St Kilda was simply awesome kicking 19 goals in the first half, including an amazing 12 goals in the second quarter. Gehrig kicked nine goals, Stephen Milne kicked six but it was the side’s dominance in the midfield that put Carlton to the sword. Lenny Hayes, Nick Dal Santo and Robert Harvey were relentless.
The Blues virtually conceded defeat at the first bounce putting star full forward Brendan Fevola to full back in a bid to shut down Gehrig. Not only did Gehrig make nonsense of the move kicking three first-quarter goals, it robbed Carlton of any focal point when it went forward. Matthew Lappin was the only Blue who could hold his head high.
Geelong somehow found a way to lose at AAMI Stadium, going down to Port Adelaide by four points despite leading for virtually the entire game. The Cats had their chances late in the game but crucial errors by Josh Hunt and Cameron Mooney plus a Ben Graham miss from just five metres out saw Port grab a win courtesy of two late goals from former Essendon VFL captain Josh Mahoney. Brent Moloney and Gary Ablett were the best for the Cats, Jarrad Schofield and Kane Cornes starred for the winners.
Melbourne suffered its third loss of the season going down to Brisbane by 40-points at the Gabba. Injuries forced the Lions into a minor re-structure with Justin Lepptisch going to full forward – the move worked with Leppitsch bagging three early goals. The Lions blew the game open with a seven-goal second term with its midfield typically dominant. Nigel Lappin and Michael Voss were the stars for the winners. Jeff White continued his good form for the Demons.
Collingwood recorded its third win for the season beating the Kangaroos by 27-points at The Dome. Chris Tarrant kicked three goals and was among the Magpies’ best along with Scott Burns and Alan Didak. Anthony Stevens and Leigh Brown tried hard for the Kangaroos but they just didn’t win enough contested football the put pressure on the Magpies.
Sydney’s 26-point win over the Western Bulldogs at the SCG came at a cost with Jason Saddington out for the season after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Sydney kicked woefully to finish with 21 behinds but the Bulldogs just lacked the class to put any scoreboard pressure on the Swans. Paul Williams and Adam Goodes did best for the winners while Patrick Bowden and Daniel Giasiracusa were the best of the Bulldogs.
Hawthorn’s season went from bad to worse when it produced its worst performance of the season, crashing to an 86-point loss to Adelaide at the MCG. The day got worse for the Hawks with Mark Graham and Shane Crawford both breaking arms. Both underwent surgery with Crawford’s the most serious – he will miss the next eight to 10 weeks. Mark Ricciuto – playing his 250th game – was the star for the winners along with Graham Johncock and Ben Hart. Peter Everitt tried hard for the Hawks but received precious little support.
Richmond’s hope of cracking a final-eight berth are now in the balance after it went down to the West Coast Eagles by 37 points at Subiaco. The sides were level-pegging at half time but the Tigers fell away dramatically in the third quarter – the home team kicking seven goals and virtually finishing the contest. Chris Judd, Ben Cousins and Daniel Kerr did the damage in the midfield. Phil Matera starred up forward booting six goals taking his 2004 tally to 33. Kane Johnson was one of few Tigers who produced four solid quarters of football.
