African Sports News - Adam Bailey

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AFL Scoreboard - Round 17

July 29th 2007 11:22

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Four opening quarter goals to Matthew Lloyd got Essendon off to a strong start

West Coast’s recent revival continued in fine style when the Eagles recorded a convincing 87-point victory of the Western Bulldogs. The Eagles asserted their dominance all night by winning every quarter, and by the last term the Bulldogs’ resistance had disappeared completely as the Eagles ran through 9 goals to 3. Quentin Lynch with 5 and Brent Staker with 4 were the leading goalkickers; while Ben Cousins, in his second game back with the club, continued his triumphant return from last week with another strong performance.
West Coast 4.4 11.9 15.11 24.14 (158)
Western Bulldogs 2.5 4.7 6.12 9.17 (71)
Goals : West Coast – Q Lynch 5 B Staker 4 M LeCras 3 C Judd 2 A Hansen 2 A Embley 2 D Kerr M Seaby B Cousins M Priddis S Hurn A Hunter. Western Bulldogs – S Tiller 2 F Ray N Eagleton D Giansiracusa J Akermanis R Hargrave W Skipper C Wight.
Best : West Coast – D Kerr C Judd Q Lynch D Cox B Cousins M Braun. Western Bulldogs – B Johnson R Hargrave M Boyd W Skipper F Ray A Everitt.
Umpires – S McBurney D Woodcock S Jeffery.
Crowd – 30,900 at Telstra Dome.

Changing coaches mid-season has many times in recent memory been a tonic for a struggling side to lift and record a win against the odds. For Carlton, replacing Denis Pagan with Brett Ratten midweek, there was to be no repeat of this as the Saints recorded a victory. But for the Blues, this was to be no repeat of recent capitulations, and instead they showed strength of character to come from 35 points down at the last change to give themselves a chance to steal an unlikely win. But the Saints steadied, and with Fraser Gehrig contributing 6 goals and Nick Riewoldt best on ground the Saints have continued their salvage operation on a season that looked to be going unstuck; and now find themselves only outside the top 8 on percentage.
St Kilda 5.4 10.7 14.12 16.15 (111)
Carlton 6.1 7.3 9.7 15.11 (101)
Goals : St Kilda – F Gehrig 6 N Riewoldt 4 S Milne 2 S Baker S Birss N Dal Santo J Blake. Carlton – B Fevola 5 B Fisher 3 S O'hAilpin 2 C Ackland M Lappin P Bower J Bannister J Saddington.
Best : St Kilda – N Riewoldt L Hayes F Gehrig N Dal Santo S Fisher. Carlton – M Murphy A Carrazzo E Betts B Fevola R Jackson.
Umpires – M Ellis M Nichols S Meredith.
Crowd – 32,327 at Telstra Dome

Mark Harvey’s first game as Fremantle’s coach had been a stirring win, but his second was a disaster for the Dockers, with Geelong extending their winning streak to 12 games with a comprehensive 68-point thrashing. After the Cats led by 30 points at half-time, the Dockers started strongly in the third; with goals to Tarrant and Mundy cutting the margin to 3 goals; and when Chris Tarrant had a shot from 35 metres out on the run the margin could have been reduced further. Instead the shot missed, and from the restart the Cats moved downfield to set up Ling. A double to Stokes followed within minutes and the challenge was over.
Geelong 6.4 8.11 12.18 20.20 (140)
Fremantle 1.3 4.5 8.9 10.12 (72)
Goals : Geelong – M Stokes 5 C Mooney 2 J Kelly 2 S Johnson 2 D Milburn S Byrnes C Enright C Ling J Hunt N Ablett D Wojcinski G Ablett T Harley. Fremantle – M Pavlich 4 D Headland 2 R Hayden C Tarrant D Mundy J Farmer.
Best : Geelong – G Ablett S Johnson C Ling C Mooney M Stokes D Milburn. Fremantle – L McPharlin J Carr M Carr M Pavlich R Hayden.
Umpires – D Margetts S McLaren M Avon.
Crowd – 36,741 at Subiaco Oval, Perth.

Dead and buried just a month ago, the Brisbane Lions are now resurgent, flying high and back in the running for a finals berth that had looked an impossible dream. At the MCG on Saturday night, the Lions revival was on show as they recorded a comprehensive 93-point victory over Collingwood. The Lions stunned the local team and supporters as they raced out of the blocks to lead by 39 points at the first change; and from there the result was never in doubt.
Jared Brennan was in sensational form up forward with 7 goals, while former Brownlow and Norm Smith medallist Simon Black was also back to his premiership form. The Lions now find themselves just half a game out of the top 8, and with the scalp of another finalist under their belt are looking the best since 2004.
Brisbane 7.6 11.13 16.15 22.17 (149)
Collingwood 1.3 3.7 5.12 7.14 (56)
Goals : Brisbane – J Brennan 7 J Adcock 4 J Brown 3 R Hooper 3 J Charman 2 S Black J Roe M Rischitelli. Collingwood – N Maxwell 4 A Rocca T Cloke H Shaw.
Best : Brisbane – S Black J Brennan J Adcock J Brown R Hooper J Charman. Collingwood – H Shaw D Swan S O'Bree D Thomas N Maxwell M Clarke.
Umpires – M Vozzo B Rosebury S Grun.
Crowd – 45,096 at the MCG.

The Lions are on a roll, with Simon Black back in Brownlow form

Sydney moved back into the top 8 and did it easily on Saturday night when the Swans recorded a comfortable 66-point victory over bottom-placed Richmond. A double to Peter Everitt in the opening 5 minutes gave the Swans a solid start, but may have lulled them into a sense of security as the tight-checking and forcing numbers back that is so much a part of the Sydney game plan was strangely missing at various stages of the evening. On a few occasions Richmond took advantage of no-one being back in the goal-square to lob some long-range goals through. But the Swans always looked to have this one under control; with Barry Hall kicking 6 and Adam Goodes starring in another best-on-ground performance.
Sydney 4.3 9.5 16.7 21.12 (138)
Richmond 3.2 6.7 9.9 10.12 (72)
Goals : Sydney – B Hall 6 N Davis 4 A Schneider 3 R O'Keefe 2 P Everitt 2 D Jolly T Schmidt J Bolton P Bevan. Richmond – N Brown 3 C Hughes 2 S Edwards J Riewoldt K Pettifer A Krakouer K Moore.
Best : Sydney – B Hall A Goodes D Jolly C Bolton J Bolton N Davis J McVeigh. Richmond – C Newman N Brown W Thursfield S Edwards S Tuck.
Umpires – R Chamberlain M Head C Hendrie.
Crowd – 23,199 at the SCG.

The Kangaroos’ fairytale season took another step forward with the blue and whites recording a 37-point victory over Hawthorn in front of over 19,000 fans in Tasmania on Sunday afternoon. Spearheaded by Corey Jones with 7, the Kangaroos made their move in the second term with a 6 goals to 2 quarter opening up a lead they were able to maintain for the rest of the match. It was a disappointing performance for the Hawks, who without Buddy Franklin were missing part of the forward set-up that has made them a success story this season, but it was a loss that has seen them drop out of the top 4. But for the second-placed Kangaroos, it continues a season of pride and determination that has seen them defy all predictions of doom and gloom to become genuine contenders for this season.
Kangaroos 2.5 8.7 11.10 16.12 (108)
Hawthorn 1.2 3.6 4.11 10.11 (71)
Goals : Kangaroos – C Jones 7 D Petrie 2 E Sansbury 2 D Whyman 2 H McIntosh A Edwards B Harvey. Hawthorn – T Croad 2 B Dowler 2 J Roughead L Hodge B Dixon R Vandenberg B McGlynn C Young.
Best : Kangaroos – C Jones B Harvey H McIntosh D Harris M Firrito G Archer. Hawthorn – L Hodge C Bateman S Crawford J Lewis C Young B Sewell.
Umpires – S McInerney S Ryan K Nicholls.
Crowd – 19,114 at Aurora Stadium.

With the announcement that Kevin Sheedy would not be coaching the Bombers beyond this season, taking a remarkable 27-year reign into its finals weeks, it was an emotional day for Bomber fans when they took on the Crows at Telstra Dome on Sunday. But there were other important issues relating to this game; with a spot in the top 8 up for grabs for the winner. And the game proved itself worthy, with fortunes fluctuating and the lead frequently changing. With 4 goals in the first quarter, Matthew Lloyd was dangerous early, but from there he was held and only managed one more for the game. Instead, with the game in the balance in the last term, it took a double from Mark Johnson that got the Bombers home; maintaining hopes that Sheedy’s last season as Essendon coach could lead to a finals position.
Essendon 6.2 10.4 14.6 18.9 (117)
Adelaide 5.3 10.4 12.7 16.9 (105)
Goals : Essendon – M Lloyd 5 M Johnson 3 M McVeigh 2 A Welsh 2 J Watson A Ramanauskas D Peverill N Lovett-Murray J Winderlich R Dyson. Adelaide – K McGregor 4 B Burton 4 S Welsh 3 T Edwards J Torney I Maric S Goodwin N Gill.
Best : Essendon – J Watson D Hille M McVeigh D Peverill N Lovett-Murray B Stanton. Adelaide – T Edwards N Bock S Thompson S Goodwin A McLeod K McGregor.
Umpires – C Donlon B Allen S Wenn.
Crowd – 35,010 at Telstra Dome.

Port Adelaide gave Peter Burgoyne a 200th game to remember when they thumped Melbourne by 89 points at AAMI Stadium on Sunday. The Power signalled their intentions in the opening quarter, booting 8 goals to 3 to lead by 36 points at the first change; and an 8 goals to 1 third quarter sealed the game’s fate. Chad Cornes and Brett Ebert both scored 6 for the Power, who have well and truly bounced back from an earlier form lapse to consolidate their top-4 position.
Port Adelaide 8.3 11.6 19.10 25.13 (163)
Melbourne 2.3 6.6 7.7 11.8 (74)
Goals : Port Adelaide – C Cornes 6 B Ebert 6 S Burgoyne 4 D Rodan 3 D Motlop 2 J Westhoff K Cornes B Lade T Chaplin. Melbourne – R Robertson 2 B Green 2 M Bate 2 M Newton 2 D Neitz C Bruce B Holland.
Best : Port Adelaide – C Cornes P Burgoyne D Cassisi B Lade D Brogan S Burgoyne K Cornes M Wilson. Melbourne – B Green J McDonald N Brown P Wheatley.
Umpires – H Kennedy D Sully G Fila
Crowd – 23,485 at AAMI Stadium