Ireland downs Aussies in ugly finish

Updated November 09, 2011 08:42:50

No chance of winning the International Rules series, Australia tried to win the fight in an ugly 1.13.5 (50) to 0.7.8 (29) loss to Ireland at Metricon Stadium on Friday night.

Needing to win by 45 points to claim the series trophy after its opening game capitulation last week, Australia opted to play the aggression card - only to be met by a lot of yellow ones.

At one stage it appeared a game of International Rules had broken out at a scuffle as Australia racked up more yellow cards in the third term (three) than they scored points (one).

In all, a total of six players received the yellow vest on the way to the sin bin - including five in a spiteful third term alone.

Somehow Australian captain Brad Green stayed on the field after being involved in a series of altercations, including one before the game started.

Australia's physical approach appeared to have early results when it banged in the opening two three-point "overs" via Green and Mitch Robinson.

But from there Robinson and Green turned more heads in the amount of scuffles they were involved in as Ireland kicked into another gear.

Ireland led at the first break by just four points but extended the buffer to 1.8.4 (34) to 0.6.5 (23) by half-time before all hell broke loose in the third.

At one stage an all-in brawl threatened to erupt as Irish players reacted angrily to late shots by Australians that left Joe McMahon in a crumpled heap.

When the dust settled Australia's Angus Monfries, Mark Nicoski, Robbie Gray were all yellow-carded while Ireland's Finian Hanley and vice-captain Ciaran McKeever were also given their marching orders.

Ireland's Michael Murphy had been sin binned late in the second term.

Geelong's James Kelly won the Jim Stynes medal as Australia's best player in the series while Tadhg Kennelly won Ireland's GAA Medal.

The bully tactics spectacularly backfired for the hosts who managed just six points in the second half.

Indeed when Ben McGlynn potted over an "over" late in the last term, it marked the first three-pointer by Australia in 25 minutes.

The difference in skill level between the teams was summed up by Leighton Glynn's superb goal for Ireland in the second term.

Glynn cheekily chipped to himself, rounded goalkeeper Matt Suckling and soccered through the only goal of the match.

Ireland avenged its 0-2 series loss last year in spectacular style, winning not only the trophy but also with a 65-point superior aggregate.

For Ireland, Tommy Walsh and Steven McDonnell kicked three overs while Australia's Zac Smith also kicked three.

Ireland: 1.13.5 (50) - Goals: L Glynn Overs: S McDonnell 3, T Walsh 3, K Donaghy 2, M Murphy 2, J McMahon, M Murphy, T Kennelly.

Australia: 0.7.8 (29) - Overs: Z Smith 3 B Green 2, M Robinson, B McGlynn

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, carrara-4211, qld, australia

First posted November 04, 2011 23:09:41

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Malthouse eyes the finish line

Posted September 30, 2011 11:43:00

It took 663 games for the hard man to reveal, publicly at least, that he had a heart.

And if things go as he says they will, the tears he shed in the coaches box after the nail-biting preliminary final win over Hawthorn won't be repeated after Saturday, no matter what.

Barring the unlikely outcome of another drawn grand final, Mick Malthouse will coach his 664th, and final, AFL game this weekend.

And if anyone was ever to live up to a "no comeback" promise, it is Malthouse.

"I know I'm going to reach the top of the mountain and there's going to be no tomorrow in terms of that 40 years that I've been involved," Malthouse said at the start of his final week as a football coach.

"It's just going to stop."

Those who have seen Malthouse in both his football incarnations are among the true believers.

"He coaches like he played," says St Kilda legend Kevin "Cowboy" Neale who played with Malthouse in his 53 game-stint with the Saints.

"Uncompromising, disciplined, straight up and down."

A lot of that came from their old St Kilda coach, Allan Jeans, according to Neale.

"He used to tell us all that the most important thing we could do was to be ourselves," he said.

Whatever Malthouse may be, he is himself - and it has invariably been good enough.

Malthouse wasn't a champion player, but in 174 games he got the best out of himself and was rewarded with a premiership at Richmond in 1980.

When he retired after three more seasons, Malthouse had only his playing record to recommend him to Footscray, which appointed him as coach in 1984 at the tender age of 30.

In that first season the Bulldogs challenged for the finals, finishing seventh, improving to third in 1985 and going down by 10 points to Hawthorn in the preliminary final.

Tough out west

After four more seasons with Footscray, Malthouse took up one of the less-sought-after jobs in the AFL with newcomer West Coast.

It is the no-nonsense, and, sometimes heartless approach to football that is remembered well by some of the Eagles players of the time.

"Mick always put it to us straight and hard," two-time Eagles premiership player Brett Heady said.

"But almost every one of us got a look at the other side. He always knew when to help and when to encourage."

The West Coast captain in 1990 was Steve Malaxos, the club's inaugural best-and-fairest winner and a Sandover medallist - and a player who discovered how uncompromising the new coach could be.

Malaxos played 20 games during 1990 including the drawn qualifying final against Collingwood and the replay.

Malaxos was dropped for the remaining finals matches, and replaced as captain.

The really tough part was that the club didn't allow Malaxos to travel with the team to Melbourne for the semi and the preliminary final.

West Coast won two premierships with Malthouse in 1992 and '94 and made the finals in each of his 10 years as coach.

At Collingwood the Malthouse exterior has been at its most crusty, and its most agreeable.

There have been run-ins with journalists and photographers, obtuse "ox is slow, earth is patient" responses and the peculiar retirement-but-not-departure deal that has led to the confusion about his future.

In hindsight Malthouse did remarkably well to get limited Collingwood teams all the way to the 2002 and 2003 grand finals, where they twice came up short against Leigh Matthews' powerhouse Brisbane line-up.

And he was at his very best in the seven days after the 2010 drawn grand final, allowing the Magpies to play with freedom in the replay.

Icon of the game

Scott Watters has seen both sides of Malthouse, as a player at West Coast and as an assistant coach at Collingwood.

"When you measure legacy, once you give someone a little bit of time away from the game, you'll realise even more so the impact that he's had on the game," he said.

"Because he has been such a constant for so many years, we probably take a lot of things for granted.

"When Kevin Sheedy retired a couple of years ago, all of a sudden there was a big hole there and Mick will leave a similar hole.

"He's an icon of the game."

Malthouse's final week as an AFL coach shapes as one of his best.

It began with Dane Swan's Brownlow medal on Monday and the heartfelt praise of the player for his coach.

And, if fairytales have a place in football, it will end with a premiership on Saturday.

It should also be remembered for the insight it has provided into a coach who truly believes it isn't about him.

Talk of his retirement and his future is off the agenda.

His most important job, he told Channel 7's AFL Game Day, will be about getting his players ready to win.

"Any individual stuff will be about the playing group," he said.

"You cannot afford for one person's plight to interfere with the team.

"My boys understand that. The club knows that. We'll be doing everything for the team.

"How they feel for me individually and how I feel for them individually will be hidden. It will be well camouflaged."

Not too well, you hope.

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, vic, collingwood-3066

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Eagles target top four finish

Posted July 11, 2011 13:30:00

West Coast has set its sights on crashing into top four following confidence-boosting wins over premiership contenders Geelong and Carlton.

The fifth-placed Eagles sit just two points adrift of the fourth-placed Blues, ahead of Saturday night's tricky clash with a resurgent St Kilda at Docklands.

Although Eagles coach John Worsfold has been quick to publicly play down his team's premiership chances, the player group are taking the opposite approach.

Midfielder Matt Rosa says the six-goal win over the Blues and eight-point triumph over the Cats prove the Eagles deserve to be considered a top four team.

"(Those wins) definitely gives us a lot of confidence and a lot of belief that we can finish in the top four," Rosa said.

"That's definitely something we can aim to do now.

"And if you finish in the top four, it gives you a really good chance of having a crack at winning some finals games and maybe getting a game at home.

"It would be great for our fans if we do get to play a home final, just have a crack at it over here."

Worsfold's coaching career appeared destined for a limp end after guiding the Eagles last year to the wooden spoon.

But the 2006 premiership coach's remarkable transformation of the team is set to earn him a new two or three-year deal at the end of the season.

"He's stuck with all the boys and backed everyone in and it's amazing what can happen when the coach gives players belief and backs them in all the time," Rosa said.

"He's been great and, hopefully, he's here for a long time."

Despite the Eagles' run of five straight wins, Rosa says the group is on guard against a fast-improving Saints unit, who have won five of their past seven matches to move back to within striking distance of the top eight.

"We really set ourselves for those two games (against Carlton and Geelong) but we realise St Kilda are starting to get back into some great form, so it's going to be a massive challenge this weekend," Rosa said.

"We've just got to knuckle down and make sure we bring that same intensity this week."

Eagles' forward Quinten Lynch will return against the Saints after serving his one-match suspension, while defenders Mitch Brown and Beau Waters are also in the hunt for recalls after solid performances in the WAFL.

- AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, perth-6000

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Tigers finish fast to claw Lions

Updated June 18, 2011 22:57:00

Richmond responded to a pair of disappointing defeats with a 31-point triumph over the struggling Lions at the Gabba in Brisbane on Saturday night.

The Lions led by 23 points after an explosive start before the Tigers awoke form their slumber, arresting some poor goal kicking to post a much-needed 18.17 (125) to 14.10 (94) victory.

Young midfielder Dustin Martin booted five goals and had 22 disposals in another brilliant performance with Tyrone Vickery chipping in with four goals of his own.

Trent Cotchin was equally influential with his 30 possessions as Richmond was able to keep Lions skipper Jonathan Brown to just four scoring shots and only two goals.

Brown's second major put Brisbane within four points halfway through the final term but the Tigers responded emphatically with the next five majors to ice the contest.

Lively Tigers forward Jack Riewoldt was kept to two majors by Matt Maguire.

Brisbane kicked the first four goals of the game and, while the Tigers rallied to lead at half-time, they could not shrug off the Lions until deep into the last term.

Twice Richmond was on the verge of amassing a match-winning lead only to see the Lions fight back and threaten to steal the game.

Determined Brisbane midfielders Jack Redden, Simon Black and Tom Rockliff kept their side within striking distance, although Richmond's forwards were not helping their own cause.

By three-quarter time, 10 of Richmond's 13 behinds had been scored from set shots, most of them very gettable, well inside 50m.

Redden was also enforcer, applying some big hits while also getting physical with with several Tigers including Daniel Jackson and Shane Edwards.

The aggressive tone was set before the opening bounce, when both midfield brigades started wrestling in an entertaining sideshow to the main act.

The turning point in the last quarter occurred when Chris Newman brought Lions skipper Brown to his knees with a heavy tackle inside 50m and then, moments later, when Black was streaming through the middle, Robert Nahas stopped him in his tracks.

From that point onwards, the Tigers rattled off five of the last seven majors to seal the match.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick praised Martin for his five-goal return and the game-turning tackles of Nahas and Newman.

"It's amazing when the simple things are done well, you get the result you want," he said.

"It puts us back in the hunt (for the top eight).

"He (Martin) uses the ball well and I couldn't believe it when I saw he kicked five goals."

Lions coach Michael Voss said they had their chances to win and, in the end, could not counter-attack when it mattered most, like they had done on two previous occasions during the game.

"We certainly had our ascendancy in different parts of the game," he said.

"You have to make the most of them because you do have momentum in games.

"What we weren't able to do, we couldn't hold that wall and counter attack likewise."

He said key forward Mitchell Clark would miss at least one match after spraining an ankle, while nimble forward Todd Banfield suffered a hamstring injury.

"It's not a break, but it will certainly keep him (Clark) out for next week," he said.

The match was also a stop-start affair with 54 free kicks being awarded, 32 by half-time, which would normally be around the end-of-game statistic.

-ABC/AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, australia, qld, brisbane-4000, vic, richmond-3121

First posted June 18, 2011 22:09:00

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