I only got to see highlights of the first half plus the second half of this match on the TV. However, as I was around at a friend's place waiting for the FA Cup Final to start, I did have the experience of watching the game accompanied by some opposition fans.
The Roos seem to have accepted that they have no future in Melbourne, and seem to have taken to refering to themselves simply as the Kangaroos. In order to be obnoxious, I'll keep calling them North Melboune.
To say that the highlights of the first half were pretty much all North Melbourne might be a bit of an exaggeration, but they certainly started much better than Freo.
Fortunately for me, Fremantle had saved their best for the third quarter, and they rallied to get within one goal at one stage before North Melbourne were able to rally. During this period they really did look good, and the North fans were starting to get nervous, but it couldn't last. North were able to steady before 3/4 time.
Fremantle really lost the plot in the final quarter when a series of poor umpiring decisions cost them a couple of goals. The worst of these decisions was in the middle of the ground, where Fletcher was camped under a high kick coming in. A North player was allowed to run up, lower the shoulder and hit him square in the back, then run off with the ball when he spilled the mark. Now I always thought that hitting anyone in the back was a no-no, but I have learnt something now. There were a number of others that were a lot less blatant, but which left the Dockers feeling hard done by. Even on the TV, the change in attitude was almost perceptible. They just gave up the ghost. As with the Collingwood game, it wasn't the poor umpiring which cost Freo the game, it was the way that the players responded to it.
The last parts of the game, including this passage were reasonably spiteful. Andrew Wills should have been reported for attempting to trip Byron Pickett - not because it was particularly nasty, but just because the rules say he should be. The umpires let that one go, but right on the final siren they reported him for a clumsy challenge on Anthony Stevens (I think). I didn't think there was much in it, though the North player managed to stage it a bit and make it look bad.
My final comment is a Shane update. Shane got the job on Carey, who was coming off a bag of 9 against Hawthorn the previous week. Carey managed three for the game, and was generally OK, but basically Shane did a good job on him. Pretty impressive, considering the size difference.
To cap things off, Manchester United never looked like losing, and won the Cup Final 2-0 in the end.
Final Score : Fremantle 12.14-86 lost to North Melbourne 17.14-116.
© 1999 timnfromoz timnfromoz@hotmail.com
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