Tweet
In a situation that the AFL must be pleased about, the only game of the round that doesn't have any bearing on the make up of the finals, is the Sunday afternoon fixture between Essendon and North (I was going to call it a clash, but fixture seems more appropriate).
The round kicks with a match that can rightly be called a clash: Fremantle hosting Melbourne. Although, neither side has been convincing of late. To the extent that the loser might struggle to maintain their place in the top four, being usurped by someone like, oh, I don't know, Sydney? And on current form, I wouldn't say that the winner would be totally secure. Don't really know who to go for, in regards to our ladder position?
The first Saturday game is one where I had no trouble deciding who to go for: Collingwood v Port. While I wouldn't mind seeing a finals series going on without Port, I'm definitely over Collingwood maintaining their position above us, with desperate comebacks and nail-biting wins. I mean, surely the luck has to turn.
Of course, all the permutations become less relevant, if we don't beat GWS. It appears that they may have set themselves for this one, which may make it a danger game. However, I tend to think that in one of the quarters, we'll kick 50 and put the game away.
The twilight game is St Kilda and Hawthorn. If St Kilda can't win that, then they probably don't deserve to be in the finals. And it'd be nice if Hanners got a win or two before the season's out.
Then kicking off the night's entertainment, is Geelong hosting Western Bulldogs. While there's a part of my mind, that would be vaguely optimistic that we could eventually catch Geelong if they lost, there's another, perhaps more deeply entrenched part of my psyche, that says, @@@@ I'd love to see the Bulldogs miss the eight.
In the other night game, it would be nice if Adelaide did us a favour by beating Carlton.
In the first Sunday game, Gold Coast need to beat West Coast, to keep their slim finals chances alive, and perhaps West Coast need to lose, in order to keep their number one pick chances alive? How the once mighty have fallen.
In the next game, Richmond are actually favourites to beat Brisbane. Which seems a bit odd, since Brisbane have been in better form and are possibly the better side. I guess people are making much of the fact, that Brisbane haven't won on the MCG since 2014? But I suspect that's more of a statistical quirk, than some sort of hard to counter, real world obstacle. I mean, both the MCG and the Gabba are brutalist bowls, so there's unlikely to be some sort of mystifying wind condition that's exclusive to the MCG. And looking at the ground measurements, the MCG is six metres wider and two metres longer, which I think is unlikely to tire out the Lions. And I doubt if there's anything particularly intimidating about Richmond fans. So, maybe people adding a bit too much significance to a minor blip in the statistics?
As stated earlier, the final match of the round is the only one that has no final's relevance. I suppose it will be vaguely interesting seeing what sort of performance North put in. One that shows a bit of spirit, or one that seems tailored to convince the AFL to award them a priority pick or two?
The round kicks with a match that can rightly be called a clash: Fremantle hosting Melbourne. Although, neither side has been convincing of late. To the extent that the loser might struggle to maintain their place in the top four, being usurped by someone like, oh, I don't know, Sydney? And on current form, I wouldn't say that the winner would be totally secure. Don't really know who to go for, in regards to our ladder position?
The first Saturday game is one where I had no trouble deciding who to go for: Collingwood v Port. While I wouldn't mind seeing a finals series going on without Port, I'm definitely over Collingwood maintaining their position above us, with desperate comebacks and nail-biting wins. I mean, surely the luck has to turn.
Of course, all the permutations become less relevant, if we don't beat GWS. It appears that they may have set themselves for this one, which may make it a danger game. However, I tend to think that in one of the quarters, we'll kick 50 and put the game away.
The twilight game is St Kilda and Hawthorn. If St Kilda can't win that, then they probably don't deserve to be in the finals. And it'd be nice if Hanners got a win or two before the season's out.
Then kicking off the night's entertainment, is Geelong hosting Western Bulldogs. While there's a part of my mind, that would be vaguely optimistic that we could eventually catch Geelong if they lost, there's another, perhaps more deeply entrenched part of my psyche, that says, @@@@ I'd love to see the Bulldogs miss the eight.
In the other night game, it would be nice if Adelaide did us a favour by beating Carlton.
In the first Sunday game, Gold Coast need to beat West Coast, to keep their slim finals chances alive, and perhaps West Coast need to lose, in order to keep their number one pick chances alive? How the once mighty have fallen.
In the next game, Richmond are actually favourites to beat Brisbane. Which seems a bit odd, since Brisbane have been in better form and are possibly the better side. I guess people are making much of the fact, that Brisbane haven't won on the MCG since 2014? But I suspect that's more of a statistical quirk, than some sort of hard to counter, real world obstacle. I mean, both the MCG and the Gabba are brutalist bowls, so there's unlikely to be some sort of mystifying wind condition that's exclusive to the MCG. And looking at the ground measurements, the MCG is six metres wider and two metres longer, which I think is unlikely to tire out the Lions. And I doubt if there's anything particularly intimidating about Richmond fans. So, maybe people adding a bit too much significance to a minor blip in the statistics?
As stated earlier, the final match of the round is the only one that has no final's relevance. I suppose it will be vaguely interesting seeing what sort of performance North put in. One that shows a bit of spirit, or one that seems tailored to convince the AFL to award them a priority pick or two?
Comment