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Hawthorn vs Melbourne

Monday, May 25th, 2009

Hawthorn Hawks – 17.14 (114)
Melbourne Demons – 13.14 (92)

Melbourne went down fighting against the reigning premiers in a pretty entertaining match. Hawthorn would be worried at their failure to run out the match as they resorted to playing keepings off for the last 10 mins of the match. This was mainly because they were operating on a 2 man interchange bench due to the injures of Cameron Stokes and Garry Moss. Colin Sylvia was in career best form and went through tags like a fat man goes through cake as Hawthorn failed to find a good match up on Sylvia.

Turning points of the match
Hawthorn looked like they were out to play in the first quarter when Buddy kicked 3 goals and looked super lively and wasn’t missing much. Melbourne had a spirited fight back in the second half when they were over 50 points adrift and brought the margain back to about 20 before the Hawks played kick to kick.

Key Players for Hawthorn
Brad Sewell – Standout player with 8 marks and 8 tackles along with 29 touches
Beau Muston – What a debut! Was almost best for the Hawks with 31 touches and a goal, how many players can say they did that on debut?

Key Players for Melbourne
Colin Sylvia – If he doesn’t get 3 points for the Brownlow the umpires weren’t watching, he was everywhere and cutting Hawthorn to shreds. 37 touches and 4 goals if you don’t mind. He single-handedly brought the Dees back from the brink.
Paul Johnson – This man can kick a football very well for a ruckman, he played very well across the ground, Melbourne were smashed in clearances which you could argue was his fault.

Musings from the match
· Colin Sylvia finally comes good, maybe he will be a big feature of our team if he keeps trying this hard and stays out of trouble.
· Crowd number was acceptable for that the graveyard timeslot
· There were countless bandwagon Hawthorn supporters
· The MCG sound system was blaring out shitty shitty trance music before the game and between quarters. Why oh why? Is it to appease the foolish young drug induced Hawthorn bandwagon? I’ve never heard such horrible music at the G before.
· I booed a free kick for Melbourne (I’m a Melbourne supporter) because it was so shocking, it’s not a push in the back if you go for a mark and touch the other player.
· Buddy and Roughie show was back in time for a while, I thought they were going to go mental at one stage and kick a huge bag each but Melbourne seemed to find some match ups.
· Hawthorn was cramping all over the place in the last quarter due to their injuries. Seems that if you want to win the granny you should just injure them early.
· Robbo had a shocker, he missed a goal from straight in front because he played on when he was lying down, what a douche. No surprise he was dragged for that. Would have been super funny if Melbourne lost by a goal.
· Cyril Rioli stepped up for indigenous round and almost stored another goal of the year nomination when he did a 360 around a tackle at a huge amount of speed.
· Jarryd Morton sprayed Cale Morton after his kick was touched, someone should tell Jarryd that Cale is better.

Supercoach news
Colin Sylvia stared. Jack Grimes seems to be a decent investment, he got 58 this week, which is more what you would expect. Lance Franklin didn’t have a million frees against, in fact he had frees for. SHOCK HORROR! Is Buddy getting disciplined or are the umpires cutting him slack? Mark Williams didn’t do so well with 41 in SuperCoach.

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Posted in Hawthorn, Match Reviews, Melbourne, Round 9 2009 | 1 Comment »

Round 9 answers

Sunday, May 24th, 2009


Here are the answers from round 9.
Be sure to add your own comments in the section below.

Geelong vs. Western Bulldogs

Will Geelong continue to bully the Bulldogs as they have been for the past two weeks?
Nope. It looked like they would in the third quarter but the Bulldogs refused to give up.
Will Gary Ablett continue on from his amazing pre-injury form?
Yep.
Will Ryan Griffen step up after some media attention?
It was a pretty good game but not the break-out one that everyone is waiting for. He finished with 18 possessions and 6 clearances.
Can Shaun Higgins resume his excellent form prior to his groin injury?
Not the best game from the half-forward
How will Aker go in his 300th game after winning it for the Bulldogs last week?
Unbelievable for someone who is that old. 4 goals and 25 possessions. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is……
How will Geelong’s forward line function without Cam Mooney, with Tom Hawkins leading the way?
Thank f* for Steve Johnson and Matthew Stokes eh’ Geelong?


North Melbourne vs. Fremantle
So which Freo will turn up?
Well in the first half, it was the good Freo then in slowly downhill from then onwards.
How will the returning trio of Rawlings, Wells and Ziebell impact on the Roo’s?
Rawlings was their highest possession winner and Wells was pretty good on half-forward. Ziebell had an ok game.
How will the inexperienced Goldstien and Hamish McIntosh go up against Sandilands?
Terr-i-ble. 15 hitouts to 43.

Adelaide vs. Carlton
Can Adelaide arrest their slide at home, a place they haven’t won at all year?
Yep. Keeping the opposition goalless in the first half is the key now Adelaide.
Will Carlton show some consistency by beating Adelaide as they are expected to?
Another loss when they go in as heavy favourites(games against the Pies don’t count).
How will Brendan Fevola go after two very poor weeks?
1.5 – It just wasn’t his day.
Will Adelaide continue to use the handball-happy game plan that they have been playing with?
More kicks than handballs! It was actually not too bad to watch as well. Probably because Carlton loss though.

West Coast vs. Collingwood

Will West Coast kill-off Collingwood’s finals chances?
Nope, but they are helping to kill off their own finals chances by atrocious field kicking.
Will this be another backs-against-the-wall interstate victory?
Yep. And I hope you knew well enough to tip them.
How will Collingwood’s forward-line average-looking function this week?
It was a non-issue. John Anthony provided a good target whilst also kicking 3 goals with Brad Dick providing good forward-line pressure and the usual mid’s rotating through their.
Will Mitch and Nathan end up playing on each other?
No. Both played in their respective teams defence. They both had pretty good games as well. They are twins after-all.
How will Adam Hunter go in his farewell game?
So what happened there?


Richmond vs. Essendon
Will the “media-made” crisis help or hinder the Tigers?
It looked like it did initially, but not in the end.
How will Chris Newman go after a heap of speculation to do with him this week?
Only 13 possesions, but did a few captain courageous things as well.
Will Essendon do as every-team (bar Collingwood) has and win after getting beaten by St Kilda the week before?
Yep. And dare I say it – They are on track for the finals. Sheesh.

Sydney vs. Port Adelaide

Will Sydney’s good record against the Power continue?
Yep. The 8 goals to 1first quarter helped a bit.
Will Ports pace be too much for Sydney?
Nope.
How will Nick Malceski go from being recalled after a poor start to the season?
He was better than previous but still not as good as he was pre-knee injury


St Kilda vs. Brisbane
Will the lack of Merrett and Patfull doom the Lions before the opening bounce?
No, but yeah. 8 goals between the Kosi and Reiwoldt in a relatively low-scoring game say’s it all.
Will St Kilda make the most of it?
Not really. The type of contested game allowed the Lions to not get blown-out which most people were expecting.
How will the Lion’s possession-style of game go against St Kilda’s zone?
It was a different one-on-one type of game that the Lions played this week.
Will the Lions be shown to be as flat-track bullies this week?
Nope. They gained a fair bit of respect though. Away from home, a bucket-load of inexperienced players and against a team who was 8-0.


Hawthorn vs. Melbourne
Will the Hawk’s play man-on-man again, or revert to the zone?
Back to the zone’ for the Hawks.
Can Melbourne equal its spirited showings of the past two-weeks to put up a good fight against the Hawks?
After losing by as much as 50 points at one stage, to claw it back to a respectable margin was a pretty good effort by the Dees’
Will Jack Grimes continue on from his excellent start to the year?
Not as good as his first two weeks but still was pretty good.
Will this be the game that Hawthorn announces that they are back? Or will they continue to stutter?
They did enough. Like good teams should I guess.
How will Beau Muston go in his eagerly awaited debut for the Hawks?
Amazingly well. 31 possessions and 10 marks. Worth the wait.

Posted in Answers, Round 9 2009 | No Comments »

St Kilda Saints vs. Brisbane Lions- Round 9 Recap

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

St Kilda Saints – 14.13 (97)
Brisbane Lions – 13.3 (81)


St Kilda have continued their impressive string of wins this year, their 9th win of the season coming against a Brisbane Lions side who certainly came to play, indeed they could of even had the result go their way.
Although the Saints could have had a big lead going into half time, they wasted their dominance around the ground with a return of 5 goals from 14 scoring shots; Brisbane by contrast took almost every opportunity presented to it applying serious scoreboard pressure with 5 goals of their own from 6 scoring shots.
The Lions were able to challenge St Kilda and in fact hold a two goal lead with 10 minutes left to play in the match because of their impressive work rate; Brisbane finished the game with an incredible 85 tackles beating St Kilda (61 tackles) at their own game. St Kilda however, like good teams do, kicked goals at crucial stages and rose to the occasion in the final quarter.
Brisbane should be proud of the game but disappointed that St Kilda managed to run out 16 point winners.
As far as St Kilda is concerned, they continued their run of good wins, honored a St Kilda champion and learnt more about where they are at.

Turning points of the match
A string of three goals between Leigh Montagna and Stephen Milne in the fourth quarter gave the Saints the lead and in style too. One of Milne’s goals was a soccer off the ground that split the middle beautifully (don’t worry you’ll see the replay soon enough- goal of the round) and Montagna’s goal was on the end of a nice St Kilda clearance on the run from outside 50.
This really put wind in St Kilda’s sails and deflated the intense game style the Lions had going on.

Key Players for St Kilda
Leigh Montagna – Easily best on ground for mine, his running and skills really stood out in a game where it was hard to keep any serious momentum. Finished with 33 touches and 2 lovely goals.

Justin Koschitzke – Took some great marks and was a strong influence around the ground. Justin was rewarded with 4 goals.

Michael Gardiner – Is hitting some seriously good form. His 31 hit outs were a treat to watch and he looked mobile and strong around the ground taking 5 marks and kicking a goal along the way.

Key Players for Brisbane
Justin Sherman – Ran hard to all the right places and worked hard defensively as well. His high work rate was rewarded with 6 tackles, 26 touches and 2 goals.

Daniel Bradshaw – Looked reasonably dangerous up forward early before being moved back and beating Riewoldt after quarter time. His final stats read 15 disposals, 8 marks and 2 goals.

Josh Drummond – Really showed off his gorgeous long boot among his 27 disposals, they went a long way to setting up Brisbane’s forays forward.

Musings from the match
• The crowd was impressive and nice and vocal considering the Saints were playing an interstate side: 30 thousand.
• St Kilda, had it of taken its early opportunities could of ended with a big win here they won the clearances 50-20 and the inside 50’s 54-39. I put St Kilda’s inefficiency in creating a big margin from those two stats down to Brisbane’s fantastic pressure and efficiency using the ball.
• Brisbane showed they can match it with the best, a doubt everyone had after their weak showing against Geelong earlier this year.
• Supporters yelling out kick it long annoy me, that is how teams zones destroy you.
• Stephen Milne once again showed he is one of the best opportunistic small forwards today with a great performance that ended with 3 goals.
• Michael Voss showed great guts moving Bradshaw to defense and it nearly paid off.
• Watch out for any potential Bradshaw injury issues, he had some problems with his hand during the match but battled on.
• Brendon Goddard has turned into a lazy footballer again- disappointing, I thought he needed to take it on himself to get involved more.
• Lenny Hayes played a fantastic game, congratulations to him for his 200th.

Supercoach news
Albert Proud was a late withdrawal, Bradshaw carried some hand issues and Rich struggled to have a big impact; In what was a bad game for SuperCoach players with those players.

Drummond is really hitting some good form with a solid score of 136 his long kicks a feature.

St Kilda players have stopped producing ridiculously good scores across the range but are still a more than solid investment choice.

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Posted in Brisbane, Match Reviews, Round 9 2009, St Kilda | No Comments »

Sydney vs. Port Adelaide – Round 9 match recap

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

Sydney – 18.15 (123)

Port Adelaide – 10.8 (68)

Sydney have smashed, and likely demoralised, Port Adelaide at the SCG on Sunday afternoon. Sydney took just one minute to open their account and open the floodgates shocking Port into submission early. The Swans piled on 8 goals to 1 in the first quarter alone, with Ports only score coming in the 24th minute from youngster Hamish Hartlett. The second quarter saw Port kick the opening goal in just 48 seconds through big man Warren Treadrea but the quarter still belonged to the Swans who kicked 3 goals to 2 to go into half time with a 52 point advantage. Each team added 7 goals after half time and the swans finished with a 55 point win.

Turning points of the match

It’s too hard to go past the 43 point quarter time lead to the Swans. Their first quarter blew the Power away dashing any hope of an upset win.

Key Players for Sydney

Brett Kirk – Dominated with 32 touches, 8 tackles, 4 marks and 2 straight goals.

Jarred McVeigh – Also had a cracker with 26 disposals, 7 marks and also kicked 2.2.

Barry Hall – Like McVeigh he kicked 2.2 and gathered 17 possessions with Troy Chaplin playing on him.

Key Players for Port Adelaide

Hamish Hartlett – One Of Ports few four quarter performances. In a game that didn’t see much go Ports way he managed 16 disposals, 4 marks and kicked 2 straight goals.

Kane Cornes – Clearly still playing with an injury he racked up 23 possessions and 7 tackles.

Domenic Cassisi – Played a tagging role on Ryan O’Keefe and held him decently until the last quarter. He Gathered 21 touches and 7 marks.

Musings from the match

· The Swans first seven goals saw seven different goal kickers.

· Port Adelaide dominated the hit outs, 50-28.

· Of those, Darren Jolly had 15 and Jesse White had 10 for the Swans.

· Compare that to Dean Brogans 30 and you see the only part of the game that Port had the upper hand.

· The Swans were just over 11% more efficient with their disposal, but had only 4 less clangers than the Power.

· Sydney had 11 more marks inside 50.

· The Swans also dominated the inside 50’s, with 11 more than Port (common trend occurring here)

· Each team had the same amount of rebound 50’s.

· Despite the loss Port had a higher goal scoring accuracy with 82.14% to the Swans 73.33%.

· The Swans had 28 more contested possessions and a whopping 99 more uncontested possessions.

· The Swans just seemed to dominate all over the field with more kicks, 208-166, more handballs, 197-112, and more marks, 99-74. Overall they finished with 127 more disposals than the Power.

Supercoach news

Brett Kirk – Followed up his 149 last week with a 154 this week. This guy is a gun, if you can grab him he looks the goods at the moment.

Jarrad McVeigh – Hard to believe that anyone beat Kirk’s score but McVeigh did just that with 158. He has been a little inconsistent but with the ability to score that well he is still a decent pickup. Expensive though.

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Posted in Match Reviews, Port Adelaide, Round 9 2009, Sydney | 1 Comment »

North Melbourne vs Fremantle – Round 9 match recap

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

North Melbourne – 14.14 (98)

Fremantle – 12.13 (85)

Fremantle have yet again showed they have potential but as so often happens with them they failed to get over the line. The Dockers blasted out of the docks in the first quarter kicking 6 goals to North Melbourne’s 2 and looked set to upset the home side. The Roos, however, had other plans regrouping and kicking 6 goals to 3 in the second term to be just 5 points down at the main break. Trailing off in the second half Fremantle only managed to kick a further 3.6 in comparison to North’s 6.6. The young North Melbourne outfit got over the line by 13 points after being challenged late in the game.

Turning points of the match

For Fremantle: A stunning first quarter which should have given them momentum going forward, but instead seemed to make them think the job was done.

For North Melbourne: Firstly they kicked 5 of the first 6 goals in the second quarter to briefly give them the lead before Fremantle hit back. This quarter gave them the momentum the Fremantle should have capitalised on after the first quarter and they managed 7 of the last 10 goals of the game to win it. Secondly there was the second ever deliberate rushed behind rule was called against Steven Dodd with Aaron Edwards kicking the consequent score levelling goal in the third quarter.

Key Players for North Melbourne

David Hale – Kicked 5 goals for the Roos as the big unit up forward.

Brady Rawlings – Played a tagging role on Hasleby but frequently ran off his man to collect 24 valuable touches and laying 7 strong tackles.

Josh Gibson – Moved onto the dangerous Pavlich in the second quarter. He really stepped up late in the game to give the Roos some more run in the corridor collecting 20 possessions for the day.

Key Players for Fremantle

Paul Hasleby – Beat Rawlings on the day by collecting 26 touches, 5 tackles, taking 2 marks and kicking 2.1.

Matthew Pavlich – Beat Michael Firrito in the first quarter but then Gibson moved onto him in the second. He still managed 18 touches and kicked 3.2.

Luke McPharlin – Only took 6 marks but kicked 4.2 from his 13 touches including 2 important second quarter goals and 1 final quarter goal to give the Dockers a sniff at victory, unfortunately for them it wasn’t enough.

Musings from the match

· The crowd was a measly 15,436 in a disappointing display from the North Melbourne “faithful”.

· Fremantle had its best ever first term not only against the Roos but at the Docklands as well, kicking 6.5.

· North Melbourne dominated the marks with 106-75.

· That same team also had 19 frees to 9.

· The contested possession count went to the Roos as well with 121-113, as did the uncontested possession count with 238-217.

· Both teams disposal efficiency was only separated by 0.23%, with the Roos on top.

· The Dockers had 42 clangers to Norths 27.

· The Dockers had 11 more inside 50’s, but on the flipside the Roos had 11 more rebound 50’s.

· The Dockers dominated the hit outs with 52 to 15, Hamish McIntosh had 11 for the Roos while big man Aaron Sandilands had a lazy 43.

Supercoach news

Nathan Grima – Played his second game for a return of 92 after his debut of just 38. His second game performance means he will be increasing in value in the weeks to come. At $94,200 he could be a good trade down and money maker for you.

Sam Wright – Also played his second game and followed up his first game of 41with an impressive 81, nearly doubling it. Also at $94,200 he is a nice cheap forward who could be in a similar position as Grima but for your forward line should you need it.

Chris Tarrant – Never thought I would see the day where he could be of value but nevertheless he seems to have reinvented himself as a defender. Averaging just 64 points so far he has dropped by $89,200 but after a couple of solid performances he could be an interesting one to watch. He scored 71 on Carlton big man Brendan Fevola, 82 on Hawthorn 2008 Coleman Medallist Lance Franklin, and 85 on North Melbourne big man Drew Petrie this week.

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Posted in Fremantle, Match Reviews, North Melbourne, Round 9 2009 | No Comments »

Richmond vs Essendon – Round 9 match recap

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

Richmond – 12.13 (85)

Essendon – 19.11 (125)

After a sluggish start, a fast finishing Essendon side has overrun a Richmond side desperate for its second win. Richmond clearly had the upper hand in the first half with their lead extending to as much as 22 points at one stage. The Bombers however just kept coming and they trailed by only 16 points at the half time break. After the break it was all Essendon as they let rip with a 6 goal to 1 third quarter, and a 6 goal to 2 final quarter to run away with a 40 point win. Richmond had their chance to close out the game in the first 10 minutes of the third but were inaccurate and only managed three behinds from their chances, and the Bombers capitalised. It was not all good news for the Dons however with paceman Courtenay Dempsey going down with an ankle injury in the closing 5 minutes of the match. He was on crutches post game, but still came out of the rooms to enjoy the presentations with the team.

Turning points of the match

Richmond had the better of the Bombers in the first half, but in the third quarter the Dons stepped up. They more than doubled their had ball gets in that quarter alone, and in a five minute burst in the second half of the quarter they kicked 4 unanswered goals to take the lead going into the final term. They carried the momentum kicking the first four goals of the final quarter.

Key Players for Richmond

Shane Tuck – 30 disposals for the night with 5 clearances, 4 marks and 4 tackles. He stepped up in the second half while trying to lift his team.

Daniel Jackson – Tagged Brent Stanton and minimised his impact whilst collecting 26 touches and 7 tackles of his own.

Nathan Foley – He was tagged by Heath Hocking but still managed 27 disposals, most of which were by hand, and took 2 marks with 5 tackles and 8 clearances.

Nathan Brown – Dominated in the first half but was stopped by Adam McPhee in the end. He kicked 2.1 from his 18 disposals and took a good 12 marks.

Key Players for Essendon

Jason Winderlich – Won the Yiooken award for best on ground and definitely deserved it. Throughout the night he collected 28 disposals, with 12 marks, 4 tackles and kicked 2 goals straight. Was easily Essendon’s most consistent performer on the night.

Andrew Lovett – Continued his great run of form this year after nearly being traded after last season. He was tagged by Matt White, highlighting how influential he has become for the Bombers, but still managed 23 possessions (11 of which were contested), 6 marks, 3 tackles and kicked 2.1.

Paddy Ryder – He was influential in the Bombers third quarter revival and finished the night with 15 hit outs, 20 possessions and 7 tackles. He also led the Bombers clearances with 6, and contested possessions with 13, showing with his athleticism he can be more than a ruckman.

Jobe Watson – Although he was quiet in the first half, he lifted after the main break and was also influential in the revival. Finished the night with 24 disposals, 11 of those were contested, and laid 6 tackles. He also pushed forward and kicked 2 goals straight to be one of Essendon’s multiple goal kickers.

Musings from the match

· There were some horrible umpiring decisions, going each way.

· In the first half Richmond played a good game of football, but dropped of in the second half, much like they did against Brisbane a couple of weeks ago.

· In the first half Essendon looked flat footed and slow, but lifted in the second half to look the complete opposite.

· After being the bad guy last week, Mitch Morton stepped up and collected 18 touches and 3.2, including the first goal of the game.

· Richmond dominated the clearances, 37 to 25.

· Richmond also had 42 more disposals.

· Essendon led the tackle count 64 to 46.

· The Bombers only had 3 more inside 50’s than the Tigers (53-50).

· The first, second and third quarters all went for 30 minutes or more, while the final quarter wasn’t far off that at 29 and a half minutes.

Supercoach news

Mark Coughlan and Nathan Lovett-Murray could both be in trouble with the match review panel for bumps in the last quarter.

Andrew Lovett – With scores of 116 and 122 in the past two weeks, both whilst being tagged, you can see he has really stepped up his game. Is priced over $400,000 but could be a good inclusion in your team nonetheless.

Nathan Foley – Scored 116 this week whilst playing with a tag. I said in my preview of this match to watch him and he didn’t disappoint.

Jason Winderlich, Paddy Ryder and Jobe Watson are all worth giving a mention as they all scored 130 or more.

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Posted in Essendon, Match Reviews, Richmond, Round 9 2009 | No Comments »

Adelaide vs. Carlton – Round 9 match recap

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009


Adelaide –15.14 (104)
Carlton –8.12 (60)

The Adelaide Crows have survived a scare by the Blues in a match which seemed to be done and dusted by half time. The Crows dominated on the scoreboard and only left the Blue goaless at half time. The Blues finally woke up in the third quarter and moved the margin to within 26 points, but the Crows re-gained composure and won at home by 44 points.

Turning points of the match

The Crows kicked the first 9 goals of the match and held a lead of 55 points early in the third quarter, with the Blues only managing to kick 5 behinds.


Key Players for the Adelaide

Michael Doughty – Ran alongside Judd all night and restrained him to only 19 possessions. He collected 26 disposals, had 6 tackles, obtained 5 marks and kicked a goal.

Tyson Edwards – Had a very solid game for the Crows. He collected equal game high (with Stevens) 32 disposals, had 7 marks and laid 4 tackles. He also had game high 17 kicks.

Chris Knights – Played on Browne all day, and as a midfielder pushed forward and booted an accurate 5 goals straight, with 15 possessions.


Key Players for Carlton

Nick Stevens – One of the Blues most solid for the night. He collected an equal game high (with Edwards) 32 possessions, laid 3 tackles and took 8 marks.

Paul Bowler – Played and ran off Porplyzia and beat him. He collected 25 possessions, and had 6 marks.

Marc Murphy – Collected 23 disposals, laid 4 tackles. He also kicked 2.2. Although much of his disposals were collected in the fourth term, when the game was done.

Musings from the match

- Heath Scotland was a late withdrawal and was replaced by Simon Wiggins.
- The Blues only kicked the 5 behinds in the first half of footy.
- The Blues have not beaten Adelaide in five years.
- The Crows had over 50 more disposals than the Blues.
- The Crows had only 9 more contested possessions to the Blues; 119-110. But when it came to the un-contested possessions the Crows dominated 292- 231.
- Disposals accuracy between the two teams was only separated by 3%, the Crows coming out victors.
- Adelaide had 10 more marks inside 50; 14-10. The Crows also dominated the inside 50’s; 60-39.
- Andrew ‘Bunji’ (an indigenous word for ‘brother’) McLeod has over taken Mark Ricciuto as the Adelaide Crows games record-holder with 313 games under his belt.


SuperCoach news

Jarrad Waite – Hyperextended his left knee in the first quarter and came off. Went into the rooms and then reappeared, but not longer participated in the game. He just had the one handpass, you wouldn’t be happy with that statistic if you had him on your team!

Adelaide had 8 players scoring 100+ points, while Carlton only had the 3.

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Posted in Adelaide, Carlton, Match Reviews, Round 9 2009 | No Comments »

West Coast vs. Collingwood – Round 9 match recap

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

West Coast –9.12 (66)
Collingwood –12.16 (88)

Collingwood’s love of interstate travelling continues with a well earned 22 point victory against a poor Eagles outfit who now slip to 3-6.

Turning points of the match
At the end of the 3rd quarter, David Wirrpunda did well to get the ball free along the boundary near the 50’, to square it up to Andrew Embley who marked it in the opposite forward pocket. Embley played on with Swan on his tail; only for him to hit the post. Instead of a 2-goal deficit, the Eagles were facing a 3-goal one at the start of the 4th quarter.
The Pie’s put the foot down at the start of the 4th quarter to keep the Eagles at a comfortable margin for the rest of the game.

Key Players for the West Coast
• Adam Selwood – Started on Scott Pendlebury but ended up playing his own game, getting most of the ball between the 50’-arcs. He was one who never stopped trying all game.
• Andrew Embley – Missed a crucial shot on the run, but was definitely one of the better players for the Eagles in the back-half getting the ball 29 times.
• Ben McKinley – Offered the Eagles their only genuine goal kicking threat, managing to kick 3’ on Presti, which is a pretty good effort with the delivery he was getting.
• Daniel Kerr – It was Kerr of 08’ tonight with some frustration showing later on. He had 26 possessions but many a large bulk of them were largely ineffective; a staggering 58% of them were off target.
• Dean Cox – He won the hitout’s but unbelievably, was beaten around the ground by Wood and Fraser, managing only 12 possessions. The Pies did well to prevent him running freely; there was always pressure on him around the ground.

Key Players for Collingwood
• Leon Davis – How can team’s let him get the ball so freely with such ease at times? A brilliant game for the Pies with 33 possessions to go with 3 goals and 2 scoring assists. He sure loves playing at Subiaco.
• Scott Pendlebury – The AFL’s highest possession got 38 possessions and used it pretty well. When the he has the ball in the Pies half-forward area, he is so dangerous.
• Nick Maxwell – Dominated Quinten Lynch and the Eagles forward-line from high-balls coming in. 12 marks and 29 possessions shows as much.
• Cameron Wood – His best game for the club. He only managed a measly 9 hitouts but had 23 possessions and 9 marks to impose himself around the ground in a way that Pie fans have never seen.

Musings from the match
• Backs against the wall’ and interstate? Always tip the Pies.
• The game was pretty ugly as far as skills go.
• The pressure from both teams had a fair bit to do with it.
• The Eagles looked like the better team in the first quarter but failed to capitalize only kicking 3.4 despite having the bulk of the momentum.
• The Eagles disposal efficiency of 68% was terrible with most of the Eagles main ball-winners being the prime offenders.

• For the Pies, Swan, Anthony and Lockyer in his 200th game were very good as well.
• Anthony did well to pretty much keep us in it in the two quarters, kicking his 3 goals in the first half.
• Swan could have had an excellent game if he could have kicked a few of his 3 behinds.
• When it looked like Leon Davis was going to get 40 possessions, early in the 4th quarter, Chris Masten went on him and did a pretty good job whilst also getting a bit of the ball himself.
• Is a head-butt to someone’s shoulder-blade a bookable offence? I hope not for Kerr’s sake……

SuperCoach news
• Leon Davis’s outstanding game translated well into SuperCoach points, with a nice total of 176.
• Scott Pendlebury’s uncharacteristic 6 clangers hurt his scoring potential, only managing 108pt’s from his 38 possessions.
• Daniel Kerr’s inefficiency with the ball resulted in a terrible score of 23pt’s.
• David Wirrpunda’s 19 possession game doesn’t look that special but for SuperCoach, he scored 125pt’s with his 8 contested possessions and 3 assist’s helping him a fair bit to get that total.

SuperCoach scores and game stats from SuperFooty

Posted in Collingwood, Match Reviews, Round 9 2009, West Coast | No Comments »

Lenny Hayes- 200th Game This Weekend.

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

Those of you who know your football or follow St Kilda would rank Lenny Hayes as one of the competitions elite midfielders and a big reason for St Kilda’s success, those of you who don’t, listen up and make sure you are watching the number 7 for St Kilda this Sunday.

I have written about Lenny Hayes’ importance to St Kilda on two occasions, the first was written November last year in ‘Top 5 most important players to St Kilda in 2009’: 


“The Saints Vice-Captain is not as obvious a choice at number two to those outside of St Kilda supporters as he should be. The two-time all Australian has also won the St Kilda best and fairest and regularly made the top ten.

In 2008 Hayes showed his class in the middle performing consistently regardless of the performance of those around him, finishing the year with an average of 24 touches and 6 tackles a game.

The way Lenny Hayes goes about his football demands a higher standard of those around him, he leads by example and provides the toughness St Kilda requires to go the next step.”

The second was an update of that post written April 20 this year: 

“Another player with a slow start and interrupted preseason, Lenny is being eased into games at present but is still having an impact; look for him to go from strength to strength as the season progresses like his blonde team mate.

Still like Riewoldt, Hayes has serviceable stats to start his year; 22 touches and 6 tackles a game is a fantastic output level considered his limited game time so far this year. Expect those stats to head towards 30 and 10 respectively as the year progresses.

Hayes adds toughness to the Saints midfield that most can’t match and once again will be a pivotal player at the business end of the season.”


Both of those posts still ring true today from my perspective and now as much as ever Hayes is leading by example and generating a lot of ball for the rest of the team. It often goes unnoticed however, is Hayes leadership qualities and that to me is his biggest strength. Everyone always talks about the lead by example approach of Aaron Hamill and Steven Baker, but for mine there has been no better at this over the journey than Lenny Hayes.

Don’t be fooled to thinking it is soley coincidence that Lenny Hayes captained the St Kilda side of 2004, the combination of Hayes and Hamill was capable of making any team play with the right attitude and now that the team has added the right game style to the talent and attitude it has always had, Hayes and Riewoldt look like they could take this team the next step.

It is a sure thing that Hayes will have a big game this weekend, I’d expect at least 8 tackles and 25+ touches in what will be his 200th game for the club and what an impact he has had over the journey.

Congratulations Lenny- a true champion of the club.

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Posted in Round 9 2009, St Kilda | No Comments »

Geelong vs. Western Bulldogs – Round 9 match recap

Friday, May 22nd, 2009


Geelong 17.14.116 def
Western Bulldogs 17.12.114

Geelong has defeated the Dogs in a thriller at the dome. In front of 44,600 people the Bulldogs have showed they may well be the third side in 2009 with an impressive display against the undefeated Cats. In Akers 300th game the dogs almost clinched victory with the final kick of the day with Brad Johnson missing after the siren. Geelong will learn a lot of lessons from this game but it is the Dogs who will gain the most from this hard fought and entertaining game of Football.

Turning Point of the Match

Difficult to identify a turning point in such a close encounter. The Cats had patches of brilliance and held a 37 point lead at one stage in the third term but the Dogs just kept on coming. Travis Varcoe kicked Geelong’s final goal to extend the Cats lead to 9 points in the final minutes of the Match. Gary Ablett will rue a missed opportunity moments later to put the match beyond the Dogs. As will Brad Johnson for missing a very similar shot after the siren.

Key Players for Geelong

Gary Ablett – On his return from injury impressed with 38 disposals including 19 contested possessions. Ablett did have many more handballs emphasizing his in and under performance. Had 7 clearances for the Cats but did miss 3 shots on goal.

Steve Johnson – Didn’t really have the high possession style of game Cats fans have become accustomed too. Kicked 5 goals 2 for the game the leading goal kicker and main target up forward for Geelong.

Matthew Stokes – Kicked 4 goals from his 5 kicks for the Cats and lifted up forward in the absence of Mooney. Did what he needed to do for the Cats.

Key Players for the Western Bulldogs

Jason Akermanis – Really fantastic game in his 300th kicked 4 goals for the Dogs and probably could have easily kicked 6. Had 25 touches, 2 goal assists and 7 inside 50’s.

Matthew Boyd – 28 touches, 3 clearances. Played an impressive game for the Dogs and was their leading possession winner.

Brad Johnson – Should have won the game for the Dogs but despite this fact he kicked 4 majors and a total of 26 possessions. Looked very dangerous around goal all night.

Musings from the Match

• Akermanis almost received the fairytale finish in his 300th game.
• Ryan Gamble for Geelong was knocked out in the second quarter really stretching the forward line with Mooney on the sidelines this week.
• The Bulldogs were able to lock the ball in around the contest and restricted Geelong in the possession count with the Cats well down on average with only 365 for the game.
• Tom Hawkins was very quite without the support of Mooney, proving how vital he is to Geelong’s structure.
• Mark Blake needs to show more presence around the ground for a big man, other ruckman have the ability to take big marks at crucial times in the game but he does not. Hence the importance of Brad Ottens to the Cats.
• The Bulldogs were extremely hard at the ball and fought back twice in the match, will be better for this contest.
• Second time Brad Johnson has missed a goal after the siren.
• Good to see a close encounter as a Cats fan, a game we needed as we have been coasting recently.
• The Dogs are one team Geelong cannot match up against as well as others. One of the sides that have the ability to beat Geelong.
• At the game I noticed something late in the game between David Johnson and Aker off the ball, found it very interesting, Aker gained space from this incident and kicked a goal, but Johnson was not impressed.

Supercoach

Its okay everybody Gary Ablett is back and he had a good return to AFL this week with 149 points for the match. Akermanis only scored 91 points due to his effectiveness being at only 52 % as compared to Steve Johnson having 106 points with only eleven possessions. Travis Varcoe continues to improve with another solid performance with 91 points. Brad Johnson was well up on recent form scoring 127 for the match he averages only 81 this year. A lot of Cats down on average with the low possession count this week.

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Posted in Geelong, Match Reviews, Round 9 2009, Western Bulldogs | No Comments »

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