Team P W L D For Ag Pts St.Kilda 13 11 2 0 1546 1039 44 Melbourne 13 10 3 0 1355 1086 40 Brisbane 13 9 4 0 1409 1143 36 Port Adelaide 13 9 4 0 1447 1245 36 Geelong 13 8 5 0 1237 1120 32 Essendon 13 8 5 0 1383 1361 32 Fremantle 13 7 6 0 1139 1078 28 Sydney 13 7 6 0 1152 1131 28 Kangaroos 13 6 7 0 1322 1230 24 Carlton 13 6 7 0 1170 1376 24 West Coast 13 5 8 0 1208 1371 20 Adelaide 13 4 9 0 1208 1236 16 Western Bulldogs 13 4 9 0 1233 1406 16 Collingwood 13 4 9 0 1033 1231 16 Richmond 13 4 9 0 992 1373 16 Hawthorn 13 2 11 0 1002 1410 8

12:10:59 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

The Saints didnt play this weekend, but there was good news. Collingwood lost. I love it when Collingwood looses. Thanks Swannies

"Swans end Pies' finals hopes Saturday June 26, 10:11 PM Collingwood saw its 2004 AFL campaign grind to a halt at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday night after a desperate six-point loss to the Sydney Swans. The lead see-sawed throughout the match, with Pies coach Mick Malthouse throwing all his men forward in the dying minutes after the Swans grabbed the advantage. But the Swans turned a five-point three-quarter time lead into eventual victory on the back of a seven goals to four final period. A total of 50,091 fans saw the match end 13.7 (85) to 11.13 (79) in the Swans' favour. Flying Irishman Tadhg Kennelly broke the Pies' spirits late in the final quarter when he grabbed the lead through a superb goal. Running flat out and under pressure from black-and-white-clad bodies, Kennelly booted the ball between the uprights from 50 metres out to send the home fans into raptures. The loss effectively ended the Pies' hopes of making the finals this season, leaving them at 14th on the ladder with just four wins so far this year. Ryan O'Keefe, Barry Hall and Matthew Nicks kicked three goals each for the Swans, while Josh Fraser, Ryan Lonie and Brodie Holland each put two on the board for the Pies."

11:34:45 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

		W	L	D	F	A	%	Total
1	ST KILDA	11	2	–	1546	1039	148.8	44
2	MELBOURNE	10	3	–	1355	1086	124.8	40
3	BRISBANE	9	4	–	1409	1143	123.3	36
4	PORT ADELAIDE	9	4	–	1447	1245	116.2	36
5	GEELONG	8	5	–	1237	1120	110.4	32
6	ESSENDON	8	5	–	1383	1361	101.6	32
7	FREMANTLE	7	6	–	1165	1109	105.0	28
8	KANGAROOS	6	7	–	1322	1230	107.5	24
9	** Sydney	6	6	–	1067	1052	101.4	24*
10	Carlton	6	7	–	1170	1376	85.0	24
11	West Coast	5	8	–	1208	1371	88.1	20
12	Adelaide	4	9	–	1208	1236	97.7	16
13	West.B'dogs	4	9	–	1233	1406	87.7	16
14	** Collingwood	4	8	–	954	1146	83.2	16*
15	Richmond	4	9	–	992	1373	72.3	16
16	Hawthorn	2	11	–	1033	1436	71.9	8

[listening to: Mamma Mia - ABBA ]
9:43:50 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

St Kilda kicked nine goals to two in the final quarter to storm to a 66-point win over Hawthorn as AFL Round 13 kicked off at Docklands in Melbourne on Friday night.

The Saints won 19.13 (127) to 9.7 (61) to shore up their place at the top of the table with 11 wins and two losses.

Stephen Milne and Fraser Gehrig led the way for the Saints with five goals apiece.

The Saints had trailed by as much as 25 points in the first quarter and at the half-time break they were eight points behind.

But they sealed the win on the back of a sizzling second half which saw them kick no fewer than 14 goals.

In contrast the Hawks kicked six goals in their best opening quarter of the season, but were without a six-pointer in the second quarter and added just three more in the final two stanzas.

The loss leaves the Hawks at the foot of the ladder with 11 losses and just two wins to show for their 2004 campaign so far.

[listening to: Mystify - INXS ]
11:34:34 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

St Kilda has ended a two-match losing streak by defeating an initially spirited, but ultimately inadequate Hawthorn by 66 points at Telstra Dome.

The Hawks led after the first half of the battle between first and last on the table, but were besieged and eventually battered after the major break when the Saints kicked a whopping 14 goals to three. 

[FULL REPORT]

[listening to: Without Me - eminem ]
11:16:01 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

St Kilda has bounced back from consecutive loses to thrash Hawthorn by 66 points at Telstra Dome.

The Saints 19.13 (127) defeated the Hawks 9.7 (61), with St Kilda's Fraser Gehrig and Stephen Milne booting five goals each.

St Kilda kicked the first goal of the game via Stephen Milne, but it was the underdogs who dominated the first quarter.

more....

[listening to: Fernando - ABBA ]
10:44:06 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

Saints lose Maguire. St Kilda’s awesome spine, a key to its sensational 10-2 record so far in 2004, has been weakened for Friday night’s Telstra Dome clash against Hawthorn. Aaron Hamill will be joined on the sidelines by emerging centre half-back Matt Maguire who has groin soreness. In other selection news, Fergus Watts is set to make his AFL debut for Adelaide.  [Official AFL Website]

9:23:20 PM    comment []  trackback []     • My Hobbies

Team	P	W	L	D	For	Ag	%	Pts
St Kilda	12	10	2	0	1419	978	145.0	40
Brisbane	12	9	3	0	1344	1051	127.8	36
Melbourne	12	9	3	0	1260	1017	123.8	36
Port Adelaide	12	8	4	0	1335	1143	116.8	32
Essendon	12	8	4	0	1314	1266	103.7	32
Geelong	12	7	5	0	1145	1055	108.5	28
Fremantle	12	7	5	0	1037	966	107.3	28
Sydney	12	6	6	0	1067	1052	101.4	24
Kangaroos	12	5	7	0	1214	1155	105.1	20
West Coast	12	5	7	0	1133	1263	89.7	20
Carlton	12	5	7	0	1046	1283	81.5	20
W. Bulldogs	12	4	8	0	1132	1273	88.9	16
Collingwood	12	4	8	0	954	1146	83.2	16
Richmond	12	4	8	0	899	1249	71.9	16
Adelaide	12	3	9	0	1075	1135	94.7	12
Hawthorn	12	2	10	0	941	1283	73.3	8

[listening to: Victory Over Peter Bones (The Legend of Alan Guile Verses Peter Bones) - Reel Big Fish ]
5:40:37 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

St Kilda coach Grant Thomas is far from panicking about his team's sudden form slump describing it as "just a blimp."

The Saints were on the wrong end of the upset of the season on Saturday, losing to last year's wooden spooners the Bulldogs by 23 points at the MCG.

And after a club record 10 successive wins to start the season, the league leaders have now lost their past two matches and their lead at the top of the ladder will be cut to just one game by the end of the round.

However Thomas is far from worried, even though the Saints also lost Aaron Hamill to hamstring soreness on Saturday - which Thomas is hoping won't keep his inspirational former skipper out of next week's clash against bottom-placed Hawthorn.

"We've been beaten by two better sides (Sydney and the Bulldogs) who have worked harder than us and gone the extra yards for a win, which is something we used to do automatically," Thomas said.

"But we haven't done that the last two weeks and it's my job to find out why and rectify it."

"We didn't have any flow, we didn't have the quick ball movement, we weren't winning the ball at ground level and we weren't putting anywhere near the pressure on them that we put on other sides."

"But we have won 10 games and lost two so we will focus on the 10 wins.'

"This is a bit of a blimp and next week we have the chance to get back to where we've been."

Thomas dismissed the theory his team is only a dominant force at Telstra Dome, with the past two losses having come away from the Saints' home ground, but conceded his team was "flat" at present.

"We were really poor today and we need to bounce back," he said.

He also admitted star spearhead Fraser Gehrig, who kicked 50 goals in the first nine rounds but only one in the past fortnight, was "not 100 percent (fit) right now" as he again battles his on-going foot problems but he quickly added "there are a lot of players out there (from all clubs) that aren't 100 percent fit."

And he said the decision to start skipper Lenny Hayes on the bench - which backfired as the star midfielder subsequently managed only 15 touches for the game - was no different to the way he has also eased the likes of Robert Harvey, Stephen Powell, Luke Ball and Andrew Thompson into games this season.

[listening to: Watching the Detectives - Elvis Costello ]
9:55:11 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

The Western Bulldogs have pulled off the upset of the season by beating league leaders St Kilda at the MCG as the Saints juggernaut threatens to derail.

After a club record 10 straight wins to start the season - 14 if you include their Wizard Cup success - the Saints have now lost two in a row following the Dogs' heroic 15.13 (103) to 11.14 (80) victory.  [more]

[listening to: Stranger in the House - Elvis Costello ]
5:35:00 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

The Western Bulldogs have caused the biggest upset of the year, downing St Kilda by 23 points at the MCG.  [more]

[listening to: Jump Up - Elvis Costello ]
5:15:36 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

The Western Bulldogs beat St Kilda by 23 points at the MCG in the upset of the AFL season to date.

Midfielder Nathan Eagleton starred and Rohan Smith kicked four goals as the Bulldogs held off the Saints in the last term for their fourth win, 15.13 (103) to 11.14 (80).

St Kilda suffered its first loss of the season against Sydney last weekend and this game will start raising questions about its ability to build on the first half of the year.

The Saints looked flat-footed and their skill level was well down on a month ago. [more]

[listening to: Welcome to the Working Week - Elvis Costello ]
1:51:42 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

Joy!!!!!!!   The Saints are live on Fox Footy!!!!!!! Today they face the Bulldogs at the MCG.

[listening to: (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes - Elvis Costello ]
1:51:41 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

Saints have a new mark for courage. Grant Thomas will not tell his star centre half-forward Nick Riewoldt to stop hurling himself into packs against the flight of the ball, instead encouraging the rest of his team to learn from the fearless youngster.

Saints learn a hard lesson. St Kilda has leapfrogged the Dockers this season in many ways

A Saint's fearless step. Will Nick Riewoldt still be playing in the AFL when he's 30? I hope so;

10:56:33 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

Sydney has caused a major boilover by defeating the previously unbeaten St Kilda by 36 points at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Swans won the round 11 AFL match 17.10 (112) to 11.10 (76)

Before the match, Swans coach Paul Roos asked for an even contribution from all his players and by full-time he had got such an effort.

Whether or not he has provided the other 14 teams in the AFL with a blueprint on how to beat the Saints is another question.

But what Roos and his players have shown is how effective a short-kicking game plan can be and how important commitment in defence is in combating an attacking force such as St Kilda.

The Swans got off to the perfect start to the match kicking four goals to one in the opening 10 minutes.

Barry Hall kicked two of these goals, marking strongly and taking advantage of Sydney's excellent clearances out of the midfield.

Sydney was employing their short-kicking game early on and Matthew Nicks' first goal was an example of its smart use.

The Swans defence was on song against a St Kilda forward line that has run rampant in recent matches.

They had numbers back in the defensive 50, frustrating St Kilda's midfield who were looking for plausible targets.

Brent Guerra's major was the only scoring highlight for the visitors in the first term.

The Swans were also pressuring the Saints into mistakes across all parts of the field.

Steven Baker lazily hand-balled to Sydney's Heath James when trying to clear the ball out of its own 50, allowing the young Swan, who had replaced the injured Nick Davis before the match, to kick a major unopposed.

The home side had a chance to extend their lead in the final moments of the quarter when O'Loughlin marked right of the posts.

But the talented Swans forward skewed the ball to kick a behind, leaving the score at 4.4 (28) to 1.1 (7) at the first change.

St Kilda coach Grant Thomas got stuck into his players during the break, and at least for the first 15 minutes of the second term it seemed to have worked.

They kicked three straight goals through Nick Dal Santo, Matt Maguire and Justin Koschitzke to close the gap on the scoreboard.

But as the momentum looked to have switched to the competition leaders, the Swans struck back with three goals of their own.

Hall kicked his third for the match, finishing off a great run from Ben Matthews up the left flank and Jarrad McVeigh goaled himself soon after.

Veteran Paul Williams rounded out the quarter to keep the Swans comfortably ahead at half-time, 7.7 (49) to 4.5 (29).

Second half

As with the second quarter, Sydney answered any challenge the Saints threw at them after the main break.

Dal Santo kicked his second for St Kilda via Fraser Gehrig's first disposal of the match but the Swans replied with three goals through O'Loughlin, Mathews and Hall to take a 32-point lead.

The Saints worked on reducing the gap on the scoreboard and goals to Luke Ball and Robert Harvey helped their cause.

Harvey's major was courteous of a spectacular running mark from Nick Reiwoldt, displaying the aerial skills of the blond-headed Saint.

Again, though, Sydney showed their composure to respond appropriately.

Nicks added three goals to his match-total and a brilliant snap from Jude Bolton saw the Swans near the century mark.

Aaron Hamill goaled in the final minute of the term to give St Kilda fans a glimmer of hope, although they still trailed 14.9 (93) to 8.7 (55) at the three-quarter time.

But whatever chance the Saints had of coming back, it was dispelled early in the final term.

Hall kicked his fifth goal and Nick Fosdike "stole" a major from O'Loughlin after the Swans forward was tackled on the line before placing the ball just inside the field of play.

As O'Loughlin went to tap it through the posts, Fosdike ran through to get his boot to ball for his only goal of the match.

Late goals to Koschitzke, Riewoldt and Leigh Montagna improved the score line as the Swans ran out 36-point winners.

For Sydney, Hall and Nicks were impressive while Leo Barry did what every other team has struggle to do so far this season, keeping Gehrig goal-less.

While the loss would be a blow for St Kilda, they will still maintain an eight-point buffer on top of the AFL ladder after the completion of round 11.

[listening to: Ever Fallen in Love - Pete Yorn ]
6:21:45 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

Back from the SCG.

The Saints were beaten all over the ground by the swans - dunno what was wrong. I guess the swans wanted to win more....

• Swans end St Kilda's unbeaten run
• Swans inflict Saints' first loss

[listening to: Down in the River to Pray - Alison Krauss ]
6:07:39 PM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • My Hobbies

Billy and I are going to the SCG today to see the Saints play the Swans

Lot of stories about the game:

• Bring on St Kilda
• Blake makes way for Black
• No doubting bold Thomas
• Why Dal Santo can win Brownlow
• Life with Grant Thomas
• Expect 'close, tight' game, says Thomas
• Taking a punt on Jones
• No talk of finals: Ball
• Goal-hungry Saints notching up historic totals
• Roos tips Saints will test Hall temper
• Black among three inclusions
• Saints will test out Hall, says Roos

10:50:33 AM    comment []  trackback []  G!   • Family • My Hobbies