ANZAC Day tradition was extended from the Collingwood-Essendon clash of the racists at the MCG to include this clash at Subiaco in the evening. The Dockers staged a ceremony before the game, and had a big flamey thing up at the top of the stands that they kept burning all night.
The first quarter was a pretty tight affair, with Fremantle probably having more of the play, but as usual being unable to convert possession into a score. St Kilda fought back towards the end of the quarter, and this was pretty much the pattern of the game, with Fremantle starting each quarter well, and then St Kilda fighting back to prevent them extending their lead to any insurmountable margin.
In the second quarter, the difference between the two teams was, surprisingly, Clive Waterhouse, who seemed to playing as a centre half forward. Waterhouse personally added four goals for the quarter. His contribution for the rest of the game was much less significant, but he did seem to offer a contest across half forward throughout, which is more than I would have expected of him.
Neither Parker performed well, though in the course of the game it did become clear to me why Daniel continues to get a game - apart from the fact that all the other big forwards are injured. He seems to have the marking ability of Peter Mann, and the straight kicking that we've come to know and love from Kingsley Hunter. The ideal compromise, really. At the other end, Shane got given the job on Stewie Loewe, which was always going to a mismatch. It took Gerard Neesham about 15 minutes to realise his mistake, and bring Stephen O'Reilly out to centre half back. Neesham gave Shane another go at Stewie in the final quarter, but after Stewie had played a part in the Saints adding a couple of quick goals, he soon had O'Reilly back on the ground.
In the end, the final score was a pretty fair reflection on the game. Freo were the better team on the night, but were never able to completely shut St Kilda out of the game. On the other hand, the Dockers would have felt hard done by had they actually would up losing the game.
Final Score : Fremantle 16.11-107 defeated Saint Kilda 15.11-101
timn_from_oz
© 1997 t.neame@trl.telstra.com.au
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