Tweet
Roos refuses to rue late miss
By Jessica Halloran
March 29, 2004
Print this article
Email to a friend
Brisbane 11.14 (80) Sydney 11.12 (78)
It was so nearly a football fairytale. The kind of story Jason Ball could have told in years to come about how, in his 150th game, he took a fabulous mark and kicked a 35-metre goal to win the match in the dying moments and help his side claim retribution over reigning premiers Brisbane.
But history shows the kick went to the right for a point. Ball, who sat with his head in his hands in the Swans dressing rooms following the loss, declined to talk about the moment on the night. Yesterday, the ruckman, returning from a shoulder injury, still could not utter a single word about the disappointing kick.
But Sydney coach Paul Roos was much more positive about the disappointment of Ball's miss and the Swans' tough two-point loss.
"I just told him to forget it," Roos said. "There's no point in dwelling on it. It would have been a fairytale for him . . . I thought the mark was outstanding, I don't know where he came from. It was a bloody good mark. You've just got to forget those things. They happen in footy.
advertisement
advertisement
"I was just rapt with the guys and how hard they played. It was a fantastic contest . . . I enjoyed the way the guys battled a great team. There were a lot of positives."
The Swans had, again, tested Brisbane and for nearly three quarters of the match defiantly held the lead. Young players in defender Paul Bevan and Jarrad McVeigh showed poise and promise and senior players, such as Paul Williams and captain Stuart Maxfield, were still finding and winning the football.
Leo Barry was still courageously leaping, taking a crowd-wowing acrobatic mark in the back line in the second quarter. And Adam Goodes was still able to dominate.
The confidence was there, the skills were sharp and the effort was "fantastic". In short, the Swans looked good. But things did go wrong.
Nick Davis, who was in stunning form in the opening half, limped off the ground with a hip-flexor muscle tear late in the second quarter.
As the talented forward kicked his fourth to give the Swans 6.6 (42) to Brisbane's 3.4 (22), he felt the tear. Club doctor Nathan Gibbs said Davis would have an MRI scan today to determine the extent of the damage.
"I would guess he would have to be out for a few weeks at this stage," Gibbs said.
The first half was like a game of professional kick to kick, the Swans chipping it around short, maintaining possession and denying Brisbane the opportunity to build any momentum. Sydney held the lead for the first half, going into the half-time break with the scores at 8.7 (55) to 5.6 (36).
But, in the second half, Brisbane's midfield, led by Simon Black, started to fire. And, no matter how dodgy his knee was, Michael Voss was still incredibly impressive with 21 touches. Justin Leppitsch and Martin Pike (three goals) were powerful up forward, and Lions defender Mal Michael played well on Barry Hall.
Jason Akermanis, one of the Lions' best, emerged with a brilliant goal and stack of possessions to his name. His duel with Swans tagger Jared Crouch was entertaining, and honours were fairly even.
Sydney were held goalless in the third quarter. A combination of messy supply to their talented forward combination of Michael O'Loughlin and Hall and Brisbane's flooding halted their momentum.
"Their midfielders push back very hard and at times they have 14, 15 [players] inside the forward 50 . . . a lot of times it's hard to find space," Roos said.
"The third quarter was when we didn't use the ball. That's when they rebounded quite a few. I don't know how many goals were turnovers but there was quite a few."
The Lions went into the final break with a lead of just one point, with the scores at 8.11. (59) to 8.12 (60).
With five minutes to go, the Swans were in front by three. But as the game time trickled away, so did Sydney's opportunities and Blake Caracella slotted through a major to take Brisbane into the lead.
Then came the flying mark from Ball. But his boot let him down and the kick sailed wide, along with what would have been a famous win.
By Jessica Halloran
March 29, 2004
Print this article
Email to a friend
Brisbane 11.14 (80) Sydney 11.12 (78)
It was so nearly a football fairytale. The kind of story Jason Ball could have told in years to come about how, in his 150th game, he took a fabulous mark and kicked a 35-metre goal to win the match in the dying moments and help his side claim retribution over reigning premiers Brisbane.
But history shows the kick went to the right for a point. Ball, who sat with his head in his hands in the Swans dressing rooms following the loss, declined to talk about the moment on the night. Yesterday, the ruckman, returning from a shoulder injury, still could not utter a single word about the disappointing kick.
But Sydney coach Paul Roos was much more positive about the disappointment of Ball's miss and the Swans' tough two-point loss.
"I just told him to forget it," Roos said. "There's no point in dwelling on it. It would have been a fairytale for him . . . I thought the mark was outstanding, I don't know where he came from. It was a bloody good mark. You've just got to forget those things. They happen in footy.
advertisement
advertisement
"I was just rapt with the guys and how hard they played. It was a fantastic contest . . . I enjoyed the way the guys battled a great team. There were a lot of positives."
The Swans had, again, tested Brisbane and for nearly three quarters of the match defiantly held the lead. Young players in defender Paul Bevan and Jarrad McVeigh showed poise and promise and senior players, such as Paul Williams and captain Stuart Maxfield, were still finding and winning the football.
Leo Barry was still courageously leaping, taking a crowd-wowing acrobatic mark in the back line in the second quarter. And Adam Goodes was still able to dominate.
The confidence was there, the skills were sharp and the effort was "fantastic". In short, the Swans looked good. But things did go wrong.
Nick Davis, who was in stunning form in the opening half, limped off the ground with a hip-flexor muscle tear late in the second quarter.
As the talented forward kicked his fourth to give the Swans 6.6 (42) to Brisbane's 3.4 (22), he felt the tear. Club doctor Nathan Gibbs said Davis would have an MRI scan today to determine the extent of the damage.
"I would guess he would have to be out for a few weeks at this stage," Gibbs said.
The first half was like a game of professional kick to kick, the Swans chipping it around short, maintaining possession and denying Brisbane the opportunity to build any momentum. Sydney held the lead for the first half, going into the half-time break with the scores at 8.7 (55) to 5.6 (36).
But, in the second half, Brisbane's midfield, led by Simon Black, started to fire. And, no matter how dodgy his knee was, Michael Voss was still incredibly impressive with 21 touches. Justin Leppitsch and Martin Pike (three goals) were powerful up forward, and Lions defender Mal Michael played well on Barry Hall.
Jason Akermanis, one of the Lions' best, emerged with a brilliant goal and stack of possessions to his name. His duel with Swans tagger Jared Crouch was entertaining, and honours were fairly even.
Sydney were held goalless in the third quarter. A combination of messy supply to their talented forward combination of Michael O'Loughlin and Hall and Brisbane's flooding halted their momentum.
"Their midfielders push back very hard and at times they have 14, 15 [players] inside the forward 50 . . . a lot of times it's hard to find space," Roos said.
"The third quarter was when we didn't use the ball. That's when they rebounded quite a few. I don't know how many goals were turnovers but there was quite a few."
The Lions went into the final break with a lead of just one point, with the scores at 8.11. (59) to 8.12 (60).
With five minutes to go, the Swans were in front by three. But as the game time trickled away, so did Sydney's opportunities and Blake Caracella slotted through a major to take Brisbane into the lead.
Then came the flying mark from Ball. But his boot let him down and the kick sailed wide, along with what would have been a famous win.
Comment