Melbourne was brilliant at the MCG this afternoon with Cameron Bruce leading the way with a career-best haul of seven goals. Ben Holland kicked four goals while former Bomber Chris Heffernan showed a welcome return to form dominating the midfield. Adrian Deluca was the best player on a very ordinary day for the Blues.
Collingwood tried hard but couldn’t continue its recent dominance over Port Adelaide – going down by 17 points at AAMI Stadium. Warren Tredrea again showed was he is being touted as a possible Brownlow medallist with a four-goal haul from centre half forward. Kane Cornes and Gavin Wanganeen were other good players for the winners. Mark McGough and Shane O’Bree did well for the Magpies.
Geelong showed it won’t be an easy beat this season when it recorded a resounding 43-point win over Adelaide at Skilled Stadium. Gary Ablett – in his first game back from injury – provided the spark for the Cats kicking three goals. James Kelly and Cameron Ling were solid contributors for the Cats. Brett Burton was the best for the Crows.
The Western Bulldogs produced one of the most remarkable comebacks in recent times, coming from 32 points down early in the last quarter to snatch a one-point win in the dying seconds of the game courtesy of Brad Johnson. Luke Darcy and Scott West were sensational for the winners while Brent Harvey and Shannon Grant tried hard for the losers.
Richmond bounced back to the winners’ list – perhaps in a nick of time for coach Danny Frawley – recording a nail-biting one-point win over Hawthorn at The Dome. The Tigers started brilliantly and looked like scoring a comfortable win but the Hawks clawed their way back into the game during the middle stages. Wayne Campbell and Brad Ottens did best for the winners while Mark Williams and Peter Everitt were the best for the Hawks.
In the game of the season thus far, St Kilda showed it is the real deal scoring a thrilling one-point win over Brisbane. In a rugged affair, little separated the sides for the entire night. The Lions hit the lead in the dying minutes only to see it snatched back by a Troy Shwarze long-bomb in the final 15 seconds. Lenny Hayes and Brett Voss were sensational for the winners. Michael Voss and Jason Akermanis were the best of the Lions.
Fremantle chalked up its fourth win over home-town rivals West Coast, winning by 10-points at Subiaco Oval. It was the Dockers’ dynamic duo in the midfield – Paul Hasleby and Peter Bell that did the damage for the winners. Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr worked hard for West Coast but they just didn’t have enough tall targets up forward.
