The 2008 season began on a Thursday evening with a blockbuster crowd of over 72,000 packing out the MCG to
see Richmond and Carlton, two teams that struggled last season.
Over the off-season Carlton had signed Brownlow medallist Chris Judd, and the Blues' glamour signing was
expected to propel them to a comfortable win. And, despite finding Richmond hard to shake off early, for much of
the second and early third quarters the Blues looked to be doing enough to cruise to victory. But a late third
quarter surge, spearheaded by Matthew Richardson, put the Tigers in front shortly before the three-quarter time
siren; and from there it was all Richmond as they cruised to a 5-goal victory.
Richmond 4.3 8.5 11.5 17.7 (109)
Carlton 4.3 9.6 10.10 11.13 (79)
Goals : Richmond - M Richardson 5, N Brown 3, B Deledio 2, K Pettifer, N Foley, S Tuck, A Pattison, G Polak, R
Tambling, D Jackson. Carlton - E Betts 2, B Fevola 2, H Scotland 2, N Stevens, R Houlihan, J Edwards, S
O'hAilpin, M Murphy.
Best : Richmond - M Richardson, J King, N Foley, K Johnson, W Thursfield, S Tuck, J McMahon. Carlton - M
Murphy, B Thornton, K Simpson, N Stevens, J Edwards, C Judd.
Umpires - D Margetts S Meredith S McBurney.
Crowd - 72,552 at MCG.
The grand final replay at AAMI Stadium again looked like it was going to be a one-sided affair as the Cats
dominated through the first half. Port Adelaide's accuracy was preventing a complete blowout, but Geelong had
all the running around the ground. An unbelievable checkside from an impossible angle to Tom Hawkins typified
the Cats' dominance as they raced to a 31-point half-time lead.
But to Port's credit, although they were never a serious chance to take the game, the Power fought back to cut the
final margin to just 9 points. Against a Geelong side that appeared to tire in the heat, 3 goals in the final term from
Brett Ebert and a strong ruck performance from Brendon Lade restored respectability to the Power and ensured
there would be no 3-figure margin this time.
Geelong 6.4 10.8 12.11 15.15 (105)
Port Adelaide 4.0 6.1 10.5 14.12 (96)
Goals : Geelong - P Chapman 3, M Stokes 3, C Mooney 2, T Hawkins, G Ablett, C Ling, S Johnson, J Corey, R
Gamble, A Mackie. Port Adelaide - B Ebert 3, B Lade, W Tredrea, D Motlop 2, S Burgoyne, J Westhoff, T Logan, T
Boak, C Cornes.
Best : Geelong - P Chapman, G Ablett, J Corey, A Mackie, J Selwood, D Milburn. Port Adelaide - B Lade, K
Cornes, M Thomas, S Salopek, P Stewart, S Burgoyne.
Injuries : Geelong - J Hunt (ankle).
Reports - D Motlop (Port Adelaide) for charging J Corey (Geelong) during the third quarter..
Umpires - C Donlon, B Rosebury, M Avon.
Crowd - 28,206 at AAMI Stadium.
With the home ground advantage, Collingwood were favourites to easily account for Fremantle on Saturday
afternoon at the MCG. But to Dockers were hard to shake off early, and although the Magpies led at every break
and won every quarter, the lead fluctuated between the two sides over the course of the first three quarters. But
after the last change, the Magpies quickly asserted themselves, cruising to a 26-point win. Anthony Rocca with 6
goals was the Magpies' best, but it was a solid first-up performance from a team that went so close to qualifying
for last year's grand final.
Collingwood 3.3 7.6 10.10 16.15 (111)
Fremantle 3.1 7.2 10.4 13.7 (85)
GOALS : Collingwood - A Rocca 6, A Didak 3, L Davis 2, D Thomas 2, T Cloke, T Lockyer, P Medhurst. Fremantle -
L McPharlin 3, S McManus 2, P Bell, M Carr, R Crowley, J Farmer, D Headland, M Johnson, D Mundy, M Pavlich.
Best : Collingwood - A Rocca, A Didak, D Swan, H Shaw, L Davis, R Shaw. Fremantle - L McPharlin, D Mundy, P
Bell, D Headland, A Sandilands, M Pavlich.
Injuries : Collingwood - S Rusling (shoulder) Fremantle - H Black (blurred vision).
Umpires - S McLaren R Chamberlain C Kamolins.
Crowd - 45,383 at MCG.
ROUND 2 MATCHES (Michael Shillito's tips in bold - Season to date 5/8): Friday 28th March Brisbane v Collingwood (Gabba, 8:40pm) Saturday 29th Match Melbourne v Western Bulldogs (MCG, 2:10pm) Adelaide v West Coast (AAMI Stadium, 3:10pm) St Kilda v Carlton (Telstra Dome, 7:10pm) Fremantle v Hawthorn (Subiaco Oval, 7:40pm) Sunday 30th March Sydney v Port Adelaide (SCG, 1:10pm) Geelong v Essendon (Telstra Dome, 2:10pm) Richmond v Kangaroos (MCG, 4:40pm)
All times shown are Sydney time.
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Hawthorn
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Essendon
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Richmond
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Collingwood
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West Coast
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Geelong
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St Kilda
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Western Bulldogs
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Adelaide
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Sydney
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Port Adelaide
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Brisbane
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Fremantle
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Carlton
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Kangaroos
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Melbourne
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With six goals to none after 20 minutes, it was looking like a one-sided West Coast show at Subiaco on
Saturday evening. But the Lions rallied, with Jonathan Brown getting the first for the Lions in time-on, and
then stopping the rot by winning the second and third quarters; and against the run of play and against all
expectations hitting the lead late in the third. But the Eagles rallied to regain the advantage shortly before
the siren, and steadied in the last for a hard-fought 16-point victory.
West Coast 6.2 7.5 10.7 14.8 (92)
Brisbane 1.2 4.4 9.6 11.10 (76)
Goals : West Coast - B Waters 2, M Seaby 2, D Wirrpanda 2, M LeCras 2, C Fletcher 2, A Hunter, M Braun,
D Cox, B Staker. Brisbane - J Brown 6, D Bradshaw 3, J Drummond, J Charman.
Best : West Coast - D Cox, D Kerr, D Wirrpanda ,B Waters, M Nicoski, M Priddis. Brisbane - S Black, J
Brown, N Lappin, L Power, T Johnstone, D Merrett.
Injuries : West Coast - A Hunter (knee). Brisbane - J Adcock (shin).
Umpires - M Head, M Ellis, C Hendrie.
Crowd - 39,591 at Subiaco Oval.
St Kilda v Sydney games have built up a reputation over the years at tight low-scoring contests where both
teams' forward lines struggle to overcome defensive flooding. And so it was to be again on Saturday night,
with just 12 goals kicked for the entire evening, a record low aggregate for a match at Telstra Dome. Just
one goal for the entire night was kicked to the southern end. But the flooding contest was redeemed by an
exciting finish, with St Kilda leading all day but the Swans finishing strongly, and a shot by Nick Davis with
just 2 minutes to go narrowly failed to give the Swans an unlikely lead. The final siren gave the Saints a
narrow 2-point win and maintains hope that something special can come to Moorabbin this season.
Click here to see Harboursport's photo gallery from this match.
St Kilda 4.3 4.6 6.10 6.15 (51)
Sydney 1.1 4.6 4.10 6.13 (49)
Goals : St Kilda - N Riewoldt 2, J Koschitzke 2, A Schneider, S Milne. Sydney - B Hall, N Davis, J Bolton, A
Buchanan, A Goodes, H Grundy.
Best : St Kilda - L Fisher, L Montagna, N Dal Santo, J Geary, M Hudghton, C Gardiner. Sydney - R O'Keefe,
K Jack, A Buchanan, C Bolton, T Richards.
Umpires - M Vozzo, S Ryan, S Jeffery
Crowd - 36,614 at Telstra Dome.
Bulldog veteran Brad Johnson marked his 300th game in the early Sunday game at Docklands, and
celebrated in style with a 5-goal haul in a heartstopping 3-point win. In an open, flowing game that marked
a contrast to the St Kilda v Sydney game at the same ground the night before, the lead was to fluctuate
throughout the course of the day. With 2 minutes to go, Johnson's 5th game the Bulldogs a 10-point lead
and they looked home. But the Crows had other ideas, with Brett Burton's 5th giving them a snap, before
Nathan Bock had a shot from the 50 metre line after the siren. But the shot narrowly missed, giving the
Bulldogs a thrilling victory.
Western Bulldogs 5.4 6.9 13.9 19.12 (126)
Adelaide 2.1 7.8 12.13 18.15 (123)
Goals : Bulldogs - B Johnson 5,S Welsh 4, D Giansiracusa 3, J Hill, C Wight, M Hahn, N Eagleton, R
Murphy, J Akermanis, L Gilbee. Adelaide - B Burton 5, T Edwards 2, R Douglas 2, K Tippett 2, K McGregor
2, S Goodwin 2,A McLeod, B Reilly, S Stevens.
Best : Bulldogs - A Cooney, N Eagleton, J Akermanis, B Johnson, S Welsh, J Hill, S West. Adelaide - J
Porplyzia, B Burton, S Goodwin, B Reilly, J Griffin, S Stevens.
Injuries : Bulldogs - N Eagleton (ankle). Adelaide - B Reilly (wrist).
Umpires - J Schmitt, D Sully, S Wenn.
Crowd - 24,835 at Telstra Dome.
Few observers gave Melbourne much hope of upsetting Hawthorn in the Sunday twilight match, but not
even in Melbourne's worst nightmares would the extent of their defeat have been anticipated. From the
start the Hawks were dominating around the ground, and in Buddy Franklin they had a target up forward to
form an attack that the hapless Demons had no answer to. Just two goals to three-quarter time summed
up the doom and gloom in the Demon camp in an Easter to forget for the red and blue. But for Hawthorn,
with several players still to come into the lineup, optimism is high that they can prove last year's surprise
finals appearance was no one-off.
Hawthorn 5.5 7.10 15.12 23.16 (154)
Melbourne 1.1 1.5 2.10 6.14 (50)
Goals : Hawthorn - L Franklin 6, M Osborne 3, J Roughead 3, S Dew 2, T Boyle 2, C Stokes 2, R Campbell
2, C Young, S Taylor, C Rioli. Melbourne - R Robertson 3, B Green 2, M Newton.
Best : Hawthorn - L Franklin, C Bateman, M Osborne, S Mitchell, S Dew, G Birchall, T Boyle, C Rioli, C
Young. Melbourne - N Jones, S Buckley, B Green, R Robertson.
Umpires - L Farmer, H Kennedy, M Nicholls.
Crowd - 40,141 at MCG.
Having rejected a lucrative offer to move to the Gold Coast, electing to stake their future on remaining in
Melbourne, the Kangaroos attracted a bumper crowd of over 48,000 to their first-up home game against
Essendon; and early in the second term it was looking good for the Kangaroos. With a 6 goals to 2 lead,
and with Bomber forward Scott Lucas off with a serious knee injury, the North Melbourne side was looking
on top. But the Bombers rallied, with McVeigh and Ramanauskas giving run out of the centre and Matthew
Lloyd proving a handy target up forward. The Bombers hit the lead shortly before half-time, and with a 7
goals to 1 third term raced home to a 55-point victory.
Click here to see Harboursport's photo gallery from this match.
Essendon 2.0 8.2 15.5 19.8 (122)
Kangaroos 4.3 6.7 7.9 9.13 (67)
Goals : Essendon - M Lloyd 6, N Lovett-Murray 4, J Watson, A Ramanauskas, M McVeigh, J Johnson, D
Hille, S Lucas, J Laycock, A Davey, D Fletcher. Kangaroos - N Thompson 4, L Thomas 3, D Petrie, A
Edwards.
Best : Essendon - M McVeigh, M Lloyd, J Watson, A Ramanauskas, B Houli, A McPhee. Kangaroos - S
Grant, N Thompson, B Harvey, A Simpson, L Thomas.
Injuries : Essendon - S Lucas (knee). Kangaroos - C Jones (concussion).
Umpires - M Stevic, K Nicholls, S McInerney.
Crowd - 48,100 at Telstra Dome.
