Australian Football

Finals Week 2

2SF

1SF

Premiership Season 2013 - Finals Week 2 Review

Total Crowd 90,724 (Avg 45,362)

After the upheaval and upsets of the first week of the finals order was restored in week two, with the favourites prevailing in both Semi Finals.

Geelong bounced back from its unexpected loss to Fremantle at Kardinia Park in week one of the finals with victory over Port Adelaide at the MCG on Friday night. But the Cats by no means had there own way through the whole of the match. After Geelong kicked the first two goals of the match, the Power got their running game going to take a six-point lead into the first break.

An expected fight-back by the Cats in the second term did not eventuate and, with Port kicking four goals to one for the quarter to take a 23-point lead into the long break, yet another finals upset appeared to be brewing. But Geelong were finally stung into action when the second half began, kicking 5.6 to the Power’s 1.0 to take a seven-point buffer into the final term.

As has become its trademark in 2013 under Ken Hinkley, Port continued to fight hard until deep into the last term, but the Cats eventually prevailed by 16 points and set up a Preliminary Final encounter against Hawthorn at the MCG next Friday night.

At Stadium Australia on Saturday night, Sydney broke Carlton’s resistance after a relatively even first term, kicking 10 goals to the Blues’ two across the second and third terms to set up an unassailable nine-goal lead at three-quarter time. The Blues cut that margin significantly in the final term, but were never in a position to threaten victory.

The Swans apparently lethargic last term was excusable, given that they had lost both Kurt Tippett and Tom Mitchell to injury by the half way point of the first quarter. The absence of those two players made the Swans efforts in the second and third quarter all the more meritorious.

Having overcome the Blues, Sydney will face an extremely tough assignment if its to take the next step in its premiership defence. The Swans will travel to Perth on Friday night to take on the Dockers, with the winners to take on the victors of Friday night’s Hawthorn-Geelong clash in the Grand Final.

R-23, Ladder