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.
Almost halfway and like a good Melbourne Cup the field is bunching mid-race. Footscray under Terry Wallace are known for innovation and his teams' latest move allegedly involves spitting on opposition supporters during the warm-up. The AFL are investigating supposed incidents at the WACA on Friday night. Mick Malthouse quashed rumours about a move to Carlton by signing a new contract with West Coast, Glen Jakovich is still holding out for 500K per year, allegedly.
I was going to get all upset over the report of the NSW/ACT football commission, which concluded that they need lots more cash to do their job - fancy that. But when I heard that the federal government wants to give some thugby league team $12 mill to move to Gosford...hell, give 'em all they need. The other key recommendation of their report was no second Sydney team before 2003, must be a relocated Melbourne team. Footscray and North were mentioned.
West Coast 0.4 8.6 13.12 16.17.113 Footscray 8.4 8.5 12.7 15.10.100
Remarkable game between two modern rivals, won in crowd-pumping style by the Eagles. Footscray fans may recall their team blew a similar quarter-time lead at home to Port Adelaide last year. In selection the Eags lost Schofield injured and axed Stone and Wooden, replacements were Braun, Read and White. The Bulldogs were weakened defensively by the losses of Dent (suspended) and Kretiuk (hamstring), Minton-Connell was dropped which'd weaken the reserves. In came Sir, Powell and first-gamer Mark Alvey from Wentworth in NSW.
There was virtually no wind and no obvious reason why all 16 first-half goals should be kicked at one end. Footscray started brilliantly, their precise disposal a delight. They were perhaps helped by Malthouse's tactics, Jakovich and Matera started as twin full-forwards and Ball at full back. Young Eagle ruckman Gardiner was mugged early, legally by Wynd who slaughtered him and Romero had 10 touches in the first 10 minutes. Croft started the carnage and Hudson got one after McIntosh made a mess of playing on from a kick-in. Grant and Romero bounced clever shots through, another terrible Eagle kick-in led to Hudson's second goal. West Coast hadn't scored at this stage, Braun opened their account with a point. But the Puppies rolled on, a superb left-foot pass from Romero set up Croft, Darcy got one and Southern, perhaps bored at the back, ran downfield to set up Grant. Unsurprisingly Malthouse made a few moves at the first change, Jakovich and Matera were restored to their usual spots but the key moves were Ball into the ruck and Kemp to tag Romero. Ball attacked the agget ferociously in the middle and Romero disappeared from the game as the Eagles now bombarded the 'right-of-screen' goal. A superb solo effort from Cousins got them going, straight from the following bounce McKenna majored and the previously silent crowd roared to life. A pair of goals followed for Morrison, then Gehrig got two in a row, White instrumental in setting up teammates. Ball converted and Morrison levelled the scores after being awarded a doubtful grab. A Braun miss gave the locals a remarkable half-time lead.
The Weegles continued in the third term, finally scoring at the other end. Symmons kicked a couple of goals and White got one after receiving a flukey but spectacular soccer kick from Morrison. They led by a handy 22 points before the shell-shocked Dogs got back on track, spurred when the exhausted Ball went off for a rest. Earlier Grant had missed an easy shot and Smith kicked into the man-on-the-mark. Eventually Hudson bombed an excellent set shot through from 55m for their first goal in 50 minutes. Johnson kicked a nice running goal and Hudson narrowed the gap to 3 points after Wynd tapped perfectly at a throw-in. The locals responded with goals from Symmons again and Read, but Hudson's third goal of the quarter kept the Dogs in touch at the final change. We're used to strong finishes from the Bullies but here the Weegs finished the better and could've wrapped it up sooner if not for the appalling shooting of Mitchell White. He missed three sitters early in the last, but Worsfold came off the bench to take a crowd-lifting grab and set up a goal for Banfield, then Morrison kicked another to put his team a handy 28 points clear. Late goals for Bulldogs Grant and Southern ensured the Eagles focussed 'til the end.
Ball's stats weren't outstanding (13 touches, 5 marks, a goal) but his attack on the ball and negation of Wynd were key factors. Kemp had 18 disposals while keeping Romero relatively quiet and Braun produced an important stopping effort against West. Positive influences came from Gehrig (10 marks, 3 goals), Morrison (4 goals), Matera (22 possessions) and Banfield (23 touches and a goal). White was good with 17 kicks and 8 marks, kicking 1.6. Symmons kicked 3 goals. For the Dogs Hudson dobbed 5 goals in a very good game, Wynd inspired their best spells with 18 disposals - all handballs - and 17 perfect taps. Romero had 28 touches, but half of those came in the first quarter. Cameron and Wira were good, Johnson's pace and skill entertained. Grant kicked 3 goals and there were two each for Southern and Croft. Wallace tried a positive spin. "We've won 8 out of 10 and we've only been beaten in Sydney and Western Australia...to be routed eight to zip in the second quarter away from home, with a crowd that was very pro-Eagles, they could've fallen away but...right up to the last five minutes they were in there having a crack." Malthouse rated it a classic win. "Everything we spoke about before the game went out the window," he said. "We were never going to beat them by free-wheeling, we had to get back to basics." Like playing blokes in their proper positions?
Carlton 6.2 10.4 15.4 17.9.111 Brisbane 1.1 6.6 9.11 12.15.87
It was fun while it lasted but the Blues finally snapped their losing streak with a decent and relatively high-scoring win over fellow cellar-dwellers Brisbane. At least Carlton can say they're rebuilding, the Lions have no such excuse. Once again Brisbane imitated their coach and kicked lots of behinds. They dropped talented trio Bradshaw, McRae and Johnson along with rookie Black, replacements were more rookies in Picken, Power, O'Bree and Bartlett. Carlton got Bradley back and selected Adam White, but they lost Pearce with a back strain. Lang was dropped.
A fierce opening from the Blues, Hulme and Brown got stuck in around packs and Camporeale (a very fierce player) won a bucket of possessions. And Koutoufides did something. Starting at full forward, he kicked 2 goals in the first term and brought about 2 others. Carlton's lead stretched to seven goals before the Lions realised their responsibility to all non-Carlton supporters. A superb solo effort from Voss fired them, the Brownlow medallist cleared a centre bounce and chased his own kick down to slot a major at the cemetery end. Molloy got one and Dickfos and Murphy were reported for wrestling. Lappin snaggled a pair after the clock ticked by 33 minutes. Al Lynch had quietened Kouta and Brad Scott was about. Suitably fired, the Lions pressed on in the third. Hilton, Champion and Lambert all missed kickable shots, narrowing the gap to 13 points. But from the kick-in from Lambert's point the Bluebaggers got the ball to Camporeale, who capped off a 3-bounce run with a goal. Hamill added another but Voss goaled again, Carlton by 18. The Blues finally pulled clear when Whitnall snapped a nice sausage and a good contested mark by Camporeale led to a tap-through for White. The Lions gained nothing from a spell of pressure in the initial stages of the last quarter before Camporeale marked, played on and walked straight into a tackle. But the ump let him go back and kick the goal from his mark, unlike Brisbane's Power who was crucified in a similar situation in the first quarter. Moments later Manton stepped through a goalsquare mess to bury the sealer.
Camporeale, the Blues' best performer to date, ended up with 36 disposals and 3 goals in a very good display. Ratten (32 possessions) and Hulme (24, 3 goals) were very good in the centre and Bradley was effective playing a kick behind the play with 25 touches. Allan had a rare decent qame in the ruck, Murphy was an effective key forward with 3 goals and History's Bestest Full Back beat all comers. Whitnall, Hamill and Koutoufides kicked 2 each. Despite being held to 16 touches by McKay, Voss was still Brisbane¹s most inspirational player with 2 goals. Lappin was also professionlism personified with 17 kicks and 3 goals, Hart battled midfield and Al Lynch and Kennedy played well at the back. White provided some attacking bite with 3 goals, Molloy kicked 2 and was reported for biffing Clape. Northey said "we didn't play hard enough for long enough...We probably lost it in the first quarter where we didn't work in and around the packs, we chased tails all day...and were just too patchy." Brisbane were only 3-7 at this stage last year and still made the finals, but even with 7 home games to come a repeat seems unlikely. Parkin wasn't overexcited. "A win is a relief at this stage when you've lost as many as we have...I was pleased for a team which has not got much recognition for its workrate...it wasn't scintillating football, but we got a result."
Richmond 1.5 5.10 11.15 13.19.97 Port Adelaide 3.4 4.7 5.9 9.13.67
A touch arrogant to describe a Richmond win as disappointing, but with a 7-goal lead at 3/4 time against an injury-depleted Port, we expected a bit more. Throw in the season-ending knee injury to Duncan Kellaway and things were a little sobering. On reflection I've been a bit hard on Port, perhaps their ultra-negative style is the most effective considering their lengthy injury list. In selection they lost Rising Star winner Wilson with fractured ribs, he joined Primus, Paxman, Bond, Tredrea and a host of other first-team regulars on the sidelines. Replacement was first-game defender Mark Harwood from Triabunna, Tasmania. Where most teams' second-stringers have some accumulated AFL experience, Port's tend to be 'virgins'. Richmond made two changes, axing Ryan and Blurton for Bulluss and Bower.
Packed defence and big packs were the order of the day early, they frustrated the Tiges along with Richardson's inaccurate goalshooting. Power's wunderkid Stevens was payed the compliment of being tagged in only his fifth game, by Prescott, but he snuck clear to kick the first goal as Port fed on their opponents' mistakes. Morton and Poole also slotted goals as Port began well. But Richmond were winning the midfield with Knights, Campbell and Daffy racking up plenty of stats, Brendon Gale won the ruck against Lade. In the second term Richardson, opposed by the smaller and inexperienced Daniels, finally got on target as the Tiges inched ahead. Port spearhead Cummings missed a couple of shots, so did Naish but Francou soccer-volleyed a spectacular goal. Late in the term Kellaway was stretchered off after tripping over Campbell, either side of that some great work by Holland led to a goal for Bower. The Tigers won it in the third, finding a way through Port's defensive maze. Richardson and Holland were too tall for opponents, Daffy goaled from a 50m penalty after a crude spoiling attempt, Campbell and Harrison joined in the scoring. When Holland, having a run in the ruck, roosted a goal early in the final term the Mightys led by 49 points and were poised for a percentage booster, but Port boxed on admirably as Heaver bagged a pair of running goals and Cummings made some late consolation for a forgettable day.
Richmond totally dominated across the centre, B. Gale had 25 possessions, 14 marks and 12 hitouts as he was left alone by Lade. The Port ruckman again drifted down back, to little effect. He's gotta get involved. Campbell was very good once more with 37 disposals and a goal, Daffy had a mammoth 38 possessions including 32 kicks, 12 in the third term alone. Knights (27 touches) and Rogers (22) joined in the midfield statfest. Richardson took 15 marks but kicked a hair-tearing 4.7 with 2 on-the-fulls, Holland was good with 3 goals and Harrison got 2. Turner did well on Cummings. Lyle was one of the few Port midfielders to get near the ball, he had 26 handlings. Francou (26 touches, a goal) and Dickie (24) weren't bad, Eagleton battled.
Running defenders Heuskes and Dew contributed. Cummings and Heaver booted 2 majors each. "We are a very inexperienced team," said Cahill. "One week we have a good win and...they think that's OK and we enjoy that. They're not tough mentally just yet, but every game we play they will improve." Gieschen said "We're probably no different to any other club...when our midfield get up and work really hard and run strongly, we are quite a powerful team." Tough run ahead for the Tiges, away to St. Kilda, North, then Plugger and the SCG...
Hawthorn 2.2 5.6 7.8 13.9.87 Essendon 5.4 6.8 9.12 13.15.93
More goal umpiring controversy in this slogging win for the Bombers, who are climbing the ladder steadily. The Hawks were unable to capitalise on another sublime performance from Jason Dunstall who booted a handy 9 goals despite wearing two knee braces. In selection the Hawks were able to recall defender Hay and midfielders Treleven and Tallis from injury, Croad, Barker and Fraser made way. The Dons lost Solomon suspended, Moorcroft injured and dropped O'Connor, in came Denham, Barnard and Dean Wallis.
Wallis was a specialty selection to combat Dunstall, but it failed miserably. Dunstall kicked all of the Hawks' first-half goals but got little help from teammates. Wellman comfortably beat Holland and the Bombers did better in the middle through Alessio, Caracella and Misiti, Mercuri's class told. But the Hawkers took charge in general play in the second term, the Dons struggled in attack as Hay quietened Lloyd and Shane Crawford did an inspired job on Hird. Fletcher lasted 5 minutes of the second half on Dunstall before Barnard got the job. Crawford, Lekkas and Lord battled to keep Hawthorn in touch. They got some reward in the final term. Lekkas and Lord put them close and Justin Crawford levelled the scores, Holland finally performing at CHF. Lucas edged the Dons ahead but Robran tied it up again. In time-on Dunstall's eighth goal, a free against Barnard, put the Hawks in front. But the Dons dug deep, Denham kicked goal to level the scores and a clever effort from Mercuri saw him snap but hit the post. Lekkas muffed the kick-in and Fletcher put Essendon 7 points clear. Then the controversy. Essendon attacked again, Blumfield recovered first from a marking contest and hooked at the goal. TV showed the ball clipping the post on the way through but goal umpire Stirling, after consulting both boundary umpires and the closest field ump in the face of Hawk protests, awarded six points. Essendon led by 13 instead of 8. They probably would've won anyway, so it wasn't that vital, but Hawk fans were left to rue what might have been when Dunstall booted his ninth after an extraordinary mark.
There aren't many CHBs who pick up 30 disposals and 10 marks while beating their opponent, but Bomber Sean Wellman seems to have grown a leg this season. Lucas was a vital forward with 17 kicks, 7 marks and 3 goals. Caracella (31 touches, 11 marks), Calthorpe (2 goals) and Misiti were winners midfield and Hardwick again repelled well from defence. Alessio (2 goals) and Eastaugh neutralised Salmon. Hawk skipper Dunstall slotted 9.2 from 11 kicks and 8 marks. Speculation has been he wouldn't pass Coventry's record in his avowed final year. Don't bet on it...he needs 55 more, if his knees hold up. Crawford, normally a rover, produced a superb job on key forward Hird, racking up 30 disposals and a goal while the Bomber haircut had 14 and 4 behinds - yes, those misses were down to Crawf too. Hay stopped the underperforming Lloyd, who still kicked 2 goals, McCabe, Lord and Taylor were alright. "They had a bit more run than us and were a bit more composed at the end," said da Judge. "That shot definitely hit the post, I called it at the time. But that's not why we lost." Sheedy was defensive. "We had our opportunities and should have been more goals ahead. We missed six set shots...Dunstall usually gets them." A nice run in progress for the Dons but they're due a real test.
Sydney 2.1 3.3 5.4 8.5.53 St. Kilda 5.2 13.5 20.7 24.10.154
Recent converts to the Swans were given a dark glimpse back into the late 80s/early 90s as Sydney were thoroughly belted by the Saints. Although Sydney didn't have blokes like Lockett, Schwass or Roos back then - they were handing out the thrashings. I was also a bit ignorant of history - had I realised St. Kilda had won their last 6 games at the SCG and 11 of the last 13 against the Swans, I mightn't have tipped the locals. Sydney lost Warfe with a dislocated shoulder, Mooney and Licuria were discarded. St. Kilda seemed considerably weakened on paper with Loewe (knee) and Peckett (hip) missing, also out injured was Beveridge; Lappin and McLaren were dumped. In came hardmen Keogh and Hall, youngster Brown and rookies Campbell and Ben Thompson. Last week I missed the debut of lanky forward Tim Elliott.
St. Kilda's line-up was a little unusual with Hall playing in defence. But the key was the superb ruck work of Everitt, who repeatedly found Harvey (mostly), Brown or Burke with his perfect taps. Sierakowski got the Saints rolling with the first 2 goals, then Sziller bombed one from 50m. Already the Sainters' aggressive tackling and hard running was unsettling the locals. Lockett opened his teams¹ and his own account after earlier whacking opponent Darryl Wakelin in the head, but opposing spearhead Heatley responded with two majors, the first from a free after a poor Roos tackle, then a nice running slot from a tight angle. Another popped shoulder saw the Swans lose Leo Barry, Lockett kicked a late goal which seemed fairly important at the time but turned out to be incidental. St. Kilda got the first sausage of the second term, from a passage of play in which Sydney should've had a couple of frees. Eventually Sziller sped onto Sierakowski's long kick and dobbed it, the small tagger got another when Kelly inexplicably missed the ball. Further goals from Burke and Harvey brought about one of our favourite phenomenons, the stupified interstate crowd. Some nice work from Swan Cresswell made a goal for O'Loughlin, Sydney trailed by 38 points. They were to come no closer. Saints replied immediately through Healy, then the unlikely Sziller snapped two more goals. On the latter one the crowd found voice as Kelly was tackled high just prior, but the ump adjudicated the Untouchable One had ducked. Mitchell rounded off a half which Brooce told us had been "really special" for the Saints. Local fans vented their frustration on the umpires, with some justification.
Sydney had a bit of a go in the third term, Lockett was shifted into the ruck and Sierakowski followed. More goals for Heatley and Sziller were answered by the battling O'Loughlin and Nicks. But after the Nicks goal St. Kilda booted four majors inthe last 4 minutes of the stanza; nice efforts on the run from Winmar and Brown, good set shots by Jones and Everitt. Main interest of the final quarter was to see if the Sainters could win by 100 as the excellent Harvey went for a rest. They got there early, through Heatley and Brown. Kelly was benched after a nasty clash of heads with Jones, but the Sydney corpse twitched briefly with consecutive goals for Plugger. However the Stakilda weren't to be denied and achieved the three-digit margin when Sierakowski converted after a 40m run, followed by a Brown goal made by Everitt.
Everitt's ruck mastery controlled the flow of play. Harvey benefitted most, totalling 38 disposals and a goal in little over 3 quarters despite being chased about by the hapless Stevens. Brown had 20 touches and 3 goals. Most defences wouldn't lose any sleep over the propect of facing Sierakowki, Sziller and Heatley but nuggety Sziller showed unheralded speed as he booted 6 goals from 26 touches, Heater got 4 and Sierakowski snaggled 3 from six marks. Burke kept Kelly fairly quiet, the Swan skipper spent a lot of time deep in defence amid persistent rumours he's carrying an injury. Winmar collected 26 touches on the back flank and his skill under pressure was a delight, Hall also found form in defence. The Swans...O'Loughlin's skill stood out, he had 15 possessions and kicked 3 goals. Full back Luff and flanker Nicks weren't bad. That's about it. Plugger kicked 4 goals, 2 long after it had finished. Every team has one of these per season...St. Kilda did in round 2. "You try to offer positives after a humiliating defeat like that," said Rocket. "Most disappointing was the lack of effort, of intensity. They came to play, we didn't...in the last few weeks there have been signs that we were going off the boil." No quote from Alves, but in the rooms afterwards he appeared to have taken some recreational drugs and having a private rave-party.
Adelaide 4.1 9.1 12.3 17.9.111 Melbourne 2.5 5.6 8.7 8.8.56
The Cows are beginning to stir after spasmodic efforts so far, although perhaps it's no coincidence with the returns of key big men Robran and Pittman. Melbourne's young team are starting to struggle, although they've been up for a while. The Crows lost key players Smart suspended and Ricciuto with a hip, Ellen and Thiessen were recalled. Melbourne had Bishop, Shanahan and new player Daniel Ward in to replace Viney, out with a torn hamstring, plus Lamaro and Longmuir who were discarded. Ward came off the rookie list to replace Demon veteran Brett Lovett who retired after 235 games, unable to shake off persistent groin injuries. Amazingly Jim Stynes withdrew late with a hamstring and was replaced by Mark Bradly, an East Fremantle ruckman who made his debut.
After an even start the Camrys moved steadily clear. Young Cook and Bickley opened the scoring for the locals, but Melbourne replied through Smith and a long kick from Woewodin. Late goals gave them a bit of a break which extended to four goals in the second term as Jarman dobbed a pair of majors. The rebounding of Brett James was superb, a job normally done by McLeod or Smart, while Bond and Tregenza got the ball forward. The Demons couldn't contain big Crow attackers like Robran, Pittman or - um - Downsborough, but they were kept alive by the mobile play of ruckman Jeff White who provided an effective midfield conduit (nice Parkinism there). Schwarz roused from his torpor to boot a pair of goals before half time and keep the Dees alive. The Crows again stretched the margin in the third term, Eccles dribbling a clever goal from close range and Caven converting a big goalsquare grab, the Dees clung on with some quality long-range bombs from Johnstone and Bishop. But the Adelaideians crushed 'em in the last after a 3/4 time blast from Blight who reminded them of their last home game, he said later. Just beaten by a better side then, Mal. James and Connell took over midfield and goals arrived from Bickley, a typical twisting effort from Jarman (who'd earlier been reported for striking his tagger Woewodin), a flukey soccer from Downsborough and Vardy's nice snap under pressure.
The under-rated Brett James played superbly, in the absence of names like McLeod and Ricciuto he stepped up to have 35 disposals in the middle. Tregenza, Connell and skipper Bickley also got plenty of the ball across the centre. Goodwin and Ellen played well in defence and Caven stopped Schwarz as well as running off the lumbering Demon. Robran was useful again at CHF with 5 marks and 2 goals. The goals were shared around, Jarman got 3 and there were 2 each for Pittman, Bickley, Eccles, Vardy and Downsborough. For Melbourne White showed maturity and form against the Camrys' phalanx of ruckmen, gaining 24 possessions, 16 marks and kicking a goal. Woewodin ran off Jars for 28 touches and a goal, Stephen Febey and Yze gathered their usual bundle of touches at the back. But again they couldn't convert chances. Schwarz was better than recent form, kicking 2 goals but only taking one mark, Lyon again played in defence. Grgic was good with 11 marks and 14 kicks, but was forced too far afield to kick goals. Ward looked OK in a brief go in attack. "We're very disppointed, obviously. To not score a goal in the last quarter and let them kick five and run over the top of us is very disappointing," said Daniher, searching for new adjectives. Blighty said "Our third quarter, bar the last 4 or 5 minutes, was very good. We'd worn them down. They probably could have led at half time but missed some easy shots, our midfield was a lot more solid in the second half."
Collingwood 5.0 9.1 14.3 19.5.119 Fremantle 5.2 10.5 14.9 17.10.112
The only thing worse than losing to Collingwood by a hundred points is losing by one (or not many), to corrupt an old truth. So the Dockers may feel after their second annual participation in "the last ever game at Victoria Park". Fremantle led nearly all day except for the bit where the final siren went, the Pies storming home on the broad, hairy back of Saverio Rocca's eleven goals. Collingwood lost Gibson with a hamstring and surprisingly axed Schauble and Crow, captain Gavin Brown finally returned with Monkhorst and Watson. Freo remembered last year's hiding well enough to recall spearhead Kingsley Hunter, who booted 7 goals in that game, along with Sinclair, Harding and Dan Parker. Jones missed with a hammy and Mann, Toia and Dhurrkay were dropped.
Powered by the ruck dominance of Spider Burton, the Dockers began well. Callaghan, Hunter and Fletcher kicked early goals but Big Sav kept the Pies nearby with four first term goals, one set up by brother Anthony. Buckley and Williams were the only other Pies getting a kick. O'Reilly lasted for Sav's first three before being replaced by Carroll, who's built like a marathon runner. Collingwood briefly grabbed the lead in the second term as Sav continued to pluck the ball from the sky, but some late goals from the hard-working Fletcher and Dodd kept the visitors in front. Fremantle got to a 28-point lead in the third term after a Pie kick-in went down Dodd's throat. Sav replied again but Freo were still 24 points up deep into the term when Hunter blasted one through from 50m. However three late Collingwood goals narrowed the margin, Buckley instrumental in them. His long kick allowed Fuller to run down and snap truly, Bucks' ruck tap saw Patterson banana one through and from Buckley's long centre clearance Sav marked and converted again. Mark Richardson kicked a running goal to open the final term and the scores were level. Fittingly, Sav put the locals in front and further goals from Tony Francis and Sav again extended the lead. Freo got more late misery as Fletcher suffered a broken collarbone.
S. Rocca booted 11.1 from 14 kicks and 12 marks to move up to 40 goals for the season, 5 behind Lockett and Dunstall. Buckley was important in the second half after being reasonably combatted by Dodd in the first, Bucks had a huge 43 disposals and kicked a goal. Richardson (2 goals) managed to do a bit in the ruck against Burton and Tony Francis showed a glimpse of form with 23 disposals and a goal. Godden played well at the back and Osborne also kicked 2 goals. Burns was reported for whacking Callaghan. Docker ruckman Burton had an incredible 56 hitouts, 40 of which were effective, along with 21 regular disposals, 5 marks and 2 goals. On the strength of those Fletcher (31 possessions, 2 goals), Norrish (26) and Dodd (23, 2 goals) enjoyed themselves, Callaghan was also good with 2 goals. Hunter showed his liking for Vic Park with 5 goals from 6 marks, about time he learned to play elsewhere though. Gale played well in defence, Waterhouse kicked 2 goals. Brown went into the book for biffing McDonald. Gerry Neesham said "He (Sav Rocca) must lick his lips when we're coming this way...he has a birthday on us. Normally the ratio of goals to trips inside 50m isn't that high against us." Ah well. Shawry said "It's great to get the four points, after the trend of the last few years it was important to stop three losses in a row."
North Melbourne 3.0 5.2 9.8 13.13.91 Geelong 4.2 9.5 12.9 17.12.114
The Cats carried on as though they'd won the flag after this win, admittedly it was important and pretty good. Geelong saw off several North challenges and booted a reasonable score for the first time in eons. The Roos continue to stutter along, although they're not alone in that. In selection the Kangas lost runners Pike and Scott with leg muscle strains, bringing in Mick Martyn and Daniel Stevens. Geelong made four changes after last weeks' loss, losing Lynch with a thigh strain and dropping Bizzell, Hargreaves and Sean Simpson for Milburn, Corrigan and Snell. And Gary Hocking returned at last.
Hocking had a hand in Geelong's first two goals, releasing Colbert and then booting long to the square for Hall. Riccardi booted one too as he was restored to the midfield. North were being beaten in the centre but were kept in touch by Carey, he kicked 2 first-quarter goals despite the close attention of regular Cat opponent McGrath. Geelong threatened to skip clear in the second quarter, Hocking, Brad Sholl and Spinks all goaling but North clung on with replying majors from Grant (set up by Carey) and Dan Stevens. It was like that most of the day. Colbert, Hocking and Ricardi were dominating the centreline, Barnes won in the ruck as McKernan departed with a dislocated finger. North twice got within three goals in the third quarter, firstly when Craig Sholl converted a Carey pass and the second time after a superb goal from Brent Harvey, who had two bounces and two classical baulks as he ran from the centre to 40m out for the goal. But each was answered, the second time by Stoneham. The Cats ended the game with 5 of the first 6 goals of the final quarter, Stoneham, Spinks, Mansfield and Burns involved. On the siren the jubilant Catters hugged, sung the song together on the ground and walked off linked in some sort of embarrassing chorus-line configuration.
Buddha Hocking had a useful return, collecting the ball 31 times and bagging 2 goals into the bargain, fellow middlemen Colbert (22 touches, a goal) and Riccardi (25, a goal) were similarly effective. That's where they've struggled. Sanderson played well on Abraham at the back, Barnes outpointed the mediocre McKernan (who came back for the second half). Spinks booted 5 goals on a more helpful day, Stoneham snared 3 and Hall got 2. Carey played well for North but never dominated, he finished with 18 touches, 9 marks and 4 goals. Blakey did well in quelling Mensch, Anthony Stevens was outnumbered midfield, a poor area for North so far, but still had 23 possessions and young Harvey was exciting with 15 kicks and 2 goals. Archer was good at the back. "We're pretty disappointed and I suppose you could say we were flat. We had too few contributors and only four or five guys who made a real strong contribution and attack on the footy," said Den Pagan. An elated Ayres said "we could have been looking down the barrel at 4-6 and considering the loss last week and the fact that it's the first time this year we've kicked over 100 points...yeah, overall we're pretty pleased.²
Cheers, Tim.
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