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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.
AFL Round 11
Halfway and the Dogs still look
the goods, although West Coast and Essendon continued their mid-season
surges and St. Kilda are looking good too. Still a way to go,
but.
Trouble in paradise as a series
of leaks and stony official silence told us that Brisbane coach
John Northey's future is bleak indeed.
Brisbane have more or less said
that his contract won't be renewed at the end of this year, but
there's been heavy speculation that he'll be sacked this week
as the Lion heirarchy interview possible replacements. Not including
current assistant and club icon Roger Merrett, apparently.
At the MCG:
Essendon 7.8 13.11 20.12 24.16.160
Sydney 4.1 8.4 11.9 15.10.100
Even a Bomber skeptic like myself
couldn't help being impressed by this Essendon performance. Their
gigantic forward line rained goals on the sluggish Swans who,
for the second week running, looked very ordinary indeed. Best
get the bad form out of the way now. In selection the Dons lost
key defenders Wallis and Fletcher to leg injuries, so O'Connor
was drafted in to play on Lockett, along with former Swan Bomford.
Denham was a late withdrawal, replaced by Moorcroft. Sydney lost
Barry with a dislocated shoulder and sacrificed Licuria, Carey
and Green after last week's debacle. Thought I'd include their
ins this week; Mooney, Arnott, Kinnear and Troy Cook.
Essendon started with their dream
forward line, tall men Alessio, Lloyd, Hird and Lucas with Mercuri
and Bewick on the ground. Within minutes Alessio and Hird had
goaled from marks, both kicks forward coming from Calthorpe.
Lockett got an early one as we sniggered at the pantomime aggression
of blubbery Bomber Ryan O'Connor, but the laugh was on us as
ROC ended up doing very well. Alessio dobbed another from a pack
mark as Stafford stood and watched, Lucas scored from a 50m penalty
after a frustrated Seymour crashed into him. Lloyd was getting
plenty of the ball too but kicking for goal was ordinary. Nice
efforts from Kelly kept Sydney in touch before running goals
from Calthorpe and Misiti extended the lead at the first break.
Kelly opened the second term with an exciting Bartlettian rover's
goal but the Dons replied with two majors in a minute from Calthorpe
and Alessio, the latter set up by a tap from Lucas. Cresswell
soccer-volleyed a flukey goal for the Bloods but then Hird calmly
slotted a pair of sausages, beating opponents Seymour (the first
one) and Luff (the second) with such ease that the Channel Seven
folk set a new world record for fawning per minute. Essadun led
by 36 points, the Swans pulled it back to 24 with an excellent
team goal for Cook and Mooney's strong mark and conversion. However
Alessio and Lloyd underlined the difference between the teams
with big marks and goals just before the long break.
The gap grew steadily in the
third as Lloyd now came to the fore, booting 3 goals for the
term as Eade opposed him with tall but hopelessly green Kinnear.
Sydney battled on as Lewis kicked an improbable left-foot torpedo
goal and Kelly got another, in fact they exerted a fair bit of
attacking pressure but it came to nought as they missed shots
and fell down at CHF, Lockett trapped in the goalsquare by the
Dons' full defence and O'Connor. They must've known a belting
was on the cards when Moorcroft, an archetypal front-runner,
came off the bench to kick a pair of goals. The win secured,
Hird departed for a rest early in the last quarter. At least
the Swans didn't lose by 100 this time.
The Bombers' basketball team
of forwards were unstoppable. Hird kicked 3 goals and gave 4
away from 21 touches and 5 marks, Lloyd finished with 5 goals
after a slow start and Lucas and Alessio bagged 4 majors each.
The Swans didn't have Dunkley but he mightn't have made much
difference. The Don forward line was supplied by Calthorpe (24
disposals, 2 goals) and Berbakov (27 touches), ruckman Eastaugh
(or if you're Tim Watson, Easdoo) had the better of formless
Stafford. Wellman was good in defence again and O'Connor held
Plugger to 2 goals. For Sydney, captain Kelly battled a bit in
midfield with Bomford but he was deadly around goals, booting
5 of them. Saddington again showed his liking for the 'G's wings
and Cresswell ran hard as usual in search of the ball, he got
it 29 times and kicked 3 goals, speedy defender Orchard wasn't
bad. In addition to their defensive problems Sydney were one-dimensional
in attack, badly needing a CHF and they fumbled terribly, a sign
of low confidence. "I thought the effort was there for most
of it," said Eade. "The biggest difference, apart from
their use of the ball, was their talent up forward compared to
our defenders. If last week was a low point, we've taken a step
forward." Hmm. Sheeds said "We've been very, very hard
and committed to try and work through a down time...we're not
far off these top sides and the win will give the team a lot
of confidence." We'll know more about 'em after Adelaide,
West Coast and North in the next month.
At Waverley:
Hawthorn 2.2 4.2 7.5 10.10.70
Melbourne 7.2 12.4 16.7 18.9.117
Who said the Dees were stalling?
They fairly whupped the Hawks at rain-soaked Waverley, playing
some exciting footy into the bargain. Hawthorn regained key defender
(or forward) Mark Graham, axing Rawlings. Melbourne had Farmer
and Stynes return along with Longmuir; Bradly was dropped with
'98 regulars Smith and James McDonald.
Melbourne powered out of the
blocks, led by White in the ruck and the strong running of half-backs
Matt Febey and Hopgood. They kicked the first 7 goals, speedy
Farmer chipped the first, Lyon bagged a pair from CHF and Anthony
McDonald got one. Then Farmer kicked two more goals, the second
an absolute ripper. Collecting the ball in his own back pocket,
the man from Tambellup chipped a pass to McDonald and ran on
to get it back. Farmer then passed by foot to Lyon, sprinted
on, received the ball back from his skipper and after a bounce
smacked a torpedo goalwards from 50m. It bounced in the square
and skidded through - a classic. Leoncelli majored from a free
before the Hawks struggled onto the board with consecutive goals
from spearhead Dunstall. Melbourne's lead stretched to nearly
10 goals in the second term as Schwarz and White got into the
goalscoring action before a couple of late majors from Holland,
doing well at CHF, gave the Hawks something to cheer about. Such
was White's superb rucking and marking, he forced Salmon's benching
in the second half and also kept teammate Stynes off the field
for long periods. Hawthorn did better in the second half as Lord
and Tallis got more of the ball. Dunstall was well held by Shanahan
but Holland, Taylor and Dixon got some goals. However the Dees
stayed well clear with more goals for Lyon. A downpour soaked
the ground in the last term and the Dees sealed it with tremendous
running goals for Farmer and baggy-shorts Hopgood.
Jeff White was given a barely-deserved
build-up over summer but he's starting to deliver, here having
12 touches, 11 hitouts and 7 marks including one superb speccie
over Salmon. Kicked a goal too. Farmer finished with 4 goals
from 14 kicks, but the TV captured him whacking Shane Crawford
behind play and he should go. Lyon booted 4 goals in a classy
display and the Dees were well served midfield by M. Febey (16
touches, a goal), Rigoni (19 disposals) and Anthony McDonald
(18 touches, 3 goals). Shanahan kept Dunstall goalless after
quarter time and had him benched in the last term, Yze wasn't
bad. Nick Holland was the Hawks' best, scoring 4 goals from 18
kicks and 10 marks. Lord was busy with 30 possessions and a goal,
Shane Crawford (26 disposals) and Taylor (25, 2 goals) boxed
on around the ground. Jon Hay was good at the back. Daniher triumphed
over the knockers. "It was a terrific day for our football
club. We were really under the pump from the football community.
We're very pleased to be 7-4 at the halfway mark." Judge
said simply "We had a bad one. We were very ordinary today,
it was a setback for the club. We're under the pump now, no doubt
about that." They may have been pumped once too often this
year.
At the MCG:
Geelong 4.3 5.6 9.6 12.8.80
Carlton 3.1 3.5 6.8 9.9.63
Just the expected spectacle from
two of the weakest attacks in the league playing in steady rain.
Plenty of effort from both but Geelong's superior skill got them
home. At selection the Cats replaced youngsters Milburn and Wood
with McKinnon and Kilpatrick, back from injury. Just the one
change for the Blues, dumping Clape for Ben Nelson.
Thankfully this was the last
of the TV-inspired twilight games for the season, Seven's telecast
began with Willie Nelson's nasal dronings concerning heavenly
sunsets as a bitter sou'westerly drove rain squalls across the
MCG lights. The first term wasn't bad though. Cat ruckman Barnes
drifted unmarked into the forward line, kicking Geelong's first
two goals and passing to Stoneham for another. Carlton did well
on the ground through Bradley, Brown and Camporeale, the last
snapped a nice goal and Allan got one, Murphy had an easy goal
when two Cat defenders collided. Beaumont's lazy soccer on-the-full
allowed Snell to give the Cats a handy lead at the first break.
The second stanza was more typical as large packs dominated,
players slipped about and handling and kicking skills were at
a premium. Lock missed Carlton's best scoring chance, from a
free. Stoneham kicked a goal 90 seconds before half time after
being dragged down by Manton.
History's Greatest Full Back
went to full-forward for the second half. He missed an early
shot which looked costly when Cat Riccardi slotted an excellent
kick. But the Blues got fired up and kicked the next 3 goals.
Whitnall and McKay snapped truly, then HGFB staged expertly for
a free. Geelong full back Graham was unimpressed with the decision,
hurling his mouthguard and some choice language at umpire Shearer.
Graham was reported and conceded a 50m penalty, HGFB levelled
the scores. But the Cats responded, Sholl twisted out of 2 tackles
and hooked the ball through from the pocket, a great goal reminiscent
of one Andy Bews kicked at Kardinia Park a few years ago. Stoneham
goaled from a good mark and Sanderson gave the Catters a useful
lead at the final change. McKinnon off the bench marked and goaled
early in the last, Geelong led by 22 points. Still the Blues
came. Whitnall kicked consecutive goals, the second after a terrible
50m penalty against Lowther when the umpire failed to call play-on.
Seven's Dipper informed us that David McKay was coming off. I'm
not surprised. He'd be past 50. Carlton attacked again, HGFB's
high snap fell into the arms of White who goaled from point blank
and the Blues trailed by 3 points. But McKinnon saw the Cats
home, bouncing a snap through the big sticks courtesy of a questionable
shepherd from Stoneham, then stabbing a goal from close range.
Geelong's best players were their
tough and skilfull half-backs, Leigh Colbert who had 36 disposals
and 5 marks, Mansfield (18 kicks, 11 marks) and James Rahilly
(24 disposals), who threw himself fearlessly into packs. Sholl's
skill also stood out in the conditions, he had 17 kicks and a
goal. Stoneham did well in the tough conditions with 3 goals
and McKinnon's 3 last-quarter goals were vital. Brown (24 possessions)
and Camporeale (22, a goal) battled hard for Carlton. Whitnall's
3 goals were an achievement, the scragging HGFB had Spinks benched
at half-time and gave the Blues something up forward in the second
half. Rice played well and Ratten got the ball 29 times, although
his disposal was often ordinary. "We gave up a couple of
undisciplined frees...but they were a lot more precise in their
finishing work. They took 82 marks to our 35, which says something
about the use of the ball and our inability to cover them,"
said Parkin. His side handballed too much. Ayres said "Carlton
came back a couple of times and we steadied a bit. We adapted
better to the conditions than we had done earlier in the season."
At Football Park:
Port Adelaide 2.2 6.7 7.10 7.13.55
West Coast 3.3 4.4 6.6 8.9.57
Another helping of ultra-defensive
anti-football from Port Power. They almost ground out a win but
Eagle rover Ben Cousins won the game for his team with two exciting
goals in the last quarter. If only Œexciting¹ and ŒPort¹
could be used in the same sentence. Port captain Wanganeen came
in for some criticism during the week, his ordinary form targetted
as a "lack of leadership". He missed this game with
a thigh strain and Chalmers was dropped, Wilson returned rapidly
from fractured ribs and Fiegert got a chance. The Eagles lost
Evans, Worsfold and Jakovich with ankle injuries and Fewster
was discarded, in came Heady, Schofield and Things of Stone and
Wooden.
A typically scrappy and pack-bound
opening before Port full forward Cummings kicked the first goal
12 minutes in. Francou speared another from close range but the
Burswood Eagles kicked three late sausages, a soccer from Morrison
(he's good at them), then Symmons and Ball, to grab a quarter-time
lead. After some misses early in the second quarter Port went
ahead again with a long Naish goal, a clever effort from Morrison
restored the Eags' lead. Then Port kicked three in a row, from
Stevens, Cummings and Naish to take command. Poole missed a sitter
just before half time, but Cummings scored early in the third
and the locals led by 21 points. West Coast were drowning in
the swamp of Powers' back line, but Schofield and White manufactured
goals to get them back into it. Port set out to maintain their
lead, they were still 9 points up well into the final term before
Cousins charged through opponents and kicked an excellent goal.
Minutes later White marked at the junction of the 50m and boundary
lines and chipped a short pass to Cousins. He lined up for the
shot from 48m, ran in and kicked into former Eagle Lyle on the
mark. But Cousins had enough composure to regather the ball,
run on and spear it through, West Coast led by 3 points. Port's
Poole had a late chance to pinch it, but his checkside shot from
a tight angle clipped the top of the post and the Eagles had
hung on.
Cousins was the hero, having
25 disposals in addition to his 2 matchwinning goals. Waterman
(26 touches) and Metropolis (20, 9 marks) rebounded from the
back and Stone did a good job standing in for Jakovich at CHB.
Banfield did well on Stevens and was important with 5 last-quarter
kicks. Braun was good in the centre with 17 touches and Kemp
was excellent too. Morrison kicked 2 goals. Danny Morton played
very well for Port with 23 disposals across half forward, although
he let himself down a bit with 3 behinds. Francou (22 handlings,
a goal) and Lockwood were good about the ground, Lyle and Dickie
each got plenty of the ball. But d'ya reckon they could do much
with it? Daniels played well on White. Cummings kicked 3 goals
but was dragged early in the final term, Naish kicked 2. Cahill
indirectly bagged the umpires as frees finished 15-25 the Eagles'
way. "It must be our players who are doing something wrong,"
he said. "We'll have to go back to the drawing board and
tell our players to get in front to earn a free kick." Malthouse
said "Port are a good, hard side. A couple of things went
our way and we were able to close down a few of their key players...we
needed to win here, a night game and a close one."
At Subiaco:
Fremantle 3.4 6.9 11.14 17.19.121
Brisbane 3.2 6.4 6.7 7.8.50
Hard times all over for Brisbane,
they slumped to another poor loss and lost captain and Brownlow
medallist Michael Voss with a broken leg. Freo's win keeps 'em
in the hunt although they've gotta improve if they're to see
September action. Fremantle declined to recall captain Peter
Mann, instead bringing in Koops, Bandy, Jones and Toia to replace
injured Fletcher and Holland, suspended Brown (2 weeks) and dropped
Carroll. Fletcher's broken collarbone will keep him out for about
10 weeks - most of the remaining season. Northey again rang the
changes...Bews and O'Bree went out injured, Picken and Hilton
were axed along with club stalwart Richard Champion, his first
QAFL game for 5 years. In came Lawrence, McRae, Robbins, Tristan
Lynch and Brett Voss.
A scrambly first half with neither
side functioning well in attack, not helped by a strong cross-breeze.
Lion Chris Scott soccered the opening goal from 10cm out, Fremantle
replied with a pair of goals. For the second Wills took advantage
of an advantage to run from the defensive 50m line to inside
the attacking one and kick a goal which excited the sparse crowd.
Callaghan kicked a couple for the home team and C. Scott got
another for the Lions, D. Scott gave them a bit at CHF. Voss's
sickening injury occurred in the second quarter, hard to see
where he broke his lower right leg from the TV...apparently across
Clement's buttocks. It was clearly broken though. That pretty
much spelled the end for the Lions. Their midfield could no longer
get the ball as Dockers Norrish, Dodd and Kickett took control.
Freo opened the second half with three consecutive goals, two
from marks to Bandy and Hunter and between those a Norrish snap
was allowed to dawdle through between 5 players. Then a brief
respite before Waterhouse received a handpass and goaled, Callaghan
majored after a brave goalsquare mark. Hopeless Lion Molloy was
dragged. Toia came on for his first run and goaled early in the
final stanza, more majors followed for Dodd and Kickett before
the Lions' miserable goal drought was broken by Al Lynch, set
up by McRae. However the Dockulators pressed on for a big win,
handy for their very ordinary percentage.
Brad Dodd has been a very good
pickup for the Dockers, here he had 27 disposals and a goal roaming
the centreline. Fellow midfielders Norrish (19 touches, a goal)
and Sinclair (17 kicks, a goal) were good, all benefitting from
big Burton in the ruck. Gale ran damagingly off halfback for
26 possessions and Jones was good at CHB. Callaghan kicked 3
goals and there were 2 for each of Waterhouse, Hunter and Bandy.
Hart (26 diposals) and Tristan Lynch (20) battled midfield for
Brisbane, Chris Scott kicked 3 goals from 14 kicks, McRae and
Brad Scott weren't bad. Al Lynch performed reasonably. Lame duck
Northey said "After such a traumatic injury to Michael,
the players could go one way. To dig deep...I thought we did
that in the second quarter, but not after half time." Neesham
said "I was pretty concerned at half time. They had some
terrific players on the ground..." Not to worry Ger.
At Princes Park:
Footscray 8.0 11.3 17.7 24.11.155
Adelaide 3.3 10.7 11.8 13.10.88
Could be the year of the Dogs.
They served revenge in freezingly cold conditions at Carlton,
triumphing in emphatic fashion over a weakened Crows who probably
didn't deserve the final margin. But as their defender Ben Hart
said during the week, Adelaide probably didn't deserve to win
the flag last year either. The Dogs regained defenders Ellis
and Kretiuk plus running midfielder Dimattina; Cox missed with
injury, Sir and Alvey were dropped. Crow Jarman copped 3 weeks
for his back-handed swipe at Woewodin last week, Bassett was
out with a shoulder strain and Cook was dropped. Johnson and
Mark Stevens returned from injury, Rintoul was recalled.
Very similar first half to last
week for the Bulldogs, but this time there was wind involved.
Footscray started with it and again Wynd thrashed his opponent,
Romero and Johnson got plenty of the agget and Hudson, Grant,
Kolyniuk and Montgomery did the damage up forward. Vardy kicked
a nice goal for the Crows following a perfect blind turn. Then
things turned around in the second quarter as the Cows had the
wind. Rehn lifted to negate Wynd, Bickley and Connell started
winning the ball and Koster ran riot. Vardy, Goodwin and Jameson
kicked goals, Downsborough got 2 from shonky frees. Romero kicked
a pair of handy sausages but Bickley put the Camrys within 2
points when he blasted a running shot through. But unlike last
week the third quarter repeated the first, Romero and West took
charge again and Montgomery got lots of ball, speedy Kolyniuk
and Johnson got more majors. All that remained was for the Puppies
to stop the Crows using the wind in the final term, they did
that in allowing only Jameson's hooked shot in the first 10 minutes
before launching an assault on the goals in the final 10 minutes.
Montgomery, Johnson, Hudson, Kolyniuk and Smith charged forward
to bury the hapless premiers.
Steven Kolyniuk, somewhat of
a fringe Bulldog, had a very good game racing around the forward
line with 5 goals from 29 possessions. Romero and West had 30
disposals each and Romero snaggled 3 goals into the deal. Montgomery
also booted 3 goals to go with his 18 kicks, Grant had 9 marks
and 3 goals at CHF. Winger Johnson was damaging with 4 goals,
Hudson kicked 3 and Brown and Cameron played coolly across the
back. For the Camrys forward Peter Vardy was best with 17 disposals
and 5 goals, former Bulldog wingman Koster played well with 21
touches. Rehn was good in the ruck after an early benching and
James and Bickley worked hard in an outgunned midfield. Downsborough
and Jameson kicked 2 goals each. The Crows just couldn't get
the ball, having 122 fewer possessions than Footscray and 37
less marks. "They were just too good," conceded Blight.
"What we needed was an even contribution from everybody
and unfortunately we haven't...we had a dozen blokes who were
down." And no Jarman, McLeod, Ricciuto or Smart, as Wallace
noted. "They had quite a few of their key players out. We
were aware of that before the game, but didn't really build that
up...you can be led into a false sense of security. If we're
going to be any good, we had to do a job on this side today."
And they did.
At the MCG:
North Melbourne 2.2 10.4 15.7 19.12.126
Collingwood 4.6 7.10 10.13 13.19.97
Carey led the Roos to their first
win over the Maggies since Tony Shaw took over at Vic Park. The
Roos' response to the Geelong loss was to axe Anderson, Simpson
and Groom, McKernan missed with a dislocated finger - not the
one he did in last week's game but a seperate(d) one at training.
Replacements were Crocker, Martyn, Mark Roberts for his first
game this year and first-game rover Dion Miles from Chanel College,
down Werribee way. The Pies lost Burns suspended and McDonald
and Michael with injuries, in came Liddell, Schauble and Crow.
The Magpies were clearly the
better side early but squandered it with poor goalshooting. Russell
did very well in the centre and after posting 1.5 Sav Rocca got
on target with a pair of goals. North were kept alive by the
efforts of Abraham and Archer. Those misses proved costly as
North got going in the second term. Stevens and King won plenty
of the ball across the middle, Carey started to assert himself.
North were helped when Pie skipper Brown handballed straight
to Stevens who goaled, setting off a debate about alternate guernseys
for these similarly-attired sides. Crocker goaled after a big
goalsquare grab and a superb running effort from Abraham put
the Roos in front, Winston grabbing the centre bounce and weaving
around defenders like they were traffic cones. Abraham later
goaled again from a mark and North were away. Collingwood hit
back in the third. Just after Kanga full back Martyn injured
his hammy and was forced off, Sav Rocca booted a pair of goals
and Watson sank a long kick to make the margin 7 points. But
then Carey bobbed up, goaling from a free against Brown and then
twice outmuscling poor ol' Gav for two more majors just before
the final change. Early goals from Watson and Tony Francis in
the last term saw Collingwood close again, to 15 points, but
then Brown spilled a mark and Crocker pounced for a goal and
Shannon Grant smacked two long goals to end it.
Carey made the difference again,
finishing with 4 goals from 16 kicks and 11 marks. The Pies tried
Richardson, Brown and even Buckley on him. Schauble did alright
at the end. Abraham had an outstanding game for the Roos with
17 disposals and 2 goals, King and Archer played very well in
defence. Anthony Stevens had 23 disposals - all kicks - and a
goal, lively Brent Harvey kicked 3 goals. Blakey did a good job
on Buckley, holding him to a modest 18 possessions. Mark Richardson
was probably the Magpies' best, forced to replace injured Monkhorst
in the ruck in the second quarter. Crosisca (29 touches) and
Scott Russell (21) were effective across the middle, Watson a
dangerous half-forward with 4 goals. Sav Rocca also booted 4
goals. Anthony Rocca took some nice grabs but kicked 2 points,
Williams kicked 0.3. "You have 32 shots at goal and they
have 31, you're in the game, aren't you?" said Shaw. "Players
are getting paid good money as forwards but miss goals from 25m
out directly in front, it kills the players up the ground. But
there were other things that caused the loss." Den Pagan
said "It was a war of attrition...we wore them down eventually.
Some of our old blokes haven't come up every week, it's been
a juggling act all year. 7-4 is OK, 9-2 would have been better."
At Waverley:
St. Kilda 3.2 9.4 15.7 21.11.137
Richmond 8.6 10.9 15.10 16.14.110
71,500 trekked to Waverley for
this very good game. I saw Tiger midfielder Matthew Rogers in
Richmond's new Wantirna Club afterwards. Did we blow it or were
St. Kilda too good, I asked. "They were pretty good,"
he said. Fair enough. St. Kilda had Beveridge and Peckett return
from injury, Keogh was unluckily dumped and Ben Thompson was
injured. Loewe was selected but didn't play. Richmond have lost
Duncan Kellaway for the season with his knee reconstruction,
he was replaced by Funcke.
Richmond powered out with a breeze
and Daffy and Broderick doing well, Prescott shaded Harvey and
B. Gale broke even with Everitt in the ruck. Richardson lurked
for the Tiges' first 2 goals, Campbell and Powell slotted running
majors before Richardson got 2 more including a miraculous over-the-shoulder
snap. Hudghton picked Richo up after the first break, the Saints
lifted in the centre. Healy bombed a long goal and Sierakowski
created a goal for Beveridge as the Saints came back. Heatley
goaled after a dubious mark and the home mob trailed by 16. The
Tiges steadied with a great snap from Holland and Campbell made
a major for Broderick. Tiger ruckman Brendon Gale copped a cork
thigh at the next bounce, it forced him off and turned the game.
Everitt immediately snapped a fantastic goal and Heatley got
one, Everitt again marked and converted in the shadow of half
time. Burke tumbled a goal for St. Kilda to open the second half
but left-foot goals for Knights, Powell and Campbell restored
Richmond's buffer. Prescott had 3 bounces and banged a long goal,
Richmond led by 23 points. The Sainters fired again through bloody
Harvey, he slotted a superb goal and his wobbly centre clearance
found Sziller, who majored. Campbell's crude spoiling attempt
conceded a goal to Beveridge and the Tigers led by 3 but Prescott
pounced on a turnover for another. Burke made it 3 points the
diff again just before the final change. Jones and Everitt missed
shots to open the final term but then the Tiges blew it with
three poor misses from Richardson, Bowden and Broderick. Saint
Young escaped Richmond's pressure to thump a goal and put his
mob in front for the first time. The Tiger heads dropped and
the Saints rolled home with goals from Jones, Healy and Everitt.
Superior Saint centremen Harvey
(34 disposals, a goal) and Burke (32 touches, 3 goals) shrugged
off a variety of opponents to power their side to victory. Everitt
killed the Tiges after Gale departed, especially up forward with
3 goals, Young and Winmar won plenty of the footy at the back
and there were good efforts from Sierakowski in the ruck and
forward Healy (2 goals). Heatley kicked 3 goals. For Richmond
Wayne Campbell was good again, having 30 handlings and kicking
2 goals, fellow midfielders Knights (21 touches, a goal), Broderick
and Rogers were handy, Mick Gale did well on a wing. But no reliable
route to goal emerged after Richardson's 4 first-quarter goals
- he didn't kick another but missed 3 times for a total of 4.5.
Prescott and Daffy kicked 2 each. Gieschen said "I suppose
the cream always rises to the top and in the end St. Kilda's
class shone out like a beacon when the game was up for grabs."
But those last-quarter misses Giesch...ah well. Alves said "Our
players have a genuine belief in themselves and each other so
they never think they're out of it." |
