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Archive for March, 2009
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Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
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Injuries/Reports from Round 1
Sunday, March 29th, 2009
Here is a list of injuries for round 1 of the 2009 AFL premiership season brought to you by ContestedFooty. For a complete list of injuries ContestedFooty recommends Injury Update.
Adelaide Crows
Goodwin got cramps in the final quarter but the Crows have no concerns from their first game.
Brisbane Lions
Simon Black didn’t play in the end, those who did got through fine.
Carlton Blues
Fevola was definitely not 100% and Jamison may have a sore shoulder, both should pull through fine like the rest of their team.
Collingwood Magpies
Didak may have a corked buttock and Anthony needed a lot of work on his back both played on.
Essendon Bombers
Lucas will have a sore elbow and Bellchambers was a late withdrawal.
Fremantle Dockers
Palmer got some work done but played the whole game.
Geelong Cats
Selwood was off in quarter one but came back strong, Rooke was reported for charging and Mackie was for striking.
Hawthorn Hawks
Gilham was a late withdrawal, Brown should have been, Dew got a corky and Hodge was reported twice.
Melbourne Demons
Miller needed work on his ankle but played out the game.
North Melbourne Kangaroos
No concerns.
Port Adelaide Power
Ebert copped a big knock, looked in a bad way, he came back on though. Cornes had his hand tended to a bit.
Richmond Tigers
Ben Cousins out until around week 5, controversial, he was sore at 3 quarter time and was sent back onto the field. Andrew Raines will be out until the same point with a knee injury.
St Kilda Saints
Raphael Clarke went off with a hamstring injury, the Saints are hoping the scans will be positive and he’ll be available this week. Riewoldt ‘cramped’ but keep a close eye on him; it may have been a hamstring injury.
Sydney Swans
Ablett didn’t play, other than that the Swans escaped any concerns.
West Coast Eagles
Brett Jones was a late withdrawal, the rest of the team got through okay.
Western Bulldogs
Akermanis and Lake had some concerns but played out the match.
Brisbane vs.West Coast – Round 1 match recap
Sunday, March 29th, 2009Brisbane – 14.11 (95)
West Coast – 13.8 (86)
Brisbane has staged a good comeback against a very switched on West Coast, who looked a lot more dangerous than last year. The Eagles started quickly and got their lead to 38 points during the second quarter, Mark LeCras was the biggest problem for the Lions kicking 5 goals in the first half, a good positive move by Voss helped put that to rest, when he put Ashley McGrath on him. The Eagles stuck in their but they lacked enough dangerous options to threaten the result.
Turning points of the match
The Lions kicked nine goals in the third quarter to just about guarantee the result, Voss made a lot of good changes at half time; swinging McGrath back, pushing Brown forward and Drummond to center half forward, they paid dividends to the Lions who shut out the match.
Key Players for Brisbane
Rhan Hooper: Dealt a big blow to the Eagles in the third quarter with three goals. He finished with 4 goals and 18 touches.
Luke Power: 35 touches, 6 marks and 6 tackles in a great display for some of his younger team mates to follow.
Key Players for West Coast
Mark LeCras: Kicked 5 goals in the first half and finished with 6 for the match, looked dangerous.
Dean Cox: Typically good game from Cox with 26 hit outs and 23 possessions, looks like an extra midfielder for the Eagles.
Musings from the match
· Both teams played a good footy at times.
· Brisbane was happy to take risks and got the reward.
· West Coast needs more options up forward.
· Kerr really needs to step up and deliver on his talent and lead his midfield
Supercoach/Dreamteam news
Cox is again justifying his price tag, especially in SuperCoach. 128 points is a great return in a losing side, I’d suggest those of us (yes me) who didn’t take him are kicking themselves again!
Dalziell looks like continuing his good form from last year, good news for those of you who had the courage to back him in.
Luke Power had a night out, suggesting he has some Fantasy Footy match winners left in him.
Port Adelaide vs. Essendon – Round 1 match recap
Sunday, March 29th, 2009Port Adelaide – 15.17 (107)
Essendon – 9.12 (66)
Port Adelaide has emerged victorious after setting themselves up early. Going into the game at full strength Port kicked the first three goals of the match to take an early 18 point lead. From that point the lead stuck around 15 to 25 points with the Bombers able to match the Power almost goal for goal until the last 10 minutes of the match. In the end Port Adelaide just kicked it up a gear and soared out to a 41 point win.
Turning points of the match The first four minutes of the match: Port came out firing and kicked 3 fast unanswered goals. 14 Minute mark of the final term: Alwyn Davey managed to pull off a ridiculously impossible goal but because none of the umpires were in a position to confidently say the ball was not touched before crossing the line it was called as a rushed behind. After this Port moved the ball quickly out of defence and kicked a goal, followed by a further two before the siren. Key Players for Port Adelaide Danyle Pearce: Running all over the ground he racked up 31 possessions, took 6 marks and kicked 1 goal with 2 behinds. On more than one occasion he ran down the wing bouncing the ball two or more times and sent the ball into the forward fifty. Daniel Motlop: 20 possessions with 17 kicks, took 8 marks and kicked 4 goals with 2 behinds. Two of his goals were in the last 8 minutes of the match and were the sealers for Port. Key Players for Essendon Jobe Watson: Like Pearce for Port Watson also racked up 31 possessions from all over the ground. Ran like a machine to get to the ball wherever he was needed. He also added 8 marks to his stats to go along with his possessions. Hayden Skipworth: Needed to impress in his first home and away game against a full strength Port Adelaide outfit and did not let down the faith put in him. Collected 30 possessions, split evenly between kicks and handballs, and took a huge 12 marks. He also laid a tackle which resulted in a free kick and a goal for him. Musings from the match · Both teams played a good attacking brand of footy. · Port were cleaner and faster with their disposal · Essendon wasted some late chances to close the gap, and seemed to lose hope when Davey’s goal was disallowed. · In a good sign for Essendon; in his debut match Michael Hurley showed good skills and some great football smarts, at one stage running off his man when he was being dragged out of defence and ended up saving a goal. Supercoach/Dreamteam news If you’re after a cheapish forward grab Hayden “Skippy” Skipworth. He is likely to play lots of games and, if his preseason and today’s game is anything to go by, will be scoring decently. Should increase in price adequately. After a gun midfielder or defender? Peter Burgoyne is your man. At $488,000 in Supercoach and $377,200 in Dreamteam he isn’t worth an absolute fortune but should return good scores week in, week out. See other results for round 1 here
Melbourne vs. North Melbourne – Round 1 match recap
Sunday, March 29th, 2009
See other results for round 1 here
Melbourne – 10.7 (67)
North Melbourne – 15.11 (101)
North Melbourne was too good and too fit for the Melbourne Demons beating them comfortably by 34 points. The Roos were pushed toward victory by their ruckman Hamish McIntosh, who scored three goals; they all went straight through the middle. The Demons can savour something from the game with youngsters Jetta and Cheney playing very well for their first game, but Cheney came off very sore in the final quarter.
Turning points of the match The only real turning point was the last quarter, the Demons only managed one goal and that was in garbage time. North were too fit in the final quarter for Melbourne and literally ran away with the game. Key Players for North Melbourne Leigh Harding – Would be disappointed if he didn’t get 3 Brownlow points today, by far the best player on the field with 20 kicks. Hamish McIntosh – Hamish was very hardy around the ground, especially around the 50 and from set shots Key Players for Melbourne James McDonald – The captain was consistent as always and was good by foot and by hand Ricky Petterd – Great to see him back on the field, (with less hair) scored an inspirational goal in the 3rd quarter. Musings from the match · Melbourne ran out of scarfs to give their members. The man who was meant to be giving them up told me “we’re given out 10,000 in 30 minutes” · Both teams were flooding/zoning but the game was not defensive · Cheney locked down Wells very well, especially for a newbie · When Cheney came off Wells’ eyes lit up and he got much more of the ball · Cale Morton was a disappointment, a below average game for him · Crowd was a little disappointing, but up on a normal Melbourne or North Melbourne home game Supercoach/Dreamteam news Get on McIntosh, he had a very good game for him and he didn’t look too tired either. As I already mentioned Cheney played well, he also scored well, especially in SuperCoach due to his effectiveness and handball receives. Bate was pretty quiet, but played most of the game up forward, they seem to trying to make him in to a forward, not sure if it’s working. 
Collingwood vs. Adelaide – Round 1 match recap
Saturday, March 28th, 2009
Adelaide – 13.12 (90)
Collingwood – 13.8 (86)
Adelaide has surprised a strong Collingwood team and won its first game, away from home in 2009. The Crows won by 4 points at the MCG, in an up and down encounter that ended up going down to the last minute of the game. Where Jason Porplyzia gained possession in the Pies forward line as they were attempting to run over the top of the Crows in the dying seconds.
Turning Points of the Match
Collingwood kicked the first goal of the match and had the majority of the possession in the first quarter. But they were not able to make the most of their opportunities. Adelaide, however made the most of their opportunities and kicked 5 un-answered goals in the first term, which meant for the remainder of the match Collingwood was playing catch up. The Pies managed to gain an 18 point advantage, but they let the Crows come crawling back.
Key Players for Adelaide
Andrew McLeod – Ran amuck, especially a dominant first quarter running from the back line. He ended the match with 30 possessions (25 kicks, 5 handballs, 5 marks). Best player on the ground.
Bernie Vince – Also played a great game, and ended with a career-high 33 possessions, including 11 marks.
Nathan Bock – Outstanding at full back, played on Travis Cloke and had the better all afternoon, with only limiting him to 2 goals.
Nathan Van Berlo – Effective with all disposals, 22 possessions. Was head to head with Dane Swan most of the day, but Swan got the better of him.
Tyson Edwards – Very strong up forward, had 28 possessions and 10 marks. Edwards could not capitalise with only 2 behinds.
Key Players for Collingwood
Scott Pendlebury – Dominant midfield display with 29 possessions and Collingwood’s only goal in the final quarter.
Shane O’Bree – Another dominant midfield display by the Collingwood veteran in his 11th year with the club. Ended with 28 possessions.
Dane Swan – Nothing surprising here after his year last year. Finished the game with 28 disposals, 16 kicks and 12 handballs.
Shannon Cox – The Pies best defender with 17 kicks and 25 possessions.
Musings from the Match.
• Why was Andrew Mcleod allowed to run amuck from the backline, especially in the first quarter??
• Collingwood’s accuracy at kicking goals was extremely good for the majority of the match.
• A strong midfield display and goal accuracy by Scott Pendlebury, Shane O’Bree, Tarkyn Lockyer and Dane swan, it was not enough to run over the Crows.
• Jason Porplyzia kicked the deciding goal in the final quarter with 10 minutes to go, when the game was in the balance, and then gained possession in the last minute of the game in the Pies forward line to be a halt to any chance of the pies running over the top of the crows.
• Adelaide’s win is their first win against Collingwood at the MCG since 1998.
Supercoach/Dreamteam news
McLeod, a veteran of the game, still shows us how good he is; with a possible best on ground performance. Supercoach reviewers have said his time is over, but he could be a good investment once league competition starts if he continues on his way.
Possible injury worries for Alan Didak and John Anthony. Didak got a knock to his right buttock in the second quarter which limited his output forward. Anthony had his back massaged in the third quarter. Keep an eye on these influential player and possible injuries concerns.
Young guys Jared Petrenko and Patrick Dangerfield could both be good investments.
Hawthorn vs. Geelong – Round 1 match recap
Friday, March 27th, 2009
Hawthorn v Geelong Review Geelong – 15.21 (111)
Hawthorn – 16.7 (103)
Geelong has gained its first victory in 2009 in a less than convincing win against an under strength Hawthorn outfit. The Cats won by 8 points, in front of 69,000 at the MCG, a crowd a little lower than expectations. Geelong was in control for most of the encounter, but Hawthorn came home strong on the back of Franklin and Roughead who dominated the last quarter.
Turning Points of the Match
Geelong should have been at least 6 to 8 goals up by half time, but for inaccuracy when shooting for goal. The match was looking like a repeat of the Grand Final, Hawthorn still in the encounter because of the stray kicking of Geelong. The first 15 minutes of the third term set up the win for Geelong, with an impressive string of goals.
Key Players For Geelong
Gary Ablett- A likely suspect, Ablett had 35 disposals for the match including 5 clearances, with 23 touches in the first half. I’d expect 3 Brownlow votes for this one.
Paul Chapman– It is amazing what a fit Chapman does for the Cats. 30 touches and 6 inside 50’s were critical in the win.
Brad Ottens– 22 hit outs and 22 disposals, only issues was his three behinds.
Joel Corey– A solid performance played some of his time down back which worked well. 28 disposals.
Jimmy Bartel– Again although not unexpected, Bartel was influential 28 disposals, very hard at the ball.
Steve Johnson- Kicked 2 goals and 3 behinds and had 27 touches for the match. 6 inside 50’s with 4 score assists.
Key Players For Hawthorn
Sam Mitchel– Ended the game with 34 touches in an impressive performance. 4 inside 50’s and 3 scoring assists.
Travis Tuck– Played a very important role racking up 31 touches. 9 of which came in the last term.
Grant Birchall– 29 possessions, a very solid game.
Lance Franklin– Last quarter was brilliant ended the game with 5 goals and 2 behinds.
Jarryd Roughead– Again an excellent last term, ended the game with 4 goals and 1 behind.
Musings from the Match.
• Geelong errant kicking needs to be improved, this problem seems to happen a lot against Hawthorn. They should have won by more. Despite this it’s a win and that’s all the Cats would want from round one. Redemption against Hawthorn will only come in September.
• Hawthorn can take a lot from this loss; round one with only a few injuries bodes well for the season.
• Reports for both sides. Simon Taylor (for misconduct on Selwood) and Luke Hodge (for striking Tom Lonergan) for the Hawks. Max Rooke (Rough conduct on Sam Mitchell) and Andrew Mackie (Striking Brent Renouf). Also Steve Johnson will be looked at for an incident with Hodge.
• Selwood was KO’d 4 minutes in but came back for a solid game. Look for him to dominate next week.
• Sewell had a game high 10 tackles very impressive, showed the physicality of the match.
• New Rules, rushed behind rule is great keeps the game going. A lot of confusion surrounding the rule of contact after disposal, it’s inconsistent and really stops the flow of the game.
• Injury to Osborne’s Hamstring will hurt the Hawks.
Supercoach/Dreamteam news
Keep an eye on the injuries- Osborne will miss, Brown looked injured, Scarlett was sore from the second quarter onwards. Make sure you have them covered and follow the injury news.
Again watch for news on reports- Mackie, Rooke and Hodge could be in trouble.
Ottens had a freak game, those of you who have him look likely to be rewarded.
Selwood showed great heart will be fired up next week might be worth thinking about as captain, the catch is his team mates.
Richmond vs. Carlton – Round 1 match recap
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Richmond
Carlton – 23.12 (150)
A hamstring injury to new recruit Ben Cousins has added to Richmond woes.
Turning points of the match
From the Mathew Kruezer goal towards the end of the first quarter, the tide was all one way. Carlton’s pressure on the man with the ball stepped up and that was that from then onwards.
Key Players for Richmond
Brett Deledio – Had a mare.
Matt White – One player who tried to constantly make plays.
Nathan Foley – Tried, tried and tried.
Matthew Richardson – Same as Foley but had no where near as much influence as usual.
Mitch Morton – The only likely forward target as you can see by the forward spread.
Key Players for Carlton
Matthew Kruezer- Dominated the ruck.
Bryce Gibbs – 24 kicks and 6 marks for the match.
Jarrad Waite – Dominated Richo’ in the first half, kicking some important goals whilst on him.
Apart from that, it was an extremely even performance by Carlton.
Mitch Robinson – Looks a’ beauty. He was always around the ball.
Musings from the match
• Cuz’ is back! Glad’ we’ve got that part out of the way.
• Unfortunately his hamstring has suffered for it and he will now be out for a while.
• Why on earth did they put him back on at his age, with his hamstrings and nothing else to play for?!?!
• Chris Johnson looks to be a smart pick-up for the Blues’ with his clean-kicking out of the back half.
• His main weakness was there to see though – overhead contests.
• Richmond’s downfall in the first quarter was directly due to Carlton’s pressure from their half-forwards.
• Adding to their shocking skills by hand and then closely followed by their kicking skills.
• Carlton went up a notch and Richmond was left behind.
• 227 kicks to 163 handballs for Carlton. Hooray for Football.
• Fev’ with only 2 of the 23 goals for Carlton. Bad news for his Coleman ambitions but great news for Carlton.
Supercoach/Dreamteam news
Richo still has it.
A Supercoach lock-in for most, Joel Bowden could only muster up 49pts.
Bryce Gibbs looks to me, have justified his price tag with a nice first-up score of 115.
A nice 150pts for Mark Murphy, the forgotten man of the Blues midfield in more ways than one it seems.
Simon Wiggans! A nice score of 137pts 10 marks and 8 tackles certainly helps his cause.
Mitch Robinson looks to have justified his hype from the Carlton fans.
Chances are that if you have a Carlton player in your team, you are going to be a very happy person.
Round One preview
Thursday, March 26th, 2009Footy’s back!
See the odds here
Carlton vs. Richmond
Last years 10th vs. Last years 9th
This is the most hyped you’ll ever see a match featuring last years 10th verses last years 9th in your lifetime. Not without good reason though factors like the return of Ben Cousins, Blues’ being tipped to be the big improvers and the pressure on Terry Wallace to perform.
With an excellent record against Carlton and the fact that Carlton are debuting 5 new players which is way too many in one go, the Tige’s ,are my tip.
Supercoach watch: Will Gibbs live up to his high price-tag? Expect the big scores to come from Deledio and Richo’
MATCH OF THE ROUND
Hawthorn vs. Geelong
Last years 1st vs. Last years
2nd
With the Hawthorn president’s insulting remarks reverberating around the press, coupled with Hawthorns injury interrupted pre-season and Geelong’s effortless showing in the NAB Cup final; you would be silly not to expect Geelong to win this.
Supercoach watch: If Franklin plays as a half-forward/mid like he did in the last pre-season match against West Coast, he could post massive numbers here and onwards.
Collingwood vs. Adelaide
Last years 6th vs. Last years 7th
The Crows will be hungry after getting knocked out of the Finals by the Pies’ somewhat unexpectedly last year. Collingwood are widely expected to make top-four and a win against a quality opposition like Adelaide will definitely help when the ladder is shaping up at the end of the year. Opinions on the Crows are mixed but given the natural improvement of their young players and the way that they are effectively turning over the list they should at least be pushing for the eight’.
Expect a close one especially given that Adelaide is expected to use the “Rolling Zone”.
Supercoach watch: This is a game for the Adelaide bargains to hopefully get some game-time. The likes of Taylor “the messiah” Walker, Jared Petrenko, Andy Otton to play.
Brisbane vs. West Coast
Last years 10th vs. Last years 15th
Most have this down as a definite Brisbane win but when you look at the past record of these clashes, it raises some questions. The Eagles have a pretty good record against the Lions’ up there and both teams’ pre-seasons have been poor (remember that Brisbane players will still be learning their new game-plan). Then there is the whole thing about the Eagles not losing in round one since 2001.
Still, it’s probably too much of to ask for the Eagles to beat the Lions’ given the outright quality difference between both teams.
Expect it too be close and ugly.
Supercoach watch: Having Cox as your captain this week is a must (and if you don’t have him – why on earth not?) going by past games against the Lions’. Jonathon Brown is also an option given his good record against the Eagles last year although given that he has only played one pre-season game, it is more of a risk.
St Kilda vs. Sydney
Last years 4th vs. Last years 5th
Like last year, everyone is expecting Sydney to slide and unlike last year, the Saint’s are relatively hype-less which is definitely a good thing for both teams.
You definitely get the feeling that this game will say more about the Swans then it will about the Saint’s.
Given the way that these two teams play the game, expect it to be a close but ugly game.
Supercoach watch: Goddard is expected to go berserk this year so a heap of people have there fingers crossed on the pale one’
Melbourne vs. North Melbourne
Last years 16th vs. Last years 8th
Melbourne’s focus in the pre-season has all been about “technique”. Don’t expect miracles but expect – or should I say hope for less turn-overs’. Either way North should win this one quite easily.
Supercoach watch: What?!?! No Jack Grimes!?!?!? Damn it. At least there is Jake Spencer, Liam Anthony and Jack Ziebell in this one.
Last years 13th vs. Last years 12th
It’s the same old story with Essendon this year. Injuries, Injuries and more injuries. Port for mine in this one given their better-than-most pre-season record of 3 wins and one loss along with Essendon’s injuries.
Supercoach watch: Will Chad Cornes recapture his pre-2008 form? I’m hoping like hell.
Fremantle vs. Western Bulldogs
Last years 14th vs. Last years 3rd
Both pre-seasons have been patchy but given that the Bulldogs pre-season was patchy last year as well, it would be safe to expect a Bulldogs win.
Last year the Bulldogs got won by a mere 3pts against Freo, although I think last years records are largely irrelevant when it comes to Fremantle given the high list turnover that has taken place over there.
Supercoach watch: It’s all about Shaun Higgins, Stephen Hill and to a lesser extent; Paul Hasleby in this one.
