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 15
"State of Origin" used
to mean a match played between the best players from each footballing
state. Now it means the annual game played by coaches and players
in wriggling out of taking part in such a contest. A frightening
number of players played reasonably or even very well this past
weekend, only to mysteriously come down with an ailment in
the closing minutes of the game
which requires exactly one week to heal.
Kev Sheedy hogged the headlines
again, twisting a comment made by Channel Seven commentator Tim
Watson to create a war of words with North Melbourne. During
last Friday night's game Watson said "the way Glen Archer
is playing, it's as though North believe Matthew Lloyd is a bit
soft." In Sheedyland this became "North think Essendon
are soft" and Sheeds launched a verbal assault on Denis
Pagan ("a jumped-up accountant"), Wayne Carey ("he
should have been reported at least twice in that game")
and just about any other thing Roo-related he could think of.
North people didn't know what to say. Folk interpreted it as
a desperate attempt by Kev to pump up his own struggling Bombers.
The rest of us can only hope that Essendon and North meet in
the finals. Should be fun viewing. West Coast were fined 65K
and lost a third-round draft pick for salary cap breaches. How
are they gonna pay Jakovich 550K per year now?
At the MCG:
Richmond 8.2 11.6 17.8 20.12.132
Carlton 6.2 6.2 8.3 11.4.70
I've spent many years watching
undermanned, underskilled - basically crap - Richmond sides being
belted by far superior Carlton men. The foot's on the other hand
now, as Spike Milligan would say. The Blues' recent form has
been reasonable but they were up against it here. History's Greatest
Full Back and Manton, two of their best this year, were out with
a groin strain and 'flu respectively and Bradley was a late withdrawal
for personal reasons. The badly weakened Blues were also given
a hiding by the umpires, who awarded the Tigers 21 free kicks
to 4 for the Bluies, featuring two different interpretations
of the holding-the-ball rule and the untouchability of Matthew
Knights. Saw the replay later and couldn't believe Seven's John
Russo backing his former colleagues to the hilt - Blue fans must've
been apoplectic. In addition to their forced losses Carlton dropped
Anstey, in came Porter, Hogg, Hulme and Massie. No change for
the Tiges.
The match had received a fair
bit of media hype and 66,600 turned up on the cold night. Carlton
were fired up and capitalised on some early Tiger errors to boot
the first 4 goals. A lovely snap from Whitnall opened the scoring
and his strong mark led to the second major, for De Iulio. Richmond's
Holland was forced off with a dislocated shoulder as Pearce led,
marked and goaled, then De Iulio crept forward to bag another.
The Blue fans around regaled us with their hilariously witty
invective. "YOUSE ARE BLUDDY POOFTAS RICHMOND" and
"YOU TAKE IT UP THE ARSE CAMPBELL". One Blue observed
"We're beating you and we haven't got Silvagni, Bradley
or Kernahan..." Kernahan? No wonder Richmond were struggling.
They were without Weightman, Bartlett and Titus.
Richmond's first goal came from
a rubbish free to Plapp, who'd replaced Holland. Immediately
Bowden majored and Plapp kicked another after leading nicely
for Evans. Beaumont worked hard to kick an anwering goal after
a poor Bowden pass turned over possession. Evans passed for Richardson
to boot his first - Koutoufides was on him - but Allan found
space for another Blue goal and they led by 11 points with 4
minutes to quarter time. The Tigers kicked 4 goals in those minutes,
3 coming from Daffy. Peter Dean assisted on one with a misdirected
kick-in. Richmond booted two quick goals to open the second term,
Evans slotted a free after being decapitated and Plapp handballed
unselfishly for Mick Gale to convert. Not much scoring for a
while after those but Richmond dominated possession, led by the
outstanding Knights and Daffy. The Blues dropped uncontested
marks, handpassed pointlessly and chipped the ball from wing
to wing. "There's a certain arrogance about Richmond,"
said TV's Robertson, without apparent irony. Pearce kicked on
the full from a set shot, late-on Kouta allowed Richardson to
mark unopposed in the goalsquare and convert. Far fewer witty
Blue comments by now.
The Tigers snuffed out the remaining
Blue threat with another goal burst at the start of the third
stanza. Plapp booted two more sausages, both from strong marks
near the goals. The first came when Blue defender Rice conveniently
handpassed straight to Daffy. In between the Plapp goals, Murphy
broke the Carlton scoring drought with a nice running kick. Pearce
departed with a hamstring. However after goals for Broderick
and Richardson (free kick, climbed upon by Kouta), the Tiges
led by 52 points and it was over. Carlton fought on, Whitnall
snapped another great goal and Murphy bombed a huge kick through
in the final term, for Richmond Richardson had a bit to do, kicking
another goal and creating further majors for Daffy and Plapp.
Richmond's speedier and more
skilled midfield and greater height at both ends were the difference.
Knights (30 disposals) was particularly good, especially early
when the Tigers were under pressure. Daffy ran damagingly for
27 kicks and pushed forward for 4 goals too. Richardson booted
5 goals from 5 marks and wonderboy Plapp also kicked 5. A handy
pickup. Broderick played across half-forward and did well with
22 touches. Gaspar was solid again at the back and ex-Blue Harrison
had 20 possessions and a goal running from defence. No stand-out
for the Blues, Sexton had 22 possessions at CHB on Evans and
we were surprised Parkin didn't move him to full back, where
Kouta clearly didn't have a clue. De Iulio at least looked dangerous,
he had 12 kicks and 2 goals, Murphy played well with 23 touches
and 2 goals, Ratten worked hard and Massie did a bit. Whitnall
also kicked 2 goals. "We didn't gain much from tonight,
except for some ground time, a little bit more experience and
some confidence from some of the blokes still learning the trade,"
said Parkin. Gieschen tried to dampen meedya hype as they've
realised that a) Richmond are a reasonable side and b) have
lots of supporters. "We talk
about top 4, but we're only one game away from 12th or 13th...there's
a multitude of work to be done in the next seven weeks. Carlton
hit us right between the face (eh?) with one of the biggest opening
onslaughts you'd want to see...but we've matured and we weathered
that."
At the MCG:
Essendon 6.4 11.7 13.11 16.12.108
Port Adelaide 3.0 6.2 7.5 12.9.81
The softies from Windy Hill got
back on the winners' list with a not-fully-convincing victory
over Port. Afterwards Sheedy continued his unilateral action
against North Melbourne, this time getting stuck into their boardmembers.
We'll miss him, if indeed the Bombers are able to get rid of
him. Anyway, in selection Essendon swung the axe as Kev promised,
dumping Moorcroft, Solomon, Lalich and Eastaugh, Caracella missed
with 'flu. Veterans Somerville, Doolan, O'Donnell and Cockatoo-Collins
came in and Fraser got another chance. Just one change for Port,
Harley dropped for Heaver.
Good start for the Dons, their
midfield dominated with Calthorpe, Misiti and Blumfield prominent,
Cockatoo-Collins got plenty of the ball across half-forward.
Lloyd and Bewick kicked some early goals. Port got full value
from rare forward thrusts, Lade performing at CHF. The Bombers
looked set for a percentage booster at half time, cruising while
Port struggled - Poole and Lyle were off with a fractured thumb
and cheek respectively, joined later by Mead with a groin strain.
The Dons led by 49 points in the third term when Sheeds indulged
a favourite tactic, benching in-form players. Or perhaps he was
playing the 'Origin game'. Off went Mercuri, Long and Lucas and
the Flowers got into the game. Wanganeen pushed forward and exerted
an influence, Paxman and Mead (before he went off) began winning
in the key defensive possies. Port booted 5 consecutive goals
in the last quarter to draw to 13 points behind. Wanganeen won
a stream of centre clearances and Tredrea booted 4 goals against
Barnard. Sheeds rushed Mercuri and Long back on and shifted Berbakov
to full back. In time-on Long set up a steadying goal for Cockatoo-Collins,
then another arrived to push the Dons over the line.
Cockatoo-Collins, who's spent
much of this season in the reserves, had welcome return
to form with 19 kicks, 9 marks and 3 goals. He combined beautifully
with Long. Misiti (34 touches) and Calthorpe (31, a goal) ran
the midfield for most of it and Alessio nullified Primus in the
ruck. Small forwards Mercuri (23 touches, 1.3) and Bewick were
good, big defenders Fletcher and Wellman were handy. Lloyd kicked
3 majors and there were 2 each for Blumfield and Lucas. Wanganeen
tried his darndest to lift Port, starting in the back pocket
he finished in the centre and had 19 kicks and 5 handballs. Eagleton
(17 kicks) and Kingsley weren't bad midfield and Lade was handy
at half-forward with 7 marks and 3 goals. Mead played well and
Dew was good, he's got legs like tree trunks. Tredrea finished
with 4 goals and Stevens kicked 2. Cummings kicked one and might
be facing a spell in the SANFL. And just on the umpiring - Port
had 7 more frees than Essendon. Cahill was unimpressed. "We didn't deserve to be that
close. We didn't play well enough, Essendon played better than
we did all day and deserved to win. Ten minutes into the last
quarter we had a chance but a couple of silly mistakes, inexperience
really, cost us dearly." Sheedy said "We still over-used
the ball...we should have kicked 20 goals. In the second half,
we let them back in...Wanganeen really took over. They're a speed
machine, the fastest in the league..."
At Waverley:
St. Kilda 4.1 7.2 9.4 12.7.79
North Melbourne 5.3 10.7 17.9 22.13.145
Just when North appear on the
wane, they fire again. Pagan played the Origin game in his press
conference as he attempted to explain why Wayne Carey, who'd
just played a blinder, was too unfit to turn out for the Allies
next weekend. In fact Denis got quite upset when journos suggested
Den was full of it. Apart from that, Den was rapt with his Roos'
performance as they belted an out-of-sorts St. Kilda. The Saints
went in again unchanged, North had Sholl and Brady Anderson return
for the 'flu-striken Welsh and discarded Cochrane.
Saint fans were worried at quarter
time when their team had been outscored despite first use of
a stiff breeze. Spearhead Heatley usually enjoys the Roos and
he kicked 2 early goals, but North got plenty from Winston Abraham
who booted 4 first-term sausages, displaying his usual audacious
skill. In the second stanza North went with their traditional
open forward line, featuring just Carey and his opponent, Darryl
Wakelin. Carey fairly exploded with 10 disposals and 6 marks
for the quarter, Grant came off the bench to win plenty of touches
and boot a couple of goals and King and Simpson started carving
up the middle. Saint coach Alves switched Max Hudghton onto Carey,
only for Hudghton to injure his knee immediately and depart -
hopefully it's only jarred. A late goal for Mitchell kept the
Saints in touch at half-time. The third term opened with McKernan
booting long into North's vast forward line where Carey outmarked
Sierakowski and popped it through, he booted a few more and McKernan
joined in as the Saints sank. Loewe was given a run on Carey
and Harvey was shifted to full forward in the last quarter, but
it mattered little.
Leaving aside Carey (27 disposals,
14 marks, 6 goals) every North move worked perfectly. King played
on Aussi Jones on the wing and beat him, Martyn stopped Loewe
at CHB, Stevens kept Harvey relatively quiet. McKernan played
his best game for the season, taking the ruck honours from Everitt
and bagging 3 goals as well, Everitt didn't kick any as McKernan
followed him everywhere. Simpson, Bell and Grant (3 goals) played
well in a winning midfield, Archer was great at full back again.
Abraham finished with 5 goals. For St. Kilda Burke (28 possessions)
and Thompson (22) weren't bad. Harvey had 26 disposals but wasn't
so damaging, Mitchell had a good first half. He, Winmar and Heatley
kicked 2 goals each. Stan Alves acknowledged his team were flat
and due a bad one "but you don't want your bad ones to be
66-point drubbings. That's a real concern...we're a better side
than
that but to capitulate like that
was ordinary." Pagan said "That's the first time for
a long while we've been able to pick the back six we've wanted,
knowing they were match-hardened (they WANT to pick McCartney?)...that
was significant, it gave us some stability." Den went on
to say Carey was outstanding "despite being under difficulties
physically." Sure, Den.
At Princes Park:
Footscray 2.2 3.3 6.5 12.11.83
Melbourne 3.1 5.2 7.6 9.11.65
Apparently there's something
on called the 'World Cup' which is supposed to be the planet's
supreme sporting contest. Frankly I doubt it could serve up anything
with the passion, intensity, skill and absorbing human drama
of a Bulldog/Demon clash at a windswept, half-full Princes Park.
Spectators shivered and suffered through three quarters of scrappy
rubbish before the Dogs worked out a functional forward line
to see them home. In selection the Puppies lost key centreman
Romero with fractured foot - he wasn't dragged last week
after all, apologies - and replaced him with Alvey. The Demons
had Farmer and Shanahan return from suspension and Hopgood and
Ingerson back from injury, out went Smith, Smoker, Cockatoo-Collins
and Bishop.
Main highlight of the first quarter
was players belting each other. Dimattina whacked Anthony McDonald
(Melbourne's first goalkicker), Viney clobbered Dimattina and
a few others, so it went. Of course everyone got on with the
game 'cause this is Australian football, not wimpy soccer where
you collapse as if shot if someone slightly brushes against you.
That's a game for Essendon, obviously. Err...yes...Minton-Connell
kicked a goal in the first term, the only stat he and Cook were
to record between them. Players fumbled, handballed to no-one
in particular, kicked brilliantly to the opposition. Melbourne
did have White winning in the ruck and Tingay using the ball
well. They threatened to kick clear in the third quarter with
goals to Bradly and Lyon, but a brace of majors for Grant kept
the Dogs in touch. The match was crying out for someone to take
charge and the Dogs seemed like they might early in the last
quarter. Wallace swung Croft and Montgomery into the forward
line and replaced tiring ruckman Wynd with Darcy. Goals from
Darcy and Garlick put the Puppies in front but the Dees refused
to surrender despite the losses of Grgic, Ingerson, Lyon and
McDonald all with hamstrings. Seecamp and McDonald, A., goaled
in rapid succession to put their side within 2 points. Rigoni
cleared the next bounce and kicked long, Lyon and Kretiuk wrestled,
fell and the ball hit the post. The Dogs raced the ball to the
other end where Montgomery marked and converted, Montgomery proceeded
to kick 2 more goals in the final 90 seconds to give his mob
a comfortable scoreboard win.
Grant was probably Footscray's
best, holding 12 marks in the difficult wind and booting 3 goals.
Running wingers Johnson (27 disposals, 2 goals) and Dimattina
(20 possessions) were good, Wira got touches while keeping Farmer
quiet. Croft and Montgomery played well in defence before their
crucial last-quarter forward stints, Montgomery the hero with his 3 late goals. For Melbourne
Tingay had 22 possessions but only 9 were effective, according
to the paper. White defeated Wynd in the ruck and had 9 marks
and a goal, Leoncelli tagged West out of it and had 21 touches
himself. Rigoni and the violent Viney also played well in the
middle, as did Anthony McDonald who kicked 2 goals. Bradly also
kicked 2. "All credit to the Western Bulldogs (sic)...but
I couldn't be prouder of our blokes," said Daniher. "It
was a scrappy old affair, but from an intensity point of view
I thought we gave all we could, until we ran out of players."
Wallace said "We certainly didn't play well and I wouldn't
say Melbourne played well either...it was a hard day at the office...it
was a very important game for us, simply to get back onto the
winners' list going into the break."
At the Gabba:
Brisbane 3.3 4.6 4.9 6.13.49
West Coast 3.3 4.4 6.6 11.10.76
The honeymoon is over for Roger
Merrett as the Eags got back to what they do best - boring the
life out of everyone. In fairness they weren't helped by the
officials, who awarded 50 free kicks and continually halted play
or the steady drizzle which makes the Gabba, more then most grounds,
extremely slippery. The Lions recalled Bradshaw and Black at
the expense of Bartlett and Brett Voss. The Eagles lost Gardiner
and Lovell injured and dumped Sikora, in came Phil Matera, Worsfold
and a first-gamer, Andrew Williams from South Belgrave in the
beautiful Dandenong Ranges.
A promising first quarter, Bradshaw
kicked the first goal after recovering from a marking contest.
An early blow for Brisbane when Al Lynch tore his hamstring chasing
the leading Gehrig. Gehrig played on and booted long for Heady
to mark and convert. Banfield snapped a great goal, White got
one for Brisbane. Tight second term as defenders controlled the
game, McKenna and McIntosh did well for the visitors despite
Bradshaw's early goal. Dickfos and Lawrence, on Heady, were winning
for the locals. An early goal from the Eags in the third quarter
put them in front, then a bit of umpiring controversy helped
them out. Read marked 50m out, Lawrence smothered his kick but
umpire Nash decided Lawrence'd gone over the mark. A 50m penalty
and easy goal ensued. Brisbane were bombing towards Bradshaw
and White, making things easy for McIntosh and Waterman. Goals
in the last quarter from Read, set up by Cousins, and a great
Braun snap expanded the Weegles' lead to 20 points. Johnson broke
the Lion goal drought but further majors from Cousins and Heady
secured the points. Williams had an eventful debut, being reported
for tripping Hart and kicking a goal in the space of a minute.
West Coast used the ball better
midfield. Peter Matera, on half-forward, had 28 touches and kicked
a goal and centreman Kemp did well with 23 possessions. Morrison
(19 kicks) and Cousins were good. McKenna played well at the
back, the in-form Waterman kept White to 1 goal while having
20 disposals himself and McIntosh was handy at full back. Two
goals each for Read and Heady. Speedy Akermanis (26 disposals) and battling Hart were excellent
for Brisbane. Dickfos (on Donnelly) and Lawrence played well
in defence, Brad Scott had 19 touches at half-forward, Bradshaw
kicked 2 goals. But they couldn't crack the Eagle defence in
the second half. "Our first half was very good," said
Merrett, "and we were in a position at half-time to win
the game. We started to get a bit lazy and those things hurt
you against a quality side." Malthouse asked journos to
type slowly 'cause his players can't read very fast. "I
wouldn't say it was a good game...we were disappointing last
week and the proof of that was in our footy tonight." He's
a hard man.
At Football Park:
Adelaide 0.1 5.5 6.7 9.14.68
Hawthorn 2.4 2.5 4.11 4.11.35
The expected win for the Crows
although they had to work for it in teeming rain and gale-like
winds at Foopall Park. The game reminded me of that Crow/Hawk
one 3 years ago, played in similar conditions where McLeod kicked
the winning goal right at the end. Think it might've been McLeod's
first game. This Adelaide side didn't have McLeod, out with a
thigh strain, and Pittman was missing with a knee. Johnson was
selected but was a late withdrawal with an injured driver. Should
buy one of them "Big Berthas". Replacements were Sampson
and Perrie. Hawk Dunstall is delaying a decision on his future
and aims to play in round 22 after breaking his collarbone last
week. Chapman and Tallis were dropped, in came Croad, Barker
and new player Matthew Dennis from VAFA side Old Brighton.
Hawthorn had the wind first and
managed a couple of goals, from Holland and Harford while the
Camrys struggled in the elements although holding Hawthorn to
2 wasn't bad. The Hawks concentrated on defence in the second
quarter but Rehn dominated, Jarman goaled from a good lead, James
got one and Ricciuto snapped a brace. In the third Holland goaled
early for the Hawks after a free against Caven for 'bawl' which
upset the locals. The Camrys got a key anti-wind goal when Ellen
marked Rehn's dying punt. Hawk Krummel pounced on a throw-in
and whacked a wind-assisted goal, the same long-bomb tactic was
tried twice in the next minute but brought only rushed points.
In the last quarter Hawthorn packed the back-line and regularly
headed for the boundary as though they were in front. No-one
could understand it including the TV men, amongst them retired
Hawk John Platten. "The Rat's spewing", said Neil Kerley,
which cannot have been true . It's common knowledge that rats
are unable to vomit. Perhaps Plats had dribbled some of that
lovely Adelaide water. Eventually Edwards goaled from a free
after Dixon tackled him high. Jarman manufactured left-foot
grubber goal. Perrie kicked the last goal of the match from a
very soft ruck free. Nine more minutes of thrills 'til the merciful
siren.
The Crows had too much skill.
Rehn shaded Salmon in the bounces and dominated general play
with a mammoth 32 disposals and 9 marks - outstanding for a big
bloke in the wet. The midfielders all did well, James (23 touches,
a goal), Bickley (30 disposals), Ricciuto (2 goals) and Koster were all about. Jarman had
17 kicks and 2 goals, Ellen did well at both ends of the ground
with 16 kicks and a goal. Defenders Smart and Goodwin were also
good on the day. Holland threatened early for the Hawks before
being starved of opportunity, he had 25 touches and kicked 2
goals. Shane Crawford drove through the slop for 31 possessions
and there were handy contributions from Barker, Lekkas, Kappler
(20 kicks) and Kilmartin. But they weren't good enough. "They
(Adelaide) handled the conditions better," said Judge. "When
you've got a good skill level, whether it's wet or dry, you don't
lose it. They were a bit cleaner on a day when clean possession
was going to be pretty handy." Blight concurred. "If
someone had said you'd win by 5 goals in those conditions you
would have taken it. Probably ten or a dozen times a quarter,
we just handled it a bit cleaner than they did." The Crows
have crept quietly up the ladder.
At Subiaco:
Fremantle 4.2 6.6 6.7 10.9.69
Sydney 3.1 8.3 9.4 13.4.82
The Swans broke their duck against
Fremantle, although to those who'd seen Fremantle last week it'd
be no surprise. Freo went in a bit harder than last week, illegally
sometimes, but Sydney were a bit too good and had Plugger. Freo
made 6 changes from last week. Dodd was suspended 2 weeks after
pleading guilty to elbowing Broderick, Jones, Harding and Mann
withdrew with injuries and Dhurrkay and Bandy were dropped. In
came Brown, Chisholm, Godden, Carroll, Hunter and a new player,
Perth's Paul Maher. The Swans lost Roos and Barry injured, Barry
re-damaging his shoulder. Replacements were Ahmat and Mooney.
Lockett played his 250th game.
Entertaining first quarter, the
Swannies had Cresswell burning in the centre and worried Fremantle
for height, young O'Farrell kicked 2 first-term goals and Lockett
led, marked and dobbed one as well. Fremantle got on the board
when Norrish snapped a nice goal and Hunter kicked one from a
nice lead and missed a couple too. Bond did very well for them
and Maher got a few touches, he seemed popular with the locals.
Sydney established a bit of lead with the breeze in the second
term, O'Farrell and Lockett kiced more goals, Ahmat came off
the bench to slot one. The match started to get a bit spiteful,
Docker Holland KO'd Filandia with a nasty elbow and was later
reported for whacking Cresswell, Swan Cook crashed into Sinclair
with a legal bump which Eade said later fired his team. Neither
Filandia nor Sinclair re-appeared. To cap it off Clement was
reported for wrestling with Warfe. Schwass's wobbly snap gave
the Sydney men a handy half-time break. Slogging third term as
a downpour made ball-handling difficult. Sydney had Mooney come
off the bench and play well across half-back, Dockers McGovern,
Parker and O'Reilly did well. Lockett kicked the only goal of
the term. Kelly set up another Plugger major early in the final
stanza and the Swans looked home, but the Dockers launched one
final assault. Callghan kicked an inspirational goal, kicking
truly from 40m on the boundary line after an excellent diving
mark and then Toia snapped
a goal to cut the margin to 7 points. But the Swans steadied
after some all-too-familiar Fremantle play. Toia won a free kick
deep in his defence and passed towards Maher, but put too much
on the kick and it sailed out on the full. Maher threw the ball
away rather than return it to the Swans, a 50m penalty and Schwass
had an easy goal. Lockett kicked 2 more goals to finish it before
some late consolation goals for Norrish, who'd been battered
around and ended the game concussed, and Brown.
Once again Daryn Cresswell was
the engine that drove the Swans, he had 28 disposals although
no goals this week. O'Loughlin showed some pleasing form, given
the unusual role of running with the opposition's resting ruckman
he had 14 touches and a goal. Lockett bagged 6 goals from 7 marks
although he also missed 3 times, O'Farrell booted 3 early goals.
Dunkley and Mooney were winning key defenders. Schwass kicked
2 goals. Kelly needed 15 cortisone injections just to get on
the field, said Eade. But he'll be OK after a weeks' rest. Kelly
was beaten by Chris Bond, who had 24 possessions in the centre.
Other Dockers to do well included Maher who took some strong
grabs and kicked a goal, Toia (26 touches, a goal), Norrish (23,
2 goals), Callaghan (28, a goal) and half-back Kickett. Carroll
also did reasonably. Norrish was the only multiple goalkicker.
Neesham said "The boys tried hard but we're way off any
reasonable form. I think both sides are in pretty ordinary form.
The game didn't reach any great heights." Eade responded
"Not having beaten Fremantle wasn't an issue. We just wanted
to win and get our season back on track...But we're still a fair
way off our form from the start of the season. The break has
come at just the right time for everybody."
At the MCG:
Collingwood 1.5 5.10 6.10 10.11.71
Geelong 2.1 3.2 6.6 9.7.61
Collingwood had the sort of win
which supporters enjoy as a bunch of raw kids stood up in the
place of injured or dropped regulars to break through. Geelong,
although hit by injury, are starting to look very ordinary indeed.
There's something about Ayres - he seems more like a suburban
bank manager than an inspired leader of men. The Pies went in
without key man Nathan Buckley, a late withdrawal with back and
hamstring problems. It'll take exactly one week to fix. Battling
veterans Wright and Osborne were axed along with Mangin and Wasley
and Russell missed with an ankle strain, Curran was out with
a foot. Michael and Richardson returned from injury, also in
were Wild, Mahoney, Liddell, Anthony Rocca and a new player Clinton
King, a rover from Sydney. The Cats had forward Hall return from
injury and recalled Milburn at the expense of Woolnough and Brockman.
A terrible windy, rainy day at
the 'G. The Pies experimented with their formation again, starting
Williams at the back and Mal Michael in a forward pocket. They
booted a stream of behinds early, Sav Rocca missing a couple
and so did Michael. Geelong had Kilpatrick winning the ball and
they got some early goals from Hall and Hocking. Collingwood's
first major came right before the first break when Monkhorst
took a pack mark 15m out. The Maggies fired in the second term,
Monkhorst and Scott Burns won in the centre and Williams drove
from the back line. Michael led, marked and kicked accurately,
Liddell snapped a good goal after McGrath was surely interfered
with, but no whistle. A. Rocca came off the bench to mark and
convert, a superb tap by Monkhorst at a throw-in allowed Crow
to kick a nice running major. It was the best piece of Collingwood
play for about 3 years. At half-time it was Ayres's turn to swing
his players about, for the third quarter Spinks went to CHB and
Mansfield to full-forward, Colbert went onto Burns. The Cats
kicked 2 early goals to start the second half, Barnes set up
a goal for their Ronnie Burns and Hall took a goalsquare mark
and converted to cut the Maggies' lead to 6 points. Sav took
a rare mark and majored for the Pies but Mansfield tightened
things again after a strong goalsquare grab late in the quarter.
Ronnie Burns snapped a sausage early in the final term to put
Geelong ahead by a point but the Pie ship steadied when King
passed to Michael who converted. Geelong went in front again
after Pie Brown was penalised for a throw, Corrigan kicked the
goal. Then the Scraggies pinched the lead back with a free-kick
goal for King after he was ridden into the ground - lucky, the
pass to him was poor. Ronnie Burns won the next centre clearance
and his long kick was marked by Hocking, he goaled and the Cats
led again, by 2 points. Exciting, eh? The Maggies wouldn't die.
Raso kicked a lovely curling snap to put Collingwood in front
once more and the match was sealed when Wild scooped up a loose
ball and speared it through from 30m. Was it just the TV angle,
or did Spinks stand there and watch him do it?
Buckley had 43 posses...oh, beg
your pardon, force of habit. Pie ruckman Damian Monkhorst rucked
all day, a real rarity, and did very well with 13 disposals,
24 effective hitouts and a goal. Scott Burns proved an more than
useful centreman with 22 touches and Williams played very well
as an attacking defender with 20 kicks. Crosisca was his usual
reliable self, youing Goden continues to show promise in the
back pocket. King had a handy Pie debut with 19 possessions and
a goal on half-forward. Patterson tagged Hocking and had 18 possessions.
Michael was their only multiple goalkicker with 2. Geelong had
few 4-quarter contributors, McGrath stopped the Roccas and had
16 possessions as well, Riccardi (22 disposals) and Kilpatrick
(30) played well in the centre. Bizzell provided some spark in
attack and Mansfield tried hard at both ends, Mensck again accumulated
touches in his patented following role. But he and Barnes were
beaten where it counts by Monkey. Hall kicked 3 goals and there
were 2 each for Hocking and Burns. None for Spinks, again. "They
(Collingwood) kept chipping away and working in a team aspect,
whereas we had too few winners on the day," said Ayres.
"There was a place in the top eight riding on today's peformance,
yet in the end we didn't want to take that position." Hmm.
Shaw said "I think we've got to go that way (with young
blokes) because we haven't won with other types playing there.
Maybe we're not going to be as talented but I think we've got
to go down that road. I said before the game that we wouldn't
have a problem with commitment and I thought it was fantastic
today." He dared mention finals. "We've probably got
to win six of the last seven..." |
