[AFL-Preview] Round 6

AFL Preview Round 6

After another round of scoring 4 my heart’s just not in it this week tipsters. Yes, I know you all scored 4’s, or, at best a 5, but it’s debilitating. As punishment I decided to give the dog a haircut and a shampoo. So drenched through and with badly mauled hands I am in the right frame of mind to put some serious deliberation into this week’s games. It’s a shame that there wasn’t a team that got beaten by 100 points last round because that would be a sure indicator that they are going to win this week. In fact I firmly believe this is a deliberate tactic by some AFL coaches to motivate their teams. Brad Scott used it when North was smashed by the Saints one week by 105 points then came out and won the following match against the Eagles. Port Adelaide used the same tactic with coaches Williams and Laidley working in cahoots and perhaps after a late night call to the North coach. They suffered a 95 point humiliation at the hands of Geelong one week then slogged it out with the Saints the following game to record a very meritorious victory indeed. Teams that lost by 50 points or less in round 5 should not be considered for a form reversal so, Brisbane, Richmond, Adelaide and West Coast will require some thought put into their selection while Essendon is a sure thing to reverse an 11 goal hiding from Collingwood last week to win against a poorly performing Hawthorn. I know this sounds crazy but that seems to be the prevalent form guide early into this season. Apply insanity to your selections to gain some sanity by Sunday night.

My son runs a ladder prediction competition amongst a few of us and there are a few anomalies in most of the ladders. Fremantle in the top 4 after 5 rounds looks very out of place. Hawthorn in the bottom 4 also looks suspicious but tipsters there are 17 rounds to go. Enjoy and good luck.

 

Western Bulldogs V St Kilda at Etihad Friday Night

 

A match between two of the teams touted as being possible grand finalists should be a good one.

 The Saints are coming off a shocker last week against Port Adelaide, a game they surprisingly lost, while the Bulldogs were far too good for the Crows. The only real testing games the Western Bulldogs have had were against Brisbane and Collingwood and they lost those games convincingly. It is with great relief that they meet the Saints who will be without Reiwoldt, one of those players that is good enough to make you change a tip. Goddard bobbed up a couple of weeks ago to kick 5 and Schneider did the same last week when he kicked 3. Who will the Saints depend on this week? Koschitzke? The Bullies seem to have solved a forward problem with Barry Hall and their midfield is playing well. It should be, hopefully, a close game and it’s hard to pick a winner.

 

St Kilda by 6

 

North Melbourne V Melbourne at Etihad Saturday

 

Two young sides with not a lot to lose going hell for leather should provide an intriguing spectacle for the supporters. Melbourne has not done a lot wrong since their opening round loss to Hawthorn but since then the Hawks have not won a game while Melbourne has won their last 3. Hard to believe. North suffered a big loss against the Saints a few weeks ago but they have gone on to win 2 of their last 3. Like Friday night’s game we might have another close one simply for the reason that neither team is good enough to completely crush the other. Are we looking at the first draw of the season? North Melbourne love draws. Melbourne will break some long standing record, not a good memory one, if they can win 4 in a row and if they can beat North.

 

Melbourne by 11

 

Adelaide V Port Adelaide at AAMI Saturday

 

The Crows do have some serious problems with injuries and simply are not playing well. Port on the other hand showed their versatility with a fighting win over premiership favourites St Kilda and that was after a 95 point drubbing at the hands of Geelong the week before. Go figure. The win against the Saints by the Power was a slogging affair and the only reason you could offer for them to lose this game is that they will be too tired to see the game out. Let’s face it, Adelaide hasn’t really run themselves off their feet in the first 5 weeks so they should last the distance. It’s the SA derby and it’s Port’s turn....I think.

 

Port Adelaide by 23

 

Essendon V Hawthorn at the MCG Saturday

 

Both teams are experiencing very poor seasons and how the Bombers beat the Blues a couple of weeks ago remains the 13^th current wonder of the world. Their loss on Anzac Day against Collingwood was a couple of goals short of embarrassing and Hawthorn didn’t impress all that much either by losing their opening game in Tasmania to a struggling North Melbourne. As mentioned in the introduction teams that are losing by large margins one week seem to reverse their forms the next and win. However, you would expect Essendon to struggle against a team that has a lot more experience and a functioning forward line if Roughead doesn’t have to play in the ruck. Assuming the Hawks want to salvage something from this season they had better start here.

 

Hawthorn by 29

 

Sydney V Brisbane at the SCG on Saturday

 

Brisbane lost their first game of the season against Melbourne. Who would have thought that? The margin was 50 points. Sydney is winning its games by about the same margin. The game is being played at Swans’ home ground. Can Brisbane come back from such a defeat, travel two weeks in a row and get back on the winning cycle? Can the Sydney backs shut down both Fevola and Brown? That really will be the key. The Swans have lost Bolton for a while with an Achilles injury. Another difficult decision with as many reasons for and against for both teams that may only help to confuse the issue. Can we tip another draw or get off the fence and pick a team?

 

Brisbane by 7

 

Geelong V Richmond at Skilled Sunday

 

The odds for this game? Geelong to pay $1.04 for a win. Richmond is at $22.00. I think they know something and far be it for me to disagree.

 

Geelong by 95

 

Carlton V Collingwood at MCG Sunday

 

The Pies and the Bombers attracted 90,000 to the Anzac day game last week. This game between Collingwood and Carlton will also get a crowd through the gate, perhaps around the 75,000 mark. The Pies have not let a loss to the Saints slow them down and have in the past two weeks accounted for Hawthorn and Essendon by around 10 goals. The Blues seem to have found a couple of other avenues to goal since Fevola left but that little fleet footed trio of Yarran, Betts and Garlett will be up against a reasonably stingy Collingwood backline. Chris Judd has been just about best on ground in the two games since his return from suspension and he, along with Murphy, Gibbs and Scotland will be a headache for the Pies no doubt. Conversely Collingwood have Swan, Pendlebury and new young players that have stepped up this season in Beames, Wellingham and Sidebottom to give the Blues a similar headache but the Pies also have a better functioning forward line. Should be a great game and I don’t expect either team to allow a big winning margin. I suggest the Pies will keep up the intensity.

 

Collingwood by 21

 

West Coast Eagles v Fremantle at Subiaco Sunday

 

The first WA derby of the season and strangely enough there would not have been many experts at the start of the year that would have predicted the odds that are showing in this game. Fremantle go into the match as favourites and why not? They have swept all but St Kilda before them so far and if we base this game on form the Dockers should win this, if not easily, but these western derbies can be full of surprises. West Coast sprung one of their own surprises although probably done under pressure when they selected Lynch who had been inexplicably cooling his heels in the WAFL for the past 4 weeks. It’s hard to see the Dockers losing this game based on form but West Coast supporters will be there in their thousands to urge the lads on and a West Coast resurgence in the Derby is a distinct possibility. Do we have a form pick or a gut feeling pick?

 

West Coast by 14

 

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[AFL-Review] Round 5

AFL Review Round 5

Western Bulldogs 18.13.121 Defeated Adelaide 10.12.72

 

The match was fairly tight in the first half and the Bulldogs led by just 3 goals at the big break. After half time the Bullies came out in the third and kicked 5 goals to one set up a match winning break. Giansiracusa with 35 touches was a dominant player for the Western Bulldogs and he was ably assisted by Ryan Griffen, a really classy player, who controlled the midfield. Barry Hall was a great focus at full forward and finished with 5 goals. Bulldogs captain Brad Johnson finally got his season underway and finished with a healthy 24 possessions. The Crows continue to over handle the ball and good teams can apply the pressure to them causing turnovers.  Thompson and McLeod did okay for Adelaide and Tippett kicked 3 at full forward. Coach Craig admits that his team has a fair bit to do to resurrect the season and it’s going to be all uphill from here.

 

Sydney 17.13.115 Defeated West Coast 9.9.63

 

The Sydney Swans ensured that tips went as planned by easily beating the Eagles at the SCG. These two teams usually have close games but West Coast were out played and outclassed in nearly every position on the ground. West Coast and their coach promised a lot for the 2010 season but they are a long way from delivering. They continue to have problems up forward and I am sure every Eagles  fan is dying to hear why Lynch continues to be ignored at the selection table. On the other hand the Swans are flying high with 4 very emphatic wins in the last 4 games and they now sit on top of the AFL ladder. Bradshaw toweled up West Coast captain Glass and kicked 6 good goals while Goodes, Jack and Malceski played well for the Swans along with Roberts-Thomson who was almost impassable in defence. Such a great start to the season will have Sydney fans betting on a finals appearance but the West Coast fans wished they hadn’t been so confident at the season start with their betting money. The Eagles will struggle to make the finals playing this style of football.

 

Melbourne 15.13.103 Defeated Brisbane 7.11.53

 

Tipsters who selected Melbourne to win this game obviously know nothing about the game….or  do they? The Demons took the Lions on and just kept pushing the football through the centre corridor and they ran and they tackled and took risks and played on at all costs. Brisbane must have been plumb tuckered out after last week’s great win against The Bulldogs because they didn’t show a lot in this game. Brown was well held but Fevola chipped in with 4. Black, returning from injury, was his usual skilful self with heaps of possessions, most effective. Demons young guns Trengrove, Petterd, Sylvia and Jones all played well. When you think that this Melbourne team has some serious young talent in their side and they are all 19 or 20 years old (Sylvia is 23) it gives the Demons fans a fair bit of hope in the years to come. Three in a row to the Dees!

 

Port Adelaide 7.12.54 Defeated St Kilda 6.8.44

 

While the Lions were being thrashed across the border which brought their undefeated run to an end, Port didn’t read the script before this game and decided to play hard and tough and bring an end to the unbeaten run by the Saints as well!! A $100 bet on this double would have seen you with enough money to almost retire. All credit to the Power who looked like they were going to suffer another ignominious belting after the first quarter but came out all guns blazing and took it right up to the Saints playing them at their own style of hard football at close quarters. Rodan for Port was back after one of those miracle knee reconstructions and was just about best on ground. Cassisi and Chaplin were big possession earners for the Power and Schneider kicked 3 for the Saints, almost a lone hand up forward. Goddard couldn’t repeat his performance of last week against the Dockers and Koschitzke was rarely sighted. Most tipsters were looking at 2 – 2 after this game.

 

Collingwood 18.12.120 Defeated Essendon 8.7.55

 

When the Germans did a bit of land grabbing at the start of the 2^nd World War it was referred to as a “blitzkrieg”. The Pies performed one of these assaults on the Bombers in the first quarter. They kept the Dons goalless and kicked 7 themselves virtually ending the game there and then for the 90,000 spectators. With a handy 44 point lead Collingwood kept up the pressure and the lead was 70 points by the start of the last quarter. Bomber fans went home sometime during the third quarter but every Collingwood fan stuck it out to the glorious end. Cloke kicked 4 for the game, 3 in the first quarter, Pendlebury gathered 30 plus possessions and won the VC,  Beams was unbeatable and Didak and Fraser contributed in the forward line with Josh kicking 3 goals himself. Dempsey, Gumbleton and Fletcher did okay for the Bombers but they were outclassed all day. Collingwood have a full head of steam at this stage of the season but it doesn’t look like Essendon will climb to the dizzying heights they did last year.

 

North Melbourne 12.10.825 Defeated Hawthorn 10.10.70

 

Well if you thought the tipping weekend was bad already then this game was going to make it worse. It must have something to do with the ANZACS because the underdogs were putting up great fights and going on to win. This was no different which saw an unlikely, well not predicted, win to North Melbourne. The Hawks lost Renouf at the start of the game so they were virtually without a ruck all day and that makes it difficult at the stoppages. The game was close all day and it was only the last two goals of the game to North that gave them the win. Even a 5 goal haul from Buddy could not get a win for Hawthorn who have now lost their last 4 games and will need a major form reversal to climb into the 8. Hodge was the best for the Hawks and Roughead, thrust unexpectedly into the ruck did a reasonable job. Rawlings was the best for North and the 3 great goals by Wells in the third quarter were enough to inspire North to go on and win the game.

 

Fremantle 15.22.112 Defeated Richmond 11.7.73

 

My tips were sitting 3 from 6 and at the end of the first quarter in this match I was thinking 3 from 7. The Tigers came out cranking and kicked 6 goals to the 1 in the first. Were we looking at another upset? It all turned out okay as the Dockers applied themselves in the next 3 quarters to eventually win the game in a canter. Fremantle won the game by 39 points but with a  score line including 22 behinds you would have to think the Tigers were lucky it wasn’t a 10 goal hiding. Sandilands dominated around the ground and that man Barlow bobbed up with another 30 plus possession game. Pav kicked 4 and Ballantyne kicked 3 as the major contributors for Freo and Nahas and Rance both kicked 3 for the Tigers. The loss keeps the Tigers rooted to the bottom of the ladder while the win puts the Dockers into the top 4. Melbourne and Fremantle?? The mind boggles.

 

Carlton 15.14.104 Defeated Geelong 9.14.68

 

It was great that Fremantle battled us out of a disastrous tipping weekend only to see Geelong go from 95 point winners one week to 36 point losers the following week and leave most tipsters with a 4 from 8 score board. The Blues were only 5 points up at quarter time but a 6 goal second quarter won them the game against a very ordinary looking Cats side. Judd and Ablett played great games with the points going to Judd for being more effective with less possessions. Johnson and Mooney were well held by the Carlton backs and at the other end of the ground Betts, Garland and Yarran created havoc with their speed and creativity in the forward line. Carlton kicked enough goals to win the game without Fevola and it will be interesting to see how they will go against Collingwood next week. Geelong face Richmond so they might go again from 36 point losers to 100 point winners.

 

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[AFL-Preview] Round 5

AFL Preview Round 5

 

It must have really driven the rugby states of NSW and QLD out of their minds to see an AFL state like Victoria dominate their crazy rugby code. The Melbourne Storm won two premierships and were minor premiers over a 5 year period but the northern states finally got their own back and found that salary cap infringements were running wild within the Storm. Reason enough to strip them of their premierships and impose a $1.6 million fine on the Melbourne based team. That’ll fix ‘em. Show them that these Victorian upstarts can’t enter our beloved rugby competition and win premierships that easily. Hmmm. Question: is a player who gets $100k put into his salary account a better player than the one who gets $50k? Does $50K make you play better or does it just make sure you keep playing for that team? How does this compare to the Carlton salary cap fiasco of the 90’s?

When the AFL season started this year many thought that the games would be a lot closer than they have been between sides that we might call developing. Last week in what we predicted would be close games turned out to be bigger winning margins, some teams barely getting a sweat up as they cantered to the line half way through the last quarter. The margins were reflected in the point scores most tipsters got which was 6 – 8. An easy week of tipping you might say. The difficulty we have now is basing the weekly tips on form and then watching form reversals, or attitude changes, or decreased motivation by one team or the other. Of course injuries play a big part in whether teams can stay on the winning track because the team with the least injuries and the ability to field almost unchanged sides week in week out tend to perform more consistently. These are the philosophical tips being handed out to you this week tipsters. Look at injury lists and just who is injured. A Reiwoldt injury is far more serious to the team than an injury to a lesser player of course. Lots of injuries in a side restrict the team in how many they can pick from each week and does not keep the pressure on underperforming players in the side. So when tipping each week look out for ‘stuff’ happening inside the club and look at the weekly injury list provided by newspapers and websites. While there are a couple of tricky selections this week my gut feeling is that most are pretty straight forward……….good luck.

 

Western Bulldogs V Adelaide at Etihad Friday Night

 

Well both teams lost last week with the Bulldogs loss being a little more disappointing for a lot of tipsters me included. It was the only one I got wrong! Adelaide are really struggling and looking at their injury list they do have a couple of their better players out but that could hardly be used as an excuse for the large losing margins. The good thing about this game for Crows supporters is that the game is in Melbourne so they don’t have to sit at AAMI and watch their team get another hiding. Brad Johnson back for the Bullies and the Bulldog ball movement through the centre makes this game shape up to be a big win.

 

Western Bulldogs by 47

 

Sydney V West Coast at SCG Saturday

 

Naitanui is the name being bandied about in the papers over here. Not sure whether they have even heard of him in the east but this game will be an opportunity for the young guy to impress. He sure is electric to watch but then again so are the Swans this year. Lost the first game by 8 points, that was against the Saints, from then they have won games by reasonably big margins. Here is a statistic out there that says no existing West Coast player has won against the Swans at the SCG. That’s a trend that is likely to continue. Adam Goodes is playing some of his best football and if he keeps this up he will win another Brownlow he’s that sort of player. Hurn will be a welcome return for the Eagles but the team is just not performing to expectations. It looks like another long, hard, unsuccessful season for West Coast if they cannot be more consistent.

 

 Sydney by 29

 

Melbourne V Brisbane Lions at the MCG Saturday

 

The Demons have been quite impressive in their last 3 games and that 1 point loss to the Pies might haunt them as the season rolls on, not to say that they would have made the 8 but just to be able to say that they beat Collingwood in their premiership year would have made a good story!!?? Beating Richmond with a one quarter burst last week doesn’t mean that that Melbourne will challenge the Lions to a hot contest this week. The young Demons’ players have a lot of talent but just who will they play on the Brown Fevola? Hopefully the score line will not be too embarrassing but I can see that Brisbane combination kicking at least 10 between them in this game. Being an away game for Brisbane will allow us to reduce the winning margin by 25 points.

 

Brisbane by 25 points

 

Port Adelaide V St Kilda

 

It is really hard to make a case for the Power to win this game. Even though the match is being played at AAMI Port have not been a team of late to take advantage of the home ground. A 95 point drubbing in a half of football last week against Geelong, the other grand finalist of 2009, doesn’t fill me with a lot of confidence that they can turn things around and beat the Saints this week. Let’s not labor the point.

 

St Kilda by 41

 

Collingwood V Essendon at the MCG Sunday

 

The 2010 Anzac Day blockbuster should bear no resemblance to the 2009 Anzac Day blockbuster. Collingwood will not let the Bombers get as close as three goals going into the last 5 minutes like they did last year. Both teams are almost at full strength being able to pick from their best 22 but the Pies do look a lot better this season while Essendon has not developed much consistency in their game when you look at their results so far. Anzac Day does bring out the best in these two teams and the Bombers certainly surprised the Blues when they unexpectedly won a couple of weeks ago. But not in my wildest dreams do I expect Collingwood to lose this one. Watch it all unfold in the 3^rd quarter.

 

Collingwood by 33

 

Hawthorn V North Melbourne at Aurora Tasmania

 

First game of the year in Tassie for the Hawks and they really need to do something good to resurrect a season that might go nowhere for them. Hard to believe this team won a premiership against Geelong a couple of years ago. Injuries and suspensions have not helped their cause. In the North Melbourne corner we find a young inexperienced team who will find it very hard to sustain enough pressure to beat Hawthorn over 4 quarters. A bad North quarter means a loss for them. I am picking the second quarter as the one that will see Hawthorn power away to win the game.

Hawthorn by 51

 

 

Fremantle V Richmond at Subiaco Sunday

 

Let’s look at this game logically. The TIgers are travelling to the west to play. Freo is playing irresistible footy. Richmond is playing poor footy. Pav is on fire. Sandilands is killing them in the ruck and around the ground. What usually happens in these games is that the weaker team brings down the standard of the emerging team and the game can become a real  drudge to watch. Expect every Freo supporter to come to this game because they expect their team to belt the Tigers. I think their trip to the ground will be rewarded….well.

 

Fremantle by 66

 

Carlton V Geelong at MCG Monday

 

Judd made a great return to the AFL last week and ably led the Blues to a big win over Adelaide. Geelong did the same to the other South Australian team, moidering Port by 95. Cameron Ling on Judd? Sure thing. Carlton have a few stars in their team outside of Judd but opposition backs are finding it a lot easier to blanket the current Carlton forwards than they did trying to hold Fev. Again, against a good team Carlton might be suspect in the forward line and the Cats have a dearth of goal kickers. Carlton supporters will tip their own but I find it hard to justify moving away from the premiers.

 

Geelong by 29

 

 

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[AFL-Review] Round 4

West Coast 15.11.101 Defeated Essendon 11.12.78

About 38,000 supporters got to see one good quarter of football by West Coast, the second, in which they kicked 6 goals to the Bombers’ 4 points. That was where the game was won and lost. The spectators and viewers were also treated to a good exhibition of raw talent with Natanui for the Eagles showing his style and Cox finding a bit of form at last with 30 hit outs and 19 possessions. LeCras kicked 4 goals for West Coast and Kennedy 3. Watson played well for Essendon as usual but he had many ineffective possessions due to lack of support from team mates. West Coast really became lax in that last quarter allowing the Bombers to kick 5 of the last 6 goals. A hamstring injury to Kerr had him out of the game in the second half. The Anzac day game  against the Pies next week for the Bombers looks a tough prospect and every game for the Eagles will be a challenge.

 

Sydney 14.16.100 Defeated North Melbourne 8.12.60

 

Some early game pressure from North Melbourne forced Sydney into some pressure errors and this helped North stay in the match up to half time with the lead changing a number of times. After half time it seemed that the Swans shook off the lethargy that was in their game and eventually ran out easy winners by 40 points. North managed just 2 goals in the second half and only a point in the last quarter. Bradshaw took 11 marks and kicked 4 goals for Sydney. Harvey played well again for North but they just did not look like they had the strength or the experience to keep up second half pressure on the Swans.

 

Carlton 16.7.103 Defeated Adelaide 6.19.55

 

The Crows had more shots on goal than the Blues and still lost the game by 8 goals. By kicking 1 goal 6 in the 3^rd quarter Adelaide was unable to apply any scoreboard pressure to Carlton who found a couple of unlikely goal kickers in Garlett (3) and Houlihan (2). The Blues had been Judderless for the first 3 games but their captain came back with a vengeance and showed why he is one of the best footballers out on the paddock in today’s AFL. He was well backed by Murphy who had 32 possessions and the evergreen McLeod for the Crows played well again having 26 touches. Bad kicking is bad football. Enough said.

 

Collingwood 17.21.123 Defeated Hawthorn 8.11.59

 

The Pies were shown last week just what intensity means when the Saints crushed them in the second half. Well Collingwood put that game behind them, adding some strength to the comment that the players and coaches take games one week at a time, and tackled and pressured the Hawks out of the game by half time. Almost 8 goals up at half time the Pies did not relent and it was just their atrocious kicking in the third quarter when they added 2.11 that saved Hawthorn from total embarrassment and a 100 point defeat. Granted the Hawks were without Franklin but he would not have made that much of a difference as Collingwood lifted their stakes in the premiership race after a couple of ordinary games. Tackle count for the game was 76 to 45 in Collingwood’s favour.  Davis, Thomas and Didak found a bit of goal kicking form and Jolly finally put in a good one for the Pies in the ruck and added a couple of goals as well. Bateman and Hodge stood out for the Hawks but they will not be happy with that performance if they think they are going to be a threat in the finals.

 

Brisbane 13.23.101 Defeated Western Bulldogs 12.7.79

 

Anybody watching this game and would have been confident that their tip of Western Bulldogs was pretty safe. They were up by about 30 points at a stage in the second quarter and looked far classier than the Lions. As predicted, Brown and Fevola were being held so goals were hard to come by and it was lucky that Brisbane player Banfield had kicked a couple of good ones for them. By half time it was 15 shots on goal by Brisbane to 14 by the Bulldogs and the Bullies led by about 4 goals. Barry Hall was the main reason for their lead with 4 goals in the 2^nd quarter. Teams came out after the half time break and maybe it was the injury to Williams of the Bulldogs who was doing a number on Fevola up to that point holding him but in this quarter the Fev kicked his 4 goals and at three quarter time the half time deficit had been covered and the Lions were actually a goal ahead. Inaccurate kicking in the third by Brisbane (2.5) probably flattered the Bulldogs who added a goal and a point but the Lions had turned it around and won by 22 points. Brennan, Power and Rischitelli kept it happening with many possessions while Hudson and Griffen did pretty well for the Bullies. Premiership favourites the Western Bulldogs are now 2 -2 and there are a lot of questions about just where they are this year. Early days though. Brisbane remain undefeated and look a real threat to other big 3, St Kilda, Geelong and Collingwood.

 

Melbourne 20.13.133 Defeated Richmond 11.12.78

 

Everybody knew Melbourne was going to win this game but they sure had their supporters guessing until about 5 minutes into the third quarter when they unleashed a spurt of pretty good football and piled on the goals. In fact it looked like the Demons would kick the sweep until the Geelong score came in. In that third quarter Melbourne kicked 7 goals to zip opening up an unassailable lead. Maloney with 37 possessions and Green with 24 and 4 goals rate a mention and Sylvia returned from a broken jaw to kick 5 goals for the Dees. Will the Dees be in the 8 after this win? It’s possible. Reiwoldt and Astbury kicked 3 each for the Tigers. It’s hard to see Richmond winning a game, they travel to Subiaco next week to take on the Dockers.

 

Geelong 23.21.159 Defeated  Port Adelaide 10.4.64

 

Here’s another game that was played in two distinct halves. At half time the Power was down by 1 goal 4 behinds. Yep, 1 goal. They lost the game by 95 points!! In the 3^rd quarter Geelong kicked 11.7 to 1 goal! Question is: did the Power decide to leave the ground early, like half time, to avoid the traffic jam getting out of the ground? That is the only explanation for a 15 goals to 3 goals second half. There had to be a team missing. Johnson with 6 goals and Podsiadly with 5 goals did enough to win the game off their own boot but Ablett contributed 3 goals himself on top of his 37 possessions and dominated around the ground. Kane Cornes tried hard under a deluge and Pearce and Cassisi were okay for Port. When a team kicks 159 for the game there were a lot of contributors.

 

St Kilda 17.12.114 Defeated Fremantle 12.17.89

 

It was a great game of footy to watch. The teams went neck and neck on the scoreboard and if you were a Fremantle supporter, even though the team lost, you would be pretty happy with the effort the boys put in. Freo are pretty exciting to watch, a bit like Essendon last year. Just backed themselves and had what we call a “red hot go!” Goddard turned out to be a worthy replacement for Reiwoldt and kicked 5 and Milne bobbed up enough times to kick 5 as well for the Saints. Sandilands was arguably best on ground.  Pavlich had a quiet first quarter but kicked 5 goals for the Dockers in the other 3 including a bomb from about 65 metres in the third.  Hill was all class for Fremantle but the hard bodies and relentless pressure applied by the Saints eventually wore the young Dorks down forcing a few too many errors in the last 15 minutes of the game during which the Saints drew away to lead by 20 points at one stage. Fremantle never gave up though and the prediction, based on what we have seen for the first 4 games, is certain to make the finals. Richmond then West Coast in the next two weeks might see them with 5 wins from 6 games. They won only 5 last season.

 

 

 

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[AFL-Preview] Round 4

AFL Preview Round 4

Last two rounds deplorable scoring four right out of eight

Following the preview? Then you’re not doin’ so great

Hard to pick the form, the teams are up and down

Win one week and lose the next makes a tipster frown.

Still there’s news aplenty, to keep your mouth shut that’s the trick

Old age, swearing, gay guys, rapists, we heard it all from Mick.

And Freo? What a story, with all that they could muster

Play the Saints this week in the AFL blockbuster.

Rumour, innuendo, Chinese whispers, where’s the truth?

Richmond players fight each other, can’t play this week, oh struth!

Injuries are raging, teams fined for using phones,

Reiwoldt’s done a hamstring, stripped it from the bone!

But 18 rounds to go folks, let’s not get in a sweat

Tipping points still up for grabs, so don’t give it up yet!!

Good Luck.

 

West Coast V Essendon Subiaco Friday night

 

Two average teams trying to find some form. Whoosha reckons that players that continually turn the ball over with poor kicking skills should not be playing AFL. Really? How are the Eagles going to win this game with 11 players? Hard to work out just where Essendon is on form. They do struggle to win at Subi, even against Fremantle, so if you take that sort of historic form into these games it’s not an idiot decision to tip against them. I’ve been fairly idiotic up to now so let’s not stop.

West Coast by 17

 

North Melbourne V Sydney at Etihad Saturday

 

North has teased us all with a form reversal that defies explanation but they were lucky to come up against West Coast last week. I think Sydney will be a much harder proposition for this young North team and we might see another form reversal. Not a lot can be written here to justify a decision which is....

 

Sydney by 33

 

Adelaide V Carlton at AAMI Saturday

 

I have tipped Adelaide 3 weeks in a row. They have lost the three games. I’ve had enough. Sob!

 

Carlton by 22

 

Collingwood V Hawthorn at MCG Saturday

 

The Hawks have had it hard for their opening rounds apart from Melbourne who they had beaten by half time. The Pies have also had a hard start to the season beating Melbourne by just the solitary point. Collingwood were made to look ordinary against St Kilda after half time last week and that was after Nick Reiwoldt had left the field with THAT injury. The Hawks have lost their last couple as well and if they are going to repeat their 2008 season these hard games are the ones they need to win. Buddy is out, that’s a big loss for a big game. Never follow the heart in your tips but in this case I will. Eddie everywhere has asked Mick to zip it. Me? I love controversy. Let it rip Mick.

 

Collingwood by 19

 

Brisbane Lions V Western Bulldogs at the Gabba Saturday

 

I am predicting this to be the game of the round for intensity and skill. The Bulldogs should have the talent to dampen the effectiveness of the Brown Fevola forward set up and let’s face it, if they want to win the game those two have to be kept to less than 5 goals between them. A surprise loss to the Pies in week one but the Bulldogs have got their season a bit back on line. I think the Western Bulldogs will win this one but it will take them all of 4 quarters to shake off the Lions.

Western Bulldogs by 20

 

Richmond V Melbourne at MCG Sunday

 

It is hard to find a case for a Richmond win and it is equally hard not to have a few words to say about what looks like a voyage of self destruction that their players are on. The Tigers will win the Wooden Spoon and they might do it by not winning a game this year. Yes they have a lot of young players and they are rebuilding, something they have been doing since 1980. This week we see players Collins, Cousins, McGuane and Polo not playing, suspended by the club for questionable behaviour. Conversely, Melbourne seems to be doing everything right as a young team rebuilding. It’s the miracle of 2010 we all spoke about. Melbourne to win two in a row. Yikes!

 

Melbourne by 31

 

Geelong V Port Adelaide at Skilled Sunday

 

Yes Port Adelaide is doing well. Yes Geelong was beaten last week by Fremantle. Yes there are a few players missing from the Cats’ line up. Yes the Power plays harder football. Will Port Adelaide beat Geelong at Skilled stadium? No.

 

Geelong by 41

 

St Kilda V Fremantle at Etihad

 

The blockbuster of the weekend based on the fact that these two teams are undefeated after three rounds may turn out to be a flop. Let’s hope that Freo are not embarrassed by the score line and that they give a good account of themselves. The tip is St Kilda but we have known to be wrong before.

St Kilda by 35

 

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[AFL-Review] Round 3

AFL Review Round 3

 

St Kilda 10.9.69 Defeated Collingwood 4.17.41

 

This was a brutal encounter physically with some questionable strong arm stuff starting even before the siren blew to officially commence proceedings. Collingwood was handed a goal pre-game and after some push and shove after that the umpires thought they might as well even it all with a goal to the Saints. Crazy stuff. For the Pies it made no difference what they threw at the Saints they were up to it. A very tight first half of football saw the Magpies ahead by 3 points at the big break. Bad news just before half time for the Saints when Nick Reiwoldt limped off with what looked like a bad hamstring injury. News to hand is that Nick might be out for up to 3 months with the injury. It’s a shame to see a great footballer missing from any line up let alone for the Saints who really need their centre half forward fit and well to have another crack at a premiership. Collingwood’s 4 goals to half time appeared to be enough for them as they did not kick a goal for the rest of the game!! Kicking 9 behinds in the last two quarters was never going to be enough. The Saints ran out comfortable winners in the end minus Reiwoldt.

 

North Melbourne 17.14.116 Defeated West Coast 13.13.91

 

For tipsters these form reversals in which a team can turn around a 104 point thrashing in one week then kick 17 goals in the following week to win a game is a nightmare. At no stage did North look like they were going to lose this game leaving the Eagles with a zip three start to the season and not looking good. 4 of north’s first few goals were the result of woeful West Coast turnovers and it’s a facet of their game they really need to look at. Bring back Lynch too says the fans but nobody in the West Coast selection camp is listening. Boomer Harvey, after what was probably his poorest game last week, was unstoppable in this game and would have got the umpires votes for BOG. LeCras kicked 5 for the Eagles up forward but he played almost a lone hand. West Coast were talking finals this year but unless they can start winning a few games playing in September will be a pipe dream.

 

Brisbane 16.12.108 Defeated Port Adelaide 11.15.81

 

This game was over at half time when the Lions had kicked 10 goals to the Power’s 3. The forward combination of Brown and Fevola added another bag of 8 to their already impressive total of 18 for the first three rounds. It will be interesting to see how Brisbane performs against the top 4 teams who will be a lot more successful blanketing these two forwards than any of the teams to date have been. The final margin of 27 points flatters Port Adelaide a little because at stages during the game the margin was always between 7 – 9 goals. A Brisbane ease off in the second half would have contributed to that. Salopek and Cornes were good for Port while for the Lions Sherman in his 100^th game played well.

 

Sydney 16.15.111 Defeated Richmond 7.14.56

 

The Richmond woes continued with an ordinary first half against the Swans and by that time the game was over pretty much like the Port Adelaide versus Brisbane game. Bradshaw kicked his 500^th goal in AFL, Cousins had no impact on the game and Sydney marched on into the second half just doing enough to maintain the lead they had built in the first two quarters. The Swans play North next week and Richmond play Melbourne, a game I don’t think they will win. As the season progresses it would be nice if Richmond supporters can see some improvement.

 

Essendon 13.17.95 Defeated Carlton 10.15.75

 

The nightmare weekend for tipsters continued with Carlton, the favourite, going down to the Bombers who were convincingly beaten by the Dockers last week. It was close all day but in the last quarter Essendon drew away to increase their three quarter time margin from 12  points to 20 points at the final siren. This was one of those games the Blues missed Fevola up forward. For the Bombers their veteran Fletcher was among their best and Simpson tried hard all day for the Blues. Both teams now sit in the midfield of the ladder with a win and two losses. Seems that’s about where they will finish at the end of the season.

 

Melbourne 7.15.57 Defeated Adelaide 5.11.41

 

Finally the Demons cracked a win and that was after kicking just one goal in the first half! Lucky for Mlebourne that the Crows had only kicked four goals in that half. In the second half Adelaide kicked just the one goal and played the game out with just 19 fit players .In the last quarter the ball ricocheted between the two back lines for over 20 minutes during which time Melbourne had kicked a solitary point to lead by that margin. Continual attacks into the forward 50 finally paid dividends for the Demons when they kicked a goal at the 28 minute mark of the last quarter and sealed it when Jamar tapped to Jones in a forward stoppage about a minute later and Jones dashed into an open goal for the last score of the match. The Demons could be 2 – 2 after next week when they play the Tigers but I think every game from here on for the Crows will be a challenge to win. Trengrove, Grimes, Frawley and Green played particularly well for the Demons and Goodwin and Knights stood out for the Crows. Hopefully the Melbourne win will be a bit of a positive jab for Jim Stynes in his latest battle against cancer.

 

Western Bulldogs 14.16.100 Defeated Hawthorn 12.12.84

 

The game was close nearly all day but the Bulldogs proved a bit too strong in the last quarter. Injuries early in the game for the Hawks did not help leaving them with just 20 players although the Doggies  lost a player early as well. This was a telling factor in the last quarter especially when Western Bulldogs midfielders Cross, Cooney and Boyd kept pumping the ball forward into the waiting arms of Barry Hall who finished with 6. Another good tester for the Western Bulldogs next week when they play Brisbane while Hawthorn gets it tough again when they meet Collingwood. Worthy of a mention was that this game was not televised into the west, was not broadcast into the west on ABC and even Foxtel could not find a time slot to replay the game until 1.30am Monday!!

 I tell you........

 

Fremantle 18.17.125 Defeated Geelong 17.16.118

 

Yes you need to read that score line again. It’s not the fact that the Dockers beat the Cats in this game it’s the way in which Fremantle came back from being more than 3 goals down against the reigning premiers and found something extra to get back into the game and go on and win! It was a great game of football as well and it was a pleasure to watch Ablett and Pavlich turn it on for football lovers. Pav’s 26 possession 5 goal game certainly helped the Dockers win this one. Fremantle are second on the ladder, undefeated, and play the other grandfinalist from last year, St Kilda, also undefeated, at Etihad stadium next week. Dare they dream??!!

 

 

 

 

[AFL-Preview] Round 3

AFL Preview Round 3

 

Last week 4 /8 Total 11 from 16

 

No doubt everybody is blaming the previewer for a tipping debacle last week but let me set the record straight. Bad tipping last week was 2 correct, mediocre tipping was 3, average tipping was 4, lucky tipping was 5 and extraordinary know nothing about AFL was a 6. Anything over the 6 and you were on drugs! Going by some of the results last week I suspect some players might have also been on a bit of something. Look at it this way it’s nice to get the bad week out of the way early in the season! The major problem that faces the tipster now is judging the form of teams going into round 3. Are the teams that are winning by heaps but playing much weaker teams in good form? Are teams we thought that might be languishing at the bottom of the ladder and are now sitting in the top 4 really playing that well? Or is it just too early in the season to be making those calls and consistency will only appear after round 10? Are we processing too many pieces of information before we make a decision? Are we eating enough vegies through the week to enable brain synapses and emotional endorphins to act independently of each other so we have clear logic to follow? A lot of questions but not a lot of answers folks.

Talk continues unabated in football via journalists and commentators regarding the use or overuse of the interchange bench and the amount of interchanges a team should have. Stats have proven that the team with the most injuries tends to win the game because it allows other players to stay on the field longer which helps them attune more mentally to the flow of the game. How the game is played today is a far cry from how it was played 25 years ago and if memory serves me correctly we only used the 19^th and 20^th player if somebody was injured to the degree that they could not continue. We sucked on an orange at quarter time and three quarter time, even snuck a puff of a cigarette if one of your spectator mates was out on the ground for the coach’s address, trained 2 nights a week, drank more alcohol after a game than Cuz, Betts and Houlihan could manage in a week’s binge, never warmed up, didn’t even recognise the expression warm down and your pregame stretch was reaching for a fag tucked into the bottom of your footy bag amongst the socks you forgot to take out to wash after last week’s game! Ice vests and ice baths and masseurs and pedicurists and manicurists and hair stylists the players have today seems a bit over the top but then again when you get paid about $300K a season compared to the $15 a game we got for a loss and the $40 a game you got for the win back in the old days I guess there had to be changes. Rotations off the bench have become a tactic as well with a well timed interchange receiving a pass and racing unimpeded into the 50 metre forward area before the opposition have had the time to work out who was supposed to be manning him up. I do agree with one comment and that is if your really best players stay on the ground long enough without being rested you’re bound to win the game!

Some curly games this week tipsters – stay focused and good luck.

 

 

Collingwood V St Kilda at Etihad Friday

 

The Saints had a lucky win against North last week just falling over the line in the last quarter by 104 points. Collingwood had a slightly closer game toying with the opposition possibly to help lift their spirits winning comfortably by a point in the last 10 seconds. It was all to do with judgement really. Fans supporting both sides left the game early as the result was pretty much sewn up by half time! Both these teams have won their opening rounds and Luke Ball has been given permission by his team mates at Collingwood to play half the game in his new black and white jumper and the other half back in his old Saints Guernsey, especially if he continues to play as poorly as he did last week!! The Pies will be allowed an additional interchange when Luke plays for his old team. All of this shouldn’t make a great difference because the coaches got together last Tuesday night after training and tossed a coin to determine who would win the game and will address the players before the game to let them know the result of that toss. The publican at the hotel the coaches went to last Tuesday, the Studley Park Tavern, is an old mate of mine and he witnessed the coin toss by Lyons and Malthouse after they had downed their 8^th beer, heard the result and rang me to let me know which team they had agreed to let win on the condition that I would give his pub a bit of a mention, which I have. As a personal service to you, the tipster, here it is.

 

Saints by 24

 

North Melbourne V West Coast At Etihad Saturday

 

It’s doubtful that there was any pregame agreement reached for this one because neither team has won a game yet. Based on performances so far West Coast seem to be closer to winning than North. Unfortunately for the Eagles the game is being played in Melbourne but based on the unpredictability of football early in the season it’s quite possible that West Coast may notch their first win of the season in an away game. North will be pretty fired up after such a pathetic display last week so West Coast better not think this will be a walk in the park. And for crying out loud Eagles, bring back Lynch who apparently has been a naughty boy and is not the messiah??!! Coaches who watched too much Monty Python had better be careful else they’ll develop a sense of humour not immediately evident to 90% of the population.

 

West Coast by 15

 

Port Adelaide V Brisbane Lions At AAMI Saturday

 

It seems the Brown / Fevola combination has become so big that they are getting their own post code! The code does start with a 4 so it remains Brisbane based. We all know that the Power has made an auspicious start to the season and won both its opening games as has Brisbane. Those wins will guarantee an additional 26 Port Adelaide supporters at AAMI for the game but will that be enough to cheer them on to beat the Lions? I think not.

 

Brisbane by 22

 

Sydney V Richmond at SCG Saturday

 

Did anybody else see Lin Yu Chun from Taiwan on the show Taiwan You’ve Got Talent singing the Whitney Houston song “I will Always Love You”? If you thought Susan Boyle had a great voice you want to listen to this kid sing the song and remember, his normal language is Taiwanese and he sings it in english? Oh and by the way if you’re interested, Sydney will beat the Tigers in this game.

 

Sydney by 39

 

Carlton V Essendon at the MCG Saturday

 

Let’s call this a mini blockbuster because there will probably be 70,000 spectators to watch the game based simply on the popularity of the teams playing. The Bombers crashed last week in a surprising last quarter capitulation to the Dockers at Etihad and you would have to wonder just how they will change their game plan enough to beat Carlton. They won’t.

Carlton by 28

 

Melbourne V Adelaide MCG Sunday

 

Had this game been the first of the season I would be confidently spruiking the Crows to a big win. The first two weeks have seen some contrasting performances by Melbourne but pretty much the same effort from Adelaide who have lost both their games so far to teams that did not even make the finals last year and the losses have been by convincing margins. This could be a tight game all day. Maybe as many lead changes as there were in the Melbourne Collingwood clash last week but on paper you would have to give the Crows the nod. Perhaps Melbourne supporters can have a bit each way on this one.

 

Adelaide by 15

 

Western Bulldogs V Hawthorn at Etihad Sunday

 

Here’s a tough one for the tipsters. The Bulldogs whipped the Tigers last week which, while good for the percentage, is not a real good indicator of just how they are travelling. Hawthorn had a really tough encounter with the Cats last week and the two suspensions they received might tell us just how hard the game was played. Will that be a deciding factor in picking the winner of this game? Use whatever sign you can find to help you make that choice. I think the Western Bulldogs need to lift a bit as well and it might still be another week before we see Brad Johnson who has been crook for a week – maybe nerves coming up to his 350^th. Maybe just a common virus. Roughead and Franklin up forward for the Hawks, Barry Hall up forward for the Doggies. Should be a good game so we can assume that there will be no live telecast into the west.

 

Western Bulldogs by 11

 

Fremantle V Geelong at Subiaco on Sunday

 

Let me rattle off the stats of past history that the Dockers will need to overcome to have even an inkling of a chance to win this game. Freo have not beaten Geelong since the Ford Motor company was established in Michigan in 1903 or thereabouts. The Dockers have lost 2311 games straight against Geelong. Mark Thompson’s grandfather’s uncle originally moved to Corio Bay in 1876. Geelong has less letters in its name than Fremantle. So there you have it. An impressive list of reasons not to tip the Dorks who are playing exciting, uninhibited football. But look at the odds in stats they overcame last week against Essendon in Melbourne?! On the positive side Fremantle has Aaron Sandilands playing for them and opposition ruckmen can only get near him for reach if they abseil down his forearms. A few losses to the Cats with suspension, I won’t mention Mooney because he is usually suspended anyway, and injuries. It could be closer than you think and add to that the trip over to the west by Geelong and selecting Fremantle isn’t such a silly idea is it? Yes....it is.

 

Geelong by 17

 

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[AFL-Review] AFL Review

AFL Review Round 2

 

Brisbane 16.11.107 Defeated Carlton  12.16.88

 

The result may have been what was predicted by the experts and the betting odds but the result was in doubt until well into the final quarter. When the Blues snuck ahead in the 3^rd quarter, a term in which they added 7 goals to the Brisbane Lions’ 2, the general consensus was that Brisbane would not have the legs to finish the game. Nobody told Carlton that they needed to mind Jonathon Brown who turned on exhibition of centre half forward play reminiscent of Wayne Carey at his best. Brown finished with 7 goals for the match and add that to Fevola’s 3 goals and again this week the Brisbane forward combo kicked more than half the Lions score. O’Halpin surprised by kicking 4 goals for the Blues but Eddie Betts had 4 costly misses. At half time Carlton had 14 scoring shots against 11 scoring shots to Brisbane and were 22 points down. It took Carlton about 7 minutes to level the score in the 3^rd quarter and kick on to have a handy 7 point lead. A 6 goal last term by the Lions, Brown kicking 3, put paid to a Carlton upset. Murphy had 34 possessions for Carlton to be their best but BOG had to be Brown who virtually led the Lions to victory in the last.

 

Collingwood 12.14.86 defeated Melbourne 12.13.85

 

Not listed as a blockbuster due to their relative positions this game was heart attack material for both Melbourne and Collingwood supporters. I reckon Malthouse is still scratching his head wondering how the Pies got away with the win. I am. The Demons were irresistible in the first term and it was hard to recognise these players as the same guys that came out against the Hawks in round 1 last week. If only Petterd had held the mark with 7 seconds to go. The lad had kicked 4 for the game but he just could not hold on in that desperate last second to make it 5 and win the game for the Dees. Punters would have taken Collingwood at 35 plus points to win this match and it was only a patch of Leon Davis brilliance from another Demon turnover that gave the Pies the 1 point lead which they hung on to. Umpiring was noticeable because of a number of confusing (dare we say ‘wrong’) decisions but it was probably even for both sides. Beames and Pendlebury kept the Pies in the contest while Collingwood forwards Didak, Cloke, Anthony and Medhurst had a dirty day. Petterd and Green for Melbourne were their best score contributors and Davey was a livewire around the ground. Jamar was the dominant ruckman and it must be a bit disappointing for the Pies who recruited Jolley from Sydney but he has not made a great impression yet. A lot of skill errors, plenty of turnovers but a close, exciting game.

 

Port Adelaide 13.11.89 Defeated West Coast Eagles 12.14.86

 

The Power has started the season with two wins, this game against the Eagles a great effort, while West Coast have fallen to zip two after 2 rounds. A loss at home against a mediocre team is a very poor result for the Eagles and might be one they rue at the end of the season. The game was littered with errors and poor skills, particularly West Coast whose players just could not hit their mark with kicks to position. Until West Coast can improve that part of their game they could be in for a long and unsuccessful season – a bit like last year. Port won much of the contested ball particularly in the last quarter when it mattered and somehow Davenport was always in the right position to kick the goal. The end result was just a 3 point margin but even with 5 minutes to got the result was written in stone. Forward problems at West Coast were exacerbated with the puzzling exclusion of Lynch. The reason? He had been playing in the ruck and had forgotten how to play up forward and needed to re-learn that skill. Go figure. One thing that was obvious to West Coast supporters was that not playing Lynch was a huge mistake. The Eagles had 60 inside 50’s to Port’s 37. Natanui was great in the ruck and around the ground and while not dominant his footy nous is a treat to watch. Kennedy for West Coast was a good target when they kicked accurately to him and he finished with 4 goals. The Power has set up the season well with two early wins and the Eagles will struggle to make the finals based on that performance at home.

 

St Kilda 23.5.143 Defeated North Melbourne 6.3.39

Welcome to the AFL Brad Scott. This match was like watching Sunday metro football where one team dominates  the whole game and kicks an embarrassing score against the mild opposition. The Saints kicked the first 10 goals of the game! North didn’t trouble the scorers until the second quarter! Reiwoldt kicked 7 for the Saints, that was enough to win the game off his own boot. North Melbourne coach Scott stated after the game, amongst other things no doubt: “ I’ll be interested to see how we respond next week.” Amen to that.

Sydney 18.10.118 Defeated Adelaide 11.9.75

Here’s another game that was over by half time. Sydney was totally dominant and the game was played mostly in eerie silence as the Crow supporters had nothing to yell about. Ryan O’Keefe for Sydney played a blinder with 29 possessions and 3 goals. It was nice to see Seaby make a reasonable showing after being given limited opportunities with the West Coast Eagles. Just put this down to another tip gone wrong and a game in which I lost interest at half time. The season for Adelaide is heading down the gurgler.

Fremantle 17.11.113 defeated Essendon 9.15.69

Fremantle had not won in Melbourne for 3 years, they hadn’t beaten Essendon away for 9 years and yada yada yada. It was obviously a weekend for records to be broken so the Dockers went out in this game and in a last quarter burst shot the Bombers out of the sunny Melbourne sky. The curtain got stuck when Essendon fans unveiled the Matthew Lloyd stand at Etihad and the curtain came down on a poor last quarter by the Bombers. Michael Barlow for Fremantle continued on from where he left off last week with another 30 plus possession game. It was a tight contest up to three quarter time but in the last session Freo kicked 6 goals to Essendon’s 2 points to run out comfortable winners by 44 points and place themselves in 2^nd position on the ladder after 2 rounds!! The local newspapers are running amuck with Fremantle headlines and did you know that the odds for the Dockers to win the premiership has been cut from $110 to $34? Amazing! Personally I don’t think they’ll win the flag. Reality bites next week – they play Geelong albeit at home.

Western Bulldogs 17.18.120 defeated Richmond 7.6.48

Another inglorious defeat for the Tigers and although it was expected it is certainly turning into a disastrous season for them. Two new coaches in Hardwicke and Scott are learning their trade the hard way with both their teams sitting last and second last on the ladder. This game also was over by half time and the last two quarters were played simply to determine the final margin. It was a 12 goal defeat for Richmond this week and a 10 goal loss last week. It’s doubtful the Tigers will beat Melbourne this year. The Bulldogs rebuilt a bit of pride in this game after a surprise loss to the Magpies last week. Gilbee, Cross, Cooney and Akermanis stood out for the Bullies while Morton kicked 3 for the Tigers in a total return of 7 so his efforts were pretty good. Johnson did not play his 350^th due to the calf injury that has kept him out for a couple of weeks already.

Geelong 14.16.100 defeated Hawthorn 13.13.91

This was the game of the round so it was a monty that neither a direct nor a Foxtel telecast would grace our TV screens. And so it was. By all accounts it was a great game of footy with pressure, turnovers, acts of courage, poor kicking for goal, the game had the lot. The experts that say Geelong will struggle to play in another grand final might have to eat their words because the Cats came out after half time facing a 4 goal deficit against a good team like Hawthorn and over the next two quarters ground out an unlikely win. Roughead and Franklin kicked 6 between them while Cam Mooney and Byrnes kicked 7 for the Cats. Bartell was back to his Brownlow form and the Hawks captain Mitchell played made his usual, strong contribution. Melbournites love their footy and this was clearly evident when 70,000 fans went to watch the game at the MCG and were treated to a great game.

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