Archive for August, 2009

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Brent’s Weekly Bite

Monday, August 31st, 2009

The Home and Away season is now over and the final 8 has been decided for another year. Here is a look at my top and bottom fours from the previous week.

THE TOP FOUR

1. FINALS TIME – September may well be my favourite month of the year because of one thing, that being the AFL finals series. My Cats are there again which of course heightens my interest but it is the most exciting time for any football fan. The top 8 was finally set in stone over the weekend with two games having a huge impact on the shape of the final 8. The contenders are clear; tanking is now a non issue, so let’s bring on September.

2. DARK CROW LIKE HORSES – The Adelaide Crows have thrown their hat into the ring as true contender in the 2009 premiership race with another impressive victory over the weekend. The Crows smashed finals bound Carlton at Etihad Stadium to show they are truly a team to watch. Adelaide now plays a home final against Essendon who have their own issues after securing 8th spot.

3. STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN – On the topic of Adelaide I couldn’t not mention Brett “the Birdman” Burton who over the weekend pulled down one of the biggest marks I have ever seen at Etihad Stadium. I am not sure if the roof was open but it needed to be as Burton (185cm) flew over the top of one Kurt Tippet (201cm). I will let you do the mathematics here but wow almost 4 meters of elevation not a bad effort at all I would say.

4. EXCITEMENT MACHINE – The Demon excitement machine Liam Jurrah was at it again on the weekend. Jurrah kicked four goals two behinds in the Melbourne vs. St Kilda game. In promising signs for all supporters Jurrah looks to be an excellent talent who is only going to benefit from a full pre-season and the experience of 2009.


THE BOTTOM FOUR

1. TOY SOLDIERS – Soldiers take Tanks, over the weekend I was well and truly a believer that the latter has existed in the AFL this year. Melbourne were playing some pretty good football against the Saints at the MCG and the signs were good. Nick Riewoldt hadn’t touched the ball and Frawley was having a blinder. Into the second term suddenly it changes and Riewoldt is on fire, what happened to Frawley? I here you say. Well Frawley found himself on the boundary line having a rest, I am sure if you ask him he would have preferred being out there but for some reason he was not. Thanks god tanking will no longer be an issue with the parting of the priority pick. Goodbye and good riddance.

2. SNIPER – Continuing with the military theme this week Matthew Lloyd has been named the biggest sniper in the game by Campbell Brown after his hit on Brad Sewell on the weekend. Sewell was left with serious facial injuries after the bump that went well and truly wrong from Lloyd. The saga ignited between the Hawks and Dons after the match with Browns interview on Triple M, the Clarkson incident on the ground and then the Essendon response. Lloyd has been offered 4 weeks with an early plea and will take no part in September. What do we think of the incident? More so what do we think of what transpired after the game?

3. THE HANGOVER – The biggest premiership hangover is now complete for Hawthorn after they managed to miss the finals after only 12 months ago winning the 2008 Flag. The Hawks have struggled with injuries and also excuses all year and really never got there game going. Some how it did get to the last game to determine whether September would be a month in which the Hawks were involved. The result was an Essendon win and the end of 2009 for the Hawks.

4. A FIGHTING FURY? – The song proclaims it but there was no fight in the Tigers at Subiaco on Friday Night. The Tigers ended 2009 the way they started by being demolished thus leaving supporters wondering where to next? I could go on and on about the Tigers but lets just keep it short and sweet. What is next for the Yellow and Black? Will they rise next year or will 2010 hold more pain for the Tigers?

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Hidden Skilled

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

When the next survey of least trusted professions comes out, don’t be surprised to see AFL CEO up against politicians, lawyers and car salespeople.

This blog isn’t about the barrage of abuse directed towards Andrew Demetriou over the Franklin incident. Too easy and I haven’t disagreed with what most fans and journalists have been saying about it. But another big news story almost got lost with the media hype over Franklin’s suspension, with the AFL blocking North Melbourne’s plans to sell a home game to West Coast, to be played at Subiaco.

Unlike going to a neutral ground, such as Carrara on the Gold Coast, or a slight home ground, like Hawthorn playing games each year in Tasmania, this would have serious on-field consequences. Overall, West Coast has a 70% winning record at Subiaco, compared to 35% at Etihad, where the game would most likely be scheduled. Look at the more recent stats and it’s just as damning with West Coast winning 7 games at home, despite the rebuilding and struggling state of their list. The long trip to Perth and the unique characteristics of Subiaco, which West Coast builds their side around, makes it one of the toughest tasks in football.

So, considering North Melbourne is hardly a force at the moment, you can almost say they would throw the game by moving it to Subiaco. Demitriou agrees, saying it would mess with the integrity of the game. Which is perhaps a fair point, but it has unsettled people who believe the integrity of the draw is already screwed and Demitriou’s integrity is even worse

The classic example is Collingwood. Everyone loves getting into them, citing their few frequent flyer miles as evidence of a favourable draw. We’ll ignore Collingwood’s fantastic interstate record here, as I will feel dirty if I defend Collingwood too much. Though Collingwood will always cop abuse over this, Geelong rarely does. And when you look at the facts, you have to wonder why more attention isn’t turned to the Cattery.

Although Melbourne clubs travel less than their interstate counterparts, this apparent advantage is ruled out by the fact that they have no real home advantage when playing other Victorian teams. Currently, the only Victorian club left with a true home ground is Geelong. They play around eight games a year at the ground. The ground is unique, with no massive grandstands to protect the often difficult wind conditions. It gets tougher, with the ground considerably narrower than all other AFL grounds. Combine this with the horde of Geelong supporters present each week, with hardly an opposition fan in sight, and it’s a tough task for any team. Their home record backs this up with only two games lost in the last three years at the ground. It’s one of the toughest challenges for opponents in the AFL, even for Victorian teams, who hardly have to travel far at all, especially when you compare it to Subiaco.

If you want to go on about the integrity of the draw, start at Geelong. Eight games they are almost certain to win each year, combined with less travel than interstate clubs, and they have the best of both worlds. For all of Eddie’s money and power, he will never be able to buy the advantage that they have. And thank god for that.

Does the move by the league to rule out North selling a home game to West Coast signal a change in attitude at the AFL headquarters? Recently the AFL revealed that the draw could go under a radical revamp to accommodate the two new teams, including a dynamic fixture after round 17.

Guest article by Julian Major who also writes for judgejulianandexecutioner -Check out his latest article to find out why 22 is the new 18

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How They Played – Milestone games in round 22

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

It was the final round of the Home and Away season, and the finals make up wasn’t decided until the closing minutes of the last game. So how did our milestone players go in the last week before September action?

Tim and Jobe Watson – Jobe still wasn’t at his best but was definitely up on his performance against the Dockers. Throughout the day he collected 20 disposals, 5 tackles, 4 clearances, 2 inside 50s and an assist. He should have kicked a goal but sprayed it, and his contested possessions were down on usual with just 5.


David Wojcinski – He had a decent game, but nothing outstanding. 23 disposals for the day with 4 tackles, 3 clearances, 4 inside 50s and 2 assists. 8 of his possessions were contested and in true Geelong style 16 of his disposals were by hand.

Matthew Whelan – Very quiet game really. Only had 4 disposals, and 3 tackles for the game but on the upside he had an efficiency of 100%.

Quinten Lynch – Not a bad game for the big man. He collected 22 disposals, 15 of which were kicks, took 2 contested marks in his 5 total, 3 tackles, 3 clearances, 4 inside 50s and 1 assist. He also contributed 1.2 to the scoreboard, and could have given Chad Fletcher a goal in his final game but decided to go back and have a shot himself.

Ben Hudson – Everyone was expecting Whelan to be the milestone player that didn’t play this week, but Hudson was the only late withdrawal. Yet another one I need to revisit.

Matthew Boyd – He was one of the best for the doggies. He gathered a game high of 35 disposals, took 4 marks, laid 4 tackles, had 4 clearances, 5 inside 50s and 10 contested possessions. His disposal efficiency was 80% which isn’t bad considering how much he had the ball.

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Round 22 answers

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

And that is the home & away season done!
Here are the answers from this round’s clashes.

West Coast vs. Richmond
match review
Worst Friday night game of the season?
In a word; yes.
Don’t feel too bad if you missed it. Apart from a little piece of fight from Richmond in the 2nd quarter, it was all West Coast.
I’m all for the open round 22 fixture from now on Fonzie.
Will we see a Richmond team (who also have a good record at Subiaco) fighting hard to impress Damien Hardwick?
No.
The players looked like they just wanted the season to end.
How will expected forced retiree’s Mark Coughlan Nathan Brown and Troy Simmonds perform?
It looks like Troy Simmonds may be retained, but Brown and Coughlan after being pushed out the door.
Brown tried in vein with nothing going for him, and Coughlan was largely unsighted.
What a shame considering how injuries have killed their careers.
We all know how good Nathan Brown was, but Mark Coughlan was a damn good player from 03’ till his knee injury in 06.
After a shocking performance last week, will West Coast play any better? Or just be waiting for the season to end?
They were a different team.
Shows how much better they play Subiaco.
How will Ben Cousins go in his first game at Subiaco against his old club?
Got into a few skirmishes with the Selwood boys (Adam Selwood had a clause inserted into his contract after the Cousin’s fiasco allowing him to leave if something like that happens again), but was probably the Tigers best player. Although; that wasn’t too hard.
How will Graham Polak perform after a rusty return for AFL football last week?
Still rusty.
He has a long way to go, there’s no doubt about that.

Geelong vs. Fremantle
match review
How will Geelong take their final hitout before the finals?
Do what they have to do in the first half, and then ease it up in the second.
Nicely done Cats.
How will Brad Ottens perform in his first game since round 2?
Stats wise, he had a poor one with 13 possessions and 8 possessions, but his second efforts were excellent.
He’ll definitely improve.
Will Mark Blake do enough to keep his spot from Shane Mumford?
Meh. He was okay.
How will Freo perform in their last game after a looooooooooong year?
Their first half was extremely poor (9 to 2) but they stayed with Geelong thereafter which was mildly impressive.
Will we see a glimpse of the Geelong that was feared for so long?
In that first half we did.
With a game into Ottens and Chapman most likely back; it’s looking good for the Cats you’d think.
Are there any players that may be losing their spot for Geelong?
Blake should keep his spot, Gamble will most likely be out for Chapman you’d think, although there Max Rooke’s quad kept him in the forward pocket so he may be a forced change. ‘Doubt it though.

Hawthorn vs. Essendon
match review
Will the Hawks be flat or fired up?
Fired up!
If they weren’t t people down in the second half, they would have won as well.
How will their forward line perform?
Beau “hey good lookin’” Dowler was excellent in the first half with his excellent hands in the wet, Bateman was also very good up forward in the first-half.
In the second half, the ball came in so much more slower and they struggled.
Will it just be their big stars that perform like it was last week?
Yep, pretty much. Although Dowler was stepped up as well.
Will either team look like that they deserve to play in the finals?
You’ve got to be in it to win it I guess…….Adelaide must be ecstatic that they finished 5th though
How will returning pair Matthew Llyod and Patrick Ryder perform?
Bye Bye Lloydy! Good news for Neagle though.
Ryder was okay considering he was up against Renouf going solo and Hodge in spurts as well.
Will Jobe Watson be able to shrug off his ankle injury and play better than his poor game last week?
He was good. Obviously, he wont get any better, because normally, he would have dominated in those conditions.
Will Hawk fans actually turn up after a shocking crowd of 34 000 turned up last week?
77, 000 ……Credit to them considering the weather.
It was pretty miserable.
Where were they last week though?

Carlton vs. Adelaide
match review
Can Carlton’s good form translate to a win against Adelaide, a team they have trouble beating?
Nope. Dismantled and embarrassed.
“My kindom for Hadley”
How will Carlton come out to play after they had 3 players suspended for off-field issues?
They actually started really well, kicking 5 out of the first 6 goals of the game.
Adelaide killed it thereafter though.
Will Adelaide be able to transfer their good showing from last week against
West Coast against in-form opposition?
Yep.
Their pressure at the ball carrier was first-class as was their zone.
If they carry that into the finals, then they are a genuine threat this year.
Will it be another effortless but high-yielding performance from Brendan Fevola, like it has been for the past few weeks?
Effortless; no. High-yielding; yes.
How will their forward-line perform without important smalls, Gartlett and Betts?
It performed pretty poorly showing how reliant they can be on Fev’.
Can Jason Porplyzia perform well with Brett Burton in the same forward line?
Yep! Watch out people.
Their forward line is probably their biggest weapon coming into the finals believe it or not.
Can Kurt Tippett kick his first bag in a while against a Carlton defence that struggles with height?
Yep.
With no Jammison there, the best way to expose them is to have someone there that is 195cm+.
Jamar, Tippet and White are players to show this to be true.
Will these teams look like ones that can make it past the first week of the finals?
It could be straight sets for the Pies if they lose against the Saints and have to play the Crows………….
Luckily for Carlton, they play a team that they have beaten twice pretty easily this year in Brisbane.
Are there any players that may be losing their spot?
Chris Johnson (Melbourne did well there) and Steven Browne would be certainties.
Van Berlo came off injured but he should be fine for next week.

Sydney vs. Brisbane
match review
How will Sydney send off Crouch, O’Loughlan and Barry?
Their first half killed them. The second half was excellent but Brisban always had enough in the tank to win.
The pictures of the 3 leaving the ground were great. Pity Fox Sports didn’t show them though.
Will Brisbane be taking it easy after a bruising encounter last week?
Nope, and now they have Josh Drummond as a maybe after injuring his quad……
The guy cannot take a freakin’ trick.
Can Travis Johnstone continue to keep his career alive with another ‘good enough’ performance this week?
In Brisbane’s best players, and was lucky not to make my top-3 in the review.
Nice timing Travis.
How will Mitch Clark go after being monstered by Darren Jolly the first time he played the ruck by himself earlier in the year?
Love’ this guy. Killed Jolly whilst running himself into the ground again forcing himself to come off the ground with light-headedness.
Has to be All-Australian ruckman.
Will the Lions play like a team that will make the second week of the finals?
They should, but that’s about it.

Port Adelaide vs. North Melbourne
match review
What type of Port Adelaide will turn up?
The same one that has turned up most of the year.
Will Port be able to send off Peter Burgoyne and Brendan Lade like they deserve to be sent off?
Nope.
The performances of Chaplin , Pearce and the two Cornes boys were shocking.
Must not be fans of Lade and Burgoyne.
How will North perform after an excellent performance last week against the Saints?
Back it up with another gritty win is how!
And now they finish only 6pt’s behind the Hawks after all of that rubbish they served up for most of the year…..
After an excellent 200th game, can Brady Rawlings back it up with another good performance?
He’s doing well, but he’ll definitely struggle next year with the kids coming through.

Melbourne vs. St Kilda
match review
How is Lenny Hayes elbow going?
Strapped as expected. Don’t you love modern medicine?
He had another issue with his foot as well.
Didn’t hurt him too much considering he picked-up 37 possessions.
How is Nick Reiwoldt’s knee, after an awkward fall last week?
Looked like it gave him bother to be honest. Frawley had his number in the first half and then was moved off him which allowed him to then dominate.
He’ll be fine with the 6-day break you’d think.
How will the Saints perform in their first game of the year at the MCG?
Okay. As a Pie supporter, I can’t wait to see them test the Saints for real.
How will they perform in the expected wet and windy conditions?
They were pretty unconvincing against the bottom team if you ask me.
Bring on next week I say!
Will Zac Dawson be able to make up for a shocker of a game last week?
Not quite.
He should retain his spot though. The Collingwood forwards should play him into form!
Will Mark Jamar be playing up forward again? Or was it too successful?
Played everywhere.
He’s finished the season off pretty well I must say!
Can Russell Robertson continue on from last week’s good game and prove that he is worth another show?
Unfortunately for him, I’d say no.
Are there any players that may be losing their spot for St Kilda?
Robert Eddy, Ben McEvoy, and Raph Clarke are all under pressure you’d think with quality to come straight in.

Collingwood vs. Western Bulldogs
match review
Which team will look more likely to be a true Grand Finalist?
Bulldogs.
And boy did they want to play Geelong by the looks of their celebrations……
Will both teams be preserving themselves for the finals next week?
Yep.
That running goal from Higgins was a prime example. Everyone behind him was walking whilst he had no pressure coming to him from goal as well.
Can the Bulldogs sustain their excellent intensity from last week against Geelong?
In patches. When they had it applied to them in the 3rd quarter, it looked like they were going to crumble, but they got through it.
Will it be as entertaining as the last time they played when the Pies scraped through by 1 point?
Not quite. Both teams definitely seemed careful not to injure themselves.
It was a bit weird being at the ground.
How will John Anthony go against Brian Lake, who absolutely monstered him last time?
God damn Brian Lake is good. BOG easily.
Can the Collingwood forward line prove that they are good enough do damage in September?
Nope. And therein lies where they will struggle.
Will Collingwood’s defence excellent form continue?
Collectively they were poor, although when you looked at them individually, they all did really well!
How will the in-form Jarrod Harbrow go against Leon Davis after Davis managed to kick 4 goals on him?
Harbrow was very, very good, although he played on Locyker who was one of the best for the Pies as well. It was a good battle between the two.
Are there any players that may be losing their spot?
Brad Dick is a definite for Sidebottom in my opinion. McCarthy and Goldsack will most likely make way for Pendlebury and Brown as well.
For the Bulldogs, someone is going to have to make way for Ryan Griffen.
Sam Reid might be the unlucky one.

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Western Bulldogs vs. Collingwood – Round 22 match review

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

Western Bulldogs- 14.16 (100)
Collingwood – 10.16 (76)
The Western Bulldogs have secured third spot on the ladder and booked a Qualifying Final against Geelong after defeating Collingwood by 24 points at Etihad Stadium in the last game of the home and away season.
It was a see-sawing encounter for much of the match with the lead changing on numerous occasions. Scores were relatively even for much of the first half until the second half came along. The Pies came out firing kicking the first 4 goals of the third quarter, only to be halted by the Dogs who kicked the next 4. The Dogs took the lead into the final term and ended up kicking 3 goals to the Pies 1, and only secured third spot on the laddder in the last couple of minutes through a goal kicked by Brad Johnson.

Big Moment

In the third quarter, the Dogs were losing by 7 points. Then Nathan Eagleton gained possession of the ball in defence and ran down the middle of the ground into an open Bulldogs forward line and slotted the goal.

Key Players for Western Bulldogs

Ryan Hargrave – Played on Medhurst and ran off him eaily for much of the game. He had an oustanding match collecting 32 disposals (game high 27 kicks and 29 uncontested) and a massive game high 19 marks (18 uncontested).

Brian Lake – Played on John Anthony and ran off him. He finished with 26 disposals (22 kicks), 15 marks (12 uncontested) and laid 3 tackles.

Matthew Boyd – He spent the game taggin Magpie ball magnet Dane Swan and beat him, more so in the first half. He ended the night with game high 35 possessions, 4 clearances, tackles and marks and 5 inside 50s.

Key Players for Collingwood

Tarkyn Lockyer – Had Hardbrow on him and ended up having a relatively even match. At times it seemed time Tarks was one of the only players keeping Collingwood alive. He ended the match as the Pies only multiple goal kicker with 3 to his name, he colelcted 25 disposals (15 kicks and 17 uncontested) and 7 marks.

Heath Shaw – Was the other player who seemed to keep Collingwood in the contest. He was the Magpies highest disposals winner with 34 possessions (18 kicks and 18 uncontested) and 5 marks.

Musings from the match

• Before the match started there were later changes: For the Pies, Scott Pendlebury and Leigh Brown were out for the Pies and were replaced by Tyson Goldsack and John McCarthy. While for the Dogs, Ben Hudson was repalced by Andrejs Everitt.
• It was John McCarthy’s first match for this season.
• The Bulldogs dominated much of the possessions, but this was highly due to them playing a possession game and chipping it around the ground.
• The Dogs had 87 more disposals (including 78 more kicks and 9 more handballs).
• The Dogs marked more of the ball, both contested (20-10) and uncontested (146-65).
• Overall the Dogs had 95 more uncontested possessions.
• The Pies however had 4 more contested possessions.
• The Bulldogs dominated the hit outs ( to ). For the Dogs Will Minson had 28. Where as for the Pies Josh Fraser and Cameron Wood had 23 combined.

Supercoach news

For the Bulldogs there were 5 players that scored 100+ points: Ryan Hargrave (114pts), Brian Lake (159pts), Matthew Boyd (123pts), Lindsay Gilbee (128pts) and Jarrod Hardbrow (120pts).
For the Pies there were only 2 players who scored over 100+ points and they were: Tarkyn Lockyer (121pts) and Nick Maxwell (102pts).

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Melbourne vs. St Kilda- Round 22 match review

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

Melbourne – 10.7 (67)
St Kilda – 17.12 (114)

St Kilda did little more than it had to in its comfortable round 22 win against the Demons. Melbourne tried hard and remained competitive for a half but in the end the Saints, despite being off their best form, managed to get the job done.

Big moment
Liam Jurrah kicked four goals in this game and also managed to kick the most exciting goal of the game which was a kick over his head in traffic on a slight angle, to those at the ground it was amazing.

Key players for Melbourne

Colin Sylvia – Got heaps of the ball early before being shut down, still looked dangerous though. Finished the game with 25 touches and a goal.

Liam Jurrah – Along with Sylvia, Jurrah was one of the players who constantly looked like causing St Kilda problems. Was taken out of the forward line after his fourth goal, tanking?

Cale Mortan – Gathered heaps of the ball through hard running, 36 touches is a good sign for the future.

Key players for St Kilda

Nick Dal Santo – As expected Dal Santo really lifted for this game, with a point to prove Dal Santo ran hard all game and put in a true four quarter effort. His stats told the story by the end of the game, he finished with 39 touches and a goal.

Lenny Hayes – Despite some injury scares throughout the game, Hayes was his usual workman like self tuning up for the finals with 37 touches and three tackles.

Nick Riewoldt – I was questioning his selection at quarter time and like Hayes there was a number of injury scares throughout the game. Fought back after that slow start and finished the game with an impressive 6 goals from his 15 possessions.

Musings from the match
• A few St Kilda players looked to cop minor injury worries throughout the game with Hayes and Riewoldt being the most prominent as well as some smaller concerns for Koschitzke, Dempster and Goddard.
• Did Melbourne tank?
• This game suffered from quite a few pointless free kicks in my opinion.
• Melbourne’s backline impressed me early.
• Robertson really annoyed me- over celebrated his goal and did a lap of honor, for mine it was self indulgent and does nothing to help his club. After one of his team-mates kicked a goal Robbo spent his time having a go at the umpire for not giving him the free kick instead of celebrating with his team.
• Riewoldt seemed to lose his cool and expect better treatment from the umpires as well.

SuperCoach news
Six Saints players broke the 100 point barrier with Hayes and Montagna leading the way with scores of 146 and 155 respectively.


Only three Melbourne players managed the same feat with McDonald leading the way with a score of 118 points.

I’ll be looking long and hard at getting Jurrah next year as he seems to have the ability to crack some huge scores.

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Port Adelaide vs. North Melbourne – Round 22 match review

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Port Adelaide 9.13 (67)
North Melbourne 10.11. (71)

North Melbourne has finished off 2009 with a victory over the ever see-sawing Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium. The Power couldn’t give two club legends the perfect send off with it being Brendan Lade and Peter Burgoyne’s final AFL game. The Kangaroos however has given its supporters some hope going into next season after showing they can match it with more fancied opponents.

Big Moment -
Late in the game Port Adelaide were in the lead and looked as though they may escape with a win. With only minutes remaining Scott McMahon was given a 50m penalty after being pushed after taking a mark. The penalty put him directly in front, he kicked truly and gave North Melbourne the lead and victory.

Key Players for Port Adelaide –

Brett Ebert – Only dominant forward for the power kicking 3 goals 2 behinds for the game. Ended the game with 12 possessions this included 3 inside 50s. In a game where the team only kicked 9 goals was a good effort from Ebert.

Domenic Cassisi – Pretty good game for Cassis who ended up with 24 disposals for the game. The most impressive thing was his tackling, 9 for the game which was the most of any player on the ground. Also was able to have 5 clearances and an inside 50.

Robbie Gray – All round good game from Gray who ended with 26 disposals for the game. Of these 16 were contested the most of any player. 4 clearances, 6 inside 50s and 3 scoring assists. Unfortunately his disposal efficiency let him down being at only 50%.

Key Players for North Melbourne –

Josh Gibson – Excellent game from Gibson 27 disposals for the game. 81% effectiveness which will reflect in his supercoach score. Ended with 4 tackles, 4 clearances, 6 inside 50s and a goal for the game.

Drew Petrie – Had to have an impact for North to win and was able to do just that. Kicking 3 goals 2 behinds for the game in his 14 disposals, 8 of these being contested. Also laid 5 tackles and had 3 inside 50s.

Brent Harvey – Hard to go past as a key player due to his 2 goals in such a low scoring encounter. 24 disposals, 2 tackles, 3 inside 50s and 2 scoring assists. Always contributes and helped again to get his team over the line.

Musings from the Match
• A lot of reports from this match; Petrie for striking Carlile, Chaplin for Striking Swallow, Gray for striking Thompson and Kane Cornes for using obscene/insulting or abusive language after the siren.
• Yes that’s right Cornes was reported after the Match.
• Very High tackling game with both sides having above 70.
• Lade and Burgoyne didn’t really have much of an impact in their last AFL matches.
• Really low scoring game which is becoming a little bit of trend in North Melbourne wins.
• Question has to be asked where to from here for the Power?
• North Melbourne looks to be on the up again with a lot of young players showing a lot of spirit.

SuperCoach
For the Power only 3 players scored of 100 points being Chaplin (115), Gray (114) and Brogan (141). Westhoff was the lowest scoring Power player only having 17 for the match. 6 players for North Melbourne scored above 100 points Gibson was the highest scoring having 148 for the game. Harvey and McMahon also scored well with 136 and 140 points respectively. Lower was a big surprise scoring 113 points which is double his season average.

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Sydney vs. Brisbane – Round 22 match review

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Sydney – 15.10 (92)
Brisbane – 14.8 (100)

An impressive Brisbane outfit has booked a home-final against the Blues and spoiled the perfect ending to 3 of Sydney’s favourite sons with a 8 point victory at the SCG.

Big moment

Mitch Clarks mark is my pick for the best of the year, and was a pretty massive moment when he managed to hold on the ball after turning in the air after a big leap on Adam Goodes back. However; Justin Sherman’s sealer on the run with 3 minutes to go take the cake.

Key players for Sydney

Michael O’Loughlan – You’ll see the word “vintage” used to describe his game, and rightly so. Finished with 4 goals from only 6 possessions!

Adam Goodes – Brilliant once again, with his 3 goals and 3 assists. Can’t wait to see him play the full year up forward in 2010.
He’ll definitely poll in this game although Sherman will probably take the 3 votes.

Ryan O’Keefe – Best game in a while after “poor” run of games compared to his excellent run of games mid-season. Never afraid to do the hard stuff, finishing with 26 possessions.

Key players for Brisbane

Justin Sherman – He could be a very handy player come finals time. 18 possessions and 3 goals, including the sealer.

Mitch Clark – Gun. Gun. Gun. Must be All Australian. Beat Darren Jolly comfortably, a player who beat him the first time they played each other earlier this year.

Travis Johnstone – The new Clarke Keating? Played his best game for the year. How pertinent, given it is round 22!

Simon Black – Dominated the stoppages with 9 clearances. You know he’s had a good game when the purple of his jumper is all muddied.

Musings from the match

• Brisbane took a 22 point lead into half-time and looked like they were going to run away with it.
• The move of Jesse White to full-forward worked a treat, helping with delivery in.
• Super impressed with Brisbane in their ability to win after the Swans came back at them hard.
• Their present is a Carlton outfit who has beaten them twice this year………
• ……..And more injuries for them unfortunately………..
• The big one is Josh Drummonds quad. That boy can’t take a trick.
• Mitch Clark had the case of the dizzies like last week again as well, but he’s fine for next week.
• Leo Barry was really good as well, with one awesome play where he found his way out of trouble(typically) and speared a beauty of a pass to the forward line.
• Umpire bias went the way of Brisbane. In a close game; it counts.
• Travis Johnstone could be the new Clarke Keating! He played his best game for the year. How pertinent, given it is round 22!

SuperCoach news

Brisbane had 7 players that scored 100+pt’s to Sydney’s 3 players.
The big scorers for the night were Goodes (156pt’s), Sherman (140pt’s) and Clark (139pt’s).

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Posted in Brisbane, Match Reviews, Round 22 2009, Sydney | 1 Comment »

Geelong vs. Fremantle – Round 22 match review

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Geelong 14.10 (94)
Fremantle 8.6. (54)

Geelong has regained some form defeating the Dockers by 40 points. The game was played in wet and windy conditions down at skilled stadium. Fremantle was never really in the contest while Geelong looked to regain some much needed form going into the first week of the finals. The Cats welcomed back Brad Ottens who made a good return while the backline looked settled, while James Kelly also played well in his return to senior football. All the big names were there for the Cats who had too many winners across the ground. The Dockers need to learn how to travel going forward but they were able to finish of the game well. Geelong shut up shop in the final quarter as they began to look to next week and finals football.

Big Moment -
In a game where the Cats looked in control for most of the day it was the second term into the breeze that really set up the win. The most promising part of the quarter was the efforts of Tom Hawkins who presented well in the second term and kicked a great goal after a strong contested mark.

Key Players for Geelong –

Matthew Scarlett – Forever cool in a crisis down back Scarlett had a field day against the racking up 34 disposals for the game at effectiveness of 91%. The Dockers played into the hands of the All Australian defender who was just able to position himself better as the ball was bombed forward constantly to ill effect.

Gary Ablett – Continuing his recent good form racking up 35 disposals for the game 15 of these being contested. Managed 8 clearances, 5 tackles and 3 inside 50s. His game impressed me a lot considering he was receiving a lot of noticeable attention at every contest.

Tom Hawkins – One of his best games in recent times. Only had 11 disposals for the match but the most impressive part was his 3 goals straight and the work he was doing off the ball. One passage of play sticks out when Hawkins dived for a smother and then followed up to lay a big tackle.

Key Players for Fremantle –

Matthew Pavlich – Played most of the game up the field which meant he didn’t have a lot of impact on the scoreboard. In saying this though he was the leading disposals winner for the Dockers with 19. 8 tackles, 3 clearances and also 5 inside 50s. Ideally Pavlich needs to be forward.

Aaron Sandilands – Didn’t have a great disposals efficiency but he did have an impact on the game which many Fremantle players struggled to do. 17 disposals, 10 contested including 6 individual clearances. 33 hit outs for the big man which was more than the Cats could manage.

Musings from the Match

• A lot of free kicks in the ruck contest today. A really hard rule to work out especially when the ruckmen themselves look around wondering who received the free kick.
• On Free kick the first two were to Fremantle before the ball had been bounced. No-one could really work out what they were for and both were given to Ballantyne around the 50 meter line for the Dockers. So it did take a good 5 minutes before there was a centre bounce.
• Good hit out in the first half of the match for the Cats next week. Ottens, Kelly and Harley all made triumphant returns to senior football and really made Geelong look a better side.
• A lot of holding off the contest for the match, but not many free kicks being paid to either team.
• Geelongs backline dominated the disposals especially in the first half. Milburn and Scarlett both had days out.
• Fremantle really need to learn to travel and be competitive interstate.
• Dodd was reported for charging Gary Ablett in the 2nd quarter.

SuperCoach
Geelong managed to have 8 players who scored above one hundred points for the game which was very impressive. The standouts being Scarlett (154), Ablett (146) and Milburn with 134. Only disappointments were Andrew Mackie who could only manage 51 while Rooke gathered 29. Only two Freo players scored over 100 points them being Pavlich and Tarrant. The rest of the team didn’t fair so well notably Sandilands who could only muster 56 due to his disposal efficiency.

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Carlton vs. Adelaide – Round 22 match review

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Carlton – 16.8 (104)
Adelaide – 27.14 (176)

Carlton have been smashed by the Crows in a shockingly one sided affair after quarter time. Adelaide scored very freely, especially after the first break. Carlton was shell shocked and looked demoralised by the end of the game. Adelaide earns themselves a home final against Essendon in one of the most dominant displays against a quality team this year.

Big Moment

Huge mark by Burton, most probably the mark of the year. It was a hanger over the top of the pack. You will have to see it.

Key Players for Carlton

Bryce Gibbs – 12 contested possessions. He was going in hard for the football and played well in a losing side.

Brendan Fevola – The big man kicked five goals two. He was complaining about them not kicking it to him enough. What a baby!

Key Players for Adelaide

Bernie Vince – One of the best games he has probably ever played. 21 kicks, 7 marks and 3 goals, best on the field.

Scott Thomson – A massive 9 tackles puts Thomson firmly in the bests. There were many players having great games out there for Adelaide, it was tough to split them.

Musings from the match

• Adelaide kept doing the team things; one percenters, hard ball gets and shepherding
• The crows should definitely change their club song.
• Blues have been knocked about today and have been given a wakeup call.
• Carlton will have to play better to go in to week 2 of the finals.
• Carlton will be looking to repair their confidence

Supercoach news

A big disappointment this week for people who have Chris Judd in their SuperCoach, he was hugely down on his average. Other than taking mark of the year Burton had a crap game considering he was in the winning team. Nathan van Berlo is another who was down on his normal score. Seven Adelaide players topped the ton in SuperCoach and only three from Carlton reached the same milestone. Kind of tells the story of the match doesn’t it?

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Posted in Adelaide, Carlton, Match Reviews, Round 22 2009 | No Comments »

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