At last the real part of the football season has arrived.Ten teams packed their guernseys away in the moth balls.
This weekend, two more will join them.
Four games in four states.Five of the eight teams non VFL.
According to the wise men from the East, the Thursday night game will be the pinnacle this weekend.Should be a cracking game. A bit of turmoil in both camps. Crows with the Rankine issue and the Pies with maybe a couple of injury problems.McReery, and De Goey maybe under a cloud.Also, reported that N Daicos may have an ankle injury.But he will play regardless.
I am thinking the Crow Crowd will help immensely and along with what I believe, a better team will get them over the line.
Friday pits the Cats and the Lions.Geelong have had a pretty easy last few weeks of the H&A. Could be a problem. But they are a much experienced lot.
The Lions will carry their last years flag along with them. A team with maturity, a great mix of youth and experience.
Lions for me.
Giants V Hawks, pits two of the most exciting balll runners in the competition.Two very exciting teams.
Giants for me.
Fremantle V Suns.The game that is of most interest to me.Freo when on can make life hard for all teams.Just a case that they need to bring their A game on the night.
The Suns making the finals for the first time.An unknown venture for them.
A wet couple of days in the lead up to the game.Fremantle have played quite a number of games in the wet. They beat the Suns on their own dung hill when they last met, and it was a wet day.
Freo for me.
I agree with all of the above Anchor. Particularly about the Cats having too easy a ride in.
Only problem is that I would like to see it go that way too.
What I would like to happen football wise - seldom does.
.
Know what you mean.
Last round, plus the Suns game, I tipped a perfect 10. I can’t remember when I last did that.
Well, one tip down. Good game tonight. Pies just too good for the Crows. Daicos great game. Moore superb. But a team effort.
A few Crows missing for large parts. Thilthorpe, Dawson, Keyes and Fogarty.
Adelaide looked like a team that hadnt played finals for 8 years. Rabbits in the headlights. The scoreboard flattered them as Collingwood had them beaten a long way from the final siren. Adelaide kept kicking the ball to Darcy Moore and he gobbled them up. The ability of Scott Pendlebury to find time and space in tight situations is amazing.
The Crows now face the prospect of trying to bounce back against either GWS or Hawthorn next week.
Very hard to tip this game and the Geelong v Brisbane match up. Hopefully the Dockers can play their running style of game as opposed to their stop start conservative approach which does not work. Assuming they can do this, they should be able to outlast the Suns
The seven unanswered goals either side of 1/2 time was the decider. Too much to make up.
As you say, rabbits. Made life easy for the Pies backs, especially Moore.
Pendles is amazing. So silky.
I think also the Crows got sucked in by the Pies at half time. All the push and shove took their mind off the game.
If the Giants play their run and stun game, I see them touching up the Hawks.And maybe like the Pies, too experienced for the Hawks.
I was on the GC when Freo beat the Suns in the wet. And Freo have played plenty of wet weather games this season.
I am not sure that Fyfe will play. I would have liked to see Johnson play, but still not right according to Longmuir. Switta is a loss. Maybe Simpson comes in and plays forward. Though not a big possession winner uses the ball well.
Fingers crossed.
Lions to beat Cats. They are my favourite to win the flag,again.
Yes I am hopeful that the Dockers will hit the ground running. At their best I reckon they have the Suns covered. I think Fyfe will be in the team as sub. I think he brings that motivation and leadership to the other players, a little bit of the intangible stuff. In the same way, Gold Coast are including Swallow who is also retiring. Amiss is a key player I reckon as if he is up and running, the 3 pronged forward line will be hard to stop. Also Shai Bolton will be a crucial player given his finals experience
I still can’t pick tonights game, i’ve changed my mind 3 times. At the moment I’m favouring the Cats by a slender margin
Tonight for me is the Lions.Cats may miss not having a couple of hard hit outs late in the season.
Might get a wet tail tomorrow night. I think our seats are not under cover.Going back to the days of the WACA games.
At the moment the prediction is for the winds to ramp up around lunchtime tomorrow so Souths v Royals might be a bit wild and woolly for the spectators. They are thinking that it might moderate in the evening though so you may be lucky. Enjoy the game and hope its a good result1
Thank Mike.Hopefully a double win. South and Freo.
Crows were out coached - why you would leave Darcy Moore behind the ball with no one on him is a mystery. When the pies lost those games late in the year sides made him accountable, which made the pies backline look vulnerable
Geelong super impressive tonight. Two brain fades the only knock in a night of top footy.
The Lions played dumb scatter brain footy all night. Far too much hand ball.
Zip from two so far this weekend. Need to improve plenty tomorrow.
Your tips better improve tomorrow anchor.
Are you South’s in the WAFL?
You betcha I am. Hopefully they are good things. Hope Freo are as well.
0/2 so far anchor…like me mate.. lol…surprised Collingwood won…not so Geelong…both the AFL protected teams thru to prelims…if both get tbrough…what a boring GF that would be…definitely need a Freo in there to add something else into the GF…WA v Victoria so to speak..that would get BH and Southy’s juices flowing…it would be crazy if its a repeat Haw v Freo GF…would fancy Freo this time…and ipoetic if Freo win…and use Hawthorn as a stepladder to a 3peat…just like the Hawks did over a decade or so ago.
Brisbane have been hot and cold this year. When they are good they are very very good, when they are bad they are awful. To give credit to Geelong though,they very much looked like a premiership team last night and really should have won by 10+ goals but for that ridiculous intervention by the Umpires just before half time.
Brisbane will have to do without Lachie Neale next week but they will be a tougher proposition for Freo or Gold Coast at home
Think Neale is done for the year Mike.
I disagree re the double goal. Stupud play by the Cats players in front of the umpires. I am no umpire lover, but a player totally unexpecting to be pushed over 150 metres off the ball deseeves protection. It is what the footy public have been crying about.
I know I am in the minority, but still believe he got it right.
Bloody Hell Anchor we are 0/3. All down to Freo now.
Been a good weekend for Victorian teams
Can’t expect to win when you play only 1 quarter of decent football. Hardwick pulled all the right moves to shut down Freos game and it worked a treat for 3 quarters. The only thing that the Suns did wrong was wasteful kicking for goal which gave the Dockers a chance which to be honest they didnt deserve. I feel so sorry for Serong and Brayshaw who slog their guts out week after week to try and cover for a number of passengers in the team, amongst them are Banfield, Fredericks and Cox who gave away that stupid free kick to Swallow at the end.
It was a night that was perfectly set up for them. 57000 home supporters screaming their support, Nat Fyfes last game in Perth and they go and produce an insipid perfomance like that.
If Fremantle think that Longmuir is going to take them to a premiership they are kidding themselves