Geelong and St Kilda continue to firm as favourites for this years Grand Final while 10 odd other teams look likely to just make up the numbers from 3rd to 13th. It means losses from teams like Port & Carlton on the weekend would really hurt them. Other highlights (or lowlights) was some big hits with Selwood/ Rance & Kennedy/ Rivers.
Sorry about the delay in this weeks wrapup, my computer was in hospital…
Essendon defeated Hawthorn by 44 points
This was a great game to watch with Essendon playing fast straight football to expose the Hawks patchy zone work and weak defense. Monfries (some are saying remind them off Mecuri) exposed Hodge down back and along with a groin injury he is having a year to forget. Hawks are also looking shaky as several players (Hodge included) are under performing and in the first quarter they missed 9 shots at goals and while they lost by 44 points some of those shots would have helped kept them in the game.
The turning point for me was the perfect interchange in the third quarter where Neagle out numbered the defenders to kick a goal and then one minute later the new 50m penetly gifted the Bombers a two goal lead with a goal to Stanton. Again Ryder dominated the ruck for Essendon as the Hawks again where exposed and always put the Hawks midfield on the back foot.
Selwood & Rance showed courage as they went for the ball & reminded us all how tough the game really is
Brisbane defeated Richmond by 26 points
This game will always be remembered for the clash between Selwood & Rance on the MCG wing.
Richmond came out swinging and easily grabbed a 20 odd point lead with dominating the clearances with the help of Graham & Simmonds but like Richmond so far this year they struggled. Riewoldt again failed to shine with Richo & Morton not helping, it took until the game was over for Simmonds to take back control and look dangerous down forward & ended with 3 goals.
It took a dominate 5-10 minutes of play by Lions captain Brown with goals & strong marking to get back into the game. After this the Lions took the game on while Richmond waited for Cousins to help them.
Fremantle defeated Carlton by 7 points
I wonder if Carlton would sell a home game again for 4 points. I am sure Fremantle were laughing at the fact that they did not have to play in front of a 30 odd thousand Carlton crowd. Nothing went right with Carlton as Fevola played with a tight leg and only kicked 1 goal. Yarren finally got a game and look dangerous early until his work rate went down.
Kruzer got a ruck lesson as Sandilands dominated and gave Halesby an arm chair ride & is now back to his best after last years knee Reco. Carlton did blow their 3rd quarter with 2.7 goals but the game plan of the Dockers with Sandilands resting up forward and kicking on top of his and others head is effective.
Geelong defeated Sydney by 51 points
No Ablett, no worries.
Sydney were never in for a chance as Corey, Selwood, Bartel, Johnson, Harley etc stepped up & Geelong never looked like they even missed the man. Word is that Ablett will be training this week so 2-3 weeks may be a reality which will help his Brownlow & Dream Team chances.
Sydney would be happy that they lost by less than 10 goals which means their percentage will not be effected too much as they & 10 other teams struggle for a top 8 this year.
S Johnson & Bartel lifted and looked just as dangerous with Ablett out injured.
Kangaroos defeated Port Adelaide by 5 points
Straight kicking wins you games and the Roos 5 point win is a perfect example as Port had more inside 50ms, more marks in the forward 50m & more scoring shots but still lost. Other encouraging signs for the Roos was Wells performing & Ziebell showed plenty in the middle along with Swallow, still could do with more pace in the middle though. Edwards along with Campbell (injured again), Thomas is a dangerous forward line.
Again Port teased us with great play one week and then disappointing the week after. They just seem to fall asleep for periods of a game & I doubt its the age of the team or even their coach in Williams but more up stairs. If they want to be taken serious they need to figuer out what is going on.
Bulldogs defeated Adelaide by 32 points
The Dogs found their bite with an 8 goal 3rd quarter on the back off a dominate midfield supply from Cooney, Johnson & Eagleton. Again it was down to Murphy to provide a goal kicking/ marking target and while he provided with four, surely they need to groom Grant etc.
Adelaide is tanking material and now we will see just how good a coach Craig is as his team lacks a finals like game plan. While Porplyzia & Walker are dangerous & provide good targets the team does lack a tall KPP and Tippett, Maric etc either need to improve or use them as trade bait.
West Coast defeated Melbourne by 8 points
Again inaccuracy was the problem for the Eagles as they struggled to put away the Demons who kicked straight with only 5 behinds. We saw a Mele & a big hit with Rivers going off injured after a marking contest between him & Kennedy who provided a nice target. LeCras continues his form but he also suffered inaccuracry problems with 4.6 (two hit post).
The injuries to Kerr, Mackenzie, Brown & Priddas will hurt the Eagles.
Melbourne has a game plan they are learning and once they get used to it & get more confident, they will go from providing a contest to actually winning games. N Jones continued his good form for the year and Johnson provided a great ruck contest against Cox (but struggled around the game).
Michael Gardiner has improved a lot this year and is now back to his All Australian years
St Kilda defeated Collingwood by 88 points
Collingwood had more scoring opportunities and inside 50ms in the first quarter last night yet they were still 2 goals down and it did not get any better as the night went on. While Collingwood has many young guns playing well (Wellingham, Beams, Sidebottom etc) the problem is their senior players who continue to under perform during the game. They also lack real leaders as Maxwell, Fraser, Rocca, Lockyer etc just make too many mistakes at important times. I failed to keep count off how many times they run over the ball or fumbled a mark.
Gardiner is one of the most improved players of the year (along with Ray) and it means it keeps Kosi up forward which helps keep a great forward structure & releases pressure off captain Riewoldt.
Top 8 Ladder After Round Seven
- St Kilda
- Geelong
- Western Bulldogs
- Port Adelaide
- Essendon
- Brisbane
- Carlton
- Collingwood
Round Seven Talking Points
Please give us your thoughts in the comments section below or add your own round 7 talking points. The questions will asked in bold and my response will be un-bolded under them.
- Is there room for Thursday & Monday nights football?
- Personally I do not care either way. I like being able to watch more football (TV or Live) with more games spread.
- Are Port, Collingwood, Carlton, Bulldogs etc inconsistent or does it just show how even the competition is (apart from St Kilda & the Cats)?
- While they are inconsistent I also think it does show just how even the comp is and if your slightly off the boil, you will loose.
- Is inaccuracy at goals becoming more of an issue?
- I think it is as they concentrate more and more on other issues & something has to give and its the time practicing kicking goals.
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May 12th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I think the bigger and better question than just goalkicking has actually become forward efficiency. Richmond had more inside 50′s than Brisbane (or at least very close), and yet they were comprehensively beaten. Same story early in Coll vs St K. Teams have to work out how best to take the ball from wing/half-forward to getting it through the goals.
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May 12th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Thursday & Monday nights are a big no from me. Teams are pecious enough & a survey last night said 54% “no” to Monday nights in a 5 choice category.
Don’t write off Port/Bulldogs. In fact, don’t write off Roos/Crows just yet. Pies & Blues are done thus far, but leaning towards the Blues this week.
Players need to learn to be more selfish in front of goal. If you’re inside 50, go for it, don’t try to pass it off or think about the handball. How many times do you see players in 2 minds give it up anywhere on the field.
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May 12th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Easy! Kick it down the corridor! Its easier to kick a goal straight in front than on the boundary line.
LeCras for example (game still fresh) had two posters when kicking on the boundary but if he was kicking straight in front, he would have 8m of room for the ball to go through but on the boundary your looking at a gap of around 1-2m. More room for error.
Think that is Geelongs main problem. You watch Mooney and others and they are afraid of kicking at goals. Go back and kick the stupid thing. Its what you get paid for…
@Craig Eyles – Pies, Crows & the Roos have no chance & should focus on playing the young kids and get some good drafts for the future.
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May 12th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Not worth a cracker if you don’t have a winning forward! Collingwood-St Kilda a perfect example: ‘Woods had plenty of midfield possession and inside 50s, but Rocca and Cloke couldn’t capitalise. Riewoldt (5), Milne (4) and Schneider (5) at the other end meant good value for effort.
aussierulesblogs last blog post..Is "Buddy" the new "Richo"?
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May 12th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Some teams use the boundary line ploy because of their great ability at clearances if the ball gets knocked out of play.
Crows have had Cats, Saints & Dogs as their 1st 3 home games. They’ll beat you 9 out of 10 times at the moment.
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May 13th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Yes its hard kicking it down the corridor when your forwards are not performing but on the flip side, its hard for them to get one on one (or even one on two) when you take forever to get the ball down to them. The slowness the ball gets down to them, even Plugger Lockett could have wobbled down to fill in a hole.
and the obvious weaknesses are:
Dogs: No KPP
Port: Inconsistency
Blues: Inconsistency & weak ruck & backline
Pies: Inconsistency, weak ruck & poor leadership by senior players
While we are only 7 rounds into the season and we have another 15 rounds, Hawthorn do not want to leave their run too much longer otherwise they may not even make the finals…
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May 12th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
i’m hesitant to right off any teams at this stage. If Riewoldt did a knee next week i doubt the Saints would have the strength of mind to win the flag. There are a lot of ifs, buts and maybe’s still to go through yet and I think any team that can grind away and earn a top 4 berth is capable of winning the flag. The Cats and Saints still have September issues and will be vunerable in the post-season, particularly from the prelim onwards, The Dogs, Power, Blues and Pies all have immense talent but obvious weaknesses whilst I think Hawthorn would be confident of winning the flag from any position in the eight particularly if they get a better run with injuries.
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