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| ROUND 22 MATCHES (Michael Shillito’s tips in bold – Season to Date 108/168) Friday 29th August Fremantle v Collingwood (8:40pm, Subiaco Oval) Saturday 30th August Kangaroos v Port Adelaide (1:10pm, MCG) Geelong v West Coast (2:10pm, Skilled Stadium) Adelaide v Western Bulldogs (4:10pm, AAMI Stadium) Carlton v Hawthorn (7:10pm, Telstra Dome) Sydney v Brisbane (7:10pm, SCG) Sunday 31st August Melbourne v Richmond (2:10pm, MCG) Essendon v St Kilda (4:40pm, Telstra Dome) All times shown are Sydney time. |
Melbourne haven’t won at AAMI Stadium since 2000, and that losing streak didn’t look like being
threatened as Port Adelaide demolished the hapless Demons by 78 points; a result that for one day only
made Port look like the side that made it through to the grand final and gave some hope to their supporters
after a dismal season, but one that condemned Melbourne to the wooden spoon.
From the outset Port were dominant, leading by 36 points at quarter time. Despite Melbourne holding Port
to just one goal at the last change, the margin was still 45 points and a Power surge in the last quarter
blew the margin out. Daniel Motlop kicked 5 for the Power, while the Burgoyne brothers and Dominic
Cassisi dominated the midfield.
Port Adelaide 6.6 9.10 10.17 18.21 (129)
Melbourne 1.0 2.4 4.8 7.9 (51)
Goals : Port Adelaide - D Motlop 5, J Westhoff 2, M Westhoff 2, Lade 2, P Burgoyne 2, Pearce 2, Rodan,
Cassisi, Boak. Melbourne - Miller 2, Bruce, Bate, Wonaeamirri, Jamar, Newton.
Best : Port Adelaide - P Burgoyne, S Burgoyne, Cassisi, D Motlop, Logan, Brogan, Pearce. Melbourne -
Wheatley, Buckley, McDonald, Garland, Morton.
Injuries : Port Adelaide - Chaplin (knee). Melbourne – Nil.
Reports – Nil. Umpires - Margetts, Head, Keating.
Crowd - 18,875 at AAMI Stadium.
A wildly fluctuating, high-scoring contest at the Gabba saw Carlton come from 32 points down at three-
quarter time to beat Brisbane by 6 points; a result that ends Brisbane’s finals hopes after for so much of
the season it was looking like the Lions’ finals drought would come to and end this year.
Carlton came racing out of the blocks with 7 first quarter goals to lead by 22 points at quarter time and at
half time the Blues led by 18 points. But after the long break it was the Lions who came out swinging,
booting 9 goals to 1 for the quarter to take the lead and have a 32-point advantage at the last change.
Daniel Bradshaw was looking unstoppable, on his way to a 6-goal haul; while Jonathan Brown and Simon
Black were also in impressive form.
But the Lions stopped to a walk in the final term, while Carlton looked fitter and ran out the match, taking
the lead back in the dying minutes to stun the locals with a close-fought 6-point win. While the Lions’
midfield was visibly tired and unable to keep up, Nick Stevens and Chris Judd were racking up
possessions at will. Although Carlton will miss the finals for the 7th straight season, the second half of this
season creates hopes for the Blues that their run of outs should come to an end in 2009.
Carlton 7.2 11.3 12.4 18.7 (115)
Brisbane 3.4 7.9 16.12 16.13 (109)
Goals : Carlton - Cloke 4, Fisher 3, Houlihan 3, Fevola 2, Murphy 2, Waite 2, Stevens, Walker. Brisbane -
Bradshaw 6, Brown 4, Corrie 2, Power 2, Hooper, Rischitelli.
Best : Carlton - Stevens, Judd, Cloke, Murphy, Houlihan. Brisbane - Brennan, Black, Dalziell, Brown,
Bradshaw.
Injuries : Carlton – Nil. Brisbane - Adcock (head), Charman (head).
Reports – Nil. Umpires - Stewart, Meredith, Ryan.
Crowd - 34,327 at the Gabba.
A blistering first quarter from Collingwood ensured the Magpies were never threatened by a disappointing
Sydney in front of a blockbuster crowd at Telstra Dome on Saturday night. The Magpies got off to a flying
start, kicking 5 unanswered goals in the first 12 minutes of the game; and already the contest looked out of
reach. The margin had blown out to 45 points by half time, and when Collingwood kicked the first 3 goals
of the second half the result was not in doubt; and although Sydney won the last quarter the damage was
already done.
Travis Cloke kicked 5 for Collingwood, while Leon Davis accumulated well over 30 possessions in a best-
on-ground performance. The result ensures that Collingwood will be participating in 2008’s finals series.
The Swans had already wrapped up their finals berth; but the Magpies have far superior momentum than
the Swans, who have looked unimpressive in recent weeks. And should Collingwood and Sydney have a
rematch in the finals, it would take a remarkable turnaround in form for the result to be anything other than
a replay of last year’s Elimination Final result.
Collingwood 8.3 11.6 15.8 18.10 (118)
Sydney 2.3 4.3 6.7 10.13 (73)
Goals : Collingwood - T Cloke 5, L Davis 2, J Anthony 2, S O'Bree, P Medhurst, J McCarthy, S Pendlebury, S
Cox, T Goldsack, T Lockyer, D Swan, M Clarke. Sydney - B Hall 3, J Moore 3, D Jolly, P Veszpremi, K Jack, A
Goodes.
Best : Colllingwood - L Davis, D Swan, T Cloke, S Cox, S Pendlebury, H O'Brien, T Goldsack, S O'Bree.
Sydney - J Bolton, B Hall, M Mattner, B Kirk.
Injuries : Collingwood – N Brown (soreness) replaced in selected side by S Cox. Sydney – Nil.
Reports – Nil. Umpires - S Jeffery B Rosebury M Vozzo.
Crowd - 45,570 at Telstra Dome.
The Kangaroos had an opportunity to wrap up a top-4 berth, but despite an 8-goal haul from David Hale
were unable to keep up with a red-hot Geelong outfit at Skilled Stadium.
North made the early front-running, and led by a goal at quarter time, but were powerless to stop the
Geelong juggernaut in the second term as the Cats ran through 7 goals to 2 to set up a 26-point half-time
lead. And although the Kangaroos paced the Cats goal for goal in the second half, the deficit was too much
to overcome and the Cats went on to complete a 33-point victory.
As has been the case through so much of Geelong’s winning streak, their midfield was again dominant.
Jimmy Bartel did his chances of a second Brownlow no harm at all, while Gary Ablett’s hopes of achieving
an individual award his illustrious father never achieved received another boost. Paul Chapman and Jason
Mooney each kicked 4; while for the Kangaroos David Hale played a lone hand with an 8-goal haul to
prevent a blow-out.
The Kangaroos, with this loss, haven’t yet wrapped up a top-4 position; but should still get there as long as
they can defeat struggling Port Adelaide at home next week. Geelong remain top of the table, with only 1
loss for the season; and comparisons with the all-conquering Essendon side of 2000 continue.
Geelong 3.3 10.6 13.10 17.13 (115)
Kangaroos 4.3 6.4 9.4 13.4 (82)
Goals : Geelong - Chapman 4, Mooney 4, Ottens 3, Johnson 2, Ling 2, Lonergan, Rooke. Kangaroos - Hale
8, Thomas 2, Harris, Jones, McIntosh.
Best : Geelong – Bartel, Ling, Corey, Mooney, Ottens, Chapman, Ablett. Kangaroos – Hale, Pratt, Wells,
Firrito.
Injuries : Geelong - Stokes (general soreness) replaced in selected side by Varcoe. Kelly (general
soreness) replaced in selected side by Prismall. Kangaroos - Thompson (ankle) replaced in selected
side by Thompson. Campbell (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Sinclair.
Reports – Nil. Umpires - James, M Nicholls, McInerney.
Crowd - 24,288 at Skilled Stadium.
It may have been winning ugly, and the size of the margin may not have been enough to bridge the
percentage gap between the teams, but St Kilda’s 48-point win over Adelaide was good enough to book
the Saints a berth in this year’s finals campaign.
Trailing by 12 points at quarter time, the Saints took control in the second quarter, a 6 goals to 1 burst
putting them 19 points clear at the long break; and after an even third term the Crows were unable to score
a goal in the last quarter, further extending the margin.
In veteran Robert Harvey’s last home game, the famous number 35 jumper was displayed hanging from
the roof of the Dome; while a guard of honour by many of Harvey’s former team-mates greeted the Saints
as they entered the arena. And Harvey lived up to the occasion, being among the Saints’ best. It was a big
afternoon for the Saints, although the game never reached any great heights. And being half a game
behind 4th placed North Melbourne, and with an inferior percentage to both Collingwood and Adelaide, the
Saints will need a big win over Essendon in the final round and be depending on 3 other results to get the
double chance.
St Kilda 1.4 7.6 9.11 13.17 (95)
Adelaide 3.4 4.5 6.9 6.11 (47)
Goals : St Kilda - Riewoldt 3, Milne 2, Schneider 2, Gardiner, Harvey, Goddard, Hayes, Gram, Goddard.
Adelaide - Thompson 2, Stevens, Knights, Johncock, Douglas.
Best : St Kilda - Montagna, S. Fisher, Harvey, Milne, Hayes, Gram, Riewoldt. Adelaide - McLeod, Bock,
Symes, Edwards.
Injuries : St Kilda - McQualter (stomach virus) replaced in selected side by Birss. Adelaide - Nil
Reports : Adelaide - Knights for head high contact on Birss in the fourth quarter.
Umpires - McBurney, Stevic, Chamberlain
Crowd - 33,811 at Telstra Dome .
Hawthorn were expected to be far too good for West Coast when the Hawks travelled to Subiaco, and that’s
exactly how it turned out as the Hawks cruised to a 71-point victory. The main interest in the game was
whether Lance Franklin would kick his 100th goal for the season, but his 4-goal haul left him 2 short;
leaving the likelihood that Buddy will achieve the milestone in Melbourne in front of a greater contingent of
Hawks fans.
The Hawks led from the outset, and although West Coast were competitive early the margin was 21 points
at the long break. But a 9 goals to 3 third term ended any hope of an Eagle revival and ensured the Hawks
would remain ahead of the Bulldogs in second place. Franklin and Campbell Brown each kicked 4 for the
Hawks, while Ben McKinley contributed 3 for the Eagles; who will miss the finals for only the 5th time in the
club’s illustrious history.
Hawthorn 4.4 7.6 16.10 19.19 (133)
West Coast 1.1 4.3 7.6 9.8 (62)
Goals : Hawthorn - Franklin 4, Brown 4, Williams 3,Young 2, Roughead 2, Birchall, Sewell, Bateman,
Stokes. West Coast - McKinley 3, Davis 2, Armstrong, Lynch Seaby, Embley.
Best : Hawthorn - Lewis, Guerra, Mitchell, Birchall, Rioli, Williams, Sewell. West Coast - Glass, Priddis,
Fletcher, Cox, Mackenzie.
Injuries : Hawthorn – Nil. West Coast – Nil.
Reports – Nil. Umpires - Ryan, Wenn, Armstrong.
Crowd - 37,040 at Subiaco Oval.
threatened as Port Adelaide demolished the hapless Demons by 78 points; a result that for one day only
made Port look like the side that made it through to the grand final and gave some hope to their supporters
after a dismal season, but one that condemned Melbourne to the wooden spoon.
From the outset Port were dominant, leading by 36 points at quarter time. Despite Melbourne holding Port
to just one goal at the last change, the margin was still 45 points and a Power surge in the last quarter
blew the margin out. Daniel Motlop kicked 5 for the Power, while the Burgoyne brothers and Dominic
Cassisi dominated the midfield.
Port Adelaide 6.6 9.10 10.17 18.21 (129)
Melbourne 1.0 2.4 4.8 7.9 (51)
Goals : Port Adelaide - D Motlop 5, J Westhoff 2, M Westhoff 2, Lade 2, P Burgoyne 2, Pearce 2, Rodan,
Cassisi, Boak. Melbourne - Miller 2, Bruce, Bate, Wonaeamirri, Jamar, Newton.
Best : Port Adelaide - P Burgoyne, S Burgoyne, Cassisi, D Motlop, Logan, Brogan, Pearce. Melbourne -
Wheatley, Buckley, McDonald, Garland, Morton.
Injuries : Port Adelaide - Chaplin (knee). Melbourne – Nil.
Reports – Nil. Umpires - Margetts, Head, Keating.
Crowd - 18,875 at AAMI Stadium.
A wildly fluctuating, high-scoring contest at the Gabba saw Carlton come from 32 points down at three-
quarter time to beat Brisbane by 6 points; a result that ends Brisbane’s finals hopes after for so much of
the season it was looking like the Lions’ finals drought would come to and end this year.
Carlton came racing out of the blocks with 7 first quarter goals to lead by 22 points at quarter time and at
half time the Blues led by 18 points. But after the long break it was the Lions who came out swinging,
booting 9 goals to 1 for the quarter to take the lead and have a 32-point advantage at the last change.
Daniel Bradshaw was looking unstoppable, on his way to a 6-goal haul; while Jonathan Brown and Simon
Black were also in impressive form.
But the Lions stopped to a walk in the final term, while Carlton looked fitter and ran out the match, taking
the lead back in the dying minutes to stun the locals with a close-fought 6-point win. While the Lions’
midfield was visibly tired and unable to keep up, Nick Stevens and Chris Judd were racking up
possessions at will. Although Carlton will miss the finals for the 7th straight season, the second half of this
season creates hopes for the Blues that their run of outs should come to an end in 2009.
Carlton 7.2 11.3 12.4 18.7 (115)
Brisbane 3.4 7.9 16.12 16.13 (109)
Goals : Carlton - Cloke 4, Fisher 3, Houlihan 3, Fevola 2, Murphy 2, Waite 2, Stevens, Walker. Brisbane -
Bradshaw 6, Brown 4, Corrie 2, Power 2, Hooper, Rischitelli.
Best : Carlton - Stevens, Judd, Cloke, Murphy, Houlihan. Brisbane - Brennan, Black, Dalziell, Brown,
Bradshaw.
Injuries : Carlton – Nil. Brisbane - Adcock (head), Charman (head).
Reports – Nil. Umpires - Stewart, Meredith, Ryan.
Crowd - 34,327 at the Gabba.
A blistering first quarter from Collingwood ensured the Magpies were never threatened by a disappointing
Sydney in front of a blockbuster crowd at Telstra Dome on Saturday night. The Magpies got off to a flying
start, kicking 5 unanswered goals in the first 12 minutes of the game; and already the contest looked out of
reach. The margin had blown out to 45 points by half time, and when Collingwood kicked the first 3 goals
of the second half the result was not in doubt; and although Sydney won the last quarter the damage was
already done.
Travis Cloke kicked 5 for Collingwood, while Leon Davis accumulated well over 30 possessions in a best-
on-ground performance. The result ensures that Collingwood will be participating in 2008’s finals series.
The Swans had already wrapped up their finals berth; but the Magpies have far superior momentum than
the Swans, who have looked unimpressive in recent weeks. And should Collingwood and Sydney have a
rematch in the finals, it would take a remarkable turnaround in form for the result to be anything other than
a replay of last year’s Elimination Final result.
Collingwood 8.3 11.6 15.8 18.10 (118)
Sydney 2.3 4.3 6.7 10.13 (73)
Goals : Collingwood - T Cloke 5, L Davis 2, J Anthony 2, S O'Bree, P Medhurst, J McCarthy, S Pendlebury, S
Cox, T Goldsack, T Lockyer, D Swan, M Clarke. Sydney - B Hall 3, J Moore 3, D Jolly, P Veszpremi, K Jack, A
Goodes.
Best : Colllingwood - L Davis, D Swan, T Cloke, S Cox, S Pendlebury, H O'Brien, T Goldsack, S O'Bree.
Sydney - J Bolton, B Hall, M Mattner, B Kirk.
Injuries : Collingwood – N Brown (soreness) replaced in selected side by S Cox. Sydney – Nil.
Reports – Nil. Umpires - S Jeffery B Rosebury M Vozzo.
Crowd - 45,570 at Telstra Dome.
The Kangaroos had an opportunity to wrap up a top-4 berth, but despite an 8-goal haul from David Hale
were unable to keep up with a red-hot Geelong outfit at Skilled Stadium.
North made the early front-running, and led by a goal at quarter time, but were powerless to stop the
Geelong juggernaut in the second term as the Cats ran through 7 goals to 2 to set up a 26-point half-time
lead. And although the Kangaroos paced the Cats goal for goal in the second half, the deficit was too much
to overcome and the Cats went on to complete a 33-point victory.
As has been the case through so much of Geelong’s winning streak, their midfield was again dominant.
Jimmy Bartel did his chances of a second Brownlow no harm at all, while Gary Ablett’s hopes of achieving
an individual award his illustrious father never achieved received another boost. Paul Chapman and Jason
Mooney each kicked 4; while for the Kangaroos David Hale played a lone hand with an 8-goal haul to
prevent a blow-out.
The Kangaroos, with this loss, haven’t yet wrapped up a top-4 position; but should still get there as long as
they can defeat struggling Port Adelaide at home next week. Geelong remain top of the table, with only 1
loss for the season; and comparisons with the all-conquering Essendon side of 2000 continue.
Geelong 3.3 10.6 13.10 17.13 (115)
Kangaroos 4.3 6.4 9.4 13.4 (82)
Goals : Geelong - Chapman 4, Mooney 4, Ottens 3, Johnson 2, Ling 2, Lonergan, Rooke. Kangaroos - Hale
8, Thomas 2, Harris, Jones, McIntosh.
Best : Geelong – Bartel, Ling, Corey, Mooney, Ottens, Chapman, Ablett. Kangaroos – Hale, Pratt, Wells,
Firrito.
Injuries : Geelong - Stokes (general soreness) replaced in selected side by Varcoe. Kelly (general
soreness) replaced in selected side by Prismall. Kangaroos - Thompson (ankle) replaced in selected
side by Thompson. Campbell (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Sinclair.
Reports – Nil. Umpires - James, M Nicholls, McInerney.
Crowd - 24,288 at Skilled Stadium.
It may have been winning ugly, and the size of the margin may not have been enough to bridge the
percentage gap between the teams, but St Kilda’s 48-point win over Adelaide was good enough to book
the Saints a berth in this year’s finals campaign.
Trailing by 12 points at quarter time, the Saints took control in the second quarter, a 6 goals to 1 burst
putting them 19 points clear at the long break; and after an even third term the Crows were unable to score
a goal in the last quarter, further extending the margin.
In veteran Robert Harvey’s last home game, the famous number 35 jumper was displayed hanging from
the roof of the Dome; while a guard of honour by many of Harvey’s former team-mates greeted the Saints
as they entered the arena. And Harvey lived up to the occasion, being among the Saints’ best. It was a big
afternoon for the Saints, although the game never reached any great heights. And being half a game
behind 4th placed North Melbourne, and with an inferior percentage to both Collingwood and Adelaide, the
Saints will need a big win over Essendon in the final round and be depending on 3 other results to get the
double chance.
St Kilda 1.4 7.6 9.11 13.17 (95)
Adelaide 3.4 4.5 6.9 6.11 (47)
Goals : St Kilda - Riewoldt 3, Milne 2, Schneider 2, Gardiner, Harvey, Goddard, Hayes, Gram, Goddard.
Adelaide - Thompson 2, Stevens, Knights, Johncock, Douglas.
Best : St Kilda - Montagna, S. Fisher, Harvey, Milne, Hayes, Gram, Riewoldt. Adelaide - McLeod, Bock,
Symes, Edwards.
Injuries : St Kilda - McQualter (stomach virus) replaced in selected side by Birss. Adelaide - Nil
Reports : Adelaide - Knights for head high contact on Birss in the fourth quarter.
Umpires - McBurney, Stevic, Chamberlain
Crowd - 33,811 at Telstra Dome .
Hawthorn were expected to be far too good for West Coast when the Hawks travelled to Subiaco, and that’s
exactly how it turned out as the Hawks cruised to a 71-point victory. The main interest in the game was
whether Lance Franklin would kick his 100th goal for the season, but his 4-goal haul left him 2 short;
leaving the likelihood that Buddy will achieve the milestone in Melbourne in front of a greater contingent of
Hawks fans.
The Hawks led from the outset, and although West Coast were competitive early the margin was 21 points
at the long break. But a 9 goals to 3 third term ended any hope of an Eagle revival and ensured the Hawks
would remain ahead of the Bulldogs in second place. Franklin and Campbell Brown each kicked 4 for the
Hawks, while Ben McKinley contributed 3 for the Eagles; who will miss the finals for only the 5th time in the
club’s illustrious history.
Hawthorn 4.4 7.6 16.10 19.19 (133)
West Coast 1.1 4.3 7.6 9.8 (62)
Goals : Hawthorn - Franklin 4, Brown 4, Williams 3,Young 2, Roughead 2, Birchall, Sewell, Bateman,
Stokes. West Coast - McKinley 3, Davis 2, Armstrong, Lynch Seaby, Embley.
Best : Hawthorn - Lewis, Guerra, Mitchell, Birchall, Rioli, Williams, Sewell. West Coast - Glass, Priddis,
Fletcher, Cox, Mackenzie.
Injuries : Hawthorn – Nil. West Coast – Nil.
Reports – Nil. Umpires - Ryan, Wenn, Armstrong.
Crowd - 37,040 at Subiaco Oval.
The Western Bulldogs had won just 1 of their last 5 games, but in the leadup to the finals regained some of their
form with a 46-point win over Essendon at Telstra Dome.
After an even first quarter, a 7 goals to 2 second term, followed up by a 9 goals to 4 third quarter put the result
beyond doubt. By the last change the margin was out to 57 points; and although Essendon won the last quarter, it
was too little too late for the Bombers. Another disappointing season for Essendon, their 4th in a row in which they
will not participate in the finals, ends next week although the Bombers for significant parts of this match appeared
to have already clocked off for their end of season.
But this was the Bulldogs’ night. Snapping out of some recent poor form, some of their bigger name players
regained their touch. Mitchell Hahn was the dominant force, kicking 6 in a best-on-ground performance, while
Adam Cooney showed himself to be a Brownlow prospect with another strong game and former Brownlow winner
Jason Akermanis was also prominent.
Western Bulldogs 3.3 10.6 19.8 23.13 (151)
Essendon 3.4 5.8 9.11 15.15 (105)
Goals : Bulldogs - Hahn 6, Johnson 4, Akermanis 4, Minson 2, Welsh 2, Harbrow, Eagleton, Murphy, Cooney,
Boyd. Essendon - Lloyd 4, Michael 2, Stanton 2, McVeigh, Lonergan, Monfries, Lovett-Murray, McPhee, Nash,
Dyson
Best : Bulldogs - Hahn, Cooney, Lake, Minson, Cross, Giansiracusa, Akermanis. Essendon - Stanton, Lloyd,
McVeigh, Johnson, Monfries.
Injuries : Bulldogs - Gilbee (flu) replaced in selected side by Everitt, Ray (flu) replaced in selected side by Higgins.
Essendon - Welsh (hamstring), Watson (ankle).
Reports – Nil. Umpires - Donlon, McLaren, Hendrie.
Crowd - 37,294 at Telstra Dome.
Neither Richmond nor Fremantle will participate in this year’s finals, but the Tigers helped to ensure their 2008
campaign would gain some form of momentum to carry into 2009 with a come-from-behind 7 point win over
Fremantle at the MCG.
Making the early front-running, the Dockers led by 12 points at half-time, and by 5 points at the last change. But it
took just seconds in the last quarter for Matthew Richardson to crumb the pack and snap a goal through to put the
Tigers in front. An long bomb to Chris Newman then a lead, mark and goal to Richardson put the Tigers 13 points
clear within 5 minutes of the start of the last quarter; and the Tigers were then able to shut down the remainder of
the game to take out victory. It was the 8th time this season the Dockers have lost a match by a single-figure
margin, the Dockers languishing in the lower reaches of the ladder when they could so easily have been finals
contenders this season.
Richmond 3.6 8.8 11.12 15.15 (105)
Fremantle 5.1 10.3 13.5 15.8 (98)
Goals : Richmond - Morton 3, Richardson 2, Tuck 2, Deledio 2, Jackson, Simmonds, Connors, Foley, Schultz,
Newman. Fremantle - Mark Johnson 3, Murphy 2, Bradley 2, Campbell, Mundy, Palmer, Drum, Headland,
Thornton, Carr, Peake.
Best : Richmond - Tuck, Deledio, Jackson, Edwards, Simmonds, Foley, Connors. Fremantle - Hayden, Palmer,
McPharlin, Duffield, Campbell.
Injuries : Richmond – Nil. Fremantle – Nil.
Reports – Nil. Umpires - Schmitt, Ellis, Mollinson.
Crowd - 24,881 at the MCG.
form with a 46-point win over Essendon at Telstra Dome.
After an even first quarter, a 7 goals to 2 second term, followed up by a 9 goals to 4 third quarter put the result
beyond doubt. By the last change the margin was out to 57 points; and although Essendon won the last quarter, it
was too little too late for the Bombers. Another disappointing season for Essendon, their 4th in a row in which they
will not participate in the finals, ends next week although the Bombers for significant parts of this match appeared
to have already clocked off for their end of season.
But this was the Bulldogs’ night. Snapping out of some recent poor form, some of their bigger name players
regained their touch. Mitchell Hahn was the dominant force, kicking 6 in a best-on-ground performance, while
Adam Cooney showed himself to be a Brownlow prospect with another strong game and former Brownlow winner
Jason Akermanis was also prominent.
Western Bulldogs 3.3 10.6 19.8 23.13 (151)
Essendon 3.4 5.8 9.11 15.15 (105)
Goals : Bulldogs - Hahn 6, Johnson 4, Akermanis 4, Minson 2, Welsh 2, Harbrow, Eagleton, Murphy, Cooney,
Boyd. Essendon - Lloyd 4, Michael 2, Stanton 2, McVeigh, Lonergan, Monfries, Lovett-Murray, McPhee, Nash,
Dyson
Best : Bulldogs - Hahn, Cooney, Lake, Minson, Cross, Giansiracusa, Akermanis. Essendon - Stanton, Lloyd,
McVeigh, Johnson, Monfries.
Injuries : Bulldogs - Gilbee (flu) replaced in selected side by Everitt, Ray (flu) replaced in selected side by Higgins.
Essendon - Welsh (hamstring), Watson (ankle).
Reports – Nil. Umpires - Donlon, McLaren, Hendrie.
Crowd - 37,294 at Telstra Dome.
Neither Richmond nor Fremantle will participate in this year’s finals, but the Tigers helped to ensure their 2008
campaign would gain some form of momentum to carry into 2009 with a come-from-behind 7 point win over
Fremantle at the MCG.
Making the early front-running, the Dockers led by 12 points at half-time, and by 5 points at the last change. But it
took just seconds in the last quarter for Matthew Richardson to crumb the pack and snap a goal through to put the
Tigers in front. An long bomb to Chris Newman then a lead, mark and goal to Richardson put the Tigers 13 points
clear within 5 minutes of the start of the last quarter; and the Tigers were then able to shut down the remainder of
the game to take out victory. It was the 8th time this season the Dockers have lost a match by a single-figure
margin, the Dockers languishing in the lower reaches of the ladder when they could so easily have been finals
contenders this season.
Richmond 3.6 8.8 11.12 15.15 (105)
Fremantle 5.1 10.3 13.5 15.8 (98)
Goals : Richmond - Morton 3, Richardson 2, Tuck 2, Deledio 2, Jackson, Simmonds, Connors, Foley, Schultz,
Newman. Fremantle - Mark Johnson 3, Murphy 2, Bradley 2, Campbell, Mundy, Palmer, Drum, Headland,
Thornton, Carr, Peake.
Best : Richmond - Tuck, Deledio, Jackson, Edwards, Simmonds, Foley, Connors. Fremantle - Hayden, Palmer,
McPharlin, Duffield, Campbell.
Injuries : Richmond – Nil. Fremantle – Nil.
Reports – Nil. Umpires - Schmitt, Ellis, Mollinson.
Crowd - 24,881 at the MCG.
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