Summary
So a busy day of sports action across a few codes, but no huge upsets of which to speak.
All three home sides notched comfortable wins in the Super Netball, with the Giants the big movers as they edged rivals the Vixens almost out of the top four with a win and +3 bonus points. Cross-town rivals the Swifts and the Lightning also earning W’s.
A mixed result for teams from the West in the AFL, where the Eagles survived a tough one but came home too strong for the Hawks at the death. But the reverse result for Fremantle, who came within just three before losing their ruckman and the match to a fast-finishing North Melbourne. In Alice Springs, the Demons sent a message to the league with an absolute hammering of the Crows. 91 points the margin; making into back-to-back thumpings; or back-to-back-to-back if you include their 69 pointer over the Gold Coast as well.
And in the NRL the Sharks handed out their own shellacking, as they pantsed the Knights 10-48 in Newcastle. The Tigers also joining the winners circle with a narrow win over the struggling Bulldogs.
Finally, to Super Rugby where overnight the Brumbies enjoyed a good win over in South Africa - and will look for a big home crowd to turn out for them when they next play in Canberra.
Thanks for your company as always. See you next weekend!
Full-time: Fremantle 8.10 (58) lose to North Melbourne 12.14 (86)
A rare win in the West as the Roos came, saw, and conquered. How bout this team! I don’t think too many fancied them pre-season, but with this impressive win they’ve jumped to 5th (courtesy Adelaide ruining their points percentage in Alice Springs).
Only West Coast have conceded fewer points than the Roos this season - and if they can get their forward line humming who knows where this might end.
Back to the drawing board for Freo who lost the crucial Aaron Sandilands when they were trailing by just 3 points in that final quarter - and, well, we all saw how that played out.
Still, good win for the Roos.
And don’t get too excited, you Freo fans - as soon as the comeback was back on, it was off again!
Shaun Atley, Mason Wood and Todd Goldstein firing three goals in seven minutes to blow it out to a 22-point margin; the biggest of the game.
About four minutes to play out here; surely this one’s North’s now - as they look to leapfrog back into the top eight.
Full-time: Giants 58-51 Vixens
They trailed by one at the end of the first quarter but what a big 7-pointer this is for the Giants, over one of their top-four rivals.
The damage done in the second quarter which they won 17-12, and what a day it’s been for English netballers, just quietly.
Geva Mentor putting in a player-of-the-match showing earlier for the Lightning, and tonight it was Jo Harten leading the way for the Giants with Kim Green her impressive busy self.
Massive win, as the Giants move to second, just two points off the Fever.
Hang on, hang on - don’t look away from this Freo-Roos clash, because in the blink of an eye the Dockers have kicked two!
Michaels Johnson and Walters have one each as the home side halt the Waite-mentum, reeling off four consecutive scoring shots.
Twenty minutes to play, and we’ve got a three-point contest on our hands! 8.10 (58) trails 8.13 (61).
Don’t forget they’d kicked 12 of those behinds in the first half the Roos, so they’ve really sharpened the sights after the break.
No late comeback on the cards for the Vixens in the Super Netball however - Kumwenda maintains her remarkable 100% strike rate (34/34) but it’s not enough for the visitors.
We’ve about four minutes play in the final quarter, where it’s the Giants by four. 53-49; surely they won’t let this one slide?
And in the late AFL kickoff, it’s the Roos with all the momentum.
Leading by just one at the long break, they kept the Dockers scoreless for almost thirty minutes, with Cam McCarthy’s major inside the first minute of the second half the last joy for Freo, Jarrad Waite firing three of his sides four unanswered goals to push the Roos out to a 17 point lead.
That’s the biggest margin of the game - we’re about five minutes into the final quarter; what can Fremantle muster?
And for anyone who missed it, bad news for Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak, whose Aston Villa side ended up on the wrong end of ‘the most expensive game in world football’ with Fulham instead securing a place in next year’s Premier League.
Paul MacInnes was there at Wembley Stadium to take it all in:
And we’ve a tight tussle on our hands in the Super Netball as well, where in the third quarter with seven minutes gone it’s the Giants by just two, as they lead the Vixens 39-37.
Vixen sharp-shooter Mwai Kumwenda with a flawless 28/28 so far, but it’s Kim Green once again running the midcourt for the Giants.
We’ll follow this one closely; it could be a lively last quarter!
Half-time: Fremantle 5.5 (35) trail North Melbourne 4.12 (36)
Well, they started with six consecutive behinds, so it was only fitting the Roos took a one-point lead into the break thanks to, you guessed it, a late behind.
Nineteen unanswered points in a magic eight minutes or so during that second quarter had the Roos back in front, but you’d imagine there are plenty of twists and turns left in store for this one.
Full-time: Wests Tigers 14-10 Canterbury Bulldogs
They trailed 0-8 but the Tigers have delighted home fans in turning this one around.
Having won five of their first six games, four losses in five would have had even the faithful worrying they might be in for another lost season.
Better defensive work meant their line was only breached once - but it’s a hard one to swallow for Bulldogs fans (*sigh*) who fall to their ninth loss of 2018.
Full-time: Melbourne 23.8 (146) beat Adelaide 8.7 (55)
They started the final quarter a touch brighter did the Crows, but ultimately they’ve had no answers to another inspired performance from the Demons. They kicked 25 goals last week - and they’ve almost matched it again in Alice Springs today.
91 points the margin, it’s an absolute shellacking. In fact two of the three biggest wins across all games this season have come from the Dees in consecutive weeks. Wowee.
That won’t hurt their point percentage, as they move above Sydney back into third on the ladder.
It’s a bit tighter over in the NRL where a try to the Tigers has brought the home side back to within two.
A nice backline move to put David Nofoaluma over in the corner:
👏 #NRLTigersBulldogs 8-10 after 55 minutes. #TelstraPremiership#NRL pic.twitter.com/wuMnyrqEQj
— NRL (@NRL) May 27, 2018
No luck from Esan Marsters with the boot. Both tough efforts, but he’ll be hoping those misses won’t prove crucial.
We’ll keep an eye on this one over the final 20 minutes or so.
And here comes the Crows! Okay, that’s a bit cruel - but they have kicked the only two goals of the final quarter.
The effects mic picking up some encouragement from local fans. It’s like a primary school athletics carnival where all the mums are cheering home the, erm, ‘generously proportioned’ kid in the cross country.
Josh Jenkins and Richard Douglas with the majors; the margin is back to 67, with 20 minutes to play. Can they put on 10+ goals here?
We’ve also got the late AFL fixture of the day getting going over in Western Australia where Freo have flown out the blocks against North Melbourne.
They lead by 12 with 4.4, but it’s the Roos who have had the lion’s share of the shooting opportunities. They’ve only hit 2.10 but - is the Freo Doctor wreaking havoc over there?!
We’re underway in our final Super Netball game of the day where it’s the fifth placed Giants hosting third placed Vixens in Sydney.
That win by Lightning has seen them jump three spots into forth, so if they land at least a bonus point the Giants, they’ll be back in the top four. They’ll be looking for more than that no doubt, but it’s 5-a-piece about seven minutes into the first quarter.
Three-quarter-time: Melbourne 18.6 (114) leads Adelaide 5.4 (34)
And there’s the siren, to the relieve of those in Adelaide white.
Fun fact, you might recall the Dees had 5.1 (31) on the board inside 14 minutes. It’s taken the Crows 90-odd minutes to match that.
Here’s one of their few highlights:
Sam Gibson cashes in 👌#AFLDeesCrows pic.twitter.com/7pf0Fc1qqH
— AFL (@AFL) May 27, 2018
Deary me. I mean, I’d like to give you more updates from our feature match, but I’m also aware that a lot of people like the Guardian in Adelaide..
It’s 5.2 plays 1.2 in this third quarter, as the Dees notch up TEN different goalscorers. Charlie Spargo and Tom McDonald join the party for the ‘home’ team before Hogan, Smith and Petracca add multiples.
At least those fans that made the trip out to Alice Springs can say they saw some goals today - but perhaps nobody figured 18 of those would be to the Demons.
18.5 (113) plays 5.4 (34) and we’re still only in the third quarter.
Stop it. They’re already dead.
Full-time: Sunshine Coast 60-51 Adelaide
A welcome victory for the reigning champions who have endured a miserable start to the season, with three consecutive losses.
C-Bass and shooting partner Steph Wood too strong with Wood notching 17/20 and 24 goal assists.
They threatened in the second quarter did the Thunderbirds, but they’ve missed all four bonus points today. Huge job for Dan Ryan and Leana de Bruin to lift these girls after 5-straight losses.
And in the NRL, we’ve got our second game underway with Wests Tigers hosting the Bulldogs at Olympic Stadium in Sydney.
The Dogs started nicely with Brett Morris crossing just eight minutes in, with Moses Mbye adding the extras and a penalty to skip to an 0-8 lead.
Corey Thompson halved the arrears for the home side in the 29th minute after a sublime long pass from Benji Marshall put the winger in:
Benji.
— NRL (@NRL) May 27, 2018
Marshall.
😱#NRLTigersBulldogs 4-8 after 31 minutes. #TelstraPremiership#NRL pic.twitter.com/LxgWBdTamw
We’ve about five to play before half-time in this one.
Half-time: Melbourne 12.2 (74) lead Adelaide 4.2 (26)
I wonder how many picked this scoreline? 4th v 5th, both coming into this one in reasonable form; did somebody slip something in the Crows’ mash?
After copping a seven-goal opening quarter local fans would have liked to see a better response from Adelaide; but they’ve run up the white flag, copping another five, with the Dees booting 4.1 since Fogarty’s long-range bomb.
Brayshaw finding acres of space to pull down nine marks, with Neal-Bullen and Hogan kicking three a piece. It’s all too easy for the Dees!
Nope, back to business as usual in Alice Springs, with the Dees firing the last two goals to push their lead out to six goals.
A third to Hogan and an opener for Angus Brayshaw for Melbourne. Meanwhile how bout these hands from Jake Lever:
Blind turn and the torp!
— AFL (@AFL) May 27, 2018
Jake Lever is turning it on today ✌️#AFLDeesCrows pic.twitter.com/B7J7gGDI1v
And now a bit of an arm-wrestle as we go eight minutes without a scoring effort. Neal-Bullen’s third of the match the only major of note; but they still lead by 42, the Dees.
Updated
Half-time in the second Super Netball game where it’s Sunshine Coast leading narrowly at home in Queensland.
I mentioned the Thunderbirds hadn’t won a single quarter this season, but they’ve really shown some fight this second stanza. They were leading 15-13 with less than a minute to play here, but ol’ C-Bass wasn’t a fan of that. Three straight goals for her, and Lightning close the half 16-15 to secure the bonus point.
Okay, back to Alice Springs.
They needed to start the second quarter better, the Crows, but inside a minute they were even further behind - Tim Smith with Melbourne’s 8th of the day.
Some groans of derision by a passionate and vocal local crowd - but finally something to smile about as Darcy Fogarty lines one up from about 45m for the Crows.. and slots it!
8.1 (49) plays 4.2 (26) - 23 points in this one.
Full-time: Hawthorn 9.6 (60) lose to West Coast 11.9 (75)
No slip up from the competition leaders, but they know they were in a battle today, the Eagles.
Andrew Gaff bossing it for West Coast with 35 disposals, 12 marks and five tackles, with Josh Kennedy and Willie Rioli the best of the scorers with 3.0 and 2.1 respectively.
It was well-contested throughout by the Hawks - they even went about 20 ahead early in the second quarter, but they were just ground down by an excellent Eagles outfit.
They go 9-1 on the ladder to stay top. Very tidy.
Quarter-time: Melbourne 7.1 (43) leads Adelaide 3.1 (19)
Back to our feature match now, and having very charitably given the Dees a 31pt headstart, the Crows have finally landed in Alice Springs.
Betts’ goal broke the shackles, before Jordan Gallucci and Richard Douglas joined the goal party.
The Crows pulled the gap back to just 18 but a second major to Neal-Bullen sees the Dees halt to momentum.
They’ll need to play like this last ten minutes from the start of the second quarter will Adelaide to make this competitive.
And while we’re heading round the grounds an update from the Sunshine Coast where the Lightning have started well in the Super Netball.
13-11 the first quarter score against Adelaide, with Diamonds skipper Caitlin Bassett doing the damage early on.
It’s 7th v 8th on the ladder, but they’re yet to win a quarter this season, the Thunderbirds. Maybe today’s the day.
Full-time: Knights 10-48 Sharks
Ay ay ay. I called this one a blood-bath about half an hour ago, but if you’re a Newcastle fan best to look away now.
I haven’t seen anything this ugly at MacDonald Jones Stadium since Roy Donovan put about seven studs through Lawrence Thomas’s nostrils during the A-League grand final.
A hattrick of tries to Valentine Holmes the highlight; and to think it could have been worse, had Chad Townsend mustered better than 5/9 with the boot!
[Note: apologies to Knights fans, I’ve updated that score; 10-48 reads much better!]
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And finally some good news for the Crows as Eddie Betts works some trademark magic. So dangerous and good on his feet - he slips his marker and fires a first goal for Adelaide to the delight of local fans.
A fair contingent in Crows jerseys here, despite it being nominally a Melbourne home game.
5.1 (31) leads 1.0 (6) with seventeen minutes played.
It’s one-way traffic early on, they can’t let this continue for too long, can the Crows, as Alex Neal-Bullen fires a third major for the Dees.
The Alice Springs crowd getting excited as Eddie Betts makes his first meaningful involvement, but the short forward fires his kick out on the full.
Deary me, this is looking ugly at the back - that’s a fourth goal, this time for Mitch Hannan, and its from about 10m out. Where’s the defence?!
We’re about 13 minutes in - and Jesse Hogan fancies this as well. He strikes it, it flies clean, it’s there!
5.1 (31) plays 0.0 (0)
And some news ahead of State of Origin I in Melbourne on June 6; a fair bit of talk that New South Wales coach Brad Fittler could be looking to really shuffle the pack.
Couldn’t do worse than the last decade or so, right?
Two minutes gone, and Melbourne’s Nathan Jones fires one goalwards.. but it floats wide, just a behind for the ‘home’ side from the veteran.
And good quick hands from the Dees to get Christian Petracca free - no mistake and that’s our first goal.
1.1 (7) plays 0.0 (0), with five minutes gone.
👈
— AFL (@AFL) May 27, 2018
Jesse Hogan's fast hands set up Christian Petracca for the first goal of the game.#AFLDeesCrows pic.twitter.com/QQJ0GoGhkx
And it’s a lumbering start from the Crows; the Dees have enjoyed five inside fifties already and quick as you like, Jake Melksham fires another one home. They lead by 13 now!
Updated
And we’re almost underway in Alice Springs for our feature AFL match today. Melbourne vs Adelaide. Stay tuned for early action from this one.
We’re at half-time in the NRL where the Sharks have continued their early feeding frenzy, crossing two more times to lead 6-22 in Newcastle.
Another flowing backline move putting Josh Dugan over:
Through the hands, @Josh_Dugan scores! #NRLKnightsSharks 6-22 after 39 minutes. #TelstraPremiership#NRL pic.twitter.com/lFgavSFQux
— NRL (@NRL) May 27, 2018
A big 40 minutes ahead if the Knights are to get anything out of this one.
Full-time: NSW Swifts 64-54 Magpies
So a comfortable result in the end, but Collingwood scrapping well to win the fourth quarter and secure two bonus points at least.
A wobbly one up front with the Magpies missing 13 scoring attempts, but give credit to Maddy Turner and Sarah Klau in the Swifts defence as well for that.
The Swifts go level on points with cross-town rivals the Giants, who play later today.
Updated
We’re seven minutes into the third quarter in the AFL clash at Docklands, and what a game this one’s shaping as. The lead has changed about six times, but it’s the visitors West Coast currently ahead, but only by five.
7.4 (46) leads 6.5 (41) but with plenty of twists to come in this one, I imagine.
We’re underway in our first of two games from the NRL today, where in Newcastle it’s the Sharks that have drawn first blood.
Tries to Jesse Ramien and Valentine Holmes inside the first ten minutes have seen the visitors swim out to an early 0-10 lead.
Great run at pace from Ramien for the opener, check this out:
The @Cronulla_Sharks are on the board early! #NRLKnightsSharks 0-4 after four minutes. #TelstraPremiership #NRL pic.twitter.com/5sF748lnev
— NRL (@NRL) May 27, 2018
Back to the Super Netball, where we’re three quarters in and it appears the Swifts have this one in the bag - having blown the lead out to 11. Another huge session for Trinidad and Tobago’s Sam Wallace has proved decisive - the 6 ft 4’ goalshooter in intimidating form, shooting 36/40.
Commonwealth Games hero England’s Helen Housby has offered good support at GA with 15/16, with Paige Hadley also receiving and feeding well from wing attack.
And some better news from the Super Rugby overnight, where after the Waratahs and Reds suffered narrow late losses against NZ opposition, some better news on the road in South Africa, with the Brumbies grabbing an important win.
Australian Associated Press has more, including a plea from the club for the fans to return to Bruce Stadium:
A famous win will be the catalyst for crowds returning to Brumbies home games.
That’s what coach Dan McKellar is hoping after the ACT team defied the odds in South Africa on Sunday morning to defeat the Bulls 38-28.
The Brumbies were down to 14 men for the final 17 minutes but managed to run over the top of the Pretoria-based Super Rugby franchise.
The result broke a five-game losing streak and will go down as one of the most courageous wins in club history.
It comes at a time when their entire existence has been talked about after they drew only 5,283 spectators to their game against Melbourne at GIO Stadium.
In an email sent to members last week, chief executive Michael Thomson and chairman Phil Thomson explained “without your support ... the Brumbies may no longer exist.”
You’ve heard the man. If you love your Rugby, Canberra, you know what to do.
Plenty of cut and thrust in the early AFL game of the day, where it’s the Hawks and the Eagles all tied up, halfway through the second quarter.
5.2 (32) a piece, after West Coast registered the first score, then Hawthorn the first goal, then the Eagles replied with a few quick majors, only for the Hawks to kick four goals back-to-back, before Eagles got us back where we started!
Follow all that?
While we wait for some more results to trickle in from elsewhere, here’s a reminder of yesterday’s Aust-sport action:
Essendon’s continued surprise resurgence being the standout result there.
The biggest news internationally though has been that Champions League final result, where CR7 and pals from Real Madrid have lifted the silverware for a remarkable fourth time in five years.
You have to go back to Bayern Munich of the mid 70s for a three-peat like this I believe, but captain Sergio Ramos has won no fans with his dubious challenge that injured star forward Mo Salah.
Barney Ronay with a very interesting take on those shenanigans.
Let’s start with the Super Netball where today we have six hours of consecutive net-bothering action! Why would you even go outside today?
We open in Sydney where it’s Swifts v Magpies, and with half-time just about upon us, hasn’t this been a topsy-turvy encounter already.
Collingwood racing out of the blocks 17-13 with Caitlin Thwaites landing four consecutive goals to end the quarter; but since then it’s been all Swifts, with opposite number Sam Wallace leading the charge. A 19-10 turnaround, to see the Swifts leading by five. Intriguing.
Both these sides currently sit outside the top four, so plenty on the line.
Updated
Welcome
A fair good day to you and yours, thee and thine, from wherever you’re following today’s coverage.
Our feature match comes from the AFL today, where Alice Springs hosts a Dees ‘home’ game, but where visitors Adelaide might have a bit more local support. We’ll pick that up from just after 3pm (AEST).
But before that we’ve got three games of Super Netball, two NRL games, bits and bobs from the Monaco GP and more AFL action. So plenty to look forward to!
As always fire me (Richard) an email or tweet to join the conversation; or simply send your best quips, insights, conspiracy theories etc below the line. We’re one big family though, so please keep it civil!
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