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 17
The month of July seems to drag
on forever and people get a bit silly. On TV yesterday, Channel
Seven's pregame took place from the Docklands stadium - currently
a pile of mud surrounded by concrete slabs - with all the folk
jokily wearing hardhats. Roberts turned to McGuane and asked
him to "polish my helmet later on". All we heard about
was the 6,500-seat restaurant. The best place to watch the game
from, a restaurant.
Free kick stats came out and
Footscray get the best deal, Port Adelaide the worst which came
as a surprise. Their supporters have been very quiet about it.
North received the fewest frees inside the attacking 50m and
coach Pagan wrote to umpire boss Peter Schwab to complain that
Carey got a raw deal from the men in white. Surely not, after
all Wayne never argues and is the fairest player around. It blew
up a bit in the absence of other controversy, but Wayne answered
in the best way possible on Saturday. The AFL and MCC have called
a temporary truce in their bickering, AFL boss Jackson casually
mentioned the Docklands could seat 65,000 "if necessary"
- this after we've been told for 2 years that 52,000 was the
absolute maximum. More stadium wars fought with natural fertiliser.
And apprently Essendon have bought The Age.
At Subiaco:
Fremantle 4.6 6.8 9.11 14.14.98
Adelaide 1.1 5.4 10.5 15.7.97
Or Fremantle vs. Ricciuto and
Jarman. A rugged, exciting, incident-packed encounter in which
the stretcher bearers collected as many possessions as any player.
The loss hurts the Crows who now face a difficult run home, they
would've pencilled in wins against the struggling Blues and Dockers
but have lost both by a total of 5 points. In selection Fremantle
regained Fletcher from his broken collarbone plus Dodd and Brown
from suspension, Feddema, Godden and Dhurrkay made way. Adelaide
won’t have Troy Bond until the finals, he dislocated his
shoulder last week and Ellen went to have his appendix out, Robran
was a late withdrawal with 'flu. Cook, Stevens and Thiessen were
dropped. Some handy "ins" in Connell, Pittman, Tregenza,
Johnson, Vardy and Perrie.
Fremantle dominated the first
quarter, the Cows once again being killed in midfield. They weren't
helped when Tregenza became the first of many casualties, retiring
with a torn calf. Dodd, Norrish, Callaghan and Toia racked up
the touches as the ball was locked in Freo's attacking half.
But as usual they delivered poorly to forwards and missed shots,
Norrish missed a sitter early and Callaghan kicked two behinds
after bouncing through the opening goal. Michael Brown stood
up at full-forward to take some grabs and kick 2 goals. A rare
Adelaide attack saw Jarman, left in space at full-forward, win
a free and goal. Freo answered immediately when a high kick slipped
through Maher’s hands and bounced off his scone, but Burton
was on hand to snap truly. Seconds later Maher landed from a
marking contest and his left knee bent in unnatural fashion,
he collapsed screaming in agony and was stretchered off. The
Camrys came back in the second term as Ricciuto and Koster started
to win the ball and Jarman did a bit. Sampson snapped an early
goal then Jarman kicked accurately after a lead. Toia became
the second Freo player to be stretchered off after his left leg
buckled during a tight turn. Dodd was off too, corky. A loud
farty noise wiped out the commentators (or it could've been Robertson's
normal commentary) as Jarman goaled from a Connell handpass,
the Crows trailed by 4 points. Fletcher, who'd replaced Toia,
goaled at the other end but a bad Freo kick-in handed Jars another
goal, back to 4 points again. Fun at the end of the half when
Jarman claimed a spectacular wrong-way mark just 25m from goal,
but the ump decided it was Docker Mann's. The replay suggested
play-on would've been the correct decision. Jars went mad, sprayed
phlegm all over the umpire and conceded a 50m penalty. In keeping
with fate the Dockers got a goal from the decision, to Waterhouse.
The second half began with Jarman
snapping on the full and the locals lapped it up. But soon the
omnipresent Ricciuto speared it onto Jarman's chest, he goaled.
Brown replied after a good mark, a flukey Jarman kick flopped
into Rehn's arms and he converted. Callaghan majored for Fremantle,
immediately Ricciuto charged out of the centre and planted it,
laces out, on Jarman's chest again. The margin was alternating
between 4 and 10 points to the Dockers. Time for the stretcher
again, now for the visitors when Kane Johnson was KO'd by Sinclair.
Ricciuto set up Jarman yet again to put the Crows in front for
the first time, Carroll was finally moved off Jarman and replaced
by Parker. Then it was Camry Caven's turn for a ride on the stretcher
after he camped under a hospital kick and was sandwiched between
Brown and Carroll. Jarman gave a goal away for Vardy and the
Crows led by 7 points, but a late mystery free to Carroll (now
forward) levelled the scores at the end of the 38-minute third
term. Chisholm kicked the first major of the last quarter, the
Crows had Modra and Smart in attack to help Jarman. Smart snapped
to put Adelaide in front by a point, but the Dockers got a 2-goal
break when Fletcher set up Kickett, then Crow Edwards' panicky
kick across goal went straight to Wills. Goals were swapped,
majors from Adelaide's Vardy and Jarman were answered by Brown
and a great effort from the superb Fletcher. Eventually the Crows
managed consecutive goals, from Modra and a high snap from Connell,
to edge ahead by a point. Callaghan missed a shot and levelled
the scores, then Waterhouse launched a long kick forward. Brown
was all alone 15m from goal but too exhausted to get under the
ball, it bounced through for a point and Freo led by it. There
were still 2 minutes left and Ricciuto once again passed to Jarman,
who marked on the 50m line near the boundary. His attempted torpedo
sprayed out on the full and there was much rejoicing. Right on
the siren Smart had a snap, the boundary and goal umpires conversed
before deciding it, too, went over on the full. Later replays
provided even more material for the over-gristed Adelaide mill.
Adrian Fletcher (27 disposals,
2 goals) was superb for Fremantle, especially during the last
quarter when he featured in every Freo forward move. His attack
on the ball and intelligent disposal were a delight. Norrish
and Callaghan (2 goals) won the midfield, in attack Brown did
well to kick 4 goals. Important defensive efforts came from Mann
at CHB, opposing either Rehn or Pittman most of the night, Bond
on Vardy and Clement, who held Smart to 5 kicks. Crows Ricciuto
(32 touches, 8 marks) and Jarman were twin BOGs, Ricciuto was
superb midfield, he assisted on 6 of Jarman's goals and was the
only Crow interested in going near a pack. Jarman booted 8 goals
at full forward and displayed all his wiles, although the Freo
fans will only remember his final shot. The two Crows had few
mates and therein lies their problem. Koster (13 kicks), Connell
and James weren't bad, Rehn contributed spasmodically and Bassett
was good at the back. Vardy kicked 2 goals. Blight said "It
wasn't an emotional loss like last week, but we came back after
Fremantle were good early and we could have won it with a bit
more luck." Adelaide's remaining games are home to the Saints,
Port and North and away to Geelong and the Eagles. Not the easiest.
Triumphant Gerry said "A lot of questions were asked about
this club during the week; some things that were said were totally
incorrect. We answered that innuendo in the best way possible,
we took a young group out there and answered it."
At Princes Park:
Carlton 7.6 18.8 25.8 29.11.185
Footscray 3.1 9.4 11.10 15.15.105
They're baa-aack. The Blues threw
out the form book, thrashing the ladder leaders in a truly awesome
display. What a tremendous pity they won't make the finals (although
they can if a ridiculous set of coincidences arise - perhaps
Johnny Elliott can set his chequebook to work). Amazing what
a bit of confidence does. Dogs had it too easy last week. Neither
side altered their winning line-ups from last week.
The tone was set early as the
Bluies charged out of the middle, Brown, Ratten and Camporeale
about while Ronnie De Iulio slashed the Bullies to pieces, collecting
11 touches and 2 goals in the first term. Pearce and Camporeale
also majored early as the Blues launched a physical onslaught.
Johnson and Darcy managed some early replies for the Dogs but
Carlton piled on three quickies just before the first break,
the ball slipping into their forward 50m and on between the big
sticks with unheralded smoothness. Footscray's only decent patch
came in the second quarter, after the Blues had kicked the first
two majors of the term. Wynd and Romero began to win some possession
in the centre and Grant fired at CHF, pulling down some marks
and kicking 2 goals, Darcy kicked one and the Bulldogs were within
4 goals. Carlton coach Parkin immediately switched HGFB onto
Grant, replacing Koutoufides, while the excellent Whitnall steadied
the locals with a pair of goals. Hudson goaled after a mark and
50m penalty against the late-arriving Franchina, who was reported
for the incident. Further bad news for Carlton when Pearce injured
his knee when kicking although his punt fell into the arms of
Hamill, the first of two goals in a minute for the young Blue.
Whitnall goaled again following a typical bullocking mark, Massie's
hookback found Manton for his second goal of the quarter and
Bradley capped off the marathon 40-minute stanza by threading
a magnificent shot from the boundary line, right in front of
the delirious Carlton Social Club. Pretty much an anti-climax
after that, the Blue faithful waxed lyrical about Whitnall as
he continued to star while Brown and Murphy had the ball on a
string. Bradley was so excited he actually did something involving
physicality, being reported for charging Romero.
Whitnall is the new star in the
Blue firmament. 11 marks (7 in packs) and 8 goals for the carroty
Blue. Kouta should watch and learn. Brown (39 disposals) and
Murphy (30) lorded it over the much-vaunted Doggy midfield. De
Iulio was quiet during the middle quarters, being benched at
one stage but his pace was a key, he had 21 kicks and 3 goals.
Hamill lurked for 4 goals and there were 3 majors each for Manton
and Bradley, McKay was handy in defence. The barely had a bad
player. The overrun Dogs got good games from West in the middle,
who shaded Ratten with 28 possessions, Grant tried all day but
kicked poorly for goal, finishing with 2.5. Winger Johnson and
defender Curley (2 goals each) boxed on. Hudson kicked 3 goals
and Montgomery played in spurts, he was also reported for charging.
"We pride ourselves on being competitive in all our games...The
disappointing thing is that we asked our supporters to fill the
stand here and pay their money and we presented that...,"
said Wallace. He conceded last week's easy win was part of the
reason. Parkin said "Last week and this week was the first
time since rounds 9 and 10 of 1996...that we've put together
eight quarters of committed footy. Seeing them (Footscray) demolish
Brisbane last week, we were a bit nervous." Smack those
Dons next week Dave and I'll buy a Carlton membership.
At Victoria Park:
Collingwood 1.2 4.5 6.11 9.11.65
West Coast 2.5 5.7 10.7 13.8.86
In contrast the goalfest happening
across town, the Eags had a less spectacular but no less meritorious
victory in the Last Ever Game At Victoria Park Part V. It was
their third straight win at Vic Park. Pie coach Shaw blasted
his men afterwards as their finals chances and probably his job
disappeared. He called on the Magpie board to settle his fate
quickly, a strange request. The Pies lost Buckley again with
his troublesome hamstring, Mark Richardson was a late withdrawal
with 'flu and Alex McDonald was axed, replacements were Wright,
Anthony Rocca and a new player, 18-year-old ruckman/forward Brent
Tuckey from Ballarat. The weakened Eagles were without Dean Kemp,
possibly for the rest of the year with a broken collarbone, Peter
Matera with a hip, the concussed Metropolis and Wooden with a
hamstring. Replacements were Lovell, Schofield, Williams and
Marshall.
A slogging game, not helped by
a soft and slippery surface and the boringly negative Eagles.
The Maggies had Tony Rocca start at full forward where he led,
marked and elected to pass in the first minutes. Typical of Rocca
Jnr. he was barely sighted thenceforth. Sav roamed about from
CHF and rover Crow was very busy, he kicked the Maggies' first
goal. Gehrig responded for the visitors, a later shot wobbled
off target but Fewster marked close in and converted. More tight,
scrappy stuff in the second term. Crow soccered his second goal
and a mongrel punt from Prestigiacomo raised the twin calicoes,
his first AFL goal. The Pies led by 5 points before Banfield
created a goal for Heady and Gehrig jabbed one through. Burns
replied for the Maggies but the Eagles benefitted after Pie Godden
kicked on the full, Banfield escaping Houdini-like from a pack
right before the middle break. The Wiggles went on to establish
a handy 29-point break during the third term, their backline
comfortably beat the Pie forwards while Schofield and Cousins
won it in the middle. Read goaled some excellent dogged play
and Phil Matera got one too, Cousins and Ball majored. Shaw switched
the excellent Schauble into the ruck and brought Mahoney off
the bench, key moves as the Magpies fought back. Mahoney kicked
a running goal and King snapped truly. Ball opened the final
term with a goal for the Eagles after the Pies allowed them to
get away with a string of slovenly handpasses. But Patterson
and Wild goaled, a terrific mark by Mahoney on the wing led to
a mark for A. Rocca 50m out and he drilled a low shot through,
the Pies trailed by 9 points. Then a crucial incident, Tony Francis
made to gather the ball on the wing but his moulded-sole boots
slipped away, the Weegs pounced and sent the ball forward where
Banfield slotted a steadying goal. And that was that.
Solid team performance from the
Eags, especially their "lesser lights". Cousins (24
touches, a goal), Braun (23 disposals) and Schofield (27 possessions)
stood up in the absences of Kemp and Matera. Old hands McIntosh,
Jakovich and Waterman held the back steady, the Roccas managing
1 goal between them. Fewster again played well in the ruck, having
26 disposals. Banfield kicked 3 goals and there were 2 for each
of Ball, Read and Gehrig. Pie CHB Andy Schauble played very well,
12 marks and 20 possessions while Crow had 27 touches and kicked
2 goals - the Pies' only multiple scorer. Williams again drove
from the half-back line with 24 kicks although his opponent,
Banfield, did OK. Burns played well and Michael was good at full
back, Prestigiacomo played his best game in a Pie guernsey. Shawry
fumed. "I was disappointed in our discipline today - or
lack of. I've just ripped in to them about the stops they're
wearing, I ripped into them all. Twice as many turnovers, you
give that to West Coast and you're going to lose the game."
On Francis's slip he said "It killed us...it's a little
bit his fault because he's a professional, you've got to know
what boots to wear." Malthouse said "It was a struggle
because the ground didn't lend itself to great footy...it's a
very moving surface (yep, I've often cried at Vic Park). We're
clinging on. We've done it hard every win we've had." He
even expressed nostalgia for the suburban haunt. "I love
the people, I find them fantastic...it brings back the feral,
suburban stuff you had at Moorabbin, Windy Hill and Arden Street."
Yeah, it was great...
At the MCG:
North Melbourne 5.4 9.8 12.14 22.20.152
Melbourne 2.4 7.6 11.7 13.9.87
Don't look over your shoulder. North are coming. The power Roos put the
Demons back into their place and sent them tumbling out of the eight,
Carey playing his third consecutive blinder. In picking the teams Roo
Archer copped a 2-week suspension for an "attempted trip" on Gehrig last
week, Longmire returned from injury. The Demons brought in Kowal to
replace Cockatoo-Collins, later Hopgood withdrew with a calf injury,
replaced by Johnstone.
Carey, opposed by Ingerson, was
at it from the start booting 3 goals in the first quarter on
the back of stirling work from small men Scott and Harvey. Pickett
planted two huge bumps on Tingay and Johnstone, sending both
from the field. Shannon Grant was also about, booting an early
goal. Melbourne got goals from Neitz and Farmer. Carey slotted
his fourth early in the second term and Ingerson was done, Shanahan
got the impossible job. Grant kicked another major but the Dees
fought back, Viney and Leoncelli got some touches, a couple of
goals each from Neitz and Lyon and the Dees were back in it.
Neitz kicked another goal early in the third term to nose the
Dees in front. North edged 4 points clear again and a tense,
scoreless spell ensued before Carey broke the deadlock. But the
young Dees held in there, goals from Matt Febey and Farmer keeping
them in touch at the final break. The Roos are probably the best
finishers in football. King charged forward early in the final
term and bombed a long sausage, Stevens and Rock got on top in
the middle and Carey proceeded to pocket another 3 majors as
the Kangas galloped clear to give the Dees a nasty pasting.
Carey had 21 kicks, 12 marks
and dobbed a lazy 8 goals...he didn't get any frees and conceded
one, as if it mattered. Pagan mustn't have much to do during
the week. David King collected 17 kicks on the wing and kicked
2 majors, veteran midfielders Stevens and Rock were handy. Grant
fed off Carey to kick 5 goals and there were good games from
half-backs Pike and Blakey, Mark Roberts gave a decent following
performance. Matt Febey performed well for the Demons with 20
disposals and 2 goals and Tingay returned from his early whack
to play effectively, but the other Dee midfielders struggled.
Neitz troubled the Roos for three quarters until supply dried
up in the last, he kicked 4 goals and Lyon lurked 3 goals. White
rucked well and took a typical speccy. "We were pretty good
until three-quarter time, but weren't able to sustain the intensity,"
said Daniher. On the finals, he reckoned "I think we're
ready to be a top-eight side. We've got five more games and I
think we're good enough to fall into the bottom half of the eight."
Hmm. They've got Brisbane, Carlton, Sydney and Richmond at home,
Port away. Pagan said "We don't often talk about the six-day
turnaround but probably the hardest one is coming back from Perth.
It looked for a while in the third quarter it was nip and tuck
but our spirit and commitment couldn't be denied...".
At Football Park:
Port Adelaide 8.0 12.4 15.5 18.11.119
Hawthorn 6.2 10.3 11.7 15.8.98
Port were forced to work by a
depleted but committed Hawthorn on the Football Park ice rink.
Port finally axed the confidence-depleted Cummings and also dropped
Burgoyne, they regained Chalmers and Naish from injury. Interested
to hear that Cummings didn't play full-forward in the SANFL,
the Port Magpies preferring AFL reject Scott Hodges while Cummings
played on a flank. And this is the system the AFL is trying to
force on Victorian clubs. Six changes for Hawthorn, Shane Crawford
and John Barker were suspended via video during the week, Tallis
withdrew with a calf strain, Dennis, Kilmartin and Daniel Harford
were axed. In came Obst, Brad Lloyd after a broken ankle, Chick,
Taylor, Hassall and Richard Vandenburg.
Open early and Port's perfect
shooting kept them in front. Goal-for-goal early, Wanganeen was
an early factor and Lade did well at CHF, he set up Wilson and
kicked a goal himself. Salmon drifted into attack for the Hawks
to kick their first two goals, but Port skipped clear with the
next four, including a superb running left-footer from Eagleton
- his specialty - a professional shot from Breuer and Francou's
free for an unseen off-the-ball incident. On 16 minutes Wanganeen
departed with a hamstring strain and Hawthorn booted three consecutive
goals, from Holland, Krummel and another from Dixon when he marked
Holland's blind snap. Port closed out the long term with another
exemplary left-foot shot from Eagleton. Port skipped 4 goals
clear midway through the second stanza but the Hawks ground back.
Hassall had quitened Eagleton, Treleven and Taylor did a bit.
Holland goaled and Chick led out from full forward to dob another,
but Port surged again with a running goal for Breuer and a dribbler
from Naish, just off the bench. Chick kicked 2 more goals in
the minute before half time, the Flowers copped much abuse from
Cahill over them. Tense third term, after early goals were swapped
both sides struggled to score and Port looked a tad nervous as
they were unable to break the Hawk defence, even though their
own back half was holding well. The deadlock was broken in an
unlikely and dubious way, full-back Paxman ran down to be awarded
an extrememly doubtful one-handed mark in the goalsquare. He
majored. Moments later Kingsley goaled after some nice play swept
the ball from CHB to the forward line and the Port supporters
relaxed. There was still work to do as Hawthorn were within 14
points for much of the final term, Justin Crawford dobbing a
pair of goals, but Dew and Eagleton sealed it.
Heard the 5AA wrap-up in the
car afterwards. Port players were awarded mark of the night,
goal of the night, play of the night and Port players received
all of the 3-2-1 votes. Ah, reminds me of the old 3GL. Kingsley
played very well for them with 19 kicks and a key goal, also
7 tackles. Eagleton was lively besides a quiet second term and
booted 3 goals, midfielder Wilson (23 touches) and big CHF Lade
(10 marks, 2 goals) were useful contributors. Heuskes showed
improved form in defence and thunder-thighed Dew played an excellent
final term, he kicked 3 goals. Two sausages each for Francou
and Breuer. Hawk ruckman Salmon put on a good display in the
ruck against Primus, managing 22 touches, 10 marks and 2 goals,
Holland bagged 5 goals from 7 kicks in attack. Treleven had 28
disposals but as per usual wasted too many, Taylor battled hard
and Lord had an amazing final term in which he had 12 possessions.
Hassall played reasonably at the back and Chick threatened briefly
with 3 goals, Justin Crawford kicked 2. Judge said "When
you're coming off a loss like we had last week and are coming
here, which is a tough place to win, against a very competitive
side like Port, it would have been easy to drop away or fall
off the pace…but to our players' credit, they battled on
pretty well." Asked about the open start, he said "Aw,
I've listened to Neil Kerley and Malcolm Blight…I'm too
defensive, aren't I?" Cahill reckoned "We can play
a lot better. It was a scrambly old game…very skilful early
and a slog after half-time. We didn't have many players play
well, yet we won." He said North would "crucify"
them next week if they made as many defensive errors.
At the Gabba:
Brisbane 4.0 7.2 10.3 14.5.89
Sydney 5.7 11.12 15.15 22.11.149
Comfortable, professional win
for the Swans, allowing them to celebrate the 350th game for
Paul Roos and Wayne Schwass's 200th, although 183 of them were
played for North Melbourne. Can't be much motivation for the
Lions. Fitzroy's last skipper Brad Boyd was selected for only
his second Brisbane game and Carter, another ex-Roy, also came
in. Akermanis was suspended for biffing Dent last week and Chris
Johnson was dumped. Conformation during the week that Sydney
icon Paul Kelly faces a full knee reconstruction and up to a
year out, ruckman Greg Stafford returned from injury. Doesn't
he also play Davis Cup for South Africa?
Brisbane actually started well,
kicking the first two goals through Bradshaw and an excellent
long shot from Brad Scott. But the Swans were dominating general
play with oldies Schwass and Roos everywhere, Nicks was afield
and O'Loughlin had the ball on a string at half-forward. Only
their inaccuracy in front of goal kept the Lions in touch. Lockett
booted three in the first term, he was opposed by Justin Leppitsch,
normally an erratic forward. Two came from marks and another
after Lawrence spilled a mark in the goalsquare. The Swans moved
clear in the second term, Plugger only got one for the period
but there was a nice long goal for Filandia, an easy one for
Luff and another for Schwass. The meagre crowd was stirred before
half-time when Lappin snapped a goal from an impossible angle
and White majored after a nice grab. A closer third term as Champion,
switched to attack, kicked some goals while Kennedy and Dickfos
did better at the back, but the Swans bolted clear in the final
term, Roos kicking his first goal for the season and Lockett
bagging two more.
The men celebrating the milestones
were very good, Roos had 12 kicks, 17 handpasses and a goal as
he roamed about the middle third and Schwass gathered 27 kicks
and a goal. With Cresswell (33 touches), they controlled midfield.
Dunkley and Nicks (22 touches) were solid at the back and Maxfield
was good on the wing. Lockett finished with 7 goals, Lewis played
well as a half-forward and kicked 3 majors, there were two each
for O'Loughlin and Luff. Lion Chris Scott, who blasted the lack
of football culture in Brisbane after the Lions' thrashing last
week, played very well on his wing and had 29 disposals, Lappin
showed some nice touches with 18 kicks and 2 goals, Ben Robbins
wasn't bad. Kennedy and Dickfos weren't the worst in defence.
White kicked 4 goals and there were 2 each for Champion, Hilton
and Bradshaw. "All our games are hard from now on,"
is the only quote I can find from Merrett. The Lions' last two
performances can't have helped his prospects of keeping the job.
Eade reflected on the loss of Kelly. "There was an air around
at training, that 'Well, he's gone. Let's move on to the next
step.'" He paid tribute to Schwass ("He gets a lot
of criticism from the Melbourne media") and Roos.
At the MCG:
Richmond 2.1 4.4 7.6 10.7.67
Geelong 3.6 6.8 6.9 8.10.58
Richmond trudged to victory at
the drizzle-soaked 'G, slowly but surely shrugging off the goal-shy
Cats in a spiteful game. Tiger ruckman Justin Charles returned
after serving his 16-week suspension for illegal drug use last
year. A bit of jealousy in the ol' meedya, apparently Richmond
were "fortunate" to have a tall, fresh senior player
returning at such an opportune time. Yeah, that's right, it was
what we'd planned all along. Clearly North should've rested Carey
for the first two-thirds of the season too. They'd be much better
off. Chaffey was recalled from a broken cheek and Torney got
a chance. McKee, Ryan and Mick Gale got to kick the dew. Geelong
lost forward Hall with a broken hand and selected young ruckman
Brockman.
After four consecutive losses
the Cats had their season on the line, allegedly (I think they
crossed it last week) and came out snarling and jousting. Charles,
commencing in a forward pocket, was the target of some pre-bounce
physicality and Stoneham and Broderick were reported for biffing
each other. Cat Stoneham proceeded to tear his calf in the first
30 seconds, which didn't help his team much. The Tigers rushed
some early behinds before Charles flipped the ball to Daffy for
the first goal, Milburn opened the Cats' account. Charles then
held a good grab in the goalsquare from Broderick's kick and
greatly enjoyed converting, celebrating in World Cup-type fashion.
But the Cats were getting great drive from Kilpatrick, Bizzell
and Riccardi, Kilpatrick kicked a great running goal from the
boundary and Bizzell thumped a huge kick through from 55m. Riccardi
postered right on quarter time, his second point for the quarter.
Richmond improved in the second term, beginning with quick goals
for Evans, set up by a nice tap from Richardson, and Richardson
after a one-handed mark in the goalsquare. Scores were level,
Riccardi put Geelong in front again and was flattened by Evans.
Thereon Geelong focussed their verbal and physical aggression
on Evans. Precisely how they intended to worry a man who'd spent
5 years in the VFA is unclear.Tigers Broderick and Bowden wasted
chances, Daffy missed a difficult soccer shot when he had time
to pick the ball up. Geelong improved before half time and Bizzell
kicked a nice goal after a terrific wrong-way mark, then Bulluss
gave away a free and Colbert converted.
More verbals and (misplaced)
aggression in the third quarter, chiefly from Cats Hocking and
Mansfield and Tiger Bulluss. Richmond's midfield was on top now
but they struggled to find a way to score. Powell and Knights
missed badly while the Cats did little to enthuse. Late in the
term Gieschen moved Tiger CHB Gaspar to the forward line, a move
which paid off when Gaspar slapped the ball onto Barnes's boot
and saw it blob out on the full. Gaspar kicked a banana goal.
Evans majored from a free then Gaspar was awarded a highly dubious
free - the umpire was blind-sided (perhaps "sided"
is superfluous). The Cats complained bitterly as Gaspar put the
Tigers in front right on the three-quarter siren. But Geelong
weren't done, some good work from Snell allowed Riccardi to snap
a very good sausage early in the final term and they led again.
Richmond answered when Cat Rahilly dithered in the centre, Campbell's
tackle wasn't the best however the umpire allowed it and Evans
goaled. Geelong snatched the lead back after Snell marked Milburn's
tumbling kick. Moments later Knights won a free, Powell swept
up his kick and found Richardson alone in the pocket - Tiges
by 3 points. Powell sealed it after marking Prescott's blind
kick from a pack.
Tiger ruckman Brendon Gale did
very well against the combined Cat trio of King, Barnes and Mensch,
with 20 touches and 8 marks. Campbell (31 disposals), Daffy (19
kicks, a goal) and Rogers played well midfield. Gaspar was
excellent again, keeping Barnes goalless at CHB before switching
forward and kicking 2 vital goals. Turner didn't concede a goal
at full back against a variety of opponents. Evans lurked for
3 goals and Richardson managed 2. For the Cats Sholl had 29 possessions
running from defence, Clint Bizzell played very well at half-back
with 28 touches and snuck down for 2 goals, Sanderson ? another
defender ? was good too. Whither the forwards? Riccardi had 13
kicks and 2 goals from the wing, Colbert tagged Knights out of
it. King did well in the ruck, 16 touches and 10 marks. Hocking
spent most of the game arguing, wrestling and thumping people
although he also had 27 disposals. Ayres didn't get too upset,
again. "The belief in themselves was up a notch again from
last week, I've no problem with that…I don't know how many
times this year we've kicked 9 goals. It's a big issue, the conditions
didn't allow a focal point but it (the forward line) was a revolving
door again…maybe we have to look at the draft." You
mean you didn't look at it the previous 3 years, Gazza? Gieschen
said "It was certainly a tough, hard game. Geelong weren't
going to let us win, we had to fight tooth and nail all the way
to get it."
At Waverley:
St. Kilda 2.4 6.6 9.8 13.9.87
Essendon 3.3 6.5 12.6 14.6.90
Terrific tough, fast, exciting
game which signalled that the Bombers may at last be delivering
on their hype. Saint forward Stewie Loewe was duly suspended
for 3 weeks after his crude whack on Stoneham last week, Peckett
missed with 'flu and Traianidis was discarded, Mitchell returned
from 'flu and Hall and Lappin were recalled. The Bombers had
media star James Hird come back after his latest hamstring injury,
replacing the injured Heffernan. Mercuri and Cockatoo-Collins
were late withdrawals, replaced by Johnson and Moorcroft, the
latter booted 6 goals in the round 2 game against the Saints.
An even start, Sziller kicked
a nice opening goal but the Dons hit back when Denham passed
to Lloyd, then Moorcroft found Lloyd who unselfishly passed to
Long. Young was very busy early for the Dons, before going off
at quarter time with a corky, Misiti and Bewick were also about.
The Saints had Harvey gathering his usual bucket of touches.
St. Kilda improved in the second term and grabbed an 8-point
lead when Heatley was awarded a free for Hardwick's umpire abuse.
Hird came on for his first run, he set up a goal for Long after
Misiti's bomb and the Dons led by 12 points. Saint Hall's snap
gave the Saints a narrow half-time lead. Long departed the scene
with a hamstring strain. The Bombers pressed on in the third
term and their lead expanded to 22 points late in the third quarter.
Goal-for-goal early, Lloyd kicked a fantastic running goal after
some good play from Wellman and Hird set one up for Misiti, the
Sainters replied through Beveridge and a typical Everitt snap.
Bewick conned a free and gave the ball Barnard for an easy goal,
then Lloyd stretched for an excellent strong mark and Essendon
led by 4 goals. Back came the Saints, powered by Everitt and
Harvey. Andy Thompson scrambled a goal just before 3/4 time.
Into the final stanza and Everitt sucked Somerville into slapping
him right in front of the umpire, an easy goal and the margin
was down to 10 points. Winmar delivered to the leading Heatley,
4 points and after Darryl Wakelin kicked on the full, Brown's
shot put the Saints ahead. Essadun pinched the lead back after
Hird battled hard to win the ball deep in the forward line and
Bewick snapped truly, it was the Saints by 2 points again when
Healy handpassed for a superb long goal for Jones. At the next
bounce little Mitchell clobbered Hird, the free found Bewick
all alone and he put the Bombers in front again. That was the
last score, although plenty of physicality was dealt out in the
remaining seconds. Hird marked late on in the pocket after the
adrenalised Mitchell thumped Hardwick, but kicked out on the
full.
Must admit that Bewick had a
very good game, he had 19 kicks and potted 3 goals from half-forward.
Lloyd was very good also with 7 marks and 4 goals. Misiti finished
with 32 disposals and 2 goals, his best game for a while, Denham
copped plenty of physical pressure as he tagged Burke and had
22 touches. The Bomber defence was excellent, Wellman, Hardwick
and Berbakov were solid and Fletcher played an important role,
following Everitt all over the ground and limiting the giant
Spider's effectiveness. Blumfield was good on the wing after
unsuccessfully tagging Harvey, Long bagged 3 goals in the first
half. Hird was useful and survived the game. Harvey went on his
ball-winning way for the Sarnts with 36 disposals and Hudghton
slaughtered Alessio. Everitt inspired the comeback and kicked
2 goals and Young was good at the back on Hird, Winmar was heavily
involved and had 21 touches. Heatley kicked 3 goals and there
were 2 each for Brown and Hall. They struggled in attack, bombing
to where the absent Loewe would have been. "Thirteen goals
is a pretty poor return for something like 57 trips inside the
forward arc," said Alves. "We've got to do better than
that…We missed an opportunity today to go to the top of
the ladder." Sheedy resisted the temptation to say "I
told you so." "Nearly every match this year has been
a contest as it was today. We had guys who couldn't come back
onto the ground so to win today was a terrific effort…perhaps
they've gritted their teeth and started to realise we can do
something this season." |
