AFL Round 18

Pay-TV is good. You can watch your team playing like flatulent sloths without being embarrassed in public. Not much news this week save some new contracts. Rob Harvey signed for St. Kilda, allegedly $2 million over 4 years. Also new contracts for Fremantle bunch Clive Waterhouse, Jess Sinclair and Heath Black, Geelong have Ronnie Burns for 3 more years. And the biggest news, Brisbane signed Shaun Hart for 5 years. What a deal. All the action's on the field this time of year.

At the MCG:

Collingwood 2.4   3.6   7.7  10.7.67
Footscray     1.2   9.4 11.11 16.14.110

Another of the violent games which have typified the high stakes at this time of year. The Bulldogs won well after their thrashing last week, same old story for the Maggies. Footscray didn't go mad in response to last Saturday's mauling at Princes Park but they did drop big men Ellis and Cook, bringing in Cox and specialist forward pocket Jason Watts. Hudson was a late withdrawal with knee soreness, replaced by Powell. The Pies dropped three, Liddell, Anthony Rocca and Tony 'Skater' Francis. Richardson returned from injury with McDonald and Fuller.

Within seconds of the opening bounce Magpie Paul Williams was flattened off the ball by Powell, ostensibly a shepherd but it looked a helluva lot like charging. Williams was stretchered off and didn't return. Channel Seven's Robertson ranted embarrassingly over the incident, although he was right. It shoulda been a report. The Pies proceeded to play better in the first term, attacking the ball while the Dogs seemed pre-occupied with the body. Monkhorst kicked the first goal after roving Rocca. Footscray had Tyson Lane at full forward, he missed a couple of shots before some good play from King allowed Burns to goal for Collywood. Monkhorst rubberchested a mark 15m out and the ball whipped to the other end where Lane got on target for Footscray's first. The Pies' creaky forward line set-up wasn=92t working too well despite their possession, with Sav and Monky swapping at full forward, although Richardson did well at CHF. The Dogs sealed their win in the second quarter, flooding their forward line with smaller players in the cold, greasy conditions and using the ball more calmly and precisely. Once Wynd, Romero and West started to dominate the centre, so the team did better. They kicked 3 goals in as many minutes to open the second stanza, Lane slotted on the run and some chipped passes found Johnson close in, Prestigiacomo's poor clearing kick allowed Kolyniuk to snap truly. Monkhorst replied following a 50m penalty, but then a quick series of Puppy goals. Kolyniuk passed for Montgomery, then roved brilliantly for a goal himself, Powell threw the ball away and Johnson pounced, Kolyniuk surfaced again to pass for West to convert. The desperate Pies closed the game down as the Dogs led by 27 points, but they got another goal from Kolyniuk.

In the rooms at half-time Pie coach Shaw used 'The Williams Incident' and at the opening bounce of the second half Watson hammered Romero. The unfazed Dogs drove on, Montgomery missed a couple of shots before Pie Sav Rocca, set at the spearhead, pulled down a huge grab and popped it through. Lane replied immediately for the Dogs after they cleared the next bounce, then the Pies scored again via a Richardson kick strongly marked by Watson. Next the Pups won a free on the wing which was reversed after a blue between Romero and McDonald, his tagger. More wrestling ensued as the ball was slipped to Rocca and he goaled to cut the Dogs' lead to 24 points, provoking more wrestling, abuse and general physicality. The heavens opened in dramatic counterpoint, Lane won a free and converted. Crosisca arrived late at a contest to thump Smith. With 3 minutes left in the term Burns grubbed a major to keep Collingwood within 4 goals. Footscray had a chance to end the game in the final minutes. Garlick missed a running shot, Michael's kick-in was collected by Grant but he missed. Michael went disastrously short with the next kick-in and Lane intercepted, he missed too. Burns assisted a McDonald goal early in the final quarter and Collingwood were 22 points behind. As close as they got. Cox soccered a goal after Mahoney was penalised for running too far, the Dogs dominated without scoring until Lane set up a banana goal for Kolyniuk, the Bulldogs led by 37 points and it was finished. Goals were swapped in anticlimactic end.

The Dogs were powered by ruckman Scott Wynd (15 hitouts, 21 handpasses). West and Romero (27 touches) won the ball in the centre. In attack Steve Kolyniuk had an an excellent game with 16 kicks and 4 goals, Lane also booted 4 goals and missed 4 times from 7 marks. Grant roamed far and wide in search of the ball, runners Johnson (20 kicks, 3 goals) and Curley were good. Cox kicked 2 goals in the last 10 minutes. For the Pies Scott Burns was very, very good. Not only did he use his 26 possessions expertly, his one-percenters - tackles in the last line of defence, shepherds in the forward line - should've been team-lifting. Also kicked 2 goals. Richardson played well at half-forward with 8 marks, but when he turned around there was no-one to pass to. Patterson , Brown and Crosisca worked hard midfield, Schauble had a good duel with Grant. Watson was sometimes dangerous in attack. Monkhorst and Sav Rocca kicked 2 goals each. Shaw said "It was a difference in class overall. They've got a fantastic rotation in midfield...on dry grounds in September, they'll be very hard to beat." Wallace was pleased with the overall effort, not just the second quarter. The Pups face a tricky run in, home to Geelong before meeting Sydney, Essendon and North in the last 3 games.

At Manuka Oval, Canberra:

North Melbourne 2.3  9.11  12.15  18.23.131
Port Adelaide       3.5   4.8   8.13   10.16.76

North requested that their home game be shifted to Canberra in an attempt to broaden their supporter base. The Roos foreshadowed the playing of home games all over Australia, which would be terrific news for their 25,000 supporters here in Melbourne. They'd be satisfied with the result here - Port were quite happy about not playing at the MCG. Unfortunately they're not as good as North and made finals highly unlikely. The Roos lost Longmire with a knee strain and dropped Crocker and Anderson. Local (Canberra) boy Brett Allison returned for his first game since round 8 along with two other long-term Kanga casualties, Capuano and Freeborn. Port lost captain Wanganeen with his untimely hamstring strain, Fabian Francis returned from injury.

This was the first VFL/AFL game to start before midday since 1938 - probably to fit in with yer public servant's average lunch break. The Manuka Oval is a good size for footy although the surface was a bit spongy, 12,242 locals (a full house) turned up. North duly kicked the first 2 goals, through Grant then Hewitt after the latter marked Carey's hooked pass. But Port played out the first term well, crowding North's forward line while Tredrea troubled Martyn and Mead stopped Carey at the other end. Tredrea kicked Port's first goal, he then missed a shot and so did Stevens, Lockwood marked 20m out on the boundary and passed 30m backwards to improve the angle for Kingsley. His shot was touched through. But Eagleton booted the archetypal Eagleton goal, a long running left-footer, and Lockwood converted following a big mark to give Port the lead at the first break. The Kangas lifted in the second term, they booted 3 goals in the first 5 minutes. First Grant from a free after being ridden into the turf by Mead, then a scarcely believeable running left-foot shot from Roberts, following that Roberts passed successfully for Carey. McKernan had fired in the ruck with Primus off injured, Martyn quelled Tredrea. The Pooer switched into match-saving mode and North missed a string of shots at the exposed southern posts before Allison roved Sholl's attempted speccie and majored from close range. He kicked a better goal a couple of minutes later, further six-pointers from Simpson and Sholl sent North to a comfortable lead. Just before the main break Port got a goal from Bode, created by Lockwood's lead.

For the second half Port had Lockwood go to full forward, Tredrea came out to CHF. Lockwood goaled with a good, long kick after a mark and consecutive running sausages from Eagleton (you can visualise his now) and Kingsley brought Port to 14 points in arrears. The Roos had Mark 'Fridge' Roberts bob up with 2 quick goals to steady, before Lockwood majored again. Roo chief Pagan switched Martyn to full back on Lockwood and surprised by placing ruckman McKernan at CHB on Tredrea, Capuano came on to ruck. It stopped Port from scoring for a while. In the shadows of 3/4 time Carey gained a rare kick forward, Abraham floated in from the side, climbed several metres on Paxman and hung forever to drag down an absolute screamer in the goalsquare. The taxpayer's bane were still applauding as he dobbed it. North rattled home like last week. Freeborn came off the bench to goal with a a huge 60m kick at the start of the last stanza, Lockwood responded with a free-kick goal after Martyn strangled him. But a subsequent Allison goal expanded the margin to 33 points and the Roos romped in from there.

Mark Roberts, who missed the first half of the season, was in a frisky mood as he gathered 27 possessions, 10 marks and 3 goals. Grant ran busily between the centre and forward lines for 31 disposals and 2 goals, half-forward Abraham was also busy with 21 touches, 2 goals and "the highest mark I've ever seen" according to his coach. Dunno about that, but it was pretty high. Scott and Simpson were effective midfielders, McKernan did a bit although his marking is still awry, Blakey and Martyn played well at the back. Easy choice for Port's best, CHB Darren Mead held Carey to 7 kicks, 3 marks and the one goal, copping some snide back-handers from the frustrated North hero. Unfortunately Mead went off with a shoulder injury near the end. Young forward Lockwood was very handy with 10 marks and 4 goals, Dickie and Stevens (15 kicks each) provided some run through the middle, Stevens kicked 4 behinds although both sides had trouble kicking straight.Kingsley and Eagleton kicked 2 goals each and contributed a bit. "Their experience really showed us up," said Cahill. "Their crumbing was superb, ours wasn't...They showed us a lesson in how to attack the football. Some of our experienced guys are battling to get a kick at the moment, so we are not showing a lot of leadership." Two games out with four left, a finals appearance seems unlikely for Port. But their run home isn't bad, home games against the Crows, Melbourne and Carlton, away to Fremantle. Pagan said "We had some good players down, but others put their hand up. It was a pretty good effort coming up here...we took a punt and it worked out for us." North go to Brisbane next week, then have home games against Fremantle and Footscray sandwiching a visit to Adelaide.

At Kardinia Park:

Geelong  1.2   2.5  8.14  12.15.87
Sydney   7.1  15.3 16.4  19.7.121

Geelong's sixth straight loss is their worst run since 1988, afflicted by injury as they are the game plan at the minute is non-existent. Rob Walls said of them "their skill level is too low for the AFL, they carry the ball too much and don't honour Spinks's leads." So there you go. The Swans put their problems behind them - where they've been all week - and looked to consolidate a top four spot. The Cats may be without Stoneham (calf) and defender McGrath (knee strain) for the rest of the season, Sean Simpson, Hargreaves and Brockman were axed. Hall and Burns returned from injury (Burns was a late withdrawal last week, I neglected to mention), also in were McKinnon, Biddiscombe and Wood. Just one change for the men from Calcutta-on-Bondi, ruckman O'Farrell dropped for Barry.

Thankfully the Swans wore red shorts this week, white (as they had last Sunday) may have been embarrassing. Brown might've been better. After the Cats got some ball without scoring early, Schwass romped through the centre and banged it through from 50m, then Lockett led, marked and goaled against the unfortunate McKinnon. The Swans were running everywhere, like Sydneysiders have all week, moving the ball confidently and precisely while the Cats stood about and watched. Schwass and Maxfield carved up the middle, O'Loughlin was again very prominent early. Lewis and Stafford goaled, Lockett went off briefly in the first term before returning, siezing the ball like a roll of clean toilet paper and dobbing his second. O'Loughlin kicked his second major on the first siren. The words "training drill" were often used during the second quarter as the Swans continued running the ball with ease. Lockett continued on his Pluggery way with six goals for the term, including two extremely agile efforts from general play. Roos slipped downfield to create one of breathtaking arrogance. McKinnon was simply being swatted aside, late in the term he was replaced by Hamish Simpson. Faced with humiliation the Cats rallied in the third quarter, Riccardi, Mansfield, Hocking and Kilpatrick managed to get their hands on the ball while little-and-large combination Snell and Spinks manufactured some goals in attack, although there were 9 Cat misses. Simpson held Lockett goalless for the term. Some skerrick of pride restored, time was played out in the last.

Schwass has stepped up since Kelly's injury, here he had 33 superbly used disposals. including 25 kicks and 2 goals. Lockett finished with 9 goals from 9 marks, taking him past Dunstall on the all-time goalkickers' list and just 43 behind Gordon Coventry. He's got 90 for the year. Schwass was assisted midfield by Maxfield (23 touches, a goal), Cresswell, Cook and Nicks (2 goals), running from the back like a Glebe resident. Luff, Dunkley and Orchard (on Burns) did well in defence, O'Loughlin faded but was good early with 3 goals. Few Cats worth mentioning in the first half but Mansfield ended up being good and Riccardi had 15 kicks and 2 goals, Sanderson got 23 disposals in defence and Colbert and Hocking (25 touches) weren't bad. Simpson held Lockett to 1 goal after half time. Snell kicked 3 goals and Spinks 2. Ayres said "I don't know whether we were appalling for all the first half; I think it was just before half time for maybe eight to ten minutes..." Good grief. Can somebody please sack this man? Ayres went on to say the last four weeks will be "looking towards next season." Eade reckoned "The disappointing part of the second half was not so much the way we played and relaxed, but it was losing the chance to win by an extra four or six goals to boost our percentage up because we are the least secure of the teams vying for a top four spot, percentage wise." Remaining games are West Coast (home), Footscray and Melbourne (both away) and Collingwood at the SCG.

At the MCG:

Melbourne 7.4  13.10  18.14  22.19.151
Brisbane    1.1     3.4     7.5       8.8.56

Did I say the Lions would shape the eight? Yeah, they're giving everyone a percentage booster. Demon Seecamp was out from last week, suspended 2 weeks for biffing his 'mate' Chandler. Johnstone and Smith were dropped, replacements were Grgic, Smoker and Schwarz after a spell in the twos. Brisbane made four unforced changes, calling up Dion Scott, Akermanis, Notting and Brett Voss to replace Bartlett, Clayton, Hilton and Trask. Later Dickfos pulled out with a back injury, replaced by first-gamer Derek Wirth, a local boy from Mt. Gravatt.

All over early as White and Stynes rotated to blitz Clarke in the ruck, Viney toiled in the centre and winger Tingay had the ball on a string with 10 touches in the first quarter. Lyon was too good for the unfortunate Wirth with 3 goals in the first quarter-and-a-bit, Farmer lurked about for 2 early goals, Neitz and Schwarz managed quick majors too. Brisbane rallied briefly in the second term, Shanahan spilled a mark and Hart jumped in to score then Wirth, shifted to full forward, marked and goaled. Brett Voss missed a simple chance and the Dees made the kick-in travel the length of the ground for an easy goal to Anthony McDonald. Viney proceeded to kick two more goals, both after 50m penalties against his tagger Brad Scott. On marched the Demons in the second half, Farmer bagged 3 more goals in the third term and Anthony McDonald collected 10 possessions, Brisbane at least got some more goals from Wirth, Bradshaw and Dion Scott. In the last Daniher benched Viney, Lyon and Tingay to protect 'em. Jeff White indulged himself with some speccies.

After nearly 2 years out winger Stephen Tingay is back to his best, collecting 27 touches and a goal as he charged about. Jeff "Wizard" Farmer booted 6 goals from 14 kicks and Lyon potted 5 goals. In the middle Leoncelli did well with 22 handlings and Anthony McDonald had 23 touches, Woewodin played well running from the back. Ruckman White was good again, Neitz also kicked 2 goals. The Scott twins were Brisbane's best despite their ill-discipline, Chris had 29 touches and a goal, Brad kept Viney reasonably quiet while having 16 disposals himself. Wirth showed promise with 2 goals, Champion played nicely on Neitz and had 24 disposals. Bradshaw kicked 2 goals also. Merrett said "There are a number of players who have to ask themselves about their commitment to playing AFL football. There are only two players, Chris and Brad Scott, who I believe prepare themselves in the most professional way." Never mind Roj. Won't be your problem in a month. Daniher said "As a club that aspires to be in the top eight, we played an opposition nowhere near their full strength because of injuries and we were very happy with the way we went about our business today. We are 10-15 minutes away from being a top-four side." Eh? They want to play at Coburg Oval? They've got Carlton, Sydney and Richmond at home, Port away.

At Football Park:

Adelaide  5.2  10.10  16.17  19.23.137
St. Kilda  3.3    6.7      8.7     10.7.67

Always said that Grand Final win was lucky. The Crows were very lucky here, lucky they didn't destroy the goalposts from constant bombardment. The Saints' third loss in four sent them tumbling back into the pack.In selection Blighty swung the axe, dumping Edwards, Ormond-Allen, Perrie and Marsh. Tregenza and Bassett missed with calf strains, Johnson (hamstring) was a later withdrawal. Replacements included the handy McLeod, Robran and Eccles, plus Jameson, Stevens, Thiessen and Tim Cook. The Saints discarded Cook, Healy and Lappin for Peckett, McLaren and Knowles.

The Saints began well and led by 2 goals as Heatley and Mitchell crept ahead of the play to kick easy goals. Harvey was everywhere in the first quarter but was quelled by Connell after quarter time. Blight played defenders Caven and McLeod up forward, Stevens in defence. Soon goals arrived for them, from Caven, Eccles and Koster. The Crows opened the second term with a stream of bad misses from McLeod, Jarman, Caven and Vardy, which seemed costly when Heatley kicked consecutive goals to narrow the margin to 3 points, the hard running of Jones setting up both. The first of these was an arsey grubbing snap from 40m on the boundary. But weight of possession soon told, McLeod kicked a good major from a tight angle and Vardy got one on target, McLeod goaled again after a goalmouth scramble. Robran marked and majored, the Saints clung on when Cow Hart kicked on the full from a kick-in and Thompson slotted the shot, but Vardy goaled again late in the term. Adelaide killed 'em off in the third stanza. Hart did a Smart to gallop forward and kick a long goal, more majors arrived for Vardy, Modra and a lovely solo effort from Ricciuto as the Crows ran riot. Everitt snapped a good but belated goal before the final break. More Crow misses in the final term helped prevent further Saint embarrassment.

Many good players for the locals. Ricciuto is on a mission, here he had 33 disposals and 2 goals as part of a dominant Crow midfield. Connell stuck close on Harvey and had 26 kicks and a goal himself, Rehn "tagged" Everitt, beat him and had 21 hitouts. Pittman also played well shuffling between ruck and the backline. McLeod's skill was much in evidence in attack, although he finished with 3.5. Vardy kicked 4 goals, clearly better for the run last week, Smart did his usual thing off half-back. Two goals each for Robran and Caven too. For the Saints Hudghton held Jarman goalless, although Jars helped his teammates by drawing plenty of Saints towards him, like the GF Harvey finished with 33 disposals but wasn't especially effective, runners Burke, Thompson and Winmar battled hard. They miss Stewie, but he wouldn't have made much difference here. Heatley did well to get 4 goals from limited opportunities. Alves said "There's a fair bit of soul-searching in what we need to do=85we need to have a pretty hard look at ourselves and see if we can rekindle that commitment and desire that's required to get us back to our best football." Said Mal "Our last three quarters were as good as any we've played. We probably won in 15 positions=85A couple of players back in certainly helps our situation and also the different way we set ourselves up." He had special praise for McLeod and responded to much premiership talk around Footy Park with "Well, we're in there." Adelaide's run home was documented last week, St. Kilda have Hawthorn and West Coast at home, Carlton at the 'G and Brisbane away to finish.

At Subiaco:

West Coast 3.3   7.4  10.5  15.9.99
Fremantle    5.2   6.4   7.9    8.12.60

Close your eyes and picture any previous Western derby. The Eagles withstood a worthy Docker challenge and romped away at the end. During the week Eagles Heady and Jakovich expressed their wish to retire without losing a Western derby. In selection the West Coast regained Peter Matera and Metropolis, Lovell and Williams made way. Chris Lewis came in a late replacement for Worsfold. Reality clouded the euphoria of last Friday for Freo as Toia and Maher went for knee reconstructions, both will miss up to 12 months. Holland returned from suspension and Leach was recalled.

A grey and drizzly day in Perth, kinda like Melbourne without the culture. Fremantle wore their away guernsey. Despite commencing with a wind advantage the Eagles found it difficult to break down the zealous Docker defence, in particular Parker, Kickett and Carroll, the last on Gehrig. Gehrig really is a big sook sometimes. Must be because he's Victorian...Freo defied tradition by actually converting their early chances, Callaghan kicked the first goal following a clever mark. He often seems to kick the Dockers' first goal. Waterhouse majored after a dodgy holding free against McIntosh, then Clive=92s terrific second effor= t created a major for Brown. Callaghan kicked a long goal after McKenna was free-kicked for shoving him, Fremantle led by 23 points. The Eagle pressure brought some rewards late in the term, Fewster kicked their first goal, after a good running reply from Fletcher there were further Eagull majors for Peter Matera and Gehrig, accepting Symmons' pass. Three quick Weegil goals opened the second quarter, a perfect Schofield kick found Lewis, then Cousins put the home team in front and Waterman extended the lead. There followed a tight 15-minute spell with some hard tackling and pressure, chiefly in the Docker back half as they fought hard to keep in touch. Eventually Freo's Sinclair found some space in attack to cut the margin to a point, Callaghan's miss levelled the scores. Right on half time Lewis manufactured a superb snap to put the Weegles a goal up.

After their early aberrations Fremantle returned to the script by missing a bundle of shots to start the second half. Waterhouse's set shot was difficult, but Chisholm and Kickett and should be soundly chastised. Sure enough Eagle Fewster soon grubbed a goal after roving his own marking contest, the sublime Morrison added another. West Coast led by 20 points after a superb Peter Matera goal, he dived full-length to smother Gale's kick, got up and won a free when Gale compounded his error by diving on Pete. The Eags were slipping clear, Fremantle got their only goal of the quarter after the siren from O'Reilly, a free after chasing his opponent Stone into the forward line. Within seconds of the final quarter commencing Lewis snapped a goal for the Eagles, Waterhouse replied for Freo when his smothered handpass fortuitously came back to him. Gale's panicky handpass went to Lewis who snapped another goal and the Eags led by 19 points. Michael marked in the goalsquare for Fremantle but missed what should have been, at the other end Heady booted on the full but from the Freo free Ball outmarked the tired Burton and punted back for Fewster to take a good mark and major. That was pretty much it, Phil Matera iced the cake with two late goals, one set up by the ubiquitous Lewis.

The Eagle defence was excellent after quarter-time, led by McKenna, McIntosh and Jakovich (17 kicks). Morrison played very well on the defensive side of the centre square, he had 26 disposals and a goal. Cousins (22 touches, a goal) was handy in the middle and Braun had a good duel with Fletcher. Ball did very well in the ruck for 24 possessions and 7 marks. Lewis returned from the Westar to get 13 kicks and 4 very handy goals, Fewster kicked 3 goals, the Materas got 2 each. Docker Shane Parker had many jobs (like Sydney people), on Heady, Peter Matera and a brief spell on Gehrig and he beat them all. Mann continues to do well at CHB, here he beat White and Carroll played on Gehrig for most of the game and stopped him. Norrish worked hard in the centre for 25 disposals Callaghan (2 goals) and Fletcher were good there too but in attack they got little from Brown, Clement went off early with a groin strain which didn't help. Waterhouse got 2 goals amid some poor service, teammates constantly kicking the ball over his head. "We've played one of the top sides and took it right up to them," said Gerry Neesham. "Our third quarter misses were costly; shots that go astray sap the energy of the whole team and we let them in for a couple of goals. But we're making inroads=85" Malthouse made use of the famous Confucian line: "At the end of the day you're a windshield or a bug=85we've been a bug a couple of times this year, but in the last two weeks we've been solid enough to take it." To come the Eegs've got Sydney and St. Kilda away, Richmond and the Crows at home. Tough except for the Richmond game.

At the MCG:

Essendon 1.4   4.7  6.10  12.12.84
Carlton     0.5   5.6  8.10  11.12.78

For the third consecutive week the Bombers overran the opposition in the closing stages for an exciting victory. It's the second time this year they've done it to Carlton. It's great to be on the receiving end of one of them. Essendon will be without Long for a few weeks with a hamstring strain and before the game Alessio, Hird and Young withdrew with an infected hand, concussion and a thigh strain respectively. In came Mercuri, Cockatoo-Collins, Caracella and O'Connor. The Blues won't have Pearce for the rest of the season, he strained knee ligaments last week and Franchina copped 2 weeks for whacking Hudson. They also had late withdrawals, Ratten and Hamill out for Anstey and Hulme. Bradley was found guilty of charging but received a 2-week sentence suspended 'til the end of next season in view of his good record. Chances were given to Lock and a new player, John Hynes from Cheltenham.

Very tight first quarter, the highlights of which were two spectacular grabs from Koutoufides, restored to the wing and the only goal of the quarter, a long bomb from Lloyd. Barnard kicked the first goal of the second term from a mark and 50m penalty but soon Whitnall fired, setting up a goal for De Iulio, another for Rice and dobbing one himself after a goalsquare grab. The Bombers relied heavily on Lloyd for goals, he kicked 3 throigh the second and third terms as his mobility troubled Full Back Of The Century. Late in the third term the Blues edged clear with goals from Whitnall and Massie. Into the last and Beaumont goaled from Koutoufides' good kick, then Camporeale kicked into space for Beaumont, his subsequent kick to the 'square was roved and converted by White. The Blues by 25 with 12 minutes left. They looked home. Then on came the Dons. FBOTC's desperate clearing kick tumbled into Fraser's arms, he kicked it to Lloyd who popped it through. Jason Johnson, moved into the centre by Sheedy, powered through the middle and blasted a long goal. Moorcroft's handpass set up O'Connor. Blues by 7 with 7 minutes left. The error-prone disposal which plagued the nervy Blues' early season was much in evidence. Lloyd and White swapped points, then Bewick torpedoed forward where Lloyd recovered the ball from a pack and snapped truly. Carlton by a point with 2:30 remaining. Scores were level when Moorcroft behinded following a dubious mark. Carlton brought the winning goal upon themselves. White's risky centering kick from the wing was intercepted by Moorcroft, onto Mercuri who ran forward and punted long and straight only for FBOTC to race back and take a very good mark under pressure. But in his haste to find the unmarked Rice he muffed his kick, Rice was hopelessly clean bowled, Lucas pounced and punted accurately. Camporeale had a set shot on the siren but his torpedo wobbled well short. Ah well. Won't have to buy that Carlton membership now.

Lloyd was the chief Bomber hero with 6 goals and 9 marks, handing History's Greatest Full Back a rare beating. Hardwick (24 touches) and Fletcher played very well in defence, Calthorpe (18 kicks) and Mercuri (15) were handy contributors in the middle. Johnson's last quarter was important with 9 disposals and a goal, Bewick and Moorcroft were also in at the death. For the Blues Fraser Brown ran tirelessly for 28 possessions, Bradley (26 handlings) and Camporeale (19 kicks, a goal) were also very busy. Allan won the rucks with 17 disposals and 16 hitouts, Koutoufides showed old form at least with 21 touches and 7 marks including three rippers. He was also reported for attempted tripping. Whitnall confirmed his burgeoning talent with 18 touches and 2 goals, two goals also for Beaumont and De Iulio. Parkin said he was literally sick. Gotta steer clear of that Sydney tap water. "I would rather believe we gave them the game rather than them winning it," was his terse comment. Sheedy said "We've won 8 of our last 11 matches and if you look over the last 4 years, it's the teams coming home strong and focussed that do well." The Bombers face Fremantle in Perth, then Collingwood, Footscray and Geelong, all at the 'G.

At Waverley:

Hawthorn  4.3   8.5  10.7  10.10.70
Richmond 1.0   2.2    2.7     4.10.34

The margin isn't a true indication. Hawthorn should've won by more. Richmond must've expected a stroll in the park against the bottom side 'cause that's exactly what they did - strolled around Waverley Park while the Hawks played football. Hawthorn regained suspended pair Shane Crawford and Barker along with Harford and Thompson, out went Vandenburg and late victims Chick, Kappler and Hay. Richmond lost defender Bulluss with a calf strain and dumped Funcke and Ottens, replacements were Moore, Blurton and Bower.

Right from the start Hawthorn attacked the ball far more vigorously, ran harder and simply wanted the win far more than the Tigers. The Hawks' efforts placed those stupid comments about lower sides taking it easy in order to gain draft concessions into appropriate perspective. Richmond had the advantage of a breeze to begin, but it's hard to use it if you 'aint got the ball. Salmon starred in the ruck and drifted back effectively, Lord and Treleven won kicks, Shane Crawford and Woods kept a tight rein on Daffy and Knights respectively. The Hawks sent the ball forward where goals came from Robran, Lekkas and Krummel, a rare Richmond thrust saw Richardson snaggle one. Just before the first break Hawk Dixon snaggled a goal. Most of the second quarter was also played in Hawthorn's forward half as they tackled manically and arrived at the ball in numbers. S. Crawford snapped a high goal early and Dixon goaled from a free after being ridden into the ground by Kellaway, Dixon followed up with another major and the Hawks led by 40 points. The Tigers improved a bit as Campbell and Broderick got some possession, Plapp came on and started to run about the forward line. Daffy snapped a nice goal with his second kick. Just before the long break Holland kicked a lovely long goal from the boundary line. Holland goaled again early in the third quarter with a huge into-the-wind kick, resulting from Bower's terrible turnover. Gieschen threw Gaspar forward and sent Evans and Bowden to the back line, Hawthorn went into ultra-defensive mode. A long spell of Richmond pressure created nothing apart from a handful of points. Just before the final break Holland worked furiously at a throw-in to clear the ball, Harford swept it up and raised the twin calicoes. Seconds later Tiger Charles missed a simple shot following a 50m penalty. Small consolation for the Tiges with two final-term goals for Richardson while the Hawks concentrated on not losing, mindful of their last encounter with Richmond when they blew an 8-goal lead.

Paul Salmon towered above the others in every sense, the Hawk ruckman had 25 disposals, 8 marks and 13 hitouts as he controlled play. Shane Crawford did reasonably on Knights while having 26 touches and a goal, winger Lord was good 29 handlings. Woods kept Daffy to 10 kicks ? only 2 in the first half. Nice efforts too from Hassall in defence, Croad was good at CHB and Graham did well at full back on Richardson, although the latter suffered poor service. Dixon lurked for 3 goals and Holland made the most of every touch with 2 goals. For the Tiges Evans was honest and did well when moved to defence, although the Hawks had given up attacking in the second half, he had 27 disposals and 10 marks. Paul Broderick, in his 200th game, got 25 touches and Campbell ran hard for 23 handlings, Gaspar starred at CHB on Holland before being shifted to attack for the second half. Richardson kicked 3 goals. "Most of the year we've been very honest the way we play," said Gieschen "Today was the first day where we didn't really mount anything all day. We were lethargic and I use the term dishonest to describe the way we played." A rapt Judge said "At half time I mentioned the fact that we'd been in this position against them before and they'd come back so it was a real test of how far we'd come in 16 weeks. I thought our resolve was good=85w= e didn't drop our intensity." Richmond's final games are Collingwood at home, West Coast in Perth then Brisbane and Melbourne at headquarters.