By David Wiseman
July 6th 2009 @ 8:16am
Related coverage
AFL round 14 musings
Jimmy Bartel of Geelong marks ahead of Adam Schneider of St Kilda during the AFL Round 14 match between the St Kilda Saints and the Geelong Cats at the Docklands Stadium. Slattery Images
Wow – that was some game between Geelong and St Kilda. Both combined to produce a truly special match of football and one can only look forward with heightened anticipation to a premiership decider between the two. These two teams are on a different level to the other 14 sides.
Being undefeated
As I mentioned in a previous piece, I don’t think Geelong will be too upset about losing this game. They played well, gave it their all and only missed out on four points that they don’t need. It is St Kilda and not them who will now dominate the spotlight and this will suit the Cats just fine.
After what they went through last year, Geelong appreciates better than anyone that ultimately there is only one match which counts and it isn’t in Round 14.
Still a happy team?
Hawthorn is having quite the Premiership hangover. Just when you think they’ve hit their nadir, they plummet to new depths. How about being on the receiving end of a nine goal to zero opening quarter? A goal-less first half?
Hawthorn may have peaked too early last year but they weren’t meant to be playing like this, this year.
More and more, Hawthorn are looking like a team who just happened to be the best team on the day. Ultimately you can’t ask for anything else more than that, but premature success can sometimes come at the expense of sustained long term success.
Still a long way to go
As exciting as the Anzac Day win was, Essendon fans won’t be happy with their side’s capitulation on Friday night. The Bombers were woeful and ended any hopes that they would do anything of note in 2009.
They are a good team but struggle against the better ones. It has been an up and down season for the Magpies but they now sit in fourth spot and might be able to achieve in September what Essendon seems incapable of.
Doing it for Jim
After a emotionally draining week on top of a difficult year, it was nice to see the Demons win. Jim Stynes means everything to the club, so it was great that they were able to win this week for him.
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onside said | July 6th 2009 @ 6:57am | Report comment
Would playing outdoors in the elements be more of a benifit to Geelong or St Kilda
Redb said | July 6th 2009 @ 8:28am | Report comment
Classic game between Geelong and St Kilda – one of the best I’ve ever seen. Incredible game. Superlatives exhausted.
You won’t beat that game in any code this year or next.
Redb
Michael C said | July 6th 2009 @ 9:15am | Report comment
An absolute pleasure to look forward to a game like that on a Sunday arvo, live, chips and beer (well, a left over bourbon and coke in the fridge!!)….
The intensity of footy at it’s peak like that sits the game very, very comfortably in comparison to the best of any other sport/code around the world. But – in reality, who gives a toss what anyone else thinks………well……okay, after we saw Tom Cruise at the footy on Friday night and a couple of NFL stars interviewed on the boundary before the game yesterday………perhaps we do care what they make of it.
Searly said | July 6th 2009 @ 11:14am | Report comment
I agree with the comments about this match being one of the best ever. In many ways I reckon the Cats showed just why they should remain Premiership favourites. When they exert their will on a match, they are almost irrepressible and I can’t imagine they’ll go down five goals to zip within the first quarter again any time soon. After that, they were the better side and but for the lack of a dominant forward they would have won (their faith in Tom Hawkins has been admirable, but is by now surely misplaced and untenable).
But, the main thing I reckon which made it such a good match was the fact that both sides were unwilling to play a loose man in defence. It was hard one-on-one footy all over the ground played out by two teams at the height of their powers. It’s what makes AFL footy the unparalleled spectacle it can be!
Michael C said | July 6th 2009 @ 11:19am | Report comment
onside -
probably St.Kilda is seen more of a Docklands ’specialist’ side, it is after all their home ground and they are almost unbeatable there. So – you’d think, it’d be in Geelongs benefit to get to the ‘G.
Just how much of a factor that is – that’s another question.
Depends too, I guess on the match ups on the day and the kind of ‘elements’ thrown at the game.
Redb said | July 6th 2009 @ 11:28am | Report comment
Searly,
Geelong defintely got on top in the midfield with Selwood and Bartel playing great games it was only the Cats lack of a genuine forward option and St Kilda’s great defence that thwarted them from winning. Throw Steve Johnson back into the Cat’s forward line and the result may well be very different next time.
People shouldn’t underestimate the Western Buldogs either – they’re capable of playing at this level.
Redb
Searly said | July 6th 2009 @ 11:38am | Report comment
I’m hoping you can throw the Pies into that mix too Redb, after they knock the Doggies off this Friday night!
Redb said | July 6th 2009 @ 11:40am | Report comment
Searly,
Big test for Collingwood this week, I’m not sure they can play four quarters of unrelenting football. Should be a cracker of a game though.
Redb
Searly said | July 6th 2009 @ 11:46am | Report comment
Yeah, you might be right Redb, but with the inevitable momentum flows in modern day footy, a big key to success is about limiting the opposition when they have the running. Something your Bombers helped us out with last Friday in the first term…..
I also think that Collingwood has shown its ability to kick big scores in a rush the past few weeks, which is also a key in that you can make the absolute most of your own momentum.
Mind you, the Dogs didn’t have too many dramas piling on the points against the hapless Hawks in the first terms the other day either. How bad are Hawthorn?!
Art Sapphire said | July 6th 2009 @ 12:03pm | Report comment
Hang on David, as a Bombers fan I am far from unhappy with my teams performance on Friday.
We are a young side and young sides are inconsistent.
We had only 5 players with over 100 games (3 of those over 250 games) compared to the Pies 10 and we desperately needed Watson and McVeigh to compete against their midfield. I expected us to lose to an inform magpies team.
The team has played according to expectations and with an injury free run next season we might be able to make a tilt for 4th to 6th spot and hopefully a premiership tilt in 2011 and 2012.
Searly said | July 6th 2009 @ 12:42pm | Report comment
Hey Art, I have to say that as a Magpies fan I was quite pleased with your team’s performance last Friday night as well! I hope the Bombers and Pies can keep up this pleasant arrangement where everyone goes home happy with a 35 point Magpie win for many years to come! (Just kidding mate….)
Your point is fair though. They’ve in many ways outdone expectations this year and will be a good side as long as they can find decent replacements for Lucas and Lloyd in the next season or so.
Redb said | July 6th 2009 @ 12:56pm | Report comment
Searly,
I’ll happily settle for one game apeice from now on if we keep getting the classic beating you in the last ten seconds by 5 points every year. It’s especially enjoyable watching the Pies fans bleat about the umpires, how they woz robbed, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory – give me that every year and I’ll be happy.
Watson and McVeigh were out, they would be 2 of our top 5 players – that hurt us, but I don’t think we play 4 quarters either yet. The maggies would still have won but perhaps a lot closer. Frankly, the 35 points flattered us.
I think both Essendon and Collingwood are above my expectations this year.
Redb
Brian said | July 6th 2009 @ 1:12pm | Report comment
It was fun to watch but even as a nuetral I couldn’t help but remember that the result was meaningless, and will have little effect on the result in September. Last year Geelong beat Hawthorn without several players and it did them little good on GF day. Calling them the best two sides by a long way is dangerous, last year everyone thought Geelong was a shoe-in and no-one thought Hawks would miss the eight this year. I give the Bulldogs every chance this year, maybe even Collingwood.
Bruce Walkley said | July 6th 2009 @ 6:08pm | Report comment
The Doggies will beat either the Saints or the Cats in the pre-finals and lose to the other in the GF, then win the flag next year with Big Bad Bazza up front.
onside said | July 6th 2009 @ 7:06pm | Report comment
Bazza and Akka,now theres a couple of promotional gems.
onside said | July 6th 2009 @ 7:25pm | Report comment
Michael C
thanks for the response.I hate closed stadiums in OK weather. There’s no need really.
Ten minutes to go in the first quarter; the umpire throws the ball up instead of bouncing.
It’s a dud track ,but nobody can say that.
I thought the game was nowhere near the ‘one of the all time greats’ that eveybody else
seems to think it was. Plenty of good stuff and all that, amplified by a close score line.
But much of the play inclose was scrappy,scambly,many attempted handballs in a row.
As a spectical featuring great skills it fell short.Not excitement ,nor tension,but precision.
Michael C said | July 6th 2009 @ 9:42pm | Report comment
onside – (Sunday in Melbourne was showery, it seemed appropriate for the roof to be closed – - reality though is that the days at that venue that MOSt require the roof closed are the bright sunny days – - the ground doesn’t do sunny good!!! Too much contrast of super bright and super dark.
re the game – I’d disagree with you there……
the game was a super contest. The intensity was at a super high level – and sustained at that level for immense periods of time.
Niether side went for playing loose men in the backline – - i.e. that flooding soccer style stuff that just annoys AFL fans.
scrappy and scrambly at times, but, Geelong have an almost instinctive play on game style and a great capacity to cut through the opposition via handballs to advantage – - the StKilda pressure and intensity was closing in on Geelonng.
The close scoreline – - well, except that StKilda jumped out to a 5 goal lead – seeing a scoreline of 31 to 1 point with Geelong looking very uncertain – - and then, they slowly started to ‘revive’ but every time they crept back St.Kilda found sufficient answers only to see scores level with 2 mins to go and all that battleground hand to hand combat of 2 hours suddenly on the line – - waiting perhaps for that one heroic or selfless act….and such was delivered.
If you want to see people running around with flawless skills – - then, you gotta watch training……there were great skills, and there were turn overs, there were those who whilst fatigued like never before were able to rise and rise again to execute well, and there were others who were ‘found out’. If you’re looking for Harlem Globetrotters type stuff – then watch the Big V vs Allstars game last year – -it was a nice neat example of highly skilled, clean, precise footy – - – but, not the tension and intensity and crowd engagement of Sunday arvo……did you happen to listen to the crowd?? It was constant – - – not contrived chanting of practised ditties from a song book – - it was people roaring themselves hoarse with ever fumble, every tackle, every clear possession, every thrust and parry.
btw – perhaps elements of the ’scramble’ were most due to the umpires putting away their whistles (and perhasp too much at times). However, where possible, it’s great to let the players ’sort it out’.
Redb said | July 7th 2009 @ 11:10am | Report comment
onside,
The ball is ok to be tapped forward in AFL, much of the time the player in front only takes clean possession if he can avoid being pinged for holding the ball.
A rugby code mindset of absolute ball security is not the way to view AFL footy. It is different it is about a constant ball contest.
Geel v St Kilda was a hot contest it would have been 100% better live at the ground where the panorama of the game opens up.
I went to the Essendon v Carlton game at the MCG and then watched the replay at home
, the gap in spectacle is marked, thus your comments ring true as a non dyed in the wool AFL fan and that’s fair enough.
Redb
onside said | July 7th 2009 @ 1:50pm | Report comment
Michael C and Redb,
Fair enough. I watched the game on TV, and as we all know , AFL is about the only football code in the
world that is better live.The crowd noise on TV was loud.So it must have been deafening at the ground
Michael C said | July 7th 2009 @ 2:53pm | Report comment
onside -
re the crowd noise – - yeah, it must’ve been brilliant with the roof closed, the commentators were commenting on it – - obviously they’ve been to mostly full houses before and to full houses at the ‘G – - but, it really seems as though everyone brought their ‘yelling voice’ along on Sunday.
The big thing about the AFL crowd noise compared to Rugby is generally around the fact that there is so much contested/neutral ball. I’ve noted before at live NRL matches that the closest the RL crowd gets is when A. a player breaks the lines and might be headed for the end line (2 groups of supporters calling either ‘Go, go, go!!’ or ‘Get ‘im’, or even ‘forward pass!!!’), and B. a fumbled ball (one group calling ‘Knock on’ and the other either bemoaning or claiming it was fair).
And for soccer at the ‘dome – they’ve had 50K a couple of times for finals, and for a H&A game I went to that was a very, very dull nil all draw that entirely wasted a crowd – but, main point is, the 2 GFs in the HAL were about 97% attended by people cheering for MVFC – so, a massive roar now and then with a goal but, – you don’t get that same crowd noise dynamic of the ‘competing’ sets of supporters on Sunday – - with such constant intensity and action……..alas, we North Melb supporters look on with envy!!!