Bluey
31 May 2000, 16:40
AFL Round 12
Froze solid Sunday night and took all day yesterday to thaw out.
Big recent talking point has been (another) stupid new rule, the
automatic 50m penalty after a report. There's been eight instances where
the player's been found not guilty (five where it hasn't even reached
the tribunal), yet the 50m penalty resulted in a goal (including two on
the weekend). And what about after-match reports on video. Where's the
victim's 50m penalty? Have them return midweek for their shot at goal,
and amend the score? Stoopid. Get rid of it. And just think if a player
could be sent off, and later have the charge dismissed...
At Colonial:
Essendon 6.3 15.8 19.12 25.19.169
St. Kilda 3.3 6.3 7.5 13.5.83
Bit of a whisper for the Saints beforehand, but I'm satisfied I didn't
take the 11/2 about them. After half time it was extremely dull (unless
you barrack for the Bombers) as Essadun strolled about while the Saints
tried to halt play occasionally. Bruce burbled meaningless statistics.
"Essadun have equalled the record for most left-footed banana kicks in a
third quarter since University in 1903." Just trying to maintain
interest I suppose. In selection the Dons continued their 'treat 'em
mean, keep 'em keen' policy by dropping Darren The Evil One Bewick, Dean
Wallis was out with a calf strain. Steve Alessio and Gary Moorcroft were
recalled. St. Kilda lost the luckless James Begley for the season with a
shoulder injury. It's his second season-ending shoulder in 3 years.
Justin Plapp got a run.
One wing had Australian and Aboriginal flags painted on (as did all
grounds during National Reconciliation Week), the other resembled a
ploughed field. Trying out some new grass. Players slipped on it all
night. The Saints started well, they had a free from the opening bounce,
Everitt passed to Davis, on to leading Loewe and a goal. Then Everitt
marked at CHF and speared a good pass to Hall, he marked and goaled. So
St. Kilda led by 2 goals. Huzzah! But soon enough Lloyd opened
Essendon's account with a mark and 50m penalty when ridden down by Dazza
Wakelin. Hird created a mark and slot for Joe Misiti to level the
scores. McAvaney referred to Hird as "The Prince" early on, but only
once, thankfully. Alessio juggled a one-hander over D. Wakelin and
punted Essad'n ahead, but Aussi Jones swept up a loose ball following
some fierce Bommer tackling and booted the Saints back to a 1-point
lead. The match turned, if that's possible, when Essendon got one of
those double-goals.for an infringement between all-clear and centre
bounce. Hird marked gutsily from Alessio's centering kick and goaled.
Carr did some jostling, gave Jim a jab to the stomach, got reported
(charge withdrawn since) and Hirdy got another shot for another goal,
plus 50m. Lloyd snapped comically on the full but a bit later his smart
tap-on saw Moorcroft bounce a long shot through.
Essadun kicked five goals in five minutes to begin the second stanza
with total domination across the centre. Everitt didn't compete at the
half-opening bounce as his knee was gone, Alessio tapped to Blumfield,
kick marked by Lloyd, sausage. Trapped near the boundary Mercuri hooked
the ball back and Blumfield marked it, sausage. Jason Johnson snapped
consecutive sausages, then booted long for Lloyd to take a very good
grab, one handed as he fell backwards. Dons by 48 points after he
sausaged. Hird made a mistake (gosh!) when he missed following a
spiffing grab, but then Burke's kick was smothered and Ramanauskas
soccered truly. Stinkilda hadn't been forward of the centre in the
korter before Monkhorst kicked nicely for Plapp to mark and convert.
Moorcroft got another for Essadun, awarded a mark he clearly dropped.
The Saints kicked two more goals, Hall from a mark and Traianidis a very
good left-foot snap, created by Harvey's good handpass. From the bounce
after that though, the Dons cantered forward and Lloyd fired a handpass
to Caracella for an easy goal. They could've had another but Jacobs
wasn't paid a clear, juggling grab. Just before half-time Stewie Loewe
collected Jason Johnson with a late spoil, claret trickled from JJ's
hooter. Loewe (since reported) was loudly booed by the Bommer fans
thereon.
After the long break the Dons ran about at will, the Saints joined us
and watched. Or at least that's the way it seemed. Long and Jason
Johnson (concussed by Loewe) were benched for the night, Hird played
about ten minutes before joining them. Sinkilda messed up an early
scoring chance and Moorcroft converted a free kick, making the margin
exactly ten goals. Blumfield and Caracella majored, then Lloyd did again
from another one-hander. What a bloody lair. Davis's long behind was the
Saints' first score for 27 minutes. Lloyd bagged another before a poor
Fletcher kick-in allowed Thompson to kick a gol for St. Kilda. Essendon
kicked three quick goals to commence the final term, Moorcroft with a
long left-footer, Lloyd easily and Barnard with a nice snap. They were
98 points in front now but the Stains stirred for four straight as Burke
and Delaney got some touches. Loewe, Hall, Delaney and Hall again got
the goals. They averted a triple-figure margin. With five minutes left
Bomber ruckman Barnes came on for his first run. Off to the VFL next
week?
Essendon's twelfth consecutive win to start a season matched West Coast
in 1991. Matthew Lloyd was quite good, booting 6 goals from 14 marks and
22 disposals. That's 58 goals for the year now. Gave a few goals away
too. James Hird played little more than a half after midweek illness but
set up the win with 20 possessions on the ball and 2 goals. Justin
Blumfield was very good in the centre too, he had 23 touches, 7 marks
and 3 goals. Dustin Fletcher dominated in defence again with 21 kicks
and 9 marks, both Johnsons were good too. Mark had 24 possies and kicked
a goal, Jason spent the second half on the bench but his 12 touches and
2 goals helped create the match-winning lead. Caracella and Moorcroft
kicked 3 goals each, Joe Misiti kicked 2. The Saints had a winner of
sorts in Steven Sziller, who saw Long benched at quarter-time with just
one handpass. Not that it affected the outcome. Rob Harvey battled for
35 disposals, Barry Hall did well from few chances to boot 4 goals.
Jones delivered the ball well, when he got it. Stew Loewe kicked 3 goals
and took 10 marks. Tony Delaney spent the first half on the bench and
finished up with 15 disposals and a goal. What do Timmy? Max Hudghton's
opponent, Scott Lucas, had a very quiet night. Andy Thompson kicked 2
goals. Watson praised his former club. "They are an awesome unit, they
are going to take some beating...it will take a special effort from a
team to beat them." Sheedy said "We had a rev-up before the game, to be
honest, because we started poorly the week before. Geelong had seven
goals at quarter-time and that is just not acceptable and I felt we
played a hell of a lot better in the first half from the previous week
or two."
At the MCG:
Collingwood 2.3 6.7 8.12 9.13.67
Geelong 1.4 1.7 7.8 10.11.71
The archetypal game of two halves, the Cats just overhauling the Pies in
tough conditions. Further support for a mate's theory, that a team will
always win when they've a big club function that night. For Geelong it
was Barry Stoneham's testimonial dinner. Barry didn't play in this one,
out with a hamstring. Collingwood clearly haven't had a club function
for seven weeks. Mick Malthouse made many alterations again, discarding
Nick Davis, Ben Kinnear, Stephen Patterson, Heath Scotland and poor old
Sav Rocca, the topic of much media debate. Andrew Ukovic returned from
injury, Leon Davis and Craig Jacotine got runs and the Pies blooded two
blokes, ruckman Brad Smith from Claremont via Richmond reserves and
high-leaping Dale Baynes, an East Fremantle lad. The Cats were forced
into three late changes as 'flu struck Tristan Lynch and Simon Arnott,
Paul Corrigan withdrew with a groin. Ronnie Burns joined Stoneham with a
hamstring. Replacements were small forward Jason Snell, tall forward
Jason Mooney and Darren Milburn all returning from injury, plus
youngsters Joel McKay and Paul Chapman.
The balmy opening rounds seem long ago now. The clock on the top of the
silo did say eleven degrees, if you could see it through the rain. Pies
controlled the first half, despite Buckley being well-tagged by Carl
Steinfort they had O'Bree, Licuria, Adkins and Betheras getting the
ball. O'Bree snapped the opening goal, Houlihan kicked Geelong's only
goal of the half. Milburn floated a kick-in allowing Pie Williams to
mark and convert. Second term and the Cats couldn't work out how to kick
a goal in the wet. Magpies' Fraser came on to replace Smith and play
well in the ruck, Tony Rocca plucked grabs across half-forward. The busy
Tarrant goaled from a mark, Williams kicked his second from a free for
bawwll against Cat defender Sanderson. He wasn't very happy. Glen
Freeborn booted consecutive goals, a free kick then a mark from Tony
Rocca's pass. All Maggies at the long break and it continued after
half-time, Freeborn roved a pack and snapped his third goal to put the
Pies 39 points ahead. No way back appeared likely for the Cats, but
there were some signs. Steve King was dominating the inexperienced Pie
pair in the ruck, it'd stopped raining, Kilpatrick started to get the
ball and Ling came off the bench to offer a bit in attack. But Adam
Houlihan was the catalyst, as they say in the classics, punting three
goals in five minutes. Clarke handballed for Milburn to sausage on the
run, when Ling did the same for Kilpatrick the Cats had rapidly sliced
the margin to 10 points. Tarrant kicked a steadier for Collinwood but
there was still time for Ling to narrow the margin to 10 points again at
the final break. Malthouse gave the umpires a spray on his way to the
Pie huddle.
Final term saw a complete reversal of the first half, now Catters King,
Kilpatrick and Bizzell controlled the midfield. Steinfort put it through
the big sticks early but Hocking was penalised for a shepherd and it
didn't count. Soon enough though Milburn gathered a quick handpass from
Ben Graham and ran well inside 50m to slot it home and cut the margin to
4 points. Fittingly, Houlihan put them in front from a mark, courtesy
some dodgy umpiring upfield. Both teams had chances before Buckley did
his most influential thing all day, booming a great goal from 52m to put
the Maggies in front again. Mensch appeared certain to put Geelong back
in front as he ran into the open goal but a diving tackle from Wasley
saw Mensch's kick skew for a point. But a little later Riccardi punted
forward, Hocking marked strongly in front of Jacotine and punted Geelong
ahead for the final time.
Big game from Adam Houlihan, 5 goals from 10 with 16 kicks and 4 marks.
Ruckman King was excellent with 29 hitouts and a hefty 30 disposals (25
kicks) in the wet conditions, he underlined the Pies' biggest weakness.
In the centre Glen Kilpatrick (27 disposals, a goal) was a battler all
day and Steinfort stopped Buckley while having 17 touches of his own.
Darren Milburn had 14 disposals off half-back and pushed down for 2
goals. Tim McGrath coped well at the back and had 20 possessions. The
Pies had great service from their runners, Paul Licuria off a back flank
with 27 disposals, aggressive rover Damien Adkins with 26 touches, Shane
O'Bree had 31 possessions and kicked a goal playing in the centre. Small
defender Tarkyn Lockyer had 23 touches and opportunist Freeborn finished
with 3 goals from 12 kicks. Williams and Tarrant kicked 2 goals each.
Malthouse said "Perhaps by weight of numbers, we weren't able to keep
the same pressure in the second half. At the end of the day, their
midfield got on top and we just couldn't stop them." Perhaps if they'd
kept Monky. "They just weren't playing, were they?" said Bomber Thompson
of his mens' first half. "If we continued playing the way we were
playing, we were going to get beaten by 14 goals in the rain by
Collingwood, or you can get off your backsides and do something about
it."
At Colonial:
Hawthorn 6.2 8.4 15.4 19.7.121
Fremantle 2.2 5.9 8.12 8.14.62
The internecine workings of the AFL led to Hawk president Ian Dicker
actively discouraging Hawthorn supporters from attending this game. It
was shifted from Princes Park and under the deal the Hawks had to
compensate Carlton if 15,000 or more turned up. In the event there were
16,004 punters on a freezingly cold, wet night. Just as well they've got
the roof. Hawthorn were without in-form defender Jade Rawlings, a knee
strain and Barry Young also missed with a knee, John Barker returned
from injury and backman Nathan Chapman got a start. Five changes for the
Dockers, Anthony Jones and Dale Kickett will be out for some time with
broken ribs and a back injury respectively, Shipp, Bootsma and Justin
Longmuir were axed. Incoming were comparative Freo veterans in Brad
Wira, Jason Norrish, Greg Harding, Mark Gale and Brendan Fewster. Dogged
Freo leather hunter Adrian Fletcher played his 200th game, a great
achievement for a journeyman rejected by Geelong, St. Kilda and
Brisbane. During the week Lion ex-coach Northey said the decision to axe
Fletcher was "the worst decision made at the club during my time there."
Shane Parker played his 100th and I think he might be the first bloke to
play 100 for Fremantle.
Freo's shocking run continued at a venue where they were undefeated
beforehand. The first half was pretty ordinary stuff, plenty of errors
from both sides. Hork CHF Nick Holland was the difference, hauling down
11 marks before half-time as he mauled Dan Bandy. Holland also kicked 2
first-quarter goals, as did Nathan Thompson and Joel Smith. One of
Freo's majors was gifted to Waterhouse by Mark Graham as the Dockers
struggled to make an impact. They did better in the second quarter,
early goals from Fewster and Hasleby cut the margin to 9 points. Hawk
coach Schwab switched Trent Croad to defence and Chapman came on to go
forward and kick a goal. Late in the term Docker Stephen Koops soared
over Holland and Fewster for a huge grab, probably your Shocker fan's
highlight. Hawthorn clicked up a gear and ended the game in the third
(in third?). Crawford had spent a fair bit of the first half on the
bench being treated for a corked hip but he kicked 3 goals in the
quarter, one a set shot from inside the centre square. Croad made some
surging runs from the back, one creating a goal for Thompson. Rock and
Bowyer dobbed set shots as the Hawks kicked clear, niggled by a couple
of Docker goals. Shane Parker had stopped Holland but it didn't matter.
Hawthorn strolled home in a half-pace last term.
Holland ended the game with 12 marks (11 in the first half), 24
disposals (19 in the first half) and 3 goals. Forward flanker Joel Smith
played well for 2 goals and 23 touches and big Thompson also had a hand
with 8 marks and 3 goals. Dan Chick continued to enjoy his new career as
a backman with 22 disposals and in the centre veterans Paul Salmon (17
touches, 8 marks, 23 hitouts), Anthony Rock (17 disposals, 2 goals) and
Tony Woods (22 touches) carried the night. Crawford bagged 3 goals from
his 9 kicks. Junior Freo champion Paul Hasleby had 17 disposals and
kicked 3 goals despite spending the first quarter off the ground.
Fletcher battled hard in his milestone game for 27 disposals and Brendan
Fewster was a reasonably effective big man with 4 marks, 11 kicks and 2
goals. Parker won kudos for his second half on Holland and Shaun McManus
made plenty of mistakes but boxed on for 16 touches. Callaghan, Cook,
Gale and Michael all had 20-plus touches. A weary Drum said "You have
just got to persevere. It would be very easy to drop your bundle and
blame somebody else, just put your head in the sand...but some blokes
are not up to it and we will just get rid of them and play somebody
else." Schwab reckoned "It wasn't a great game, but we are pleased. If
we'd lost tonight, we weren't quite out of the equation, but it was
going to be very hard to make the finals." Drummy was talking finals a
month ago.
At Football Park:
Adelaide 3.6 6.9 12.10 14.14.98
Sydney 1.2 2.4 5.4 7.6.48
Comfortable win for the Corollas over the demoralised Swans, two goals
in a half isn't going to win too many games, unless you're playing
Collingwood. Camrys went in without Darren Jarman, a 3-week hammy,
replaced by Matt Connell. Sydney lost rookie O'Keefe with a calf strain,
but had experienced Matthew Nicks return.
Very cold in Adelaide too, a bitter wind and snow in them thar Hills.
Nevertheless 30,253 turned up, perhaps something to do with the Camrys
having won four of the last six. Aderlayed started with the wind and but
didn't do a lot with it, the Swan backmen rushing a number of behinds.
Ricciuto kicked the Camrys' first two goals, then Goodes snaggled one
from close range for the Bloods. It was a rare touch for him though,
Robran keeping close tabs. With Goodwin similarly tight on Mick
O'Loughlin and Hart and Bassett rebounding well, Sydney had trouble
scoring despite Cresswell and Schwass wining a bucketful of kicks in the
middle. Mick's brother Ricky ended a good quarter by kicking a goal for
the Camrys, but he didn't return after the break. Neither did teammate
Kane Johnson, a hamstring. McLeod dropped a bit deeper for the second
quarter, he and Ricciuto supplied the Cow forwards, Marsh rucked well
and Brett Burton was great with 11 kicks and 5 marks in the stanza.
Despite the strong wind they got three goals, from Welsh, Perrie and
Connell, while Sydney's only major was a huge wind-assisted roost from
Warfe. The Camrys ended it with six third-quarter goals, McLeod slamming
one home from outside 50m, Welsh took a clever mark and centered nicely
for Edwards. The Swans managed three goals into the breeze, Saddington
and Stevens with good efforts, but their key forwards were hopeless
again and they didn't look like making up the 8-goal difference in the
final quarter.
Dual Norm Smith Medallist Andrew McLeod was very good for the winners,
his speed through the middle creating a number of goals. He had 33
disposals (27 kicks) and a goal. Burton took 8 marks, had 30 disposals
(15 in the second quarter) and kicked a goal, he flew dangerously for a
number of speccies just like Shaun Smith. Forward flank Tyson Edwards
had 26 touches and bagged 2 goals, Ricciuto was important with 29
handlings and 2 goals. Nigel Smart rebounded well with 25 possies.
Perrie and Welsh kicked 2 goals each. Swan centreman Daryn Cresswell had
26 disposals and kicked a goal, Wayne Schwass got the ball 30 times. But
they couldn't find a forward. Jason Saddington was alright with 19
disposals and a goal, Jason Ball had similar stats but only 3 marks,
although the wind made it hard for big men. They had eight goalkickers.
Eade said "I think the forwards were very disappointing. Quite a few of
them didn't play in front and certainly dropped four or five easy marks
we should have taken as well. But I think if you have a good look at the
Crows team, they've still got some very good players and generally their
back six are probably six of their best eight or nine players." Ayres
reckoned "We were pretty keen to build on last week's form. To come away
with a 50-point win in those conditions where it was very, very windy, I
think it probably showed to a degree that we dominated general play."
They're on the threshold of the eight, although four of their wins have
been over fairly ordinary sides.
At the Gabba:
Brisbane 5.1 9.8 13.9 14.15.99
Richmond 8.0 10.2 14.6 17.9.111
It conformed to the established Richmond pattern, a tough win with an
injury to an important player, this time forward Matt Rogers. Brisbane
also had injury trouble with the late withdrawals of captain Michael
Voss and Chris Scott, but this game also underlined their over-reliance
on Lynch and Power to kick goals. Also missing for the Lisbon Brians
were dropped pair Champion and Brown, incoming were Adam Heuskes and
Marcus Ashcroft from injury, Michael Martin had a call-up. Richmond lost
Duncan Kellaway for a month with strained knee ligaments and David
Bourke was a late withdrawal with an injured toe, Evans was dropped.
Brad Ottens returned from club suspension and defender Darren Gaspar
from injury, 1998 draftee James White was given his debut. He's from
Oakleigh.
The Brians started swiftly, Lynch bagged the first two goals and Darryl
White snapped one, starting in attack to bolster their goalscoring
Power. Brett Voss and Lappin drove them forward as they kicked four of
the first five goals. But the Tigers stacked on an amazing seven goals
in the last ten minutes of the quarter, including Chaffeys' miraculous
running left-foot banana and Tivendale's long run with not many bounces
(one, in fact). Ottens set one up for James, who bagged two goals before
being ejected for urinating on the field. Or perhaps he had a cut hand.
The Tigers got the first two goals of the second term and led by four
before the Lions kicked four straight sausages to end the second term,
Power and Akermanis with a couple between them. Scores level at half
time. Ottens's handpass sent Campbell in for the first goal of the third
quarter. Power snaggled one to level the scores again. The Tigers edged
ahead by six, Power kicked two more goals with some terrific roving to
Lynch and Lisbon led by a goal. But Tigre winger Bowden went to full
forward and booted consecutive majors to send the Mexicans in 9 points
up before The Final Quarter. Knights snapped an early over-the-shoulder
goal to extend Richmond's lead. The Lyons pulled one back but the Tiger
defence was resolute, eventually Andrew Kellaway sealed it, just like
last week.
The Tigers' on-ball team led the way, Wayne Campbell had 29 disposals
and booted 3 goals, ruck pair Brad Ottens (19 hitouts, 11 marks) and
Brendon Gale (16 hitouts, 10 marks, 2 goals) beat Brisbane's McDonald
and White. Rover Clinton King had a big third quarter and ended witn 23
touches, Joel Bowden bagged 2 goals with his 24 handlings. Gaspar was
excellent at the back with 21 handlings. Rogers kicked 3 goals from 6
kicks, James kicked 2 goals. The Lions' better players included Nigel
Lappin with 25 possessions against Daffy, lively small forward Luke
Power with 5 goals from 10 kicks and midfielders Simon Black (25
touches) and Craig Lambert (23, 15 handpasses). Lynch and White kicked 3
goals each, CHB Matthew Kennedy did usefully on Ben Holland. "Eventually
their defence just absolutely took over, but our delivery of the ball
wasn't special either," was Leigh Matthews's potted analysis. Frawley
was in bullish mood. "We're prepared to play anyone, anywhere, anytime."
Didn't know he was a Goodies fan. "We've probably just gained a little
respect we didn't have twelve weeks ago."
At the SCG:
North Melbourne 1.3 5.6 9.11 10.16.76
Port Adelaide 3.3 5.5 7.7 8.11.59
A poor game in front of a woeful Sydney crowd, 6,963, although it's
conceivable the reconciliation march might've kept some away. Of it (the
crowd), Pagan said "We've spoken to the players about that and they
understand that it is early days in what we are trying to do up here.
We're in it for the long haul." The accent on the word long. Port were
much improved and achieved one of them 'moral victories', they went to
stop Norf playing and succeeded pretty well. Might even have won if
they'd had a Carey, or delivered the ball better to their forwards, or
not been crucified by the umpires, who gave the Power such a raw deal
even McAvaney was moved to comment. In pickin' the Harbouroos discarded
Dhurrkay and the struggling Craig Sholl for Jason McCartney and Brady
Rawlings. The Power lost Cockatoo-Collins with his hamstring and ruckman
Barnaby French with a broken thumb, Harwood and Murray were axed. In
came defender Matthew Bishop and club scapegoat Warren Tredrea, backman
Scott Bassett for his second career game (didn't get on the park in his
first, last season) and Calder Cannon Brent Guerra for his first.
A blustery cross-field wind didn't help the low standard. Port did the
basics, they manned up, tackled hard, ran a lot. The Kangas joined the
bulk of Sydneysiders in being remarkably disinterested. Power's hapless
Shane Bond did his knee, badly, in the first few minutes when Roo
Clayton fell across it. But with ruckman Primus charging about and the
backline, led by Poulton, Mead (on Carey) and Bassett holding firm they
did well. They scored the first goal, Burgoyne with a nice kick from
Francou's chipped pass, and the second when Cornes was paid a doubtful
mark from Wilson's free kick. Port attacked again from the centre bounce
but Burgoyne postered from point-blank, he was much too casual. Carey
opened North's account, shoving Mead under the ball and doubling back
for a left-foot, impossible-angle grubber. But a little later Carr's
handpass sent Poulton in for another Port goal. At the break Pagan
arranged his men in a semi-circle, stood five metres away and lectured
them. Term two and after some early Pooer attacking Calthorpe majored
against the run of play, but soon a very good interception and pass from
Francis saw Cornes mark 50m out. Archer slapped the ball away, a 50m
penalty which no North player bothered to defend. Cornes gol, Port by 11
points. The Sydneyroos kicked three straight goals which the
commentators overestimated as them "taking control". First came when
Bishop wasn't paid a great mark for a too-early ride, the Norf free
ended in a goal to Motlop. King passed to Carey for the next two
sausages and the Roos led by 7 points. Port's Lockwood snapped a
tumbling, bouncing left-foot goal and they were back within a point.
During the break John Longmire, the wooden host of Seven's clunky
'Gameday', ran through first-half highlights including "this easy
snapped goal from Burgoyne" - his poster.
Port re-asserted themselves with the first two goals of the third, but
tended to undo good works with bad ones. Montgomery ran downfield and
passed for Cornes to mark and convert, then Lockwood held a grab watched
by three Roo backmen, he punted Power 11 points to the good. At the
other end Carey cantered into an open goal and was hammered from his
blind side by Paxman, the ball trickled through for a point. We enjoyed
that but Carr spilled the kick-in and Bell pounced for a goal. Archer,
who'd spent a while on the bench after his second-quarter error, was
moved forward and punted for Carey to take a diving mark and kick a very
good goal, Very North led by 3 points. Archer extended it to 9 when
Port's Mead helpfully kicked the ball straight to him. Carey then missed
terribly but not 30 seconds elapsed before the wind caught Rawlings's
kick and it sailed over two Port backmen for Carey to mark and kick
straight this time. The Kangas by 16 points, the biggest lead so far.
Abraham lobbed a set shot neatly on the full, a woeful bawwll decision
against Port set up another chance for Carey, he missed. "You have to
say that's justice," said McAvaney. Carey marked the kick-in and missed
the lot this time. That set the tone for a dire last quarter. Port again
enjoyed more possession but didn't bother trying to deliver it to a
forward, North kicked points. Early on Carey crashed into a pack, marked
one-handed and held the ball aloft, ala Mark Jackson. Except Jacko
intended irony. Lockwood's great snapped sausage narrowed the margin to
11 points but much tedium ensued. Three minutes remained when Lockwood
narrowly missed a set shot, from the kick-in Roo Pike set off on a
5-bounce run which led to a point-blank goal for Archer, ending the
contest. The siren rang and McAvaney sighed "Thank goodness for that."
North's best were backmen John Blakey (27 disposals, 15 marks) and Mick
Martyn, who thrashed the hapless Tredrea. Carey had a mixed day but it's
fair to say he was the difference, 5 goals from 16 touches with 7 marks.
Perpetually running David King had 26 disposals and Glenn Archer fired
the Roos in the third quarter, he also kicked 2 goals. Half-forward
Shannon Motlop had 14 touches and a goal, he's a classy type. Many good
efforts for Port, Scott Bassett took 10 marks and had 16 disposals at
the back, Adam Kingsley shut Bell out completely and Peter Burgoyne (15
kicks, a goal) did similarly on Shannon Grant. Brayden Lyle had 23
touches to Harvey's 18. Fabian Francis had 25 disposals and did well. Up
front Chad Cornes and Bowen Lockwood bagged 3 goals each. Nick Stevens
had 21 disposals but wasted too many. "A lot of our players would walk
away feeling contented with themselves," began Williams, "but as a club
they are really feeling it and we certainly feel it for our supporters.
We just want to walk away with a win rather than a loss." Pagan said "I
didn't think our attitude was right at the start (no kidding). I asked
them this and they said they were sharp, we were up. But you look at
blokes who have had real off days and you wonder." Better be 'on' next
week.
Froze solid Sunday night and took all day yesterday to thaw out.
Big recent talking point has been (another) stupid new rule, the
automatic 50m penalty after a report. There's been eight instances where
the player's been found not guilty (five where it hasn't even reached
the tribunal), yet the 50m penalty resulted in a goal (including two on
the weekend). And what about after-match reports on video. Where's the
victim's 50m penalty? Have them return midweek for their shot at goal,
and amend the score? Stoopid. Get rid of it. And just think if a player
could be sent off, and later have the charge dismissed...
At Colonial:
Essendon 6.3 15.8 19.12 25.19.169
St. Kilda 3.3 6.3 7.5 13.5.83
Bit of a whisper for the Saints beforehand, but I'm satisfied I didn't
take the 11/2 about them. After half time it was extremely dull (unless
you barrack for the Bombers) as Essadun strolled about while the Saints
tried to halt play occasionally. Bruce burbled meaningless statistics.
"Essadun have equalled the record for most left-footed banana kicks in a
third quarter since University in 1903." Just trying to maintain
interest I suppose. In selection the Dons continued their 'treat 'em
mean, keep 'em keen' policy by dropping Darren The Evil One Bewick, Dean
Wallis was out with a calf strain. Steve Alessio and Gary Moorcroft were
recalled. St. Kilda lost the luckless James Begley for the season with a
shoulder injury. It's his second season-ending shoulder in 3 years.
Justin Plapp got a run.
One wing had Australian and Aboriginal flags painted on (as did all
grounds during National Reconciliation Week), the other resembled a
ploughed field. Trying out some new grass. Players slipped on it all
night. The Saints started well, they had a free from the opening bounce,
Everitt passed to Davis, on to leading Loewe and a goal. Then Everitt
marked at CHF and speared a good pass to Hall, he marked and goaled. So
St. Kilda led by 2 goals. Huzzah! But soon enough Lloyd opened
Essendon's account with a mark and 50m penalty when ridden down by Dazza
Wakelin. Hird created a mark and slot for Joe Misiti to level the
scores. McAvaney referred to Hird as "The Prince" early on, but only
once, thankfully. Alessio juggled a one-hander over D. Wakelin and
punted Essad'n ahead, but Aussi Jones swept up a loose ball following
some fierce Bommer tackling and booted the Saints back to a 1-point
lead. The match turned, if that's possible, when Essendon got one of
those double-goals.for an infringement between all-clear and centre
bounce. Hird marked gutsily from Alessio's centering kick and goaled.
Carr did some jostling, gave Jim a jab to the stomach, got reported
(charge withdrawn since) and Hirdy got another shot for another goal,
plus 50m. Lloyd snapped comically on the full but a bit later his smart
tap-on saw Moorcroft bounce a long shot through.
Essadun kicked five goals in five minutes to begin the second stanza
with total domination across the centre. Everitt didn't compete at the
half-opening bounce as his knee was gone, Alessio tapped to Blumfield,
kick marked by Lloyd, sausage. Trapped near the boundary Mercuri hooked
the ball back and Blumfield marked it, sausage. Jason Johnson snapped
consecutive sausages, then booted long for Lloyd to take a very good
grab, one handed as he fell backwards. Dons by 48 points after he
sausaged. Hird made a mistake (gosh!) when he missed following a
spiffing grab, but then Burke's kick was smothered and Ramanauskas
soccered truly. Stinkilda hadn't been forward of the centre in the
korter before Monkhorst kicked nicely for Plapp to mark and convert.
Moorcroft got another for Essadun, awarded a mark he clearly dropped.
The Saints kicked two more goals, Hall from a mark and Traianidis a very
good left-foot snap, created by Harvey's good handpass. From the bounce
after that though, the Dons cantered forward and Lloyd fired a handpass
to Caracella for an easy goal. They could've had another but Jacobs
wasn't paid a clear, juggling grab. Just before half-time Stewie Loewe
collected Jason Johnson with a late spoil, claret trickled from JJ's
hooter. Loewe (since reported) was loudly booed by the Bommer fans
thereon.
After the long break the Dons ran about at will, the Saints joined us
and watched. Or at least that's the way it seemed. Long and Jason
Johnson (concussed by Loewe) were benched for the night, Hird played
about ten minutes before joining them. Sinkilda messed up an early
scoring chance and Moorcroft converted a free kick, making the margin
exactly ten goals. Blumfield and Caracella majored, then Lloyd did again
from another one-hander. What a bloody lair. Davis's long behind was the
Saints' first score for 27 minutes. Lloyd bagged another before a poor
Fletcher kick-in allowed Thompson to kick a gol for St. Kilda. Essendon
kicked three quick goals to commence the final term, Moorcroft with a
long left-footer, Lloyd easily and Barnard with a nice snap. They were
98 points in front now but the Stains stirred for four straight as Burke
and Delaney got some touches. Loewe, Hall, Delaney and Hall again got
the goals. They averted a triple-figure margin. With five minutes left
Bomber ruckman Barnes came on for his first run. Off to the VFL next
week?
Essendon's twelfth consecutive win to start a season matched West Coast
in 1991. Matthew Lloyd was quite good, booting 6 goals from 14 marks and
22 disposals. That's 58 goals for the year now. Gave a few goals away
too. James Hird played little more than a half after midweek illness but
set up the win with 20 possessions on the ball and 2 goals. Justin
Blumfield was very good in the centre too, he had 23 touches, 7 marks
and 3 goals. Dustin Fletcher dominated in defence again with 21 kicks
and 9 marks, both Johnsons were good too. Mark had 24 possies and kicked
a goal, Jason spent the second half on the bench but his 12 touches and
2 goals helped create the match-winning lead. Caracella and Moorcroft
kicked 3 goals each, Joe Misiti kicked 2. The Saints had a winner of
sorts in Steven Sziller, who saw Long benched at quarter-time with just
one handpass. Not that it affected the outcome. Rob Harvey battled for
35 disposals, Barry Hall did well from few chances to boot 4 goals.
Jones delivered the ball well, when he got it. Stew Loewe kicked 3 goals
and took 10 marks. Tony Delaney spent the first half on the bench and
finished up with 15 disposals and a goal. What do Timmy? Max Hudghton's
opponent, Scott Lucas, had a very quiet night. Andy Thompson kicked 2
goals. Watson praised his former club. "They are an awesome unit, they
are going to take some beating...it will take a special effort from a
team to beat them." Sheedy said "We had a rev-up before the game, to be
honest, because we started poorly the week before. Geelong had seven
goals at quarter-time and that is just not acceptable and I felt we
played a hell of a lot better in the first half from the previous week
or two."
At the MCG:
Collingwood 2.3 6.7 8.12 9.13.67
Geelong 1.4 1.7 7.8 10.11.71
The archetypal game of two halves, the Cats just overhauling the Pies in
tough conditions. Further support for a mate's theory, that a team will
always win when they've a big club function that night. For Geelong it
was Barry Stoneham's testimonial dinner. Barry didn't play in this one,
out with a hamstring. Collingwood clearly haven't had a club function
for seven weeks. Mick Malthouse made many alterations again, discarding
Nick Davis, Ben Kinnear, Stephen Patterson, Heath Scotland and poor old
Sav Rocca, the topic of much media debate. Andrew Ukovic returned from
injury, Leon Davis and Craig Jacotine got runs and the Pies blooded two
blokes, ruckman Brad Smith from Claremont via Richmond reserves and
high-leaping Dale Baynes, an East Fremantle lad. The Cats were forced
into three late changes as 'flu struck Tristan Lynch and Simon Arnott,
Paul Corrigan withdrew with a groin. Ronnie Burns joined Stoneham with a
hamstring. Replacements were small forward Jason Snell, tall forward
Jason Mooney and Darren Milburn all returning from injury, plus
youngsters Joel McKay and Paul Chapman.
The balmy opening rounds seem long ago now. The clock on the top of the
silo did say eleven degrees, if you could see it through the rain. Pies
controlled the first half, despite Buckley being well-tagged by Carl
Steinfort they had O'Bree, Licuria, Adkins and Betheras getting the
ball. O'Bree snapped the opening goal, Houlihan kicked Geelong's only
goal of the half. Milburn floated a kick-in allowing Pie Williams to
mark and convert. Second term and the Cats couldn't work out how to kick
a goal in the wet. Magpies' Fraser came on to replace Smith and play
well in the ruck, Tony Rocca plucked grabs across half-forward. The busy
Tarrant goaled from a mark, Williams kicked his second from a free for
bawwll against Cat defender Sanderson. He wasn't very happy. Glen
Freeborn booted consecutive goals, a free kick then a mark from Tony
Rocca's pass. All Maggies at the long break and it continued after
half-time, Freeborn roved a pack and snapped his third goal to put the
Pies 39 points ahead. No way back appeared likely for the Cats, but
there were some signs. Steve King was dominating the inexperienced Pie
pair in the ruck, it'd stopped raining, Kilpatrick started to get the
ball and Ling came off the bench to offer a bit in attack. But Adam
Houlihan was the catalyst, as they say in the classics, punting three
goals in five minutes. Clarke handballed for Milburn to sausage on the
run, when Ling did the same for Kilpatrick the Cats had rapidly sliced
the margin to 10 points. Tarrant kicked a steadier for Collinwood but
there was still time for Ling to narrow the margin to 10 points again at
the final break. Malthouse gave the umpires a spray on his way to the
Pie huddle.
Final term saw a complete reversal of the first half, now Catters King,
Kilpatrick and Bizzell controlled the midfield. Steinfort put it through
the big sticks early but Hocking was penalised for a shepherd and it
didn't count. Soon enough though Milburn gathered a quick handpass from
Ben Graham and ran well inside 50m to slot it home and cut the margin to
4 points. Fittingly, Houlihan put them in front from a mark, courtesy
some dodgy umpiring upfield. Both teams had chances before Buckley did
his most influential thing all day, booming a great goal from 52m to put
the Maggies in front again. Mensch appeared certain to put Geelong back
in front as he ran into the open goal but a diving tackle from Wasley
saw Mensch's kick skew for a point. But a little later Riccardi punted
forward, Hocking marked strongly in front of Jacotine and punted Geelong
ahead for the final time.
Big game from Adam Houlihan, 5 goals from 10 with 16 kicks and 4 marks.
Ruckman King was excellent with 29 hitouts and a hefty 30 disposals (25
kicks) in the wet conditions, he underlined the Pies' biggest weakness.
In the centre Glen Kilpatrick (27 disposals, a goal) was a battler all
day and Steinfort stopped Buckley while having 17 touches of his own.
Darren Milburn had 14 disposals off half-back and pushed down for 2
goals. Tim McGrath coped well at the back and had 20 possessions. The
Pies had great service from their runners, Paul Licuria off a back flank
with 27 disposals, aggressive rover Damien Adkins with 26 touches, Shane
O'Bree had 31 possessions and kicked a goal playing in the centre. Small
defender Tarkyn Lockyer had 23 touches and opportunist Freeborn finished
with 3 goals from 12 kicks. Williams and Tarrant kicked 2 goals each.
Malthouse said "Perhaps by weight of numbers, we weren't able to keep
the same pressure in the second half. At the end of the day, their
midfield got on top and we just couldn't stop them." Perhaps if they'd
kept Monky. "They just weren't playing, were they?" said Bomber Thompson
of his mens' first half. "If we continued playing the way we were
playing, we were going to get beaten by 14 goals in the rain by
Collingwood, or you can get off your backsides and do something about
it."
At Colonial:
Hawthorn 6.2 8.4 15.4 19.7.121
Fremantle 2.2 5.9 8.12 8.14.62
The internecine workings of the AFL led to Hawk president Ian Dicker
actively discouraging Hawthorn supporters from attending this game. It
was shifted from Princes Park and under the deal the Hawks had to
compensate Carlton if 15,000 or more turned up. In the event there were
16,004 punters on a freezingly cold, wet night. Just as well they've got
the roof. Hawthorn were without in-form defender Jade Rawlings, a knee
strain and Barry Young also missed with a knee, John Barker returned
from injury and backman Nathan Chapman got a start. Five changes for the
Dockers, Anthony Jones and Dale Kickett will be out for some time with
broken ribs and a back injury respectively, Shipp, Bootsma and Justin
Longmuir were axed. Incoming were comparative Freo veterans in Brad
Wira, Jason Norrish, Greg Harding, Mark Gale and Brendan Fewster. Dogged
Freo leather hunter Adrian Fletcher played his 200th game, a great
achievement for a journeyman rejected by Geelong, St. Kilda and
Brisbane. During the week Lion ex-coach Northey said the decision to axe
Fletcher was "the worst decision made at the club during my time there."
Shane Parker played his 100th and I think he might be the first bloke to
play 100 for Fremantle.
Freo's shocking run continued at a venue where they were undefeated
beforehand. The first half was pretty ordinary stuff, plenty of errors
from both sides. Hork CHF Nick Holland was the difference, hauling down
11 marks before half-time as he mauled Dan Bandy. Holland also kicked 2
first-quarter goals, as did Nathan Thompson and Joel Smith. One of
Freo's majors was gifted to Waterhouse by Mark Graham as the Dockers
struggled to make an impact. They did better in the second quarter,
early goals from Fewster and Hasleby cut the margin to 9 points. Hawk
coach Schwab switched Trent Croad to defence and Chapman came on to go
forward and kick a goal. Late in the term Docker Stephen Koops soared
over Holland and Fewster for a huge grab, probably your Shocker fan's
highlight. Hawthorn clicked up a gear and ended the game in the third
(in third?). Crawford had spent a fair bit of the first half on the
bench being treated for a corked hip but he kicked 3 goals in the
quarter, one a set shot from inside the centre square. Croad made some
surging runs from the back, one creating a goal for Thompson. Rock and
Bowyer dobbed set shots as the Hawks kicked clear, niggled by a couple
of Docker goals. Shane Parker had stopped Holland but it didn't matter.
Hawthorn strolled home in a half-pace last term.
Holland ended the game with 12 marks (11 in the first half), 24
disposals (19 in the first half) and 3 goals. Forward flanker Joel Smith
played well for 2 goals and 23 touches and big Thompson also had a hand
with 8 marks and 3 goals. Dan Chick continued to enjoy his new career as
a backman with 22 disposals and in the centre veterans Paul Salmon (17
touches, 8 marks, 23 hitouts), Anthony Rock (17 disposals, 2 goals) and
Tony Woods (22 touches) carried the night. Crawford bagged 3 goals from
his 9 kicks. Junior Freo champion Paul Hasleby had 17 disposals and
kicked 3 goals despite spending the first quarter off the ground.
Fletcher battled hard in his milestone game for 27 disposals and Brendan
Fewster was a reasonably effective big man with 4 marks, 11 kicks and 2
goals. Parker won kudos for his second half on Holland and Shaun McManus
made plenty of mistakes but boxed on for 16 touches. Callaghan, Cook,
Gale and Michael all had 20-plus touches. A weary Drum said "You have
just got to persevere. It would be very easy to drop your bundle and
blame somebody else, just put your head in the sand...but some blokes
are not up to it and we will just get rid of them and play somebody
else." Schwab reckoned "It wasn't a great game, but we are pleased. If
we'd lost tonight, we weren't quite out of the equation, but it was
going to be very hard to make the finals." Drummy was talking finals a
month ago.
At Football Park:
Adelaide 3.6 6.9 12.10 14.14.98
Sydney 1.2 2.4 5.4 7.6.48
Comfortable win for the Corollas over the demoralised Swans, two goals
in a half isn't going to win too many games, unless you're playing
Collingwood. Camrys went in without Darren Jarman, a 3-week hammy,
replaced by Matt Connell. Sydney lost rookie O'Keefe with a calf strain,
but had experienced Matthew Nicks return.
Very cold in Adelaide too, a bitter wind and snow in them thar Hills.
Nevertheless 30,253 turned up, perhaps something to do with the Camrys
having won four of the last six. Aderlayed started with the wind and but
didn't do a lot with it, the Swan backmen rushing a number of behinds.
Ricciuto kicked the Camrys' first two goals, then Goodes snaggled one
from close range for the Bloods. It was a rare touch for him though,
Robran keeping close tabs. With Goodwin similarly tight on Mick
O'Loughlin and Hart and Bassett rebounding well, Sydney had trouble
scoring despite Cresswell and Schwass wining a bucketful of kicks in the
middle. Mick's brother Ricky ended a good quarter by kicking a goal for
the Camrys, but he didn't return after the break. Neither did teammate
Kane Johnson, a hamstring. McLeod dropped a bit deeper for the second
quarter, he and Ricciuto supplied the Cow forwards, Marsh rucked well
and Brett Burton was great with 11 kicks and 5 marks in the stanza.
Despite the strong wind they got three goals, from Welsh, Perrie and
Connell, while Sydney's only major was a huge wind-assisted roost from
Warfe. The Camrys ended it with six third-quarter goals, McLeod slamming
one home from outside 50m, Welsh took a clever mark and centered nicely
for Edwards. The Swans managed three goals into the breeze, Saddington
and Stevens with good efforts, but their key forwards were hopeless
again and they didn't look like making up the 8-goal difference in the
final quarter.
Dual Norm Smith Medallist Andrew McLeod was very good for the winners,
his speed through the middle creating a number of goals. He had 33
disposals (27 kicks) and a goal. Burton took 8 marks, had 30 disposals
(15 in the second quarter) and kicked a goal, he flew dangerously for a
number of speccies just like Shaun Smith. Forward flank Tyson Edwards
had 26 touches and bagged 2 goals, Ricciuto was important with 29
handlings and 2 goals. Nigel Smart rebounded well with 25 possies.
Perrie and Welsh kicked 2 goals each. Swan centreman Daryn Cresswell had
26 disposals and kicked a goal, Wayne Schwass got the ball 30 times. But
they couldn't find a forward. Jason Saddington was alright with 19
disposals and a goal, Jason Ball had similar stats but only 3 marks,
although the wind made it hard for big men. They had eight goalkickers.
Eade said "I think the forwards were very disappointing. Quite a few of
them didn't play in front and certainly dropped four or five easy marks
we should have taken as well. But I think if you have a good look at the
Crows team, they've still got some very good players and generally their
back six are probably six of their best eight or nine players." Ayres
reckoned "We were pretty keen to build on last week's form. To come away
with a 50-point win in those conditions where it was very, very windy, I
think it probably showed to a degree that we dominated general play."
They're on the threshold of the eight, although four of their wins have
been over fairly ordinary sides.
At the Gabba:
Brisbane 5.1 9.8 13.9 14.15.99
Richmond 8.0 10.2 14.6 17.9.111
It conformed to the established Richmond pattern, a tough win with an
injury to an important player, this time forward Matt Rogers. Brisbane
also had injury trouble with the late withdrawals of captain Michael
Voss and Chris Scott, but this game also underlined their over-reliance
on Lynch and Power to kick goals. Also missing for the Lisbon Brians
were dropped pair Champion and Brown, incoming were Adam Heuskes and
Marcus Ashcroft from injury, Michael Martin had a call-up. Richmond lost
Duncan Kellaway for a month with strained knee ligaments and David
Bourke was a late withdrawal with an injured toe, Evans was dropped.
Brad Ottens returned from club suspension and defender Darren Gaspar
from injury, 1998 draftee James White was given his debut. He's from
Oakleigh.
The Brians started swiftly, Lynch bagged the first two goals and Darryl
White snapped one, starting in attack to bolster their goalscoring
Power. Brett Voss and Lappin drove them forward as they kicked four of
the first five goals. But the Tigers stacked on an amazing seven goals
in the last ten minutes of the quarter, including Chaffeys' miraculous
running left-foot banana and Tivendale's long run with not many bounces
(one, in fact). Ottens set one up for James, who bagged two goals before
being ejected for urinating on the field. Or perhaps he had a cut hand.
The Tigers got the first two goals of the second term and led by four
before the Lions kicked four straight sausages to end the second term,
Power and Akermanis with a couple between them. Scores level at half
time. Ottens's handpass sent Campbell in for the first goal of the third
quarter. Power snaggled one to level the scores again. The Tigers edged
ahead by six, Power kicked two more goals with some terrific roving to
Lynch and Lisbon led by a goal. But Tigre winger Bowden went to full
forward and booted consecutive majors to send the Mexicans in 9 points
up before The Final Quarter. Knights snapped an early over-the-shoulder
goal to extend Richmond's lead. The Lyons pulled one back but the Tiger
defence was resolute, eventually Andrew Kellaway sealed it, just like
last week.
The Tigers' on-ball team led the way, Wayne Campbell had 29 disposals
and booted 3 goals, ruck pair Brad Ottens (19 hitouts, 11 marks) and
Brendon Gale (16 hitouts, 10 marks, 2 goals) beat Brisbane's McDonald
and White. Rover Clinton King had a big third quarter and ended witn 23
touches, Joel Bowden bagged 2 goals with his 24 handlings. Gaspar was
excellent at the back with 21 handlings. Rogers kicked 3 goals from 6
kicks, James kicked 2 goals. The Lions' better players included Nigel
Lappin with 25 possessions against Daffy, lively small forward Luke
Power with 5 goals from 10 kicks and midfielders Simon Black (25
touches) and Craig Lambert (23, 15 handpasses). Lynch and White kicked 3
goals each, CHB Matthew Kennedy did usefully on Ben Holland. "Eventually
their defence just absolutely took over, but our delivery of the ball
wasn't special either," was Leigh Matthews's potted analysis. Frawley
was in bullish mood. "We're prepared to play anyone, anywhere, anytime."
Didn't know he was a Goodies fan. "We've probably just gained a little
respect we didn't have twelve weeks ago."
At the SCG:
North Melbourne 1.3 5.6 9.11 10.16.76
Port Adelaide 3.3 5.5 7.7 8.11.59
A poor game in front of a woeful Sydney crowd, 6,963, although it's
conceivable the reconciliation march might've kept some away. Of it (the
crowd), Pagan said "We've spoken to the players about that and they
understand that it is early days in what we are trying to do up here.
We're in it for the long haul." The accent on the word long. Port were
much improved and achieved one of them 'moral victories', they went to
stop Norf playing and succeeded pretty well. Might even have won if
they'd had a Carey, or delivered the ball better to their forwards, or
not been crucified by the umpires, who gave the Power such a raw deal
even McAvaney was moved to comment. In pickin' the Harbouroos discarded
Dhurrkay and the struggling Craig Sholl for Jason McCartney and Brady
Rawlings. The Power lost Cockatoo-Collins with his hamstring and ruckman
Barnaby French with a broken thumb, Harwood and Murray were axed. In
came defender Matthew Bishop and club scapegoat Warren Tredrea, backman
Scott Bassett for his second career game (didn't get on the park in his
first, last season) and Calder Cannon Brent Guerra for his first.
A blustery cross-field wind didn't help the low standard. Port did the
basics, they manned up, tackled hard, ran a lot. The Kangas joined the
bulk of Sydneysiders in being remarkably disinterested. Power's hapless
Shane Bond did his knee, badly, in the first few minutes when Roo
Clayton fell across it. But with ruckman Primus charging about and the
backline, led by Poulton, Mead (on Carey) and Bassett holding firm they
did well. They scored the first goal, Burgoyne with a nice kick from
Francou's chipped pass, and the second when Cornes was paid a doubtful
mark from Wilson's free kick. Port attacked again from the centre bounce
but Burgoyne postered from point-blank, he was much too casual. Carey
opened North's account, shoving Mead under the ball and doubling back
for a left-foot, impossible-angle grubber. But a little later Carr's
handpass sent Poulton in for another Port goal. At the break Pagan
arranged his men in a semi-circle, stood five metres away and lectured
them. Term two and after some early Pooer attacking Calthorpe majored
against the run of play, but soon a very good interception and pass from
Francis saw Cornes mark 50m out. Archer slapped the ball away, a 50m
penalty which no North player bothered to defend. Cornes gol, Port by 11
points. The Sydneyroos kicked three straight goals which the
commentators overestimated as them "taking control". First came when
Bishop wasn't paid a great mark for a too-early ride, the Norf free
ended in a goal to Motlop. King passed to Carey for the next two
sausages and the Roos led by 7 points. Port's Lockwood snapped a
tumbling, bouncing left-foot goal and they were back within a point.
During the break John Longmire, the wooden host of Seven's clunky
'Gameday', ran through first-half highlights including "this easy
snapped goal from Burgoyne" - his poster.
Port re-asserted themselves with the first two goals of the third, but
tended to undo good works with bad ones. Montgomery ran downfield and
passed for Cornes to mark and convert, then Lockwood held a grab watched
by three Roo backmen, he punted Power 11 points to the good. At the
other end Carey cantered into an open goal and was hammered from his
blind side by Paxman, the ball trickled through for a point. We enjoyed
that but Carr spilled the kick-in and Bell pounced for a goal. Archer,
who'd spent a while on the bench after his second-quarter error, was
moved forward and punted for Carey to take a diving mark and kick a very
good goal, Very North led by 3 points. Archer extended it to 9 when
Port's Mead helpfully kicked the ball straight to him. Carey then missed
terribly but not 30 seconds elapsed before the wind caught Rawlings's
kick and it sailed over two Port backmen for Carey to mark and kick
straight this time. The Kangas by 16 points, the biggest lead so far.
Abraham lobbed a set shot neatly on the full, a woeful bawwll decision
against Port set up another chance for Carey, he missed. "You have to
say that's justice," said McAvaney. Carey marked the kick-in and missed
the lot this time. That set the tone for a dire last quarter. Port again
enjoyed more possession but didn't bother trying to deliver it to a
forward, North kicked points. Early on Carey crashed into a pack, marked
one-handed and held the ball aloft, ala Mark Jackson. Except Jacko
intended irony. Lockwood's great snapped sausage narrowed the margin to
11 points but much tedium ensued. Three minutes remained when Lockwood
narrowly missed a set shot, from the kick-in Roo Pike set off on a
5-bounce run which led to a point-blank goal for Archer, ending the
contest. The siren rang and McAvaney sighed "Thank goodness for that."
North's best were backmen John Blakey (27 disposals, 15 marks) and Mick
Martyn, who thrashed the hapless Tredrea. Carey had a mixed day but it's
fair to say he was the difference, 5 goals from 16 touches with 7 marks.
Perpetually running David King had 26 disposals and Glenn Archer fired
the Roos in the third quarter, he also kicked 2 goals. Half-forward
Shannon Motlop had 14 touches and a goal, he's a classy type. Many good
efforts for Port, Scott Bassett took 10 marks and had 16 disposals at
the back, Adam Kingsley shut Bell out completely and Peter Burgoyne (15
kicks, a goal) did similarly on Shannon Grant. Brayden Lyle had 23
touches to Harvey's 18. Fabian Francis had 25 disposals and did well. Up
front Chad Cornes and Bowen Lockwood bagged 3 goals each. Nick Stevens
had 21 disposals but wasted too many. "A lot of our players would walk
away feeling contented with themselves," began Williams, "but as a club
they are really feeling it and we certainly feel it for our supporters.
We just want to walk away with a win rather than a loss." Pagan said "I
didn't think our attitude was right at the start (no kidding). I asked
them this and they said they were sharp, we were up. But you look at
blokes who have had real off days and you wonder." Better be 'on' next
week.