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2007 Round 8 Post-game Articles - Hawthorn versus St Kilda
A frustrating game to play in: Harvey . . . "It was one of those games with a lot of numbers back and not much scoring because it was pretty hard to find a free forward. It was just a bit of an arm-wrestle and in the end they were just a bit stronger," he said. "There were a lot of mistakes and it was an ugly game, but it was one we really wanted to win. It's just disappointing that we couldn't hang with them in the end. We didn't take our chances well enough and just really badly used the footy going forward. I think we just weren't smart enough with the ball in the second and third quarters and in the end we tried to go one-on-one late and we got opened up a bit" . . . (On injuries) "It's not ideal, but it's the story of our year really," Harvey said of the late changes on game day. "It seems to be the guys who are playing well who get injured and the fact that it was two of our quicker guys as well doesn't help. One's a really quick small forward and the other a quick back, so it just takes a bit of run out of the side. But we had some young guys playing their first game and that's great for the club and great for them." The Article Jason Phelan/saints.com.au/20May07 Playing footy like chess is a bored game . . . The responsibility of coaching the teams that compete in that environment must be daunting. Perhaps at times, though, it is blinding. The fans also want to see joyful football from uninhibited footballers, not inhibited football from the joyless. Too often these days we get the latter. Neither the Saints and the Hawks, nor their coaches, are alone in this. Football is steadily being turned into a game for coaches that the paying public can only hope to understand. St Kilda's recent statistics tell the story well: across the 2004 and 2005 seasons, it was the most free-scoring team in the AFL. It had a brilliant, attacking midfield, plus Fraser Gehrig, Nick Riewoldt, Stephen Milne, Justin Koschitzke and others up front. The Saints played to their strength. This year, still with the same array of target forwards, they are outscoring only one team. As every chess player knows, if all you ever do is defend your King, you're eventually going to be worn down anyway. That's precisely what happened to Ross Lyon's outfit on Saturday night. The Article Tim Lane/RealFooty/21May07 A triumph over evil is good for football . . . There was finger-pointing in both directions afterwards. St Kilda, according to one claim, was at fault, playing spare men in defence and not backing the marking power of Nick Riewoldt, Fraser Gehrig and Justin Koschitzke in attack. The counterclaim was Hawthorn playing too safe despite its opponent's severe shortage of manpower - the Hawks a common denominator in some of the most boring games of the past couple of seasons. Predictable was the defence by both clubs about an "absorbing contest" and that favourite line about this being the sort of patient, calculated, low-scoring slog that wins finals and premierships. The Article Rohan Connolly/RealFooty/21May07
Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has pointed the finger at his own coach Alastair Clarkson, saying he wished his club played a "more constructive game of football". While heaping most of his criticism on St Kilda coach Ross Lyon in the aftermath of Saturday night's debacle at the MCG, Kennett described the contest as appalling. He indicated the Hawks' style, at least shown on Saturday, would mean the club would not play in Grand Finals. "I thought it was appalling," Kennett said. The Article Mark Robinson and Mark Stevens/HeraldSun/22May07 Wallace: footy not as we love it . . . With current personnel and form Hawthorn would have won regardless of how it was played, so the result was not changed by the style of play. Both teams have a distinct style, with St Kilda more likely to play "shut down one-on-one" football, while Hawthorn likes to set up with numbers behind the ball to generate counter attack from the half back line. The Hawks were keen to play with a seven-man defence to give support inside 50 against Gehrig and Riewoldt and if St Kilda's half forward line went high up the ground, the Hawks' backs were always going to hold their structure to make it difficult for St Kilda to score. At this stage Saints coach Ross Lyon had a couple of options available to him: 1: The Saints could have held their ground and played six stay at home forwards. Then they would have needed at least one of their back men to have played forward to make it strictly a one-on-one ball game. The problem with this was the Saints' forward line would have been cluttered with up to eight pairs of players opening up the Hawks end, which would have only had four. I sensed that if Lyon had taken this option, the Hawks would have continued to send one extra back down to St Kilda's end, making it a logjam in St Kilda's forward half. 2: The second option, which the Saints chose, was to have a "Mexican stand-off" and allow the Hawks extra numbers at their end, while keeping their extras also in their defensive end. This allowed Fisher to be loose, racking up extraordinary numbers of uncontested marks as the chip and hold football continued. The Article Terry Wallace/HeraldSun/22May07 No Lyon, it was the other team's fault The ugly game became the blame game yesterday as Ross Lyon, the man who has worn the bulk of criticism for Saturday night's unsightly match, suggested that Hawthorn's flooding had been the catalyst for the dour spectacle. Lyon insisted his Saints had not flooded, and had only attempted to combat the large number of Hawthorn players clogging his forward line. "There's a lot of apportioning of blame . . . a few of our leaders are disappointed we're being accused of flooding," the St Kilda coach said. "There's a lot of hyperbole about game aesthetics. I was really aware it was a low-scoring game. We thought going in it would be a really good chance for that with Hawthorn's unique style of play. I think you can go to round one (when Brisbane Lions defeated Hawthorn nine goals to six), maybe it is just coincidence. You always hope to play the best footy you can play - was that the best footy that 22 could have produced? It is a subjective thing, isn't it? I will just reiterate: we didn't flood, clearly. When we had the ball at times we were over-patient and we could have attacked with a bit more run and carry to break the flood that we were encountering." The Article Michael Gleeson and Samantha Lane/RealFooty/22May07 Roos backs colleague as Saints cop a hammering over tactics Paul Roos, once chastised by AFL boss Andrew Demetriou for his coaching tactics, yesterday defended his former assistant Ross Lyon in the wake of Saturday night's lambasted St Kilda-Hawthorn game. That Lyon's Saints had won four matches while managing what the Sydney coach described as the worst injury list in the competition was "phenomenal", Roos said. "The only thing I'd say about St Kilda is, you're really playing against the (VFL) Casey Scorpions and I can't believe that Ross would be criticised. St Kilda's (injury list is worst) by far, it's miles worse. Nine of your best 18 are out of the St Kilda footy club. I doubt that Adelaide has got nine of their best 18 out. To have nine of your best 18 out of your team is very, very restrictive . . . I defy any team in the competition to be able to regularly combat those injuries," Roos said. "Melbourne are zero (wins) eight (losses). St Kilda's four and four, and I think what Rossy's been able to do with the amount of injuries they've got at the moment is quite phenomenal." The Saints, who already have had to cover for Lenny Hayes, Brendon Goddard, Max Hudghton, Matt Maguire, Jason Gram, Andrew Thompson, Aaron Hamill, Xavier, Raphael and Matthew Clarke are likely to have 24 fit players available this week. It means all will take the flight to Perth today ahead of Friday night's match against Fremantle. The Article Samantha Lane/RealFooty/22May07 Fallen Saints lose more souls If St Kilda's injury woes were reaching crisis levels last week, they have hit catastrophic proportions just in time for their toughest month of football so far this year. Sitting outside the top eight and facing Fremantle in Perth on Friday night, then Geelong, the Kangaroos and West Coast, the Saints' depth is going to be tested as they could have up to half of their best 22 players missing. As well as the late withdrawals against Hawthorn on Saturday night of Xavier Clarke (calf), Jason Gram (hamstring) and Matthew Clarke (calf), the Saints suffered casualties during the 28-point loss. A week after losing Brendon Goddard for a year with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and Clinton Jones for six weeks with a fractured collarbone, Leigh Montagna has a suspected fractured cheekbone, and full-forward Fraser Gehrig has a foot injury. Already with the longest injury list of quality players in the competition, St Kilda lost Xavier Clarke and Gram to soft tissue problems at training last week, and along with No.1 ruckman Matthew Clarke, they remain in doubt against the Dockers. Montagna could miss a month with his facial injury and, at best, Gehrig will play Fremantle with the help of painkilling injections. The Article Greg Denham/TheAustralian/21May07 Gehrig won't put up with it Former St Kilda star Aussie Jones fears Fraser Gehrig could walk away from the Saints in sheer frustration. Jones said Gehrig would quit if the Saints continue to repeat Saturday night's style of game against Hawthorn. The game, which produced just two goals each for the teams in the first half, was generally regarded as one of the worst ever. Fans booed and hooted the players as they left the ground at the main break. And Hawthorn midfielder Sam Mitchell revealed yesterday that St Kilda co-captain Luke Ball approached him at halftime and said: "What sort of game is this?" Gehrig appeared angry and frustrated for much of the game when his team played an extraordinarily defensive style, using extra players in Hawthorn's forward line. The Article Daryl Timms/HeraldSun/21May07 Highly paid players cheapen great game Daryl Timms/HeraldSun/21May07 Hodge defends Hawks tactics . . . "We were always trying to play a running game," Hodge said at Waverley on Monday. We were trying to do that from the first quarter but unfortunately it doesn't always happen that way and we were lucky enough to do that in the last. On the weekend, every time we looked up forward they had a couple of extra numbers back and it probably wasn't worth kicking it in there because they would have just rebounded it down the other end." However, Hodge did admit the contest 'wasn't a great spectacle' and labeled it 'an ugly sight', but thought all Hawthorn supporters would have gone away happy. "I'm pretty sure every Hawthorn supporter there left the game with a smile on their face and that's what we are there for. As we were coming off the ground, our supporters were still cheering us. We don't want to play that style of football. We were trying to break the game open." The Article Jordon Chong/Sportal/21May07 Roos defends the game – and Rossy . . . "I don’t think either team would have gone in thinking ‘we’re going to kick two goals up to three-quarter time’. That’s something no-one plans for," Roos said. "But things just seem to happen in a game and unless you’re in a coaches’ box and unless you understand the tactics during the game, it’s really hard to comment … generally it is hard for people outside the inner sanctum to fully understand exactly what goes on in footy these days." Given the Saints were missing almost half of their best line-up through injury, Roos believes criticism of Lyon’s men is unwarranted. The Article Ben Broad/AFL/saints.com.au/23May07 Melbourne can be insane at times: Roos . . . Roos said he was surprised people were still talking about it. "Melbourne can be insane at times in terms of the coverage of football and that's the thing that's hit home to me again this week," he said. "I mean how you can have so many articles about one game with everyone having an opinion is just mind boggling. It was a game of football, I didn't see all of it, obviously it wasn't a great game of footy - move on." The Article ABCSport/23May07 Lyon blames Hawks' flooding St Kilda coach Ross Lyon says there is hyperbole and blame-game politics whenever the aesthetics of modern football are debated. True to his word, he yesterday pointed the finger squarely at Hawthorn for establishing the defensive tactics that led to Saturday night's first-half stalemate at the MCG. Lyon awoke yesterday as the Grinch who stole football. From 6.30am, when he got up for breakfast duties with his young family and flicked on the radio, it was clear the St Kilda coach was being cast as the villain in Saturday night's low-scoring piece, which Hawthorn won 72-44. Lyon made no apologies for his team's approach, compromised as it was by the loss through injury of three running defenders, Jason Gram, Xavier Clarke and Brendan Goddard, from the previous weekend's team, in addition to the multitude of senior regulars already missing from action. "My responsibility is to win," Lyon said. "At three-quarter time, or a minute before, I would have thought it was anyone's game." When pressed on the number of spare defenders St Kilda appeared to have behind the ball, Lyon insisted it was Hawthorn who had resorted to the Grinch's tactic of flooding. For supporting evidence, he invited critics to cast their minds back to the round one match between Hawthorn and Brisbane, when Jonathan Brown nearly drowned in a sea of defenders. "We didn't flood," Lyon said. "When we had the ball, at times we were over-patient and we could have attacked with a bit more run and carry to break the flood that we were encountering. I think what Jonathan Brown encountered is what Nick Riewoldt and Fraser Gehrig encountered. I am not blaming anyone. I am just saying we didn't flood." The Article Chip Le Grand/The Australian/22May07 Ugly is fine - as long as you win In the wake of the battle of attrition between Hawthorn and St Kilda - or Snorethorn and St Static, as they should have been called - you can expect another round of recrimination from frustrated fans demanding wholesale rule changes to stamp out ugly stalemates like Saturday night's two-goals-all first half . . . St Kilda's defensive sleeperhold will be linked to the Swans' so-called "ugly football", given former Sydney assistant Ross Lyon is now in charge at Moorabbin. However, his decision to put players behind the ball and chip the ball around the back line was not born of a defensive mindset but old-fashioned necessity. With rebounding defenders Jason Gram and Xavier Clarke joining a long list of casualties, Lyon was forced to field three debutants in his 22 from a list of just 23 fit players. While most expected him to stack his attack with talented tall forwards Nick Riewoldt, Fraser Gehrig and Justin Koschitzke and stretch the Hawks' defence, Lyon was worried they would be starved of supply. The Article RealFooty/21May07
. . . "I thought we ran okay and to three-quarter time it was anyone's game. I thought we had a bit of a lack of polish in front of goal when we had opportunities - they probably had some as well - and then a bit of a lack of composure late," Lyon said from the MCG. "To three-quarter time I didn't think there was much difference in the game, I thought we could win . . . but to Hawthorn's credit I thought they took control of the centre in the last quarter and they took their opportunities early. In a game like that it was always going to be who took their opportunities." The defensive, high-possession nature of the match made for tough viewing at times, but Lyon maintained it was nobody's 'fault', rather just something that can happen when two sides with different strengths and weaknesses square off. Regardless of the spectacle, however, Lyon wants just one thing when all is said and done. "It's an entertainment business, so we try to entertain, but your first responsibility is to win," he said. "Different teams let you play different ways, that's fact. Hawthorn play a unique brand and in the circumstances if you give teams everything they want, you're going to get opened up pretty quickly. We had six defenders, did you see seven, eight or nine defenders for us? I'd love to have four people in my forward line and kick it in long all day, but sometimes you just can't do that." The Article Jason Phelan/AFL/saints.com.au/19May07 Monday Debate with Daryl Timms . . . Forty-four grown men ran around the ground for a couple of hours under the guise of playing a football match. Talk about earning money under false pretences. Here we had millions of dollars of footy flesh wandering around the greatest sporting stadium in the world, playing the most insipid brand of football imaginable. Repeatedly we're told the modern footballer is, among other things, fitter, faster and more skilful than his counterpart of yesteryear. And so they should be because, after all, they are full-time professionals who are provided with every type of support and available resource to become elite athletes. Imagine the amount of hours that went into planning for the match. There would have been meetings, video displays and a wealth of information presented to the players by the coaches and their assistants. The Article Darryl Timms/HeraldSun/21May07 No winners in that rubbish There are shockers in football at regular intervals - have been for as long as any of us can remember, Mike Sheahan writes. They are an ever-present possibility in any sport involving teams committed to victory any way they can get one. Sadly, shockers reached a new low at the MCG on Saturday night in a game that should embarrass the clubs -- Hawthorn and St Kilda -- their coaches and players, the AFL and the game. It was, to borrow from history, an indictment on the game. To paraphrase the overwhelming majority of the 36,063 people at the game, it was crap. That's not subjective, that's fact. Here's why: the match produced four goals in the first half, seven to three-quarter time, 16 all up. From 720 possessions. Thirteen of nearly 300 marks met the requirements of the classification of "contested". It was a stinker. Disturbingly, it was seen by many as a reflection of the modern game. Who deserves the blame? The coaches. Both of them. The Article Mike Sheaghan/HeraldSun/21May07 Dal Santo's sorry . . . "You feel sorry for the people that had to watch it because you know when you are playing it's not visually something you want to be a part of," he told Channel Nine's Sunday Footy Show. "It turns out there wasn't many inside 50's and visually it was a disappointing match to watch." As Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett blamed the Saints' tactics for the dreadful match, Dal Santo defended his team - which kicked just six goals for the entire game. "I know we had six defenders named and those six defenders tried to hold their position," he said. "The way the game is played (now) you push back when the opposition has the ball and you try and run it forward and get them on a fast break (when you have the ball)." Dal Santo said the Hawks should share equal blame for their role in Saturday night's debacle but said at the end of the day they would be happy because they won the game. The Article Paul Gough/Sportal/20May07 We lacked polish: Lyon . . . "I thought we ran okay and to three-quarter time it was anyone's game. I thought we had a bit of a lack of polish in front of goal when we had opportunities - they probably had some as well - and then a bit of a lack of composure late," Lyon said from the MCG. "To three-quarter time I didn't think there was much difference in the game, I thought we could win . . . but to Hawthorn's credit I thought they took control of the centre in the last quarter and they took their opportunities early. In a game like that it was always going to be who took their opportunities." The defensive, high-possession nature of the match made for tough viewing at times, but Lyon maintained it was nobody's 'fault', rather just something that can happen when two sides with different strengths and weaknesses square off. Regardless of the spectacle, however, Lyon wants just one thing when all is said and done. "It's an entertainment business, so we try to entertain, but your first responsibility is to win," he said. "Different teams let you play different ways, that's fact. Hawthorn play a unique brand and in the circumstances if you give teams everything they want, you're going to get opened up pretty quickly. We had six defenders, did you see seven, eight or nine defenders for us? I'd love to have four people in my forward line and kick it in long all day, but sometimes you just can't do that." The Article Jason Phelan/AFL/saints.com.au/19May07 Coaches deny yawnfest Hawthorn and St Kilda have both refused to accept the blame for Saturday night's snorefest at the MCG, which saw fans of both clubs jeering their players as they came off at half-time. However, the finger pointing has already begun. Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett fired the opening salvo, likening St Kilda's game plan to that of their coach Ross Lyon's former employer Sydney, while Lyon said it wasn't just his team which was playing uncontested football . . . A victorious Clarkson would be one of very few people in the football world of the belief that Saturday night's match, which saw both sides avoid kicking to contests at nearly all costs, was a 'terrific contest' and 'an adsorbing duel'. His president Kennett, who paid credit to Clarkson for the win, described the first half as 'very, very frustrating', and possibly for the first time in his public life clearly had an overwhelming portion of the electorate on his side. When asked whether Saturday night's game would deter fans from coming to the footy in future, Kennett delivered a thinly veiled swipe at St Kilda coach Ross Lyon, who he described as having taken Sydney's game plan south with him to Moorabbin. "I think that was Sydney all over, don't you?" Kennett told Sportal. "I think you'll find that those people who push that sort of game, if they keep losing they're going to have to turn to other tactics. You can't play that sort of across the backline game, non-contesting marks indefinitely. At the end of the day you've got to go up the bloody centre." A terse Lyon, who said his first responsibility as a coach was to win despite conceding he was in the entertainment business, pleaded innocence in his press conference. The Article Andrew Wu/Sportal/20May07 Saints fall to Hawks St Kilda has fallen to Hawthorn by 28 points - 10.12 (72) to 6.8 (44) - in a tight tussle at the MCG on Saturday night. The first three quarters of the game produced a total of just seven goals, but the Hawks outgunned the Saints, six goals to three, in the last term to ice the win. Apart from some drizzle in the third quarter, conditions were excellent for football, but both sides were keen to play a precise brand of footy with numbers behind the ball that severely limited scoring opportunities. Leigh Fisher often found himself in space across half-back and set up a lot of St Kilda's play, finishing the match with 32 possessions and 18 marks, while Sam Fisher did an excellent job on Lance Franklin and gathered 21 disposals and 12 marks. Sam Mitchell was Hawthorn's best with 25 touches. St Kilda suffered a double-blow before the opening siren with both Jason Gram and Xavier Clarke late withdrawals after coming down with a virus. That left the Saints in the rare position of giving three players their AFL debuts at the same time with Justin Sweeney and Brad Howard coming off the emergency list to join first-gamer David Armitage. The first goal didn't come until nearly 12 minutes into the first term with Chance Bateman shrugging a Brett Voss tackle to split the middle from 45 metres out. The Article Jason Phelan/AFL/saints.com.au/19May07 Hawks happy to win ugly After one of the season's most difficult games to watch, neither winning coach Alastair Clarkson nor the vanquished Ross Lyon was conceding the game had been an ugly spectacle. With only four goals scored to half-time, seven to the last break and turnovers galore, the only thing that saved the match from almost total ignominy was a nine-goal final term. At half-time, the teams left the MCG to booing from the 36,000 fans, but it was unclear whether it was directed at the players or, as is more typical, the umpires. "It's an entertainment business, so we try to entertain. But the first responsibility's to win. I'd have to look at the stats. I think the style of footy can induce that sort of footy," Lyon said. Clarkson conceded it was a "tough day", but mainly because his side had to combat the slow-moving contest. "It's a tough day. As tough for the players as it is for the coaches because we're not used to playing that slow-moving style of footy," he said. "But it was a terrific contest, it was an absorbing duel. And so it's great for us as a footy club to go through those types of experiences because finals footy more often than not . . . is low-scoring footy." The Article Lyall Johnson/RealFooty/20May07 Negative tactics fail team and fans alike Lance Franklin, Nick Riewoldt, Nick Dal Santo. This game did not lack for players of class. It just lacked class. Dour strangulation football that seeks to frustrate into submission claimed another victim last night, though fortunately, it also ultimately fell short of victory. St Kilda fans left the MCG last night saddened by a loss, but more dejected by the method of it. Fans booed the teams as they left the field at half-time with the scoreline reading two goals apiece - seemingly a precursor to the FA Cup. The conditions were not averse to football, but the manner of the game was. Three players made their debuts for St Kilda last night - David Armitage, Brad Howard and Justin Sweeney. It was, for them, memorable. It was not for many others. It was a grim contest but intriguing in a morbid sort of way. St Kilda played Leigh Fisher behind the ball to clag the Hawks' forward line. They then sought to hold the ball up through the middle of the ground. The result was that Fisher threatened Nathan Bassett's record of 22 marks in a match. He had 13 touches in the first quarter and 22 for the first half, which was a significant feat until it was recalled that he didn't actually have an opponent. Hawthorn was surprised at St Kilda's pessimistic approach in refusing to open the game out, even when the Saints boasted raw tall talent that potentially would unsettle any team. As one official said after the game: "Our bottoms would have been twitching in the box if they had opened the game up and thrown Riewoldt, (Fraser) Gehrig and Kozzy (Justin Koschitzke) forward. We were waiting for them to do it." The Article Michael Gleeson/RealFooty/20May07 Hawks surge as crowd drifts off Was this the worst game ever? Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson won the match, but he shared honours with St Kilda's Ross Lyon in frustrating, boring and angering 36,069 fans at the MCG. Boos rang out from fans on both sides at half-time as the Hawks and Saints fought a contest devoid of contests, a game where neither team was prepared to take risks. There were at least cheers at the end, but only from Hawks fans as they watched their side run away in the final term to score by 28 points . . . Saint Leigh Fisher took 18 marks in the first three quarters - all uncontested and of the 720 total possessions it seemed about a hundred of them went backwards. From the start, it was obvious it was going to be a long night. Both teams dropped numbers back and took circuitous, tortuous routes to goal. Defenders shared the ball around and no-one was interested in kicking to a contest. The highlight of the first half was a piece of comedy early in the first term when Fraser Gehrig chested Trent Croad to the ground, earning a 50m penalty which Croad mucked up when he tried to play on and was tackled by Stephen Milne. Milne then passed the ball to a loose Gehrig who not only kicked a behind, but finished on his backside when he slipped over as he kicked. It was almost the only piece of entertainment and at half-time with a 2.6 to 2.4 scoreline, boos broke out from all over the ground. The Article Mark Harding/HeraldSun/20May07 Hawks go from yawn to form When Nick Riewoldt goalled two minutes into the second half to give St Kilda its first lead of the game, it seemed a tipping point in what had been a tedious, low-scoring game. It was, indeed, a critical moment, but not perhaps in the manner St Kilda fans anticipated. Hawthorn scored the next five goals to take a stranglehold on the game, going on to triumph by 28 points and take its fifth win of the season. Not until the final term, when nine of the night's 16 goals were scored, did the game break open. Until then, the only stranglehold on the game was the one putting it to sleep. But when Jarryd Roughead cancelled the St Kilda lead almost immediately, the momentum tipped decisively Hawthorn's way. First, it was a slight tilt - Roughead got his side's only other goal of the third term to extend the lead to 10 points at three-quarter-time. Then it became a landslide as goals to Tim Boyle, Ben Dixon and Ben McGlynn at the start of the final term stretched the lead to an impossible-to-breach 27 points. In a game strewn with errors, it was Hawthorn that maintained its intensity and St Kilda that wilted. As the game started to slip away, even the better Saints made errors. Jayden Attard had made several courageous tackles before he found McGlynn's neck in yet another one, helped by McGlynn's fortuitous slip. Then teammate Leigh Montagna compounded the error, dropping a knee into the prone Hawk and conceding a 50-metre penalty. The Article Len Johnson/RealFooty/20May07 Hawks win a dour contest Hawthorn ground its way to a 28-point win over St Kilda in a frustrating game of defensive tactics at the MCG tonight. The match did not open up until the last quarter when the Hawks kicked six goals to two and won 10.12 (72) to 6.8 (44). That was easily the most productive quarter of the game - up to then, the two sides had scored only seven goals over three quarters. Jarryd Roughead kicked three for the Hawks and Sam Mitchell had 35 possessions, while veteran Robert Harvey had 25 disposals. Saints full-forward Fraser Gehrig kicked his two goals in the last term, but had to limp off after the second to compound a dirty night for his team. St Kilda took the lead for the only time in the match when Nick Riewoldt goaled at the start of the third term. Roughead replied within a minute and he kicked the next goal of the match - after another 22 minutes of play. The Article AAP/HeraldSun/19May07 Hawks outgun Saints Hawthorn produced four unanswered goals either side of three-quarter time to defeat St Kilda by 28 points in one of the most mind-numbingly unexciting matches in recent seasons at the MCG on Saturday night. In a game which did not deserve a winner, Ross Lyon and Alastair Clarkson deserve to come under severe scrutiny after they orchestrated a forgettable Saturday night out for the 36,000-strong crowd, which saw Hawthorn prevail 10.12 (72) to 6.8 (44). Only insomniacs would have been thankful for Lyon and Clarkson's creation for had they been watching the game, they would have enjoyed a rare night of uninterrupted sleep. In a shocking advertisement for the game, the unwillingness of teams to kick to a contest was taken to a new high, or low, depending on what you want to see from a game of football. Only seven goals were produced in the first three quarter. Of the 278 marks taken by both sides, only 13 were contested, and Hawthorn won despite just 41 entrances inside their forward 50. As a comparison, Neale Daniher said after round one 50 was what his side rated as par. The tactics were also responsible for Leigh Fisher putting Nathan Bassett's record of 22 marks in a game under extreme pressure. The Article Andrew Wu/Sportal/19May07 The effects of a knee reconstruction With the list of AFL players sidelined with knee injuries growing, the term knee reconstruction is often used. St Kilda’s Brendon Goddard is the latest AFL player to be ruled out for the season with a knee reconstruction. Physiotherapist Kellie McGrath said a tear of the (ACL) is the most common injury that requires a knee reconstruction and is usually caused by a sharp, twisting motion. "Australia has one of the highest levels of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear per capita because of our high involvement in netball and in the different codes of football," Ms McGrath said. The frequent changes of direction necessary in AFL football make its players more susceptible and torn ACL cannot be repaired. The damaged ligament must be removed and replaced, usually with something else from the body. In the case of St Kilda captain Lenny Hayes, surgeons made a new ligament from a graft from his patella (knee cap) tendon after the midfielder tore the ACL in his right knee in Round 9 last year. The Article Casey Neill/saints.com.au/22May07 Saints scholarship for Murphy denies Sydney draft option David Murph played 156 games for Sydney, a wingman so well regarded he was named in the Swans' team of the century. Yet his son, Kane, 14, is set to sign away his immediate future to St Kilda after it offered him a three-year AFL-funded development scholarship worth up to $20,000 a year. The deal means Sydney is unlikely to have any chance of signing Kane under the AFL's father-son rule, which applies to any boy whose dad has played at least 100 games with a club. The scholarship scheme for NSW teenagers supersedes the father-son rule, so St Kilda will have first option on Kane when he is old enough to be eligible for the national draft at the end of 2010. Murphy, who calls Swans games for ABC Radio, and Kane are often seen in the Sydney rooms after games at the SCG and the club is close to their hearts. "The family would have preferred him to go to the Swans but it wasn't meant to be," Murphy said yesterday. "St Kilda showed some interest and we went down and spoke to them and they presented very professionally. It is not signed, sealed and delivered yet but it is going to happen." St Kilda's recruiting manager John Beveridge said the club had no potential father-son selections on its horizon and was serious about finding talented lads in NSW who might make the AFL grade. The Article Jenny McAsey/TheAustralian/19May07 Matthews denies Riewoldt push . . . (Leigh) Matthews dismissed rumours that his club is making a push for St Kilda co-captain, and Queenslander, Nick Riewoldt, who will be out of contract at the end of the year. "It's laughable. Frankly, it is laughable, I know nothing about it," Matthews said. "If Nick wants to come back to Brisbane, I don't think we can afford him. Unless he wants to play for nothing, then we'll definitely take him back. (There's) no truth in that." The Article Ronny Lerner/Sportal/19May07 Sheedy wants flooding outlawed Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy has called for the flooding tactic to banned from the AFL. Sheedy made the comment after the highly defensive match between Hawthorn and St Kilda at the MCG on Saturday night, which the Hawks won by 28 points. He said flooding had the potential to ruin Australian rules. "You would want it to happen in a grand final, because as soon as you do in a grand final that's a full on flood, you are asking for trouble," he said. Sheedy and his Richmond counterpart Terry Wallace have both said their sides would not employ the flooding tactic in Saturday night's traditional Dreamtime at the G fixture. The Article ABCSport/22May07 Demetriou: Game very tactical . . . AFL chief Andrew Demetriou described the Hawthorn-St Kilda match as "very tactical" yesterday. "I don’t think we should judge the modern game by one game," he said. "You’ll get different types of games depending on the opposition and different tactics." The Article WestAustralian/22May07 World championship boxing comes to a footy ground near you Long gone are the days when footy was all about kicking long to man-on-man contests. I would go anywhere to see Bruce Doull play on Leigh Matthews or more recently Glen Jakovich play on Wayne Carey. But nowadays, poor old Lethal would be double and triple-teamed and would be instructed to provide a diversion by leading away from the action to create space and free up "lesser" forwards. There was a time when the only thing that decided the outcome of a game of footy was effort. If the better team came to play, it generally won. Today, we have two different philosophies that dictate how a game is set up. On one hand you have the team that knows it can win if it comes to play, and on the other hand you have the team that can only win if it uses tactics to suppress and strangle its opponent's strengths. This is accepted as commendable and necessary, especially when one considers the enormous pressure and stress associated with consistent defeats, as Richmond and Melbourne are experiencing this season. Now, more than ever, winning is the overriding consideration for a coach - and that means paying more attention to tactics. While the consequences of a lesser team's efforts to contain the opposition's strengths can be an eyesore and quite unpalatable for most fans of the game, it is critical if a coach is to give his team any chance of success. The Article Grant Thomas/HeraldSun/20May07 Chequebooks at the ready Cashed-up AFL clubs are preparing their hit-lists for a post-season spending frenzy with their targets many high-profile uncontracted stars. The combination of an extra $500,000 in total player payments a club this year, the calibre of available players and the long list of potential retirees easing salary cap pressure makes it an ideal environment to attract rival stars. Players out of contract at the end of the year include Chris Judd (West Coast), Nick Dal Santo (St Kilda), Dale Thomas (Collingwood), Josh Fraser (Collingwood), Paul Hasleby (Fremantle), Matt Maguire (St Kilda), Campbell Brown (Hawthorn), Adam Cooney (Western Bulldogs), Jamie Charman (Brisbane Lions), Warren Tredrea (Port Adelaide), Heath Shaw (Collingwood), Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle) and Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda). While every club needs to re-sign as many as 15 players each year, the circumstances this season mean that may prove more difficult with potential suitors waiting in the wings. "I think you will find the clubs have the desire and interest to go shopping," one leading AFL official said yesterday. The Article Jon Ralph/AdelaideAdvertiser/20May07 WADA tells AFL: Dump 3-strikes The AFL has to abandon its three-strikes policy on illicit drugs or risk untold damage to its credibility, according to the world's most senior anti-doping official. World Anti-Doping Agency executive general David Howman said the AFL's code lacked transparency and was in danger of repeating American baseball's poor record against illicit drug use. "The AFL has continued to say it goes further than other sports but certainly we have concerns about the three-strike policy that has totally failed in American baseball," Howman said last night from WADA headquarters in Montreal. "From our perspective, it's about transparency with any drug code and right now I think that's missing from the AFL's illicit drug policy." WADA's stance has significantly increased the pressure on AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou in the lead-in to Friday's meeting with two federal government ministers. The Article Jim Wilson and Damian Barrett/HeraldSun/23May07 Boards to get drugs lecture Michael Gleeson/RealFooty/23May07 GO BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE
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