Round 2 1997

Geelong v West Coast
Round 2, 1997

Cousins in action. Photo: aflphotos.com.au

Date

Sat, 5 April 1996 (2:10 PM EST)

Venue

Kardinia Park

Attendance

17,988

Result

Lost by 6

Score

GEE 11.12.78 - 11.6.72 WCE

Brownlow

3 P.Riccardi (GEE)
2 B.Graham (GEE)
1 J.Barnes (GEE)

Ladder

6th

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West Coast led at every change but couldn't hold on at an inhospitable Kardinia Park, falling to the Cats by just one kick. Compounding the loss, wingman Chris Mainwaring went down with a serious knee injury in the first term. Andy Lovell had 26 disposals and five tackles to be among the Eagles' best.

Summary

		1/4 time		1/2 time		3/4 time		Final
Geelong		0.6.6		4.8.32		7.9.51		11.12.78
West Coast		3.1.19		6.4.40		8.4.52		11.6.72

Goals: Grgic, Lewis, McIntosh 2, Kemp, Pe.Matera, Ph.Matera, Morrison, Sumich

Best: Heady, Kemp, White, Grgic, McKenna, Pe.Matera

Injuries: Mainwaring (knee), McIntosh (concussion, cut head)

Named sides

	West Coast				Geelong
B:	13.Wooden	11.McIntosh	7.Gehrig	B:	12.Sholl	36.Graham	17.McGrath
HB:	17.McKenna	50.Turnbull	8.Metropolis	HB:	21.Mansfield	26.Stoneham	27.Sanderson
C:	30.Pe.Matera	35.Cousins	3.Mainwaring	C:	33.Corrigan	39.Milburn	28.McKinnon
HF:	2.Kemp	26.Ball	28.Lewis	HF:	8.Burns	2.Colbert	30.Biddiscombe
F:	1.Heady	4.Sumich	12.White	F:	4.Robbins	1.King	19.Hall
R:	14.Grgic	6.Banfield	5.Lovell	R:	6.Barnes	13.Kilpatrick	7.Couch
I:	33.Ph.Matera	42.Morrison	16.Symmons	I:	20.Steinfort	15.Riccardi	22.Hargreaves
E:	18.Evans	19.Gardiner	44.Wirrpanda	E:	25.Snell	3.Houlihan	23.Pickering

In: Mainwaring, Sumich, Ph.Matera

Out: Waterman (thigh), Donnelly (knee), Evans

From the papers

The Sunday Age

"Sure enough, the Cats booted three of the first four to take a 13-point lead halfway through the term, only to be clinging for life to a six-point break when the siren went. The Eagles might even have pinched it at the end, Peter Sumich loping off the interchange bench to bring the Eagles back within seven points, then missing two further chances to reduce the margin to just one point.

While it might have been a clear case of theft had it won, the fact West Coast was even that close was a wonder. Its day could have well and truly been finished more than three quarters earlier, by which time key small man Chris Mainwaring had left the field with a serious knee injury, and key forward Ashley McIntosh was off, not to return, with concussion after a shuddering collision with Brenton Sanderson, which left the Geelong player needing 30 stitches to a head wound.

McIntosh, who had already kicked two goals, remained the Eagles' joint leading goalscorer, which gives some idea of their problems up forward, but neither could the Cats, despite some brilliant bursts of attacking football, kick completely clear.

Geelong's inspiration arrived via Peter Riccardi, whose previous couple of weeks had been poor to say the least, but who seems to make a habit of turning it on against the Eagles. He began in fine form on a wing - heading off Drew Banfield, Chad Morrison and being matched with Peter Matera all by quarter-time. He ended as a matchwinner giving Guy McKenna the runaround at full-forward."

WAFL

Round 2 (5 April)

South Fremantle (Clifton) v Subiaco (Schofield, Braun, Blair, Simpson)

Claremont (Evans, Gardiner, Marshall) vs Perth (Spinks, Sikora)

Swan Districts vs West Perth (Webb)

East Fremantle vs Peel

Bye: East Perth

Injury list

In the lead-up to the match the following players were listed as injured or unavailable:

Player		Injury		Expected duration
Dunstan		Ankle		Season
Jakovich		Knee		10 weeks
Fewster		Knee		10 weeks
Cummings		Knee		6 weeks
Donnelly		Knee		1-4 weeks
Worsfold		Ankle		Test
Mainwaring		Flu		Test
Evans		Bruised knee		Test
Schofield		Thigh		Test

References

http://afltables.com/afl/stats/games/1997/091819970405.html