A-League: Perth 1-0 Newcastle - Glory are 2018/19 Premiers
There it is, they’ve done it! One of three clubs to have never won either a premiership or championship, no longer - the powerhouses of the late NSL have got their silverware.
“Championi, championi, ole, ole, ole” chant the fans from The Shed, but as Melbourne Victory will remind you, you can be declared champions even if you finish 23 points off the top of the table. But there’s only one premiers - and that’s the team that finishes with the most points across an entire season.
Congratulations, Perth - after 15 years in the wilderness, the Glory years are come again!
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A-League - goal! Perth 1-0 Newcastle (Franjic, 64’)
He won two premierships and three championships with the all-conquering Postecoglou-era Brisbane Roar, but has Ivan Franjic just won Perth’s first ever A-League premiership?!
It’s a terrific ball rolled through by Castro, and the ever-fresh fullback rounds his man and finishes with absolute aplomb past Glen Moss. As cool as you like - wham, bam, thank you Ivan!
A-League - goal, disallowed!
Wow. This is turning into Monty Python, and/or Thomas Pynchon. Who even knows what’s going on in this game! This time it’s Castro and Keogh - for so long the twin hopes of this Glory football club - just bursting with desperation to score the goal that brings Perth it’s inaugural A-League premiership!
But the linesman says no dice, once again. And he’s right, don’t you know.
A-League - goal, disallowed!
And this time it’s Perth who think they’ve finally gone ahead; but the linesman correctly chalks it off, with Chianese well offside. We’ve seen almost an hour played and the tension is really rising. You get the sense it might be coming for the Glory, though - they’re starting to really besiege the Jets’ goal. Still 0-0.
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NRL: Canberra 19-0 Parramatta
Well, well. Two teams in decent nick, but that’s as emphatic a scoreline as you’d have imagined perhaps. Sam Williams with a cheeky 75th minute droppy, as if having held the Eels out for 94% of the game, suddenly they were at risk of conceding three converted tries.
He’ll be a cat with cream in his whiskers tonight, Ricky Stuart, although it was a surprisingly error-riddled Eels outfit that showed up. Still, they silenced the big-name backline (although Blake Ferguson left the contest partway through with busted ribs).
Onwards and upwards for the Green Machine - are the Mal Meninga glory days coming back?!
A-League - half-time: Perth 0-0 Newcastle
Stroll casually by and you’d think this one’s been boring, but it’s been a lively 45 over in the West, with the anticipation just steaming off a big, expectant home crowd.
13 shots, six on target, with the game stretching end-to-end at times. Keogh rattled the crossbar, so too did the Jets, who also had an O’Donovan finish chalked off by VAR for a marginal offside.
Had that stood it could have got very anxious inside Perth Oval - they’ve come to see their side named A-League 2018/19 Premiers!
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A-League - crossbar!
Lovely from Andy Keogh off a clever cutback from Chianese, but to the Perth strikers’ dismay, his effort thunders off the woodwork. Glen Moss well-beaten in the Newcastle goal, that was travelling. But it’s still 0-0, and they’re still not yet the premiers, Perth, with about 40 played.
A-League - VAR, goal disallowed!
A lively few moments, with Newcastle’s Roy O’Donovan finding the net after tapping home a slick cross from Ivan Vujica. But we go upstairs, and the body of the Irishman is adjudged to have been in front of his defensive marker.
Meanwhile, at the other end it’s another VAR check as Joel Chianese goes to ground inside the box. Nothing given from referee Kurt Ams, and after a look at the sideline screens, he upholds his decision.
0-0 still then, with 20ish played.
A-League - kickoff!
And staying with the round-ball code, now the big one: it’s Perth Glory hosting Newcastle Jets, and if they win this, it’s a first ever premiership in the A-League era for the late NSL powerhouses.
Grab your popcorn, but don’t bet the farm on a Perth walkover. If there’s anyone who probably would ruin a parade just because they could it’s Ernie Merrick. And give a sly little smile at the end, too.
A-League: Melbourne Victory 2-1 Central Coast
I mentioned the old Arsenal chant (see earlier) but it turns out Victory have a big [redacted] German of their own - Georg Niedermeier popping up in the 79th with a bullet header from an inadvertent shot-cross from Kosta Barbarouses to snatch the win for the home side.
It’s three points for the Victory, who you’d have to admit were a little down on their usual energy levels, and while “another gritty loss” is hardly what Alen Stajcic wants to hang his hat on, at least it’s a darn sight better than getting pantsed by six goals.
NRL - half-time: Canberra 8-0 Parramatta
I’ll admit, I was a little curious about this fixture and got the old red pen out to circle it (metaphorically) on the digital program guide, given the early showings of two sides that were well off the pace last season.
But it’s the Raiders looking the goods so far, with very little to throw the hands at for the big names of the Eels’ backline.
A pretty routine crash over from big Josh Papalii the only try of the game so far, after a tense first thirty.
Papalii breaks the deadlock! #NRLRaidersEels 6-0 after 29 minutes. #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/hdwaoZRnOi
— NRL (@NRL) April 14, 2019
Let’s see how this one unfolds after the break.
A-League - goal! Melbourne Victory 1-1 Central Coast (Simon, 53’ pen)
Womp womp. If the steam rising off Twitter is to go by, we’re dealing with VARmageddon once again. Matt Simon goes down inside the box, but the contact perhaps was marginal/entirely absent?
Either way, the veteran striker dusts off and fires his home club back into a share of the spoils.
If Deng does clip Simon, I have no issue with a penalty, but that, from the angles I saw, it didn't look like he was clipped. #MVCvCCM
— Dale Stevens (@Sui1977) April 14, 2019
On first glance you’d have to say the contact looks light. But hey, I’m no expert. YOU DECIDE.
The skipper wasn’t muckin’ around with that one. 🎥 @FOXFOOTBALL 🤙 #MVCvCCM #CCMFC #ALeague pic.twitter.com/VDjru8njdx
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) April 14, 2019
So not going down (no pun intended) without a fight, the Mariners - will it last? Interesting final thirty or so to come.
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NRL: St George 40-4 Canterbury
Yikes. Dragons fans can revel in this one, but if you’re a Dogs fan it’s been an 80 minutes to forget.
The points differential alone sends them to the foot of the ladder - the only consolation being that there are four other teams (including all three from Queensland - take that, Billy Moore) on 1-4 after four rounds.
Big questions to face for Dean Pay and his chargers. Josh Jackson will need to be superhuman to lift his teammates after a battering like this.
AFL: St Kilda 10.14 (74) defeat Hawthorn 10.9 (69)
My, oh, my. The bigger they are, the harder they fall! It’s another stunning result from a giant-slaying round four of the AFL. They looked buried at one stage, the Saints - down by 26 as the Hawks fired three goals in rapid-fire succession - but they kept Hawthorn to just one point in a brutal final quarter, and it could have been more if they’d converted any of their five behinds.
F1: Lewis Hamilton wins his sixth Chinese Grand Prix
It was a procession in the end, do any of the other manufacturers have an answer for Mercedes, right now? Lewis Hamilton snuck past teammate Valtteri Bottas on turn six of the first lap, and led from there until the final lap.
Here’s Giles Richards’ race report:
A-League - goal! Melbourne Victory 1-0 Central Coast (Toivonen, 21’)
Arsenal fans once famously used to chant about Per Mertesacker “We’ve got a big [redacted] German”, and you could excuse the Victory fans for taking up the chant for the giant Swede.
After an injury-delayed unveiling, he’s kept banging home the goals, that historically were never really part of his game: 11 in 15 now in his A-League career.
It was fast feet and a sharp one-two with Elvis Kamsoba before tucking home around Ben Kennedy. Will the floodgates open, or can the Mariners bounce back?
AFL - three-quarter-time: St Kilda 8.9 (57) trails Hawthorn 10.8 (68)
It was looking real nasty for the home side at one stage, with the Hawks banging four goals on the run. I mentioned the involvement of Roughead and Breust in the lead up to scores earlier, well they’ve taken it into their own hands now, both slotting majors in that third quarter, with Chad Wingard joining the party for good measure.
But they finished with three of the last four goals of the quarter, the home side, to pin it back to just 11. Can they bring it home, the Saints?
AFL: Gold Coast 8.11 (59) defeat Carlton 8.9 (57)
Ay, ay, ay. For a club that has crystalised tragedy to near perfect form in recent years, this feels like a fresh, new heartbreak.
They were seconds away, SECONDS. But Jack Bowes had other plans - the Suns youngster crushing the hopes of the travelling Blues supporters, after an error of judgement from the near flawless Patrick Cripps put his team under pressure and gifted the turnover.
It’s 0-4, and the Blues stay the Blues. But it’s a morale-booster for the Suns, who fly up the ladder, with many of the fancied teams falling this weekend. What a thriller, and what a treat for the 14,000-odd fans who showed up in Carrara.
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A-League - kick-off! And we’re underway at AAMI Park where it’s the Victory who will look to capitalise on Sydney FC’s draw in the Sydney derby last night against the Mariners.
AFL - fifteen to go! Oh my. We’ve had a lead change. I don’t want to tell you who, or in which game. But, if you’re a Carlton fan, maybe just look away now.
Youngster Michael Gibbons with a third chance at his first-ever AFL goal, but the Blues midfielder hooked wide for another point. At the other end no mistake from Nick Holman, who helps himself to a second! Suns by one!
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NRL - half-time: St George 18-0 Canterbury
Ugh. They’ll be drinking in silence at Canterbury Leagues tonight, or as I like to imagine it, Vegas in Belmore. The Dogs are second in almost every statistical category - looking very much like a team that’s missing Klemmer, Mbye, Woods, Morris and Morris, not to mention one of their few solid off-season recruits, the injured Dylan Napa.
How Mikaele Ravalawa gets over from almost a standing start 5m out for this try only the Dogs defence can tell you. Big puzzles for Dean Pay to sort out ahead of the second half.
Now it's Ravalawa's turn!#NRLDragonsBulldogs #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/4dy8c4H6bs
— NRL (@NRL) April 14, 2019
AFL - three-quarter-time: Gold Coast 5.8 (38) trail Carlton 7.7 (49)
Guys. Is it actually happening? It’s a low-scoring third quarter on the Gold Coast, but it’s the Blues that edge slightly further ahead. Seven of the ten scoring shots finished in behinds, with both sides’ inability to convert perhaps the story of that stanza.
Touk Miller is continuing his standout match - he’s slowed down on the tackles front (just 13 now) but he’s racking up the touches (27). Patrick Cripps the standout Blue with 25 touches, seven marks, nine tackles and a goal. Is he the man to fire the Blues’ first W of the season?
AFL - half-time: St Kilda 5.5 (35) trail Hawthorn 6.5 (41)
I’ve already used the twins fighting line, but until well after the hooter, we were level again! Ricky Henderson had other plans though, slotting his second of the day to nose the Hawks back in front.
It’s bubbling nicely this one, already seven lead changes and we’re only at the main break. Sebastian Ross leading the touches count with 24 - keep that up and he could shoot for a rare 50+er, while Ben Long is the only other multiple goalkicker.
NRL - first try! St George-Illawarra 6-0 Canterbury-Bankstown
We’ve had fifteen played and it’s the home side that opens the scoring after some good vision from half-back, Ben Hunt, put Euan Aitken into a hole. They’re one from four the Dogs, they won’t want to fall too far behind least confidence becomes a factor.
The @NRL_Dragons score first through Aitken! #NRLDragonsBulldogs 6-0 after 16 minutes. #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/uFCC5wtOOb
— NRL (@NRL) April 14, 2019
Around the grounds: We’re underway in Sydney’s South for our first of two NRL fixtures, where the Dragons are hosting the Bulldogs, and in the F1 we’ve had two spins during the warm-up/practice lap. Oh my!
Just one goal added for Carlton against the Suns early in the third, and it’s the Saints by a bee’s phallus against the Hawks, we’re still midway through the second quarter there.
AFL - half-time: Gold Coast 4.4 (28) trail Carlton 5.4 (34)
Yesss, here it comes. It’s Bluesmentum! Four goals to one in that second quarter as the Suns had no answers for The McGovernator. Big Mitch (or statistically, Relatively Normal-Sized Mitch by AFL standards) with three majors, with only Alex Sexton’s second on the snap stemming the Blue Tide.
Touk Miller with an impressive 10 tackles inside the half, but you’d imagine Stuart Dew would rather his chargers did more with the ball then off it in the second stanza.
Still a big chance to go 3-1 for the much-maligned Suns. How often does that happen? YOU tell me.
AFL - quarter-time: St Kilda 3.2 (20) tie with Hawthorn 3.2 (20)
Like identical twins boxing, we’re all level here at Docklands, with both sides trading goals, blow for blow. Hawks, Saints, Hawks, Saints before Blake Acres put the home side ahead for the first time with 19 gone. Not much in the stats to draw on, except for the fun fact that Luke Breust and Jarryd Roughead have each been involved in four of Hawthorn’s five scoring shots. Stands to reason, really.
F1: And for our motoring enthusiasts, we’ve got the Chinese Grand Prix just about to head into “lights out”. Jonathan Howcroft is our man with the plan - don’t miss a lap:
Will it be Daniel Ricciardo’s race again? Don’t let the naysayers waylay you with their nays.
AFL - quarter-time: Suns 3.1 (19) lead Carlton 1.3 (9)
It’s a fixture that in years just gone would have been circled as one for the cellar dwellers only; but such has been the unexpected bright start by the Suns, a win today could see them rocket well into the top eight.
At the other end, after North Melbourne’s breakthrough win yesterday, the Blues are the only team in the comp yet to win. Will that change today? On the evidence of that quarter: no.
A goal to Zac Fisher inside 90 seconds was the perfect elixir for wary Blues fans - the only catch was they then couldn’t replicate that for the next 28 and 1/2 minutes. The Suns kicking two late on in the quarter to edge ahead, but still along way to run in this one.
Hi all! Like the great wheel, sport continues to turn and we’ll be here when it does. We’ve just had first bounce in our second AFL game of the day, so let’s jump right in there. As always do please fire us your best stats, insights and quips, via email or twitter, to get your musings up in lights - or feel free to chat amongst yourselves below the line!
David Mundy, is he one of the all-time Freo greats? Or just a solid workhorse? Discuss.
Preamble
After the Sturm und Drang of last night (especially in the AFL) it’s a more subdued Sportwatch for y’all today - that is, you think. After all, who knows what will unfold once the players enter the cauldrons of contention?
We’ve just the two games from AFL - Gold Coast v Carlton, and St Kilda v Hawthorn. From the NRL it’s Dragons v Bulldogs, and Raiders v Eels. And in the A-League the Premiership Plate is on the line as Perth Glory play host to Newcastle (with a Melbourne Victory v Central Coast curtain raiser, if that kind of thing floats your boat).
We’ll also have the dulcet stylings of JP Howcroft bringing you live action in the Chinese Grand Prix in a separate liveblog - and of course, everything and anything else that either looks or quacks like a sport.
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