(A few items are missing - they will be added as they come to hand.)
AFLTips.Com Review News
Round 3 - 16 April 2001
w: http://www.afltips.com/
e: adrian@afltips.com
* Brought to you in conjunction with BigFooty.com - http://www.bigfooty.com/
* Play the BigFooty Fantasy Footy game here - http://footy.virtualsports.com.au/?partner_id=1
+----------+
INDEX
1) Prize Draw
2) "Weekly Round-Up" - previews of all matches from our Regular
Contributors
3) Various info about AFLTips.Com
+----------+
1) Prize Draw
Prize draw details can be found here: http://www.afltips.com/winaprize.html
Until next time,
Adrian Groves
adrian@afltips.com
PS: Support your club - become a member TODAY!
+----------+
2) Weekly Round-Up
from our Regular Contributors http://www.afltips.com/people/
(E-mail adrian@afltips.com if you'd like to become a
contributor.)
**********
Carlton v. Essendon
Thursday, 12 April 2001 - MCG (N)
Scores:
CARLTON 14.9.93 (S.Camporeale 3, B.Fevola 3, R.Houlihan 3,
B.Ratten 2, S.Fletcher 1, M.Lappin 1, L.Whitnall 1) d. ESSENDON
11.10.76 (M.Lloyd 5, J.Misiti 3, P.Barnard 2, D.Solomon 1)
Crowd: 63,088
Who would want to be a tipster? In light of the previous round of
football results, let's cast back on what have been some of the
most famous wrong calls in history...
The Hindenburg was to be a safe and comfortable flying
experience... The Titanic was completely unsinkable and the
original Westgate was a very strong bridge... the pill would
oversee the use of condoms... flares would never look stupid...
the community will benefit from pokies ... cigarettes, asbestos
and extremely tight jeans are all completely harmless... John
Howard, Pauline Hanson and G.S.T. would never amount to
anything... pop stars sing and play instruments... Dame Edna was
a woman, George Michael liked women and Michael Jackson was just
misunderstood... major airlines are problem free... banks look
after people and finally, in Round 3, 2001, without Koutoufides,
Bradley, Silvagni and Allan, The Blues would never beat The
Bombers. Well, in hindsight, how wrong were we?!
This Carlton win, or perhaps this Essendon loss, has effectively
been a good thing for football. Carlton look more of a contender
whilst Essendon appear human after all. The reason for the shock
result of this game came down to one thing: passion. The Blues
had plenty of it, with more raw passion than a saucy Mills and
Boon. Led by Brett Ratten and Scott Camporeale, who both did
everything right on the night, the younger Blues brigade stepped
up a notch in the absence of their big guns. Lappin, Porter,
Hulme, Massie and Houlihan stood out in their efforts to apply
pressure to the over-confident Bombers at every opportunity.
It wasn't quite the champagne premiership red and black we are
used to. Leading for most of the match and threatening to
accelerate onwards to victory, The Bombers never really hit that
deadly familiar top gear. Instead they were decidedly beaten to
the task by Carlton, who from out of nowhere stacked on the last
six goals to come from behind and win by 17 points.
Heinously unusual although strangely appealing, we had witnessed
pressure-related errors from the likes of D.Fletcher, Hird and
Mercuri whilst even Lloyd's five goals were not enough when his
team mates could only tally a further six between them. The Dons
missed Smokin' Joe Misiti through injury in the final quarter and
to cap off their night, the aforementioned Lloyd will front up to
AFL House this week on a rough play charge that could see him
miss next week's game against current league leaders Sydney.
There were also a number of personal victories resulting from
this match. While Carlton coach Wayne Brittain's face exuded
pride from every pore, the cherry-red look of embarrassment on
Essendon's Kevin Sheedy was magnificent. Blues President John
Elliott and bitter ex-Bomber / now Blue Glenn Manton could be
seen long into the early hours of the morning, raising the glass,
singing songs about 'twerps' and stewing up the next round of
retribution for the people.
- matto http://www.afltips.com/people/matto.html
**********
Richmond v. Brisbane
Saturday, 14 April 2001 – MCG
**********
Western Bulldogs v. Collingwood
Saturday, 14 April 2001 - Colonial Stadium (N)
COLLINGWOOD 5.2 9.9 19.11 23.15 (153)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 6.4 8.5 9. 6 12. 9 ( 81)
Goals: Collingwood: C Tarrant 5 J Clement 3 N Buckley 2 N Davis 2
J Molloy 2 J Fraser G Freeborn B Holland B Johnson P Licuria T
Lockyer R Lonie C Rintoul A Rocca. Western Bulldogs: T Bartlett 2
C Grant 2 N Brown S Cox M Croft N Eagleton P Hudson B Johnson M
Robbins S West.
Best: Collingwood: N Buckley C Rintoul C Tarrant M Richardson A
Rocca S O'Bree J Clement. Western Bulldogs: S West T Bartlett B
Johnson M Croft.
Injuries: Collingwood: S McKee (shoulder). Western Bulldogs: K
Hunter (hip) T Bartlett (thigh).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: D Howlett, M Vozzo, D Humphery-Smith.
Official crowd: 37,598 at The Source Of All Our Misery.
Two under-rated teams do battle amidst a storm of hysterical
media speculation. What we saw was the long awaited change of
culture at Victoria Park pays dividends, while Terry Wallace now
has the job to make sure his side doesn’t go back into their
shell.
Tarrant’s five goals, and his effort in the Woods blistering
third quarter mark this guy as genuine class. Even with players
like Molloy and Freeborn there to take a bit of the pressure off
Buckley, the skipper continued to set the standard before the
Easter Saturday night crowd.
As for the Doggies, well they went missing in the third quarter.
They did all right in the midfield, but the spine that was their
backline play the previous week wilted after half time.
Once again we’ve got a side playing half a game of football.
Collingwood
showed they are fit and hungry, with their second-tier of players
finally
making that step up. Malthouse has the personnel at Vicky Park
and the Pies
should win more than they lose.
I wouldn’t write the Dogs off either. Footscray has had a bastard
of a week in the preparation, and history shows that the siege
mentality doesn’t work for Footscray. They are a good, if aging,
side. Ironically they should get their best results against
stronger opposition.
- Phil Doyle http://www.afltips.com/people/phildoyle.html
**********
Kangaroos v. Sydney
Saturday, 14 April 2001 - SCG (N)
The Swans unbeaten season continued as they defeated the
Kangaroos by 80 points, 23.13.151 to 11.5.71.
The hype during the week, highlighting the animosity between the
two sides contributed to a scrappy opening and for the first
half, there was not a lot between the two sides. The Kangaroos
were up by 4 at quarter time and only down by fourteen at half
time. They were even as close as nine points sometime during the
third term until the Swans ran over the top of them.
The obvious difference between the two sides was the evenness of
the Swans players contributions as opposed to that of the
Kangaroos. The Swans had 13 individual goalkickers to the Roos 5
and only had four players who failed to register more then ten
possessions.
Even though Schwass and O’Loughlin had relatively quiet games,
players like Maxfield, Cresswell and Stafford shone out and
starred. Cresswell, breaking the record for the most consecutive
games for the Swans/South Melbourne celebrated with 25
possessions and 2 goals.
The Swans would be pleased with the steady improvement of Paul
Williams and the comeback of Matthew Nicks.
For the Kangaroos, Harvey and King both stood out and there was a
reliance on those two players. Carey was clearly underdone and
lacking match fitness. They are missing Mick Martyn and probably
did not realise they would miss Peter Bell as much as they did.
The Bombers now await the Swans and that should be an absolute
cracker.
- David Wiseman
**********
Adelaide v. Port Adelaide
Sunday, 15 April 2001 - Football Park
Over 40,000 crammed into Footy Park on Sunday for Showdown 9,
which unfortunately became Snorefest 9 by the end.
Port Adelaide got away to a flying start with six goals in the
first quarter and were in front all day. Wanganeen was very
lively up forward, creating a mismatch on Nigel Smart, and
getting away to kick two goals for the quarter.
The early signs were also good for Warren Tredrea who presented
himself well, and also bobbed up for a goal. Adelaide had few
positives, as McLeod and Bickley got a bit of the ball but
weren't damaging, and Ricciuto was struggling with injury. Port
by 20 points at quarter time.
Adelaide started making a bit of a fist of things in the second
quarter as Goodwin and Shirley started getting into the game, and
Bickley and McLeod started using the ball a little more
effectively. It wasn't enough to make a big enough impression on
the scoreboard as their Port counterparts, Francou, Stevens and
James continued on with their good work. Smart was moved off
Wanganeen, and drifted up the ground to kick a goal but Peter
Vardy remained Adelaide's sole winner up forward. Adelaide looked
better in the second quarter, but at the main break Port still
led by 18 points.
The third quarter was where the game was won for Port Adelaide.
It opened with a Wanganeen goal, courtesy of a dodgy free kick,
then Vardy scored a quick reply for the Crows. A minute later,
Burgoyne restored the four goal margin with another for Port. An
opportunist goal followed from Francou and the game began to slip
away from the Crows. It was almost an exercise in futility for
the Crows as ever goal was met with a quick reply. Biglands goal
from a mark was followed only seconds later with a great running
goal from Francis, and Ladhams' goal was quickly followed by a
good second effort from Montgomery who kicked another, after
being unable to take the ball in a marking contest.
Wanganeen kicked his fifth with a well-timed kick off the ground,
Dew added another with a brilliant run out of the centre and the
margin had blown out to 43 points. The game was all but over.
Bickley kicked a goal later in the quarter, but once again Port
found a quick reply, this time through Paxman, and the lead
remained 43 points at the last break.
Port continued to steadily increase their lead in the last
quarter, kicking 6.6 to 3.2, with only a bit of inaccuracy saving
Adelaide from further embarrassment. Any excitement had long gone
out of the game. Adelaide's lack of regular scoring options was
very evident all day, as crumber Vardy was their only clear
winner with four goals. Defender Smart ran forward for two, but
the rest were singles mainly to midfielders. This must be a huge
concern to Gary Ayres, as Adelaide's key forwards, Robran,
Perrie, Biglands and Welsh managed only 6 marks and 3 goals
between them.
Port's key forwards were also almost non-existent, with the only
talls to kick goals being Paxman and Tredrea. An amazing 21 of
Port's 23 goals came from small-medium sized players, showing
that a few opposition coaches will have a lot of players to
nullify in future rounds if they are to keep Port from moving the
ball forward.
Highlight : Port Adelaide's running game and goalscoring
midfield.
Lowlight : A fairly free-flowing game constantly stopped by nit-
picking umpires at ruck contests.
Best players :
Port Adelaide - Stevens, Wanganeen, Francou, Primus, Francis,
Carr.
Adelaide - Vardy, Goodwin, McLeod, Bickley.
Final Scores : Port Adelaide 23.15.153 def. Adelaide 13.10.88
- Dark Avenger http://www.afltips.com/people/darkavenger.html
**********
St Kilda v. West Coast
Sunday, 15 April 2001 - Colonial Stadium
What an interesting aftermath arose out of this game... are West Coast better than
everyone thought? Are most people over-rating St.Kilda? In truth, the answer is
probably "yes" to both.
While the Saints again under-performed, the Eagles were made to
work for their victory, and did so with a midfield that fed their
forwards well.
The game was absolutely dominated by Troy Wilson, virtually
unknown outside of his home state, and only known at all because
he is "the 29 year-old recruit". Clubs and fans alike will take
notice now, as the big forward dragged down 15 marks and kicked 7
goals in a very impressive display.
In only his third AFL game, Wilson kicked 7 with a pretty
complete display of how a big forward should play. Through
strength and agility, he saw off four opponents, and proved
impossible for Malcolm Blight to effectively match up. Wilson was
too agile and read the play better than Barry Hall, was simply
too big and strong for Mark Gale and Justin Plapp, and by the
time Aaron Hamill was desperately sent to defence, the damage had
been done.
Wilson wasn't St.Kilda's only worry. Phil Matera kicked four,
often assisted by the sharp passing of his brother, Peter.
Merenda and Williams kicked three each to make sure the Eagles
weren't too reliant on their two main scoring options, as they
have been for the last two seasons with Cummings and Phil Matera.
The Saints can take a few things out of this game. Peter Everitt
was steady in the ruck, a big improvement from his previous game
against Geelong. Craig Callaghan (with 4 goals) showed that he
will provide good spark at ground level, and Austinn Jones played
his best half of football for a long time in the first half, and
finished with three goals for the match. Moyle and Hayes made
good contributions, and Robert Harvey continued his consistently
good form to be his side's best player.
The big worry for the Saints is their forward line which was
totally ineffective, almost all of the goals coming from smaller
midfield players. Gehrig, Loewe, Hamill, Hall and Everitt all
need to lift for the Saints to be competitive, with a three-
pronged forward line made up of any of those players providing
match-up problems for any defence if they perform to their
capabilities. Sadly for St.Kilda, all those players were flat and
largely ineffective in their various positions on Sunday.
Highlight: Troy Wilson showing that old-fashioned skilled
footballers are no less effective than superior athletes.
Lowlight: The talented big men of the Saints failing to live up
to expectations again.
Best Players:
West Coast - Wilson, Peter Matera, Cousins, Gardiner, Phil
Matera, Fletcher, Morrison
St.Kilda - Harvey, Callaghan, Jones, Moyle, Voss, Hayes
Final Scores: West Coast 19.11.125 def. St.Kilda 16.11.107
- Dark Avenger http://www.afltips.com/people/darkavenger.html
**********
Fremantle v. Hawthorn
Sunday, 15 April 2001 – Subiaco
HAWTHORN 1.7 6.9 9.10 11.16 (82)
FREMANTLE 1.3 3.6 8.7 8.11 (59)
Goals: Hawthorn: J Barker 3 B Dixon 2 A Lord 2 S Crawford D Chick
L McPharlin D Clarke. Fremantle: T Modra 3 S McManus 2 J Longmuir
2 C Waterhouse.
Best: Hawthorn: D Hartford J Rawlings J Barker S Crawford R
Tallis J Smith.
Fremantle: M Carr H Black C Waterhouse P Bell A Fletcher S
Parker.
Injuries: Nil
Reports: R Tallis (Hawthorn) for wrestling T Cook (Fremantle) in
the 2nd quarter by emergency umpire Brett Rosebury. T Cook for
wrestling R Tallis in the 2nd quarter by Rosebury.
Crowd: 20,703 at Subiaco Oval.
Everyone was complaining about the heat, which lead to one of the
strangest things I’ve seen on a football field happening at the
three-quarter time break.
One of the Subiaco light towers was casting a slim piece of
shadow, the only shade on the ground. Both teams chose the shade
as the place for their three quarter time huddle, which saw both
sides in quite close proximity. Impractically close.
In the end the umpires separated them as umpires do, and it was
Hawthorn that copped their lecture in the sun.
Freo drew within a kick in the final stanza before Modra did a
Doc Whieldon and booted a sitter off the side of his boot into
the gobsmacked Subiaco crowd.
The entire state of Western Australia groaned, and after that
Freo were about as useful as an inflatable anchor.
Freo have forgotten how to win a game of football. They had their
chances, matching the slick Hawthorn outfit with a subtle, if at
times undisciplined, style. But when the crunch came they ran
around like the proverbial headless chook. Black did good things.
Waterhouse looks underdone. Forget the incident with Barker
copping it in the back, Metropolis played well, and Barker
deserved it. Bloody lairising. And Crawford lairising after that
last goal. Bloody lairs, that’s what they are!
This Tallis for Hawthorn likes to have a go, and he was put in
the book with Cook for wrestling, but I like his calibre. Cook,
like his team mates, dropped a bit in the skill department,
especially when given the opportunity to capitalise.
The Mayblooms left the distinct impression of playing within
themselves today, and that’s probably what respect Freo deserved.
It’s gonna be a long, learning year for the Dockers, while the
Hawks are good things, as their position on the ladder shows.
- Phil Doyle http://www.afltips.com/people/phildoyle.html
**********
Melbourne v. Geelong
Monday, 16 April 2001 - MCG
On a very hot Melbourne day, two teams that will figure strongly
in this years final 8 make-up, had a tremendous arm wrestle for
the days supremacy. Firstly Melbourne pushed forward, creating a
quick 2 goal buffer, it didn't last long, as Geelong, with
midfielders Clarke and Spriggs being helped by King in the ruck,
continually drove the ball forward.
The Geelong forward line, whilst not in devastating form, proved
to be efficient in building a handy quarter time lead. Woewodin,
Rigoni and Yze in the Melbourne midfield were working hard, but
the results were not showing on the scoreboard.
The 2nd quarter seemed compromised of a role reversal, the
Melbourne midfield continued to work hard, with the Demon
forwards now finding some efficiency and form. The 2000 Brownlow
medallist seemed to take it upon himself to ensure that his team
were pushing itself into the lead. Neitz and Schwarz were
providing targets, and while not always taking the marks, they
were competing strongly, using their strength to move the Cat
defenders, allowing the lesser lights in the Melbourne forward
line to kick enough goals to see the Demons have a 7 point half
time advantage.
During the 2nd quarter field umpire Hanley was badly affected by
the heat and needed the emergency umpire to replace him.
Naturally as with all such umpire commotions the crowd found much
to be merry about and gave the retiring umpire one of the biggest
serves of the day.
Melbourne began the 3rd term the same way they left off the 2nd,
kicking the first 3 goals, while the Cats were missing the big
scores, putting on a succession of 7 straight behinds. Geelong
began to exert some influence, with Gary Hocking going into the
midfield providing the catalyst for Cat pressure, they kicked
their 9th goal before tragedy struck. Geelong half forward, Jason
Snell went for a mark, landing awkwardly on his left leg, the
small man got up but he knew immediately he was in trouble and
severe pain, calling urgently for the Geelong medical staff. The
game came to a standstill for several minutes while every
precaution could be taken in caring for Snell, whose left ankle
looked to be broken, his foot not pointing in the usual
direction. The medical cart was used to transport the badly
injured Snell, why this item was not allowed to be used in
previous seasons can only be attributed to AFL management
intransigence.
Inspired by their fallen comrade, Geelong were able to push
forward for another 2 goals, but were unable to stop Melbourne's
answering goal. The Demons went to the 3/4 time huddle with a 15
point advantage.
The final quarter proved to be a good arm wrestle, as one team,
then the other surged forward to score a badly needed goal. The
Melbourne midfield was still working strongly, whilst the Cat
midfield seemed to be tiring, Hocking does not seem to have the
legs to work all day any more. Ward, Grgic and Nicholson had the
Cat forwards under control, as usual, Ben Graham and Brenton
Sanderson were working hard in the Cat defence.
The forecast of a super shootout between Ronnie Burns and Jeff
Farmer just did not happen, both men were effectively marked out
of the game, with only a couple of fleeting glimpses of their
magic on display. Schwarz, Green and Bruce were able to break
free of their markers to take possession and kick the winning
goals for the Demons.
Both teams are to be congratulated for a display of skill, guts
and stamina on a very trying day for Aussie Rules. Best for
Melbourne were Woewodin, Ward, Rigoni, Grgic and McDonald. Best
for Geelong were Clarke, Graham, Hocking and Sanderson.
Goals for Melbourne were Robertson & Green 3, Ward, Woewodin &
Bruce 2, Yze, Farmer, Neitz, Collins, Rigoni & Schwarz 1 Goals
for Geelong were Burns & Mensch 3, White 2, Houlihan, Clarke,
Snell, Mooney, Riccardi, Corey & King 1
MELBOURNE 4.3 9.8 13.13 18.16 (124)
GEELONG 6.3 8.7 11.10 15.14 (104)
- Asgardian http://www.afltips.com/people/asgardian.html
+----------+
3) Info about AFLTips.Com
Feel free to forward this newsletter on to your mates.
AFLTips.Com is not associated with the Australian Football League
in any way. We just talk about them. A lot.
The views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those
of Adrian Groves. I recommend that you do your own independent
research before acting on ANY information found in this e-mail.
In fact I demand it - and let me know what you find out...
If you received this e-mail from a friend and wish to SUBSCRIBE,
go to http://www.afltips.com/ and fill out the form on the front
page.
Copyright (C) Adrian Groves, 2001
ENDS
[This message has been edited by Bluey (edited 17 April 2001).]
AFLTips.Com Review News
Round 3 - 16 April 2001
w: http://www.afltips.com/
e: adrian@afltips.com
* Brought to you in conjunction with BigFooty.com - http://www.bigfooty.com/
* Play the BigFooty Fantasy Footy game here - http://footy.virtualsports.com.au/?partner_id=1
+----------+
INDEX
1) Prize Draw
2) "Weekly Round-Up" - previews of all matches from our Regular
Contributors
3) Various info about AFLTips.Com
+----------+
1) Prize Draw
Prize draw details can be found here: http://www.afltips.com/winaprize.html
Until next time,
Adrian Groves
adrian@afltips.com
PS: Support your club - become a member TODAY!
+----------+
2) Weekly Round-Up
from our Regular Contributors http://www.afltips.com/people/
(E-mail adrian@afltips.com if you'd like to become a
contributor.)
**********
Carlton v. Essendon
Thursday, 12 April 2001 - MCG (N)
Scores:
CARLTON 14.9.93 (S.Camporeale 3, B.Fevola 3, R.Houlihan 3,
B.Ratten 2, S.Fletcher 1, M.Lappin 1, L.Whitnall 1) d. ESSENDON
11.10.76 (M.Lloyd 5, J.Misiti 3, P.Barnard 2, D.Solomon 1)
Crowd: 63,088
Who would want to be a tipster? In light of the previous round of
football results, let's cast back on what have been some of the
most famous wrong calls in history...
The Hindenburg was to be a safe and comfortable flying
experience... The Titanic was completely unsinkable and the
original Westgate was a very strong bridge... the pill would
oversee the use of condoms... flares would never look stupid...
the community will benefit from pokies ... cigarettes, asbestos
and extremely tight jeans are all completely harmless... John
Howard, Pauline Hanson and G.S.T. would never amount to
anything... pop stars sing and play instruments... Dame Edna was
a woman, George Michael liked women and Michael Jackson was just
misunderstood... major airlines are problem free... banks look
after people and finally, in Round 3, 2001, without Koutoufides,
Bradley, Silvagni and Allan, The Blues would never beat The
Bombers. Well, in hindsight, how wrong were we?!
This Carlton win, or perhaps this Essendon loss, has effectively
been a good thing for football. Carlton look more of a contender
whilst Essendon appear human after all. The reason for the shock
result of this game came down to one thing: passion. The Blues
had plenty of it, with more raw passion than a saucy Mills and
Boon. Led by Brett Ratten and Scott Camporeale, who both did
everything right on the night, the younger Blues brigade stepped
up a notch in the absence of their big guns. Lappin, Porter,
Hulme, Massie and Houlihan stood out in their efforts to apply
pressure to the over-confident Bombers at every opportunity.
It wasn't quite the champagne premiership red and black we are
used to. Leading for most of the match and threatening to
accelerate onwards to victory, The Bombers never really hit that
deadly familiar top gear. Instead they were decidedly beaten to
the task by Carlton, who from out of nowhere stacked on the last
six goals to come from behind and win by 17 points.
Heinously unusual although strangely appealing, we had witnessed
pressure-related errors from the likes of D.Fletcher, Hird and
Mercuri whilst even Lloyd's five goals were not enough when his
team mates could only tally a further six between them. The Dons
missed Smokin' Joe Misiti through injury in the final quarter and
to cap off their night, the aforementioned Lloyd will front up to
AFL House this week on a rough play charge that could see him
miss next week's game against current league leaders Sydney.
There were also a number of personal victories resulting from
this match. While Carlton coach Wayne Brittain's face exuded
pride from every pore, the cherry-red look of embarrassment on
Essendon's Kevin Sheedy was magnificent. Blues President John
Elliott and bitter ex-Bomber / now Blue Glenn Manton could be
seen long into the early hours of the morning, raising the glass,
singing songs about 'twerps' and stewing up the next round of
retribution for the people.
- matto http://www.afltips.com/people/matto.html
**********
Richmond v. Brisbane
Saturday, 14 April 2001 – MCG
**********
Western Bulldogs v. Collingwood
Saturday, 14 April 2001 - Colonial Stadium (N)
COLLINGWOOD 5.2 9.9 19.11 23.15 (153)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 6.4 8.5 9. 6 12. 9 ( 81)
Goals: Collingwood: C Tarrant 5 J Clement 3 N Buckley 2 N Davis 2
J Molloy 2 J Fraser G Freeborn B Holland B Johnson P Licuria T
Lockyer R Lonie C Rintoul A Rocca. Western Bulldogs: T Bartlett 2
C Grant 2 N Brown S Cox M Croft N Eagleton P Hudson B Johnson M
Robbins S West.
Best: Collingwood: N Buckley C Rintoul C Tarrant M Richardson A
Rocca S O'Bree J Clement. Western Bulldogs: S West T Bartlett B
Johnson M Croft.
Injuries: Collingwood: S McKee (shoulder). Western Bulldogs: K
Hunter (hip) T Bartlett (thigh).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: D Howlett, M Vozzo, D Humphery-Smith.
Official crowd: 37,598 at The Source Of All Our Misery.
Two under-rated teams do battle amidst a storm of hysterical
media speculation. What we saw was the long awaited change of
culture at Victoria Park pays dividends, while Terry Wallace now
has the job to make sure his side doesn’t go back into their
shell.
Tarrant’s five goals, and his effort in the Woods blistering
third quarter mark this guy as genuine class. Even with players
like Molloy and Freeborn there to take a bit of the pressure off
Buckley, the skipper continued to set the standard before the
Easter Saturday night crowd.
As for the Doggies, well they went missing in the third quarter.
They did all right in the midfield, but the spine that was their
backline play the previous week wilted after half time.
Once again we’ve got a side playing half a game of football.
Collingwood
showed they are fit and hungry, with their second-tier of players
finally
making that step up. Malthouse has the personnel at Vicky Park
and the Pies
should win more than they lose.
I wouldn’t write the Dogs off either. Footscray has had a bastard
of a week in the preparation, and history shows that the siege
mentality doesn’t work for Footscray. They are a good, if aging,
side. Ironically they should get their best results against
stronger opposition.
- Phil Doyle http://www.afltips.com/people/phildoyle.html
**********
Kangaroos v. Sydney
Saturday, 14 April 2001 - SCG (N)
The Swans unbeaten season continued as they defeated the
Kangaroos by 80 points, 23.13.151 to 11.5.71.
The hype during the week, highlighting the animosity between the
two sides contributed to a scrappy opening and for the first
half, there was not a lot between the two sides. The Kangaroos
were up by 4 at quarter time and only down by fourteen at half
time. They were even as close as nine points sometime during the
third term until the Swans ran over the top of them.
The obvious difference between the two sides was the evenness of
the Swans players contributions as opposed to that of the
Kangaroos. The Swans had 13 individual goalkickers to the Roos 5
and only had four players who failed to register more then ten
possessions.
Even though Schwass and O’Loughlin had relatively quiet games,
players like Maxfield, Cresswell and Stafford shone out and
starred. Cresswell, breaking the record for the most consecutive
games for the Swans/South Melbourne celebrated with 25
possessions and 2 goals.
The Swans would be pleased with the steady improvement of Paul
Williams and the comeback of Matthew Nicks.
For the Kangaroos, Harvey and King both stood out and there was a
reliance on those two players. Carey was clearly underdone and
lacking match fitness. They are missing Mick Martyn and probably
did not realise they would miss Peter Bell as much as they did.
The Bombers now await the Swans and that should be an absolute
cracker.
- David Wiseman
**********
Adelaide v. Port Adelaide
Sunday, 15 April 2001 - Football Park
Over 40,000 crammed into Footy Park on Sunday for Showdown 9,
which unfortunately became Snorefest 9 by the end.
Port Adelaide got away to a flying start with six goals in the
first quarter and were in front all day. Wanganeen was very
lively up forward, creating a mismatch on Nigel Smart, and
getting away to kick two goals for the quarter.
The early signs were also good for Warren Tredrea who presented
himself well, and also bobbed up for a goal. Adelaide had few
positives, as McLeod and Bickley got a bit of the ball but
weren't damaging, and Ricciuto was struggling with injury. Port
by 20 points at quarter time.
Adelaide started making a bit of a fist of things in the second
quarter as Goodwin and Shirley started getting into the game, and
Bickley and McLeod started using the ball a little more
effectively. It wasn't enough to make a big enough impression on
the scoreboard as their Port counterparts, Francou, Stevens and
James continued on with their good work. Smart was moved off
Wanganeen, and drifted up the ground to kick a goal but Peter
Vardy remained Adelaide's sole winner up forward. Adelaide looked
better in the second quarter, but at the main break Port still
led by 18 points.
The third quarter was where the game was won for Port Adelaide.
It opened with a Wanganeen goal, courtesy of a dodgy free kick,
then Vardy scored a quick reply for the Crows. A minute later,
Burgoyne restored the four goal margin with another for Port. An
opportunist goal followed from Francou and the game began to slip
away from the Crows. It was almost an exercise in futility for
the Crows as ever goal was met with a quick reply. Biglands goal
from a mark was followed only seconds later with a great running
goal from Francis, and Ladhams' goal was quickly followed by a
good second effort from Montgomery who kicked another, after
being unable to take the ball in a marking contest.
Wanganeen kicked his fifth with a well-timed kick off the ground,
Dew added another with a brilliant run out of the centre and the
margin had blown out to 43 points. The game was all but over.
Bickley kicked a goal later in the quarter, but once again Port
found a quick reply, this time through Paxman, and the lead
remained 43 points at the last break.
Port continued to steadily increase their lead in the last
quarter, kicking 6.6 to 3.2, with only a bit of inaccuracy saving
Adelaide from further embarrassment. Any excitement had long gone
out of the game. Adelaide's lack of regular scoring options was
very evident all day, as crumber Vardy was their only clear
winner with four goals. Defender Smart ran forward for two, but
the rest were singles mainly to midfielders. This must be a huge
concern to Gary Ayres, as Adelaide's key forwards, Robran,
Perrie, Biglands and Welsh managed only 6 marks and 3 goals
between them.
Port's key forwards were also almost non-existent, with the only
talls to kick goals being Paxman and Tredrea. An amazing 21 of
Port's 23 goals came from small-medium sized players, showing
that a few opposition coaches will have a lot of players to
nullify in future rounds if they are to keep Port from moving the
ball forward.
Highlight : Port Adelaide's running game and goalscoring
midfield.
Lowlight : A fairly free-flowing game constantly stopped by nit-
picking umpires at ruck contests.
Best players :
Port Adelaide - Stevens, Wanganeen, Francou, Primus, Francis,
Carr.
Adelaide - Vardy, Goodwin, McLeod, Bickley.
Final Scores : Port Adelaide 23.15.153 def. Adelaide 13.10.88
- Dark Avenger http://www.afltips.com/people/darkavenger.html
**********
St Kilda v. West Coast
Sunday, 15 April 2001 - Colonial Stadium
What an interesting aftermath arose out of this game... are West Coast better than
everyone thought? Are most people over-rating St.Kilda? In truth, the answer is
probably "yes" to both.
While the Saints again under-performed, the Eagles were made to
work for their victory, and did so with a midfield that fed their
forwards well.
The game was absolutely dominated by Troy Wilson, virtually
unknown outside of his home state, and only known at all because
he is "the 29 year-old recruit". Clubs and fans alike will take
notice now, as the big forward dragged down 15 marks and kicked 7
goals in a very impressive display.
In only his third AFL game, Wilson kicked 7 with a pretty
complete display of how a big forward should play. Through
strength and agility, he saw off four opponents, and proved
impossible for Malcolm Blight to effectively match up. Wilson was
too agile and read the play better than Barry Hall, was simply
too big and strong for Mark Gale and Justin Plapp, and by the
time Aaron Hamill was desperately sent to defence, the damage had
been done.
Wilson wasn't St.Kilda's only worry. Phil Matera kicked four,
often assisted by the sharp passing of his brother, Peter.
Merenda and Williams kicked three each to make sure the Eagles
weren't too reliant on their two main scoring options, as they
have been for the last two seasons with Cummings and Phil Matera.
The Saints can take a few things out of this game. Peter Everitt
was steady in the ruck, a big improvement from his previous game
against Geelong. Craig Callaghan (with 4 goals) showed that he
will provide good spark at ground level, and Austinn Jones played
his best half of football for a long time in the first half, and
finished with three goals for the match. Moyle and Hayes made
good contributions, and Robert Harvey continued his consistently
good form to be his side's best player.
The big worry for the Saints is their forward line which was
totally ineffective, almost all of the goals coming from smaller
midfield players. Gehrig, Loewe, Hamill, Hall and Everitt all
need to lift for the Saints to be competitive, with a three-
pronged forward line made up of any of those players providing
match-up problems for any defence if they perform to their
capabilities. Sadly for St.Kilda, all those players were flat and
largely ineffective in their various positions on Sunday.
Highlight: Troy Wilson showing that old-fashioned skilled
footballers are no less effective than superior athletes.
Lowlight: The talented big men of the Saints failing to live up
to expectations again.
Best Players:
West Coast - Wilson, Peter Matera, Cousins, Gardiner, Phil
Matera, Fletcher, Morrison
St.Kilda - Harvey, Callaghan, Jones, Moyle, Voss, Hayes
Final Scores: West Coast 19.11.125 def. St.Kilda 16.11.107
- Dark Avenger http://www.afltips.com/people/darkavenger.html
**********
Fremantle v. Hawthorn
Sunday, 15 April 2001 – Subiaco
HAWTHORN 1.7 6.9 9.10 11.16 (82)
FREMANTLE 1.3 3.6 8.7 8.11 (59)
Goals: Hawthorn: J Barker 3 B Dixon 2 A Lord 2 S Crawford D Chick
L McPharlin D Clarke. Fremantle: T Modra 3 S McManus 2 J Longmuir
2 C Waterhouse.
Best: Hawthorn: D Hartford J Rawlings J Barker S Crawford R
Tallis J Smith.
Fremantle: M Carr H Black C Waterhouse P Bell A Fletcher S
Parker.
Injuries: Nil
Reports: R Tallis (Hawthorn) for wrestling T Cook (Fremantle) in
the 2nd quarter by emergency umpire Brett Rosebury. T Cook for
wrestling R Tallis in the 2nd quarter by Rosebury.
Crowd: 20,703 at Subiaco Oval.
Everyone was complaining about the heat, which lead to one of the
strangest things I’ve seen on a football field happening at the
three-quarter time break.
One of the Subiaco light towers was casting a slim piece of
shadow, the only shade on the ground. Both teams chose the shade
as the place for their three quarter time huddle, which saw both
sides in quite close proximity. Impractically close.
In the end the umpires separated them as umpires do, and it was
Hawthorn that copped their lecture in the sun.
Freo drew within a kick in the final stanza before Modra did a
Doc Whieldon and booted a sitter off the side of his boot into
the gobsmacked Subiaco crowd.
The entire state of Western Australia groaned, and after that
Freo were about as useful as an inflatable anchor.
Freo have forgotten how to win a game of football. They had their
chances, matching the slick Hawthorn outfit with a subtle, if at
times undisciplined, style. But when the crunch came they ran
around like the proverbial headless chook. Black did good things.
Waterhouse looks underdone. Forget the incident with Barker
copping it in the back, Metropolis played well, and Barker
deserved it. Bloody lairising. And Crawford lairising after that
last goal. Bloody lairs, that’s what they are!
This Tallis for Hawthorn likes to have a go, and he was put in
the book with Cook for wrestling, but I like his calibre. Cook,
like his team mates, dropped a bit in the skill department,
especially when given the opportunity to capitalise.
The Mayblooms left the distinct impression of playing within
themselves today, and that’s probably what respect Freo deserved.
It’s gonna be a long, learning year for the Dockers, while the
Hawks are good things, as their position on the ladder shows.
- Phil Doyle http://www.afltips.com/people/phildoyle.html
**********
Melbourne v. Geelong
Monday, 16 April 2001 - MCG
On a very hot Melbourne day, two teams that will figure strongly
in this years final 8 make-up, had a tremendous arm wrestle for
the days supremacy. Firstly Melbourne pushed forward, creating a
quick 2 goal buffer, it didn't last long, as Geelong, with
midfielders Clarke and Spriggs being helped by King in the ruck,
continually drove the ball forward.
The Geelong forward line, whilst not in devastating form, proved
to be efficient in building a handy quarter time lead. Woewodin,
Rigoni and Yze in the Melbourne midfield were working hard, but
the results were not showing on the scoreboard.
The 2nd quarter seemed compromised of a role reversal, the
Melbourne midfield continued to work hard, with the Demon
forwards now finding some efficiency and form. The 2000 Brownlow
medallist seemed to take it upon himself to ensure that his team
were pushing itself into the lead. Neitz and Schwarz were
providing targets, and while not always taking the marks, they
were competing strongly, using their strength to move the Cat
defenders, allowing the lesser lights in the Melbourne forward
line to kick enough goals to see the Demons have a 7 point half
time advantage.
During the 2nd quarter field umpire Hanley was badly affected by
the heat and needed the emergency umpire to replace him.
Naturally as with all such umpire commotions the crowd found much
to be merry about and gave the retiring umpire one of the biggest
serves of the day.
Melbourne began the 3rd term the same way they left off the 2nd,
kicking the first 3 goals, while the Cats were missing the big
scores, putting on a succession of 7 straight behinds. Geelong
began to exert some influence, with Gary Hocking going into the
midfield providing the catalyst for Cat pressure, they kicked
their 9th goal before tragedy struck. Geelong half forward, Jason
Snell went for a mark, landing awkwardly on his left leg, the
small man got up but he knew immediately he was in trouble and
severe pain, calling urgently for the Geelong medical staff. The
game came to a standstill for several minutes while every
precaution could be taken in caring for Snell, whose left ankle
looked to be broken, his foot not pointing in the usual
direction. The medical cart was used to transport the badly
injured Snell, why this item was not allowed to be used in
previous seasons can only be attributed to AFL management
intransigence.
Inspired by their fallen comrade, Geelong were able to push
forward for another 2 goals, but were unable to stop Melbourne's
answering goal. The Demons went to the 3/4 time huddle with a 15
point advantage.
The final quarter proved to be a good arm wrestle, as one team,
then the other surged forward to score a badly needed goal. The
Melbourne midfield was still working strongly, whilst the Cat
midfield seemed to be tiring, Hocking does not seem to have the
legs to work all day any more. Ward, Grgic and Nicholson had the
Cat forwards under control, as usual, Ben Graham and Brenton
Sanderson were working hard in the Cat defence.
The forecast of a super shootout between Ronnie Burns and Jeff
Farmer just did not happen, both men were effectively marked out
of the game, with only a couple of fleeting glimpses of their
magic on display. Schwarz, Green and Bruce were able to break
free of their markers to take possession and kick the winning
goals for the Demons.
Both teams are to be congratulated for a display of skill, guts
and stamina on a very trying day for Aussie Rules. Best for
Melbourne were Woewodin, Ward, Rigoni, Grgic and McDonald. Best
for Geelong were Clarke, Graham, Hocking and Sanderson.
Goals for Melbourne were Robertson & Green 3, Ward, Woewodin &
Bruce 2, Yze, Farmer, Neitz, Collins, Rigoni & Schwarz 1 Goals
for Geelong were Burns & Mensch 3, White 2, Houlihan, Clarke,
Snell, Mooney, Riccardi, Corey & King 1
MELBOURNE 4.3 9.8 13.13 18.16 (124)
GEELONG 6.3 8.7 11.10 15.14 (104)
- Asgardian http://www.afltips.com/people/asgardian.html
+----------+
3) Info about AFLTips.Com
Feel free to forward this newsletter on to your mates.
AFLTips.Com is not associated with the Australian Football League
in any way. We just talk about them. A lot.
The views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those
of Adrian Groves. I recommend that you do your own independent
research before acting on ANY information found in this e-mail.
In fact I demand it - and let me know what you find out...
If you received this e-mail from a friend and wish to SUBSCRIBE,
go to http://www.afltips.com/ and fill out the form on the front
page.
Copyright (C) Adrian Groves, 2001
ENDS
[This message has been edited by Bluey (edited 17 April 2001).]
