Webster, King set to face MRO scrutiny as Saints crash to defeat against Dockers; Tigers suffer more injury pain

COLLINGWOOD 12.6 (78) d ADELAIDE 11.8 (74)

Star Magpie Jordan De Goey kicks while being tackled by Crow Ben Keays.Credit: Getty Images

KEY POINTS

QUAYNOR’S DESPERATION SAVES THE DAY
Collingwood players have made a point of recognising big defensive moments with exaggerated celebrations. Part of it looks comical to the outside but it shows that the one percenters matter.
None mattered more than Isaac Quaynor’s desperate smother in the closing minutes of the game. It sent a ball that would have been heading deep inside the Crows’ forward 50 ricocheting back the other way. Fortune would have it, the ball landed advantageously for the Pies, who through Jack Crisp, were able run the ball through the centre and kick long to Jordan De Goey. De Goey, as you would expect for a player of his quality, calmly slotted what proved to be the winner from about 35 metres out. All this would not have been possible without Quaynor’s desperate act.

COLLINGWOOD FORWARD LINE
Collingwood’s decimated forward line has taken another hit with Will Hoskin-Elliott and Reef McInnes both injured against the Crows. Hoskin-Elliott was subbed out early in the third quarter with a hamstring injury, while McInnes was taken out of the game soon due to concussion. Both will be unavailable for the trip out west to take on Walyalup, as Fremantle are known in Sir Doug Nicholls round, on Friday night. Key forward Brody Mihocek is in line to return from a hamstring injury sustained on Anzac Day while Beau McCreery (concussion) is also expected to come back. The injuries to Hoskin-Elliott and McInnes meant the Pies had to play out the game with a makeshift forward line missing six of their best forwards. Jordan De Goey may be the man they need to move forward. The midfield star was the most dangerous forward in on the ground, kicking two goals to go with 26 disposals. “It’s a challenging period for us, it really is,” McRae said. “We come here with a plan, you know you’ll be stressed then the plan gets more stressed. “Credit to (forwards coach) Scott Selwood, he’s doing an incredible job. We found a way to kick 12 goals today, nine different goalkickers again, but there’s a stress.“
McRae would not be drawn on whether De Goey would line up forward again next week.

John Noble celebrates his rare goal.Credit: Getty Images

NOBLE’S REWARD FOR RESILIENCE
For all the talk in March of a premiership hangover at Collingwood, John Noble is one Magpie whose commitment to the cause cannot be questioned. Noble, the heartbreak story of the Pies’ flag last year, was superb, providing plenty of run and drive off half-back. His 29 possessions felt like more, such was the ground he was able to take, first with his run then with his incisive kicking. When he goaled on the run from downtown, almost every Magpie flocked to mark the moment with Noble, who was playing in his 100th game. His is a story of resilience. “You can have a milestone and play well in your milestone,” Pies coach Craig McRae said.
“The story’s told but he’s still living it and going through it. He’s a hungry guy and we need hungry players. He’s an important player when he’s fighting and scrapping and playing the best version of him.
“We celebrated that yesterday and again before the game. We got our players to tell us what you love about Johnny. There were some really glowing affirmations about what he does for the team.”

KEY STATS

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Jarrod Berry of the Lions interacts with fans.Credit: AFL Photos

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has backed Saints defender Jimmy Webster after his collision with Fremantle’s Michael Frederick, which resulted in the Dockers flyer being subbed out of the game in the first term.

Webster, who was banned for seven games for a late bump on North Melbourne’s Jy Simpkin during pre-season, was going for a spoil and clearly had eyes for the ball when he collided with Frederick.

But the incident will be closely scrutinised by the AFL’s match review panel.

“What I saw was Jimmy had eyes for the ball and was going for the ball,” Lyon said.

“It’s a come-forward-to-defend game. I have confidence in the process and the system.”

Lyon said his side’s forward struggles would continue to be addressed and he was “bitterly disappointed” in the second-half display as he thought the side showed promise in the first half.

Michael Frederick of the Dockers and Jimmy Webster of the Saints shake hands post game.Credit: AFL Photos

The Saints were outscored 4.12 to 3.4 after trailing by three points at the main break.

Lyon added he was pleased with Max King’s performance, the key forward going goalless from 10 touches.

“It was only their inaccuracy that kept us in it – to be honest,” Lyon said.

Luke Parker is facing an even longer stint out of Sydney’s AFL side after a collision that sent a Frankston player to hospital with facial injuries and is likely to attract a multi-week suspension.

As the Swans smashed Carlton by 52 points on Friday night in front of more than 44,000 fans at the SCG, Parker was in Melbourne’s south-east playing his fourth consecutive match for Sydney’s reserve team in the VFL, having been unable to break into their best 23 since recovering from a broken arm suffered in pre-season.

Luke Parker is facing a lengthy ban.Credit: AFL Photos

An injury to Robbie Fox may have finally opened the door for him, but Parker’s bump on Frankston player Josh Smith is likely to block him from an AFL return.

The 31-year-old had run past the ball in Sydney’s 15-point defeat to Frankston when he collected Smith, leaving him with a reported broken cheekbone. The VFL will hand down Parker’s sanction on Monday but, if history in the top grade is any judge, he is likely to be banned for several weeks.

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BRISBANE LIONS 26.7 (163) d RICHMOND 6.8 (44)

Charlie Cameron and Lachie Neale of the Lions celebrate a goal.Credit: AFL Photos

KEY POINTS

LIONS FILL THEIR BOOTS
Even by his lofty standards, Lachie Neale was in rare air against the Tigers. The dual Brownlow medallist’s game was ruthlessly efficient, finishing with six goal assists (equal third-highest in AFL history, since the statistic was logged) from 36 possessions in his finest game for the year. It was a game in which the Lions’ leaders excelled — Dayne Zorko, fresh from a career-best 40 possessions last week, followed it with another 35, Charlie Cameron finished with five goals, and Joe Daniher was strong throughout with three goals, two direct assists and nearly 600 metres gained, playing higher up the ground. It has to be kept in context, of course – with the Tigers in their current state, this was a night to fill the boots. The Lions’ high accuracy (26.7) kept them overflowing, with the 119-point final winning margin the second-highest in club history.

KAI HIGH
It wasn’t just the experienced campaigners who had a night out for the Lions. Coach Chris Fagan said we’d find out a bit about their list after a spate of injuries – and the signs are good. The most exciting prospect is probably Kai Lohmann, who kicked his first five-goal career haul from 14 disposals. Lohmann is exceptional overhead and gives his side a huge shot of energy. Also impressing is Bruce Reville, in his third game. Reville showed his versatility, moving from half-back to half-forward with a brief spell in the middle, and notching his first goal from a thumping kick. Logan Morris kicked another two goals, again showing intuitive football intelligence that should take him much further in the game. And Shadeau Brain collected a silky eight possessions after being subbed on in the last quarter.

Richmond’s Dustin Martin.Credit: AFL Photos

FEELING DUSTY
Like a lot of things in this lopsided game, Dustin Martin’s performance was hard to judge. He spent most of the night forward, where he didn’t have a lot to do – the Tigers went in there just 40 times. And some unselfish play in front of goal, probably costing himself and his team, was perhaps an attempt to bring younger players into the game. But, three short of his 300th game, he still looks barely a shadow of the footballer who terrorised opposition teams in his pomp and led Richmond to three premierships. He spent most of the last quarter on the bench. Surely, too, the discussion over whether he could be lured north by former coach Damien Hardwick at the Suns has been put to rest.

KEY STATS

FREMANTLE 9.18 (72) d ST KILDA 8.7 (55)

Jeremy Sharp of the Dockers celebrates after scoring a goal.Credit: Getty Images

KEY POINTS

WEBSTER HAD HIS EYES ON THE BALL
The marking contest that left Michael Frederick concussed at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night is going to be a fascinating case study for watchers of the MRO. The Fremantle forward was ironed out by St Kilda defender Jimmy Webster in the opening term. Webster collected the Docker across the head with his hip as he flew in from the side to punch the ball out of Fredrick’s hand. Frederick landed heavily and did not move. Initially, it looked like he had been knocked out, but he was able to regain his feet as the medical cart arrived to take him from the ground. While he was able to run to the interchange bench on his own, he was quickly subbed out of the contest. Make no mistake, this was nothing like the careless head-high bump which resulted in Webster copping seven weeks for knocking out Kangaroos skipper Jy Simpkin in a practice match. Under all the old measures, Webster has no case to answer for his collision with Frederick. His eyes were on the ball, and he flew to spoil.
But there are two key elements at play here: head-high knock and concussion. Then the question is asked: did he take every precaution? Logic and football purists will say it was a football act and, therefore, he has no case to answer. But we have been in this space before, and the outcome has been hard to predict. A clearly frustrated Max King will also face MRO heat. His sling tackle in the last 10 minutes of the game looked clumsy at best, careless at worst. Alex Pearce did not appear to be hurt, but his head hit the turf, and we have been in this space before.

Luke Jackson of the Dockers and Rowan Marshall of the Saints.Credit: Getty Images

MARSHALL GOES BIG AGAIN
Whoever said ruckmen were overrated, were not taking Rowan Marshall or Luke Jackson into account. They were close to the best two players on the ground. Across the past fortnight, Marshall has probably been the best big man in the league. Last week against the Hawks, he set a St Kilda record with 23 uncontested possessions in the one game. On Saturday night, he had 26 possessions in the first three quarters and 31 disposals for the game. That could be six Brownlow votes right there. Jackson was a worthy opponent. The Dockers big man, and one-time Melbourne premiership player, had plenty of the ball as well – 25 disposals, including ground-ball gets. He also had a big impact with his tap work in the centre square and around the ground. Other Dockers to star on the night were Luke Ryan and Jordan Clark. But they are half-backs and St Kilda played the game on their terms.

DEFENCE FIRST, ATTACK AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT
If Euro-Yroke (St Kilda) and Walyalup (Fremantle) weren’t wearing different jumpers at Marvel Stadium, fans would have been excused for thinking they were watching the same team. For most of Saturday night both sides were so intent on protecting their defensive zones, they forgot how to score. Or were too scared to try. St Kilda and Fremantle have capable weapons in front of the ball, but not the dare or game plans to use them. Saints youngster Anthony Caminiti kicked two in the third quarter, Mitch Owens booted three for the game, but Max King was left itching for decent supply. St Kilda needs to utilise their run through Brad Hill, Jack Sinclair and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera more. For the Dockers, Jye Amiss and Patrick Voss both looked dangerous. And, yet, they were also Ultimately, Fremantle won the match by being more damaging on the outside of the contest.
To be fair to Justin Longmuir’s men, they should have won by more, kicking 18 points and at least half of them should have been goals. St Kilda kicked the first two goals of the first three terms, but beyond that could not conjure a winning style of play.

KEY STATS

Fremantle’s Luke Jackson has hailed his club’s ability to win on the road after their victory over St Kilda on Saturday night.

“We love traveling as a team, it brings us closer together,” Jackson told Fox Footy.

“We are not bad on the road and just want to keep getting better.

“We are a pretty young group and the boys have a lot of talent and some good coaches in there too – we just want to keep learning.”

Two Jaeger O’Meara goals in the final term pushed the Dockers to a much-needed win over St Kilda at Marvel Stadium this evening.

They will finish the night in ninth spot, but that could change depending on results on Sunday.

Jeremy Sharp celebrates a goal.Credit: AFL Photos

St Kilda’s forward struggles continued and the Dockers had plenty of issues with their kicking accuracy, otherwise their margin could have been much bigger.

But a win is a win, and the Dockers really needed this one.

The health of Michael Frederick will be the other big question from this match after he went down heavily in a marking contest in the first term and was subbed out after a head injury assessment.

Jaeger O’Meara has kicked a clutch goal about 40m out to push Freo’s lead beyond two goals.

It will take something special for the Saints to win from here.

Freo 65, Saints 48 with five mins to go.

Jeremy Sharp looked to have done what few Dockers have been able to do in the second half, when he has booted a goal and this one was from outside 50m.

But the score review showed Rowen Marshall had just got his fingers to the ball before it fully crossed the line.

Then on the kick in, the Dockers intercepted the kick in and Josh Treacy kicked the goal.

Freo 57, Saints 48 with 13 mins to go.

For a side that’s won three premierships, it’s hard not to feel sorry for the Tigers at this point.

Rhyan Mansell has come off after a big collision with his ruckman, Toby Nankervis.

He looks like he’s been hit by, well, a Nank. Mykelti Lefau is already out for the game. If both are lost, that would be 17 listed players injured.

The margin has just crossed the ton, with Cameron Rayner the beneficiary of another dreadful turnover at half-back. And there’s still a quarter of footy to play.