AFL Round 19

Getting mighty tight at the top, nine into eight won't go. Twelve wins mightn't be enough. The last team to miss out with twelve wins was Richmond…

Ten weeks ago it was widely assumed that David Parkin's second stint as Carlton coach would end this season, but this week the Blues signed him for another 2 years. The Blues' improvement in the second half of the year and possibly the lack of a stand-out replacement had a bit to do with it. The Western Bulldogs (Footscray) made a formality of their move to Docklands by signing a 10 year deal to play home games there post-2000, joining Essendon. And could someone please explain when it became legal to elbow someone in the head? Nowadays the standard shepherd is applied with an elbow to the head while airborne, the umpires blithely waving play-on. Whatever happened to protecting the ball-carrier?

At the Gabba:

Brisbane                 3.1    4.6    8.10    12.14.86
North Melbourne   4.3   8.11   11.21   15.23.113

Brisbane Football Club spent the week brawling in public as the fallout of the merger with Fitzroy, the Northey sacking and a string of poor results leaked into the open. Before this game Noel Gordon fired on a traditional target of embattled chairmen, the meedya and warned coach Roger Merrett to keep out of boardroom politics. Roger has been trying to shore up his position with the committee and players while simultaneously fighting with football manager Scott Clayton. Many Lion supporters at this game held up signs variously expressing support for Merrett, disdain for Gordon or despair at the whole mess ("Congratulations on fully becoming Fitzroy" read one). Meanwhile North chalked up their sixth straight win to become the new flag favourites. Merrett made five changes to the Brisbane side pumped last week, Robbins missed with a calf strain and Carter, Notting, Wirth and Akermanis were axed. Akermanis copped a tremendous verbal barrage from Merrett last Saturday. In came Dickfos, Tristan Lynch, Keating, Power and Andy Gowers for his first game of the season. Draftee Scott Ralph is the only Brisbane man to not have played this season (so far). North regained Archer and McCartney from suspension, Hewitt and Rock made way.

Not much of game this one, North did enough to win their third interstate game in four weeks. The main worry would be the injuries they picked up. The Roos started with a healthy breeze and after the Lions' Lawrence kicked the first goal, North kicked the next four. Carey got two of 'em, one from a free against opponent Kennedy, there was one for Roberts and a long wind-assisted shot from Grant. The injuries started early, Archer went off after twisting his knee in a marking contest. He didn't return although the Roos said later it was a precautionary measure. There were more head-high shepherds, Roos King and Pickett (of course) on Hart and Bradshaw respectively. Ironically a rare, fair bump resulted in an injury, Kanga forward Allison breaking his thumb in receiving a textbook hip and shoulder from Leppitsch, who was playing in defence. The Lions were trying hard and rallied late in the term. Dickfos, playing on a forward flank, was awarded a doubtful mark and passed for Clarke to goal, then Ashcroft majored after a strong grab. Brisbane started to pick up injuries in the second quarter, Hart departed with a hammy and Gowers got a strained pectoral (?). North sweated on frequent Lion disposal errors and despite the wind disadvantage they eased clear. First Pike kicked a running goal, then a poor clearing effort by Brisbane allowed a succesful soccer kick from McKernan, Sholl marked and converted. Chandler set up Grant's second goal before Keating came off the bench to kick a late major for the Lions.

Brisbane injected some interest in the third stanza with the first 2 goals, both from Steve Lawrence. His first came after dogged pursuit of the ball in the goalsquare, the second a superb baulk around the man on the mark and running shot. North's lead was cut to 18 points but Bell cleared the next centre bounce, Carey marked and goaled. Rookie Lion Power missed an absolute sitter, at the other end a misplaced kick-in from one of the many North misses allowed Roo Freeborn to goal. However the Lions boxed on and rapid goals to Bamford and McRae cut the gap to 20 points. More North injuries occurred with knee strains for Roberts and Pike. The Kangas were missing a heap of shots, although their long kicks to the 'square were often punched through by the platoon of defenders surrounding Carey. Late in the term North scored 5 consecutive behinds before Freeborn kicked one straight, Carey missed again right on the penultimate siren. Nine minutes ticked by in the final quarter before the first goal, some nice Lion play creating a six-pointer for White. It was 24 points the difference before two classical North goals settled it. For each Carey took a strong mark at CHF, turned and floated the ball inside the vacant 50m arc where the ball was marked by forward runners Sholl and Roberts (back on) respectively. Still enough time for excellent Lion Lawrence to cap off his night, he made a goal for Dion Scott and booted two more himself, Grant and Harvey got late majors for North.

An even performance by the Kangas, Stevens (33 disposals), Bell and Simpson were good midfield and ruckman McKernan is gradually regaining his best form, actually holding a couple of marks here. King (20 kicks) was busy on the wing and Martyn and McCartney stopped the bigger Lion forwards. Carey had a good duel with Kennedy and several other Lion defenders and despite dropping a few marks he was still a key factor, booting 3 goals and giving four away, Grant kicked 3 goals from 5 kicks. Two goals each for Roberts, Sholl and Freeborn. Brisbane's Steven Lawrence was just about BOG, playing at full-forward he attacked the ball hard, continually offered leads and basically played his guts out. Lawrence kicked 5 goals from 10 kicks and 4 marks. The Scotts were good again, Chris ran hard for 35 touches and Brad did well on Abraham, McRae picked up a stack of touches down the back. Kennedy did OK on Carey and Dickfos showed promise in attack although he disappointed the locals with his inability to kick a goal - he’s yet to get one in 60 games. Clarke did a bit in the ruck. They really miss Fletcher and Lambert on the ball. "The players certainly never gave up, you can't question that," said Merrett. "We used the ball too short with the breeze. Steve Lawrence, he's been very good up front, we should have used it more and got it up there." Pagan said "If you take the disappointing injuries out, we won and we'll forget about Brisbane and go on to next week." Allison is the worst, Archer and Pike are expected to miss a couple minimum.

At the MCG:

Melbourne  4.1    8.6   15.13   16.17.113
Carlton        3.3    6.8    6.11      8.16.54

Carlton couldn't win this fixture when they were a power and duly failed again now they're an also-ran. The Dees stayed on the September march. Two changes from last week for the Dees, Grgic missed with a hamstring and forward Robertson axed, in came Gaspar while ex-Crow Matthew Collins was given his Demon debut. Blue Koutoufides copped a 1-match suspension for attempted tripping last week and Hulme missed with a thigh strain, replacements were veterans Dean and Ratten. Christou played his first football in nearly two years, a half in the reserves, including a goal.

Main talking point was the return of Melbourne's mega-pronged forward line. Lyon opened the scoring after fortuitously marking a miskick and Tingay kicked a lovely running goal, set up by Neitz's handpass. For the Blues there was a flukey bouncing snap from Whitnall and Allan marked and goaled, the Dees took a quarter-time lead through Farmer. Pretty even second term, the Blues were doing well in the middle with Brown and Ratten working hard, but more goals for Lyon and Farmer kept the Dees ahead. The Demons won it in the third when they took charge in the centre, Tingay instrumental while Matt Febey stopped Bradley. And David Schwarz exploded in attack and booted five goals for the term, a couple from marks, a couple from general play. Eventually Whitnall was shifted back onto him. The Blues couldn't buy a goal and never recovered.

Another good game for Tingay, 20 touches in crucial areas perhaps let down by his goalshooting, 1.4. Lyon was everywhere up front and eventually had HGFB moved onto him, he kicked 5 goals and Schwarz kicked 6 goals from 11 kicks and 6 marks. Viney (24 disposals), Leoncelli and Woewodin were effective midfielders, Ingerson held Whitnall to the one goal. Neitz didn't get a goal but played well up the ground, Farmer bagged 3 goals. For the Blues centremen Brown (38 disposals ? 16 effective) and Ratten worked hard, Rice played well on a back flank and Murphy had 23 touches playing on the defensive side of the centre. Rookie Hynes got to play on Schwarz first up, after conceding 2 goals in 5 minutes he went forward and looked alright, kicked a goal. But they had no consistently effective forward, Allan their only multiple scorer with 2 goals. Parkin said "We got pole-axed out of the middle in the third quarter, something like seven to one. We didn't touch the third quarter, which makes it pretty hard to win the game." Daniher reckoned "We really rated Carlton…and to get away with a big win today will give us a lot of confidence. It was a fairly convincing win in the end. I said to the players the next month could be a fairly exciting time."

At Waverley:

St. Kilda     4.3     5.4     7.6      10.9.69
Hawthorn   3.3   10.7   16.13   19.14.128

Hawthorn is the centre of Melbourne's Anglican community and them Proddys have always been big on retribution and punishment. Last week the Tiges had to pay for their lucky win over Hawthorn in the first part of the season, this time it was the Saints' turn. St. Kilda's fifth loss in six games has them sliding alarmingly. In true tradition Stan had 'em training 7 AM Sunday morning. The Saints responded to their recent poor run by dropping high-profile winger Austinn Jones, Hall also missed with a groin strain. Replacements were ruckman Cook and a new player, Sam Cranage from Monivae College. Cranage's dad played for Collingwood. Hawthorn dropped Thompson from their successful side to make room for Chick.

In combatting their recent scoring problems the Saints started with Everitt at full forward, it worked well as he was too tall for Graham and booted 3 first-quarter goals. But the Hawks had their own forward weapon, winger Aaron Lord began in a forward pocket and also snaggled three goals in the first term. The Hawks ran riot in the second as Salmon, S. Crawford and Treleven took over in the middle while Woods and Lekkas stopped Burke and Winmar respectively. Crawford set up a goal for Holland, Taylor snapped one after a poor clearing kick by Darryl Wakelin, then Lord bagged his fourth although Krummel clearly infringed and the Saints should've had a free. Holland marked and goaled, Chick snapped one and there was another sausage for Lord as the Hawkers romped clear. The Saints rallied early in the second half with consecutive goals to Cook and Heatley. However unlike the round 4 game Hawthorn steadied with goals from Holland and Ben Dixon, and they went on to boot 4 more for the term and finish the game, Rawlings coming off the bench to kick a couple. Saints Harvey and Burke won some belated touches in the final quarter as big Fish went for a rest.

Hawthorn's midfield match-ups were a key factor, Shane Crawford had 32 disposals and a goal opposed to Harvey, Woods had Burke shifted to a forward pocket, Hassall and Lekkas quelled Thompson and Winmar respectively. Salmon powered them forward with 17 touches and 12 hitouts, Treleven and Harford got plenty of the footy. In attack Lord kicked 6 goals from 11 kicks, Holland had 7 marks and 3 goals, Dixon also snared 3 goals. Robran slowed Everitt after quarter time. Big Spider was probably the Saints' best though, he had 22 disposals, 12 marks and 3 goals. Harvey managed his usual 36 possessions in a losing midfield, Winmar, McLaren and Thompson weren't bad. Darryl Wakelin did well on Krummel. Sierakowski, Cook and Heatley kicked 2 goals each. Alves attempted to explain. "What's coming home to roost now is a culmination of player's inabilities to bring themselves up in the desired manner from a side that should've rebounded in a positive way...what's happened is that we've carried so many players for so long the workload has fallen onto too few." It's happy days for Judgey. "I was very happy with the result," he said. "We've played all right in the last two weeks. They are playing with more confidence and the young players are showing some improvement."

At Princes Park:

Footscray  2.5    8.8   10.14   13.18.96
Geelong    2.4    8.5     9.9     14.13.97

Great win for the Geelong juniors, who overran the Dogs in a very exciting final quarter. Their first win in seven weeks, now the Bulldogs are down with the rest and the top spots are open. Their supporters must hate Geelong, who always get in their way. The Bulldogs lost ruckman Wynd beforehand, he was replaced by Ellis and before that Hudson was recalled while Watts missed with a knee strain. Geelong lost ruckman Barnes with a groin injury and in came forward Cameron Roberts. Bulldog icon Tony Liberatore played a half in the reserves, just 15 weeks after a left knee reconstruction.

A close opening before plenty of scoring in the second quarter when centre clearances led directly to the goals. The Cats had Mensch move into the ruck where he began to win the ball, Hocking and Bizzell were also influential at the bounce. The Dogs moved 20 points clear with marks and goals to Grant and Kolyniuk however Geelong kicked 3 goals in the last 3 minutes of the quarter to tie it up. Wood ran down for the first of these, then Bizzell got under Spinks's high kick and hooked it through, finally Sanderson did a 360 looking for a pass before drilling it himself. In the opening minute of the third quatrain Wood goaled again and Geelong led by 3 points, but following that the Dogs had a good patch. Kolyniuk and Grant missed shots before Montgomery's superb weaving run led to a very good goal for Hudson. Spinks and Bulldog Powell missed shots in the swirling crossbreeze before a Cat turnover led to another goal for Hudson, Pups by 10 points.

Into the final term and Ronnie Burns, yet to bother the statistician, suddenly...er...burned. He missed a shot after intercepting Dent's kick-in but marked and goaled a moment later. A Darcy soccer from close range was controversially awarded a point only, from the kick-in the Cats raced the length where Riccardi roved and majored, scores were level. Burns's off-target shot put the Cats ahead by that score before Hudson set up Kolyniuk and the Bulldogs were 5 points ahead. The Catters led again after an excellent Riccardi tackle on Kretiuk forced the ball free and Burns pounced for a goal. Bizzell's long shot bounced freakishly on the point of the ball and back into play, Smith levelled the scores but Geelong had the momentum and moved 12 points clear. First Darcy gave away a free and 50m penalty to Mensch, his long kick was roved and rammed through by Riccardi. Bizzell's punt was well-marked by Colbert, he found Hall for the goal. Cat fans may like to dwell on how long kicks directly at the goals brought rewards. There were 4 minutes left and Footscray fought on, Kolyniuk passed calmly to Smith who cut it back to 6 points, West battled to clear the next bounce and Dent's handpass allowed Hudson to level the scores again. With 50 seconds to go Cat Steinfort punted long at the goals, West raced back but couldn't complete his marking attempt, juggling the ball over the line. That was the final score, Footscray ended the game in attack where a McKinnon fumble threatened to give the Dogs a chance, but he had plenty of mates covering.

Most pleasing aspect for the Cats was the performance of their rookies, Bizzell impressed again with 17 touches off half-back and Justin Wood had 4 goals from 11 kicks, tall defender Hamish Simpson kept Grant quiet after half time. Old hands were good too, Mensch greatly influenced the game in the ruck, Sholl (22 disposals), Riccardi (12 kicks, 2 goals) and Hocking were also about. Colbert and Kilpatrick were useful, Burns's 2 last-quarter goals came in handy. For the Dogs loping left-foot defender Leon Cameron was very good with 20 pinpoint kicks, small forward Kolyniuk was good again with 18 kicks and 3 goals. Curley did a reasonable tagging job on Hocking, Smith (18 kicks, a goal) and Romero were good. West struggled until the last quarter, missing Wynd’s taps no doubt. Hudson did well to kick 4 goals, Montgomery finished with 2 majors. "We are not playing good football", said Wallace. "Like every side, we are relying on our best and I thought our top-line players just were not playing their best football today...that's where we lost it." A relieved Ayres said "They don't come much better than that because of the hole we were in...we wanted to reward the club and the supporters (they were cheered off after last week's debacle)...It shows if you stick together and work to a plan and are prepared to back yourself and take a few risks, you can pull off a pretty fair win." Stick together and back yourself, work to a plan and take risks. Eh?

At Subiaco:

Fremantle  2.2    7.6   10.10   12.14.86
Essendon   7.3    9.8   16.9    18.11.119

The Bombers have had some trouble with Fremantle in the past but not here as they jumped out and were rarely threatened. Another nail in Gerry Neesham's coffin. Freo lost Waterhouse with 'flu and Kickett with bruised ribs, replacements were Hunter and debutant James Walker, a winger from Lake Wendouree, Ballarat. Walker's great-grandad was Gordon Coventry. The Bombers got Hird back and recalled Doolan, Denham missed with a groin strain and Olarenshaw with 'flu.

Hirdy had been to see Australian cricket captain Mark Taylor about the huge travails of his epic life and announced "I'm in good form, I just can't stay on the ground." But he bobbed up here to boot the Dons' first two goals as his side powered out of the blocks, led by the ruck dominance of Somerville. Strangely, Freo's Burton was left on the bench as Mercuri and Bewick buzzed around and Lloyd led confidently and kicked well to bag three goals in the first quarter. Late in the term Docker Clement was moved off Hird and shifted forward where he bombed a superb goal from the boundary, Parker went onto Golden Boy. Blumfield weaved for a good goal to open the second stanza, Mercuri slotted one and the Dons seemed on the way to a percentage booster as they led by 43 points. But the Dockers worked back into it, Fletcher and Norrish busy in the middle and Burton came on to ruck well. Chisholm and O'Reilly postered before they were rewarded with 5 goals in the last 10 minutes of the term, the first two set up by long runs by Parker from defence. The locals roared as his praying-mantis frame cantered forward with multiple bounces, slotting one himself and giving one away to Sinclair, Walker came off the bench to kick a goal too. But the Bombers buried the Dockers with 6 goals in the first half of the third quarter, Burton again on the sideline. Cockatoo-Collins came off the bench and started getting the ball all over the forward line, Lloyd and Lucas were prominent while small men Bewick and Fraser bobbed up with goals. Freo did a bit late in the term and could've done with some straighter kicking from O'Reilly, used as a forward. The game wound down in the final stanza.

Classy game from Mark Mercuri for the Bombers, he had 20 disposals and kicked 3 goals across half-forward. Somerville played his best game in eons, he had 22 hitouts and 20 possessions in beating big Burton. Lloyd kicked 5 goals from 9 storng marks and Hird was busy with 22 disposals and 2 goals, Doolan (24 disposals) and Calthorpe were handy midfielders. Berbakov held Brown to 1 kick. Lucas managed 3 goals and there were 2 each for Bewick and Fraser. Fremantle veteran O'Reilly played well across half forward with 12 marks and 17 kicks, but only managed a woeful 1.6. Fletcher (22 possessions, 2 goals), Sinclair (23 touches, a goal) and Norrish battled midfield and young Walker made a good debut with 20 disposals and a goal. Parker did reasonably on Hird and fired the crowd with his runs and goal, Gale got plenty of touches on half-back. Hunter also kicked 2 goals. Can't find any direct quotes, but Neesham is reported as saying he thought it should've been closer given the possession and goal-scoring opportunities Fremantle had. Sheedy reiterated his team's recent record and conceded a fit Hird had boosted the team's confidence. All I can say is…Go Pies!

At the SCG:

Sydney        5.2    7.4    9.7   10.14.74
West Coast  1.4    4.8    7.9    9.14.68

The Swans made hard work of winning this 8-pointer to virtually secure a top-four spot. The Eags' away tactics of boring the opposition to death didn't quite work. In selection Sydney replaced Filandia with Arnott, the Eagles lost Heady with an ankle and axed Marshall and somebody else not reported in the paper, in came Worsfold, Williams and first-gamer Rowan Jones from Claremont. Swan old-timer Mark Bayes announced his decision to retire at the end of the season.

More water problems in Sydney, this time with torrential rain which has flooded most of mid-NSW and saw most of Saturday's sport postponed. The SCG was in pretty good condition though and it didn't rain during this game. Weagle Read set up the first goal of the game for Braun but after that the Swans piled on the next six. With big Stafford controlling the ruck Cresswell and Cook handled more often than Monica Lewinsky, Nicks steamed forward from defence. Dale Lewis, playing in a forward pocket alongside Plugger, marked strongly for the Swans' first. Cook snapped a goal, Lewis led to Barry's pass and converted. Then the brothers Matera helped out, Peter was caught in possession and Stevens dobbed the free, then Phil was done for throwing and Barry popped it through. Cresswell goaled early in the second quarter and it was Sydney by 27 points. But the Wiggles rallied, Cousins went onto the ball while the defenders, McIntosh, Jakovich and McKenna, tightened up. Braun slotted his second and Read plucked the ball from a pack and raced into an open goal. Swan Maxfield found Lockett for the big man's first, but a mark and goal from White brought the visitors closer.

Into the third quarter, an unbelieveable snap by Ball cut the Swans' lead to 8 points then Chris Lewis marked close in and converted, 2 points the diff. Relief for the locals when Banfield was penalised for a throw on the wing, Pete Matera wasn't happy but O'Loughlin got the ball to Lockett, his handpass made an easy goal for Saddington. However the young Mitcham lad messed up moments later, after a mark in the defensive goalsquare he kicked too close to Waterman, the Eagle marked and converted and it was a 1-point game. Mooney managed to extend the lead with a nice mark and goal just before the final change. But the Eags pressed on, Jones goaled early in the final term then the West Coast hit the lead when some nice handling from Peter Matera set up a captain's goal for Worsfold. They led by three points, the Swans had already missed 3 shots in the quarter and they kicked another three behinds to level the scores. They'd hit the post six times. Plagues, floods, posters. Just goes to show God hates Sydney. The Swans attacked again, Barry floated a handpass towards Lockett, he tapped it netball-style to O'Loughlin who snapped truly and the Swans led by a goal. Still four minutes left, O'Loughlin kicked another behind, Peter Matera had a long shot which missed and Barry became a hero with two excellent marks in the dying seconds.

Good all-round effort for the Swans, the midfield got plenty of the ball as Stafford returned to his best form. Cresswell had 35 disposals and a goal, Schwass 30 touches, Cook 23 and Nicks 27. Stevens was important in the last quarter. Seymour and Dukley were very good at the back and Orchard did a reasonable tagging job on Cousins. Lewis, with 2 goals, was the only multiple goalkicker as the Swans grafted the scores out. The Wewst Coast defence was again outstanding, McKenna had 20 possessions and stopped Barry and Lewis at various stages, McIntosh kept Plugger to 1 goal and Jakovich was good again ? much happier since he signed the new contract. White had 8 marks, 15 kicks and a goal across half-forward, Read is a clever and skilled player. Cousins got some key touches. Braun was their only multiple scorer with 2 goals. Mick Malthouse wasn't happy. "We lost the game. Good sides don't lose after they get in front. We made more errors than I'd expect from an under-12 team, conceding 10 goals to Sydney is 10 too many…I'd rather finish out of the eight if we can't do it satisfactorily ourselves. We don't want to be saved by the bottom sides." Harsh, eh? Eade stated "I thought we were the better side for most of it. It was a credit to our guys to be behind and come back, it showed a lot of character."

At the MCG:

Richmond      4.3    5.7    7.7   12.14.86
Collingwood  2.3    4.5    7.9    9.13.67

Plappy. Wasn't he the jailer in Blackadder? Tight, dull and low-skill game in which the Tigers got the four points they needed to stay in the finals race, along with costly head injuries to key players Gaspar and Richardson. The weakened Pies gave a good account of themselves. In selection the Tiges axed the unconditioned Charles along with Moore, Bower and Blurton, they were replaced by Bulluss, McKee, Nichols and Michael Gale. Pie coach Shaw went mad over a "leaked" newspaper article listing the Magpies who are allgedly up for trade or sale come the season's end. Here the Pies went with youth. Paul Williams won't play again this season after Powell broke his jaw last week, McDonald was suspended 2 weeks for biffing Romero, Wright has 'flu and Wild was dropped. Youngsters Tarrant, Mangin and Wasley were given chances, so was former Tiger Jamie Tape.

Richmond started well with four goals in the first eight minutes, with Bowden and Powell playing across half back and Campbell, Nichols and Harrison busy in the middle. Powell's kick squirmed through a crowd for the first goal, Evans roved to set up a major for Richardson and then snap one himself, Plapp kicked superbly after a strong mark. Thereon the game descended into a tough, scrappy and boring contest. Sav Rocca worked hard to set up the Pies' first goal, for Mangin and before the first break Sav scored with a typical booming punt after a lead and mark. Also typically he missed an easier shot moments later. Broderick goaled straight from the opening bounce of the second quarter but rugged Pie tackling and sloppy disposal from both sides was the order of the day. Tiger Richardson managed to hit the post from inside the goalsquare before Mangin's snap bounced through after Turner fell over, then Sav accidentally kicked a goal while attempting to pass to Crosisca. Richmond got a bit of a break in the third quarter, a rapid Plapp goal was followed by a classic rover's one for Nichols. But the Pies boxed on, Patterson slotted on the run and Tape bananaed a free kick through, late in the term a long Rocca kick was marked and converted by Pie Mark Richardson and the Pies led by 2 points. At a boundary throw-in Richmond's Richardson received a hefty downward elbow from Monkhorst, it broke his cheekbone and could end his season. Up for grabs but a burst of Tiger goals early in the last sealed it. The first two came from Plapp, a strong goalsquare mark followed by a lead to Broderick's pass and goal. Gaspar was shifted forward, he took a courageous back-pedalling mark only for Pie Scott Crow to deliver a cowardly elbow as Gaspar fell back, the unconscious Tiger was stretchered off while Daffy converted after a 50m penalty. The Tigers led by 15 points, enough given the standard. Crosisca goaled but two more for the Tiges, from Campbell and Broderick, ended it.

The ruckmen played wide of each other, dropping back in defence. Richmond's Gale had 16 disposals and took 7 contested marks in defence, shoring up the backline. Bowden played well in the back half with 26 disposals before being shifted forward at the end, Gaspar was excellent again at CHB before his KO in the last term. Campbell ran everywhere for 34 possessions and a goal, Harrison (19 kicks) was useful on a wing although wasted a few of his kicks, Broderick (2 goals) and Knights worked hard. Plapp booted 4 goals from 8 marks and looked dangerous all day in attack. Monkhorst was excellent for Collingwood before going off with a thigh strain at the end, he had 22 disposals and 11 marks as the loose man in defence. Burns was all class again with 24 touches up and down the ground, Wasley impressed on a wing with 20 touches. Crosisca, Crow the Bastard and King worked hard around the ground, Rocca played well although his goalkicking continues to frustrate, he kicked 2.2 and 2 on-the-full. Mangin also kicked 2 goals. Shaw said "Without Buckley and Williams (and McDonald for that matter) we had to go one-on-one in midfield and we lacked a little bit of discipline early. We had problems with conversion…in the end their class midfielders got on top. They're kids and they'll learn from it." Gieschen said "We don't think we're a great side but we're no duffers either. We're somewhere in the middle there, but we know if we can get our game together we can be more than competitive against the very good sides at the top of the ladder."

At Football Park:

Adelaide          5.0    7.5   15.8   22.12.144
Port Adelaide   1.3    3.7    7.8    10.10.70

A huge build-up for Showdown IV ? The Revenge of The Nerds given the importance of the win to Crows, in particular. Unlike previous close, low-scoring showdowns this one was a massacre. The Crows lost captain Bickley with a hamstring strain, Pittman with a hip injury and dumped Jameson and Sampson for Bassett, Marsh, Edwards and rover Matthew Liptak for his first game in 18 months. The Power were without defender Daniels (thigh strain) and the discarded Francis and Bode, captain Wanganeen returned after injury and spearhead Cummings got a recall together with Roger James.

Led by Ricciuto the Crows jumped out to a handy lead over the Power, who were battling from the start. Big Marsh, who'd already played in a SANFL game on the Friday night, started on Tredrea. Port's Cummings completely missed a soccer attempt 1 metre out. Adelaide led by 5 goals in the second term as McLeod streaked in for an easy goal and the busy Vardy got one from a mark but Port managed to stay within four goals at half time as Wanganeen and Francou worked hard to keep them alive, Chalmers came on to kick a goal. The Camrys' lead stretched again early in the third term as Vardy swept up Eccles's smothered kick and converted on the run but Port pressed again, Chalmers kicked 2 more goals as Lyle and Dickie won the ball. Lyle wasn't at all happy when he was pinged for bawl and Robran roosted a huge kick from an impossible angle for a sausage, but at the other end full back Paxman roved to snap a goal and the Pooer trailed by 17 points. However they undid the good work when, following a defensive mark, Primus kicked poorly across goal and Kingsley couldn't gather in time, Caven grabbed the ball and majored. All Cows after that, Naish managed a goal in the final term before Ricciuto, Vardy and Jarman ran riot. Vardy potted 3 goals in the final quarter and Jarman enjoyed himself immensely for 2 more, Modra goaled from a lead and even defender Goodwin crept down for one.

The boy Ricciuto was excellent again for the Corollas, 37 disposals here as he ruled the middle. Connell (32 touches) and Koster were also handy on the ball, up forward Vardy had a great game to boot 7 goals (and 5 behinds) from 16 kicks. Swans offered him a mountain of money last year, apparently. McLeod (3 goals in the first half) and Jarman (4 goals) were a right pair of flankers and Eccles was good on the wing, there was plenty of aggressive running from defenders Smart and Hart. Goodwin played well again at the back, McLeod did a bit when shifted there in the second half. For Port Don Dickie worked hard for 21 disposals and Wanganeen strived to inspire although he was a bit quiet in the second half. Breuer and Lyle (20 touches each) were handy, runners Francou and Stevens were good but Port just didn't have the forward line working. Chalmers kicked 3 goals and Primus managed 2, but significantly there was one between Cummings, Tredrea and Lockwood (he got it). Cahill said "That's the most humiliating defeat we've had in the AFL. I wouldn't mind if we'd lost reasonably, by a goal or two…But the way we capitulated in the last quarter-and-a-half was the part that hurt us most. Our turnovers and skill errors cost us dearly. Going on Mark Williams' stats, we had the ball inside 50 more than they did…" Some rumours that Cahill's position isn't secure, some heads are keen for Williams to take over. Blighty reckoned "We were pretty even over four quarters and our third and fourth quarters were very good. I'm not sure where we sit…we're probably the same as five or six other clubs."