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Welcome to the third edition of the 2004 Troy Luff Medal countdown! Having covered four rounds, the season is well under way and we can expect to see some trends developing. Will one player ? or small group ? make a break from the pack, or will the voting be an even spread across the team? The next couple of rounds will answer some of these questions, at least for a while.
The leaderboard as at round four:
11 votes ? Barry Hall
8 ? Adam Goodes
7 ? Paul Williams
6 ? Brett Kirk
5 ? Ben Mathews, Jared Crouch, Heath James
4 ? Tadhg Kennelly
3 ? Leo Barry, Nic Fosdike
2 ? Nick Davis, Jason Saddington
Round five saw the Swans back in Sydney, playing their first game of the season at Stadium Australia and the first game there against Melbourne. Despite being at the home of Swans blockbusters, the game enjoyed little fanfare; Melbourne were one of the competition?s strugglers in 2003 and not the sort of team that could expect to draw a large crowd in Sydney.
Nonetheless, the Demons had won their last three matches and the 33,000 who turned up saw more of a contest than would have been expected pre-season. It was a see-sawing encounter in which neither team could get a clear break. Throughout, the forwards dominated. For the Swans, both Barry Hall and Nick Davis ? back for his first game since injuring his hip ? kicked four goals, but at the other end David Neitz kicked six and proved too much for inexperienced defender Heath James. The Melbourne captain?s dominance would be the deciding factor in the match, with the Demons winning by two goals.
The Swans were once again shown that the opposition had caught up over summer. Unlike the Geelong game two weeks earlier, however, it would cost them four points.
The votes:
5 votes ? Barry Hall
4 ? Brett Kirk
3 ? Nick Davis
2 ? Jared Crouch
1 ? Paul Williams
Congratulations to the five players who polled this week. Barry Hall has made the early break, with Brett Kirk six votes behind.
The next week, the Swans travelled to Melbourne for the first time in 2004, to take on the Bombers at the MCG in an important match for both teams. Both the Bombers and Swans sat on three wins and two losses; the victor would stay within touch of the competition leaders while the loser would be back in the pack.
With this in mind, the circumstances in which this game became an Essendon win are even more disappointing. The Swans fought back hard after falling a long way behind, but in the end the result was out of their hands. We all know what happened in the last quarter of that game, and can only hope it doesn?t happen again. Despite the ten point loss, Barry Hall once again dominated and Ryan O?Keefe played one of his best games yet. Leo Barry also distinguished himself at full-back, allowing Matthew Lloyd only three goals.
The votes:
5 ? Barry Hall
4 ? Paul Bevan
3 ? Ryan O?Keefe
2 ? Leo Barry
1 ? Adam Schneider
Congratulations to all five, particularly Paul Bevan who polls his first ever Troy Luff Medal votes. Hopefully they are the first of many.
So, with six rounds done, Barry Hall has raced to a commanding lead of 11 votes. Even with three quarters of the season remaining, with many more outstanding performances, he will be hard to beat.
From now, only the top ten will be named each week on the leaderboard:
21 votes ? Barry Hall
10 ? Brett Kirk
8 ? Adam Goodes, Paul Williams
7 ? Jared Crouch
5 ? Leo Barry, Nick Davis, Heath James, Ben Mathews
4 ? Paul Bevan, Tadhg Kennelly
Join me again tomorrow night as we look at rounds seven and eight. Please post any thoughts on this thread.
Charlie
The leaderboard as at round four:
11 votes ? Barry Hall
8 ? Adam Goodes
7 ? Paul Williams
6 ? Brett Kirk
5 ? Ben Mathews, Jared Crouch, Heath James
4 ? Tadhg Kennelly
3 ? Leo Barry, Nic Fosdike
2 ? Nick Davis, Jason Saddington
Round five saw the Swans back in Sydney, playing their first game of the season at Stadium Australia and the first game there against Melbourne. Despite being at the home of Swans blockbusters, the game enjoyed little fanfare; Melbourne were one of the competition?s strugglers in 2003 and not the sort of team that could expect to draw a large crowd in Sydney.
Nonetheless, the Demons had won their last three matches and the 33,000 who turned up saw more of a contest than would have been expected pre-season. It was a see-sawing encounter in which neither team could get a clear break. Throughout, the forwards dominated. For the Swans, both Barry Hall and Nick Davis ? back for his first game since injuring his hip ? kicked four goals, but at the other end David Neitz kicked six and proved too much for inexperienced defender Heath James. The Melbourne captain?s dominance would be the deciding factor in the match, with the Demons winning by two goals.
The Swans were once again shown that the opposition had caught up over summer. Unlike the Geelong game two weeks earlier, however, it would cost them four points.
The votes:
5 votes ? Barry Hall
4 ? Brett Kirk
3 ? Nick Davis
2 ? Jared Crouch
1 ? Paul Williams
Congratulations to the five players who polled this week. Barry Hall has made the early break, with Brett Kirk six votes behind.
The next week, the Swans travelled to Melbourne for the first time in 2004, to take on the Bombers at the MCG in an important match for both teams. Both the Bombers and Swans sat on three wins and two losses; the victor would stay within touch of the competition leaders while the loser would be back in the pack.
With this in mind, the circumstances in which this game became an Essendon win are even more disappointing. The Swans fought back hard after falling a long way behind, but in the end the result was out of their hands. We all know what happened in the last quarter of that game, and can only hope it doesn?t happen again. Despite the ten point loss, Barry Hall once again dominated and Ryan O?Keefe played one of his best games yet. Leo Barry also distinguished himself at full-back, allowing Matthew Lloyd only three goals.
The votes:
5 ? Barry Hall
4 ? Paul Bevan
3 ? Ryan O?Keefe
2 ? Leo Barry
1 ? Adam Schneider
Congratulations to all five, particularly Paul Bevan who polls his first ever Troy Luff Medal votes. Hopefully they are the first of many.
So, with six rounds done, Barry Hall has raced to a commanding lead of 11 votes. Even with three quarters of the season remaining, with many more outstanding performances, he will be hard to beat.
From now, only the top ten will be named each week on the leaderboard:
21 votes ? Barry Hall
10 ? Brett Kirk
8 ? Adam Goodes, Paul Williams
7 ? Jared Crouch
5 ? Leo Barry, Nick Davis, Heath James, Ben Mathews
4 ? Paul Bevan, Tadhg Kennelly
Join me again tomorrow night as we look at rounds seven and eight. Please post any thoughts on this thread.
Charlie
Injuries Suck!!!!
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