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Welcome to the fifth instalment of the Troy Luff Medal countdown for 2004! As we approach the halfway mark of the season, the games are a little fresher in our memories, and thankfully the memories are a little bit better. After two consecutive nights of gloomy losses, tonight we will cover a couple of wins; against Hawthorn in round nine and the Bulldogs in round ten. The opposition wasn?t the best, and the wins weren?t the finest, but these games set the team back on track for a finals berth.
Before we get to round nine, let?s quickly look at the top ten as at round eight:
29 ? Barry Hall
- Daylight, Eddie complaining about salary caps, and various other gap fillers.
14 ? Brett Kirk, Paul Williams
8 ? Adam Goodes, Ben Mathews, Ryan O?Keefe
7 ? Jared Crouch
6 ? Paul Bevan
5 ? Leo Barry, Nick Davis, Heath James
I hope somebody starts catching up to Barry soon. Perhaps if I want a more even count next year, I could get the umpires to vote? Anyway, on to the Hawks game. After four consecutive losses, the Swans returned to Sydney ? where they hadn?t won in six weeks ? to host the bottom-placed team, who they hadn?t beaten in about three years. On paper, it should have been an easy game. In practice, we?d take any sort of win we could get. We received some good news in the week leading up to the game, when Adam Goodes was deemed fit to line-up in spite of his PCL injury the week before. Nevertheless, it was a nervous week to be a Swans fan, with memories of the loss to Richmond fresh in everybody?s mind.
We got the win, but by the barest of margins. The one point victory wasn?t pretty, or even particularly thrilling, as far as single-point margins go. It was a scrappy and rough-around-the-edges performance, where no player starred, but enough did their jobs well enough to fall over the line. Only one player on the field had more than twenty touches ? Brett Kirk ? and only one player on the field kicked more than two goals ? Rick Ladson. In the end, it could have gone either way.
The votes:
5 ? Brett Kirk
4 ? Leo Barry
3 ? Jason Saddington
2 ? Amon Buchanan
1 ? Barry Hall
Congratulations to all five. Barry Hall has polled in his eighth successive match. A best-on-ground performance from Kirk meanwhile sees him set the pace in the long chase to catch Baz.
With the all-important confidence-boosting win under their belts, the Swans stayed in Sydney to play the Bulldogs ?away?. This, too, was a game that offered no classic football, but was another important four points. Despite some terrible goalkicking (12.21), led by Hall?s 1.4, the Swans won by 26, clearly the better side on the night. The game was a welcome return to form for Jude Bolton, who gathered 29 votes, and youngsters Amon Buchanan and Jarrad McVeigh were lively up forward with two goals each.
The votes:
5 ? Paul Williams
4 ? Leo Barry
4 ? Jude Bolton
2 ? Amon Buchanan
1 ? Brett Kirk
Jude Bolton opens his account for the year, tying with Leo Barry, while Barry Hall misses out for the first time since round one. Kirk pulls back another vote, but has he missed an opportunity to put a bigger dent in Hall?s lead? At the same time, perennial vote getter Paul Williams has put his hand up as a potential challenger.
The updated top ten:
30 ? Barry Hall
20 ? Brett Kirk
19 ? Paul Williams
13 ? Leo Barry
8 ? Adam Goodes, Ben Mathews, Ryan O?Keefe
6 ? Paul Bevan
5 ? Amon Buchanan, Nick Davis, Heath James, Jason Saddington
Tomorrow night, we reach the halfway stage in this year?s counts, when we cover the six-goal victory against the Saints, and the slightly less enjoyable trip to AAMI Stadium to face the Power.
Charlie
Before we get to round nine, let?s quickly look at the top ten as at round eight:
29 ? Barry Hall
- Daylight, Eddie complaining about salary caps, and various other gap fillers.
14 ? Brett Kirk, Paul Williams
8 ? Adam Goodes, Ben Mathews, Ryan O?Keefe
7 ? Jared Crouch
6 ? Paul Bevan
5 ? Leo Barry, Nick Davis, Heath James
I hope somebody starts catching up to Barry soon. Perhaps if I want a more even count next year, I could get the umpires to vote? Anyway, on to the Hawks game. After four consecutive losses, the Swans returned to Sydney ? where they hadn?t won in six weeks ? to host the bottom-placed team, who they hadn?t beaten in about three years. On paper, it should have been an easy game. In practice, we?d take any sort of win we could get. We received some good news in the week leading up to the game, when Adam Goodes was deemed fit to line-up in spite of his PCL injury the week before. Nevertheless, it was a nervous week to be a Swans fan, with memories of the loss to Richmond fresh in everybody?s mind.
We got the win, but by the barest of margins. The one point victory wasn?t pretty, or even particularly thrilling, as far as single-point margins go. It was a scrappy and rough-around-the-edges performance, where no player starred, but enough did their jobs well enough to fall over the line. Only one player on the field had more than twenty touches ? Brett Kirk ? and only one player on the field kicked more than two goals ? Rick Ladson. In the end, it could have gone either way.
The votes:
5 ? Brett Kirk
4 ? Leo Barry
3 ? Jason Saddington
2 ? Amon Buchanan
1 ? Barry Hall
Congratulations to all five. Barry Hall has polled in his eighth successive match. A best-on-ground performance from Kirk meanwhile sees him set the pace in the long chase to catch Baz.
With the all-important confidence-boosting win under their belts, the Swans stayed in Sydney to play the Bulldogs ?away?. This, too, was a game that offered no classic football, but was another important four points. Despite some terrible goalkicking (12.21), led by Hall?s 1.4, the Swans won by 26, clearly the better side on the night. The game was a welcome return to form for Jude Bolton, who gathered 29 votes, and youngsters Amon Buchanan and Jarrad McVeigh were lively up forward with two goals each.
The votes:
5 ? Paul Williams
4 ? Leo Barry
4 ? Jude Bolton
2 ? Amon Buchanan
1 ? Brett Kirk
Jude Bolton opens his account for the year, tying with Leo Barry, while Barry Hall misses out for the first time since round one. Kirk pulls back another vote, but has he missed an opportunity to put a bigger dent in Hall?s lead? At the same time, perennial vote getter Paul Williams has put his hand up as a potential challenger.
The updated top ten:
30 ? Barry Hall
20 ? Brett Kirk
19 ? Paul Williams
13 ? Leo Barry
8 ? Adam Goodes, Ben Mathews, Ryan O?Keefe
6 ? Paul Bevan
5 ? Amon Buchanan, Nick Davis, Heath James, Jason Saddington
Tomorrow night, we reach the halfway stage in this year?s counts, when we cover the six-goal victory against the Saints, and the slightly less enjoyable trip to AAMI Stadium to face the Power.
Charlie