ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day is of the great events on the AFL calendar, and this year it went to another level: two games across two countries, celebrating the Australia-New Zealand bond.
At the home of football, Essendon maintained its unbeaten start to the season, withholding several Collingwood challenges to eventually defeat the Pies by 46 points. The Bombers produced yet another backs-to-the-wall performance, just 24 hours after admitting to taking the banned substance AOD-9604.
After the traditional ANZAC Day match, attentions turned to New Zealand where Sydney and St Kilda competed in the first home-and-away game played outside Australia. The Saints, led by veterans Lenny Hayes and Nick Riewoldt, fought hard but fell 16 points short of the reigning champions.
Stars struck down
Clubs across the country are counting the costs of an unfortunate round of injuries.
The horrible weekend for knee injuries began on ANZAC Day, when reliable Collingwood defender Alan Toovey went down late in the match with an ACL injury. Barely 24 hours had passed before Fremantle forward Kepler Bradley was struck with the same ACL problem.
Adelaide’s star forward Taylor Walker landed awkwardly in Adelaide’s loss to Carlton, and could miss between six to eight weeks with what is believed to be a PCL injury.
Finally, Hawthorn magician Cyril Rioli looked in serious pain – barely able to walk from the field – when he tore his hamstring in Hawthorn’s narrow victory over North Melbourne. The severity of the injury is unclear, but Rioli’s history of hamstring injuries would be making Hawthorn supporters very anxious.
‘Invincible’ Power goes 5-0
Well, they may not be ‘invincible’ just yet, but on Saturday night Port Adelaide passed its biggest challenge yet, when they overcame West Coast by five points at AAMI Stadium.
The Power trailed by 41 points midway through the third quarter, but kicked eight of the last nine goals to secure a remarkable victory. The in-form Hamish Hartlett again provided the backbone for Port Adelaide’s stirring comeback, racking up 23 disposals, seven clearances and two goals.
Port will look to stretch its unbeaten run this season to six matches, when they take on North Melbourne in Tasmania next weekend.
Goal umpire gets in the way of Tigers victory
Richmond’s one-point loss to Fremantle was shrouded in controversy after a goal umpire looked to get in the way of what might have been the Tigers’ winning goal.
With Richmond trailing by two points late in the final quarter, small forward Matt White looked to dribble through an unbelievable goal from a tight angle in the forward pocket. However, the ball struck the goal umpire before it had crossed the line, and Fremantle casually walked the ball over the line for a rushed behind.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was furious about the incident after the game. Replays proved inconclusive as to whether the ball would have dribbled through had it not hit the umpire, but Richmond fans still had every right to be upset. The AFL admitted that the umpires should have called for a review.
Player of the Week – David Zaharakis
David Zaharakis must love playing on ANZAC Day. In 2009, he famously kicked the winning goal for Essendon with less than 10 seconds to play. He picked up his first ANZAC Day Medal last Thursday, after another brilliant performance.
In front of a crowd of 93,373 at the MCG, the Essendon midfielder was rampant, collecting 34 disposals – the most of anyone on the field – won six clearances and delivered the ball inside 50 on six occasions.
Not only did Zaharakis win the ball, he hurt Collingwood on the scoreboard as well. He kicked four goals – one in each quarter – to help the Bombers get over the line by 46 points.
Riley Beveridge is a second-year Bachelor of Sports Journalism student at La Trobe University. You can follow him on Twitter: @RileyBev
