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It's probably time to draw a line through some teams' chances for 2022, if they don't manage to pull off a win over the weekend. These are the teams that could end up 1/6 after the completion of the round. Yes, while I know that we made the finals in 2017 after starting 0/6, I don't think any of those currently at 1/5 have the quality of that team. Nor have any of them had to deal with the trauma, of being shafted by the umpiring in the previous season's grand final.
Tonight's game is a case in point. Unless West Coast can pull off a surprise win over Richmond, they will slump to 1/6, and I can't see them coming back from there. Alternatively, a loss for Richmond will see them at 2/5, and even if they soon get Dusty back, it's hard to see them being genuine contenders.
The first Saturday game is Geelong hosting Fremantle. Geelong are short priced favourites in this, despite Fremantle arguably having the better form. Though of course, Fremantle don't really like travelling to Melbourne, let alone Geelong.
The other afternoon game sees Adelaide looking to consign GWS to a 1/6 start. Which is on the cards. It seemed to me that GWS played a dire brand of stagnant football last week, and a famous catchphrase from Monty Python, would best describe the reappearance of Toby Greene. If they do lose, Leon Cameron might find himself replacing Ken Hinkley as the coach most likely to be sacked.
The twilight game has Melbourne and Hawthorn at the MCG. Hearing the news that Melbourne had four players out through H & S protocols, I thought that they might be vulnerable. Then I looked up who was coming into the side: Viney, Lever and McDonald. Ugghh!. Then again, who doesn't want to see Hawthorn slide further down the ladder?
Then there's a night match in Cairns, between St Kilda and Port. If Port lose, Hinkley will regain the title of coach most likely to be sacked.
The other Saturday night match is Carlton v North. Wouldn't mind seeing North cause an upset there.
The Sunday afternoon games are Collingwood v Gold Coast and Western Bulldogs v Essendon. I'll be interested to see what sort of reaction Cody Weightman gets from the Essendon fans, after he stated that he considered staging for frees to be part of his skill set. Will the reaction be hostile every time that he goes near the ball, or will it largely be barely remembered yesterday's news. Either way, I think it's stagers like Weightman, who will cause the end of the AFL's strict interpretation of their umpire dissent rule. That is, somebody will get a free from throwing themselves on the ground under no contact whatsoever, the aggrieved defender will make some sort of diving gesture and promptly get marched 50 metres. The stager will then smugly saunter to the goal square, to be further rewarded with an easy six points. This will then lead to much after game discussion, on whether we really want to give further incentives to blatant cheats.
But anyway, we should finish the round on a more positive note, by beating Brisbane and in the process, further establishing ourselves as premiership contenders.
Tonight's game is a case in point. Unless West Coast can pull off a surprise win over Richmond, they will slump to 1/6, and I can't see them coming back from there. Alternatively, a loss for Richmond will see them at 2/5, and even if they soon get Dusty back, it's hard to see them being genuine contenders.
The first Saturday game is Geelong hosting Fremantle. Geelong are short priced favourites in this, despite Fremantle arguably having the better form. Though of course, Fremantle don't really like travelling to Melbourne, let alone Geelong.
The other afternoon game sees Adelaide looking to consign GWS to a 1/6 start. Which is on the cards. It seemed to me that GWS played a dire brand of stagnant football last week, and a famous catchphrase from Monty Python, would best describe the reappearance of Toby Greene. If they do lose, Leon Cameron might find himself replacing Ken Hinkley as the coach most likely to be sacked.
The twilight game has Melbourne and Hawthorn at the MCG. Hearing the news that Melbourne had four players out through H & S protocols, I thought that they might be vulnerable. Then I looked up who was coming into the side: Viney, Lever and McDonald. Ugghh!. Then again, who doesn't want to see Hawthorn slide further down the ladder?
Then there's a night match in Cairns, between St Kilda and Port. If Port lose, Hinkley will regain the title of coach most likely to be sacked.
The other Saturday night match is Carlton v North. Wouldn't mind seeing North cause an upset there.
The Sunday afternoon games are Collingwood v Gold Coast and Western Bulldogs v Essendon. I'll be interested to see what sort of reaction Cody Weightman gets from the Essendon fans, after he stated that he considered staging for frees to be part of his skill set. Will the reaction be hostile every time that he goes near the ball, or will it largely be barely remembered yesterday's news. Either way, I think it's stagers like Weightman, who will cause the end of the AFL's strict interpretation of their umpire dissent rule. That is, somebody will get a free from throwing themselves on the ground under no contact whatsoever, the aggrieved defender will make some sort of diving gesture and promptly get marched 50 metres. The stager will then smugly saunter to the goal square, to be further rewarded with an easy six points. This will then lead to much after game discussion, on whether we really want to give further incentives to blatant cheats.
But anyway, we should finish the round on a more positive note, by beating Brisbane and in the process, further establishing ourselves as premiership contenders.
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