Wallace gone and Jade Rawlings has been made coach and I think it was the right call with him rather than Wayne Campbell.
Bulldog Ryan Hargrave is chaired off after his 150th game against Richmond
Western Bulldogs defeated Richmond by 68 points
Boy Wallace likes the lime light, yes he made 501 games as player and coach but honestly who really cares about 6 year old dirt about him ‘walking’ from the Dogs and being promised the Sydney job.
But anyway apart from the first half Richmond looked good but they again blew it and the Dogs are a top side and they where punished. Richmond only kicked 2 goals to the Dogs 20 goals in the 2nd half.
What the best was that it was the Dogs young guns who shined in Ward, Hill, Harbrow & Picken.
St Kilda defeated North Melbourne by 46 points
The Kangaroos came out firing opening up with a 5 goal first quarter and almost keeping ST Kilda goaless but you always got the feeling that St Kilda where never out of the contest.
Firrito kept Goddard quite but the lack of potency up forward for the Roos and Kosi kicking 6 they over ran them in the second half.
This game will be remembered for two reasons:
- North Melbourne played with 17 men on the field with one in hostipal and four on the bench who could not come back on along with 1 or 2 struggling on the field. So do we need a subsitute rule?
- Steven King followed Gardiner’s path by a cowardly bump behind the play and knocked out Sam Power. Should get at least 2 matches.
Carlton defeated Brisbane by 6 points
Its amazing what straight kicking can do, after the first quarter Fevola kicked straight and finished with 8, 3 behinds and Brown struggled with 4, 5 behinds and Brisbane lost by 6 points.
Fevola bounced back with 8 goals after some indifferent form in front of goals
Again Judd was brilliant and must be almost favourite for the Brownlow. Brisbane are hurting by missing Patful & Merrett down back which means they have to use Bradshaw as a backman, makes it even worse with Drummond struggling with a calf.
Port Adelaide defeated Fremantle by 24 points
Fremantle are playing a very young side (10 players played under 10 AFL games) but they showed courage and opened up an early lead, however a heavy collision saw forward Capmbell carried off and Port settled and managed to stay into the game.
The third quarter saw some brilliant individual goals by Rodan and they kicked 6 goals to put the game beyond doubt. Without Pavlich playing forward Fremantle’s forward line looked weak, why did coach Harvey not play Ballaynte?
Adelaide defeated Essendon by 16 points
In our tips posts several tipsters (including me) tipped Essendon and Deano asked why? We looked and disected their form, new goal kicking trend and the fact they get up and win milestone matches. Looks like Deano was onto something.
Edwards had 41 possessions (and 10 tackles), Tippett kicked 7 goals and showed he can be the missing link in the Crows forward line and ran out the match with 6 goals to 2 in the last quarter.
Coach Knights said the loss should not be blamed at the forward line BUT I disagree. His forward line continue to show in different form in Lloyd, Lucas etc…
Hawthorn defeated Sydney by 11 points
Again this match will be remembered for all the wrong reasons and the person to blame this time is big bad Barry Hall. This is the fourth time in two years he has had a brain freeze (two punches & two multiple consective 50m incidents) and its time for him to be sacked and suspended for a period of time by the club.
Swans have great form against the Hawks and it took Halls stupidity to switch the trend of the game to the Hawks. Sydney hit the front in the fourth quarter but then they kicked the next 3 goals. Rioli’s hamstring will be a blow for the Hawks and Dream Team coaches.
Hawkins was the only forward who really defeated his opponent against the Eagles
Geelong defeated West Coast by 22 points
Geelong opened up a 30 point lead in the first 13 minutes and everyone thought “On No Hear We Go Again” but the thing that will please every Eagle’s fan is the fact that they managed to stay in the game and at one point get within 3 points.
So the question must be: Where Geelong taking the game easy or did the Eagles play well? I think its a bit of both and I’m sure the mid season break will do Geelong the world of good as they have several injury worries at the moment.
Collingwood defeated Melbourne by 66 points
Collingwood opened up the game with a 48 point first quarter but the difference between them this year and last year is that they continue to fight. The Demons from the second quarter physically intimadiated the Magpies.
In the 3rd quarter it poured down and Collingwoods skill increased in the wet while the Demons did not. Dick continues to provide a spark up forward in the absense of Medhurst.
Top 8 After Round 11
- St Kilda
- Geelong
- Western Bulldogs
- Carlton
- Collingwood
- Brisbane
- Hawthorn
- Port Adelaide
Round 11 Talking Points
Please give us your thoughts in the comments section below or add your own round 11 talking points. The questions will asked in bold and my response will be un-bolded under them.
Your input and comments help us make Kick2Kick a better website..
- Was Jade Rawlings (aged 31) the best stand in coach Richmond could have picked?
- Yes because he lives and breathes football and does not have Yellow & Black in his blood. It also leaves the door open to get Malthouse or Buckley.
- Is it just me or are the umpires finally leaving the game flow & isn’t it much better to watch?
- Yes and I am happy. Best advice for any umpire is leave the game flow, we will touch on this on Wednesday..
- This week we saw the Origin Rugby game & 48 – 72 hours later they played again. Why cannot the AFL players do the same?
- Why can’t they? Rugby players get hit a lot more but still can play. Although they only play 80 minutes (AFL ~120 minutes). I think the main issue is that in the NRL playing for the state is the highest level, AFL’s highest level is winning a premiership.
- Why is that coaches only call for the subsitute rule when they are down a player or two and lose? Do we really need it? and if we get it how would it be controlled and policed?
- Total over reaction. Only 1 or 2 games a year do we see injuries totally impact a game. I think the biggest problem is how would you police and manage the rule? Too many gray areas!
- What is the future of Barry Hall after yet another Brain Freeze?
- Roos and the players where not impressed. Sydney are rebuilding and they need to rebuild the ‘Blood Culture’ and to do that Hall needs a holiday. Give him 3-5 weeks off and do NOT renew his contract at the end of he year.
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June 9th, 2009 at 8:32 am
The bulldogs really showed why they are a contender on friday night. first they almost beat geelong, then destroyed Sydney and now have smacked the tigers in Wallace’s last game. they have showed that you can win, and win big without a key forward, but i still think if they can get someone big down there to take some big marks that they will be served even better. Richmond arent a bad side. they played quite well in the first half but failed miserably as the dogs piled on 13 goals to 2 in the second half and exposed the gap between the top 3 sides and the majority of the rest of the competition.
St Kilda have been exposed! i have thought for the whole season they aren’t as good as people think they are. ask yourself this? if the kangaroos had of stayed fit, and kept the pressure on, would it have been a different outcome? i think if a better team than north melbourne can do what they did in the 1st, then st kilda will not be a force in the finals
i also think the eagles are making subiaco a fortress once again and really pushed the cats
what have we learned from this week? ive learned that the premiership is far far from being decided, because even though there is a gap between, geelong, st kilda and the bulldogs. its obvious that other clubs are more than capable of knocking these sides off. or is it just that these teams need a break? and will we see 3 sides dominating the rest? give it 5-6 weeks and itll be interesting to see how the competetion pans out.
by the way…isnt it great to see that old bag of bones out of the afl? poor old wallace has not had any luck and i really, really hope he never again becomes a coach. good on rawlings as well. i almost hope he gets a good run and can stay coach for a year or two
June 9th, 2009 at 9:45 am
But you look at the first half when the pressure was on and they could not find a small target, the Dogs really struggled. A tall KPP straitens you up, Collingwood get Cloke back and while he did not do much, the Pies forward line looks more dangerous. The Eagles also had both Kennedy & Brown up forward in the second quarter onwards and they outscored the mighty Cats.
Especially with some injuries to Geelongs defense and St Kilda loosing both ruckman in consecutive rounds to suspension.
I doubt Rawlings will senior coach next year, think it will be between Laidley (with D King to coach the Roos), Williams, Malthouse or Buckley. Guess the real question should be do Richmond go with an established coach or a new coach? One that can develop with the team like Sydney, West Coast, Geelong & Hawthorn.
June 9th, 2009 at 10:12 am
i reckon a new coach. it worked for those 4 clubs and everyone of them have won a premiership with that coach. the tigers need someone fresh with new ideas. it has even worked so far with brisbane. if they are smart they will because they need to try something to change that club, i hope rawlings does well tho
with the bulldogs they didnt struggle much in the first half, i think they fell down more in the midfield and the pressure because in the second half, griffen, cooney and higgins stepped up and they really smashed richmond.
btw, i meant to say there is a gap between geelong, st kilda, bulldogs and the rest of the competition…
June 9th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
were you guys watching the same game as me??? pressure, there was no pressure in the first half and that is why the Tigers were in front at half time. I was disgusted at the way the dogs played in the first half and the scoreboard reflected it, if you play unnaccountable football against anyside then you will pay for it. In the second half the dogs lifted their intensity at the football and the results showed on the scoreboard.
Re: State of Origin, i have this argument all the time up here, yes the players are bigger and hit harder in league but they run straight into the contact so they can brace themselves for the hit. in our great game you can get hit at almost anytime and from any angle and not be prepared for it. Plus our blokes run anywhere up to 20 km in 2 hours. i think it is a no brainer as to why we can’t back it up…
I’ve learnt that the stronger teams are starting to come to the fore. Dogs, Pies, Crows, Blues, Hawks have all played some pretty good footy over the last fortnight, given that the Cats and Saints have already sewed up a top 8 berth that leaves only one spot for the rest to aim for.
June 9th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Yes the Dogs played rubbish in the first half but the pressure was on whether it came from themselves or just playing against a crap team and they where brought down to their level.
A question for the rugby state fans, how many kms roughly do they run a game? Coz as you say up to 20kms in two hours is a long time compared with only 80-85 minutes for a rugby game.
June 9th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
again there was NO pressure, as the commentators at the time stated, it was like they were having a friendly game in the park, no one was being accountable for their man and the game became a shoot out. As soon as we applied direct pressure on the man and the ball it was game over and the good thing was, as you stated Jer, that it came from Ward, Picken and Harbrow.
June 10th, 2009 at 12:14 am
bulldogs owned… last friday night was a great game… what a way to end the weekday… go bulldogs…
blinqs last blog post..David Barlow
June 10th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Close – but not quite. The NRL players play in State of Origin to prove they could be worthy of an Australian jersey. Plus I think NRL SofO is helped by there only being two states – so you can build up a truly intense rivalry.
June 10th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Thanks for your rugby insight Geoff, however from an outsider pov and to me it seems playing for your state has more importance placed on it especially with the fans.
Did you know that Rugby borrowed the State of Origin concept from the AFL?
Jermayns last blog post..All we ask for is Consistency Umpire!
June 10th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Yeah? Like Wallace, Frawley, Gieschen, Walls and Jeans? These four of the last five coaches didn’t have a Richmond background and (the fifth of the last five) John Northey’s was a fair bit out of date by the time he coached the Tiges. Gieschen and Frawley hadn’t coached at AFL level previously. Bigger issues involved.
They don’t have to run nearly as far in RL — rarely more than a 10–15 metre burst. AFL players are routinely running half-marathon equivalents and more.
aussierulesblogs last blog post..The eye of the beholder
June 10th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Wallace was always a hack and was lucky enough to survive this fair imo, the 8 wins out of the last 11 games last year imo glossed over the issue. Yes you are right that the last 4 out of 5 coaches where not Tiger men but the board and people behind them where and it was them that has poisoned the club. Get rid of the dead wood on the field (N Brown, Bowden etc), coaches (Wallace gone) & on the board…
Again I will state the obvious, I have never seen a club self explode like this over and over again. St Kilda did the right thing by getting rid of Thomas and Butters and its time for Richmond to do the same.