Updated
Kevin Sheedy said goodbye to AFL coaching, but his farewell failed to lift Greater Western Sydney who lost to the Gold Coast Suns by 83 points in Carrara on Sunday.
SCOREBOARD: GLD v GWS
 22.14 (146) | Gold Coast v GWS |  9.9 (63) |
|---|---|---|
| at Carrara, September 1 2013 | ||
| 391 | Disposals | 352 |
| 30 | Hit-outs | 47 |
| 60 | Tackles | 54 |
| 16 | Marks in 50 | 11 |
View full stats sheet
Interview: GWS coach Kevin Sheedy
Gary Ablett starred with four goals and 33 disposals as the Suns had it easy in a 22.14 (146) to 9.9 (63) victory to cap off an improved 2013 campaign.
In Sunday's other matches, North Melbourne came out on top of a topsy-turvy clash with Collingwood, winning by 11 points.
In the late game, the Western Bulldogs dispatched of league strugglers Melbourne by 20 points at Docklands.
In Carrara, Gold Coast kicked six goals in the first and second quarters to lead by 41 points at half-time, before booting home another four to GWS's two in the third period.
The hosts increased their scoring rate five more goals from nine attempts in the final quarter, as they provisionally went four points ahead of the Western Bulldogs in their bid to hold onto 14th place.
"I think it's been a pretty exciting journey from my point of view," Sheedy told Grandstand.
"It's been difficult, but anything worthwhile is going to have its difficulties.
"I've basically been an under 19s and under 20s coach for the last three years. That's basically been the formation of this club.
I think it's been a pretty exciting journey from my point of view. It's been difficult, but anything worthwhile is going to have its difficulties.
Kevin Sheedy
"Even our coaches have been very young ... all in all, this whole group of young people coming through, they should be right in five years.
Sheedy says his greatest achievement during his Giants tenure was actually getting the club up and running.
"There was that many people who thought it was going to get done," he said.
"In the first year or two, you don't need to be in a military mood, you just need to get people to believe that this team is going to learn to play one day.
"I would have liked to have won another couple more games to be honest, but we just didn't get a couple of boys we were hoping to recruit for experience.
"It was really awkward for us to win those three or four games [we were targeting].
"We definitely need [some star signings], but it's only a matter of time. Only time will create that vision on the playing field."
Alongside Ablett, Danny Stanley kicked three goals and registered 24 disposals, while Andrew Boston also totted up four goals.
Jeremy Cameron, who needed nine goals to overtake Hawthorn's Jarryd Roughead in the Coleman Medal stakes, could only score two, while Taylor Adams led the Giants' possessions count with 26 touches.
Roughead claims the Coleman Medal on 68 goals.
Gold Coast: 22.14 (146) - A Boston 4, G Ablett 4, D Stanley 3, H Bennell 2, M Rischitelli 2, J Harbrow 2, D Prestia, A Hall, K Hunt, J Gillbee, C Dixon
GWS: 9.9 (63) - J Cameron 2, T Adams, A Tomlinson, A Kennedy, L Sumner, S Coniglio, J Giles, C Hampton
Kangaroos defy Collingwood in MCG slugfest
SCOREBOARD: COL v NTH
 17.12 (114) | Collingwood v N.Melbourne |  19.11 (125) |
|---|---|---|
| at the MCG, September 1 2013 | ||
| 338 | Disposals | 387 |
| 27 | Hit-outs | 31 |
| 39 | Tackles | 43 |
| 17 | Marks in 50 | 16 |
View full stats sheet
North Melbourne ended its home-and-away season with an exciting 11-point win over sixth-placed Collingwood at the MCG.
North had already narrowly missed out on finals footy, and the 19.11 (125) to 17.12 (114) win over the Magpies would have done little to ease thoughts of what could have been.
But Collingwood will start preparing for next Saturday night's elimination final against Port Adelaide with fitness doubts over Quinten Lynch (ankle) and defender Nathan Brown (knee).
Worryingly for Collingwood, Brown was subbed off in the second term and Lynch trod on Drew Petrie's foot and limped off during the third quarter.
Lynch however returned to the ruck in the final term.
On a disappointing day for the Magpies, Travis Cloke kicked five goals to finish the home-and-away season on 66, two shy of Roughead.
The Kangaroos topped an action-packed first period with an eight-goals-to-five lead, before Collingwood roared back into contention with five majors in the second quarter to lead by three points at the long break.
North Melbourne was back in front at the end of the third quarter after booting five majors to the Magpies' four as the see-sawing contest continued apace.
The lead changed hands four times in the fourth period's early exchanges, North's four goals ultimately sealed a taxing win.
Jack Ziebell kicked four for the Kangaroos and dished out 27 disposals, while Ryan Bastinac starred with 34 touches and six marks.
Ben Reid kicked a career-best five goals for the Magpies while midfielder Scott Pendlebury - with two goals and 33 disposals - was also a key contributor.
North Melbourne: 19.11 (125) - J Ziebell 4, L Thomas 3, D Wells 2, D Petrie 2, A Black 2, T Goldstein 2, R Bastinac, J Macmillan, B Cunnington, B Harvey
Collingwood: 17.12 (114) - T Cloke 5, B Reid 5, J Thomas 2, S Pendlebury 2, A Didak, S Dwyer, P Seedsman
Bulldogs untroubled by struggling Demons
SCOREBOARD: WBL v MEL
 16.11 (107) | W.Bulldogs v Melbourne |  13.9 (87) |
|---|---|---|
| at Docklands, September 1 2013 | ||
| 404 | Disposals | 295 |
| 52 | Hit-outs | 37 |
| 57 | Tackles | 61 |
| 12 | Marks in 50 | 10 |
View full stats sheet
Interview: Western Bulldogs' Tom Liberatore
The Western Bulldogs ended a season of struggle with a win, overcoming fellow battlers the Melbourne Demons by 20 points at Docklands.
The result was not enough to boost their ladder position of 15th as the 'Dogs ran out 16.11 (107) to 13.9 (87) winners.
The Demons were in front by two points at the end of quarter-time, but from then on it was the Bulldogs' game, kicking nine goals in the second period to lead by 43 at half-time.
Melbourne clawed some ground back by kicking three goals to the Bulldogs' one in the following stanza, and booted four more in the final term, but it was never enough to undo the second-quarter damage.
Tory Dickson clinched three goals for the 'Dogs, while Matthew Boyd enjoyed a storming game with 40 possessions and eight marks.
Dees star Jack Watts kicked four majors, while Jack Grimes registered 23 disposals.
More to follow.
Western Bulldogs: 16.11 (107) - T Dickson 3, D Giansiracusa 2, A Cooney 2, L Hunter 2, J Grant, T Liberatore, D Cross, T Campbell, L Jones, W Minson, M Wallis
Melbourne: 13.9 (87) - J Watts 4, D Kent 2, C Garland, J Viney, M Jones, J Sellar, J Howe, N Jones, L Dunn
ABC/AAP
Topics: australian-football-league, sport, carrara-4211, vic, collingwood-3066, footscray-3011, north-melbourne-3051, melbourne-3000, qld, blacktown-2148, nsw, australia
First posted
No comments:
Post a Comment