 2 goals. "Melbourne were really switched on at the start and came out really hard", said North boss Pagan. "We may have been a little bit underdone in height, but that's how it goes." Daniher lapped it up. "A bit of self-belief has crept into the club and we've got to build on that. We've got to handle this win well...win, lose or draw, I knew today that we'd made progress against the yardstick of the competition." See, Gerard?
Sydney 6.2 7.7 13.11 20.15.135 Brisbane 4.3 6.5 12.10 14.13.97
Exciting times for the Sydney folk, who "sold out" the SCG (official crowd 32,111) to watch their heroes take on traditional superpower Brisbane, one of the giants of the game. And take them on they did, eventually running away in the last term after a tight game. The Swans lost Lewis for about a month with a knee strain and Ahmat went with a hamstring, in came Dunkley and former North champion Wayne Schwass, both returning from suspension. Northey swung the axe at Brisbane, as well as losing Hart, McRae and Brad Scott to injury, Trask, Bamford and Dickfos were dropped. Replacements were Chris Scott, Dion Scott, Robbins, Carter and two teenage draftees for their first games, Oakleigh's Luke Power and North Ballarat's Shane O'Bree.
A heartening early sight, the old snowy bloke who always dresses in a bright red jumper and sits - or leans out over the fence, more correctly - behind the "left-of-screen" goal at the SCG has fronted up for another season. That champion of life has been there since day one. Anyway, didn't see much of the early action as we had to watch "Xena - Warrior Princess". She'd go well at CHF. Open early with midfielders from both sides doing well, Leppitsch managed some early goals for the visitors while Schwass did well early too, the locals were in raptures when he kicked his first goal and later sped onto a kick into space from Maxfield and passed to Stafford for a goal. A tight second term, early goals from the Lions levelled the scores. Lockett struggled as he fumbled and was outmarked and outplayed by Alastair Lynch, both Plugger and Kelly missed shots before O'Loughlin hauled in a lovely mark and handpassed for Mooney to goal and put the Swans 8 points up. Late in the half came a bizzarre incident, Dion Scott marked for the Lions just 15m out on a slight angle, but passed 20m backwards to Tristan Lynch, who missed. Weird.
It continued close into the third term, early on Schwass was twice involved in a move from defence to attack, eventually setting up a goal for Kelly. Brisbane replied through goals from Leppitsch and Dion Scott, but then two sausages from O'Brien, the second after a free against Bews, put the Swans 15 points clear. Kelly kicked a superb goal for the Swans and Lockett, being thrashed by Lynch, was moved into the ruck. The Lions came again, Chris Scott kicked a goal and Ashcroft snapped a nice one to cut the margin back to 3 points. The game was still tight 7 minutes into the last term when Swan rover Troy Cook chipped one through, it signalled a goalrush as Schwass landed a bomb, Cresswell goaled and Barry majored after a 50m penalty against Bews, suddenly the locals were 30 points clear and home.
Schwatta had a dream debut for the Swans, running unstoppably from defence to the forward line and bagging 3 goals to go with his 29 disposals. Barry and Mooney (2 goals) did well across half forward while Stafford beat the disappointing Clarke in the ruck. Cresswell and Kelly (3 goals) won their usual bucket of touches while Nicks did well across half back. Mick Voss (29 touches) worked tirelessly trying to keep the Lions in it, Al Lynch kept Lockett goalless (Plugger got one very late in the game), Tristan Lynch, Lawrence and Power,a promising type, battled hard too. Liked the game of Simon Black, a shaggy, daggy half forward who threw himself about. Gotta work on the skills a bit, though. Leppitsch and Power each kicked 3 goals. "It was a real hard slog...it was a fantastic contest, it showed the character of the guys to persist", said Rocket Eade. Hang on, that's what he said last week...and this week. Northey was happy with an improved effort from his mob, and reckoned Schwass made the difference.
Essendon 6.4 11.7 21.11 28.14.182 St. Kilda 2.4 4.9 8.12 13.15.93
The Bombers, clearly stung by my tenchant criticism last week, bounced back in reasonably emphatic fashion...I still reckon they're overrated, dya hear me! Not a good day for the Saints, although it's been a while since they were pounded like this. About round 2 last year, if I recall. The Dons made three changes from last week, bringing in Blumfield, Bomford and Caracella while the Saints went with the suspect Harvey and brought in Daniel Healy.
Pretty much slaughter from start to finish. Bomber Mercuri kicked the first 2 goals of the match and his opponent Cripps immediately did a hammmy and departed. Lucas crashed through a weak Winmar tackle for another. Blumfield, tagging Harvey who wasn't expected to play with bruised ribs, thrashed the Brownlow Medallist with 10 touches in the first term to Robbie's 3. Fraser smothered Jones on the wing and Nathan Burke was beaten by O'Donnell. With the Saint prime movers out of it, the Bomber forwards enjoyed a feast, Bewick and Lloyd in particular in the first half. Stan Alves sent Loewe to CHB and brought Sierakowski onto CHF, both players did all they could but the Saints simply couldn't get the ball. In the second half Gary Moorcroft, an old-fashioned lair of a type the Bombers seem to produce regularly, exploded to boot 5 goals and take a supposed "trademark" speccie (didn't see him last week). However it wasn't all good news for the Bombers, they picked up a string of injuries in the second half, Hird with a hamstring, Somerville and Barnard with concussion and Symons with an ankle. Hird and Symons are the most serious, both are expected to miss 2 or 3 games.
Hardly a bad player for Essendon. Moorcroft finished with 6 goals from 25 touches and 8 marks, the oft-abused Fraser finished with 20 disposals and 2 goals to Jones's 10 and 0, Blumfield and O'Donnell outplayed their highly-rated opponents. Lloyd kicked 5 goals and Mercuri 3, Denham, Hardwick and Bewick all got plenty of the ball too. Curiously the Saints' big men all had reasonable games, ruckman Everitt had 24 disposals, 15 marks (half of those uncontested, accepting short passes) and 2 goals, but the Saints were killed at the centre bounce. Loewe had 10 marks and kicked 4 goals, Sierakowski was good too with 19 touches and 9 marks. But the Saint small men, their engine-room, were obliterated, only Peckett stood out. Stan weren't happy. "It's totally unacceptable. We need to address it. We've just got to be careful that our reaction's not going to be stupid and flog them and stuff like that." He even bagged Harvey for not bothering to run and chase Blumfield, even though Rob clearly had problems with his chest. Sheeds made a number of observations, variously thanking the AFL for adopting his four-on-the-bench idea (I thought he wanted 9), congratulating Richmond for teaching them about passion and commitment last week (you're welcome) and asking if the "Age" could slag his team and fringe players like Fraser and O'Connor more often as it'd proved a handy motivational tool. I'll do it for you Kev...they ARE crap and you're STILL over-rated. I'm glad we don't have to play'em for another four months, though...
Adelaide 7.3 11.7 17.14 25.17.167 Fremantle 1.2 6.4 8.5 11.8.74
On another warm day the Crows unfurled their 1997 AFL Premiers pennant in front of 40,602 and proceeded to unravel the poor Fremantle. In selection the home side brought in Robran, Eccles, Rintoul and Sampson, Freo had Shane Parker and O'Reilly return and gave a Docker debut to former North utility Stuart Anderson.
The Camrys jumped the Dockers, blasting a series of early goals as Smart, Ricciuto and Bickley charged forward from the half-back line while pacy flankers McLeod and Sampson did the damage in attack. Freo did better in the second term as Burton took charge in the middle, Dodd and Wills got a bit of the ball and they kicked 4 goals in 10 minutes at one stage to at least get close. But the hapless Sandgropers were slaughtered in the second half, just to rub it in Ellen moved to the forward line for the final term and proceeded to kick 3 goals. A frustrated Kickett thumped Sampson and was reported.
McLeod and Sampson each had 14 kicks and snaggled 6 goals, Rehn starred in the ruck, especially after half time when an unfit Burton disappeared. The Crow ruckman took 14 marks shuffling between the ruck and half-forward. Bickley ran relentlessly for 30 disposals, Ricciuto, Smart and Ben Hart did well running of half back while Bassett beat Hunter. Pittman wasn't bad too, on the anniversary of the famous "pathetic" comment. For Freo, Chris Bond boxed on in the centre with 23 touches and 2 goals, fellow veteran Fletcher wasn't bad and Burton was their only other standout, although he's not fully fit and spent most of the second half on the bench. Waterhouse, Wills and Bandy each kicked 2 goals. "We really capitulated badly in the second half," said Gerry Neesham. "There was a lack of run and endeavour which was way, way below the expected level of AFL...". Gerry also blamed the heat of last week contributing to the second half fadeout and fell back on an old favourite of his, the umpiring. Not the best way to go into a derby. Mal Blight was happy. "Close to our best four-quarter effort since last year..." Wow, that's saying a lot. "Our on-ballers gave us a good look at it...when you get two half-forward flankers having eight shots at goal each, it means the ball's been down there a fair bit." Indeed.
Footscray 5.2 12.5 20.6 22.8.140 Carlton 4.2 6.3 11.4 13.6.84
David Parkin described the Bulldogs' skill level "as good as any team in the competition, except maybe West Coast" after they fairly walloped his Blues in the third of the Palm Sunday Massacres. That was the story, although Carlton got the ball as often as the Puppies they didn't use it anywhere near as well. The Blues woulda been worried at half time after conceding 12 goals...thay can't kick more than a dozen per match themselves. In selection Footscray dropped Dooley, Cox and Montgomery, bringing in key players Wynd, Ellis and ex-Blue forward James Cook. The Blues had White and Hogg come in.
Carlton actually started well, Porter won in the centre bounce and Camporeale and Bradley got the ball forward where Whitnall was too big for Cameron and Full Back Of The Century was in ominous form, kicking two early goals. Dog coach Wallace replaced Cameron with Ellis, their normal CHB, and Scott West and Romero started roving to Porter. Chris Grant stood up and Cook came on to full forward, suddenly the Dogs fired. West, Dimattina and Michael Martin dominated the midfield in the second quarter and such was the form of Grant and Cook that Parkin shifted History's Greatest Full Back to full back and placed the beaten Sexton up forward. The Bluies rallied briefly in the third quarter as Allan fired at CHF and set up goals for Sexton and Whitnall, Hamill bagged another and the Blues actually got within 8 goals. But Grant set up a steadier, if one were needed, for the busy Kolyniuk and the Dogs eased up going to the line in the last.
Scott West again ruled around packs, with 24 expertly used possessions and a goal, Romero, Dimattina and Johnson also had possessions in the 20s and easily beat their hapless Carlton opponents. Grant took 9 marks and kicked 2 goals from CHF and Cook bagged a lazy 6 goals from 10 marks at full forward. Kolyniuk kicked 4 goals and Ellis played well in defence. Liberatore had a decent game after a tough week. Porter won handsomely in the ruck for Carlton but the Bulldogs cleared the centre 23 times to 12 as Ratten and Brown struggled, Bradley was their only effectiove midfielder with 23 disposals and Dean Rice battled tremendously hard, especially with the umpires. HGFB kicked 3 goals, all in the first quarter, and went on to play alrightat the back. "It was a fairly ordinary day...I thought they were superior to us in every single facet of football", said Parkin. He doesn't mince words...take note, Gary Ayres. "Today, we were aware of the responsibilities of taking the next step and becoming a professional unit", said Terry Wallace. They took the step in their stride.
Cheers, Tim.
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