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.
A big week at the tribunal. History was made when Footscray became the first club to use the new tribunal appeal process, against Chris Grant's 2-week suspension for hitting Cat Colbert. It cost 'em 15K up front, 10 of which was refunded after the appeal board considered it a "worthy appeal". But they correctly upheld the tribunal's original decision. Three other players copped 3-week holidays, Melbourne's Seecamp, North's Pike, who pleaded guilty to an elbow, and West Coast's Ball for a nasty elbow on Maxfield. Carlton pair Pearce and Silvagni each got a week, Pearce for provoking Seecamp and Full Back Of The Millenium for an uncharacteristic punch on Neitz.
Melbourne ruckman Jim Stynes's 10-year long, 244 consecutive-game streak came to an end when he required surgery on his broken left hand. Jim left the decision not to play until late Thursday. He last missed a game in mid-1987. And the man who had the second-longest streak, popular Bulldog Tony Liberatore, had his 165-game run ended on Sunday with a terrible knee injury at the SCG.
Richmond 4.5 7.9 9.12 12.14.86 West Coast 3.1 8.3 8.8 10.11.71
The Tiges ground their way to victory against an injury-weakened and unusually shabby Eagle combination. Richmond reacted to last Friday night's drubbing by axing Nichols, Blurton, Ryan and Michael Gale, James had a thigh strain as an excuse. Knights returned from suspension and Joel Bowden from a broken collarbone, Powell, Chaffey and Scott Turner also came in. West Coast also made five changes, out with the suspended Ball went Schofield with an ankle and Evans, Phil Matera and Wooden were dropped. Replacements were Banfield, Stone, Ilija Grgic for his first game of the year and two new players, Jaxon Crabb from Claremont and Subiaco defender Todd Holmes.
Richmond started a bit better than previous weeks with their midfielders busy early, especially Daffy, Knights and Bowden. But the Eagles got plenty from Kemp and Waterman. Campbell chipped the first goal for the Tiges before West Coast's White slotted a set kick through from a very tight angle. Bowden's handpass set up a goal for Tiger Merenda then stand-in Weegle full forward Morrison replied, Prescott staging for a free when he should've contested. Richmond got the next two goals, a dubious free to Holland and a Merenda snap, straight from the next bounce Kemp cleared the centre and Gehrig helped create a goal for Morrison. The Tigers started the second term well with a superb rover's goal from Daffy. Then Eagle Lewis missed with a soccer shot from point blank and, at the other end, Holland handpassed ludicrously after marking 20m out. After Kemp and Knights traded left-foot goals the Eagles gained the ascendancy. Gardiner was shifted into the ruck and Gehrig started to get away from the niggardly Kellaway. A doubtful free to White led to a goal for Gehrig and then a great snap from White cut Richmond's lead to 4 points. Harrison replied for Richmond, but Kemp cleared the next centre bounce for Braun to mark and goal, then Morrison marked Gehrig's centering kick and put the Eagles in front just before half time.
However the Eagles had problems. Cousins and Worsfold were off with leg injuries and they were joined early in the third by White with a hamstring. Jakovich was trudging about like he couldn't care less and Peter Matera hit blokes off the ball and sulked, like he always does against Richmond. The third term was a low-grade slog with plenty of poor disposal and close checking, Richmond edged ahead with goals from set shots to Rombotis and Campbell. The Eagles wasted their chances, Lewis and Gehrig in particular guilty of very lazy kicks from set shots. Late in the term the West Coast's chances were KO'd along with the busy Dean Kemp, who was ab-ser-lootly hammered by Turner in an incident very similar to Turner's hit on Gary O'Donnell in the '95 semi-final. Kemp was stretchered off. Daffy goaled early in the final quarter and Merenda gave the Tiges an impregnable 4-goal lead after a fantastic mark over McKenna, running with the flight of the ball and climbing on Bluey's shoulders. Great stuff. West Coast looked tired, understandable with their empty bench, but rallied briefly when Symmons finally kicked their first goal of the half, shortly followed by Lewis. But time had run out, Richmond's Powell goaled on the siren.
Richmond's busier midfield carried the day. Daffy's rebirth as a centreman continued as he gathered 29 touches and kicked 2 goals, Campbell had identical statistics and Knights underlined his importance to Richmond with 23 well-used possessions. Rogers and Bower (on Matera) were also good and Kellaway did well in an entertaining duel with Gehrig. Torney was good at the back again. Merenda kicked 3 goals and looks a lot better now injury-free. Kemp stood out for the Eagles, until he was thumped, with 17 disposals and a goal and Gardiner helped swing things their way. McIntosh was very good at full back and the prima-donna Gehrig had 20 disposals, 9 marks and a goal at CHF, Morrison kicked 3 goals at full forward and White got 2. But the Eag's performance is summed up by Matera and Waterman, both got plenty of the ball (20 and 29 touches respectively), but neither had much influence. Mick Malthouse wore a rueful smile and simply stated that nothing went right. Gieschen was happy with the manner of the victory, if not the style. "It was pleasing to out-last them. The Eagles are the doyen of wearing you down and cracking you in the end."
Hawthorn 6.2 14.8 14.12 18.16.124 Brisbane 4.3 5.4 11.9 12.11.83
One of these early season strugglers had to break through and it was the Hawks who finally cracked it, although not before more second-half jitters. Brisbane were on a hiding to nothing at a ground where they've won once in 13 tries. More trouble for Lion coach John Northey - after the game chairman Noel Gordon said "He's got the full support of everybody in the club, including myself and the board." In selection the Hawks were strengthened by the returns of Salmon and Robran from injury, they also gave a debut to Nathan Turvey from South Fremantle. Lawrence, Hassall and Justin Crawford were dropped.
Brisbane had two changes, losing Alastair Lynch with a hammy and dropping youngster O'Bree for Lappin and Power.
As in the last two games the Hawks blasted out of the blocks, booting the first five goals. Taylor and Crawford were excellent in the middle and Piggy Dunstall pulled down marks at full forward and slotted a few goals. Nick Holland, who stormed off the ground last week in anger at being moved from CHF, was also busy early. Leppitsch finally got the Lions' first after a very good mark and they rallied late in the quarter to make the scoreboard look a bit better. But the Hawks careered away in the second term with Holland and Lord chipping in with more goals. Salmon won in the ruck - a big difference from previous weeks - and the chunky Kilmartin got involved. The miserable Lions' only goal came after the half-time siren and they lost Voss with concussion. In the third quarter Northey moved Nigel Lappin into the centre and his speed and long kicking were the catalyst for Brisbane's comeback, Leppitsch and Dion Scott kicking goals as Ashcroft and Chris Scott got going. But they continued to have injury problems, Trask was stretchered off wearing a neck brace and Chris Johnson departed with a broken hand. The nervous Hawks stopped to a walk as deja vu descended, they also had injury problems with Treleven, Krummel and Woods sidelined. Graham and Leppitsch were reported for whacking each other. Early in the last Lord kicked the Hawks' fifth consecutive behind, but up stood Dunstall to steady his men. Jase thrust his big arse into Dickfos to hold a mark and goal. Dixon threw himself into some packs to take a couple of courageous marks, the second led to goal for Chapman via Dunstall and the Hawks were home. They belted out "We're a happy team at Hawthorn" with some gusto.
Dunstall was the hero for the Hawkers, booting 6 goals and giving a few away from his 15 kicks and 10 marks. Holland took 7 marks and kicked 4 goals from CHF and Lord kicked 3 goals. Taylor (26 possessions, 2 goals) and Crawford (31 touches) played well and Dixon provided vital inspiration in the final term. Lanky teenage defender Jonathon Hay is developing nicely. For Brisbane Leppitsch kicked 5 goals from 7 marks and Lappin, with 17 kicks and a goal, provided much-needed class. Ashcroft and Chris Scott got plenty of the ball and youngsters Power and Black were useful. Dion Scott kicked 3 goals. Northey locked his men away for an hour afterwards for a "heart-to-heart...It's a collective thing," he said. "We're trying to find a solution. Playing four quarters has been a problem all year. Last week there was a glimmer of hope that we'd turned the corner, then you get a game like today where only one good quarter was almost enough to get us up." Judgey said "I'm relieved. This win takes the pressure off me but moreso off the players".
Collingwood 3.6 6.12 11.17 15.18.108 Essendon 4.3 9.6 9.12 12.16.88
At 11:30AM on Anzac Day a bunch of folks clustered miserably about the MCG gates in steady rain. Once inside the 81,500 footsoldiers of life saw the Pies extend their recent spell of dominance over the battling Bombers in this now-traditional fixture. Also according to tradition Sav Rocca bombarded the Bombers' defensive positions. The Pie momentum is starting to build, just like it has this time in each of the last two seasons. Essendon have a worrying tendency to fade out in the second half. Collingwood went in unchanged from last week. Essendon lost Mercuri with his groin strain and Bolton and Moorcroft were dropped along with Joe Misiti for the first time in his career, but he got a late reprieve when Denham withdrew. In came Ukovic, Berbakov, full back Matthew Banks who had some success on Rocca last year and new player Dean Solomon, a defender from Bendigo.
The Dons started well in the wet conditions, as they have in every match so far. Misiti starred in the centre and Lloyd and Lucas lurked dangerously in the forward line. Cockatoo-Collins kicked an excellent early goal, escaping two tackles and dribbling through. The Roccas started in more usual fashion, Anthony couldn't get the ball against Wellman, was reported for clobbering Misiti and eventually benched while Sav spilled his first marking attempt, missed some early shots and was soon moved about the field. The Maggies got some drive from Crow and Crosisca while Buckley struggled against Blumfield. The same story in the second quarter, the Dons looked good while Collingwood squandered chances and couldn't get moving. Sav Rocca bombed a goal from 60m after the half-time siren and it proved an omen. At the start of the third quarter Shaw moved Wright onto Misiti and Patterson into the centre, both successful and Buckley started to get the ball more often. Sav started to mark and, more importantly, kick straight in bagging three goals for the term. Banks was forced off with a shoulder injury and was replaced by blubbery O'Connor. Pie full back Michael did better on Lloyd. The Dons wobbled through six behinds but Bewick and Blumfield kicked consecutive goals at the start of the final term to cut Collingwood's lead to 2 points. McDonald kicked a steadier for the Magpies, then O'Connor collected Watson late and the downfield free was converted by Sav. The Bombers boxed on, another Bewick goal cut the margin to 8 points but again Sav got in their way, juggling a mark and splitting the big posts from 30m. And Sav got another in the closing stages.
Big Saverio finished with 7.4 from 8 marks and 18 kicks but the Pies had some less likely heroes, Patterson played an excellent second half and especially last quarter. He finished with 26 touches, marred a bit by 4 behinds. Buckley, also better after half time, had 30 disposals. Crow and Wright were very good in the centre and small forward Brad Fuller was handy with 3 goals. We kept calling him Heath Shepherd last week. Michael kept Lloyd goalless in the second half and Monkhorst had another good game in the ruck, the third quarter in particular. Essendon's key defender Sean Wellman is probably in the best form of his career, he had Anthony Rocca removed and went on to have 19 possessions. Bewick played well throughout with 22 touches and 2 goals and Misiti burned in the first half before fading with 22 disposals. Blumfield played well and Lloyd kicked 4 goals, all in the first half. But the Dons are being regularly cut up in the centre and look slow. The imminent return of Long will help. "Our overall performance was more competitive than last week." said Sheedy. "But...we let ourselves down with some free kicks they got goals out of and some goals we should have got from our own play." Shaw said "After losing to the Bulldogs the players made a conscious decision...we've been in situations where our years have ended pretty early before the finals. We had a real match-up problem early...but we really extended them in the second half." Rational Magpie fans (wow, what an oxymoron) will still have the jury out.
Fremantle 3.4 9.6 12.7 16.8.104 North Melbourne 2.2 4.9 8.13 12.15.87
Great win for the Dockers, arguably their best ever and their first over North, achieved in fine style after the Roos twice levelled the scores in the last quarter. The paper is soaked in Gallipoli-type metaphors, it positively reeks of mud, blood and felafel. The Dockers made three changes from last week's win over Essendon, Clucas, Chisholm and Hargraves were axed for Kickett, back from suspension, Waterhouse, back from injury and Daniel Parker who was just back. North replaced the suspended Pike with Adam Simpson.
Archer kicked the first goal for North but it was all Fremantle for most of the first half. Wills and Callaghan got plenty of the ball in the centre while Harding and Kickett drove the ball forward from defence. At CHF Bandy gave an out-of-sorts Carey the run-around as Freo revelled in their new-found aerial power - or perhaps it's just better disposal. Ex-Docker Abraham, jeered heavily, was benched early after getting a little overexcited. North made a comeback late in the third quarter as Carey was belatedly shifted to the forward line, Pagan's reluctance inevitably interpreted as a fitness doubt on Carey. Late in the third Shannon Grant kicked 2 goals inside 20 seconds, one kicked as a whole picket line of Dockers descended on him. Carey goaled just before the final change, then outmarked O'Reilly and kicked another early in the last to cut the gap to 12 points. Straight from the following bounce a chain of Roo handpasses set up a goal for Allison to make a straight kick the difference. Carey then levelled the scores and Freo were in trouble, but Waterhouse kicked two excellent goals, the second a huge roost from 60m to ease the pressure. Norrish goaled for the locals after a free and automatic 50m from a deliberate trip by Rock who was reported. Wills soccered the sealer with 14 seconds left, a miraculous volley from the boundary 25m out and ran off to high-five the fence-line crowd as the Dockers celebrated.
Wills had a pretty good game overall, with 27 touches, 10 marks and 2 goals. Waterhouse finished with 4 goals and the busy Sinclair was very good with 18 touches and 2 goals. Fletcher played well again in the centre and Callaghan, Dodd and Norrish were tough and speedy. Harding and Kickett (25 disposals) ran strongly from half-back and Burton continues to improve in the ruck. O'Reilly held McKernan to 1 goal. North used the interchange almost constantly as Pagan threw his match-ups around. Anthony Stevens battled for 25 possessions and defenders Martyn and Pickett were winners, Martyn holding in-form Clement to 1 goal. Allison and Archer weren't bad. Carey had 19 touches and kicked 3 goals, Grant kicked 4 goal from 11 kicks. But like Essendon last week, the Roos' midfielders were beaten by the faster, harder and younger Freo men. Pagan said his side was top-heavy. "If the talls take all the catches then it's the right selection but obviously it didn't work this time." Can't find a quote from Neesham but I saw him on the TV grinning broadly. And why not.
Sydney 6.5 7.7 12.10 14.15.99 Footscray 2.2 4.4 4.9 12.11.83
A tough, tense affair befitting the two unbeaten sides. After struggling for three quarters the Dogs made a brave but futile last-quarter comeback and picked up some worrying injuries, including the aforementioned Libber tragedy. They sure missed Chris Grant. Sydney continue to look the goods, like they did for the first 18 weeks last year. The home side went with the same side as last week while Footscray lost Kretiuk before the game in addition to the suspended Grant, replacements were Cox and Montgomery.
The Swans started with the breeze and kicked three quick goals, from Barry, Ahmat and a free to Plugger after he was swamped by three Bulldog defenders. But Footscray slowly got going, their forwards chasing and tackling admirably to stop the Swans' run from defence. Ellis and Darcy played as twin half-forwards in Grant's absence while Wynd lurked across half-back to great effect, filling Lockett's leading space. A great Ellis tackle led to their first goal, kicked by Dimattina and Dimma got the next one too. After Kelly missed a shot O'Loughlin marked the kick-in and goaled and two late majors from Bayes and Kelly gave the Swans a handy quarter-time lead. Footscray tightened in the second quarter, marking man-on-man and engaging in vigorous tackling that led to close, tight game. Montgomery took a magnificent screamer over Warfe, hovering on the Swan forever. As tradition demands Montgomery kicked the goal, moments later a Roos mistake set up a goal for Johnson and Sydney's lead was cut to 14 points. The messy Swans were battling but they got a handy late goal from O'Loughlin.
Sydney established what proved to be a match-winning lead in the third term. It took a while, Schwass was off with an ankle injury and a frustrated Kelly punched Dimattina and was reported, but he responded by marking and goaling a minute later and more goals to Lockett and O'Loughlin put the Swans 40 points ahead. The Dogs' Southern missed two simple chances and Lockett rubbed it in with a goal from a free. Late-on Liberatore did his knee in a marking duel with Kelly. The Sydney crowd showed unexpected graciousness in applauding the luckless Libber from the field. Freed from his shadow, Kelly immediately created a goal for Stafford and the Swans looked home at the last change. But the Bulldogs refused to lie down. Southern finally kicked straight - from the boundary line - and then two mistakes from Roos led to more Footscray goals for Garlick and Southern again. Swan Stevens then ran superbly from his own back pocket to the wing and passed to O'Loughlin, whose kick was marked and converted by Plugger. But Hudson bobbed up to kick two more goals for Footscray, Montgomery passed to Kolyniuk for another and when Hudson majored again from a free the Dogs trailed by just 12 points. Both sides then missed a number of shots as the desperate Swans raised their game, finally O'Brien finished it with 50 seconds left.
Kelly (28 disposals, 2 goals) had the better of Libber before the latter departed and did some crucial captain-like things and Cresswell found the ball plenty of times (12 kicks, 16 handpasses). Dunkley had an excellent game at full back although he staged for free kicks constantly. O'Loughlin was impressive up forward with 13 kicks and 3 goals, Lockett kicked 4 goals. Stafford was reasonable and Luff worked hard in defence. Bulldog Romero was very effective with 34 disposals and ruckman Wynd was great, dropping back effectively. West had 25 touches. Southern gave the Dogs a lift in attack in the second half and finished with 21 touches and 2 goals, former Swan Garlick played well and Hudson's 3 final-term goals threatened to pinch it.Neither coach was overly happy. "It was a disappointing day at the office", said Footscray's Wallace. "At least they fought out the game and had a red-hot go in the last quarter. But the job was done before that." He felt sad for Liberatore. Eade said "Other than the four points there wasn't much to be taken from the game. It was an anti-climax. We made the running but we tended to muck around with the ball too much."
Melbourne 3.6 7.9 12.13 14.18.102 Port Adelaide 0.5 2.8 5.13 6.17.53
Blustery winds and steady rain made this a tough game but the Demons continue to improve, claiming their fourth consecutive victory. It contained a candidate for goal of the year, a breathtaking 5-bounce run and kick from Demon Shane Woewodin. Port found goalkicking difficult. For the first time in 10 years Jim Stynes watched his teammates from outside the boundary and Demon Neitz will miss 3 months with his broken ankle, Brown was out with a hamstring, Seecamp was on enforced holiday. Leoncelli was a late withdrawal, replaced by Kowal. Farmer and Smith returned from injury and Johnstone was recalled with a new player, Matthew Bishop from Box Hill. Port didn't alter their derby victors.
Scrappy opening term in unhelpful weather with both sides missing a number of shots or conceding rushed behinds. Melbourne's first goal came after a typical Shaun Smith mark - runs, jumps, hugs the ball to his chest and falls flat on his face. White, given the ruck job, marked and goaled for the second and the Demons' third came from a disgraceful piece of umpiring. As Port's Kingsley collected the ball he was elbowed in the head by Farmer, as he hit the ground he was kneed in the head by Viney. Umpire McKenzie's decision - bawl. A suitably disgusted Kingsley handpassed the ball to the side of Viney instead of directly to him - 50m penalty and easy goal for Viney. It wasn't the only injustice the Power received early and Wangers was remarkably restrained when he quizzed the umpires at the first break. Melbourne continued to dominate in the second term, White taking a big grab and goaling and then the McDonald brothers, Anthony and James, dobbed one each before Tredrea snapped Port's first. However Port mounted a charge in the third term with Lyle and Kingsley lifting and Fiegert giving them something in attack. Unfortunately they lost Francis with a twisted knee. However the Demons closed the third quarter with four consecutive goals from their young guns. Robertson got the first two, Johnstone steered a left footer through. Woewodin's magnificent solo effort followed and Port were in trouble, further manifested when White marked and goaled just before the last change.
Melbourne's young midfielders were great again, the Febey brothers and the McDonald brothers all had possessions in the mid-20s and ran relentlessly. Great form from Jeff White, who saw off both Primus and Lade, had 21 touches, 12 marks and kicked 4 goals. Viney and Yze were useful. The rangy forward Robertson and Schwarz finished with 2 goals each and at the back Ingerson beat Poole. Bad day for the showdown-hungover Port. My paper reckons Wilson was their best player, and supports that with stats showing he had 13 kicks, 3 of which were effective. Eh? Morton, Bond and Lyle weren't bad and Fiegert took 8 marks and had 16 kicks across half-forward. But they struggled in attack, with six different goalkickers and a bundle of rushed behinds. "That's the most disappointing game we've played", said Cahill. "...we didn't have a player who won his position." Dee coach Neal Daniher was pretty happy. "I went in a little nervous, with five changes from last week, so it was very exciting to make those changes and come away with a 50-point win. We played the best footy of our short lives together in that third quarter." Steady Dee fans- there's a way to go.
St. Kilda 5.3 8.4 10.8 13.10.88 Carlton 1.4 5.5 7.10 9.12.66
As Erich Maria remarked, "Waverley, rain, an ecstacy of fumbling." Back when Carlton were unbeatable and St. Kilda hopeless, as recently as 1995, the Blues couldn't win at Waverley and with subsequent reversal of fortune and the tribunal-nobbled Blue team here few expected any difference. But the rain was a leveller and the Blues had a go in the wet, eventually beaten by the professional and, these days, more experienced Saints. St Kilda initially dropped Rod Keogh and Knowles for Lappin and Healy, but Sziller pulled out late and Knowles came back in. Carlton replaced their suspended pair with Beaumont and Franchina.
Saints kicked with a healthy breeze first up but it wasn't until late in the quarter that they took advantage, Young and Heatley sinking long goals. Carlton allowed three goals against the wind in the second, probably very costly in the end. They had Camporeale starring on his wing and kicking two excellent goals in the first half, Brown and Ratten battled away while the rest of the Blues were on tagging assignments which didn't help the standard. A resigned John Elliott appeared on Optus at half time to say "Koutoufides has been disappointing...these players are a bit up and down you know, like a woman..." Ah-hah. Carlton strived to contain the wind-assisted Saints in the third, but Mitchell slipped away from defenders to kick two excellent goals late in the term. Carlton were coming home with the wind, Camporeale kicked an early goal and Hulme soccered one at the second attempt to bring the Blues within 9 points. St. Kilda had almost every player within their defensive 50m and Harvey and Burke simply followed the ball everywhere (hence the term "follower", I suppose). We got a scary shot of David Parkin screaming like a complete madman into his phone after Allan fumbled an uncontested mark right in front of the coach's box. Eventually the Saints broke free and Jones soccered a goal, shortly after that Winmar was held by McKay and goaled from the free.
Rob Harvey picked up 31 kicks and 8 handpasses, including 13 touches in the last quarter. Untagged Luke Beveridge had a great game with 26 disposals and tough half-back Matthew Young returned to form with 22 kicks, 11 marks and 2 goals. Mitchell was deadly with 4 classic rover's goals, Loewe and Shane Wakelin did well. Heatley and Winmar kicked 2 goals each. For Carlton defenders McKay and Rice were great and Hogg quelled Burke, Camporeale had 23 kicks and 3 goals against Winmar and Ratten (20 handpasses) and Bradley were good in the centre. Whitnall tried to add life to a weak forward line. Hamill kicked 2 goals. Parkin said "In each of our last three games we've been in a winning position. I don't think we deserved to win any of the three...but we were in a position to win with better ball use around the goals..." Alves said "We're not playing anywhere near what we've done in the past, but that's difficult when you're in these conditions all the time." Blame Waverley.
Adelaide 3.3 4.8 8.12 12.15.87 Geelong 2.6 4.9 5.12 8.13.61
Churchill's badly executed plan for capturing the Dardanelles - attack in the wrong place and then cling on grimly - may have been adapted for Geelong's game plan. Adelaide's attacking has been scarcely better, but they had a decent target this time in the returning Rod Jameson along with small forward Bond and Downsborough. They replaced Pittman and Picioane, both injured, and the dropped Ormond-Allen. Geelong were without Hocking (finger injury from farewelling the umpires last week) and late withdrawal Riccardi, Snell and Brown were dropped. In came Hamish Simpson, McKinnon, Finocchiaro and Brad Sholl resumed after suspension.
A scrappy, pack-bound game produced by two sides with keen defensive men but brittle, unreliable forwards. The Crows kicked with a slight breeze first and, like last week, booted three rapid goals. McLeod passed to Jameson, at full forward, for the opener and Jarman marked and goaled moments later. Koster landed an exhilarating running bomb and the Crows were away. But Geelong steadied, led by their excellent backs McGrath, Colbert, Mansfield, Sanderson and Sholl. Stoneham ventured forth from CHF to take some marks, albeit well away from goal. Burns snapped their first goal on his way to driving Geelong supporters insane with a string of misses. Sanderson kicked a long, long goal but the Cats procedeed to miss a series of chances. Their wayward delivery to the forwards and preference for low-percentage long-range shots didn't help in the swirling breeze. The Cats continued to hold the Crows' forwards in the second quarter but Rehn dropped back across the Crows' half back line and soon proved impassable. Nevertheless two goals from Stoneham, the second after the half-time siren, put Geelong ahead at the main break.
Adelaide went ahead again early in the third after Sanderson rode Connell into the ground, but Geelong pinched the lead back when Lynch cunningly intercepted Bassett's handpass and squeezed a great shot through. Burns missed for the third and fourth times before his opponent, McLeod, ran down to put the Crows in front again. Caven had quietened Stoneham and left the Cats without a marking forward while Smart, Ricciuto and McLeod were potent driving forces from the back. Geelong began to chip the ball around in a futile attempt to inch forward. After a couple of behinds Jameson kicked a goal to put Adelaide two goals up. It was time for Ronnie Burns again, running onto a loose ball just outside 50m and keeping on running, running until he was tackled and dispossessed. Just like Mel Gibson's mate at the end of "Gallipoli". Nigel Smart took a great mark and goaled right on the 3/4 time siren to put the Crows three goals up. Straight after the resumption Rintoul survived strong pressure from teammate Downsborough to mark and goal. The game was held up when Downsborough was knocked out in a nasty clash of heads with Hall as Crow Eccles soared above them. After the restart Sholl passed to the hard-working Mensch who goaled to cut the Camry's lead to 20 points. Then Geelong seriously lost the plot and started criss-crossing the ground in a series of bizarre manouvres which even Churchill wouldn't have considered. It meant the half-backs and midfielders got great stats but they didn't achieve much. Adelaide responded with a great running goal from Thiessen and one straight after to Eccles to go a comfortable 5 goals in front. Geelong got some late consolation from Sholl and Colbert.
Adelaide's best were Rehn (7 marks and 21 touches), running half-backs McLeod (17 kicks), Ricciuto (20 kicks, 1 goal), Andrew Eccles (18 possessions and a goal), Hart, Johnson and Jameson (3 goals). Geelong: Sholl (33 disposals), Sanderson (26) and McGrath, David Mensch toiled around the ground as a roving ruckman and Graham, Corrigan and Finocchiaro. Stoneham kicked 2 goals and Burns 1.6. Said Ayresy "It was pretty much summed up in that second half when they kicked eight goals and we kicked four." The insight of the man. "After half time they ran a lot harder in the midfield and their forward line was more functional than ours." He said Geelong weren't too indirect - "we were endeavouring to do the right thing..." So it was a plan then. Gulp. Blight said "It was a pretty hard day at the office for both sides...I don't think you'd have to be Einstein to say we're not absolutely zipping along. The next month of football, with what we've done, we're in hard-at-it mode without being to classy."
Cheers, Tim.
This site is sponsored by 