From: marino@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.australian
Subject: AFL News for Sat.-Mon. 26-28/9/1992
Date: 28 Sep 92 12:45:46 +1000
Organization: Computer Centre, Monash University, Australia

The AFL for Saturday - Monday 26-28/9/1992.
-------------------------------------------
 The season is finally over. After more than six months of games the premier
team of the 1992 season was West Coast who defeated Geelong by 28 points on
Saturday at the MCG. The details of the Grand Final are:

        West Coast  2.6  6.8  11.15  16.17 (113)
        Geelong     5.5  8.8   9.10  12.13  (85)

Goals: W.C.: Sumich 6, Matera 5, Evans 3, Wilson 2
       Brownless 3, Ablett 3, Couch 1, Riccardi 1, Bruns 1, Poole 1,
                 Hinkley 1, Stoneham 1

Best: W.C.: Matera, McIntosh, Jakovich, Evans, Kemp, Harding, Heady
      GEEL.: Couch, McGrath, Hinkley, Stoneham, Mansfield, Ablett

Injuries: Langdon (WC) knee; Mainwaring (WC) leg

Reports: --

The rating out of 10 for each player was:

           WEST COAST
           ----------
        Backs:  Waterman  4   McIntosh  7    Lamb        5
   Half-Backs:  McKenna   6   Jakovich  7    Worsfold    5
      Centers:  Matera    9   Turley    3    Mainwaring  3
Half-Forwards:  Wilson    4   Brennan   3    Heady       7
     Forwards:  Evans     7   Sumich    6    Langdon     6
    Followers:  Harding   6   Kemp      7    Evans       3
  Interchange:  Lewis     3   White     3

        Coach:  Malthouse 8


            GEELONG
            -------
        Backs:  Mansfield  5  T. Darcy   5   Rogers      2
   Half-Backs:  Hinkley    7  McGrath    7   Simpson     5
      Centers:  Bairstow   5  Couch      6   Bruns       4
Half-Forwards:  Ablett     4  Stoneham   5   Scott       3
     Forwards:  Riccardi   4  Brownless  2   G. Hocking  5
    Followers:  Barnes     5  Poole      3   Merriman    3
  Interchange:  Wills      1  Miles      1

        Coach:  Blight     5


 Saturday's match was a strange game. Geelong jumped the Eagles slightly in the
first quarter to take a 17 points lead at quarter time. In that quarter Bairstow
(G) was playing on Matera (WC) and it was good battle. Gary Ablett (G) started
the game ferociously with a heavy bump to Don Pyke which required Pyke to be
taken from the field on a stretcher. Amazingly he was on the ground in 10
minutes! Geelong's defence was holding up to the Eagles attack and Geelong
kicked 3 goals to Poole, Stoneham, and Riccardi by the 13th minute mark. In the
19th minute Matera cut loose to score West Coast's first goal. Goals to Bruns
and Brownless of Geelong and Sumich of thge Eagles gave Geelong their 3 goal
break.

 Geelong opened the quarter with a goal to Ablett, but the Eagles replied with a
goal to Matera in the 11th minute. At this point the game hung in the balance.
The game required someone to open it up and up popped Tony Evans for the Eagles.
He kicked to goals in this quarter to cut the deficit back to 12 points after
Brownless had kicked another for the Cats. He started to give the Eagles some
drive on the ball, and Matera was starting to become dominant on the wing.
West Coast also moved Heady from the Half-Forward Flank and onto Paul Couch in
a tagging role. One further goal to Sumich and Couch gave a 12 point lead to the
Cats at half time.

 The Cats opened the third quarter with a goal Ablett and the game looked like
it could be heading the Cats way. This was not to be because Evans soon kicked
another goal, WIlson kicked a miraculous snap over his head, and Matera chimed
in for a brilliant running goal from the flank. The Eagles had hit the front at
the 11 minute mark of the third quarter by 2 points. The game now was there to
be won. The Eagles surged forward with their now dominant center line and kicked
3 points in the next 11 minutes. Geelong was still only down by 5 points but
the ir forward line had slowed to a walk. Ablett was involved in a heavy colli-
sion with Jakovich and was dazed, Brownless couldn't hold a mark, and Stoneham
was being forced up the ground for his marks at Center Half-Forward. The Geelong
small men were being cut to ribbons by Matera, Kemp and Evans. Sumich kicked his
third goal at the 22nd minute mark and the whole Geelong team suddenly seemed to
sag even further. Another Matera goal on the run saw the Eagles take a 17 point
lead at 3/4 time.

 The last quarter opened perfectly for the Eagles. Sumich marked the ball after
1 minute and handballed over to the running Matera to score his fifth goal.
Geelong reduced the deficit by a goal to Brownless but thibgs were looking tough
for the Cats. Sumich put the Eagles 22 points up at the 9th minute with his
fourth goal, and one minute kicked his fifth to give the Eagles a 28 point lead.
Wilson kicked another goal at the 11th minute to give the Eagles a 34 point
break and the game. A quick goal to Hinkley in the 13th minute mark gave the
Cats a glimmer of hope but the move of Hinley to the forward line was too late.
The Eagles defence tightened up and made sure the Cats could not kick those
required goals. With the only other goals to Sumich and Ablett the difference
remained 28 points at the final siren. The Eagles had won the flag for the first
time in their six year history, and subsequently stretched their record over
Geelong to 11-3.

 Well that's it for me this year. I hope you have all enjoyed the reports that
I have supplied throughout this year. Hopefully next year I can incorporate the
game statistics also, so everyone can get a better feel of the game. The news
reports will not be as frequent anymore but we have now entered the 'silly
season' of swapping players and coaches and whatever else a team thinks it
needs. The latest rumours are that Bradley of Carlton will not go to Adelaide,
Peter Hudson will leave St.Kilda to coach Melbourne, Barry Mitchell will leave
Sydney for St.Kilda, ..... and the rumour mill goes on. Bye for now and once
again congratulations to the West Coast Eagles for their first premiership.

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-  John Marinopoulos                                                      -
-                                                                         -
-  Department of Mathematics                           Tel:+613 565 5460  -
-  Monash University                                   Fax:+613 565 4403  -
-  Clayton Victoria 3168            E-mail: marino@vaxc.cc.monash.edu.au  -
-  Australia                                                              -
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-         GO SAINTS! GO SAINTS! GO SAINTS! GO SAINTS! GO SAINTS!          -
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