Australian Football

Match Report

Across town in Richmond, City Mazda Stadium lit up for the match between the Bloods and the Magpies. In the last match-up betwen the two clubs, the Bloods invaded Alberton Oval in Round 15 and nicked a six-point win. In fact, the three matches before that were also Westies wins beginning in Round 9 last year. A boggy, sodden stadium pitch greeted the two teams along with a reasonable 2000+ crowd despite the conditions. 

The Bloods would keep the Magpies scoreless in the first quarter, taking a 13-point lead in at quarter-time after kicking 2.1. The Maggies finally got on the board in the second quarter, but even after reversing the chokehold of the opening term they could only manage 1.2. At half-time, the gap was drawn back to five points. The third quarter was a slog, going by how little things changed on the scoreboard as both sides couldn't bag a single goal. The gap would be a single goal at the final change, after West kicked three behinds to two. The final quarter would be just as dull on the scoreboard, the Bloods would escape with the points after both sides kicked a goal each to keep the three quarter-time gap unchanged and possibly a new record for lowest score in the modern era! 

In a match with few standouts, the Bloods named Shannon Green as their best while the Magpies named Matthew Lokan as their best on ground.