Murray MiddletonRound Sixteen
July 20th 2008 11:26
1. Bowden cool under pressure
With one minute remaining in Saturday’s match Richmond led by one goal. Joel Bowden ‘milked’ the clock by kicking the football to himself and remaining stationary in the goal square. The tactic caused valuable seconds to tick away, which ensured that the Tigers remained a slim chance of making the top eight. The tactic has generated much debate. Sydney coach Paul Roos appluded Bowden for his leadership and experience. Bombers player Mark McVeigh disliked the tactic and compelled the league to implement the ‘three point’ rule for rushed behinds that has been trialled in the NAB Cup.
Bowden returned to the field with three minutes remaining. This meant that he was able to make a good estimate of how much time was remining when he began to ‘milk’ the clock. If he had kicked the ball back into play, he risked the possibility of an Essendon player marking and kicking the winning goal. It was an audacous, yet intelligent decision to hold on to the ball. Terry Wallace would have been proud of his most experienced defender. What McVeigh failed to acknowledge in his criticism of Bowden was that Essendon had only themselves to blame for being in that situation.
Joel Bowden was probably the only Richmond player capable of holding his nerve under such circumstances. He ought to be applauded. The tactic showed the advantage of having an experienced player on the last line of defence. Bowden was dropped earlier this season and spent one month in the reserves. Many experts thought that his career might have been over. He has played quite well since returning to the seniors and – on the back of Saturday’s masterstroke - deserves one more year on the list.
2. Dogs mauled by cats
Following the weekend’s matches Geelong is the clear favourite for the premiership. Without Ling, Ablett and Wojcinski the Cats destroyed the Western Bulldogs. At half time the scores were level. Geelong’s midfield got on top in the second half. There seemed to be a gulf in class between the respective sides. Matthew Scarlett and Darren Milburn both had over 30 disposals. Cameron Mooney and Steve Johnson had superb games up forward. All four players have delivered in the past eighteen months in the crunch games.
The Bulldog’s mid-range forward such as Murphy, Hahn and Welsh had little impact on the game. It underlined the strength of the Cat’s defence. On a bigger ground, such as the MCG, there might be more room for these forwards to operate in. This could allow Hahn and Murphy to exploit the leg speed that they have over Harley and Milburn. But then again, Geelong might also have the best player in the competition available come finals time. And they might be able to place the competition’s best tagger on Adam Cooney.
It will be interesting to see the way that Geelong operate at the selection table for the remainder of the season. Tom Lonegan struggled on Saturday in a pressure match. He had kicked eight goals in the previous two weeks, but still hasn’t cemented his position in the team. Tom Hawkins will miss the next two to three weeks with a foot injury. If Lonegan fails to perform over this period, the coaching staff might be tempted to try Hawkins, who might be better suited to the physical nature of finals football. It will also be interesting to see if David Wojcinski can regain his position in the team. While he has pace to burn, the Cats defence looked solid without him. Prismall played a serviceable match against the Bulldogs. Depending on the balance of the team, Prismall may be able to keep Wojcinski out. Come season’s end, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Wojcinski traded, considering the emphasis on leg speed in the modern game.
3. Kangaroos beat 'traditional' magpies
On Friday night North Melborne underlined their fighting spirit by running over the top of Collingwood. The Kangaroos were forced to play in their away strip to avoid a jumper clash. The only problem was that it was North’s home match. Any person with a sense of deceny would acknowledge that Collingwood ought to have been the team to play in their away jumper. The problem is: they don’t have one. North Melbourne wore their proper jumper in the pre-game warm-up. Although the club has not admitted it yet, the move marked a clear protest.
The only reason Collingwood does not have an away strip is because their president – Eddie MaGuire – does not believe they should wear one. He believes that it would be in breach of the club’s proud tradition. Essentially one man is standing in the way of common sense prevailing. The onus is on AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou and his partner-in-crime Adrian Anderson to put an end to this ridiculous situation. There cannot be one set of rules for one club and a different one for the rest. The only way forward is to fine the Magpies for their continued opposition to wearing an away strip. The only language Eddie MaGuire understands is money.
On Sunday Melbourne wore a repulsive jumper in their loss to the Dockers. It was the ugliest jumper since the Dockers wore their green and purple number in their inaugural season. However it was easy for spectators and officials to tell players apart, which surely ought to take precedence. It is strange that MaGuire has used the ‘tradition’ argument. If he was so concerned with tradition, why did he move his beloved Magpies away from their Victoria Park headquarters? The argument over away jumpers seems to be more about MaGuire underlining his public standing than anything else.
4. Shock result?
And in a shock to the entire nation, the West Coast Eagles lost.
With one minute remaining in Saturday’s match Richmond led by one goal. Joel Bowden ‘milked’ the clock by kicking the football to himself and remaining stationary in the goal square. The tactic caused valuable seconds to tick away, which ensured that the Tigers remained a slim chance of making the top eight. The tactic has generated much debate. Sydney coach Paul Roos appluded Bowden for his leadership and experience. Bombers player Mark McVeigh disliked the tactic and compelled the league to implement the ‘three point’ rule for rushed behinds that has been trialled in the NAB Cup.
Bowden returned to the field with three minutes remaining. This meant that he was able to make a good estimate of how much time was remining when he began to ‘milk’ the clock. If he had kicked the ball back into play, he risked the possibility of an Essendon player marking and kicking the winning goal. It was an audacous, yet intelligent decision to hold on to the ball. Terry Wallace would have been proud of his most experienced defender. What McVeigh failed to acknowledge in his criticism of Bowden was that Essendon had only themselves to blame for being in that situation.
Joel Bowden was probably the only Richmond player capable of holding his nerve under such circumstances. He ought to be applauded. The tactic showed the advantage of having an experienced player on the last line of defence. Bowden was dropped earlier this season and spent one month in the reserves. Many experts thought that his career might have been over. He has played quite well since returning to the seniors and – on the back of Saturday’s masterstroke - deserves one more year on the list.
2. Dogs mauled by cats
The Bulldog’s mid-range forward such as Murphy, Hahn and Welsh had little impact on the game. It underlined the strength of the Cat’s defence. On a bigger ground, such as the MCG, there might be more room for these forwards to operate in. This could allow Hahn and Murphy to exploit the leg speed that they have over Harley and Milburn. But then again, Geelong might also have the best player in the competition available come finals time. And they might be able to place the competition’s best tagger on Adam Cooney.
It will be interesting to see the way that Geelong operate at the selection table for the remainder of the season. Tom Lonegan struggled on Saturday in a pressure match. He had kicked eight goals in the previous two weeks, but still hasn’t cemented his position in the team. Tom Hawkins will miss the next two to three weeks with a foot injury. If Lonegan fails to perform over this period, the coaching staff might be tempted to try Hawkins, who might be better suited to the physical nature of finals football. It will also be interesting to see if David Wojcinski can regain his position in the team. While he has pace to burn, the Cats defence looked solid without him. Prismall played a serviceable match against the Bulldogs. Depending on the balance of the team, Prismall may be able to keep Wojcinski out. Come season’s end, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Wojcinski traded, considering the emphasis on leg speed in the modern game.
3. Kangaroos beat 'traditional' magpies
On Friday night North Melborne underlined their fighting spirit by running over the top of Collingwood. The Kangaroos were forced to play in their away strip to avoid a jumper clash. The only problem was that it was North’s home match. Any person with a sense of deceny would acknowledge that Collingwood ought to have been the team to play in their away jumper. The problem is: they don’t have one. North Melbourne wore their proper jumper in the pre-game warm-up. Although the club has not admitted it yet, the move marked a clear protest.
The only reason Collingwood does not have an away strip is because their president – Eddie MaGuire – does not believe they should wear one. He believes that it would be in breach of the club’s proud tradition. Essentially one man is standing in the way of common sense prevailing. The onus is on AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou and his partner-in-crime Adrian Anderson to put an end to this ridiculous situation. There cannot be one set of rules for one club and a different one for the rest. The only way forward is to fine the Magpies for their continued opposition to wearing an away strip. The only language Eddie MaGuire understands is money.
On Sunday Melbourne wore a repulsive jumper in their loss to the Dockers. It was the ugliest jumper since the Dockers wore their green and purple number in their inaugural season. However it was easy for spectators and officials to tell players apart, which surely ought to take precedence. It is strange that MaGuire has used the ‘tradition’ argument. If he was so concerned with tradition, why did he move his beloved Magpies away from their Victoria Park headquarters? The argument over away jumpers seems to be more about MaGuire underlining his public standing than anything else.
4. Shock result?
And in a shock to the entire nation, the West Coast Eagles lost.
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Comment by Jeff Farmer
Maybe it's because they suck.