I had the choice between going to see this game and going to the movies. I chose the movies on the logic that this game would only depress me - maybe even more than the Richmond game did. How right I turned out to be.
Having chosen not to go to the game, I went to the movies instead. By the time I got anywhere near a TV it was late in the third quarter, and it was pretty clear that the Dockers were not going to be pulling a win out of this game. Nevertheless, I seetled down to watch the game. I got to see Holland kick a goal on the three-quarter time siren, and then that was pretty much it.
I am told that the first half was a much different affair. North did threaten to break away a few times, but Fremantle managed to at least stay in touch. In fact, Fremantle could well have had a quarter time lead had the umpiring been anything like realistic. As it was Wayne Carey and the rest of the umpires managed to arrange things so that Freo were well down at the end of the first quarter.
The final quarter was just extremely depressing. I kept setting the Dockers achievable goals - like managing to kick a goal for the quarter, or finishing less than 15 goals behind - and time and time again, they let me down. North just crushed them in the final quarter. In the end, Carey beat Fremantle with his 8 goals being more than the entire Dockers outfit could manage.
The positives from this game? Well, there weren't too many. The best I can come up with is that the thrashing prompted the Docker management to finally lay their cards on the table and formally announce that Gerard won't be coaching the team next season. Not a sacking exactly, but not a ringing endorsement either. I for one would have liked to see him succeed, and at the end of the day, he has gotten a lot more out of players like Dale Kickett, Winnie Abraham, and Shane Parker than anyone could reasonably expected. On the other hand, he hasn't been able to get anywhere near enough out of the likes of Peter Mann, Kingsley Hunter, and even James Clement. Whether that is a deficiency in the players or a deficiency in Gerard's coaching style remains to be seen.
Final Score : North Melbourne 22.19-151 thrashed Fremantle 7.5-47
timnfromoz
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