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 16
It's been Sheedy week, more than
ever. This week the Essendon coach led the Bombers into battle
for the 416th time, more than any other man. Dick Reynolds held
the previous record. And weren't we reminded of the fact every
single bloody moment of the day, on the TV, on the radio, in
the paper, everywhere. Kev's mum, it emerged, still barracks
for Richmond, Sheedy's club during his playing days. It reminded
me of that Irvine Welsh quote: "Changing your partner, that's
understandable but changing your team, that shows weakness of
character."
The simmering row between the
AFL and the MCC blew up just before the thugby last Saturday
night when the latter tried to force Channel Seven and SkyTVNZ
to sign a shared copyright deal over all material broadcast from
the MCG. Both refused and the Kiwis were promptly turfed out
of the stadium, Seven just managed to stay. There was also a
side-argument over "virtual advertising", computer-generated
ads which the TV folk can project onto inanimate objects (the
playing surface, stands, Scott Cummings) but the main issue is
the MCC's claim to a slice of the TV rights money for events
taking place at "their venue" - footy, cricket, rugby
included. In return the AFL threatened to move games, including
finals away from the 'G, something they suggested earlier in
the season too. The MCC's actions are a response to an approaching
stadium glut. Post-2000 we'll have the MCG, Docklands, Princes
Park and (possibly) Waverley in Melbourne, plus the big Olympic
Stadium in Sydney where the AFL has already signed an agreement
to play a minimum 6 games a year. And Jacko has mentioned a new
stadium going up in Cairns...
A couple of retirements during
the last fortnight, West Coast rover Tony Evans hung 'em up after
103 games with the Eagles, frustrated with continual hamstring
and back injuries. He was a key part of their premiership teams.
Collingwood man Chris Curran was also defeated by injury after
just 32 games. And apologies to Michael O'Loughlin, it was he
who won the Fos Williams Medal as SA's best player last week,
not Matthew Robran. They're hard to tell apart, apart from the
fact that one of them is an Aborigine.
At Football Park:
Adelaide 6.1 7.3 11.4 16.5.101
Carlton 1.6 8.7 11.7 16.9.105
Terrific win for the Blues, 6-1
against with the bookies but they thoroughly deserved every point
of this and perhaps a few more. I even found myself barracking
along with Robbo - bloody hell. The Crows played arrogantly and
got what they deserved. It dampened the return of their pin-up
full-forward Tony Modra from a knee reconstruction, full back
Nathan Bassett also returned, Perrie and the struggling Tregenza
were dropped. The Blues were bolstered by the returns of Bradley,
Full Back Of The Century and Manton; Nelson, Dean and Hulme made
way. Ang Christou managed a half in the reserves after missing
nearly 2 years with a back problem.
Carlton opened in familiar style,
dominating the opening minutes but missing 3 easy shots (Camporeale
twice, Brown once) before Crow Smart converted a set shot. Adelaide
lost Bond with a popped shoulder but it hardly seemed to matter
as slick football saw further goals come from Ricciuto (at full-forward)
and Edwards while Carlton kicked more behinds. Whitnall opened
the Blues' goal account with a running shot from the boundary.
But the Cows piled on three late majors, an arrogant running
checkside from Ricciuto, a downfield free for Rehn and a Bickley
shot to take a comfortable lead into the first break. Things
changed dramatically in the second quarter. The Blues belted
the Crows around packs where Brown, Ratten and Bradley were dominant
while Murphy picked up a bucket of kicks as a roving backman,
Kouta (on Robran) and FBOTC won the key defensive possies. Pearce,
Camporeale and Ratten goaled in rapid succession, then Whitnall
took a strong grab. His kick drifted through to cut the locals'
lead to 2 points and was greeted with wild cheering, because
Modra came on for his first run at the same time. But on surged
the Blues, they led after Allan's tap-through and a poor Camry
kick-in saw Murphy extend the lead to 10 points. Crow fans wet
themselves when Modra out-bustled Manton to mark Smart's attacking
punt and duly convert, but Bradley cleared the next bounce and
Whitnall goaled after another good mark.
Hamill opened the second half
with a goal for Carlton, but the Camrys responded with the next
four. Modra shepherded the ball for Goodwin to kick the first,
Robran marked and goaled, then the returned Modssiah put the
Cows back in front after a mark, FBOTC electing not to contest.
Rehn bullocked clear at the next bounce and Ricciuto gained full
points, Adelaide by 9. There followed a rugged scoreless spell
before a Parkin move paid off. Beaumont replaced Pearce at the
focal point and immediately kicked a goal, then set up another
for Manton. Beaumont goaled again early in the last quarter,
after Camporeale had given away a free which wasn't paid although
the ledger was squared within a minute, a Hamill goal disallowed
due to a rubbish free for Caven. Two more goals for Allan, a
long bomb and an easy one created by Whitnall’s mark and
handpass, and the Blues led by 21 points. It began to dawn on
the Camry players and their supporters that they might lose.
Modra was removed for big Marsh and Ricciuto and Bickley lifted,
the Camry skipper snapped one. Ratten replied with a miraculous
left-foot snap, but Crow Thiessen goaled and then Bassett did
too, his first in the AFL from a free awarded for a soccer-type
"dive" in the goalsquare. Carlton led by 8 points with
5 minutes left, then came a superb effort by Whitnall, juggling
the ball and snapping accurately off a step. The Camrys managed
2 goals after that but never seemed the winners.
Carlton's on-ballers won handsomely,
Bradley had 37 disposals in the centre and Brown (35 touches)
and Ratten (30, 2 goals) were excellent. Allan beat Rehn in the
ruck and drifted forward to boot 3 goals - Rehn didn't pick him
up. Lance Whitnall continues to look a very good player, he took
9 marks (7 contested) and kicked 4 goals, giving Caven a hiding.
Other good effeorts came from Murphy (34 touches and a goal off
half-back), Camporeale and Koutoufides, who did well at CHB.
Beaumont
kicked 2 goals. Adelaide's best
patches coincided with good play from Ricciuto (20 disposals,
3 goals) and Bickley (21 possessions, 2 goals), but they flashed
in and out. Hart and Smart played well in defence, Goodwin (12
kicks, 2 goals) and Ellen weren't bad. But they had few outright
winners. Modra and Edwards also kicked 2 each. Mal fumed. "Our
start was probably the most disappointing we've had and we kicked
6 goals...Carlton were terrific all night, they deserved to win
it...that's probably the most disappointing loss I've been involved
with. Our so-called name players were tested physically and strategically
and didn't do very well." Not a good loss with a tough run
ahead. Parkin said "It was obvious to me in the lead-up
over the last fortnight...that there was a very strong, right-across-the-board
focus. I knew we'd come to play and, once the game started, we'd
come to win."
At Kardinia Park:
Geelong 3.3 4.7 7.13 10.16.76
St. Kilda 3.2 7.3 9.7 15.10.100
First Saint win at the Cattery
for 10 years, on a rare sunny, windless day. Geelong's fourth
straight loss has them in real trouble now. The fact that Ayres
was pleased with his Cats' effort while Alves castigated his
men for peformance that was "not up to scratch" says
a bit about both of them. The plodding Cats axed Lowther, Roberts
and Corrigan but had Stoneham back after his hernia operation
and recalled teenage ruckman Steven King from a lengthy spell
in the reserves. Hamish "Homer" Simpson was also given
a chance. After three weeks of fielding the same side the Saints
lost goal-kicking rover Mitchell with 'flu and dropped Lappin,
in came ruckman Cook and forward Traianidis.
A tight opening, the Cats had
Hocking alight in the centre and Hall did well in attack, McGrath
won kicks at the other end. Colbert picked up Harvey and Stoneham
started at CHB on Loewe, the Saint playing his 250th game. The
Saints moved clear in the second term as Everitt drifted forward
and kicked a couple of goals. Geelong again couldn’t find
a forward, Spinks playing like a sunken barge. St. Kilda were
four goals up and cruising in the third before the Cats mounted
a comeback, Riccardi began to dominate on the wing while Hocking
continued to work furiously. But there were plenty of misses
too, especially from Snell and Milburn. Just before the final
change Stoneham tapped the ball over to Riccardi and was clobbered
by Loewe, Riccardi ran on to goal and Loewe was reported, the
Cats went to the break filled with outrage. They charged forward
early in the final term, Hocking kicked long where Snell gathered,
steadied and missed from 25m. Moments later Burns also kicked
a behind from a set shot, 20m out directly in front. The Cats
were only 4 points behind, but the Saints got the next two goals,
from Heatley and Everitt. The Cats pressed on but St. Kilda answered
every challenge, Everitt dominant in the centre.
Commentators continue to wax
lyrical about Everitt, here the Saint ruckman had 24 disposals,
took 11 marks and booted 4 goals, Stan wished he had two Spiders.
Harvey (34 disposals), Burke (25, a goal) and Tony Brown held
sway midfield. Peckett did well running from defence, Heatley
bagged 4 goals and Loewe kicked 2 - his only contribution besides
the report. Buddha Hocking ran himself into the ground in having
37 touches and a goal, although some questioned whether Hocking
was given the ball too often by teammates. Snell was busy in
attack but kicked 1.4. Riccardi had 16 kicks and 2 goals on the
wing and McGrath played well in defence. Bizzell was handy and
may take mark of the year one day. "We didn't kick the goals
we should have kicked when we had them under pressure,"
said Ayres. "Our decision making and some of our skills
enabled them to get the ball back...I think we handed them the
win rather than them being better on the day." Stan concurred.
"I said to the players it's important to understand that
(we won here) and that's wonderful...but we mustn't delude ourselves
because that type of performance is not up to scratch."
At the MCG:
Melbourne 4.2 7.5 11.6 16.10.106
Fremantle 5.2 7.3 10.5 13.5.83
Good win for the Dees, fighting
off the tenacious Dockers who got to slag the umpires again as
a late, soft free sealed their fate. Fremantle coach Neesham
is under some pressure with rumours about his imminent replacement,
he's conceded finals this year: "It's pretty unlikely we're
going to make it with a bad percentage and having six and ten."
More stars returning here, for Melbourne David Neitz was back
after a broken ankle in round 3 and Jim Stynes returned from
a knee strain, Cockatoo-Collins also got a go. Out went defender
Brown injured, Kowal and Bradly were dumped. Fremantle made their
familiar bundle of changes. In came Wills, Feddema, Mann, Waterhouse
and Dhurrkay (50th game). Holland got 2 weeks for whacking Filandia,
discarded were Hunter, Anderson, Koops and Brown.
Gerry threw his coaching manual
out the window early as Fremantle indulged in long direct kicking
into their forward line, Callaghan and Norrish did well in the
middle, Waterhouse was busy in attack and Callaghan and Toia
kicked long goals. The Dees' early goals came from Viney, who
kicked two in the first term, while Yze won his usual bundle
of kicks at the back. The Demons' half-backs, Ingerson, Stephen
Febey and Yze, got on top in the second quarter and they eased
clear as Neitz booted some majors and Robertson got one after
a poor turnover by Toia. Docker Callaghan kicked an important
goal right before half time. Garry Lyon started the second half
with a brace of goals as Melbourne threatened to burst clear,
but Freo clung on through the efforts of Toia, Norrish and Sinclair.
The Dees pressed on in the final term, Lyon steered through a
left-foot shot and Farmer came off the bench for his first run,
immediately hooking through a snap from the boundary. Melbourne
led by 29 points but Fremantle fought back with a couple of goals
from Maher and another to Burton, the margin was down to 11 points
with 5 minutes remaining. Melbourne got home through another
Farmer special, a chest mark running with the ball into a pack.
Lyon sealed it with a dodgy free against Carroll which attracted
Gerry's wrath.
Haven't mentioned Tingay much
but he was very good on the wing for the Dees, 21 possessions
and 2 goals. Yze (23 kicks), the brothers Febey and Ingerson
(7 marks, 13 handballs) were all good at the back. Lyon had one
of his better days, including an on-phone row with Daniher, to
boot 4 goals from 7 marks. Viney had 25 touches and kicked 2
goals, Neitz had a satisfactory return with 3 goals, Robertson
and Farmer kicked 2 each. Luke Toia played very well for Freo,
after a long spell in the Westar this year he finished with 30
disposals and a goal. Callaghan (25 touches, 2 goals) and Norrish
worked hard midfield, Kickett and Gale provided drive off half-back.
Waterhouse was dangerous early and finished with 15 touches and
2 goals, Maher kicked 3 goals and Clement got 2. Gerry said "They
had a few more legs at the end of the game (surely that's illegal?)
and took their opportunities better than we did. The first quarter
was very good for us but after that, their half-back line was
good. The difference between winning and losing is having your
forwards take those marks and we conceded too many contests…"
Daniher said "We always thought it was going to be a hard
game…We played a four-quarter effort and at the end got
away with a win. I don't know how many wins we'll need to make
the eight, but I do know nine is closer than eight."
At Princes Park:
Footscray 11.2 15.5 22.9 27.15.177
Brisbane 1.1 6.3 10.3 13.8.86
Roger Merrett's honeymoon ended
in a spectacular way, copping an absolute hiding from the Doggies.
The Dogs were strengthened with Romero, Ellis and Cameron returning
from injury, Tyson Lane got a chance. Out went Alvey (foot),
Southern (thigh), Brown and Minton-Connell (both dropped). Brisbane
lost Al Lynch (hammy), Black (finger) and Dion Scott (corky,
the only casualty from the State games), replacements were Bartlett,
Trask and ex-Fitzroy man Shane Clayton.
The Bulldogs' eleven first-quarter
goals created a new club record. They powered out of the middle,
Wynd and Darcy in charge in the ruck, West , Romero, Garlick,
Smith and Dimattina queued up to get the ball. Brad Johnson kicked
the first two goals, then Hudson kicked three in three minutes
? his first Doggy goals for three weeks. Half-forward Montgomery,
who had 12 disposals in the first term, joined in the carnage,
peroxide Cook snapped a freakish goal ? the Lions must've known
it was over then. Grant and Smith lined up for their goals. Some
lovely play saw Smith kick a running goal in the second term
but Brisbane got a look at the ball when Wynd was benched for
a rest, they managed to get some goals from midfielders as Chris
Scott, Hart and Ashcroft started to get the ball. But on went
the Dogs after half time, Grant had a purple patch in the third
quarter and Champion was shifted to the forward line, where he
ended up booting a couple of goals. Not much of interest occurred
in the final term, save a blue between Akermanis and Dent in
which both were reported for wrestling and Akermanis for striking
too.
May as well trot out the stratospheric
stats for the Pups. Brett Montgomery had 33 disposals, took 15
marks and kicked 4 goals, surely the most possession-heavy game
ever for a half-forward flanker. Grant had 27 touches, 11 marks
and 4 goals. Romero had 29 possessions, Johnson 24 and 3 goals,
Cameron 29 handlings, Smith 26 and 2 goals before being benched
in the final term with a thigh strain. Dimattina, West and Dent
all had 20+ diposals, Lane and Hudson also kicked 3 goals each.
Brisbane…well, Chris Scott had 32 touches and kicked a goal,
not bad considering, Ashcroft, Bamford and Robbins got a bit
of the ball. The paper has put defender Danny Dickfos in here
? in a team that conceded 27 goals, sure. Champion and Akermanis
managed 2 goals each. Merrett refused to be upset. "I don't
think it's a step back (more like falling down a mineshaft).
It proves they (the Bulldogs) are a quality side. If you look
at it player for player and pound for pound, we were undermanned."
Wallace enjoyed a rare easy day at the office. "Our release
of the ball was good. We didn't overuse it this week, recently
we've tried to be too fancy."
At Waverley:
Hawthorn 0.6 1.7 2.10 4.14.38
Collingwood 2.1 8.5 14.7 19.10.124
It's about this time every year,
after playing like arthritic camels for most of the season, that
Collingwood tease their supporters by pounding a few fellow strugglers
and giving the impression that they just might make the eight.
But they invariably don't. In this game Hawthorn could recall
Mark Graham and also picked Tallis, but lost Taylor and Chick
with 'flu and from the looks of it a few Hawks on the ground
were stuffed with virus as well. The Maggies got Buckley back
from a hamstring problem and recalled Tony Francis, the axe fell
on Tarrant and Anthony Rocca.
A dull opening gave little hint
as to what was in store. Hawthorn won plenty of possession through
Treleven and Lord but used it poorly, booting long towards where
Dunstall would normally be but either missing or seeing the ball
thumped through. Collingwood started with both Williams and Buckley
playing as half-backs, picked up by Woods and Shane Crawford
respectively. Watson kicked an early goal from a strong mark.
Hawthorn got an early goal in the second term but the Maggies
piled on the next six. Passes from Burns set up the first two,
for Monkhorst and Tony Francis, then Sav kicked 2 after marking
long bombs from Williams and Crosisca. Monkhorst, lurking in
the goalsquare, set up a snap for Watson, then Sav Rocca bagged
another. Buckley and Williams were rampaging from defence while
Crosisca and Brown ruled in the middle. Another straight six
in the third term, chifly from Watson and Sav still, killed the
game. Justin Crawford kicked the Hawks' second goal 30 seconds
before three-quarter time. The most significant event for Pie
fans was Buckley re-injuring his left hamstring, he's in doubt
for next week at least. Tony Francis kicked a nice goal in the
final term as the Pies accumulated percentage.
Paul Williams played very well
in his new defensive role, with 30 disposals he set up many a
goal. Burns (28 touches), Crosisca (18 kicks) and Brown did the
business over the poor Hawk midfield, their work was finished
off in attack by S. Rocca and Watson, who bagged 5 goals each.
There were also handy contributions from Mark Richardson at CHF
who grabbed 14 marks, Monkhorst who beat Salmon in the ruck and
kicked 2 goals and Patterson who won 24 touches as an orthodox
rover. Two goals also for T. Francis and Crow. The Hawkers…Shane
Crawford tried to lift his side when belatedly moved into the
middle, lanky youngsters Rawlings, Croad and Hay showed
a bit. Treleven was their highest possession winner with 27.
"We were just poor…very, very poor," opined Judge.
"It was certainly our worst effort for the year. We started
well but our effort and commitment failed from there." Shaw
began with "We're still in there." After everyone had
stopped laughing, he continued. "To beat a side like Hawthorn,
who should have won three or four more games, in that manner
was very good. We were intent (a misprint?). Our tackling and
hardness at the ball were great." Only need to win 5 of
the last 6…
At the SCG:
Sydney 5.5 6.6 13.8 18.10.118
Port Adelaide 2.4 6.10 8.12 12.12.84
Women, who make up a fair proportion
of the Swans' support, often enjoy entertainment which involves
both laughter and crying. They'd have been in their element here
as firstly skipper Paul Kelly wrecked his left knee in a spectacular
collision in the first quarter, then Plugger proceeded to bag
12 goals as the Swans romped away after half time. Port turned
on their usual away non-performance. In selection the Swans made
just one change, bringing back Roos at Green's expense. Port
lost Brown and Poole injured and dropped Heaver, in came Bode,
Burgoyne and former Swan Heuskes.
Good start for the locals, Plugger
bagged an early goal. Then Kelly did his knee, being hit from
all sides at once and upended. Full reconstruction is the prognosis.
Nicks ran down to kick a nice goal before Tredrea opened Ports'
account. Schwass moved to the centre after Kelly departed, he
passed for Lockett to major then dobbed one himself. After the
Schwatta goal, Tredrea cleared the next bounce and Eagleton snapped
a goal before Plugger slotted his third for the term. O'Loughlin
created a goal for Luff in the early second stanza but then Port
had their best spell. Wanganeen and Stevens won across the middle
and Lade performed. Consecutive goals from Stevens, Dew and Cummings
brought them close, then Wanganeen found Cummings with a long
kick and the lumbering sandgroper put Port in front on half time.
Things went from bad to worse for Sydney when Cresswell copped
a whack at the start of the third term and departed. But Lockett…Bruce
McAvaney has borrowed from the Gary Bloom school of commentating,
yelling to communicate excitement. He got to yell PLUGGER a lot.
First big Tone goaled from Maxfield's floated pass then O'Loughlin
was awarded a goal which Port defenders insisted was touched.
Then five straight to the omnipotent Lockett, three supplied
by passes from Schwass. The fourth in the sequence came from
a ridiculous free against Paxman for shepherding after Lockett
ran into the Port man, followed by a 50m penalty when the Flower
defenders protested. Port kicked the last two goals of the stanza
to keep themselves in it. Lewis kicked for Lockett again to open
the final quarter, then some hard running from Filandia allowed
Lewis to mark all alone in the goalsquare and blast it through.
Sydney led by 38 points, the Port corpse twitched briefly with
a goal for Heuskes and another after a terrific, courageous mark
for Wanganeen. But big Plug sealed it with two more, Maxfield
and Ahmat the suppliers.
Lockett kept the match ball,
the one he'd marked 12 times and kicked through the big sticks
the same number of times, and through the big and little sticks
just once. Schwass was great with 31 disposals and a goal himself
and young Crouch contributed in the middle, in the absences of
Kelly and Cresswell (who came back on at the end). Nicks had
a great game on his defensive flank and Maxfield was effective,
O'Loughlin and Roos were handy. Lewis kicked 2 goals, both in
the last quarter. Port captain Wanganeen battled to lift his
side with 19 touches and a goal, Tredrea continues to show his
talent although he often made poor disposal decisions. Not as
bad as Primus, who seemed to give the ball to a Swan every time
he got it. Lade did well in attack with 9 marks but he kicked
1.3, Dew (2 goals) and Francou weren't bad. Cummings also kicked
2 goals. Cahill said "I thought we played OK in the first
half and we could've been further up at half time. But the third
quarter was disgraceful, it was dumb football." He said
he'd "re-assess" Cummings's immediate future. Eade
said "That's the most courageous win I’ve been involved
with here. To have three leaders and three of your best players
off (Dunkley also went off with a corky) and to be able to do
what we did in the second half showed a lot of spirit."
At Subiaco:
West Coast 4.4 6.6 9.10 11.14.80
North Melbourne 3.2 9.8 11.12 13.16.94
A very handy victory for the
Roos over an injury-plagued West Coast, the highlight being Wayne
Carey taking Jakovich to the cleaners. Jako had signed a new
contract during the week for $1 million over 3 years. At the
moment he's worth about one one-millionth of that. The Weegs
were without suspended rookie Williams and injured Donnelly.
Replacements were White and Wooden. North brought in Crocker
and Rock to replace suspended McCartney and demoted Watt.
Carey commenced at CHF, opposed
by Jakovich, but something was clearly wrong with the giant Eagle.
An ankle, we were told later. After Gehrig kicked the opening
goal and more followed for Ball and Read, Carey helped set up
a pair for North and boot one himself. King threaded a Peter
Daicos special through, one of them skidding wrong-'uns. The
game was afoot early in the second quarter as the Wiggles lost
Kemp with a shoulder injury and Carey booted three consecutive
goals, the third a classic as he backed himself to handball ahead,
outrun the lumbering Jako and slot from 45m on the boundary.
Abraham snapped superbly and North led by 13 points, after they'd
trailed by 27 in the first term. Jakovich departed the battlefield
for the day, McIntosh went onto Carey. Worsfold won admiration
by crashing through the equally rugged Archer. Gehrig kicked
a running goal but Scott replied with a great effort for the
Kangas, goaling while running full tilt. Wooden didn't reappear
for the second half, thigh strain and Metropolis had barely started
before being concussed. Rock kicked another arsey dribbler to
open the third term, Abraham waltzed in for an easy goal and
North led by 30 points. But the Eegs ploughed on, Cousins kicked
a nice goal, Heady intercepted a handpass and kicked truly, a
Read major and North's lead was cut to 14 points at the final
change. Roo Harvey found Sholl for an early goal in the final
term but then White goaled and a Cousins handpass set up Symmons,
the Eagles trailed by 6 points. But try as they might they couldn't
get any closer, McKernan got the ball to King and his long kick
was marked in the goalsquare by Carey, outbustling McIntosh.
He converted and that was it. On the siren Carey walked over
to Jakovich, grabbed his legs and said "Get a bigger pair
of thighs, ha ha ha." Or maybe they just shook hands.
Carey took 12 marks, had 20 kicks
and snaggled 5 goals, not a bad afternoon away. Good to see he's
recovered from that debilitating injury of last week. King charged
forward for 15 kicks and a goal, Pike and Scott were also good
contributors. Stevens (21 kicks) and Bell battled well, Archer
recovered from his Worsfolding to play well at the back. Young
ruckman Hewitt was good. Abraham and Rock kicked 2 goals each.
For the Eagles Cousins ran aggressively and had 30 disposals
and a goal, Drew Banfield did well midfield too. Peter matera
was dangerous with 19 kicks before an ankle injury slowed him
at the end - he was parked in the forward pocket. Ball and Fewster
did reasonably as a rucking combination, at least around the
ground. McIntosh did reasonably well on Carey. Read and Gehrig,
who also finished the game injured, each kicked 3 goals. Mick
refused to blame injuries, although he supported the SOO 6-man
interchange. On the game he said "We estimate there were
11 occasions our players failed to capitalise on goal-scoring
chances." Fastidious. Pagan said "It was a big ask
to play at that tempo (in the second quarter) throughout. We
finished with our nose over the line."
At the MCG:
Essendon 6.3 7.5 10.6 14.10.94
Richmond 2.3 6.11 10.13 10.15.75
In front of a massive 83,773
on a sunny Sunday the Bombers did well, coming back from 20 points
down midway through the third term to run away and win, but geesus
it's bloody frustrating to be a Tiger fan. We had it won. Curse
of the White Shorts. At selection the Bombers dropped Bomford
and Doolan for Sean Denham and former Tiger Barry Young. Richmond
have lost Holland for 5 weeks with his shoulder, in came youngster
Ottens.
Pre-game there was more hoopla
for Sheedy's milestone, a car carrying Dick Reynolds and two
unidentified silver foxes toured the ground and the meedya swarmed
around the race. When the game began the Tiges slumbered again,
O'Donnell was smacked in the head early (not by Turner) and copped
another whack a minute later near the goal. The Bomber said he
was too groggy to take the kick and attempted to hand the ball
to Bewick (who else?), but the umpire insisted O'Donnell take
the shot. Good thing too, we said, but O'D handballed to Bewick
instead, who slotted it. A Lucas bomb sailed through, the busy
Bewick kicked a nice running major and Alessio manufactured a
goal for Mercuri from a throw-in, the Dons had 4 goals to none.
Ottens got the Tigers' first when he was allowed to lurk unattended
near goal, but Mercuri and Fraser extended the Dons' lead to
5 goals before Richardson marked and goaled right on the first
siren. A close and boring opening to the second quarter before
Long kicked a superb individual goal, gathering on the wing and
weaving away from Mick Gale before curving his left-footer through.
But Richmond took control after that as Campbell, Broderick and
Prescott did well midfield. Richardson began to mark everything
in sight but missed repeatedly before Broderick got on target
from a set shot. Richo finally kicked truly after a big grab
and Knights snapped a goal. Evans won a free 65m from goal just
as the half-time siren rang, he walloped a torpedo accurately
to tie the scores at the main break.
The Tigers carried on in the
third quarter. Richardson booted another, Campbell goaled after
marking unopposed just 30m out, then Richo chest-marked and converted
from point-blank, Richmond led by 20 points. We were home, I'm
tellin' ya. But then came a weird bit. Sheedy moved the excellent
Wellman back onto Richardson and Barnard came on. The Tiges started
to lairise and waste possession, Barnard forced a couple of turnovers.
Barnard kicked long where the ball took a very friendly bounce
for Lucas to snap a goal. Lloyd missed narrowly after a good
lead, then Bewick wobbled a kick forward where Turner spilled
the mark and Lloyd soccered it through. Lucas was awarded a mark
from a pass that travelled about 4 metres, he shoulda had a 50m
penalty too after being slung by Bulluss. But he kicked the goal
anyway and Richmond led by a point. Richardson gave the Tiges
a late buffer with another strange goal, the Essendon defenders
stopping and letting him mark following a poorly applied advantage
decision. The last quarter was all Essendon, Alessio and Mercuri
dominant in the centre. Lloyd goaled after a bustling mark and
Richmond led by a point, Lloyd put the Dons ahead after a mark
and 50m penalty against Turner. Lucas goaled after some neat
play from a throw-in, Mercuri sealed it with a long set shot.
Richardson had a shot after the final siren and played on. Intelligence
isn't his key quality.
Sean Wellman's outstanding season
continued at CHB (and later full back), he had 20 disposals and
took 7 marks, he was very good. Bewick had 27 possessions and
kicked 2 goals, solid effort and Mercuri was always a threat,
he had 15 touches and 3 goals. Hardwick was also very good at
the back with 19 kicks. Young contributed with 24 disposals,
Long and Blumfield played nicely on the wings. Lucas kicked 4
goals and Lloyd got 3, they kicked 6 of the last 7 goals of the
match between them. Richardson was Richmond's entire forward
line, he took 13 marks and kicked 5.5, bringing his tally for
the year to 45.874. Campbell (26 touches, a goal), Broderick
(24) and Knights played well in the middle, Daffy had 19 kicks
and was effective. Bulluss played well in defence, on the resting
ruckmen. Gieschen said "We let them back into the game with
some silly turnovers and wasted possession. There was definitely
a Sheedy factor today, the Essendon players charged around and
threw themselves at the ball in their willingness to show they
were full-on." Sheeds the Munificent said "I'm just
really pleased we've put a couple of good wins together against
Port and Richmond, who were ahead of us. We had to do that. When
you lose narrowly to Adelaide and West Coast, it's very frustrating." |
