[AFL-Preview] Round 18

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AFL Preview Rd 18
 
Just the 5 rounds to go tipsters and it seems we will have no change to the top 4 this year either as the same teams finish 1 to 4 like 2009. Hawthorn, after a disastrous season start, has settled into 5th position from which they will find it difficult, but not impossible, to win the flag. However, without a competent ruckman, the Hawks may struggle against the top 4 teams. Within those 5 remaining rounds it is possible to score 40 tipping points but as we have all discovered this season picking 8 winners in a weekend of AFL in 2010 is harder than finding a leak in the Labour Party ranks, harder than getting a MYKI transport card to work, harder than getting Mick Malthouse to admit the Pies are a chance to win the premiership  and harder than getting a West Coast Eagles supporter to smile!! Some of the form reversals by teams from one week to the next defy logic. Tipsters are having a dickens of a time deciding on games, not so much for the possible close ones but in the games that you would normally be able to pick a clear winner based on form. 5 correct last week was good, 4 correct was acceptable and anybody who scored 6 obviously knows very little about this great game or, like some of us, has resorted to guesswork!
 
 
Essendon V St Kilda at Etihad Friday night
The Bombers performed some sort of miracle last week against North Melbourne but in this game against the Saints it will be a miracle if they can manage 10 goals. Hopefully all those lamps heating the grass on Etihad will be removed so we get a free flowing match. Yes that was a cheap shot. Not a lot more can be said about this game. The Saints have to win to maintain credibility as a premiership favourite and Essendon needs to win for Knights to keep his job. The return of Hille will be a great plus but after so many weeks away from the game it might be a while before he is really up to an effective standard. Reiwoldt is coming along just fine and the Saints will have adapted to his presence on the forward line well before the finals are upon us.
St Kilda by 44
 
Collingwood V Carlton at the MCG Saturday
Surprisingly we have a Saturday afternoon football game at the MCG with traditional rivals. The Blues gave the Eagles a bit of a start last week and over ran them in the second half to win comfortably. Based on form it's hard to see Carlton knocking off a pretty hot Collingwood in front of 80,000 at the 'G' and the Pies would love a 6 goal start. Now Mick (Malthouse) said during the week that the significance of this game is not what it used to be as it was when we had suburban warfare. Having been part of many of those suburban battles I would have to disagree and say that the animosity between the two teams transcends any modernistic bent you want to put on it as a psychological weapon to lessen the importance of the game in the eyes of the players. People with blue scarves and people with black and white scarves hate each other when watching their teams play. Can't be any simpler than that.
Collingwood by 31
 
Port Adelaide V Hawthorn at AAMI Saturday
The unexpected win by the Power last week caught all tipsters by surprise but don't expect the same in this match against Hawthorn who will be a bit peeved about the draw last week. It's back to the usual stuff for Port supporters. The fact that the game is being played at AAMI helps us determine the margin but does not affect the overall result. Roughead and Franklin will kick enough between them to beat the Power. The game might be close for the first quarter.
Hawthorn by 39
 
Sydney V Geelong at SCG Saturday night
How bad was Sydney last week against Melbourne? Well even a form reversal will not be enough for them to beat this Geelong team. Ling will tag Goodes and outside that most of the Cats players are in a class above the Sydney players. Admittedly the Swans could not play as badly as they did last week but if they are having a confidence crisis then this is not the game that will help them overcome that. Form reversals have been the order of the season but it would take a wild streak of imagination to think that Sydney is good enough to beat Geelong!
Geelong by 42
 
Brisbane Lions V Melbourne at the Gabba Saturday night
It was written that it is still possible for the Demons to make the finals this year? Well here's their chance because Sydney play Geelong, North play Western Bulldogs and Carlton play Collingwood - all are games that can go their way to help their cause. Tipsters have been a bit quick to get on the Melbourne bandwagon and the Dees almost believe their own press. Brisbane at home? Expect an upset. Some serious soul searching by the Lions and a home crowd might be enough to upset Melbourne playing away from home again and we all know their away record. Put it this way, when you are over 10 points behind the leaders in a tipping comp you just need a 'whiff' of an upset to pick that way. Who knows?
Brisbane by 17
 
Richmond V Adelaide at the MCG Sunday
Both teams showed awful form last week so picking the winner of this game is almost impossible. The Crows and the Tigers have a couple of good forwards, average backlines, similarly talented on-ballers. Mark this down as the 3^rd draw of the season. And tipsters, draws attract 3 points in most tipping competitions and while it is agreed that it is a pie in the sky selection desperation commands risk. So you come 41^st in the tipping rather than 24^th!! Really?
Draw
 
Western Bulldogs V North Melbourne at Etihad Sunday
North Melbourne has no hope in this game. If they get within 10 goals of the Western Bulldogs they can count it as a reasonable day. The Bullies are on some sort of quest and this is not the time for lower teams to think they will have a chance. They don't have a chance so it's no good pencilling in North to give you that upset point in tipping.
Western Bulldogs by 66
 
Fremantle V West Coast at Subiaco Sunday
The western derby is upon us again and the hype is high for the Eagles because the Dockers are on a downward spiral. Problem is that the Eagles are already in the basement and can go no lower. Last week West Coast had a second half fade out but Freo faded out the whole game. This will be a close match and can go either way. Look out for an upset. Tarrant is back for the Dockers and it has been suggested that he will play on LeCras. Bad move. Selwood is a big loss for the Eagles but the main concern is the lethargy of Fremantle players who seem to be looking for the end of the season rather than looking towards playing finals. Up to Harvs to get his team motivated. It's a bit of a fairytale for Fremantle and over these last few games they better start living the dream!!
West Coast by 7
 
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Tipping - Keeping soccer fever alive!

Dear Footy List Subscriber,

With the Soccer World Cup having drawn to a close and celebrations in Spain slowly peetering out, it is time to look forward to the upcoming soccer season.

A soccer tipping competition is a great way to stay in touch with your tippers over the summer months when AFL, NRL and Super14 have come to an end for the year. Whilst a fair bit of attention turns to cricket, 'The World Game' is still the sport more people are involved in than any other.

We've sent you this email to let you know about the release of our Soccer 2010 editions.

We have released both an A-League edition and an English Premier League edition.

The 2010/11 English Premier League starts on Saturday 14th August and has a 38 round season ending in May 2011.

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As usual, there is no obligation to pay 'up front' - you can download the program and use it for the first 5 rounds before it requires registration/payment if you wish to continue using it.

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[AFL-Review] Round 17

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St Kilda 14.3.87 Drew with Hawthorn 13.9.87
This was a titanic struggle and a great game of football almost ruined by two umpiring technicalities regarding interchange and runners. Another draw for the season providing little joy for tipsters. Buddy kicked 5 lazy goals for the Hawks while Kozy, Milne and Schneider all kicked 3 for the Saints. One wonders how much better a player Franklin would be if he just cut out the crap on the field at times. He gave away 200 metres in penalties and these were basically for stupidity. Still, after a cuddle from the coach he seemed to have got the message. There has been a bit of flak against Koszitsche over the past few weeks and when he kicked 3 goals in the first quarter it looked like he would answer the critics in the best possible way. But after the first quarter he was not as effective. Hayes and Goddard were good for the Saints and Hodge and Franklin seemed the best for Hawthorn. Watching a match a few weeks ago I thought Del Santo had his nose broken and it looked like he had it broken again during this game. Ditto Brown for the Hawks and added to a smashed lip on Gardiner the saying that the game was full of blood and guts seemed to hold true this night.
 
Collingwood 19.13.127 Defeated Richmond 6.9.45
The match went to script and showed us the difference between the top side and the almost bottom side. The Pies had a 7 goal lead at half time and continued on from there. Collingwood controlled the game and at times tended to be a bit cute but they could afford it. Dane Swan collected 37 possessions again as a stand out and he was ably supported by Didak, Pendlebury and Johnson playing his 200th. Cousins and Tuck collected over 20 touches each for the Tigers but it was difficult to see just how effective they were. Leon Davis got back into some sort of goal kicking mood with 4 but the Pies would be a better team with a proper full forward and one they would be prepared to stick with. Maybe when Cloke returns to the team next week their forward thrusts might yield better results. The Tigers have a long way to go so maybe by 2015 we might see them closer to a final appearance.
 
Geelong 19.13.127 Defeated Brisbane 9.10.64
Again the difference between the good sides and the rest is a chasm and perhaps the AFL should look at a mercy rule when a team is 10 goals down. Especially if the game is in Geelong because then spectators can hit that highway and be home at a reasonable time grabbing a bite of fish and chips on the way home. Ablett kicked 5 for the Cats and with Varcoe and Johnson who both booted 4 each that was enough to beat the Lions anyway. Jonathan Brown's 4 goals in that team total is a significant contribution. Selwood had 41 possessions for Geelong and rumour has it that he will win the club best and fairest ahead of Gary Ablett who was seen mouthing the words to the Gold Coast Sun's club song when resting on the bench in preparation for next season!
 
Essendon 18.14.122 Defeated North Melbourne 18.11.119
The fickle finger of fate pointed at North in this match during which they suffered some unexpected player changes due to injury. The heat came off the Essendon coach but results like these continue to frustrate knowledgeable tipsters. North lost Wells just before the game forcing them to get David Hale to get changed and be available even though Hale had already played a game for the VFL team that day!!?? This is AFL we are talking about here but North was forced to resort to school yard football tactics to field a full side? Neither backline functioned effectively in this game with both teams kicking 18 goals apiece. This was a disastrous result for tipsters.
 
Carlton 15.19.109 Defeated West Coast 11.17.83
How can a team allow a 52 point turnaround in a half of football when they have been dominating the first two quarters? Carlton must have been suffering jet lag up to half time after which they played a totally different game to win reasonably easily. The 12 goal hero, LeCras, from last week managed just 3 goals this week but it was the effective blanketing of the West Coast's Priddis by Ellard that probably made most of the difference. Betts and Garlett kicked 3 each for the Blues which was a turnaround from the previous two weeks during which they kicked none. Murphy and Simpson as well as Judd played well for Carlton while Rosa and Strijk, before he was carried off the field injured, were the main contributors for West Coast who would be pretty disappointed with that second half fade out. The Blues play Collingwood next week and the Eagles might have a chance against a fading Fremantle.
 
Western Bulldogs 24.14.158 Defeated Fremantle 12.4.76
One would think that the departure of Akermanis had a positive effect on the Bulldogs who kicked a season high score to obliterate top 4 pretenders Fremantle. The game was virtually over by the end of the first quarter but definitely by half time. Pav kicked 4 for the Dockers in a dirty day and Hall did likewise for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs have ensured the top 4 will be the same as last year but Fremantle will need to be careful they don't drop their bundle completely. They will play finals but the intensity of the early season they showed has gone partly due to the loss of Barlow from the on ball group. It looks like the Western Bulldogs are ramping up as season finals approach so their timing is good.
 
Melbourne 22.10.142 Defeated Sydney 10.9.69
Notorious for slow starts the Demons came out and won this game in the 1st quarter. Those among you who have a reasonable explanation for such unpredictable form reversals please step forward. Melbourne played exceptionally well and it looked like the Swans had other things on their mind, maybe what to buy their departing coach Roos as a going away present at the end of the year. I reckon a tape of the 2005 grand final would be an okay prezzie. Green dominated up forward for the Demons kicking 5 goals and Goodes was the standout for the Swans kicking 4. Melbourne had a lot of good players on the day and with that scoreline it's obvious the whole team played well.
 
Port Adelaide 13.10.88 Defeated  Adelaide 9.15.69
Well what can you say? A totally ridiculous result based on what the end prize was for the Crows, to say nothing about the recent form of both teams. It is understood that not even Port supporters saw this one coming!! Had the Crows won this game they would have been knocking on the door of the 8 after a great few weeks of form, especially beating Geelong last week. Yep, they beat the Cats last week and maybe that's the reason they were flat today. But all they had to do was turn up and try a bit and they would have accounted for Port. Pearce, Cassissi and Cornes dominated for Port with Westhoff booting 4 for the Power. At time of writing no stats were available for the Crows. Maybe they turned their computers off at half time in disgust when it was obvious the bird had flown. Carlton, North and Swans can breathe a little easier after this surprise defeat of Adelaide.
 
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[AFL-Preview] Round 17

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AFL Preview Rd 17
Akermanis got the chop his time is up down south
What did he think? Opinionated, brash, he would not shut his mouth!
The Bulldogs knew when recruiting him just what the guy was like
Seems strange to cut him out so late and tell him "Take a hike!"
Choco's also gone from Port, was he sacked or did he leave?
He says yes and they say no so who do we believe?
6 rounds to go the Pies on top and Mick is looking serious
Say nothing of the Magpie fans who carry on delirious!
At Bomber land all ain't well, on this season turn out lights
Players just aren't good enough so might as well sack Knights.
They said the same at Hawthorn when the Hawks had one from seven
Now they're nine from sixteen Clarkson's entered heaven!
Thompson's got the Cats fine - tuned, it's almost in the bag
Will they win the premiership and get another flag?
The Saints are there, they're in the mix to hold the finals cup
Hoping they go one step better and not be runners up!
The rest? Well you can raffle them, not really true contenders
More like making up the 8, really just pretenders.
Good to see the Dockers there giving it a go
After years of nothingness, good onya bloody Freo!
 
Tipsters, some reasonably hard games to choose from but it's proving this season that even the easy games are giving us little joy. 6 rounds to go and if you are 10 points down you might as well swing towards the more unlikely winner in what you consider to be possibly one sided. Desperate situations bring about acts of desperation.
For those looking for signs with regard to the premiership? Collingwood has managed to be there in the grand final every 20 years. 1970 against Carlton, 1990 against Essendon, so 2010 could be a possible appearance for them again. Who knows?
 
St Kilda V Hawthorn at Etihad Friday Night
What a great game for Friday night and better still the match is being played at Etihad undercover so there will be no excuses for slippery conditions. The Saints played terribly last week and a repeat of that performance will see them lose this game against the Hawks.
St Kilda by 7
 
Collingwood V Richmond at the MCG Saturday arvo
The Tigers hit a speed hump last week against North and you can expect them to hit a wall this week against Collingwood.
Collingwood by 55
 
Geelong V Brisbane Lions at Skilled Saturday arvo
Brisbane managed just 43 points in total against Hawthorn last week in Tassie and believe it or not they will find this game even harder at Skilled against The Cats.
Geelong by 87
 
North Melbourne V Essendon at Etihad Saturday night
There's lots of trouble brewing in Bomber land and when things are going really wrong it's best to blame the coach. We all expected a form reversal from Essendon last week against the Eagles but it was not forthcoming. North is playing well enough to win the game and keep the pressure on the top 8 and unfortunately on Knights.
North Melbourne by 16
 
West Coast V Carlton at Subiaco Saturday night
Here's another desperately hard game to pick as both teams are showing completely opposite form. The Blues are suffering just that and if LeCras kicks just half of what he kicked last week it will be enough to bury Carlton. But West Coast is really bad so a form reversal by the Blues is a reasonable call.
Carlton by 11
 
Western Bulldogs V Fremantle at Etihad Sunday
Here's the true battle for 4th place and you would have to think the Bulldogs have just a bit too much class for Freo who seem to be losing a bit of intensity as the season progresses.
Western Bulldogs by 31
 
Melbourne V Sydney at the MCG Sunday
Based on current form this should be an easy win for the Swans. Allowing for the Swans' trip to Melbourne and a partisan Demon crowd it will help reduce the margin by a couple of goals but still won't get the Dees over the line.
Sydney by 22
 
Port Adelaide V Adelaide at AAMI Sunday
The Adelaide Crows are playing for a place in the finals. Port Adelaide is playing to avoid a wooden spoon. One South Australian side will prevail.
Adelaide by 44
 
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Adelaide11.8.74 defeated Geelong 9.9.63
They say that this is one of the harder tipping seasons ever. No wonder after a result like this. The Cats looked too tired and the Crows looked like they wanted it. They got it. Maybe the pre-game life and death drama upset the Geelong players when their club doctor suffered a heart attack. Ablett had only 19 possessions although Selwood with 35 and Chapman with 25 both played well. The Geelong backs held Tippett to a goal but forgot about Taylor Walker who kicked 4. The Crows keep on winning and it looks like it is a matter of which team they displace from the top 8 at this rate. The Cats will be okay until they play Collingwood.
 
Collingwood 15.10.100 defeated St Kilda 6.16.52
It was game on in the first couple of minutes as both teams scored goals. After that it was all the Pies as the Saints fumbled, bumbled and kicked atrociously on goal to suffer a hiding. Collingwood, thanks to Adelaide, now sit on top of the ladder. Swan, who was held, scragged, impeded and unfairly handled all day, still managed over 30 quality possessions to be best on ground and along with Thomas, Didak, Wellingham and Pendlebury dominated around stoppages and hard ball gets. Montagna played well for the Saints and Fisher's stats will show plenty of possessions but many were non-contested. St Kilda will need to regroup before next week's game against Hawthorn. The Pies have not been on top of the ladder since round 16 1990. That's an ominous sign!
 
Hawthorn 17.16.118 defeated Brisbane Lions 7.1.43
The return of Jonathan Brown to the Lions meant nothing as the Hawks buried the Brisbane Lions by a whopping 75 points. The tip was relatively easy to pick – the margin not so. The Lions managed to avoid kicking a behind until the last quarter but this was more because they had not had a lot of shots on goal anyway – 8 actually for the whole game! The bad sign for other teams is that Roughead finally kicked a few goals in the absence of Franklin. Hodge and Burgoyne were among the best for the Hawks and Brown kicked 3 goals in his comeback game for the Lions. Lots of problems at Brisbane and not a lot of problems at Hawthorn who have completely turned around their early season form and will certainly be playing in the finals.
 
Western Bulldogs12.11.83 defeated Port Adelaide 7.5.47
The arrival of a new coach doesn't mean a lot when you have the same old players. In trying heat conditions the Bulldogs put a stranglehold on the game and kept it like that for 4 quarters. Port is in need of a blood transfusion. The Power started pretty well and at the end of the first quarter it looked like it might be another upset but the Bullies prevailed to get back level by half time and surge away in the second half during which Port managed a solitary goal.
 
West Coast Eagles 20.12.132 defeated Essendon 14.16.100
There were two interesting aspects to this game. The first was LeCras for the Eagles kicked 12.2 and that's really something else. The second was that Essendon played as well as was expected but we all thought they would still win. The race for the Wooden Spoon is back on so there has been a renewed interest in the bottom 4 teams. West coach Worsfold might have an easier week from his detractors and the press this week but the papers here will be right onto the Bombers coach giving him Knightmares!! Apart from the 12 goals by LeCras Priddis continued his good form with over 30 touches and veteran Embley had a good night as well. I walked from the MCG to the Crown casino and lost $100 when I should have kept walking and gone to Etihad to see the 12 goal haul.
 
Sydney 16.11.107 defeated Carlton 10.8.68
Tipsters have been depending on Carlton to show some sort of form that they know they are capable of. However the Blues continue to disappoint. Sydney seems to have rediscovered early season form. Another tip gone wrong for most. Adam Goodes continued his stellar form with 25 possessions plus a goal and Marc Murphy along with Jordan Russell was the best for a bad Carlton team. The loss of Kruezer was prominent in this game and the ongoing loss of Fevola is having an impact as was predicted pre-season. Maybe not in total score kicked but certainly with forward structure. Things look dicey for the Blues as Adelaide is now breathing down their neck and playing a whole lot better. Based on the past few weeks my money is on the Blues not making the finals as they seem to be the weakest team in the 8. You read it here first.
 
North Melbourne 15.13.103 defeated Richmond 7.11.53
The only people to get this tip right are die-hard North supporters who somehow saw a 180 degree form reversal from the past two week as North went into this game against Richmond who, maybe, had become overconfident after 4 consecutive wins??!! Go figure. The Tigers won their first game in the wet against Port Adelaide but did not adopt the same style in the wet against North at the MCG. Reiwoldt kicked 3 for Richmond and considering they kicked only 7 that was a pretty good effort. Cousins was the ball magnet for the Tigers While Swallow and Harvey had plenty of possessions for North who remain one game outside the 8.
 
Fremantle 11.16.82 defeated Melbourne 10.11.71
Fremantle was able to hold off the Demon challenge and put themselves back into the top 4. Both the Melbourne and Richmond bandwagon threw a wheel this weekend and the reality is that neither team is top 8 material. Freo against the Bulldogs next week will be the match of the round. This game was virtually over by half time when the Dockers led by 6 goals but to Melbourne's credit they kicked the next 6 goals and with 6 minutes to go the Demons were only a point down. Both teams kicked a swag of points until finally Freo put one through to seal the game. At time of writing no stats were available but listening to the commentary Pav had a bad day and Scully had a good one. All Fremantle players will need a good day next week.

 
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[AFL-Preview] Round 16

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As one of many tipsters who have had a sorry season tipping, my future, weekly predictions will carry a bit of desperation in them. This is simply to try and make up some ground on the leaders in tipping comps who are now sitting some 8 to 11 points ahead with only 7 rounds to go. This week there are a few games that could go either way so you need to apply a mixture of bravery, knowledge and stupidity. It has been a difficult season due to the inconsistency of those teams that occupy positions 5 to 15 on the ladder. I can't even blame the World Cup as a distraction as I never watched a single game live. The main fascination during the Cup seemed to be an octopus that never made a mistake predicting winners! Let's kidnap him and bring him to AFL country to see how well he can pick winners here. I bet he lasts no more than a few weeks before he appears as octopus rings cooked to almost perfection on Master Chef!
The AFL was hit mid week with the proposition of introducing female umpires. The idea was not howled down so I guess there must be a reason that it might be looked upon favourably. Can a woman umpire be any worse than some of the efforts we have seen this season? Probably not. Will a certain time of the month affect the decision making process by a woman during a game? Probably. Just looking at the umpire with a suspicion of dissent might cost a player a 50 metre penalty! Swearing? I've heard some pretty colourful language from lips a lot sweeter than Barry Hall's so I doubt a woman umpire would be offended. Depends what time of the month on that one as well. Interesting times huh?
I am driving down to Melbourne to watch Collingwood play the Saints at the MCG on Saturday. It will be the first time I have watched the Pies play there for many years and an upset win would round off the weekend nicely.
 
Adelaide V Geelong at AAMI Friday night
As well as the Crows are playing which has resulted in Adelaide knocking on the back door of the final 8 one would think that meeting the Cats in their current form should stop them in their tracks momentarily. Somebody has to step up to the plate (baseball term used in footy!!) and wrestle Adelaide to the ground because they are scaring the heck out of Sydney, Carlton and Hawthorn. Geelong had a tough game last week but they still have enough talent in that team to beat a fast improving Crows. Ablett needs to remember that 32 possessions with his existing team will need to be 43 possessions for the Gold Coast Suns....should he go of course.
Geelong by 21
 
Collingwood V St Kilda at the MCG Saturday
Both teams have won their last 5 games if Collingwood can count the draw with Melbourne as a win. Well, it wasn't a loss. The Saints struggled against lowly Brisbane last week and the Magpies ditto against Port Adelaide. Are the Saints struggling to adapt to the return of Reiwoldt? Can the Pies make a statement for the season? They have not been able to penetrate that Saints defence and were allowed 4.17 in the last meeting. Inside 50's were about even so Collingwood needs to apply scoreboard pressure. Medhurst, Fraser and Leon back in the team might help. Then again........Cloke rubbed out and Maxwell still injured. Rumour has it that if the Pies can kick a higher score than St Kilda they will win. Gotta believe that!
Collingwood by 12
 
Hawthorn V Brisbane Lions in Tassie Saturday
Cold weather and a hot game against the Cats last week may not be the ideal set up for the Hawks to continue on their winning way. Buddy luckily escaped suspension and further luck is that Hawthorn is playing Brisbane who has lost their last 5 games. There seems to be some unrest in the Lions' camp as well and the almighty Voss may not be as great a coach as we all seem to think. But when a team is losing consistently like Brisbane then there are bound to be lots of whingers inside and outside the club who seem to find a sympathetic ear. Ask Clarkson, the Hawks coach, who was gunning for him after the first 6 rounds this season? Footy – love it.
Hawthorn by 19
 
Essendon V West Coast at Etihad Saturday night
The Bombers have lost 5 in a row and supporters are calling for the head of Essendon coach Matthew Knights. West Coast is in worse shape and this result might cost Whoosha his job too. The Eagles can't win at home so it's doubtful they will win away. I'm tipping a draw. For West Coast their 8th consecutive loss looms and there is a definite tarnish to the glow of home town hero John Worsfold. West Coast has suffered a heap of injuries and so has Essendon but at least the Bombers somehow beat a couple of the teams above them early in the season. What Essendon hasn't done is beat West Coast this season and with the ruckus going on in their camp after that loss to the Demons last week they might just have that rocket lit under their maximus gluteus enough to take the points. We'll see.
Draw
 
Western Bulldogs V Port Adelaide in Darwin Saturday night
The Power sacked their coach simply to give Port the chance of winning this game knowing that a new coach inspires the team to bigger and better things in that first week. Lack of overall talent is probably a little harder to compensate. Last week the Port players found that bit of extra for outgoing coach Choco Williams but it was still not enough to beat the Pies. The Bulldog wins against West Coast and Brisbane were expected but their thrashing of Carlton stands head and shoulders above those wins. Lucky for Port Adelaide that Barry Hall is injured. Matthew Primus, as the new coach for Port Adelaide, is keen to take on the job full time. He is a serious masochist. Laidley knew what he was doing knocking that engagement back. Dean Laidley has been offered the coaching job at West Coast after that team disposes of Worsfold at the end of this wooded spoon season so he doesn't want to do anything to jeopardise that appointment.
Western Bulldogs by 41
 
Carlton V Sydney at Etihad Sunday
This is definitely the hardest game from which to pick a winner. Sydney ambushed a very disappointing North last week and the Blues were horrible against the Bulldogs. The Blues really need to win this one and their inconsistent form makes them ripe for the picking. Adam Goodes' game for Sydney last week was excellent so Carlton need to put a stopper on him as does Sydney need a stopper on Judd. Both teams are very lucky that Adelaide is playing Geelong this weekend which will give the loser of this game some breathing space. The selection is Carlton simply because the game is being played in Melbourne. It will be close all day.
Carlton by 5
 
Richmond V North Melbourne at the MCG Sunday
Both teams have proven to be difficult to select because of form but the Tigers of late have been the epitome of consistency. This will be a close game therefore the margin will be small hence there will be a lot of frustrated tipsters as the result could have gone either way. Remember the last time they met it was a draw! It's difficult to see what players North can muster to stop Jack Reiwoldt up forward. When will the Richmond winning streak come to a stop? And who could have imagined that last sentence appearing in any AFL preview this year? 700 million watched the soccer World Cup final (I was not one of them). You sit there all day at a soccer match and see a nil all draw or a 1 – 0 win. Go to the AFL and you see scoring all day!! Only goes to show the majority are not always right.
Richmond by 4
 
Fremantle V Melbourne at Subiaco Sunday
The Dockers really need to get back into the winning circle after a couple of losses that have put their top 4 finish in jeopardy. While the Demons are playing okay they should be no match for Fremantle at home and the Dockers have a lot to play for. Next week they meet the Western Bulldogs to finally settle 4th position. The expectation that Freo would make the finals at all was a tough one so now the talk of them being a top 4 team might be a little misplaced. Freo needs some heave ho this weekend.
Fremantle by 37
 
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[AFL-Review] Round 15

AFL Review Rd 15

Collingwood16.9.105 Defeated Port Adelaide 12.7.79

The Power not only lost the game but lost theircoach.  Collingwood fans had reason to beworried until the last quarter after giving Port a 6 goal start. The good startby Port Adelaide was built on emotion and it was obvious from the first fewminutes when Port had 2 goals on the board that Collingwood had a fight ontheir hands. The Power ran out of emotional gas and wind in the final quartergiving the Pies the opportunity to win the game. Dane Swan had 39 possessionsfor the Pies and Rodan kicked 3 goals along with his 26 touches for the Power.Primus will be the stand in coach for Port Adelaide for the remainder of theseason.

 

Geelong 12.13.85Defeated Hawthorn 11.17.83

A great game of football played at the unusual time ofSaturday afternoon at the MCG!! 70,000 fans thought it was a good idea and theCats and the Hawks treated the crowd to a classic. Driving from Sydney to theWang the game was on the radio and there was a goal in it at Tarcutta, 7 pointlead to the Hawks at Holbrook, 2 points at Woomagarma and the siren went with theCats ahead at Ettamogah. Ablett was a ball magnet in the last quarter whileBartel played well all day for the Cats. Stokes kicked 4 goals for Geelong inthe second half. Rioli with 25 touches and Lance Franklin with his 3 goalsplayed well for the Hawks as did Gilham and Sewell. Just a terrific game andwhen the siren went the Cats were 2 points ahead.

 

Adelaide 17.15.127Defeated West Coast 14.11.95

The Eagles took it right up to the Crows all day and itwas just in the last 10 minutes that Adelaide was able to kick a couple ofgoals to take that unassailable lead. West Coast allowed another couple of easygoals just to make sure. After the Hawthorn versus Geelong game on the radio itwas this game to listen to from Albury Wodonga through Chiltern and Springhurstto Wangaratta. West Coast needed to stop Tippett to win the game but couldn’t.LeCras continued his enigmatic form for the Eagles with 4 first half goals. TheWooden spoon looms for West Coast and it’s lucky for most teams that Adelaideface the Cats next week to put a stop to their winning run.

 

St Kilda 11.13.79Defeated Brisbane Lions 10.5.65

Maybe the Saints had to get used to another restructurein their team make up once they included Nick Reiwoldt again because theylooked very ordinary and came close to losing the game. It was either that orBrisbane simply played better than they had for some weeks. Fev was back forthe Lions and kicked 4 goals. Eyes were on Nick though and everyone hoped thathe could get through the game without any major setback. Hayes, Del Santo andMontagna had almost 100 touches between them and young Daniel Rich is shapingas another Luke Hodge. Hopefully Brisbane softened the Saints up enough to makethem useless against the Pies next week.

 

Richmond 15.10.100Defeated Fremantle 11.15.81

General consensus of opinion states that an umpire cannotreally change the course of a game. That might be true but in this game it wasa close thing with a technical 50 metre penalty given to the Tigers againstFreo at a very crucial stage of the match. Another loss for the Dockers andanother win for the Tigers. Without Tarrant, Grover and McPharlin the job ofstopping Jack Reiwoldt kicking more than 2 goals proved too hard as he booted 5for the game to retain his lead in the Coleman medal. The fairytale start forthe Dockers will fall apart if they don’t win a couple of the next games toconsolidate their ladder position. The Tigers had injuries during the gamewhich reduced their interchange options so their win was perhaps even moremeritorious. Mundy, Sandilands as usual and Pavlich were the best for theDockers and alongside Reiwoldt Connors, Edwards and Martin figured in the bestfor Richmond.

 

Sydney 12.13.85Defeated North Melbourne 7.13.55

It was out of character for North to play so poorly twoweeks in a row. Seeing 8^th placed hinged on the result North willnot be happy. Conversely Sydney has gained some breathing room in their ladderposition. Goodes returned to match winning form after a poor game last week asdid Harvey for North. The return to North of Drew Petrie was short lived as helimped from the ground in the first half. Not a great game to watch but that “ugly”football Roos seems to like was back with a vengeance.

 

Melbourne 19.8.122Defeated Essendon 14.19.93

During the last quarter the Demons had a lead of 51points so the final margin is not indicative of the difference between the twoteams. Atrociously umpired but still a good win for Melbourne. 50 metrepenalties against Essendon in the first half amounted to 4 goals which wasalmost the difference between the two teams. In all there were seven 50 metrepenalties against the Bombers, many of them suspect. Sylvia, Green and Jamarplayed well for the Dees and Watson was a stand out for the Bombers as well asLovett-Murray and Wunderlich. The only notes we saw Knights take seemed to bethe reasons for the 50 metre penalties so his report on the umpires will makeinteresting reading.

 

Western Bulldogs20.6.126 Defeated Carlton 8.10.58

The game was well and truly over by half time after whichthe Western Bulldogs just kept increasing their lead. The Blues have a way togo if they think they are final four contenders this year. The Bulldogs are chasing4^th position and there is a good chance they will achieve thatbefore too long. An 11 goal plus loss for Carlton really sets them back ontheir bums and they will need to regroup for the last few rounds to make surethey remain in the 8. Challenges coming from Adelaide, Hawthorn, Sydney andNorth need to be taken seriously. Hall kicked 6 for the Bullies and hisconsistency this year has been a bonus for the team. Fremantle will find ithard to stop the Western Bulldogs taking their ladder position.

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[AFL-Preview] Round 15

AFL Preview Rd 15

Well tipsters a slightly better effort last week but theupsets continue and of course close games can go either way. The top 4 issettling down but there is one heck of a fight going on for positions 5 to thebottom. The Ben Cousins story, after a short break, has hit the headlines againand the media gang that made themselves available to do the interview attraining Wednesday night was unbelievable. It’s a wonder a few scuffles didn’tbreak out amongst them to get best microphone position and it would have been greatto see the AFL fine them for wrestling. Ben was at his best with throw awaylines about decaf he was drinking and he pointed out that there were morereporters at the interview than turned up to his 21^st!! But it wasall so boring I had to take some No-Doz to stay awake!

There has been plenty of football news every day and thebirths of the Gold Coast team and the West Sydney team are getting a bit ofcoverage. Not being in the west anymore sees West Coast and Fremantle coveragelimited to 2 or 3 column lines here in footy country so the pressure that isbeing brought to bear on Whoosha is a bit of an unknown. A wooden spoon forWest Coast might see his demise.

This week we have a few games amongst the rubble placedbelow 4^th position so that will put a bit of pressure on tippingcompetition leaders. Hard to play safe when form is so up and down with theseteams. Good luck.

 

Port Adelaide VCollingwood at AAMI Friday Night

 

Last week the Pies won by 83 points against West Coast.They won’t win this one by the same margin but it will still be a relativelyeasy victory for Collingwood considering the form of Port. The Power has lostits last 7 games and tonight should make 8. They have a few outs injured andthe Pies look like still having captain Maxwell out with a calf injury. In arare venture away from the MCG Collingwood will maintain their away win record.

 

Collingwood by 49

 

Geelong V Hawthornat the MCG Saturday

 

Had this game been played 6 weeks ago the result wouldhave been easy to pick. Hawthorn have strung together 7 consecutive wins aftera disastrous start to the season. Mitchell is a big loss for Hawthorn and eventhough the Cats lost Moonie and Johnson the captain Ling will return. The hardpick for the tipsters is due to the fact that we have a team playing a littlebelow themselves in the Cats while conversely Hawthorn is on a roll. A fewimportant outs for the Hawks swings the tip towards the Cats and let’s face it– Hawthorn have to eventually lose.

 

Geelong by 26

 

West Coast VAdelaide at Subiaco Saturday

 

The Eagles are due to come out fighting which would makea nice change. Unfortunately they come up against the Crows who are back ontrack with form that should make a lot of teams start worrying. The injury listfor both teams is enormous and for West Coast it holds their better players! Notsure what sort of pressure the West Coast players are under but they reallyneed to lift and show supporters that there is hope after 2010. Adelaide seemsto have turned the corner but their record at Subiaco does not read well. Couldbe the upset game of the round and for tipsters looking at scratching an extrapoint it should be considered a possibility.

 

West Coast by 11

 

Brisbane Lions VSt Kilda at the Gabba Saturday

 

With a weekend of difficult matches it’s nice to get aneasy one. There is not a lot to write about this game. Brisbane is going througha pit in form and the Saints just keep moving along winning games. Nothing willchange this week.

 

St Kilda by 38

 

Richmond VFremantle at Etihad Saturday

 

This will be a big test for the Dockers to overcome thepsychological loss of Barlow last week from the badly broken leg he suffered.On top of that the Tigers are on a roll and will have lots of positiveendorphins helping them hopefully win the game against Freo, unless, of course,the No Doz and Temazapam have extinguished them on game day. Cousins has beenomitted even though he made it clear he shouldn’t be. Freo just have to stopReiwoldt kicking a bagful.

 

Fremantle by 29

 

Sydney V NorthMelbourne at the SCG Sunday

 

Let’s face it, North always come back from a bad game theweek after with a win. Ignore that statistic at your peril. Both teams have 7wins so a win by either team is important to their finals chances. Tipsterswill see this as a dangerously hard one to pick as these teams sit in thattwilight zone. Good enough to make the 8 but not good enough to beat teamsabove them and win any finals. Harvey had a bad one for North last week so weshould not expect two bad games in a row from him. Goodes for the Swans wasalso well held and don’t expect a poor game from him this week. On form thisshould be a draw but if not expect a close one. Coin toss to make a selectionin this game is acceptable.

 

North by 16

 

Melbourne VEssendon at the MCG Sunday

 

This is an extremely difficult game from which to pick awinner. Perhaps the Demons can manufacture another draw. Both teams were prettyordinary last week though it seems Essendon was the worst. Some reportingscuttlebutt about the way Knights coaches the Bombers and there’s nothing likean 84 point loss to see a few knives come out while at Melbourne it’s all aboutJim Stynes, a few wins this season and the re-signing of some of their betterplayers for another 2 years. Positives and negatives tipsters. Can Melbournewin another match this year? Coin toss allowed again. Yep.

 

Melbourne by 7

 

Carlton V WesternBulldogs at Etihad Sunday

 

The Blues finally cracked a win last week but it tookthem a half to shrug off the Lions. A slow start against the Bulldogs will losethem the game and you can bet the Bullies come out biting after last week’sunexpected, close loss to Hawthorn. If the Bulldogs can hold Betts that willhelp their cause because he is Carlton’s most dangerous forward. Not a lot onoffer after Eddie and you would think that the Bulldog midfielders can holdtheir own with the Carlton trio of Judd, Murphy and Gibbs. Where’s that coinagain?

 

Western Bulldogsby 21

 

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