Afl 2006

The Age

Saturday February 18, 2006

By LYALL JOHNSON

LYALL JOHNSON gauges how two Victorian clubs fared in intraclub matches yesterday

ST KILDA MOORABBIN

WHO MISSED

Justin Koschitzke, still recovering from knee problems, was rested but the club hopes he will be right for round one. Aaron Hamill and Matt Maguire did not play but are not injured and will play in the NAB Cup next week. Xavier Clarke was omitted with slight hamstring tightness and his brother Raphael is being slowly brought back after patella tendon and osteitis pubis problems last year. Mark McGough is recovering from a groin operation.

WHO'S BACK

The Saints had only a few major post-season injury issues. Sam Fisher was the only player playing yesterday who had recovered. He had a stress fracture in his foot late in the season and the surgery seems to have been successful.

WHO'S NEW

According to coach Grant Thomas all of the young players "showed something" even if some of them took a bit longer to get into the contest than others. In particular Sam Gilbert, Michael Rix and Fergus Watts were standouts, with Watts taking a strong grab and goaling from 50 metres against the tricky wind.

EARLY FORMGUIDE

The match was a typically fast and free-flowing one. While not "picture perfect" according to Thomas, contributions from Fraser Gehrig, Nick Riewoldt, Stephen Milne and especially the older brigade of Robert Harvey who had 20 touches to half time, Andrew Thompson who had 30 for the game, Justin Peckett and Stephen Powell were notable.

POSITION WATCH

Cain Ackland was planted in the forward goal square with Gehrig. Riewoldt was given the licence to run in a type of ruck-roving role away from his customary centre half-forward, although at some centre bounces he could be seen starting from outside the square on a wing or half-forward flank. Troy Schwarze had his hands full with Gehrig, obviously with the Saints having an eye to him filling the spot left by the retirement of Luke Penny.

THE NEW RULES

While the new rule interpretations may please the AFL they are likely to have many fans shaking their heads in disbelief at the way the game is going if the crowd reaction to some decisions yesterday is any indication. A number of times players were penalised 50 metres for holding onto an opponents' jumper for less than a second after a mark. On other occasions players gave away free kicks for the most minor of grappling in marking contests. There were no notable tactics to counter the quick kick-in rule.

WHAT THE COACH SAID

"It was a good first start. Probably wasn't picture perfect football but we didn't want it to be. We want to be pretty accountable . . . and we're pretty happy with most parts of it."-- GRANT THOMAS

RICHMOND VICTORIA PARK

WHO MISSED

The obvious omission was Nathan Brown, who is still on the comeback trail from his broken leg. There are hopes he will be ready for round one. Also rested were Mark Coughlan, ruckman Trent Knobel (hamstring), Mark Chaffey (groin), Will Thursfield (back) and the club's No. 1 draft choice last year Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls who has groin soreness.

WHO'S BACK

David Rodan was the main inclusion, almost a year to the day he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Rodan was lively, moved freely, kicked three fourth-quarter goals and took a nice contested overhead.

WHO'S NEW

Dean Polo was handy in the middle and wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Luke McGuane was fighting way out of his weight division against much taller opponents, such as Greg Stafford, but tried hard. Dean Limbach showed he will press for senior selection with his good skills. High hopes are held for draftee Cleve Hughes but he found himself grappling with the pace of the game. Tall Adam Pattison, who played two senior games last year, spent stints in the ruck against rookie tall Angus Graham as well as across half-forward and acquitted himself well. Patrick Bowden was the pick of the smaller forwards with four goals.

EARLY FORMGUIDE

The match wasn't a pretty affair, with the "probables" playing the "possibles" - pretty much firsts versus reserves - and beating them by 19 goals. Shane Tuck continued his spectacular 2005 form. He was the standout midfielder, gathering numerous touches in the middle of the ground as well as pushing forward to kick a handful of goals. Brett Deledio, the 2005 NAB Rising Star winner, also looked sharp and seems to have put on some muscle. Matthew Richardson kicked four goals, but his most unmissable contribution was his swearing every time the ball was not delivered to him.

POSITION WATCH

Jay Schulz was thrust into defence and performed reasonably well. He has a good leap, is beginning to read the play better and appears to have got himself fitter.

THE NEW RULES

The new kick-in rule had players shouting "man up" as a player was kicking for goal.

A number of obvious issues emerged from the rule. If a team missed a shot on the run, the result became similar to a turnover where the opposition got the opportunity to run it out quickly. Time and again, it was highly disadvantageous to the attacking team.

WHAT THE COACH SAID

"It was good to see the guys gel together and a lot of the stuff we've been practising over the pre-season, they seemed to put it into practice today." -- BRIAN ROYAL, assistant

© 2006 The Age

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