Brisbane & the Bulldogs indeed stuck with the top two teams and both had their chances to win against the undefeated Cats & Saints. We also saw several favoured teams not switched on and they lost.
Akermanis did not get the end of the game he wanted with Johno missing a shot after the siren.
Geelong defeated Western Bulldogs by 2 points
Brad Johnson would be kicking himself after for the second time in a few years he has done what every young boy dreams off. Kicking the winning goal after the siren to win a game for their team mate (Akers 300th).
Geelong opened up a 6 goal lead but on the back of a brilliant game by Aker and injuries to Chapman & Gamble they came back to almost steal the game. One stat that the Dogs need to fix is that at the moment they are the number one side for turn overs.
Kangaroos defeated Fremantle by 13 points
This was a game that Fremantle should have and needed to win to win respect from the AFL public. They opened up a 4 goal lead by quarter time yet failed to keep up the work effort.
Stupid and silly decisions in defense gave the Roos three goals (two by Tarrent & one from Dodd). Dodds free kick for a rushed behind is now the second ever made.
Update: The Fremantle Dockers caught the same flight back to Perth as a gentlemen who has a confirmed case of the swine flu.
Adelaide defeated Carlton by 44 points
This was a game that lead me shaking my head in disbelief as it showed the holes in Rattens coaching. They had a 3-4 goal breese and they had Fevola play up the ground, when playing away you need a quick start. They did not get it with only 5 behinds in a half of footy.
Waite jaring his knee really hurt Carltons set up and with Gibbs & Judd quite it meant it took over 60 minutes for them to kick a goal. Knights, Doughty, Edwards and Dangerfield up forward gave the Crows some good structure and even with the Blues getting within 4 goals, the game was well over in the second quarter.
Collingwood defeated West Coast by 22 points
Both teams needed to win this game to keep their dimishing final hopes alive, Collingwood passed the challenge and West Coast failed big time. Cox was well beaten and with the game to be won, coach Worsfold used Seaby instead. He needs to stop playing Dream Team football…
Collingwood had more marks inside 50m even without their big forwards. L Davis was excellent and sparked the Magpies for a win outside of Victoria.
Essendon defeated Richmond by 40 points
Richmond opened up a good lead but with a 13 to 3 goal second half Essendon easily over runned the hapless Tigers. Ryder & Lovettt-Murray both took big grabs which keep the purists happy along with them being a good repersentitive for the Dream Time match.
Sydney defeated Port Adelaide by 55 points
An 8 goal first quarter meant Port never fully recovered much like Carlton against Adelaide. McVeigh has been playing some good solid football and for Sydney to take the next step up they need his generation to step up.
Again the question must be asked coach Williams and why does his team have so much distance between their best and worst?
Cornelius was among a few big pluses for the Lions as they took it right up to Saints.
St Kilda defeated Brisbane by 16 points
Wow this was a great game to watch, I thought this game would determine just where abouts Brisbane are and if they are indeed a top four side. They matched the Saints with their two key backman out. With St Kilda kicking 1 goal 5 behinds to 4 goals, 1 behind it meant the Lions where able to stay in the game.
The last 8 minutes of general play saw the cream rise to the top with Milne kicking two goals including a contender for goal of the year. Dal Santo quite for the game had several important disposals along with Montana rising to a new level.
Hawthorn defeated Melbourne by 22 points
The Hawks are finally warming up and they have unheralded another gem that has been waiting on their list to get a chance, his name Muston. 3 ACLs later and in his first game he got 31 possessions to be among their best.
Hawks opened up a 40 odd point half time lead but through the ‘never say die’ attitude by the Demons, they got within 4 goals after a goal after the siren by Sylvia (4 goals).
Top 8 Ladder after Round 9
- St Kilda
- Geelong
- Western Bulldogs
- Essendon
- Sydney
- Brisbane
- Hawthorn
- Port Adelaide
Talking Points from Round 9
Please give us your thoughts in the comments section below or add your own round 9 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..
- Why did Nick Riewoldt toss the coin at the start at the game instead of either Hayes or an Aboriginal player for the Indigineous round?
- This was also raised by commentator Cometti and personally they had Hayes (200th) & Clarke who should have done it.
- With Essendon winning and Bulldogs & the Lions getting close has the race to the finals opened up?
- The Dogs definatley a top four side and the Dons & Lions are definate top 6 sides.
- Could Aker go on for another year?
- He has hinted and with his current form he could, however the question should be, do they want him for another year?
- How good has Gardiner come back this year? Could he almost be in All Australian contention?
- He has been in good form and apart from Cox he would be up there along with Sandilands, Jolly etc for All Australian.
- Has the injuries to Hille (Ess), Leunberger & Charman (Lions) been a blessing in disguise for their clubs?
- Brisbane could do with either Leunberger & Charman back to compliment Clark but I think Essendons revival is due to Paddy playing in the ruck.
- Why is it that certain clubs just do not seemed ’switched on’?
- The Eagles, Port & Carlton where definatley not switched on. Do the players give up before the game?
- Did the Dogs bring in Higgins too early who still look to be suffering from his groin/ Osteitis Pubic Injury?
- He was well below his best & I think an extra week or two rest might be good so they can catch the problem before it goes into full OP and he miss a year or worse have his career ruined like Ball’s.
Update: The Fremantle Dockers caught the same flight back to Perth as a gentlemen who has a confirmed case of the swine flu.
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May 25th, 2009 at 9:28 am
I want to know why teams beat Richmond and suddenly we start believing they must be decent. Port scraped over the line very luckily and it was “season defining”. Essendon look terrible for more than half the game, but put together a quarter and a half of decent footy to over-run the Tiges and they are “definitely a top six side”. Is it really only us Richmond supporters who know just how crap our side is?
May 25th, 2009 at 10:01 am
@Geoff – They are top 4 at the moment…
While personally I do not rate them either, you cannot keep wiping them off as they keep on winning and they did really well against St Kilda as well. Their midfield is definitely on the rise and Paddy as ruck is the move of the season imo.
It must be as I tipped them
May 25th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Based on his form the last 4 weeks, Cox would only be put in the same league as Gardiner and Sandilands by a biased West Coast fan. His form has been so bad, if it were not for his reputation, he would be in serious risk of being dropped.
The free against Tarrant just before half time was not silly, but rather a disgraceful decision by the umpires, as confirmed by the commentators at the time.
May 25th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
You maybe onto something with the free kicks as the Roos where 19-9 in the free kicks count but I think the fact that you guys had 10 players with 13 possessions or less should be looked at instead of the umpires.
May 25th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Can we get a consistent answer out of you Jerm, One week the Dogs are lacking KPP’s and have too many deficiencies and the next they are definitely a top 4 side. Make up your mind son
May 25th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
@Deano – Yes they definitely are a top four side, like they have been for the past few years but being a top four side and being a serious premiership contender/ threat is two different things…
The dogs have almost a perfect side.
- Their midfield has enough weapons (grit, youth, courage & flair) to take it against the Cats and is seasoned.
- With Williams & Lake playing solid and injury free down back, they can stop any teams forward line (including Hawks & Geelongs).
- The small forwards of Johnson, Aker, Hille & Higgins (plus others) is as dangerous as the small/ medium forwards of the Hawks & Cats.
However they lack a key forward. I do not care that the Dogs had the highest goal kicking forward line of the regular season in 2008 the fact is that Finals is a totally different board game. During the finals when the pressure is more, they failed to kick a winning score against both Geelong & the Hawks.
You look at the stats and every premiership team in the last 10 years had at least one KPP up forward who could take a contested mark and provide a solid target when the midfield was under pressure and they could only ‘bomb it long’ to a contest. He does not need to be a Brown or a Roughead just someone who can kick 40+ goals and provide a real solid contest/ target (ie: Lynch in 2006, his best year at full forward).
May 25th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
‘Why did Nick Riewoldt toss the coin at the start at the game instead of either Hayes or an Aboriginal player for the Indigineous round?’
Last time I checked Riewoldt was the Captain
‘Could Aker go on for another year?’
The guy is an absolute champion, it would be a pleasure to watch him go around again.
‘How good has Gardiner come back this year? Could he almost be in All Australian contention?’
Where are Craig Ellis, Danny Southern and Steve Kretiuk when you need them???
‘Why is it that certain clubs just do not seemed ’switched on’?
The Eagles, Port & Carlton where definatley not switched on. Do the players give up before the game?’
Teams quite often get the jump in the first quarter. It is a sides ability to come back that measures their character, Bulldogs, Bombers and Lions were good examples on the weekend of teams who played hard for four quarters and did not give up after giving away a start.
‘Did the Dogs bring in Higgins too early who still look to be suffering from his groin/ Osteitis Pubic Injury?’
Is far too important and needs a spell.
May 25th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
we will have to agree to disagree on this one and I guess only finals time will tell if the Dogs forward line is up to it.
As for last years finals series do not forget that players as experienced as Murphy and Hahn were playing their first final against the Hawks (as well as a host of youngsters) and we took it right up to the Cats in the Prelim. Our finals series was not as poor as it looks on paper and everyone involved will be better for the experience this year
May 25th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
@Deano – Yes think we will have to agree to disagree on the KPP argument (like usual), just do not make more excuses when you fail again though
Yes he is indeed captain however, all other clubs had an aboriginal player tossing the coin and if not (ie: Collingwood), they had a milestone player toss the coin. I just think it was curious and a little strange that Riewoldt did not get Hayes (an ex-captain himself) to do it.
May 25th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
IF we fail there will be no excuses. There was a comment last week that the Dogs should be fast tracking Grant, Cordy, Roughead etc. I think it will only be detrimental, their bodies aren’t ready and it is no coincidence that the Dogs have straightened up a bit since Welsh has come back. He is a superb mark and an excellent kick and gives more to the Dogs at the moment then any of those kids would be able to do. Their time will come and so will the Dogs’.
May 25th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
That would have been from me. Grant got a game earlier on in the year and then after limited opportunities he was dumped back to the VFL, why? Why not give Grant 3-5 games to find his feet and then make a decision whether to drop him or not. Not many players let alone KPP find their feet after just 1-2 games.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Very big call — and way, way too early.
Jermayn, there’s a lot more going on than you can see on the TV screen. There’s no doubt Ryder is playing well. There are plenty who thought Hille should have been All-Australian last year, so why would he have been crap this year? When the Bombers play well, it is about pressure on the opposition ball carrier, shutting off disposal options, then rebounding run and carry through the lines with quick entry to the forward 50. I’m not saying they would be doing as well with Hille down and no Ryder, but there’s more to it than your statement.
aussierulesblogs last blog post..Who ya gonna call?
May 26th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Yes you are right there is more to the Dons rise than just Ryder, in an earlier thread I talked about the emergence of their midfield and also the coach who I think has done what Sheedy did nearly 20 years ago with his cut throat coaching & cutting dead wood away. Personally I cannot see how they keep on wining but they do and if they keep up this form, they surely are a top 6 side…
and with Hille, he was in terrible form this year and I think his injury has saved his short term career and exploded Paddy’s career who was dieing in the backline…
May 26th, 2009 at 10:11 am
“Not many players let alone KPP find their feet after just 1-2 games.”
Well he is really struggling to find his feet in the VFL too so I think the right decision was made, he got a game purely because Welsh and Murphy were out injured and Minson was struggling.
As for the Bombers they are a young side and will inevitably hit a flat spot, as long as they keep winning the 50-50 games they will be there in September which is a massive achievement and a result i think any bombers fan would take
May 26th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Huh?
aussierulesblogs last blog post..Who ya gonna call?
May 26th, 2009 at 11:05 am
@AussieRulesBlog – Paddy was not growing as a player in defense, it was killing his style of football and to me (and others – read the Dons season preview) he seemed to be struggling to step up the next level. Hille’s injury has opened up the ruck spot and he has grown so much in the last few weeks. Cox had a similar story when Gardiner got injured (played 50 games under Gardiner as 1st ruckman).
and with Hille, surely you have to agree that his start to the season was very disappointing. His ruck work was ok but his around the ground game was very poor compared to last/ previous years.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
btw jerm, just wondering if you have changed your mind on Dane Swan now that you have seen the damage he can inflict first hand??
May 26th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Jermayns last blog post..2009 Round Nine DreamTeam Wrapup
May 26th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
like always mate we will have to agree to disagree. i think he is a bonafide star. coming in under an injury cloud he gathers 30 plus possessions, wins the hard ball, takes 11 marks, makes 7 tackles and kicks 3 behinds (normally he would kick 2.1). He will never have the polish,vision and skill of Pendelbury or Davis but the stats above are achieved on a week to week basis whereas the other guys can have form drops that last for weeks.
May 26th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
I am lost for words. . .
aussierulesblogs last blog post..It’s enough to make a person wonder
May 27th, 2009 at 8:50 am
@AussieRulesBlog – At lost for words?? In regards to my comment or Deano’s???
lease remember my comments are from a general football viewer and not an Essendon’s fan pov which I am sure would be a lot different. ie: Mark E slammed Cox and said he was out of form for the whole year where I think otherwise…
My windows are glassed stained blue and gold, Mark’s purple, green & red, Deano’s red, blue & white and your’s black and red…
May 27th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
couldn’t have been me J, he knows Swan is a superstar
May 28th, 2009 at 9:17 am
A superstar? Now your going a bit far….
A good player and maybe a star in todays game but a super star? A super star is someone who still is a star 10-20 years after he has retired imo (more on this topic). I highly doubt Swan will be remembered as a star in 10 years time…
May 29th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
i thought you would bite hard but not that hard:)