Quoting Eddie, it was a big weekend in Football! Melbourne tanked, St Kilda & Geelong sneaked away with a win. Port is now a game ahead of Essendon & Hawthorn in the run to the finals. North & Buddy lost the games with poor kicking & West Coast toppled another top 8 team at Subiaco.
Simpson did not get the win he wanted with 9 behinds in the last quarter
Carlton defeated North Melbourne by 10 points
This game was always about Simpsons farewell game and with 10 scoring shots in the fourth quarter, you would have thought they would have coasted away with a win. But no, bad goal kicking is bad football and North wasted a win. Carlton do not mind as it sets them a game clear of Port and only one win behind 5th & 6th spot with a better percentage than Brisbane.
Murphy was the difference between the two teams with 23 possession and four goals. Roos Anthony continues to dominate with 33 possessions and forwards Thomas & Petrie showed enough with 6 goals between them.
Western Bulldogs defeated Fremantle by 31 points
The Bulldogs opened up a 45 point lead during the second quarter and it looked like the Dockers had already gone home. I then returned to the TV during the third quarter and I saw something that would please coach Harvey and every Freo supporter and that was courage and guts to get back into the game and get within 4 goals. Its like they swapped jumpers at half time…
While the Dogs missed Welsh, Higgins & Murphy and Johnson being held goaless, it was the old in Akermanis (5) & the new in Stack (4) who provided the needed spark up forward. For Fremantle Mayne in his first game back kicked 3 and was the only shinning light up forward.
Geelong defeated Adelaide by 2 points
Geelong are not in the best form at the moment with injuries robbing them but good sides win even when out of form.
With Harley injured during the game & Scartlett & Taylor missing Tippett & Burton both kicking 4 provided a handful for the Geelong defense and without Chapmans 6 goals it would have been a different story. While Adelaide lost, it would give them much more confidence that they can match it against the top four sides after their embarrassment against St Kilda a few weeks ago.
St Kilda defeated Sydney by 1 point
Last week we saw Bartel kicking a behind to sneak a one point win and this week it was Montagna who kicked a behind with seconds to go.
Leigh Montagna kicked the winning point with seconds to go
It was a tight game with coach Roos against his former assistant in Lyon and a third quarter 4.5 to 0.3 third quarter gave the Saints some breathing space which proved vital in the frantic finish. Sydney did exactly what we talked about in our last weeks “How to defeat St Kilda” article.
Jesse White for Sydney kicked 3 to be the highest goal scorer of the game with Riewoldt & Koschitzke quite.
Collingwood defeated Brisbane by 40 points
Brisbane opened up a 14 point lead at half time and with Presti injured & Brown kicking 5, I thought Brisbane where capable of an upset but something happened at half time and we saw Collingwood kick 5 goals to get in front and end up winning by 40 points. This means that Collingwood are a game and percentage ahead of Adelaide & Brisbane. Brisbane now have a worst percentage than Adelaide & also Carlton a game below them on the ladder.
Bradshaw’s late omission was a big out but with successive games at the MCG, maybe they simply rested him as traveling twice in two weeks could be a bit too much of a big ask.
For Collingwood Pendlebury (10 third-quarter disposals for a total of 36), Davis (24), Swan (36) and Alan Didak (29) were important. Brown with 5 goals, Clake won the ruck contest against his former team mate and Black (27 possessions) where the best for the Lions.
Richmond defeated Melbourne by 4 points
Yet another game that was decided by a kick in the last dieing minutes of the match, this time it was the Tigers whipping boy in McMahon with a kick 50m after the siren. He had earlier missed two easier shots at goals…
However this game will be remembered for all the wrong reasons with Demons coach Bailey making several weird almost tanking type moves which saw forwards playing back, backs playing forward and even small midfielders playing on guys 6 inches taller than them. While only having 19 fit men for most of the match, to see Warnock a backman playing forward it raised many eye brows.
Port Adelaide defeated Hawthorn by 18 points
Port sneak into the top 8 and Hawks loose the game with 19 behinds and 7 alone from Buddy. Some of the behinds where almost funny but its no laughing matter as the Hawks now look likely being the first team in 10 years to miss the finals after winning the premiership.
Port however continue to be the worst tipping team to tip for or against with their see-saw year. This time it was the good team that turned up with Boak (35 possessions), Burgoyne (26), Pearce (27) with Gray (4 goals) & Tredrea & Westhoff kicking 3 each.
Time is fast running out for Hawthorn who must win their next four games to sneak into 8th spot. Bateman & Hodge were the Hawks best and if Buddy kicked 7.2 instead of 2.7, it would have been a match winning performance.
West Coast defeated Essendon by 27 points
While on paper it was a game between 8th and 13th, it had many interesting sub plots with Neagle needing a good game to stay in the side. Essendon needed a win to keep their failing finals chances alive and West Coast needed a win to keep the tanking talk away. The Result? West Coast show that some teams do not tank, Essendon out of the top 8 for the first time in several weeks and Neagle kicked 3 to be the best forward for Essendon on the day.
Priddis & the Eagles midfield out ran & showed more dash than Essendon
A week makes a difference for the Eagles, last week they kicked 8.18 and this week they kicked 14.11. McKinley (4 goals) & first gamer Wilson (2 goals with first two kicks) who along with LeCras & Kennedy now provide a forward line target that can trouble most backlines. Lets hope that for the rest of the year, those four get to play together and kick goals for the West Coast Eagles.
Ryder & Naitanui had an interesting battle in the ruck and the young midfeild of Ebert, Masten, Swift, Houlihan along with Lynch, Selwood & Priddis had the better of the Essendon midfield.
Finals Contenders after Round 18
- St Kilda – 72 points, 164.32%
- Geelong – 64 points, 134.15%
- Western Bulldogs – 48 points, 124.46%
- Collingwood – 48 points, 117.73%
- Adelaide – 44 points, 111.01%
- Brisbane – 44 points, 108.08%
- Carlton – 40 points, 108.52%
- Port Adelaide – 36 points, 92.40%
- Essendon – 32 points, 99.29%
- Hawthorn – 32 points, 92.48%
Round 18 Talking Points
Please give us your thoughts in the comments section below or add your own round 18 talking points. The questions will asked in bold and my response will be un-bold under them.
Your input and comments help us make Kick2Kick a better website, so please express your opinions.
- Will teams play more like Sydney against St Kilda now?
- It obviously helped and with a bit more polish they could have won. I think teams need to look at the game closely as the Swans definitely outlined the blue print.
- Can Essendon get back into 8th spot?
- No! They look tired, Ryder was matched in the ruck against Naitanui and the young Bombers lacked their normal run and dash. They could well loose their next four games against Brisbane (MCG), St Kilda (Dome), Fremantle (Subiaco) & Hawthorn (MCG).
- Will the top four change?
- Maybe the order between Collingwood & the Dogs but apart from that, I doubt it.
- Did Melbourne tank?
- I understand Bailey trying things but when your within a chance to win the game? Why didn’t Sylvia play when fit? Surely he is in the best 22 let alone best 10 players for Melbourne.
- Did you think McMahon would kick the goal or miss?
- I was hoping he would miss, just so Melbourne would win and have a chance of not getting the priority pick.
- Are Geelong in danger with their recent form (2 losses & two wins by total of 3 wins) in the last 5 games?
- Injuries have not helped at all but the form of their forward line is a worry. Johnson back will help and if Scartlett & Taylor can get back it will also help.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Good to see the Weagles make a nonsense of tanking speculation. Naitanui beat Ryder hands down, Weagles forwards were much more dangerous all day, Bombers forwards were almost non-existant (especially Neagle — 3 goals does not a good game make!) and a virtual West Coast Eagles Freeway down the outer wing for most of the game gave them easy entry to their forward 50. It’s hard to see the Bombers winning another one in ’09.
If Melbourne were “tanking” (definitions, remember?), how were they two points up at the siren?
.-= aussierulesblog´s last blog ..New-look AussieRulesBlog =-.
August 3rd, 2009 at 3:44 pm
But Neagle showed more than any other Bombers forward. There where many many good signs for the Eagles while not so many for Essendon, who like you say, probably will definitely miss out on the finals.
I did not say Melbourne tanked! I asked if they did but surely some of the coaches decisions will raise a few questions, like why would you rotate players in positions when your in for a chance of winning? I can understand rotating the players when your 10 goals down.
Quite easy, they where playing Richmond…
August 4th, 2009 at 9:40 am
to start with…you did say melbourne tanked in the opening statement…
they did not tank. they wanted to win that game and as bailey said he thought they had. watch a replay of the final 20 seconds and look how devestated the players were when Mcmahon kicked the goal. and have you ever considered the fact that maybe moving players around was all he could do considering they only had 19 fit men? the simple fact is they did not tank. if they were trying to they would have lost by half time. you are reading to much into it jermayn. Michael Voss stated yesterday that no coach goes into a game wanting to lose. it may have happened in the past but i do not think that tanking is much of an issue anymore, however a lottery system would defeat this issue once and for all.
Finally! someone has exposed the saints. their only fault if you like. you CAN and WILL defeat them if you play them at their own game. Sydney were amazing by applying just as much pressure on the saints as they received, to be honest, st kilda were very lucky to win. and i dont think they really deserved to. if the bulldogs, collingwood and geelong play st kilda in the finals they have every chance of defeating the saints.
Congratulations to Brad Johnson, club games record, Bartel on his 150th and goodbye to simpson, the footballer’s footballer
by the way, west coast didnt show that some teams dont tank, they showed that no team wants to lose
.-= Mike´s last blog ..16 months old Jaxie =-.
August 4th, 2009 at 10:11 am
Good get, Mike!
While I agree, Jermayn, that forwards’ job is to kick goals, I can’t agree that Neagle gets the nod as the Bombers best forward simply because he kicked more goals. I thought Monfries played a much more team-oriented role and provided the only viable lead-up marking option for the midfield. Neagle’s defensive pressure and second efforts were pretty ordinary.
.-= aussierulesblog´s last blog ..Dominance =-.
August 4th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Ok, first of all, yes thanks to Mike for pointing that out & sorry AussieRules!
Hears the moves that coach Bailey made:
- Newton to a wing
- Warnock & Frawley forward
- Miller to the ruck
- Johnson Full Back on Nathan Brown
- Bruce to Full Forward (that makes sense)
- McDonald Back Pocket (again sort of makes sense)
Again I understand these moves if your 10 goals down but when your within a chance to win a game? Just seems to dodgy to me. Even several Richmond players made a comment that they did not seem to be giving their full. Guess this says much about Richmond though.
Even if Melbourne did not tank, the uncertainty and the AFL public like me, suggesting they did is ruining the game. Maybe Demetriou needs to be charged for bringing the game into disrepute, this tanking discussion has done worse to the game than Cousins drug antics…
I agree that Neagle needs to show more defensive pressure & second efforts (Why McKinley was dropped) but he kicked 3 goals and its hard to be a lead up 50m-70m and still kick goals. Someone has to stay in the forward 50m to provide a goal kicking target.
.-= Jermayn´s last blog ..Why Do We Give Up Praying? =-.
August 4th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
are melbourne happy with their coach? do thye actually want to play for dean bailey? because if they weren’t giving their all does it perhaps mean they are unhappy with bailey? richmond players weren’t that happy with wallace and it showed, rawlings comes in and they suddenly start playing better? it just seems to me that teams play so much better when playing for a coach they respect and want to play for.
i agree that this tanking issue is damaging the game. just say for a minute that tanking does not exist and never has, it is simply the perception that teams aren’t trying that we automatically assume they are tanking. what we don’t assume is that there maybe a core problem in the player or players or maybe even the club itself, and its affecting the players. i know from experience that when you lose consistently its hard to give your all the next week. maybe the tanking issue is simply a mask for real issues within a club?
but in saying all that to put the doubt out of peoples minds, the system needs to change.
.-= Mike´s last blog ..16 months old Jaxie =-.