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.
After being drowned by E-mail from Cat supporters during the week concerning Jason Snell's goal against Essendon last Saturday night, I must concede that:
The farcical Al Lynch drug case dragged on, five hours in camera without a conclusion on Tuesday night. Brisbane suggested that the AFL had pressured some of the Lions' expert witnesses to not appear, a serious charge. Looks like they're headed for the courts if Al doesn¹t get off.
And we can't continue without expressing our grief over the death of Ol' Blue Boys. They dominated several decades with their song, but now it's all over and I think I'm speaking for all when I say I'm saddened, reflective and in deep melancholy over their passing.
Essendon 2.1 5.3 10.8 12.12.84 Brisbane 2.5 6.11 7.17 8.22.70
Bomber coach Kev Sheedy was in the news during the week, firstly when new assistant Mark Thompson confirmed that he and Sheeds recently had a huge blue over 'coaching philosophy'. This in the wake of infighting last year that saw a benchful of assistants quit the club. All water off Sheeds' back as he was made an AM (Abstruse Madman) on Thursday. This win was fairly timely for the Bombers, a sterling second half allowing them to overcome the frustratingly wasteful Lions. Brisbane's kicking for goal was average but not as bad as 8.22 - Essendon defenders rushed 10 behinds, a team tactic. Essendon selected ruckman Stephen Alessio for his first game in a year, along with Berbakov, Calthorpe, O'Donnell and Jason Johnson, Fraser came in as a late replacement for Fletcher. Bomford was suspended 2 weeks for an idiotic attack on Burns last week, Solomon and Denham missed with injury and Heffernan and Cockatoo-Collins were dropped. Brisbane dumped Trask and Picken for Johnson and new player Tim Notting from Stawell.
Alessio started in attack and booted the first 2 goals of the game from strong marks. Perhaps he was fired by an article in that morning's press asking when he was going to string some games together. Or perhaps he was much bigger than opponent Dickfos. But Brisbane were getting more of the ball midfield and showing more skill, after a couple of misses McRae snapped their first and Dion Scott put them in front after a good mark. Don Mercuri kicked a classy goal to open the second term but the Lions were driven on by Voss who played superbly, not only disposing the ball expertly when in the clear but also diving fearlessly into packs. After Akermanis and McRae missed shots Dion Scott snapped accurately from a throw-in, then dobbed another after marking over the shorter Blumfield. Lappin majored and Leppitsch bounced a fantastic kick through the big sticks, Leppitsch and Molloy missed kickable shots as Brisbane dominated. The scrappy Bombers were kept in touch by 2 goals from Caracella just before half time, both from marks at full forward. After the break Alessio asserted himself again, taking two powerful grabs at CHF and goaling from one of them, then the rangy Ukovic dribbled a goal to cut Brisbane's lead to a point. Alessio put the Dons ahead from another mark. Both sides then missed a few shots, Brisbane still getting the ball often but suffering from Molloy's decision to wrestle rather than run, leading to more rushed points. Ukovic extended Essendon's lead before Molloy finally kicked one. The Lions belatedly introduced Bradshaw and he provided a marking target at CHF, majoring early in the last quarter to put Brisbane within 3 points. But Fraser sped into attack to spear a reply for the Dons and they were home when Mercuri set up a goal for Bewick. Alessio and Lloyd dropped back into defence to help rush more behinds and join in the now-traditional keepings-off 'til the siren.
Alessio showed he can be pretty useful when not injured, with 9 marks and 4 goals as he rotated between the ruck and forward line. Essendon roved and rebounded superbly in their backline, led by Hardwick 929 disposals, 12 marks0 and Moorcroft. Wellman was good again and Berbakov held Molloy, aided by the Lion's poor tactics. Misiti (30 touches) and Prior were handy midfield, Ukovic and Caracella kicked 2 goals each. Brisbane centreman Michael Voss was clearly BOG for 3 quarters, fading at the end. He had 30 disposals and 19 gathers, Chris Scott did a good job on Mercuri while having 22 touches himself. Ashcroft and Lappin were useful, Kennedy and Al Lynch held Lucas and Lloyd goalless. Dion Scott kicked 3 first-half goals before being silenced by Wellman. Northey said "We were playing fairly well...it's just disappointing we didn't kick more goals. To get in a good position and fall away is very hard to take." Sheedy AM said "We could have four or five wins at the present time (yeah, yeah) but we haven't, so we've got a lot of catching up to do..."
North Melbourne 5.5 6.7 11.12 15.15.105 Sydney 2.3 8.7 11.8 14.11.95
This was quality contest which suggested these two will be major players come September. North's relentless running and attack overpowered the Swans who picked up some untimely injuries during the game. In selection North's running power, a weakness so far, was bolstered by Pike's return from suspension, Longmire and Chandler also came in as Welsh, Simpson and Dan Stevens were axed. The Swans have lost O'Brien for the year, requiring a knee reconstruction and Kinnear was dropped. Roos returned along with Green - Roos has announced that this'll be his last year of AFL footy.
After King and Kelly swapped early goals, North moved clear. Blakey, tagging ex-Roo Schwass, marked and goaled after following his man down. Green came on to replace Mooney at CHF for Sydney and immediately goaled, but straight from the next bounce Scott raced away to thump a major. He and Rock were getting plenty of the ball in the centre, King and Pike were driving from behind (?) as per usual. Lockett struggled with his shonky knee and the close attention of Martyn, Archer and sometimes McKernan as well. North bombarded the goals, Rock snapping one and Carey converting after a good mark. Sydney did better in the second term, led by Stafford in the ruck and Kelly and Schwass, wingers Saddington and Stevens also prominent. With Lockett immobile in the goalsquare gangling Brent Green became the Swans' key forward. He set up a goal for Kelly, then soccered one himself. Nicks marked and goaled and Sydney trailed by a point. North's Allison departed with a knee strain as Sydney crept ahead with a pair of behinds, Ahmat extended the lead. Ex-Swan Grant kicked an excellent long goal to tie it up, but Green kicked another and Stevens got loose to give the visitors a handy half-time lead. Just before the break a frustrated Plugger appeared in the centre, almost crushed Blakey in a superb tackle and tried to kick a 90m torpedo goal from the free. Didn't make it.
Neither Jon Stevens nor Ahmat appeared for the second half, both succumbing to leg injuries. Pagan rocketed his mob and after Lockett majored early, the Roos fired. McKernan started to show form in the ruck, their Stevens and Rock won around packs, Grant worked into it now that his minder Stevens was off. Bell finally snapped accurately after some early misses and Blakey dobbed another from a nice grab, Carey shrugged off Dunkley for a goal. North had the momentum but late goals from Saddington and Green kept the Swans in it. Lockett, with just one goal, was dragged early in the last term but the Swans boxed on with Kelly dangerous. They were finally killed off by a pair of goals from Carey, one a casual running banana, the next after he was thumped at a throw-in by Dunkley. Dunkley was reported, Carey drilled the goal from 55m and let the Swan defender know all about it. Just like the '96 GF Glen Archer was brillant in defence for North, helping out on Lockett, halting Sydney thrusts and taking 10 strong marks. Mick Martyn held an unfit Plugger to 1 goal although Mick finished with a hammy, King had 22 kicks and 11 marks as he powered off half-back. Stevens (29 touches), Rock and Grant did well on the ball. Blakey had 22 disposals and 3 goals against Schwass - musta done well in intra-clubs - and Carey kicked 4 goals. For the men from Dull City Stafford outpointed McKernan in the ruck, finishing with 29 touches and 12 marks, Kelly was very good with 31 handlings and 3 goals. Schwass got the ball quite often but allowed Blakey too much rein, Saddington (19 possessions, 2 goals) clearly likes the MCG and Green booted 4 goals. Dunkley did well in a good battle with Carey. "I think we lost the run when Stevens and Ahmat went off...We just lost run and had a couple of blokes down...we showed a bit of heart and hung in there well," proffered Eade. Pagan said "We went to sleep in the second quarter and Kelly, Stafford and Schwass got a huge amount of the ball...but I thought we were terrific in the second half." Looking forward to the sequel.
Geelong 2.0 7.1 8.4 12.4.76 Fremantle 1.4 1.8 5.11 6.18.54
In contrast to the game at the 'G, Melbourne's other two Saturday matches were very forgettable. Geelong coach Gary Ayres' comment on this one was "It was one of the worst games to watch...we wanted to be 4-4 at the end and we were, that was the only good thing about it." Gerry Neesham slagged off the umpires as his team again had more of the ball than their opponents but declined to do anything with it. Just one change for the Cats, Riccardi returning at Biddiscombe's expense. Fremantle lost Wills with a hamstring and dropped Leach, Anderson and Chisholm. In came Carroll, McGovern, Holland and Brown. Mann was a late withdrawal, replaced by Hargraves. Oh, last week I neglected to mention it was Brendan Feddema's first game.
In fairness to the players it was grey, cool and drizzly at the Cattery. But even allowing for that, not much happened. In the first quarter running goals came from Cats Kilpatrick and Lynch, Callaghan got one for Freo. Bandy was forced off early with a knock on the knee. Even less happened during the second term until Stoneham hacked at a ball 40m out and it slithered and tumbled through for a major. It precipitated a brief and probably decisive entertaining spell in which Geelong booted four more goals. Spinks got one from a dodgy mark, Snell majored and Burns kicked a left-foot banana. Freo had plenty of the pill in midfield through Norrish, Fletcher and Callaghan but hadn't done anything in attack. That continued well into the third term until Waterhouse finally stabbed a goal from close range. Filled with excitement, Freo added three straight, from Kickett, Waterhouse again and Clement and suddenly the Dockers were only 7 points down. Cat ruckman Barnes steadied the ship just before the final break and Corrigan added another early in the final stanza. Kickett snaggled one to reduce the gap to 9 points, but Lynch replied with a good set shot from the boundary. Clement blew a similar opportunity and the Cats rolled home with a long goal from Mensch and another from Burns.
Mensch and Barnes did very well against the unsupported Burton, Mensch finishing with 24 disposals and 9 marks as a roving big man. Attacking half-back Sanderson was good, Kilpatrick (29 disposals) and Riccardi played well and Lowther, allowed a free role in defence, did OK. Lynch kicked 3 goals and Burns 2. Midfield small men Fletcher (30 touches), Norrish (31) and Callaghan played well for the Dockers, Kickett fired their second-half revival when moved forward with 2 goals. Jones held Spinks to 1 goal and Carroll was good too at CHB. Neesham complained about a decision in the last quarter when umpire Carey, 40m from the contest, overruled the perfectly-placed controlling umpire to take a mark off Waterhouse. "It was diabolical...the umpire responsible should be dealt with severely." Gerry also railed against the overall distribution of frees (8-3 the Cats' way in the first term, 17-13 at the end). On his mob's performance he offered "It was most encouraging...what's frustrating is that we had a lot more of it than the opposition and lost." And the umpires caused that?
St. Kilda 4.1 6.3 7.9 10.12.72 Port Adelaide 1.3 2.10 4.12 5.15.45
Against my better judgement I ventured to the Thunderdome for this woeful contest, which St. Kilda won with a couple of bursts right at the start and end. Other than that the ball was reluctantly dragged from half-back line to half-back line, Port's packed defence a contributing factor. The Saints finally axed Heatley, just 14 goals so far with plenty of bench time, and lost Cripps and Daniels with injury. Andrew Thompson returned from injury, Traianidis and Knowles got a go. Port were severely weakened with both Primus and Tredrea set for a couple of months off with damaged knees, Brown was dropped. Cummings was back after suspension and Burgoyne from an injury, ex-Crow ruckman Chalmers had a chance.
How about this line from Port's song: "We've earned the right/To wear the silver, teal, black and white." From the opening bounce Everitt (sans AFL-unapproved headband) won the first of a series of mystery ruck frees and his long kick was marked by little Mitchell, goal. Cummings replied with a long kick after a good lead, but then the Saints blasted three quick ones, one from the ubiquitous Everitt and two more from the lurking Mitchell. It was fairly even after that as the Port defence and middle did better but their goalshooting was terrible. Fourteen mind-numbingly dull minutes elapsed in the second term before a goal was scored, Sziller running off Naish. The Power replied immediately through Breuer but received another blow to the knees when Shane Bond was stretchered off. More ennui in the third, we were more interested in two rather attractive Port supporters nearby. Cummings didn't reappear as Chalmers and Poole started as twin pointy - er - spearheads. The first three shots of the term sailed out on the full, two from Winmar and Naish missed a bread-and-butter shot. Eventually Thompson swerved away from tackles and snapped one, but it sorta fired Port as a string of handpasses set up a rapid reply for Francou, then Wanganeen got one. Port trailed by 14 points as Cummings dropped an absolute sitter right on the penultimate siren. In the final term Traianidis goaled, Evans replied to keep it interesting. Then Rob Harvey, comfortably the best player on the park, slotted an exemplary running goal to finish it. We commiserated with the attractive Port supporters, with a reasonable degree of sincerity.
Rob Harvey's endurance is amazing, to see him running 'live' is far more instructive than the TV. He had 36 possessions and a goal, arriving at nearly every pack to gather the ball. Mitchell's 3 first-quarter goals proved decisive and according to the stats he took 15 marks - the smallest man on the ground. Peckett, played as an extra, opponentless defender, had 30 disposals although about half of them went directly to the opposition. Everitt did well in the ruck and big backmen Shane Wakelin (on Cummings) and Hudghton were winners.
Sierakowski kicked 2. For Port Heuskes won a mountain of kicks mopping up at the back, Stevens had another impressive scalp in Austinn Jones. Wanganeen and Wilson each had 20 disposals. Lade got the ball 20 times with 10 marks, but I don't recall seeing him. "Our performance in the first half was nowhere near good enough," said John Cahill. "To get beaten by four goals, well...it could have been more in the finish. We had no dominant player and nobody who threatened to take a mark." Alves said "I'm always relieved to get a win, particularly when it's against a team that handed out a thumping last week and is playing some of the best footy in the competition...we controlled the game for four quarters."
Adelaide 4.2 6.7 9.11 11.13.79 Richmond 4.1 5.3 7.4 14.8.92
I recently showed an Adelaide supporter a human heart and he was fascinated. He'd never seen one. Mal Blight didn't enjoy this one, departing the coach's box 3 minutes before the end and walking around the boundary, in full view of his players, and down the race. He later blasted his lethargic side as they were overrun by the sometimes inept but always determined Tigers. "If we couldn't win today, we don't deserve to be anywhere. Right now, we're nowhere...from here, there's got to be some changes." Mal doesn't like losing to Richmond. The Cows dumped Picioane and Downsborough for big men Pittman and Jameson, Richmond made three changes dropping Bower, Manfield and Ottens for Blurton, Michael Gale and young debut ruckman Steven McKee from Myrtleford.
The Crows began well on the sand-coated Football Park, full forward Jameson slotting 2 quick goals. But soon the Tiges hit back, literally with Turner mashing Vardy. Harrison was picking up a bundle of kicks as a loose defender, Daffy and he and kicked a couple of goals, Holland majored twice after strong marks. The locals grabbed the lead back with goals from Jameson and Connell. The game tightened in the second term, helped by the penchant of both sides' midfielders to kick the ball directly to the oppositions' half-backs. Ricciuto kicked a goal and Jameson got his fourth from a good lead. Richmond got one from Evans after sweeping the ball down from a kick-in. The pattern continued into the third term, Richmond got lots of the ball but gave it away like millionaires, Adelaide were scarcely better. Missed shots and the departures of McLeod with a knee strain and Johnson with a hamstring tear hampered the already disinterested Camrys, but a thumpingly long running goal from Rintoul and a running checkside from Bond extended their lead to 4 goals. The Tigers clawed back, Merenda majored after a good mark. Then Evans raced into goal but his kick sprayed miles in the air, miraculously Richardson was allowed to mark uncontested 10m out. He goaled but the Crows got a break just before 3/4 time when Knights played on from a kick-in and was palpably caught, Koster converting the free.
In the last quarter Richmond again rolled over the opposition, for the fourth time this year. Daffy and Rogers played superbly in the centre and Gaspar was moved to CHF. He kicked an early goal, then swallowed James's terrible clearing kick, leading to a snapped goal for Bowden. Bowden then snaffled Rehn's tap to slot another and the Crows led by a point. From the next bounce Daffy kicked long, Richardson marked and goaled from point blank. The joyful sound of silence eminated from the TV. The Crows grabbed the lead back when Jameson soccered a major. As the Cows pressed again a crunching tackle on Rintoul turned the ball over, leading to a Harrison goal, then a terrible holding-the-ball decision against Bickley - he was smacked in the head - saw Holland boot one. A further goal from Bowden had me singing "Tigerland" at full volume.
Plenty of great contributors for the Tiges. Gaspar was grand again and B. Gale battled well against Rehn in the ruck. Rogers and Daffy each had 19 kicks and were keys in the final term. Duncan Kellaway stopped Jarman while having 26 disposals himself. Richardson showed form with 10 marks and 2 goals, Harrison ran relentlessly for 18 kicks and 2 goals. Bowden was a last quarter hero with 3 goals and Ben Holland continues to improve, he also kicked 3. Crow spearhead Rod Jameson kicked 6 goals and Ricciuto fought right to the end with 17 touches. Connell (31 disposals, 1 goal), Koster and James played well, Rehn was good if not the dominant force of recent weeks with 16 possessions and 10 marks. The Crows lacked any forward support for Jameson and kicked poorly for goal, Jarman (0.3) and Smart (0.2) the main offenders. In a calmer mood, Mal said "We were pretty loose all day...we controlled the game but our disposal skills let us down...Daffy, Rogers and Bowden jumped out of the box after struggling at times during the day...we'll look back at the tape to see who was playing on them, they actually had blokes on them, would you believe that?" Uh-oh. A rapt Gieschen said "Today was another example where where we were down and just hung in there, chipping away...our workrate and consistency came out on top." I love footy.
Hawthorn 6.2 9.4 11.8 14.12.96 Footscray 5.1 11.3 16.6 21.10.136
Ho-hum, another win for the Dogs. The Hawks battled valiantly, led by Dunstall, but they couldn't stop the Puppies' run. In selection the Hawks lost Graham with a foot injury and another defender, Hay, was a late withdrawal with a hammy. Turvey was discarded and in came Kappler, Chapman and Fraser. Dunstall got off at the tribunal and recovered from his knee tendonitis. The Bulldogs lost CHB Ellis with a knee problem and dropped Contessa, bringing in former Hawk full forward Minton-Connell and Cox.
Amazing first quarter in which Dunstall booted all six of Hawthorn's goals against the hapless Matthew Croft. Crawford and Tallis, on Romero, supplied the ammunition and Jase fired the gun, out-bodying Croft and marking strongly...his knee prevented much running. But the Dogs were getting plenty from Garlick and Smith in the middle, Wira and Smith kicked a pair of excellent running goals. Two years back Dunstall kicked 14 against the Bullies at Waverley, so in the second term Kretiuk went to full back with a fairly important job. He did it well, Wynd lifted to overpower Salmon in the ruck and Smith not only quelled Crawford but got the ball plenty often himself. Hudson and young Brown chipped in with goals as the Bulldogs careered away in the middle part of the game. Montgomery took a now-usual speccie. In the third quarter Grant managed to shake off Robran and get involved too. The Hawks were always in sight but never in touch, Dixon and Kappler boxed on and Woods did well on West. Leon Cameron ended the match with consecutive goals from 55m, one with each foot. Hawk Tallis became the latest bloke to finish a match against Footscray with scratches all over his body, the Hawthorn doctor counting nearly 20. The Hawks don't plan to complain.
Wynd was the dominant force for the Bulldogs, finishing with 18 handpasses, 11 marks and 17 hitouts. With West and Romero tagged with reasonable efficiency, Garlick was a force in the centre with 28 touches and Rohan Smith had 29 disposals and 2 goals. Southern did superbly slotting in at CHB, stopping Holland, and Kretiuk held Dunstall to just 2 more goals. Grant kicked 3 goals in a good duel with Robran, Brown booted 4 and Paul Hudson also kicked 3. For Hawthorn Dunstall finished with 8 goals to move to 32 for the year, Tallis was good with 20 touches against the scratchy Romero and Woods had 23 touches, 3 more than West. Robran and Kappler weren't bad. Ken Judge said "Wynd took control in the middle and won a bit of the ball, which set up their running players...they used it better and their better players stepped up, we didn't go with them." Wallace said "It looked like it was getting out of hand...Hawthorn is the best starting side in the competition and we needed to match that intensity with professionalism to win the game, and our guys were very good that way."
Melbourne 4.3 9.6 13.8 17.12.114 Collingwood 5.5 8.10 13.12 16.15.111
Hugely entertaining game in front of 57,500, the young Dees holding out over a desperate Pie surge at the end, a poster from Anthony Rocca proving vital. The Maggies made four changes from last week, A. Rocca returned from suspension, Burns and Tony Francis from injury and Tape was given another chance. Out went Liddell with a broken hand, Wild, Tarrant and Mahoney were dropped. Melbourne lost Lyon with an ankle injury and axed Robertson, Seecamp came back after suspension and Matthew Febey from injury. It was the 250th game for Demon icon Jim Stynes.
The Magpies began the better, racing to a three-goal lead as Buckley, Crosisca, Williams and McDonald won well in the centre. Sav Rocca scrambled an early goal and more soon arrived from Sav. But the Pies received an early setback when Monkhorst was forced off with a calf strain, to be replaced by Matt Francis. Stynes killed him and went on to be the difference. Farmer had been busy early for the Demons and he booted two quick goals in the second term as Melbourne improved, Stynes clearing the centre and Viney, Stephen Febey and Rigoni winning the ball. Brent Grgic moved to CHF in place of Schwarz and gave the Dees a target, skinny winger Johnstone kicked two late goals to put Melbourne ahead at the long break. Collingwood had a further blow when Tape departed with a broken arm. The Pies stormed out in the third quarter, kicking five consecutive goals. Crow and Sav Rocca scored, the ineffective Anthony was dragged in a move that Melbourne officials later admitted "had us sighing in relief" but his replacement, Schauble, also kicked goals. The Demons were staring down the barrel but Daniher produced an ace from his sleeve by introducing Shaun Smith off the bench. The springheeled full forward immediately kicked three consecutive goals and Johnstone pounced on a loose ball for another to bring the Dees back within 4 points at the last change. And they forged on in the final term, kicking the first four goals including two more from Smith and one from an excellent mark to Grgic. The Dees led by 21 points with time-on approaching, but on came the Scraggies. Anthony Rocca returned to thump a long goal, Crow got another. From the next bounce Matt Febey made to send Melbourne forward but a magnificent smother from Crosisca saw the ball rebound and Tony Rocca kicked another goal to cut Melbourne's lead to 5 points. A. Rocca had another shot which thudded into the post and Sav sprayed a snap, but the Dees clung on, Leoncelli repelling the Pies' final attack in grand style.
Shaw acknowledged that Stynes was the difference, Jim constantly cleared packs and dropped into defence, finishing with 32 touches and 9 marks. Grgic made a very good CHF - as if they need another - with 27 disposals, 12 marks and 2 goals. Johnstone's much-touted skills were in evidence, the no. 1 draft pick getting 4 goals from his 14 kicks. Viney and Stephen Febey played well across the centre and Shaun Smith finished with 5 goals, all in the second half. Farmer booted 3. For the Pies Buckley was rampant in the first half but slowed by Woewodin in the second, he finished with 31 possessions and a goal. Crosisca, Williams, Burns and Crow all had disposals in the mid-20s as they won more of the ball than did the Demons, Crow also kicked 2 goals. Richardson battled hard at CHB and in the ruck. Sav Rocca snaggled 4 goals and Anthony got 3, Schauble also kicked 2 goals. "The effort over the last two weeks has been pretty good, but they're killing themselves," said Tony Shaw. "You've got blokes working hard up the ground but the missed shots for goal kill you..." The Pies had more possessions and more shots than Melbourne, but they're still suspect in key positions. Daniher, who allowed president Joe Gutnick to sit in the box with him, said "This is probably a bit dishonest, but I told them it didn't matter if they won, lost or drew, they had to be able to come off and look each other in the eye at the end. This was a big game for us...as a club which has struggled in big games in the past."
West Coast 2.4 6.11 9.13 12.20.92 Carlton 4.5 5.6 6.8 12.12.84
The Blues lost again but this was a vast improvement on last week, they stormed home against the battling Eagles in a scrappy game which Malthouse later commented "was expected from two sides whose records were 1-6 and 2-5". The Eagles dumped Phil Matera, Braun, Turnbull and Holmes from last week, in came Ball, Symmons, Crabb and Wirrpunda. Carlton finally regained Full Back of the Century along with McKay and Murphy, big man Kris Massie was given his first game. Hogg missed with a broken thumb and Dean, Hoppner and Nelson were axed.
Carlton commenced with a strong breeze and from the opening bounce Murphy walloped a huge goal from well inside the centre square. Pearce and Franchina also sank lengthy kicks as Ratten worked hard in the middle. West Coast came up with close-range goals from Wirrpunda and Cousins; Banfield, Cousins and Kemp did well for them early. The Blues lost Bradley with a thigh strain late in the first term, but they defended reasonably against the breeze in the second, helped by the Weegles' wayward shooting. Sexton and FBOTC won in the key defending positions and the Eags' goals came from midfield runners like Kemp and Cousins, the latter getting 2 for the term. McKenna limped off with a knee strain just before half time and may be missing for a while. The Blues really blew it against the wind in the third, Jakovich blocked out the sun at CHB and there were a couple of excellent goals for the Eags from Schofield, who ran forever before kicking, and Symmons. It seemed God himself was against the Blues as a long shot from Pearce bounced vertically on the goal-line - twice - and back into play. Bradley hobbled back on, briefly, then off. After a bit of confusion with a teammate Peter Matera spun nicely to slot one early in the last quarter and then Gehrig managed to escape Sexton for another, after another major the Eagles led by 42 points and looked well home. But the Blues then rattled on six straight to go down fairly narrowly in the end, Hulme and Ratten suddenly winning the ball at will, Pearce and Hamill booted the goals, some good, some a bit arsey - both soccered goals from 30m on the boundary line.
Midfielders and defenders won it for West Coast, Cousins was very good in the first half and finished with 21 possessions and 3 goals. Read was also a stand-out with 18 touches although he was reported for striking Hamill, Kemp and Banfield exploited the Blues' lack of pace. McIntosh and Jakovich were solid at the back. Donnelly and Matera kicked 2 goals each. Brett Ratten boxed on for the Blues, gathering the ball 24 times in the centre and Hulme did well coming on to replace Bradley, he had 26 disposals and slowed Kemp. Camporeale was good again. At the back Sexton played very well, having 20 touches and 6 marks to opponent Gehrig's 6 marks and 1 goal. McKay was good too. Pearce again kicked 5 goals in a solid performance and Hamill kicked 3 goals. "Some of our senior players made bad decisions at crucial times when we lost the game - at the end of the second quarter...but some of the kids like Hulme and Franchina (on Matera) got valuable experience," said Parkin. He commented that "the support from the club has been great." Malthouse said "it was good to win...West Coast people have to realise we're not as good as a couple of seasons ago...if they stick with us, we'll become a good football club again."
Cheers, Tim.
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