Hi everyone,
It was great to see that the majority of games were close this round. The Big Freeze Day once more raised a lot of money to help find a cure for Motor Neurone Disease.
On the Field
Geelong lost a second straight game by less than a kick when they fell 75-74 to the Crows at the Adelaide Oval last Thursday night. Adelaide led for most of the night before the Cats staged a strong final quarter rally. On Friday night, Hawthorn produced a withering burst near the end of the second quarter to open up a 27-point halftime lead. Surprisingly, the battle-hardened Hawks folded in the second half, allowing the Bulldogs back in the game. Marcus Bontempelli was inspirational in leading the Doggies to a victory (77-71) that lifted them to fifth on the ladder. On Saturday night at Perth Stadium, the Eagles were slight favourites to defeat Port Adelaide. The Power have had a disappointing season, dealing with injuries and poor form, but they led most of the night and held off a late West Coast rally to win 11.11.77 to 10.11.71.
On Sunday afternoon, St Kilda’s hearts were broken by the hometown Sydney Swans when the Saints surrendered a late lead and lost by 2 points. St Kilda had played a very good game and should have won this one, but Jai Serong’s snap with 14 seconds to go put the Swans ahead. The Saints’ Liam Ryan played an incredible game, booting five goals and taking a mark of the year contender, but it wasn’t enough to get his team over the line. The Essendon versus Carlton game on Sunday night from the MCG was a scrappy one. The Blues found themselves 4 goals down in the second quarter, but remained composed and fought their way back in the second half. A very late two-goal burst in time-on by the ‘Dons left them five points short. Final score was Carlton 10.12.72 defeated Essendon 10.7.67.
North Melbourne had a day to forget in their game against ladder-leaders Fremantle at Bunbury. At the seven-minute mark of the second quarter, the ‘Roos trailed by one goal. Shockingly, they did not manage another major for the rest of the game. The Dockers piled on 19 goals in a row to run out winners by 124 points. In the Q-Clash at Carrara, the Brisbane Lions were desperate to arrest their recent slide when they took on the Gold Coast Suns. They did just that with a 15.16.106 to 11.9.75 victory over their arch-rivals.
The Melbourne versus Collingwood King’s Birthday match was a fifty-fifty prediction. After an emotional fortnight, 88,000+ spectators, many wearing the Big Freeze beanies, crowded the MCG. This match has been an annual fixture since 2001, with the ‘Pies holding a healthy lead over the Demons in these games. Today’s game was very close with 8 lead changes, including 3 in the final term. Both teams had their chances before the Dees wrested control late in the final term, winning 12.11.83 to 11.9.75. Melbourne’s Kosy Pickett kicked the clinching goal in time-on and won the Neale Daniher Trophy for his performance on the day.
Tipping
It was a tough week for most tipsters with scores as low as 3. However, Ian Lynch (Lynchey) had a sensational round, impressively tipping a perfect 8 out of 8. Well done, Ian, and you win the dining credit at the club. On our overall leaderboard, the Flying Doctor continues to lead, but her advantage has been reduced to one point.
Leaderboard
Flying Doctor 86
John Naughton 85
Romo 85
Jeremy Posner 85
GPD49er 85
Dazzling Don 83
Tedwood068 83
Janb100 83
Big D 83
Cazza SG 82
WJC Tipping 82
Caramondo 1 82
Yehno 82
Had a Gut Full 82
The Bulldogs will host Adelaide to commence Round 14 this Thursday night. Wishing everyone a lovely week.
Don