This game was the first to be played at the new-look Subiaco oval. I'm not too clear about what's new, and what's not at Subi, as I haven't been there for years. The game kicked of in the early evening - 5:40pm local time - so that it would be perfect for Melbourne television. Unfortunately that meant it clashed with The Bill so I only watched from partway through the second quarter.

When I joined the coverage, the Dockers were ahead, but Geelong were fighting their way back into the game. Geelong kicked added 4 goals in the first part of the second quarter, before Fremantle reasserted themselves and kicked the last 4 for the quarter. The last of these came after the siren, when one of the umpires paid a "deliberate trip by hand" decision against Cameron Mooney. This rule is a bit harsh, but the umpire got it right, paying a free kick, and immediate 50m penalty to Hasleby, and reporting Mooney. Whether its a good rule or not, I don't know, and I also didn't see the incident, but the umpiring there was right.

The press reports suggest that it was Geelong's 8 goal final quarter than won them the game, but in reality I think most of the damage was done in the third quarter, when Geelong were able to score 4 goals to Freo's one.

The last quarter was a see-sawing affair. Geelong pushed their lead out to 20 points before the Dockers fought back. Freo finally gave up the ghost after a bad incident about 8 minutes before the end. Geelong had just goaled to go out to 14 points up. At the centre bounce Freo worked the ball out very quickly, and the ball worked down to Modra, who marked at the back of the pack. There was a whistle from the umpire, and Modra played on to boot the Dockers back within 8 points. All pretty clear right? Except that the umpire's whistle was because Modra had apparently pushed Graham out to take the mark, so it was a free and 50 to Graham, which resulted (indirectly) in a goal the other way. In this situation the 50m penalty is just overly harsh, because AFL football includes plenty of random whistles, so, unlike most other sports, it is just foolish for anyone to "play to the whistle."

The final quarter also featured a rare moment in AFL football - a Shane Parker goal. Even more rare, it was a good, exciting goal, with Shane taking the ball on the wing, running inboard and forward, bouncing once, dodging defenders as he came, then unloading from about the 50m line, straight through the middle.

The game ended with a few possessions that summed up the Dockers' game for the night, and Dale Kickett's night in particular. Repeatedly Dale was able to read the ball best, drift across packs, and take strong defensive marks. Almost inevitably, though, when he kicked the ball it ended up in the hands of a Geelong player. It must have frustrated him, because it sure frustrated me.

It will be interesting to see how this game fits in as the season progresses, but at this stage I would guess that Geelong will be one of the sides contending with Fremantle for the wooden spoon. If Freo can't beat them at home, then its hard to see just where Freo will be able to win games - at least enough games to avoid the spoon. Reinforcing this thought was the skill level of the game. Both teams were pretty poor. Fremantle were generally able to get the ball, but didn't use it at all well. Geelong didn't win much of the ball out of the centre, but once they did get it - often thanks to a gift from a Freo player - they were more direct, and found a team-mate more often than the Dockers did.

Now, if I try to look for positives, its a bit harder. Even though they lost, Fremantle were not out-classed. In fact, if I had to guess, I'd estimate they had more possessions during the course of the game. They scored over 100 points, which at least partially answers the question of whether or not they can score enough goals to win games. Hasleby looked pretty good on the ball, in his first AFL game. Fewster played at CHF and looked like he was the big strong player that Freo have been looking for in that position.

Final Score : Fremantle 16.11-107 lost to Geelong 19.15-129

© 2000 timnfromoz timnfromoz@hotmail.com

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