St Kilda Extend Dominance Over Carlton
MELBOURNE—St Kilda continued their dominance of Carlton with a nine-point win at Etihad Stadium on Friday night, which earned them a 12th straight win and a confirmed place in the AFL finals.
Saints captain Nick Riewoldt again tormented the Blues, with five goals and a hand in several others, and stamped his influence on the contest with three majors in the first quarter.
He and the Saints' usual suspects, midfielders Nick Dal Santo, Lenny Hayes, Leigh Montagna and Jason Gram, were instrumental in the 16.8 (104) to 14.11 (95) victory, St Kilda's 12th in succession over Carlton since 2001.
They didn't have everything their own way, as Carlton kept climbing off the canvas, but the Saints' latest victory means they are in the extraordinary position of entering the mid-season break with a finals berth stitched up.
The rest will be welcome though, as St Kilda did not secure the win until defender Zac Dawson marked alone in attack and threaded the sealer in the dying stages.
Until then, the Blues had threatened even with Chris Judd down on impact and luck, and Brendan Fevola kept to two goals.
Judd was quiet early but rose in the second half, but had his comeback impeded by continually having to leave the ground to have patch-up work done on a bloodied nose.
Fevola was goalless until late in the third quarter, but benefited from an interchange infringement against St Kilda's Luke Ball, which gifted the Blues spearhead possession, a 50-metre penalty and an easy goal.
That major left the Blues 13 points down at the final change, but Fevola brought the margin to within four points 20 minutes into the last quarter with his second major.
But Montagna booted a great goal on the run, before Dawson cancelled out a major from Carlton's Setanta O'hAilpin, which had again reduced the margin to under a goal.
Riewoldt's early presence helped St Kilda land the first five of the goals, which gave them a 32-point lead in the second quarter.
But Carlton, inspired by Kade Simpson, Nick Stevens, Andrew Carrazzo and Marc Murphy, whittled down the lead and got within three points by half-time.
The Saints again broke clear in the third quarter and shot to a 24-point lead with a series of long goals, two of them to Riewoldt from outside 50 metres.
Carlton kept coming and although gallant, will be looking over their shoulder for the rest of the split round 12, as they could lose their spot in the top four, as defeat left them with a 6-6 win-loss record.
The Blues missed defender Bret Thornton, as he would have been a logical opponent for Riewoldt, who polled Brownlow Medal votes in four of his past eight games against Carlton and probably extended that run.
Brown Stars as Lions Storm Home Against Hawks
MELBOURNE—A magnificent second half from Brisbane captain Jonathan Brown helped the undermanned Lions notch a comeback upset AFL win over Hawthorn at Launceston's Aurora Stadium on Sunday.
Brown scored five majors, the first of which did not come until close to halftime to lead his side to the 13.15 (93) to 7.9 (51) victory.
The Lions were hurt by poor kicking in the first half and trailed the Hawks 6.5 (41) to 3.9 (27) at the long break.
They were still 11 points down 16 minutes into the third term, when ruckman Mitch Clark left the ground to be treated for a leg muscle injury.
It seemed a major blow, with fellow ruckmen Matthew Leuenberger and Jamie Charman already out of the side injured.
But athletic utility Jared Brennan stepped into the ruck and helped spark the comeback with some fine work in the centre of the ground.
With the Lions on top in the midfield, helped by a strong game from veteran Simon Black, star forward Brown put his side in the lead with two superb pieces of play to score goals.
The first was a brilliant solo effort, when he contested a ball-up about 20m out, scooped the ball out of the air, spun onto his left foot and snapped truly to cut the margin to five points.
Less than three minutes later, Brown used his body to shove aside opponent Luke Hodge and mark 25m out.
It came after Hawks' teammates Tom Murphy and Xavier Ellis spoiled each other in an attempt to mark at half-back, allowing the Lions to swoop.
Brown's resultant goal put his side in front for the first time since time-on in the first quarter.
Two minutes later, he was involved again, winning a ruck tap into space in the Lions' attack, Michael Rischitelli running onto it and dishing a quick handball to Justin Sherman, who finished with a clever rolling snap.
Coming home with a stiff breeze, Brisbane piled on six unanswered goals in the last term, including two more to Brown, to give them the last nine goals of the match.
Earlier Brisbane, who lost Troy Selwood to a dislocated shoulder midway through the first quarter, struggled to capitalise when they went into attack.
Key forwards Brown and Bradshaw were kept in check, with Hodge working well to support key defenders Robert Campbell and Campbell Brown, the Lions' forwards not helped by some poor delivery.
While Hawthorn also started in scrappy fashion, they built a lead with three quick goals to Mark Williams either side of the quarter-time break.
The two at the end of the first term came courtesy of pin-point passes from Michael Osborne and Stuart Dew respectively, while Sam Mitchell provided the set-up for Williams' third early in the second term.
Key forward Lance Franklin added another after marking on the lead to put Hawthorn 16 points up nine minutes into the third term.
At that stage the Hawks looked more efficient and more likely to win, before Brisbane's midfield edge and Brown's second half heroics turned the tide.
Bulldogs Tear Power Apart
DARWIN—The Western Bulldogs dismantled Port Adelaide by 93 points at Darwin's TIO Stadium on Saturday night to consolidate third spot on the AFL ladder.
The Bulldogs overwhelmed the Power in the second half to win 21.11 (137) to 7.2 (44) in hot and humid conditions.
They have now won five of their past six matches and only lost to Geelong by two points, to show they are the main challengers to the unbeaten Cats and St Kilda.
The Bulldogs incredibly had 131 more possessions than Port Adelaide, who simply did not work hard enough.
Bulldogs defender Ryan Hargrave and midfielders Adam Cooney and Daniel Cross were best, while ruckman Will Minson had a career-high 23 possessions and was among three players who kicked three goals.
It was easily the Bulldogs' biggest winning margin this season.
Coach Rodney Eade had described this as a classic eight-point game ahead of the mid-year break, pointing out a loss would have put them back in the mid-ladder logjam.
The win meant they went two games clear of Port, who before this match were among six teams sharing fourth place.
While the Bulldogs dominated, the dismal night continued Port's alarming inconsistency so far this season.
While they have six wins, Port's average losing margin this season is well over 40 points.
The Bulldogs set up the easy win with some superb work from their defence.
Apart from Hargrave's great game, Liam Picken shut out Danyle Pearce and Jarrod Harbrow and Dale Morris were also solid.
The Bulldogs led from the start and kicked 13 goals to three in the second half.
Mitch Hahn and Matthew Boyd kicked booming goals on the run from outside 50m in the third quarter.
But the best goal of the night came from Port Adelaide's David Rodan, at 21 minutes into the second term.
A perfect tap from ruckman Dean Brogan in the middle of the ground set up Rodan, who broke clear and brilliantly sidestepped an opponent before goalling on the run.
That reduced the margin to only 22 points and came in a rare period during the match where Port were restricting the Bulldogs.
Minson goalled just before halftime to take the margin again out to 28 points.
The Bulldogs welcomed back forwards Robert Murphy and Scott Welsh and they came through the game with no apparent trouble.
Murphy surprisingly played in defence on his return from a hamstring injury.
In a forgettable game for the Power, Rodan worked hard, Kane Cornes had 34 disposals and defender Toby Thurstans was also prominent.
AFL Results and Standings-Round 12
ST KILDA 7.2 9.5 13.7 16.8 (104)
CARLTON 3.2 9.2 11.6 14.11 (95)
Goals: St Kilda: N Riewoldt 5 A Schneider 2 J Gram 2 A McQualter B Goddard J Koschitzke L Montagna N Dal Santo S Milne Z Dawson. Carlton: B Fevola 2 E Betts 2 J Bannister 2 M Murphy 2 A Carrazzo J Garlett K Simpson S Grigg S Hampson S O'hAilpin.
Best: St Kilda: N Riewoldt N Dal Santo L Hayes M Hudghton J Gram B Goddard L Montagna. Carlton: K Simpson A Carrazzo M Jamison M Murphy S Grigg D Armfield N Stevens.
Injuries: St Kilda: Nil. Carlton: C Judd (broken nose) B Thornton (hamstring) replaced in the selected side by M Austin.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Michael Vozzo, Troy Pannell, Stephen McBurney.
Official Crowd: 50,820 at Etihad Stadium.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 4.2 8.5 13.9 21.11 (137)
PORT ADELAIDE 1.1 4.1 5.2 7.2 (44)
Goals: Western Bulldogs: B Johnson 3 J Hill 3 W Minson 3 D Giansiracusa 2 M Hahn 2 B Hudson C Ward J Akermanis L Gilbee L Picken M Boyd R Griffen S Higgins. Port Adelaide: B Ebert 2 D Cassisi D Motlop D Rodan J Westhoff W Tredrea.
Best: Western Bulldogs: R Hargrave D Cross W Minson A Cooney C Ward L Picken J Harbrow D Morris. Port Adelaide: T Thurstans K Cornes D Rodan.
Injuries: Western Bulldogs: Nil. Port Adelaide: D Motlop (ankle).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Stuart Wenn, Craig Hendrie, Matt Stevic.
Official Crowd: 11,306 at TIO Stadium.
RICHMOND 5.6 8.8 10.12 13.14 (92)
WEST COAST 2.0 6.2 9.7 11.11 (77)
Goals: Richmond: M Morton 5 S Edwards 2 T Hislop 2 A Graham B Deledio J Riewoldt T Vickery. West Coast: J Kennedy 4 M LeCras 3 A Selwood M Brown M Priddis M Rosa.
Best: Richmond: R Tambling M Morton N Foley B Cousins D Jackson R Nahas S Tuck. West Coast: M Priddis D Wirrpanda C Masten J Kennedy D Glass S Hurn.
Injuries: Nil.
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: Scott Jeffery, Mathew Nicholls, Dean Margetts.
Official Crowd: 30,197 at Etihad Stadium.
BRISBANE 2.4 3.9 7.13 13.15 (93)
HAWTHORN 3.3 6.5 7.7 7.9 (51)
Goals: Brisbane: J Brown 5 J Sherman 2 C Stiller D Rich M Clark M Rischitelli R Hooper T Notting. Hawthorn: M Williams 3 B Sewell J Roughead L Franklin S Dew.
Best: Brisbane: J Brown S Black J Brennan J Sherman L Power J Roe. Hawthorn: S Mitchell J Lewis C Brown L Hodge B Sewell X Ellis.
Umpires: Chris Donlon, Justin Schmitt, Hayden Kennedy.
Official Crowd: 16,710 at Aurora Stadium.
ADELAIDE 2.4 3.6 5.9 9.14 (68)
NORTH MELBOURNE 0.0 1.2 2.5 3.6 (24)
Goals: Adelaide: J Porplyzia 3 B Vince C Knights K Tippett N Bock T Edwards T Walker. North Melbourne: A Edwards C Jones L Thomas.
Best: Adelaide: S Thompson N Bock J Porplyzia M Doughty B Symes K Tippett A Otten D Mackay. North Melbourne: S Thompson B Rawlings N Grima H McIntosh.
Umpires: Shaun Ryan, Michael Avon, Sam Hay.
Official Crowd: 30,173 at AAMI Stadium.
AFL Ladder P W L D For Agst PC Pts
- St Kilda 12 12 - - 1264 728 173.6% 48
- *Geelong 11 11 - - 1293 845 153.0% 44
- Western Bulldogs 12 8 4 - 1343 1084 123.9% 32
- Brisbane 12 7 5 - 1107 1051 105.3% 28
- Adelaide 12 7 5 - 1056 1054 100.2 28
- Carlton 12 6 6 - 1246 1088 114.5% 24
- *Collingwood 11 6 5 - 1024 951 107.7% 24
- Hawthorn 12 6 6 - 1085 1143 94.9% 24
- Port Adelaide 12 6 6 - 1089 1215 89.6% 24
- *Sydney 11 5 6 - 999 1036 96.4% 20
- *Essendon 11 5 6 - 1005 1069 94.0% 20
- North Melbourne 12 4 8 - 871 1142 76.3 16
- West Coast 12 3 9 - 1002 1153 86.9% 12
- *Fremantle 11 3 8 - 901 1130 79.7% 12
- Richmond 12 3 9 - 1027 1287 79.8% 12
- *Melbourne 11 1 10 - 800 1136 70.4% 4
*(denotes teams yet to play)
LEADING GOALKICKERS
41: B Fevola (Carlton) 2
40: J Brown (Brisbane) 5, N Riewoldt (St Kilda) 5
38: L Franklin (Hawthorn) 1
35: J Roughead (Hawthorn) 1
33: S Johnson (Geelong) 0
32: W Tredrea (Pt Adel) 1
30: M LeCras (West Coast) 3, D Bradshaw (Brisbane) 0
28: J Koschitzke (St Kilda) 1
27: E Betts (Carlton) 2, J Anthony (C'wood) 0
25: B Hall (Sydney) 0
