Once again it is the Brisbane Lions that lead the way – two-points clear on top courtesy of a solid 14-point win over Collingwood at the Gabba last Thursday night. Brisbane captain Michael Voss was the star for the home side winning plenty of the football in the midfield. Centre half-forward Jonathon Brown produced his best game for the season. Collingwood however were far from disgraced and showed they can match it with the best side in the competition.
Geelong climbed off the bottom of the ladder courtesy of an easy 46-point win over Melbourne at Skilled Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Cat big man Ben Graham showed a welcome return to form while youngster Gary Ablett showed just what a star in the making he is. Former Bomber Chris Heffernan served the Demons well.
Late goals at Optus Oval saved Carlton from an embarrassing scoreline but Port Adelaide still dominated proceedings for much off the day. The Power won by an even five goals with Nick Stevens and Gavin Wanganeen the stars. Carlton was best served by Matthew Lappin and Brendan Fevola.
Adelaide fought off a determined West Coast at AAMI Stadium on Sunday afternoon thanks to a brilliant display from early Brownlow Medal favorite Andrew McLeod. McLeod was simply brilliant kicking three goals from his 28 possessions. Mark Ricciuto (30) and former Essendon player Chris Ladhams (22) were other standouts for the Crows. Daniel Kerr, Chris Judd and Peter Matera were the Eagles’ best.
Hawthorn got over the top of Sydney by 42 points but the contest was fairly even for most of the day. The Hawks kicked six goals to two in the final quarter after taking a 15-point margin into the final quarter. Jonathon Hay was excellent at full back while peter Everitt starred in the ruck and kicked four goals. Adam Goodes was the best for Sydney.
St.Kilda dropped to the bottom of the ladder after going down to Richmond by 26-points. The Saints looked like mounting a challenge late in the game but were let down by poor kicking. Mark Coughlan and Greg Tivendale dominated in the midfield for the Tigers while Fraser Gehrig and young Luke Ball did well for the Saints.
The Kangaroos suffered their first loss of the season when they went down to Fremantle by 45-points at Subiaco. A total of 44 goals were kicked in the high-scoring encounter – the Dockers breaking the game open with a blistering 10-goal burst in the third quarter. Peter Bell was brilliant for the winners while Adam Simpson served the Kangaroos well.
Round 6:
Friday, April 25th
Essendon v Collingwood at MCG
Sydney v Melbourne at SCG
Saturday, April 26th
Hawthorn v Richmond at MCG
Adelaide v Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium
Kangaroos v Carlton at The Dome
Sunday, April 27th
Brisbane Lions v Western Bulldogs at the Gabba
Fremantle v West Coast at Subiaco
St.Kilda v Geelong at The Dome
