| * |
Melbourne remained unbeaten
after dispatching Richmond by 18 points on Friday night at the MCG in front of a bumper
crowd of 60,086. Conditions were generally good after rain in the days previous. The
Demons were never seriously challenged after quarter-time and have now won six-straight
and 11 of their last 12 matches.
Both teams were content to play a short-kicking, stagnant game early, while the
Demons kicked seven goals either side of half-time and the Tigers failed to score a goal
for some 36 minutes.
Sportal reported: Russell Robertson was in
inspired form for Melbourne with 22 possessions, 15 marks and four goals, while James
McDonald (25 touches) and Simon Godfrey (24 disposals) were also
prominent.
The Tigers had few winners on the night, but Brett Deledio (22
possessions) showed flashes of class and Kane Johnson (14 disposals) did
a good job on Travis Johnstone.
Melbourne grabbed an early lead with Lynden Dunn's goal in the second
minute. Both sides had trouble with their disposal throughout an error-ridden first
quarter and, while it was end-to-end stuff, shots on goal were rare. Kayne
Pettifer put through the only other major for the term to draw the Tigers closer,
but at the first break it was Melbourne by two points.
Jay Schulz gave Richmond its only lead of the game when he marked and
goaled early in the second, but it was all Melbourne from there. The Dees scored the
remaining four goals of the term - including one following a screamer from Robertson
– to open a 24-point lead with their inaccuracy the only thing keeping Richmond in
it.
Robertson bagged another two in the third and while the Tigers were finding a bit of the
ball, it was their turn to be inaccurate; kicking 1.5 to go into the last change six goals
down.
Matthew Richardson gave Tigers' fans false hope when he booted two goals
following Troy Simmonds' only major for the night early in the last, but
it was too little, too late as the Dees closed out the win. |
| 2006
— ROUND 15 — GAME 1 |
| Richmond v Melbourne |
Friday (n), July 14, 2006
MCG, 7.40pm AEST, crowd: 60,086
Conditions: Good
Weather: 12C, cool, rain developing |
| |
1/4
time |
1/2
time |
3/4
time |
Final |
| RCH |
1.2-8 |
2.3-15 |
3.8-26 |
7.10-52 |
| MEL |
1.4-10 (2) |
5.9-39 (24) |
8.12-60 (34) |
9.16-70 (18) |
Goals: Melbourne:
Russell Robertson 4, Aaron Davey, Lynden Dunn, Jared Rivers, Colin Sylvia, Daniel Ward. Richmond:
Matthew Richardson 2, Troy Simmonds 2, Kayne Pettifer, Jay Schulz, Andrew Kellaway.
Best: Melbourne: Russell Robertson, James McDonald, Matthew Whelan, Simon Godfrey,
Brad Green, Ben Holland, Jared Rivers. Richmond: Brett Deledio, Andrew Kellaway,
Kane Johnson, Dean Polo, Matthew Richardson.
Umpires: Michael Vozzo, Matt Stevic, Brett Allen.
Report:
Joel Bowden (Rch) was charged with a Level Three striking offence against Daniel
Ward (Mel) during the fourth quarter. The MRP offered Bowden a one-match
suspension with an early plea based on an existing five-year good record. Richmond sought
adjudication from the Tribunal. The Tribunal sustained the one match suspension. |
Essendon slumped to a
record-equalling 14th successive defeat on Saturday afternoon against St Kilda in
rain-soaked conditions at the MCG. Despite leading for most of the match the Bombers
yielded narrowly as the Saints got across the line by three points.
Sportal reported: What was predicted to be an Essendon
capitulation evolved as an engaging slog played with a high level of intensity and
ferocity. It wasn't until late in the final stanza the Saints managed to hit the front
from spearhead Nick Riewoldt, but even that was short-lived as Andrew
Lovett replied within minutes.
Essendon was brave but failed to deliver the knock-out punch, while Riewoldt and Robert
Harvey were both outstanding for St Kilda in the damp conditions.
The Bombers were better prepared for the soggy conditions and played direct football,
while the Saints appeared complacent as they faced the bottom side.
After Essendon got the first two goals, the Saints failed to capitalise on what could have
provided a crucial spark – a crude hit on veteran Harvey by Adam McPhee
that left the duel Brownlow medallist with a heavily bleeding nose.
In the first half, Essendon was constantly a step ahead but couldn't put on any real
scoreboard pressure with the margin not exceeding 21 points at any one time.
Going into the long break, Jason Johnson had 23 possessions to his name
and Essendon had seven players with more disposals than the Saints' leading ball-getter of
Brendon Goddard, who had 12.
The final tem was fraught with tension as the lead changed three times, but it was a goal
to Fraser Gehrig at the 16-minute mark that confirmed the victory.
Essendon's Jason Johnson (41 disposals) and Damien Peverill (34) ran
themselves into the ground, but it wasn't to be for the Bombers.
The Herald Sun noted: Harvey, (who finished with 25 touches) won
the praise of coach Grant Thomas. He said the Saints probably wouldn't
have days like Saturday if they had more players with the veteran's mindset. |
| 2006
— ROUND 15 — GAME 2 |
| Essendon v St Kilda |
Saturday, July 15, 2006
MCG, 2.10pm AEST, crowd: 33,082
Conditions: Wet – lights on from end of Q1
Weather: 10C, cold, rain |
| |
1/4
time |
1/2
time |
3/4
time |
Final |
| ESS |
4.5-29 (13) |
6.8-44 (14) |
8.10-58 (9) |
10.11-71 |
| STK |
2.4-16 |
4.6-30 |
7.7-49 |
11.8-74 (3) |
Goals: St
Kilda: Stephen Milne 3, Fraser Gehrig 3, Nick Riewoldt 2, Brett Voss, Jason Gram, Cain
Ackland. Essendon: Andrew Lovett 3, Scott Lucas 2, Joel Reynolds 2, Jason Johnson,
Jobe Watson, Damien Peverill.
Best: St Kilda: Nick Riewoldt, Robert Harvey, Stephen Milne, Brendon Goddard, Sam
Fisher, Jason Gram. Essendon: Jason Johnson, Damien Peverill, Andrew Lovett, Brent
Stanton, Scott Camporeale, Scott Lucas.
Umpires: Hayden Kennedy, Matthew Nicholls, Craig Hendrie.
Report:
Adam McPhee (Ess) was booked on match day by umpire Matthew
Nicholls with striking Robert Harvey (StK) during
the first quarter. The MRP charged McPhee with a Level Four striking offence. With an
early plea the player was offered a one-match suspension, based on an existing five-year
good record. McPhee admitted guilt and accepted the one-match suspension. |
Ladder leaders Adelaide had to
summon all of its class and experience to beat a gallant, fiercely competitive Hawthorn by
36 points in cold, blustery conditions on Saturday afternoon at Football Park.
Alan Shiell observed the match for Sportal: The
Hawks led by two points late in the third quarter before the Crows broke the game open
with four goals in eight minutes, and then added 6.4 to 3.1 with a strong south-westerly
in the final term for a hard-earned victory.
Jesper Fjeldstad reported in the Sunday Herald Sun: The
game was billed as a mismatch, yet the 14th-placed Hawks gave the top side a scare on
their home soil. Led by Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge, the
Hawks showed great desperation but will rue a costly third quarter lapse which
extinguished their winning hopes.
It could have been a different story had Hawthorn taken its chances when it had the
error-ridden Crows struggling in the wet and windy conditions. Ferocious tackling and
pressure had earlier forced Adelaide into some uncharacteristic lapses. But the move of
captain Mark Ricciuto into the middle in the third quarter and Simon
Goodwin to the forward line helped the Crows get back on track.
Brett Burton was a standout and his performance for Adelaide did much to
lift the standard. His heroics, and those of Scott Thompson (three goals)
and dashing defenders Andrew McLeod and Graham Johncock,
were critical to the Crows overcoming the unheralded Hawks.
Hawthorn should be given the credit for not only stifling the Crows in the first half with
persistent, old-fashioned man-on-man pressure, but for also showing a bit of spark and
making Adelaide looked flat-footed.
The Herald Sun noted that Burton burst into the game, taking
eight marks, picked up 21 possession to set up his entertaining seven-goal spree. His did
so following a scare on the Wednesday before the match when he suffered an adverse
reaction to an ultra-sound injection. |
| 2006
— ROUND 15 — GAME 3 |
| Adelaide v Hawthorn |
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Football Park, 3.10pm AEST, crowd: 37,446
Conditions: Fair to good
Weather: 13C, cold, overcast, showers |
| |
1/4
time |
1/2
time |
3/4
time |
Final |
| ADE |
2.3-15 (–) |
5.6-36 (7) |
10.9-69 (15) |
16.13-109 (36) |
| HAW |
2.3-15 (–) |
4.5-29 |
8.6-54 |
11.7-73 |
Goals: Adelaide:
Brett Burton 7.1, Scott Thompson 3, Simon Goodwin 2, Ken McGregor, Graham Johncock, Tyson
Edwards, Matthew Bode. Hawthorn: Lance Franklin 3, Robert Campbell 2, Rick Ladson
2, Ben Dixon 2, Mark Williams, Jarryd Roughead.
Best: Adelaide: Brett Burton, Graham Johncock, Simon Goodwin, Scott Thompson,
Andrew McLeod, Tyson Edwards, Kris Massie, Brent Reilly. Hawthorn: Sam Mitchell,
Luke Hodge, Rick Ladson, Matthew Ball, Grant Birchall, Brad Sewell, Campbell Brown, Robert
Campbell.
Umpires: Jason Quigley, Chris Kamolins, Martin Ellis. |
Inaccuracy denied the Kangaroos
their sixth victory of the year when Brisbane snatched a one-point victory on Saturday
night under the closed roof of Docklands Stadium. The Kangas were in front most of the
game with the Lions only hitting the front for the first time well into the last quarter.
Martin Boulton observed for The Age: The
Kangaroos had 29 scoring shots but managed only 11 goals, while Brisbane stayed in touch
and sealed a stunning win through persistence and the undeniable influence of Jason
Akermanis. With seconds left and the Lions leading by two points, Kanga forward Shannon
Grant had a difficult shot from close to the boundary. The kick hit the post and
the Lions hung on to win.
Jason Phelan reported for Sportal: The
Kangaroos looked to have done enough when Nathan Thompson bagged his
third goal early in the last quarter. However, with the game seemingly beyond them the
Lions produced a scoring burst to storm home.
Michael Voss was pivotal to the result with 28 touches, Akermanis moved
to the goalsquare late to help seal the win with two of his three goals coming in the
final term, and Josh Drummond (25 touches) and Matthew Moody
(22 disposals) were also important.
Jess Sinclair gathered 32 possessions for the Kangaroos, Brady
Rawlings did a superb blanketing job on Simon Black and Daniel
Wells (22 touches) showed flashes of brilliance.
The Kangaroos led by 13 points at the first change and broke away to a 27-point lead early
in the second term. But three in succession from the Lions reduced the deficit and by
half-time, the Roos held a 19-point buffer.
The match was in the balance when the Roos led by 13 points at three quarter-time but when
Akermanis stepped up in the final term, the Lions claimed a nail-biter. |
| 2006
— ROUND 15 — GAME 4 |
| Kangaroos v Brisbane Lions |
Saturday (n), July 15,
2006
Docklands, 7.10pm AEST, Roof: closed, crowd: 22,947
Conditions: Fair to good
Weather: 10C, cold and rain |
| |
1/4
time |
1/2
time |
3/4
time |
Final |
| KAN |
4.4-28 (13) |
7.12-54 (19) |
8.16-64 (13) |
11.18-84 |
| BRI |
2.3-15 |
5.5-35 |
7.9-51 |
12.13-85 (1) |
Goals: Brisbane:
Jason Akermanis 3, Daniel Bradshaw 2, Michael Rischitelli 2, Jamie Charman, Matthew Moody,
Marty Pask, Justin Sherman, Michael Voss. Kangaroos: Nathan Thompson 3, Leigh
Harding 2, Brent Harvey 2, Daniel Wells 2, Kasey Green, Ben Schwarze.
Best: Brisbane: Jason Akermanis, Matthew Moody, Josh Drummond, Justin Sherman,
Michael Rischitelli, Michael Voss. Kangaroos: Brady Rawlings, Nathan Thompson, Drew
Petrie, Troy Makepeace, Jess Sinclair, Daniel Pratt.
Umpires: Dean Margetts, Stefan Grun, Shaun Ryan. |
There was a touch of irony about
the final margin at Subiaco Oval on Saturday night – two points – unlike last
September it was Sydney to feel the pain of heart-breaking defeat as West Coast were
thrilling victors in their third epic match in as many outings.
Mark Duffield in The Age summarised it
beautifully – With three minutes remaining in an absolute belter of a match, West
Coast tagger Tyson Stenglein scrambled a kick from 35 metres and a goal
umpire ruled that a lunging Craig Bolton had not touched it before it
crossed the line. It was the first time the Eagles had led, and it was enough to secure a
9.13 to 9.11 victory.
It was a fitting follow-up to last year's epic grand final and qualifying final, another
match tinged with controversy involving Stenglein. On Saturday night, the free kicks went
West Coast's way 35 to 18.
The problem for Eagles coach John Worsfold is that opponents, tired of
unsuccessfully defending against his crack midfield, have started to attack it
successfully. The master move was Swans coach Paul Roos' decision to
match up Adam Goodes on Chris Judd. But half-time,
Goodes had had twice as many touches and kicked twice as many goals as Judd. The Swans had
more than doubled the Eagles' score.The cry for Roos
at half-time, coaching a team that hadn't won at Subiaco Oval since 2001, might have been:
"Don't you love it when a plan comes together." Barry Hall had
kicked 0.7 in the past fortnight, and he and fellow forwards Michael O'Loughlin
and Luke Vogels managed a paltry 1.9 between them in the SCG debacle
against Adelaide last week.
By the 10-minute mark of the first quarter, the Swans had
3.1, all from forwards. Hall nailed his first shot at goal in the third minute and ran
joyously to teammates to celebrate as the weight of goalkicking yips lifted off his
shoulders.
He went to half-time with nine touches and three goals,
running opponent Adam Hunter hard up the ground to help release the ball
from defence, and then pushing equally hard back inside 50 metres to become a scoring
threat.
Goodes became the game's midfield maestro, conducting the
match's ebbs and flows so beautifully that Worsfold shifted Judd from the midfield deep
into attack to try and suck Goodes out of the play and conduct their battles where a
victory for Judd would mean scoring opportunities for the Eagles.
But Roos didn't blink. He left Goodes around the middle,
where he knew the Eagles were now three good players short – Judd was in attack, Ben
Cousins was on a half-forward flank clearly nursing ribs still sore from his
collision with Hawk Lance Franklin last week, and ruckman Dean
Cox was out with a shoulder injury. Down on their usual midfield quality, the
longer the half went, the more the Swans seemed to control the match.
Sydney's lead was a handy 20 points at quarter-time but a
whopping 32 points at half-time and Worsfold was struggling for answers. His staple
get-out-of-trouble moves either had been tried already or were simply unavailable to him.
He frequently throws Hunter forward to get greater scoring
power but Hunter had his hands full with Hall in the absence of regular full-back Darren
Glass. David Wirrpanda was already in attack and Daniel
Chick was missing with a calf strain.
But by three-quarter-time, Roos must have wondered if his
plan was falling apart as the rabbit Worsfold pulled from the hat was his team's renowned
running power against a tiring opponent. The Eagles' midfield seized total control of the
match in the third quarter. Judd reigned supreme around clearances and the Eagles won the
first five stoppages of the term.
Last week's hero Quinten Lynch had spent
the first half leading to the boundary line without winning a possession. But he kicked
two of the only three goals of the term, the first a snap after bowling Craig Bolton out
of the way, the second a remarkable torpedo off one step through a pack of arms and legs.
The Swans were held goalless for the term. Hall missed from
50 metres and O'Loughlin sprayed the ball out of bounds from 30 metres. By
three-quarter-time, Sydney's 32-point buffer had shrunk to nine and it looked like the
Eagles had the greater momentum.
Fox Sports concluded: But once again, Worsfold's men refused to
lie down, and were inspired by Lynch, the man who was dropped for last year's grand final.
His two goals got West Coast rolling and set up the dramatic denouement.
Stenglein's move into the forward line finally appeared to have rattle the Swans and with
massive pressure raining on the Sydney backline, Hall's fourth was a welcome relief to
take the gap to 14 points. But that was to prove Sydney's only goal in the second half. Beau
Waters' left foot soccer, and Hunter's mark from Ash
Hansen's torpedo brought the gap back to two points with time running out.
Debutant Simon Phillips missed a chance to seal a memorable debut with a
sealing goal before Stenglein's right footer edged agonisingly over the line, despite
Craig Bolton's desperate lunge. |
| 2006
— ROUND 15 — GAME 5 |
| West Coast v Sydney |
Saturday (n), July 15,
2006
Subiaco Oval, 7.40pm AEST, crowd: 40,688
Conditions: Good – dew influence later
Weather: 15C, fine and clear |
| |
1/4
time |
1/2
time |
3/4
time |
Final |
| WCE |
3.1-19 |
3.3-21 |
6.11-47 |
9.13-67 (2) |
| SYD |
6.3-39 (20) |
8.5-53 (32) |
8.8-56 (9) |
9.11-65 |
Goals: West
Coast: Adam Selwood 2, Quinten Lynch 2, Chris Judd, Michael Banfield, Beau Waters,
Adam Hunter, Tyson Stenglein. Sydney: Barry Hall 4, Adam Goodes 2, Ryan O'Keefe,
Luke Vogels, Sean Dempster.
Best: West Coast: Adam Selwood, Chris Judd, Tyson Stenglein, David Wirrpanda, Ben
Cousins, Brett Jones. Sydney: Adam Goodes, Barry Hall, Amon Buchanan, Brett Kirk,
Jude Bolton, Leo Barry.
Umpires: Brett James, Scott McLaren, Justin Schmitt. |
Geelong beat Port Adelaide by 10
points in a dour struggle on Sunday afternoon at Kardinia Park under threatening skies
– 19,149 attended. It took the Cats until the last quarter to break the game opening
and four goals put the game out of reach for the Power. The win, Geelong's seventh, keeps
the flame alive for September action.
Lyall Johnson reviewed the game for The Age: With
the work rate of both teams well above the levels of the opening three quarters, the Cats
slammed on four goals straight in 13 minutes to hit the lead by 14 points. The Geelong
midfield of Corey Enright, Jimmy Bartel and Cameron
Ling stepped up, while in defence, Matthew Scarlett – who
had done a magnificent job shutting down Warren Tredrea – marshalled
the troops, with Tom Harley and Darren Milburn backing
him up.
As the low scores indicate, much of the play see-sawed between the half-forward lines. Too
often Geelong bombed the ball in when a pass would have been a better option. When going
long, leads that should have been ignored were honoured.
For Geelong, Enright was again prolific, especially early, while Bartel seemed to be
everywhere. Milburn was solid in defence. But the Cats let themselves down with a lack of
discipline and for much of the match could not cope with Port's close-in tactics.
There were 50 metre penalties – although, to be fair, some of the blame for those
penalties should rest with officious umpires – while Mooney is again likely to be
miss games through suspension after being reported in the second quarter for his kidney
punch on Josh Mahoney. Scarlett may also come under scrutiny for his
punch to the stomach of Daniel Motlop.Port was down eight first-choice senior players because of injury. To its credit,
Port did a good job of playing tight, man-on-man football, allowing the Cats no room or
run. The Power pushed the Cats for three quarters but could not find any meaningful system
and were restricted when Dean Brogan, who had been causing plenty of
problems with his height and run, went off early in the second quarter with a badly
sprained ankle.
Along with Kane Cornes and Steven
Salopek, Port's Aboriginal players were their best. Motlop was constantly
dangerous in front of goal, while Danyle Pearce racked up 26 possessions
and Shaun Burgoyne continued his fine form. |
| 2006
— ROUND 15 — GAME 6 |
| Geelong v Port Adelaide |
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Kardinia Park, 1.10pm AEST, crowd: 19,149
Conditions: Fair, recent rain
Weather: 14C, cool, cloudy, rain threatening |
| |
1/4
time |
1/2
time |
3/4
time |
Final |
| GEE |
1.1-7 |
4.5-29 (6) |
5.9-39 |
9.14-68 (10) |
| PA |
2.4-16 (9) |
3.5-23 |
6.7-43 |
8.10-58 |
Goals: Geelong:
Brad Ottens 3, Paul Chapman 2, Mathew Stokes 2, Cameron Ling, Cameron Mooney. Port:
Motlop 2, Tredrea, Mahoney, Walsh, S Burgoyne, Ebert, Thomas.
Best: Geelong: Darren Milburn, Jimmy Bartel, Corey Enright, Brad Ottens, Tom
Harley, Mathew Stokes. Port: Brendon Lade, Chad Cornes, Steven Salopek, Danyle
Pearce, Daniel Motlop, Shaun Burgoyne.
Umpires: Chris Donlon, Kieron Nicholls, Darren Goldspink.
Report:
Cameron Mooney (Gee) was booked on match day by umpire Kieron Nicholls
for striking Josh Mahoney (PA) during the third quarter. The
MRP charged Mooney with a Level Two striking offence and offered the player a one-match
suspension which cannot be reduced to an existing poor record. Mooney accepted guilt and
the one-match suspension. |
Carlton battled hard for the
first three quarters but were easily outplayed by a fast-finishing Bulldog outfit at
Docklands Stadium on Sunday afternoon. A last term blast of six goals to one propelled the
Western Bulldogs into fourth place on the ladder.
Matt Burgan recorded for Sportal: Carlton had
its opportunities to ice the contest - it hit the post on five occasions during the match
– but when Adam Cooney kicked the first goal of the final term in
the opening minute, the Dogs looked full of run.
And when Will Minson intercepted a handball dished off by Carlton's Barnaby
French just minutes later, the big Bulldog took possession and slammed it home in
what was telling piece of play.
The only goal for the Blues in the final term was via Setanta O'hAilpin,
who kicked the last major of the day.
The Bulldogs' win was tarnished somewhat by a hamstring injury suffered by Daniel
Giansiracusa and a calf injury to defender Brett Montgomery, who
left the ground early in the opening term and was unable to return.
The Bulldogs had a number of multiple goalkickers with Giansiracusa, Brad Johnson
and Matthew Robbins all booting three goals each, while Cooney and Rohan
Smith chipped in with two apiece.
Daniel Cross, Scott West, Lindsay Gilbee
and Farren Ray combined for over 100 touches and were among their side's
best, while Jordan McMahon was a strong rebounder out of defence. Chris
Grant and Cooney were particularly important in the final term.
For the Blues, Nick Stevens won 32 disposals – the most for the
match – while Andrew Carrazzo also racked up 31 touches and Heath
Scotland accumulated the ball 29 times. Lance Whitnall was
outstanding in the first half. |
| 2006
— ROUND 15 — GAME 7 |
| Carlton v Western Bulldogs |
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Docklands, 2.10pm AEST, Roof: closed, crowd: 26,418
Conditions: Fair to good
Weather: 13C, cool, cloudy, rain threatening |
| |
1/4
time |
1/2
time |
3/4
time |
Final |
| CAR |
3.2-20 |
7.5-47 |
10.10-70 (–) |
11.14-80 |
| WB |
4.3-27 (7) |
7.6-48 (1) |
10.10-70 (–) |
16.14-110 (30) |
Goals: West.B'dogs:
Daniel Giansiracusa 3, Matthew Robbins 3, Brad Johnson 3, Adam Cooney 2, Rohan Smith 2,
Chris Grant, Scott West, Will Minson. Carlton: Eddie Betts 2, Adam
Bentick, Luke Blackwell, Brendan Fevola, Barnaby French, Kade Simpson, Josh Kennedy, Lance
Whitnall, Heath Scotland, Setanta O'hAilpin.
Best: West.B'dogs: Brad Johnson, Lindsay Gilbee, Daniel Cross, Daniel Giansiracusa,
Scott West, Jordan McMahon, Farren Ray, Dale Morris. Carlton: Nick Stevens, Andrew
Carrazzo, Lance Whitnall, Heath Scotland, Kade Simpson, Adam Bentick.
Umpires: Damien Sully, Stuart Wenn, Michael Avon. |
Fremantle inflicted
Collingwood's fourth loss of the past five games and tumbled the Pies down to sixth place
on the ladder with good win, far wider than the 15-point margin showed, when the two met
at the MCG on Sunday. The victory also brought higher hopes as the Dockers regained their
place in the top eight. It could be considered one of Fremantle's best wins of recent
times.
Fremantle's Jeff Farmer, returning from a one-match suspension was in
super form with six goals from his four-quarter performance. Farmer played the sort of
football which earned him the nickname "The Wizard" but which has not been seen
in Docker's away matches. Together with Matthew Pavlich (four goals), the
duo tore Collingwood's defence apart while the Magpie forwards again failed to stamp their
authority.
Paul Gough noted for Sportal: The unheralded
Dockers are fast becoming Collingwood's "bogey" team – this was Freo's
fourth win in their past five meetings and the third successive season they have beaten
the Pies on their own turf in Melbourne.
Before half-time when the Dockers went to a 15-point lead, Rohan Connolly
for The Age reported – an edge they would lose only for a
tiny period at the start of the second half. The feeling that this wasn't going to be one
of those wasted opportunities grew stronger as Freo's confidence, shown in the cheeky
checkside goals of Farmer on the run, then Des Headland.
Josh Carr and Peter Bell continued to get leather
poisoning, helped by the superb ruckwork of the giant Aaron Sandilands,
who not only dominated the hitouts, but managed to finish with a career-best 19
possessions and a half-a-dozen marks besides. And when Collingwood did mount its challenge
as the third quarter began with goals to Dane Swan and Alan Didak,
the response was equally swift – another four straight goals, three of them from
Pavlich and Farmer, putting the Pies back in their box.
Collingwood continued to chip away, and when Chris Tarrant and Didak
booted two of the first three goals of the final term, the Pies were still some sort of
chance. But, as at the start of the game, Collingwood's inefficiency and Freo's better
playing of percentages told the tale.
With the deficit a still-gettable 13 points, the ball in attack but time ticking on, Scott
Pendlebury, who'd been one of the Pies' better performers, might have gone to the
teeth of goal but chipped instead to Didak, the pass intercepted by the Dockers' Steven
Dodd. On the counterattack, in a critical contest between Shane O'Bree
and Matthew Carr, the Magpie slipped and his opponent kept his feet,
running into an open goal to settle the matter.
Opportunity beckoned Fremantle yet again – and this time, the Dockers were intent on
showing they were indeed ready to capitalise on it. |
| 2006
— ROUND 15 — GAME 8 |
| Collingwood v Fremantle |
Sunday, July 16, 2006
MCG, 2.10pm AEST, crowd: 30,373
Conditions: Fair to good
Weather: 13C, cool, cloudy, rain from Q3 |
| |
1/4
time |
1/2
time |
3/4
time |
Final |
| COL |
3.6-24 (2) |
7.9-51 |
10.13-73 |
15.14-104 |
| FRE |
3.4-22 |
9.5-59 (8) |
14.7-101 (18) |
18.11-119 (15) |
Goals: Fremantle:
Jeff Farmer 6.2, Matthew Pavlich 4, Ryan Crowley 2, Ryan Murphy 2, Des Headland 2, Marcus
Drum, Matthew Carr. Collingwood: Alan Didak 3, Chris Tarrant 3, Anthony Rocca 2,
Nathan Buckley 2, Scott Burns, Dale Thomas, Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan, Josh Fraser.
Best: Fremantle: Jeff Farmer, Matthew Pavlich, Josh Carr, David Mundy, Peter Bell,
Michael Johnson, Marcus Drum, Ryan Crowley. Collingwood: Dane Swan, Heath Shaw,
Scott Pendlebury, Nathan Buckley, Ben Johnson.
Umpires: Stephen McBurney, Brett Rosebury, Troy Pannell. |
|
|
