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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 13
The archetypal tipster's nightmare.
Club memberships closed this week and every club reported an
increase from 1997, the biggest coming in Sydney (30,750, up
from 22,109) and St. Kilda (23,502, from 16,610). The Adelaide
clubs still lead the way, the Crows have 41,425 members, Port
have 38,201. Next come West Coast (37,473) and Sydney, then Essendon
with 28,832, the best of the Victorian clubs. Footscray/Western
Bulldogs have doubled their membership in the two years since
the Smorgon regime took over, they've got 20,063 and Fremantle
also broke the 20K barrier (22,172). Brisbane didn't report numbers
but last years' figure - 16,769 - would put them last. Melbourne
had the lowest official figure, 17,100, but CEO Cameron Schwab
got all defensive and said the Dees were more interested in success
on the field. The non-Victorian clubs have been very good at
signing up members. Indeed, some of them seem to have more members
than spectators at their games.
Essendon held a meeting at which
the result of a members' referendum on moving to Docklands was
announced. Only 4,000 of their 29,000 approved the move. But
only 1,000 voted against it. A group of Bomber supporters became
very upset when the club officials refused to allow any debate
or even questions on the move and threatened the dissenting faction
with ejection by security guards. Dermott Brereton created a
ruckus when he penned an article suggesting that Bomber James
Hird's onfield performances didn't justify his hefty salary.
Harsh, Hird's been injured for most of the last 18 months. It
stirred up some healthy debate as Bomber coach Sheedy and Hird
himself leapt to his defence. Dermie didn't exactly earn the
small fortune he got for going to Sydney, but he's certainly
delivering as a meedya pundit. And finally, Tony Shaw was asked
to explain his comment last week concerning the son of a former
AFL person who should never be allowed on a field again. "Yes,
I've already apologised to Mark Richardson about that,"
he said.
At the MCG:
Essendon 3.2 5.5 9.5 11.6.72
West Coast 1.2 5.5 7.7 11.17.83
The Eagles now have the longest
winning streak of any team this season, working hard for the
win here on a bitterly cold evening. Their superior skill and
coolness under pressure saw off the Bombers. I would've attended
along with the visiting Jeremy Leggoe, if not for my inability
to operate a telephone. In selection Essendon lost Prior for
the season with a knee reconstruction, Cockatoo-Collins and O'Connor
were dumped. Captain O'Donnell returned along with Bomford and
first-gamer Judd Lalich from East Perth. Lalich is 193cm, so
of course he played on the wing. West Coast regained Kemp and
Jakovich, the latter for his 150th game. Schofield missed with
a hand injury and Turnbull was dropped.
The most significant moment of
the early going, perhaps of the entire game, was poor picked-on
Jim Hird straining his left hamstring again before a minute had
elapsed. Hird led, marked, limped about in pain and departed.
Bewick took the shot for maximum points. Eagle Peter
Matera started on the bench but
soon came on to replace his injured brother at full forward and
kick the sandgropers' first. But the Dons did well, Olarenshaw
and Calthorpe got plenty of the pill and Lloyd bobbed up all
over the ground. Mercuri marked and goaled and Moorcroft, stationed
at full back on Matera, ran downfield and banged a major. Matera
missed shots either side of quarter time before Gehrig got one
and it was third time lucky for Matera as he led, marked and
converted. The busy Lalich should have goaled after a mystery
free but shortly after Bewick kicked a superb banana goal when
West Coast were punished for deliberately shovelling the ball
out of bounds. The Weegles nosed ahead after consecutive goals
from Matera and Metropolis, the latter from a free. Jeremy enjoyed
Bewick being cleaned up by McIntosh just before half time. Bewick
watched the rest of the game from the bench.
Essadun started the third term
well, Bomford goaled following some excellent off-the-ball running
and Lloyd set up Blumfield. But West Coast began to exert more
pressure and the Bombers resorted to bombing (of course) into
attack, giving McIntosh an easy time. Matera kicked two more
goals, one from another speedy lead and the second a magnificent
45m set shot from the boundary after winning a free for holding.
The Weegils led by a point before cooler Bomber heads decided
to pass the ball into the forward line, leading to goals for
Mercuri and Blumfield. For the fourth time in as many weeks the
Eags finished the stronger - a sharp contrast to earlier in the
season. Kemp won the ball in the centre and Donnelly came off
the bench to play improbably well across half-forward, except
for his woeful goalshooting - 4 behinds in the term. But he did
set up yet another goal for Pete Matera which narrowed the margin
to 3 points. More misses from Braun, Donnelly again and Waterman
gave the Eagles a 1 point lead before Waterman passed for Matera
to major, then Heady goaled and it was the West Coast by 14.
Essernin were being dominated and hadn't even managed an attack,
but they won the next bounce and after a laborious sequence of
short foot and handpasses Lucas found space to snap a goal. The
Eagles started to run the clock down, when the Dons eventually
got the ball Lucas banged to the goalsquare where Moorcroft marked
and converted. West Coast led by 4 points but Matera gained the
win when he reeled in a one-handed mark and passed to Ball, inexplicably
left unmarked just 15m from goal.
Peter Matera's had an ordinary
year so far but he enjoyed himself hugely here, bagging 7 goals
from some fast leads at full forward. The TV cameras caught him
winking, smiling and having a great time. Moorcroft, Solomon
and Blumfield all had unsuccessful spells on him. Cousins (29
disposals) was impressive again, Kemp (26) was excellent at the
centre bounce and in the middle generally, Waterman continues
to play well. McIntosh played well on Lloyd, who dragged him
all over the ground. Read looks handy and Braun tagged Misiti.
Donnelly's last quarter - 11 possessions - was important. No
stand-out for the Dons,
Mercuri kicked 2 goals from 25
touches although was positioned in defence for much of the game,
Lucas (2 goals) was an effective forward as Lloyd and Alessio
struggled near goal. Berbakov is a vastly improved player, he
did well in defence as did Hardwick again and Wellman quelled
Gehrig. Olarenshaw won 24 possessions midfield. Lalich impressed
on debut with 12 kicks and 8 marks. Moorcroft, Bewick and Blumfield
also booted 2 goals each. Sheeds, like Dermie, blamed Hird. "You
lose a champion like that and it's not good. We haven't had much
of Hird the last two years and it's disappointing he's hurt his
hamstring again, disappointing for him. We didn't use the ball
well midfield and our disposal was disappointing." Mick
said "When you win games like this, youstart having a real
belief in your own ability and the game plan and each other."
At the MCG:
Collingwood 3.3 5.5 6.8 10.10.70
Adelaide 3.3 7.6 8.12 11.13.79
With Northey finally succumbing
at Brisbane the meedya turned their attention to Pie coach Tony
Shaw and his ordinary record, with the result that Shawry got
the fatal full backing from his president, Kevin Rose. Shaw reacted
at the selection meeting by axing 6 players from last week; Tony
Francis, Matthew Francis, Anthony Rocca, Fuller, Mahoney and
Wild. Richardson missed with a jarred knee. Replacements included
experienced hands in Monkhorst, McDonald and Patterson, talented
youngsters Curran and Burns and two new players, former Swan
Stuart Mangin and Norwood winger James Wasley. The Crows had
McLeod and Bond return from injury, Edwards was called up together
with first-gamer Ian Perrie from East Perth. Out went Rintoul
and Johnson injured, Jameson and Sampson were dropped.
This was not much of a game.
The blustery wind didn't help, but both sides spent much time
kicking the ball to the opposition defenders. Adelaide's half
backs did better and they had a form forward in Troy Bond, he
kicked 2 first-quarter goals. Collingwood started with Sav Rocca
rucking and Monkhorst at full forward, Sav certainly enjoyed
the change as he pulled down 6 marks and had 11 disposals in
the first term alone. Monkhorst kicked a goal, he's got a shaved
head. Move to Brisbane must be on. Wasley's first action was
to poleaxe his captain, Gavin Brown. Bond snapped a nice goal
to open the second term, Rocca replied with a mark and goal.
Then the Corollas got the next 3 goals, Bond again snapped truly
across his body and Robran took a towering grab in the goalsquare,
Vardy threaded a superb kick through from the boundary line.
The Maggies couldn't mark in attack unless Rocca drifted down
there, Smart, Goodwin and McLeod were killing them. Just before
half time Schauble went forward to mark and goal. Channel Seven's
halftime stats showed that Banfield, Kemp and Ball had plenty
of possessions, not bad considering they were in a plane over
the Nullabor. For the second half Monkhorst and Rocca resumed
their usual roles, freed from full back Cow Pittman immediately
kicked a goal. Adelaide led by 19 points but Brown, moved forward,
replied for
Collingwood. Both sides then
struggled to kick goals as chances were missed, especially by
the visitors, and defenders dominated. It was the last quarter
before the crowd awoke when Rocca converted after accepting Crow's
pass, then Osborne snapped one to cut the Crows' lead to 3 points.
Adelaide pressed and Bond marked over Buckley to dob his fifth,
then Osborne's poor clearing kick led to a goal for McLeod. Crow
answered immediately, the Pies trailed by 9 with 9 left. But
they failed to score in the next 5 minutes and young Perrie came
off the bench to seal the Camrys' first away win over the Maggies.
Smart excelled at CHB, spoiling
effectively and charging forward with the ball. McLeod was also
very good, he had 20 touches and kicked a vital last-quarter
goal and the other Camry half-back, Goodwin, was also a winner.
Troy Bond crumbed perfectly for 5 goals and Robran was a constant
threat at CHF. Ricciuto and James (27 disposals) were handy midfield
and Rehn unobstrusively gathered 24 possessions. The Pies...Buckley
had 27 kicks and 5 handpasses, but again hung out in defence
while his team struggled in attack. He's rapidly becoming the
Mark Browning of the 90s. Burns was shifted off Bond early and
went on to play well in the centre, Sav Rocca was less spectacular
after quarter time but still finished with 20 possessions, 8
marks and was his teams' only multiple goalkicker with 2. Defenders
Schauble and Osborne were good, Monkhorst played reasonably.
"That was about where we are," said embattled Shaw.
"We tried a few new things today, which generated a bit,
but not enough to win the game. Bond kicks five, we don't have
anybody crumbing it at the other end. I thought it was critical."
Blight said "It doesn't feel like we're motoring...most
of the sides that play in the finals have a run somewhere. We
haven't been in that situation yet." They did climb into
the eight, though.
At Kardinia Park:
Geelong 2.1 7.4 8.5 12.8.80
Brisbane 5.8 8.9 13.12 15.16.106
Perhaps Northey was the problem.
Or perhaps only Geelong could beat a side above them by 15 goals
one week and lose by 6 goals to the second-bottom team the next.
In selection the Cats lost key big men Stoneham and Graham. Stoneham
needs a hernia operation while Graham may miss the rest of the
season with damaged elbow ligaments. Tagger Steinfort also missed
injured, in came Hall, Sean Simpson and reserves full back Marc
Woolnough for his first game. Woolnough's dad played for Geelong
in the '70s. Only one change for the Lions, the disappointing
Molloy dropped for Richard Champion.
Commencing with a stiff breeze
the Lions booted four consecutive goals after Cat Sholl slotted
the game's first. Leppitsch snared a couple from full forward
against McKinnon and busy McRae kicked 2 as well, but lots of
Lions missed too. Chris Scott, Akermanis and Hart were winning
on the ball. Brisbane made a mockery of the breeze by kicking
the first three goals of the second term, but the Cats fought
back led by Barnes and Mensch, Bizzell majored after a goalsquare
screamer. Geelong concentrated on nullifying the wind advantage
in the third
term with Colbert doing well
in defence and Hocking busy, but the Lions stretched their lead
with two early goals, then Lynch won a centre bounce and gave
the ball to C. Scott, who goaled. Leppitsch added his second
for the quarter and Champion scored with a superb snap. Sholl
kicked a late goal for the Cats but Hart nailed their coffin
shut with a goal 10 minutes into the last quarter. On the final
siren Roger Merrett galloped onto the field, elbows flailing,
to celebrate with his men.
Cat coach Ayres identified the
Lions' midfield as the difference. Chris Scott had 24 disposals
and 2 goals, Hart 19 touches and a goal, Akermanis, McRae 92
goals0 and Ashcroft ran their opponents ragged. Leppitsch booted
4 goals from 16 kicks at full forward. White won at CHB with
23 possessions and 10 marks, Al Lynch reckons he feels healthier
than ever since he stopped taking DHEA. Johnson and Champion
kicked 2 goals each. Hocking battled hard for the Cats with 23
disposals and a goal, Mensch's fine season continued and Barnes
did well around the ground with 19 touches, 8 good marks and
2 goals. But the Lions won hitouts 19 to 9. Colbert played well
and Kilpatrick wasn't bad, Burns kicked 3 goals. "...they
absolutely smashed us in the centre and beat us in 50/50 contests,"
said Ayres. "It took us until halfway through the second
quarter to realise we were ready to play the game. They hunted
us today and made us pay and full credit goes to them...we were
lucky to kick 12 goals." Merrett said "The guys have
gone through a fair bit and I've felt for them for some time...I've
taken the shackles off a bit and allowed them to go for it. You've
got to play good, hard, honest footy to give yourself a chance
of winning games..." These comments and some of Voss's during
the week suggest Northey wasn't too popular with his players.
At Waverley:
Hawthorn 2.2 7.8 13.9 17.12.114
North Melbourne 4.2 8.3 14.7 17.10.112
At last Hawthorn put four quarters
together to grab a satisfying win off the slow old Roos, who've
beaten the Hawks in close finishes several times in recent years.
The Hawks had discarded Hassall and Kilmartin for Woods and Rawlings,
North regained key players McKernan and Pike and gave Cochrane
a chance at the expense of Miles, Welsh and the struggling Rock.
Hawthorn got plenty of the ball
all day as midfielders like Lord and Shane Crawford did better
than the poor Northerners but their terrible disposal, particularly
kicking, kept North in it. North began with the aid of the wind
and Carey, who kicked 2 early goals and Abraham thumped a huge
wind-assisted goal after a woeful early miss. Hawthorn got a
goal when Holland's shot swerved violently in the wind and was
pounced on by Lord. Scores were levelled quickly in the second
stanza, S. Crawford's long run ended with a smothered kick but
Dunstall recovered first to allow Lord to major, then Holland
goaled after a ride on McCartney. Almost goal-for-goal after
that. Sholl and Bell snapped truly for the Roos, Dunstall kicked
a running goal after opponent Archer fell over. Carey and Holland
swapped sausages. Despite
the closeness North were getting
little possession and frustration boiled over when Stevens was
reported for elbowing the shepherding Tallis. Salmon put the
Hawks ahead after receiving a free at a throw-in 80m from goal.
Carey threw the ball back carelessly - 50m. Carey complained
forcefully - another 50m penalty and easy goal. Carey was dragged
but McKernan put the Kangas ahead again on the half-time siren.
North crept to a 9-point lead in the third with goals for Carey,
McKernan and Roberts, but Shane Crawford inspired replies from
Dunstall and Tallis. The Hawks got that sinking feeling in the
final term when some powerful running play from Pickett created
a goal for Abraham and the Roos led by 9 again. But then Holland
goaled after a strong mark and an excellent long kick from Dixon
put the Hawks in front once more. The Crawford brothers combined
to manufacture a goal for Lord and the men from Glenferrie led
by 9 points with 4 minutes left. McKernan majored after a good
mark to cut the gap to 3 points and hearts leapt into mouths
as Grant launched a long, running kick. But it bounced the wrong
(or right, depending on your persuasion) side of the post and
Hawthorn were home.
Hawk ruckman Salmon was dominant
as Pagan relied on bits-and-pieces ruckmen Roberts and Longmire
and used McKernan sparingly, but 'Fish¹ beat him too. Salmon
had 32 disposals, 6 marks, 16 hitouts and a goal. Holland hauled
down 13 marks and kicked 4 goals at CHF. Shane Crawford had 23
disposals and Lord's speed troubled the Roos, he kicked 4 goals
from 18 kicks. Hay impressed in defence, Harford and Woods were
handy. Dixon was busy in attack. Dunstall kicked 3 goals and
Kappler 2. North again relied on a few players; Carey (9 marks,
4 goals) who shuttled between the forward and back lines; Archer
did very well on Dunstall; Roberts who won 26 touches about the
ground and kicked 3 goals and Pickett who defended aggressively.
McKernan proved a useful forward with 4 goals, Abraham and Bell
got 2 each. Pagan was brief. "We didn't have enough good
players, we left it to too few again. We were pretty ordinary."
Judge said "Three or four weeks ago we wouldn't have won
that game, so I think it says that we're improving."
At Football Park:
Port Adelaide 5.1 6.2 11.6 11.7.73
Footscray 1.2 2.5 4.6 5.9.39
Footscray travel as well as an
Australian dollar, losing for the third time in three interstate
trips, this time to a typically niggardly Port. At least this
was their last trip for the year, barring some slip-up before
or during the finals. Port had more injured players return to
action in full back Paxman and exciting spearhead Tredrea, Heaver
was recalled. Harwood, Fiegert and Steinberner played in the
SANFL. Just one alteration for the leaders, Dent resuming after
suspension at the expense of Cox.
No doubt many coaches will be
studying a tape of this game to see how the Flowers curtailed
the free-scoring Doggies, but really it was no mystery. They
simply chased and tackled relentlessly. Footscray assisted in
their own demise by playing a weird forward structure
which isolated Grant and by indulging
in heaps of handball which rapidly brought them unstuck in the
greasy nighttime conditions and with Port being so hard 'n'all.
The seeds were sown last week. The Dogs' only first-quarter goal
came from fringe forward Stephen Powell while the Pooer attacked
relentlessly with a breeze. Wanganeen kicked an inspirational
long goal, Lade, Dickie and Cummings set up what was to become
a winning buffer. They held the Dogs out in the second term as
the visitors were wind assisted, then piled on four more in the
third term which effectively killed the game. Only downside was
Morton being clattered late and carted off to hospital.
The increasingly crappy Age hasn't
even bothered to print stats or a proper match report - nice
service for supporters of the team topping the AFL ladder - but
I have gleaned that lithe Port winger Donald Dickie was very
good, he kicked 3 goals, Breuer and Wanganeen would've played
well midfield and Mead must've done well on Grant. Full back
Paxman and the infamous Dew were good, Primus performed in an
even duel with Wynd. Cummings kicked 3 goals and Lade kicked
2. Footscray's best were defender Kretiuk and followers Wynd,
Romero and West, Rohan Smith did alright. Kolyniuk kicked 2 goals.
Wallace said "we were challenged very strongly by Port and
weren't able to stand up to it...early in the game we overused
the ball with our hands in the wet conditions". Cahill said
"We've come off two really close losses - we count last
week as a loss - and sometimes that can knock the stuffing out
of teams. But they bounced back, they were really fired up...We
put pressure on them, ran hard at the body and tackled and didn't
let them run past because they handball more than anyone."
At the SCG:
Sydney 3.2 10.4 12.5 16.6.102
Richmond 4.3 7.7 9.11 13.13.91
"Have we not about us anyone
who can rid us of the singularly insolent Tigers and protect
our huge investment in the Swans?" asked the AFL Commission,
rhetorically. They were overheard by three drunken umpires (their
only possible excuse) freshly returned from guide dog training
who immediately departed for Sydney and murdered Richmond. In
selection Sydney lost Bayes, Stafford and Mooney to injury and
dropped Kinnear. Replacements were Carey, Barry and Warfe both
returning from shoulder injuries and a debutant, ruckman Brett
O'Farrell from East Sandringham. Richmond's Campbell was indeed
done on video for his trip/kick on King last week and received
a lenient one week. It seems only yesterday that Geelong's Brownless
and Blue Dean copped six and five weeks respectively for far
less serious incidents. Nichols was out with a fractured cheek
and Ottens was dropped, in came B. Gale, Ryan and Rombotis.
Plenty of packs and ball-ups
early as the ball was drowned in red and white. It clearly effected
Seven's commentators - all they could see was red and white for
the rest of the game (except Gerard Healy). Neil Brooks should
stick to swimming - he'd make more sense talking under water.
O'Farrell started in the ruck and did well, scoring a goal with
his first kick in the game. Lockett
got one and Cresswell majored before Richmond had scored. But
they got going eventually, Richardson goaled after a couple of
misses, then Bowden and Daffy snapped truly. Powell put Richmond
in front at the first change. Sydney got a match-winning lead
with their seven second-quarter goals. The first came from an
appallingly soft free to Kelly, then Powell executed a poor tackle
on the dithering Filandia and Plugger benefitted. O'Farrell was
embarrassing Benny Gale in the ruck and he kicked another goal.
Richardson kicked one in reply, Bowden booted a huge goal and
great play from Gaspar set up a major for Rogers to put Richmond
back in front, but the Swans kicked the last three goals of the
term to go in with a 3-goal lead. Frees at the long break were
11-5 to the locals.
Plodding third term as defences
tightened, Richardson kicked an early goal to narrow the gap
but Rogers handballed straight to Kelly 10m out and Stevens kicked
an exciting running major, Sydney led by 21 points. Richardson
got another as the Tiges had the majority of possession but fell
down badly in attack and missed shots. Stevens opened the last
quarter with a wobbly but accurate snap. Holland then marked
20m out directly in front. Except the umpire decided Roos's late
punch which forced the ball out of Holland's hands was a spoil,
the ball whipped to the other end where Lockett goaled. Richmond
trailed by 4 goals instead of 2. The TV cowered as I threatened
all sorts of violence against it. Cresswell kicked an easy goal
and the Swans led by 30. Richardson took a great mark over Dunkley
and dobbed his fifth. Bruce said he "hadn't contributed
much". Bowden snapped one and the Tiges were 2 goals down
again, before Kelly squirmed away from Prescott to soccer a sausage
and Cresswell sealed it. Broderick kicked 2 late goals to ensure
the Holland decision proved vital.
Did you detect some bitterness
there? In truth the Swans' defence was excellent, Luff did superbly
at CHB and there was great aggressive running from Nicks (28
disposals), Orchard (24) and Warfe. Kelly again did damage in
attack with 15 kicks and 4 goals, Cresswell was a ball magnet
with 30 touches and 3 goals. O'Farrell was impressive with 14
possessions, 8 hitouts and 2 goals before going off concussed
in the final term, although in Gale's defence he probably isn't
fully fit. Lockett kicked 4 goals and hit people off the ball,
Stevens bagged 2. For Richmond Gaspar again starred at CHB and
Knights (26 disposals) and Daffy (23 kicks, a goal) worked overtime
midfield. Prescott played well against Schwass and Richardson
kicked 5.3 from 10 kicks and 7 marks - better stats all round
than Lockett, whom Bruce lauded sickeningly all day. Bowden bagged
3 goals, Evans played well especially when moved to defence in
the third quarter. Gieschen was wise. "We were in the game...we
hung in there but I'm not sure we played that well...it was as
though we had lead in our boots, we didn't run through the lines
and we scrambled goals rather than got them from good passages
of football." Relieved Eade was a bit narky.
"We set the tone early,
the guys worked hard from the first bounce, so that was a pleasing
aspect...we've copped a bit of criticism over the last few weeks,
especially from our Melbourne-based supporters who've been pretty
upset..." Footy's more important down here, Rocket.
At Subiaco:
Fremantle 2.4 6.9 6.13 10.16.76
Carlton 4.2 6.2 9.5 10.8.68
Fremantle stayed in the finals
hunt and sent the Blues back to the foot of the table as they
ground out this win in excruciating style. The Dockers went in
weakened by the losses of Wills with a calf strain, Chisholm
suspended and worst of all, ruckman Burton. Dan Parker was dropped.
In came Harding, Dhurrkay, Anderson and club captain Peter Mann.
The Blues dropped Lock and ruckman Porter for McKay and lanky
ruckman Tony Bourke, a 22-year-old from Ballarat playing his
first game.
Carlton were favoured by the
breeze in the first stanza and they kicked the first three goals
from marks to Hamill, Brown and Pearce. The kicking and handball
skills of Brown, Ratten, Camporeale et al. were much better than
those of the typically sloppy Dockers, but Dodd managed to score
a couple of goals. Pearce kicked a nice into-the-wind goal to
commence the second term but the Dockers worked into it using
their traditional weapon - pace. Full Back of the Century provided
a preview of the games' end when his kick-in bounced out without
being touched and Mann smacked the free through the hi-diddle-diddle.
Bond took a speccie, defender Jones kicked a rare goal and Sinclair
put the Dockers in front. Facing the wind in the third term Freo
took their running and retain-possession plan to the nth degree,
resulting in much hilarity as they ran about and handballed in
little circles. Carlton kicked 3 goals for the term. Whitnall
took some good marks, kicked one, hit the post and missed. Camporeale
snapped an excellent goal and Sexton kicked a good one. Freo's
plan to storm home with the wind faltered in the beginning as
Rice goaled but soon Waterhouse got a goal, after some horrendous
play from Dhurrkay a visionary pass from Clement saw Hunter reduce
Carlton's lead to 3 points. Dhurrkay cleaned up umpire Vernon
and spilled the ball, but Rice only managed a point, more behinds
followed before a Mann goal put the Dockers ahead by a point.
Bandy hit the post after Bond mopped up some terrible play by
Norrish, Bradley missed for Carlton, Holland's close-in snap
also missed. FBOTC sent the subsequent kick-in out on the full
and Anderson belted the free through to raise the twin calicos.
Good play once more from the
Docker midfielders, especially veterans Bond (18 disposals),
Anderson (22, a goal) and running defender McGovern (17 disposals).
Others Dockers got more of the ball but often wasted it horribly,
but Sinclair was good and Norrish (27 touches) and Gale (32)
weren't bad, Dodd had 27 possessions and kicked 2 goals. O'Reilly
was grand at the back. The oft abused Peter Mann had a most encouraging
return, with 17 handlings, 7 marks (3 contested) and 2 goals,
he had Sexton moved off him which isn't too shabby. Whitnall
continues to look good for Carlton,
he had 8 marks and kicked 3 goals from CHF and could easily have
kicked 5. Manton again played well at the back - just 6 marks
this week, FBOTC was good too although giving away two goals
was kinda costly in the end. With this appearance, his 240th,
he passed his Dad's mark for the Blues. Allan dominated rucks
in Burton's absence but his rovers' disposal sometimes surpassed
the Dockers' for awfulness...Brown had 27 disposals but only
10 were effective, Ratten 26 touches but only 14 found teammates.
Pearce kicked 2 goals. "I thought we won on the inside,
but we didn't chase with the same ferocity on the outside as
we have done against Fremantle...in the past," said vintage
Dave Parkin. Neesham said "It's damn good to take four points
from that game and hopefully we can get back to a reasonable
energy because our young blokes looked sluggish."
At the MCG:
Melbourne 0.2 2.5 2.9 5.12.42
St. Kilda 4.6 11.8 16.11 19.13.127
The Melbourne bandwagon hasn't
so much halted as plunged through a retaining barrier and down
a ravine. Tough for their kids, like last week tackling and strength
in general were problems and Daniher will have the weights out
over summer, no doubt. St. Kilda are going very nicely as they
drew to the top of the ladder. Melbourne lost two older, stronger
blokes in selection, Shanahan copped 2 weeks for biffing Spinks
last week and Schwarz was out with a hamstring. Replacements
were Bradly and Shaun Smith. No change for the Saints.
A scrappy opening in which Melbourne,
while not scoring, were at least competitive. But soon the Saint
followers, Everitt, Harvey and Burke, took charge. Mitchell stabbed
the first goal after an ugly goalmouth scrap when Melbourne should
have cleared the ball, but weren't strong enough to break clear
or lay effective tackles. Heatley marked and goaled, a beautiful
handpass from Sziller allowed an easy goal for Lappin and the
Demon heads dropped. The margin blew out in the second term,
Burke, Winmar and Andy Thompson did especially well midfield,
Loewe and Everitt got some more goals. Anthony McDonald opened
the Dees' account and CHF Grgic got one too. The 'G was drenched
in freezing rain for the entire second half which was good for
Melbourne because it's hard to feel properly miserable when it's
sunny. The Saints weren't slowed, Thompson used the wet to skid
a shot through from 50m and Heatley got a couple. In the last
there was an exciting goal for Jones although he appeared to
run at least 25m without bouncing the ball. Melbourne got some
late consolation before more bad news when Stynes strained a
knee ligament, he may miss a month.
More Peter Everitt, Demon White
competed well at the centre bounce but Spider won handsomely
around the ground with 18 kicks, 12 marks and 2 goals. Burke
was particularly good in the first half, he had 27 disposals
and a goal, midfielders Harvey (29 touches), Thompson (28, a
goal) and Jones (22, 2 goals) were very busy as were running
defenders Winmar, Young and Sziller who all got 20+ possessions,
Sziller also kicked 2 goals. Heatley did well again with 5 goals
and there were 2
each for Loewe and Mitchell too.
For the Dees Leoncelli boxed on to have 15 touches, Yze picked
up his usual bunch of kicks in defence and Ingerson did quite
well on Loewe, considering. Stynes battled around the ground,
Hopgood wasn't bad. Daniher bemoaned the absence of senior players.
"We were pretty honest early but didn't get any score in
the first 15 minutes and our confidence dropped off...disappointing
in the second half with the wet and our boys were shell-shocked...we
really need some men back in the side." Alves couldn't say
much more than "I'm really, really proud of them." |
