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"The top eight for this year is set in stone... . Never before can I remember a top eight so clear-cut at the halfway mark of the season."
Top eight decided, Dogs ready to bark - realfooty.com.au
Seeing that he acknowledges that "I never cease to be amazed by the intensity of the media spotlight on the AFL but this year, it's gone to a new level," that's a pretty brave call to make. It'll certainly be remembered come September.
I don't know if he's looked at the draw, but NM have a nasty run home. If you allocate them every win over teams lower on the ladder (and losses to teams higher), they'll wind up on 11.5 wins. Do the same for St Kilda and they wind up on 11 wins. And that includes NM beating St Kilda on the Gold Coast in a few rounds' time. Reverse the result of that game, and everything changes.
There is a huge amount of time for teams currently in form to fall in a heap, and teams currently looking weak to find form. And it's not like there are an insurmountable number of competition points between those inside and outside the 8.
Port could have made it without any great surprises, too, if Mark Williams hadn't already declared that he was putting the cue in the rack (1.5 games out of the 8, with 11 to go!). A couple of tough ones coming up, after which there is not a single game in the last 8 rounds that it would be a shock for them to win (only current top 5 opponent: Adelaide, and their Collingwood game is at home).
Top eight decided, Dogs ready to bark - realfooty.com.au
Seeing that he acknowledges that "I never cease to be amazed by the intensity of the media spotlight on the AFL but this year, it's gone to a new level," that's a pretty brave call to make. It'll certainly be remembered come September.
I don't know if he's looked at the draw, but NM have a nasty run home. If you allocate them every win over teams lower on the ladder (and losses to teams higher), they'll wind up on 11.5 wins. Do the same for St Kilda and they wind up on 11 wins. And that includes NM beating St Kilda on the Gold Coast in a few rounds' time. Reverse the result of that game, and everything changes.
There is a huge amount of time for teams currently in form to fall in a heap, and teams currently looking weak to find form. And it's not like there are an insurmountable number of competition points between those inside and outside the 8.
Port could have made it without any great surprises, too, if Mark Williams hadn't already declared that he was putting the cue in the rack (1.5 games out of the 8, with 11 to go!). A couple of tough ones coming up, after which there is not a single game in the last 8 rounds that it would be a shock for them to win (only current top 5 opponent: Adelaide, and their Collingwood game is at home).
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