| * |
A powerful finish
lifted Geelong two games clear on top of the ladder with nine successive
wins when Essendon on Friday night became the Cats' latest victim to a
near-capacity 51,156 at Docklands Stadium.
Len Johnson in The Age assessed for the Dons, it hardly
could have been worse. Their heaviest loss of the season, and the losses
did not stop there. James Hird sat out the second half of his
250th game with a calf injury, Alwyn Davey suffered a broken left
arm, and Paddy Ryder and first-gamer Tom Hislop also ended
the game injured on the bench.
Malcolm Conn noted in The Australian: The good news story
of a season dominated by footballer-induced stupidity was the return to
AFL ranks of Bomber midfielder Adam Ramanauskas after the
courageous 26-year-old beat another bout of cancer. But his big night
was understandably muted given more than two years out of the game.
His first moment of glory was dashed by nerves on such a big stage. It
wasn't until almost 10 minutes into the third term that the Essendon
faithful who had packed the stadium welcomed back one of their favourite
sons – as the Bombers surged, Jobe Watson fired out a handball
and Ramanauskas ran freely into an open goals.
Adam Cooper in his review for the AFL webpage observed: Riding
high on the Rama buzz, Scott Lucas then put Essendon in front two
minutes later. But Geelong steadied and booted the next two goals, one
courtesy of a Tom Hawkins dribbler and another after Cameron
Mooney marked strongly.
The opening two goals of the final quarter to Matthew Stokes then
made the game safe for the Cats, before Mooney, Corey Enright,
Paul Chapman and Cameron Ling (twice) goaled to turn the
match into a blow-out.
Despite their brave effort, the night was clearly not meant to be
Essendon's as they ended the match without a fit player on the bench.
Geelong's Gary Ablett was brilliant with 31 disposals, Chapman
capped a fine game with 34 touches, and midfielders Joel Corey
and Joel Selwood were great in the first half when the match was
tight. |
|
2007 — ROUND 14 — GAME
1 |
|
Essendon v Geelong |
Friday (n),
July 6, 2007
Docklands, 7.40pm AEST, Roof: closed, crowd: 51,156
Conditions: Fair to good – some slip
from dew
Weather: 10C outside, cold, showers |
| |
1/4 time |
1/2 time |
3/4 time |
Final |
|
ESS |
3.4-22 |
6.9-45 |
11.10-76 |
12.11-83 |
| GEE |
4.3-27 (5) |
7.9-51 (6) |
12.14-86 (10) |
19.19-133 (50) |
Goals:
Geelong: Cameron Ling
3, Paul Chapman 3, Cameron Mooney 3, Brad Ottens 2,
Corey Enright 2, Mathew Stokes 2, Steve Johnson, Darren
Milburn, Gary Ablett, Tom Hawkins. Essendon:
Scott Lucas 3, Andrew Welsh 2, Jobe Watson 2, Tom
Hislop, Patrick Ryder, Adam Ramanauskas, Henry Slattery,
Andrew Lovett.
Best: Geelong: Gary Ablett, Paul Chapman, Joel
Selwood, Cameron Ling, Joel Corey, Corey Enright, Darren
Milburn, Brad Ottens. Essendon: Jobe Watson,
Jason Johnson, Damien Peverill, Mark McVeigh, Dustin
Fletcher, Andrew Welsh, Adam McPhee.
Umpires: Stephen McBurney, Shane McInerney,
Michael Vozzo.
Reports:
u
Dustin Fletcher
(Ess) was cited for striking Kane Tenace (Gee) in
Q3. Fletcher accepted the early plea of guilty and a
one-match suspension.
u
Mark McVeigh (Ess) was citied
for striking Gary Ablett (Gee) in Q3. Essendon
sought adjudication of the Tribunal rather than the MRP
finding. At the Tribunal on Tuesday, McVeigh pleaded
guilty to the charge but it was argued the punch was to
Ablett's chest and not high as the MRP found. The
Tribunal agreed and reduced McVeigh's demerit total from
185.63 points to 103.12 – changing the contact element
from high to low. On the plea of guilty the Tribunal
suspended McVeigh for one match. |
Collingwood recorded
an outstanding come-from-behind victory over St Kilda in wet, cold and
miserable conditions on Saturday afternoon at the MCG in front of a
hardy lot which numbered 57,247. In a see-sawing rain affected match, peppered with
controversial umpiring decisions, the Magpies surged home with the last
four goals to win by nine points.
Angus Morgan for Sportal named Dale Thomas as
igniting Collingwood as they ran over the top of the Saints in the
closing stages. Thomas was the Magpies' barometer on the day,
influential early when the Pies held sway and outstanding in a tight
finish with two final-term goals including the sealer.
No less important for Collingwood was Josh Fraser who picked up
20 possessions and 21 hitouts playing one-out in the ruck all afternoon.
For the Saints, Fraser Gehrig was the most effective key forward
on the ground with four goals while Nick Dal Santo maintained his
excellent recent form with 28 disposals.
Sam Lienert in summary for the AFL webpage noted: With rain
falling throughout, making attractive football difficult, goals came
from opposition errors as often as they came from skill by the attacking
team. The Magpies looked in control at half time when they led by 14
points, after kicking three of the last four goals of the first half,
two of them from free kicks and one from a Saints' error in defence.
But St Kilda outscored them 5.1 to 0.2 in the third term, powered by a
ferocious attack on the ball. When Gehrig scored his fourth in the
opening minute of the last quarter, his team, 21 points in front, looked
home. However, the Pies backed themselves and Mick Malthouse was
smiling at the end of the day – who wouldn't with a side who laid on 72
tackles, the second most in a game this year. |
|
2007 — ROUND 14 — GAME 2 |
| Collingwood v St
Kilda |
Saturday,
July 7, 2007
MCG, 2.10pm AEST, crowd: 57,247
Conditions: Wet, heavy ball
Weather: 9C, cold and miserable; frequent periods of rain |
| |
1/4 time |
1/2 time |
3/4 time |
Final |
| COL |
4.5-29 (8) |
8.9-57 (12) |
8.11-59 |
12.17-89
(9) |
| STK |
3.3-21 |
6.7-43 |
11.8-74 (15) |
12.8-80 |
Goals: Collingwood:
Travis Cloke 2, Josh Fraser 2, Dale Thomas 2, Leon Davis, Ben Johnson,
Paul Licuria, Alan Didak, Shane O'Bree, Dane Swan. St Kilda:
Fraser Gehrig 4, Stephen Milne 2, Justin Koschitzke, Raphael Clarke,
Xavier Clarke, Lenny Hayes, Aaron Fiora, Sam Gilbert.
Best: Collingwood: Dale Thomas, Josh Fraser, Dane Swan, Heath
Shaw, Harry O'Brien. St Kilda: Nick Dal Santo, Fraser Gehrig,
Robert Harvey, Xavier Clarke, Sam Fisher, Sam Gilbert.
Umpires: Chris Donlon, Scott McLaren, Ray Chamberlain. |
The Western Bulldogs
held on to their place in the top eight when they produced a fighting
finish to win by 20 points over Port Adelaide on Saturday afternoon
under the closed roof at Docklands Stadium. With only 10 points
difference at the last change, the final quarter produced a goalfest of
14 majors between the two sides.
Port continued to challenge the Dogs near to the final siren until two
sensational goals within a minute from the wily Jason Akermanis
iced the game for the home team. Held to just six disposals until
half-time, Akermanis broke the shackles in the second half, picking up
another 11 touches and finishing with three goals.
Brandon Cohen noted in his report for Sportal: The
Bulldogs eighth win of the year was soured, however, with news that ball
magnet Scott West went off in the second quarter with a groin
injury and sat on the bench for the rest of the game in his tracksuit.
Matthew Boyd was best afield with 31 possessions and two goals,
including the last of the match, while Adam Cooney (26), Brian
Harris (25) and Farren Ray (23) were all excellent
contributors.Brad Johnson
finished with five goals, with Chris Grant – in just his second
game back from a groin injury - brilliant in the back half with 20
possessions. Luke Darcy was back to his best in the ruck against
Brendon Lade and Dean Brogan.
For the Power, wearing the traditional
prison-bar guernsey, Domenic Cassisi was almost unstoppable with
38 disposals, while Chad Cornes picked up 34 possessions roaming
all over the field and the Burgoyne brothers, Peter and Shaun, finished
with 28 and 25 touches respectively. |
|
2007 — ROUND 14 — GAME 3 |
|
Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide |
Saturday,
July 7, 2007
Docklands, 2.10pm AEST, Roof: closed, crowd: 22,691
Conditions: Fair – some slip
Weather: 9C outside |
| |
1/4 time |
1/2 time |
3/4 time |
Final |
| WB |
4.4-28 |
6.9-45 |
12.11-83 (10) |
20.13-133
(20) |
| PA |
5.3-33 (5) |
8.5-53 (8) |
11.7-73 |
17.11-113 |
Goals: West.B'dogs: Brad Johnson 5.0, Matthew Robbins 3,
Jason Akermanis 2, Matthew Boyd 2, Chris Grant, Robert Murphy, Daniel
Giansiracusa, Jarrod Harbrow, Peter Street, Adam Cooney, Mitch Hahn.
Port: Warren Tredrea 4, Brett Ebert 2, Domenic Cassisi 2, Daniel
Motlop 2, Shaun Burgoyne 2, David Rodan 2, Justin Westhoff, Peter
Burgoyne, Brendon Lade.
Best: West.B'dogs: Matthew Boyd, Adam Cooney, Luke Darcy, Brian
Harris, Brad Johnson, Farren Ray, Chris Grant. Port: Domenic
Cassisi, Chad Cornes, Peter Burgoyne, Shaun Burgoyne, Kane Cornes,
Travis Boak.
Umpires: Hayden Kennedy, Derek Woodcock, Troy Pannell. |
Adelaide unleashed
its slickest and most convincing football of the season to humiliate
Hawthorn by 71 points in damp, windy and cold conditions at Football
Park on Saturday night. The rousing victory lifted the Crows from ninth
to sixth place on the ladder.
Alan Shiell reported for Sportal: The Crows set up their
fourth win in succession against the Hawks with a brilliant first half
and continued after half-time, holding Hawthorn to its lowest score in
all 24 premiership-season matches against Adelaide.
Scott Thompson, in his 100th game (39 with Melbourne from 2001-04
and 61 with Adelaide), Tyson Edwards, Simon Goodwin and
Chris Knights led the way in the midfield, captain Mark Ricciuto
(four goals), Ken McGregor, Scott Welsh and Nathan Bock
(two each) formed a potent forward set-up, and Andrew McLeod and
Graham Johncock provided great run and rebound from across
half-back.
Edwards piled up 41 possessions, and McLeod and Thompson (39 each),
Goodwin (33) and Knights (32) also had the ball on a string while the
Crows amassed a whopping 417 disposals – 206 kicks and 211 handpasses -
to the Hawks' 362 (187 and 175).
But the closeness of the teams' overall statistics for disposals did not
reflect the way the Crows controlled the game with aggressive running
and silky skills with hand and foot.
Hawthorn was barely a shadow of the team
that had climbed so impressively to second position on the premiership
ladder by winning five of its previous six matches. Their gun goalsneak
Lance Franklin was starved of opportunities and held to just one
goal and five possessions by his unheralded opponent, Kris Massie.
Veteran Shane Crawford gave a spirited display while Jordan
Lewis and Ben McGlynn were other Hawks who battled gamely
against an overwhelming Adelaide outfit. |
|
2007 — ROUND 14 — GAME 4 |
| Adelaide v
Hawthorn |
Saturday
(n),
July 7, 2007
Football Park, 7.40pm AEST,
crowd: 34,733
Conditions: Heavy ball
Weather: 10C, wet, windy, cold |
| |
1/4 time |
1/2 time |
3/4 time |
Final |
| ADE |
4.2-26 (19) |
8.6-54 (33) |
11.10-76 (48) |
15.12-102
(71) |
| HAW |
1.1-7 |
3.3-21 |
4.4-28 |
4.7-31 |
Goals: Adelaide: Mark Ricciuto 4, Ken McGregor 2, Scott
Welsh 2, Nathan Bock 2, Ivan Maric 2, Simon Goodwin, Tyson Edwards,
Chris Knights. Hawthorn: Ben McGlynn, Jarryd Roughead, Lance
Franklin, Trent Croad.
Best: Adelaide: Tyson Edwards, Andrew McLeod, Scott Thompson,
Simon Goodwin, Chris Knights, Graham Johncock, Mark Ricciuto.
Hawthorn: Rick Ladson, Shane Crawford, Clinton Young, Jordan Lewis,
Grant Birchall, Brad Sewell.
Umpires: Dean Margetts, Shaun Ryan, Kieron Nicholls. |
Brisbane caused one
of the upsets of the season on Saturday night with a gutsy 27 point
victory over West Coast – only the second time the Lions have beaten the
Eagles at Subiaco Oval – and gained their first win since round 6.
Mark Duffield pertinently observed in The Age: Armed with
14 players who had played fewer than 50 games of AFL football, and
sustained by wonderful performances from their senior players, the Lions
snapped a seven-game streak without a win and scored their first victory
over the Eagles since 2002. It was a deadly mixture of Brisbane's ageing
class, youthful energy and woeful West Coast apathy that brought about
the boilover.
Justin Chadwick noted for Sportal: Jonathan Brown
(four goals), Jared Brennan (four goals) and Robert Copeland
(three goals) starred up forward for the Lions, while Nigel Lappin
(34 possessions, Tim Notting and Simon Black were
influential through the middle. For West Coast, Chris Judd (35
touches) and Daniel Kerr (33) received plenty of the ball, but
Mark LeCras (four goals) was a lone hand up forward for the home
side.
The AFL webpage noted: Michael Braun's 200th game had also been
expected to see Ben Cousins return, but a hamstring injury on
Friday robbed the crowd. Cousins appeared alongside the Eagles match
committee before the game, and was given a rousing reception by the home
fans. But after that, the West Coast faithful were given little to shout
about.
Wearing a jumper to commemorate WA's first state-of-origin win over
Victoria, the Eagles had been expected to replicate the 94-point win
achieved against the big V in 1977. But from the first minute, when
Brisbane's decorated Sandgroper Simon Black goaled on the run,
the Eagles knew they were in a game.
The lead changed hands three times in the third term as the match lifted
in intensity. Goals to Brown and Brennan saw Brisbane jump to the lead,
but a clever major to Shannon Hurn and LeCras' fourth saw the
Eagles regain the advantage.
But the Lions refused to yield, with late goals to Notting, Brennan and
Brown ensuring Brisbane heading to the final change with a deserved
11-point buffer. And that was as close as the Eagles could get,
with the Lions kicking two goals to one in the last term to secure a
famous victory.
Leigh Matthews was so overwhelmed by Brisbane's victory, he made
a rare journey from the coaches' box before the siren to embrace his
players. |
|
2007 — ROUND 14 — GAME 5 |
| West Coast v
Brisbane |
Saturday
(n),
July 7, 2007
Subiaco Oval, 7.40pm AEST, crowd: 40,763
Conditions: Good – rain in Q3
Weather: 20C, showers forecast after a fine day |
| |
1/4 time |
1/2 time |
3/4 time |
Final |
| WCE |
3.5-23 (10) |
6.8-44 (7) |
8.10-58 |
9.10-64 |
| BRI |
2.1-13 |
5.7-37 |
10.9-69 (11) |
13.13-91
(27) |
Goals: Brisbane: Jonathan Brown 4, Luke Brennan 4,
Robert Copeland 3, Tim Notting, Simon Black. West Coast: Mark
LeCras 4, Daniel Kerr, Andrew Embley, Dean Cox, Shannon Hurn, Mark
Seaby.
Best: Brisbane: Luke Brennan, Jonathan Brown, Nigel Lappin, Simon
Black, Tim Notting, Robert Copeland, Jason Roe. West Coast: Mark
LeCras, Dean Cox, Chris Judd, Daniel Kerr, Mark Seaby.
Umpires: Luke Farmer, Brett Allen, Simon Meredith.
Report:
Daniel Kerr (WCE) was cited for striking Will Hamill (Bri) in
Q3. Kerr accepted the early plea of guilty and a one-match suspension. |
Sydney kept its
finals hopes alive when they soundly defeated Fremantle in wet
conditions at the SCG which on Sunday afternoon at its reduced capacity
was packed with 25,943 fans.
It was a notable day for the Sydney club as Michael O'Loughlin
established a new game record, overtaking the 260 club games set by
John Rantall in 1979. Peter Everitt (with his 3rd club)
played his 300th match and became a life member of the AFL, Sean
Dempster notched 50 matches and dual Brownlow medallist Adam
Goodes played his 200th game.
Jenny McAsey summed up in The Australian: Locked onto six
wins apiece, there was so much at stake, but Fremantle played like a
pretender to a finals berth, pushing coach Chris Connolly – out
of contract at the end of this season – a few steps closer to the
coaches' junkyard.
Erin Riley observed for Sportal: The final scoreline
flattered the Dockers, who were kept in the game by the Swans'
inaccurate kicking. Dominating around the ground, the Swans failed to
translate that dominance to the scoreboard, kicking 23 behinds in the
course of the game. The match could well spell the end of the Dockers'
finals hope, putting the side two games outside the eight.
While Sydney dominated around the ground, it failed to show on the
scoreboard. Early in the third quarter, they had just four goals and
fourteen behinds. Their inaccuracy was costly but when they turned it
around in the third, the Dockers had no answer. Quick goals to Brett
Kirk and Tim Schmidt put the Swans in front and Freo
were never a threat after that. |
|
2007 — ROUND 14 — GAME 6 |
| Sydney v
Fremantle |
Sunday,
July 8, 2007
SCG, 1.10pm AEST, crowd: 25,943
Conditions: Wet
Weather: 13C, rain from morning continued |
| |
1/4 time |
1/2 time |
3/4 time |
Final |
| SYD |
1.6-12 (3) |
4.11-35 (2) |
8.17-65 (23) |
11.23-89
(28) |
| FRE |
1.3-9 |
5.3-33 |
6.6-42 |
9.7-61 |
Goals: Sydney: Barry Hall 3, Michael O'Loughlin 2, Ryan
O'Keefe 2, Adam Schneider, Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton, Tim Schmidt.
Fremantle: Jeff Farmer 2, Matthew Pavlich 2, Shaun McManus 2, Chris
Tarrant, Des Headland, Scott Thornton.
Best: Sydney: Adam Goodes, Michael O'Loughlin, Ryan O'Keefe, Nick
Malceski, Craig Bolton. Fremantle: Des Headland, Dean Solomon,
Shaun McManus, Aaron Sandilands.
Umpires: Brett Rosebury, Stuart Wenn, Scott Jeffery. |
Newly elevated Mark
Riley got Melbourne over the line for a win in his first game as
caretaker coach on a dark and gloomy Sunday afternoon at the MCG where
33,085 of the faithful attended – in the chilly and showery conditions
the lights came on in the first quarter.
Fox Sports in their review noted the Demons overcame their
missing stars to inflict a 23-point defeat on Carlton thanks to a
Russell Robertson-inspired burst in the third quarter. Melbourne
booted four goals in four minutes early in the second quarter to skip
clear before the Blues reeled them in, but also added three goals in
four minutes in the third quarter, which made for the decisive break.
Robertson booted two goals in that second burst and ended the game with
five-straight, while Matthew Bate and Michael Newton each
kicked three.
The Blues fought hard in the final quarter and got to within five points
seven minutes in when Josh Kennedy popped through a goal after a
scramble in the goalsquare, but the Demons held sway to post their third
win of the season.
Andrew Wu in his Sportal review observed: Fighting for
their football futures, the quartet of Paul Wheatley, Daniel
Ward, Clint Bizzell and Nathan Brown were superb.
While Brown nullified Heath Scotland's run from Carlton's
back-half, Bizzell, Ward and Wheatley were the lynchpins of a Melbourne
defence which refused to buckle under Carlton's pressure in the last
term.
The Blues had their chances to snatch the game but were wasteful in
front of goal, missing crucial shots, none more so than Jarrad Waite,
who squandered a chance to put his side within four points in time-on. |
|
2007 — ROUND 14 — GAME 7 |
| Carlton v
Melbourne |
Sunday,
July 8, 2007
MCG, 2.10pm AEST, crowd: 33,085
Conditions: Fair – lights on in Q1
Weather: 15C, cold, showers |
| |
1/4 time |
1/2 time |
3/4 time |
Final |
| CAR |
3.4-22 |
8.7-55 |
10.14-74 |
14.17-101 |
| MEL |
4.1-25 (3) |
9.4-58 (3) |
14.6-90 (16) |
19.10-124
(23) |
Goals: Melbourne: Russell Robertson 5.0, Michael Newton
3, Matthew Bate 3, Paul Wheatley 2, Paul Johnson, Aaron Davey, Lynden
Dunn, Daniel Ward, Simon Godfrey, Colin Sylvia. Carlton: Marc
Murphy 2, Setanta O'hAilpin 2, Brad Fisher 2, Koutoufides, Bryce Gibbs.
Best: Melbourne: James McDonald, Jeff White, Nathan D
Brown, Nathan Jones, Paul Wheatley, Matthew Bate, Colin Sylvia, Russell
Robertson. Carlton: Kade Simpson , Setanta O'hAilpin, Andrew
Carrazzo, Andrew Walker, Anthony Koutoufides, Marc Murphy, Ryan
Houlihan.
Umpires: Gary Fila, Darren Goldspink, Craig Hendrie. |
The Kangaroos
continued their run of good performances when they posted a regulation
25-point win over Richmond on Sunday night under the closed roof at
Docklands Stadium. Flying in the face of the doubters, the Kangas are
now equal second on the ladder in parallel with West Coast, Hawthorn and
Collingwood.
Mark Stevens noted for the Herald Sun: The Roos never
reached the heights of that electrifying first quarter against the
Bulldogs, but this was about as regulation as a 25-point win gets, Sure,
there a scare here, and a fright there, but there was never any real
danger.
The Kangas were not headed, setting the tone by kicking the first three
goals of the game. Richmond kicked three goals in four minutes to draw
within four points 17 minutes into the second term, but lacked the poise
and polish to make it really interesting.
Shane Edwards and Jack Riewoldt missed chances late in the
second to keep the Tigers in touch at the long break, and they paid a
painful price early in the third. The Roos kicked the first five goals
of the third term in a 17-minute burst and, at one stage, had a 37-point
lead.
Full credit to the Tigers for refusing to roll over. Inspired by the
workrate of Matthew Richardson, they even edged to within 14
points early in the last term. In reality, it was nothing but a big
tease for the long-suffering Tiger fans. Close, but not good enough,
Again.
Jordan Chong reported for Sportal: It was another big
night in front of goal from Kangaroos
forward-turned-defender-turned-forward again Drew Petrie, who
booted a perfect six goals straight. Added to his seven-goal haul last
week against the Bulldogs, Petrie has now kicked accurately from his
last 13 shots. |
|
2007 — ROUND 14 — GAME 8 |
| Richmond v
Kangaroos |
Sunday
(n),
July 8, 2007
Docklands, 5.10pm AEST, Roof:
closed, crowd: 33,583
Conditions: Generally good
Weather: 12C outside, cold, showers |
| |
1/4 time |
1/2 time |
3/4 time |
Final |
| RCH |
1.1-7 |
5.5-35 |
8.9-57 |
11.13-79 |
| KAN |
4.4-28 (21) |
6.6-42 (7) |
11.12-78 (21) |
14.20-104
(25) |
Goals: Kangaroos: Drew Petrie 6.0, Corey Jones 3, Scott
McMahon 2, Daniel Wells, Jess Sinclair, Leigh Brown. Richmond:
Matthew Richardson 4, Kayne Pettifer 3, Richard Tambling 2, Adam
Pattison, Cameron Howat. Best: Kangaroos: Brent Harvey, Jess
Sinclair, Drew Petrie, Corey Jones, Shannon Grant, Daniel Wells.
Richmond: Matthew Richardson, Chris Newman, Kayne Pettifer, Shane
Edwards, Cameron Howat.
Umpires: Matt Stevic, Damien Sully, Martin Ellis. |
|
|
