Bluey
10th August 2001, 17:18
AFLTips.Com Preview News
Round 19 - 10 August 2001
w: http://www.afltips.com/
e: adrian@afltips.com
* Brought to you in conjunction with BigFooty.com -
http://www.bigfooty.com/
* Play the BigFooty Fantasy Footy game here -
http://footy.virtualsports.com.au/?partner_id=1
+----------+
Something from Dailyjokes.com.au to give you a laugh:
Q. What's the difference between Pixie Skase and the Aussie
Cricket team?
A. The Aussies are bringing home the Ashes.
+----------+
INDEX
1) Prize Draw
2) Quiz Questions from The Half Back Flanker
3) "Out of Bounds" - Phil Doyle rants.
4) "Weekly Round-Up" - previews of all matches from our Regular
Contributors
5) "The Quick Snap" commentary article from The Half Back Flanker
6) Quiz Answers
7) Various info about AFLTips.Com
+----------+
1) Prize Draw
Prize winner drawn on Sunday and announced in Monday's issue.
Read about the prize draw here:
http://www.afltips.com/prizedraw.html
Until next time,
Adrian Appleyard
adrian@afltips.com
PS: Welcome back Phil Doyle and The Half Back Flanker!
+----------+
2) Footy Quiz No. 019 - Questions
by The Half Back Flanker
http://www.afltips.com/people/halfbackflanker.html
1. In 1996, Wayne Carey won the best and fairest award for North
Melbourne. What other club achievement did he attain that year?
2. How many premierships have Western Bulldogs (Footscray) won?
3. Which player won the Brownlow Medal in 1995?
4. Name the four AFL clubs Adrian Fletcher has played for?
5. Who coached Richmond from 1988 to 1991?
Answers are at the end of this newsletter.
+----------+
3) Out of Bounds
- Phil Doyle's Bit
http://www.afltips.com/people/phildoyle.html
OUT OF BOUNDS #20 - Things Fall Apart.
'Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,'
W.B. Yeats
No one has a clue what is going on.
I have asked around, but no one appears to be any the wiser.
The world is turning. The sun still comes up in the east. It's
about 6am and the trams are running - god knows why. There
doesn't really seem to be much point.
The end of the world as we know it continues apace with North
getting done by 100 points in a low scoring affair at the SCG. I
couldn't spot Finn MacCool, but the Irishman must've been amongst
it. Seymour dropped like a sack of spuds, and dozens of North
blokes seemed to pull a heartilage in the appropriately named
dying stages. Carey isn't fit, he missed a sitter towards the end
that left people rolling around in stitches.
Apparently North are off to Canberra next year. As Lou Sweeney
said in ShirtFront; they better watch out, Phillip Ruddock likes
locking up people that don't come from around here.
After drinking for a week it was still obvious that ShirtFront
Magazine no longer existed. The great experiment was over before
it barely began. All over red rover.
Still, it was fun while it lasted.
THREE LOUSY WEEKS!
Christ, they don't put unwanted pups down until they're six
weeks.
Who knows, it may be back next year - it may never have existed
at all.
It was good to see Fremantle kept their good record against the
Mayblooms this year. I was supposed to do a write up about
Melbourne's spectacular late season charge into the top twelve
but my last memory of Sunday isn't pretty.
Never leave an all night Tabaret venue with someone called Ed.
Ever. Even if you haven't got any money. As a result I missed out
on Essendon losing two on the trot.
I could see it coming though.
The fat kid at the Chicken Shop in East Brunswick had been
wearing his Carlton jumper five days straight. It was an ominous
sign.
Did Collingwood win? There were no fights at the Croxton Park
Hotel, so I assumed they did.
Wayne Jackson got the gang together last week to pass on the
orders from Kerry about next years shenanigans.
I can hardly wait.
The Fitzroy Reds are on at Brunswick Street this Saturday,
continuing Fitzroy's best start to a season since 1924.
It's Footscray's last throw of the dice on Sunday, while the
Bloods will have their best chance yet of repeating what they did
to Richmond at The Source Of All Our Misery. It all falls away
after that.
St Kilda and Port? Are they serious? North and Geelong is just a
travesty, while the less said about the Melbourne-Hawthorn clash
the better. Adelaide and Carlton in Serial Killer City offers
some comic relief, and the powerhouse that is Western Australian
football will be the winner when the two form teams of the
competition clash at Subiaco.
But I'm going to watch Preston take on Coburg at Cramer Street.
Dunno why, I guess there's f*ck all else to do.
The Bullants are hanging on while the rest of the Northern
Suburbs gets cauterized.
Go Ants.
I'm sick of Melbourne.
Sick of pooncy football administrators sanitizing a great game.
Sick of bloody good footy mags going broke.
F*ck football.
They can stick it up their arse.
Phil Doyle - copping an earful from the coach at quarter time.
If you would like to receive the very irregular and factually
unreliable Out Of Bounds directly via email then send a message
to phildoyle2000@yahoo.com.au
Hotmail have decided to be silly buggers and have stuffed up any
reasonable method of addressing mail. So if you like this sort
of crap in your e-mail then send me money. Otherwise I couldn't
be f*cked!
+----------+
4) Weekly Round-Up
from our Regular Contributors
http://www.afltips.com/people/
(E-mail adrian@afltips.com if you'd like to become a
contributor.)
**********
Kangaroos v. Geelong
Friday, 10 August 2001 - Colonial Stadium 7:40 PM
The finals have arrived early, with tonight's clash effectively
an elimination match for either side. Both Geelong and North
had shock losses last week, though the latter's performance was
probably more of a shocker than a shock. Losing to Sydney at the
SCG is bad enough but 107 points? Not happy Jan, as commentator
Sandy Roberts is particularly fond of saying. As for Geelong,
well, losing to Melbourne was always on the cards because just
when you think Geelong are actually going to make the finals,
they lose the important ones on the way to said finals. North
supporters will be hoping that trend continues tonight.
Should be a right royal battle, especially as three kings take
the field tonight. King David and King Carey will line up for
the Roos and Steven King for Geelong. The out of sorts David
Mensch has been dropped whilst Cameron Mooney and Josh Hunt
return for the Sleepy Hollowers. Ronnie Burns misses, courtesy
of that hamstring with more twangs than a country and western
singer.
Justin Murphy comes back in for the Cats, a welcome inclusion,
considering he'd been averaging 20 possessions a game before his
recent injury. The Cats will be hoping this balances the return
of David King for North. Historically, Garry Hocking plays
extremely well against North and it's a shame that one of his old
sparring partners, Anthony Stevens, is out injured, and unable to
play on Buddha for the last time. Similarly, I'm going to miss
seeing Leigh Colbert front up for North against his old side -
the more boos he gets from the Geelong supporters means the more
possessions he's racking up.
Meanwhile, Carey and Corey McKernan are both due for big games
and this game could be a potential shootout, with Ben Graham
doing well up forward for Geelong, Clint Bizzell able to shine at
ground level and able to take high marks, and Mitchell White
bobbing up at opportune times. Last time the two teams played,
Shell Stadium was indeed a shell - a seashell at the bottom of a
rock pool, such was the amount of rain falling in Geelong on that
April day. North ruled in the wet, prevailing by a couple of
goals, with wet-weather specialists Brent Harvey and co
outstanding in terrible conditions. While the closed roof will
mean different circumstances and Geelong will be every bit as
desperate as North, I just think there's life in the old Roos yet
and with Shannon Grant playing his 150th game, pride and team-
mateship will rule the day. North by 8 points
Others:
St Kilda to be tormented by Port Adelaide
Melbourne to be given a bit of a hiding by Hawthorn
Adelaide to lose slightly to Carlton
Essendon to pulverise Sydney
Brisbane to ensure Richmond shuts up about the finals for a week
or two
Collingwood to pip Western Bulldogs
West Coast to lose to next year's Premiers, Fremantle
- Jane Woolard
**********
St Kilda v. Port Adelaide
Saturday, 11 August 2001 - Colonial Stadium 2:10 PM
Played Saint Kilda 5 Port Adelaide 1
Colonial Saint Kilda 1 Port Adelaide 0
Day Saint Kilda 1 Port Adelaide 0
HISTORY
WHERE WHEN CROWD FINAL SCORE
Margin
97-R7-P Sa(N)May 10 17,752 StK 20.6-126 d PA
8.13-61 65pts
97-R22-FP Su(N)Aug 31 39,589 StK 17.15-117 d
PA 12.12-84 33pts
98-R8-P Sa(N)May 16 20,063 StK 10.12-72 d PA
5.15-45 27pts
99-R9-P Su-May 23 22,232 StK 18.11-119 d
PA 7.15-57 62pts
00-R11-Dok Fr(N)May 19 17,509 StK 17.15-117 d
PA 8.7-55 62pts
01-R4-FP Sa(N)Apr 21 27,017 PA 17.12-114 d
StK 7.8-50 64pts
PORT EYES SECOND!
This Saturday Port Adelaide will visit Colonial Stadium eyeing
second spot on the table to post their 13th win of the season and
51st win since entering the competition in 1997. Its amazing to
think that this game could be so one sided seeing that Port have
only beaten Saint Kilda once from the six previous games but this
probably really shows where Saint Kilda is at as a football team
at the moment.
Port in the great form that they are in at the moment should win
their last four games of the season, the only game that could be
considered a fifty-fifty game would be the Western Bulldogs game
in Round 21 which is also played at the Colonial Stadium. By
winning the last four games will keep the pressure on Brisbane
who are only one game ahead with a slightly higher percentage.
If Brisbane is to drop a game in this period Port should be able
to take second spot as the rest should all be percentage-boosting
games. The pressure is surely on Brisbane to hold second, as
they wouldn't want to visit Football Park again after losing two
games earlier this year to Port.
As for the game this weekend against the Saints, its not a
question of will Port Adelaide win but a question of by how much.
Saint Kilda lost to the second to bottom side last week by a
margin of 92 points, this week they play the third ranked side so
it looks like being a long day for the Saints in the comfort of
the Colonial Stadium.
Port Adelaide are playing great football, they started the demise
of the Essendon Football Club two weeks ago and last week came
back from 37 points behind to beat Adelaide, they are showing all
the signs of a great club. Expect to see Port Adelaide use the
bench a fair bit this weekend so not to tire out some of their
players. Darren Mead for one should spend a fair amount of time
on the bench so he can give Darryl Wakelin a fair run on the
ground this week. He will probably only be used if needed.
Saint Kilda has a lot of problems but their form is only really a
shadow of what it can be. On the most part injuries have played
their toll, missing key players like Harvey, Burke and Loewe from
any side would surely make it hard. The dismissal of Malcolm
Blight has played its part as well leaving a lot of disgruntled
players. Peter Everitt is one player that isn't satisfied with
Saint Kilda and would much prefer to be somewhere else, he might
even decide to help Port out this week but he won't be needed. I
must congratulate the Saints on their dismissal of Malcolm
Blight, the way he left Adelaide was a sure kick in the bum to
the Crows, its great to see someone finally stick it up the so
called Messiah. I bet Malcolm wasn't expecting the decision and
was caught with his pants down just like Sam Newman.
I probably should have discussed the game a little more but Saint
Kilda just have no show. Most of the play will just be, Primus
wins the tap, Francou hand passes to Stevens who passes
beautifully to Tredrea! Tredrea Goals!
My prediction: Port by 90 points
Tips for Round 19:
Kangaroos
Port Adelaide
Hawthorn
Carlton
Brisbane
Western Bulldogs
Essendon
West Coast
Progressive: 96/144 = 66.67%
- Scott
**********
Melbourne v. Hawthorn
Saturday, 11 August 2001 - MCG 7:00 PM
Are Melbourne gearing themselves up for another good season in
2002? After managing to throw away 2001 (and a president in the
process) Melbourne are finally beginning to play some football
similar to the sort that helped them to the Grand Final this
year.
Recent wins over Carlton at Princes Park and Geelong indicate the
Demons may finally be getting it together. But two weeks ago,
when Ben Dixon kicked a memorable winner to put the Hawks in the
top 4, most people thought Hawthorn had established themselves,
finally, as a genuine finals contender.
Until last week's miserable performance against Fremantle,
resulting in the Dockers pulling off one of the greatest upsets
in AFL history. But a key factor behind the loss was a massive
injury toll that saw Hawthorn play the 2nd half without a bench,
and forced to leave a very unfit Shaun Rehn at full forward.
This week the Hawks will be forced to go into action without
Daniel Chick, Tim Clarke and most probably Jade Rawlings and
Shane Crawford. Compensating for this slightly is the likely
return of Daniel Harford, Lance Picione and Trent Croad from
suspension.
So picking this one is difficult to say the least, two of the
most unpredictable sides in the league. The ruck battle should
be interesting, with Rehn and Jeff White both struggling. The
difference been Hawthorn have a magnificent backup in Nathan
Thompson, who has been in fantastic form in recent weeks.
On paper the midfield appears to lean in Melbourne's favour with
Chick & Crawford out, but the likes of Woewodin and Grgic have
been out of touch all year.
Hawthorn will try to stretch Melbourne's backline by playing
Croad forward with Barker, Dixon and Thompson, and this may mean
David Neitz is forced back once again. The dangerous Jeff Farmer
is likely to be taken by Luke McCabe once again, although Joel
Smith may be an option.
The wildcard is a man by the name of Aaron Lord. He dominated
the Round 4 clash in terrible conditions, condition 6 goals, as
many as the Melbourne side. The Demons seem to struggle to find
a matchup for him, but consistency has never been one of Lordy's
strong points.
All in all an interesting clash that could go either way. I've
decided to give the Hawks another chance, because a loss here
would be the end of their top 4 aspirations, while Melbourne are
already out of the finals race.
Tip: Hawthorn by 14 points.
Other games:
Geelong by 21
Bulldogs by 33
Essendon by 41
Carlton by 25
Fremantle by 9
Brisbane by 38
Port by 65
- Dominic Milesi
**********
Adelaide v. Carlton
Saturday, 11 August 2001 - Football Park 7:10 PM (7:40 PM AEST)
How to have a very big week in Australian rules football:
1. Have a veteran in your team bring up 350 games
2. Reduce your odds to win the cup
3. Beat a team that has killed the competition for the past two
years
4. Promote a rookie to your seniors list
5. Sign one of the most influential players in the league for
another 2 years.
How to make it even better:
* Beat a similarly placed side on Saturday at their home ground.
This game is big! Although last week, Carlton took on the might
of Essendon and conquered the giant, that doesn't guarantee them
a win the next week. Especially after the results of last round.
In fact Adelaide can go into this game and feel like favorites in
their own mind and quite rightly so. Both sides have been playing
well without really breaking away from one another.
On the ladder Carlton have a one match advantage over the crows
and Adelaide are outside the eight only on percentage. A win by
they crow will not only give them a boost towards the finals, but
it makes the remaining rounds even more crucial as it will make
the competition for spots on the ladder closer together.
The Crows will be relying on the crowd (in the new capacity
stadium) to push them towards a victory, while the Blues will be
trying to bring back some of the spart of the first quarter of
last weeks game. No doubt they will be firing after such a
positive week in their clubs history.
A major blow for the crows this week was the loss of Matty Clark
with a bruised thigh. Also out with an injury is Peter Vardy
(groin) for the crows and Michael Mansfield (abdomen) for the
Blues, both really big name players. On paper the teams look like
they will fight this one down to the wire.
My pick? Not too sure... Blues (only because of the big week) by
4 points. Nothing in it.
Other matches:
Geelong
Port
Hawks
Brisbane
Bulldogs
Essendon (but I don't know)
Eagles
- Josh Hemelaar
**********
Brisbane v. Richmond
Sunday, 12 August 2001 - Gabba 2:10 PM
Last week at the shooting range:
The guys that like to label themselves a Tiger, showed us why hey
use that name. Their opposition really pied them in the second
round of the shoot out. But in the remaining rounds the Tigers
managed to distract their opposition enough to only allow them to
hit one bulls-eye to their six.
Meanwhile on the other range, the boys from Brisbane (and
Fitzroy) have been really showing the other teams how to hit the
targets. This week when they shot out with some dogs, the
struggled to break away. However they used one dead eye **** by
the name of Akermanis and moved him back 30 metres and really
inspired the group by hitting some incredible shots. Yet again
they won the day, nine in a row now.
This week Richmond will venture North to the fast becoming
hunting ground, "the GABBA". The Lions are putting their hand up
and jumping around showing everyone that they are a force that
wants to take it's first flag. Now they are one win away from
taking a minor premiership and are improving their odds daily.
Richmond however have also been in great form and have won their
last three matches. Beating both Collingwood and the Bulldogs
have been some really great achievements over the past two weeks,
because about half of the 2001 ladder are fighting for a place in
the finals and teams are playing some desperate footy.
A real positive for the Tigers, is that Aaron Fiora this week was
awarded the round 18 Ansett rising star nomination. This is just
an indication of how their whole team is stepping up and trying
to bring them to that much talked about 'next level'.
At present there is not a negative thing the Lions can blame and
they have nothing to blame about either. With all these wins
under their buckle against QUALITY sides, the fact that they are
now back to a full strength side (with the much awaited return of
Leppitsch this week to booster proceedings) is looking ever more
threatening for the sides that Brisbane still have to face. It
seems the only problem they have at the moment is how many
players they can get to kick the goals each week.
This does not by any means hand the Lions a win however. The
average tipping score last week was 3! Now this is a sure
indication that sides a desperate for that place in the finals
and it makes every match much more even. The Lions will go into
the game as favorites, by Richmond can take away a victory if
they can get on top of the midfield.
My tip: Lions by 63 (but I may be a little biased :-))
- Joshua Hemelaar
**********
Collingwood v. Western Bulldogs
Sunday, 12 August 2001 - MCG 2:10 PM
I narrowly missed Jarrod Molloy doing the live chat on the
official AFL website last night, so the question of who wears the
biggest shorts in football goes begging. The Magpies will need
Mr Molloy, among others, to bandy those big shorts around in no
uncertain style this weekend if they reckon they're going to be
any chance of a crack at the finals.
Either way the cookie crumbles, somebody here is going home an
unhappy camper at the end of the round in what shapes up as an
early elimination final of sorts. Fortunately for the dry
weather specialists Collingwood, who always love a little bit of
sunshine to play under, Sunday is predicted
to be fine all the way.
Young Josh Fraser needs to step up a notch and win hands down
over Luke Darcy in the ruck as this will be a crucial element in
deciding the game. Scott West had a migraine last week and will
be raring to go and if there's going to be any dust ups expect
Paul Licuria to be in there boxing on.
Overall its a real stymie tip. 50-50 either way. Going on form
and the slight height advantage their forwards have over
Collingwood's back line, I predict The Dogs to sneak through by
the skin of their dentures. This of course will only happen if
Chris Grant actually wakes up before the game and blokes like
Johnson, Brown and West can shake the tags of Steinfort, little
Dimma and so forth. I would tip a draw but there's as much
chance of that happening as there is of me getting 8 correct this
round. So it's the Dogs by 7 points, after snatching the lead in
the final quarter when Collingwood' s sun goes down along with
their finals hopes.
But gee, I hope I'm wrong on this one...
- matto
*Here are the "you shouldn't listen to me because I only got 4
last week for
a total of 94 this year" mattotips for round 19:
cats over roos by 16
port over saints by 21
hawks over demons by 19
blues over crows by 9
dogs over pies by 7
lions over tigers by 45
bombers over swans by 35
eagles over dockers by 32
*Again, this week's winning Tattslotto numbers as stated above
are: 16, 21,
19, 9, 7, 45; supplementaries 35 and 32.
**********
Essendon v. Sydney
Sunday, 12 August 2001 - Colonial Stadium 2:10 PM
Have the Swans seduced their fans yet again only to let them down
or are they the 'Real Deal'? Have Essendon given their fans
another fright before reverting back to their immortal,
impregnable state?
Those two questions will be answered on Sunday.
You can not the Swans have not been consistent this year. They
have been consistently inconsistent. 3 wins, 5 losses, 3 wins, 2
losses and 5 wins.
Just one more win would see them now in 4th place.
The Swans are playing some semblance of good footy and some
chance on Sunday. At least unlike last time, the ground will be
dry.
Essendon fans might be worried by the absence of Hird and Lloyd
but why boast and proclaim your depth if its never needed? It's
one thing to say that there are guys running round in the
reserves that would make any other team in the comp, well now is
the time to prove it.
Who knows what the last 3 weeks have done to the Bombers. Its not
September now and they are still in first place.
The Swans recent run of good form has been built around its
defence and Essendon might find it hard to kick goals without
Lloyd.
The big name droppings haven't eventuated although a full
interchange bench
has to be trimmed.
The Swans have kept their 22 but have to trun the bench as well
Tips: Sydney by 1 point
Other tips:
Geelong
Port Adelaide
Hawthorn
Carlton
Brisbane
Collingwood
Fremantle
- David Wiseman
(Continued...)
Round 19 - 10 August 2001
w: http://www.afltips.com/
e: adrian@afltips.com
* Brought to you in conjunction with BigFooty.com -
http://www.bigfooty.com/
* Play the BigFooty Fantasy Footy game here -
http://footy.virtualsports.com.au/?partner_id=1
+----------+
Something from Dailyjokes.com.au to give you a laugh:
Q. What's the difference between Pixie Skase and the Aussie
Cricket team?
A. The Aussies are bringing home the Ashes.
+----------+
INDEX
1) Prize Draw
2) Quiz Questions from The Half Back Flanker
3) "Out of Bounds" - Phil Doyle rants.
4) "Weekly Round-Up" - previews of all matches from our Regular
Contributors
5) "The Quick Snap" commentary article from The Half Back Flanker
6) Quiz Answers
7) Various info about AFLTips.Com
+----------+
1) Prize Draw
Prize winner drawn on Sunday and announced in Monday's issue.
Read about the prize draw here:
http://www.afltips.com/prizedraw.html
Until next time,
Adrian Appleyard
adrian@afltips.com
PS: Welcome back Phil Doyle and The Half Back Flanker!
+----------+
2) Footy Quiz No. 019 - Questions
by The Half Back Flanker
http://www.afltips.com/people/halfbackflanker.html
1. In 1996, Wayne Carey won the best and fairest award for North
Melbourne. What other club achievement did he attain that year?
2. How many premierships have Western Bulldogs (Footscray) won?
3. Which player won the Brownlow Medal in 1995?
4. Name the four AFL clubs Adrian Fletcher has played for?
5. Who coached Richmond from 1988 to 1991?
Answers are at the end of this newsletter.
+----------+
3) Out of Bounds
- Phil Doyle's Bit
http://www.afltips.com/people/phildoyle.html
OUT OF BOUNDS #20 - Things Fall Apart.
'Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,'
W.B. Yeats
No one has a clue what is going on.
I have asked around, but no one appears to be any the wiser.
The world is turning. The sun still comes up in the east. It's
about 6am and the trams are running - god knows why. There
doesn't really seem to be much point.
The end of the world as we know it continues apace with North
getting done by 100 points in a low scoring affair at the SCG. I
couldn't spot Finn MacCool, but the Irishman must've been amongst
it. Seymour dropped like a sack of spuds, and dozens of North
blokes seemed to pull a heartilage in the appropriately named
dying stages. Carey isn't fit, he missed a sitter towards the end
that left people rolling around in stitches.
Apparently North are off to Canberra next year. As Lou Sweeney
said in ShirtFront; they better watch out, Phillip Ruddock likes
locking up people that don't come from around here.
After drinking for a week it was still obvious that ShirtFront
Magazine no longer existed. The great experiment was over before
it barely began. All over red rover.
Still, it was fun while it lasted.
THREE LOUSY WEEKS!
Christ, they don't put unwanted pups down until they're six
weeks.
Who knows, it may be back next year - it may never have existed
at all.
It was good to see Fremantle kept their good record against the
Mayblooms this year. I was supposed to do a write up about
Melbourne's spectacular late season charge into the top twelve
but my last memory of Sunday isn't pretty.
Never leave an all night Tabaret venue with someone called Ed.
Ever. Even if you haven't got any money. As a result I missed out
on Essendon losing two on the trot.
I could see it coming though.
The fat kid at the Chicken Shop in East Brunswick had been
wearing his Carlton jumper five days straight. It was an ominous
sign.
Did Collingwood win? There were no fights at the Croxton Park
Hotel, so I assumed they did.
Wayne Jackson got the gang together last week to pass on the
orders from Kerry about next years shenanigans.
I can hardly wait.
The Fitzroy Reds are on at Brunswick Street this Saturday,
continuing Fitzroy's best start to a season since 1924.
It's Footscray's last throw of the dice on Sunday, while the
Bloods will have their best chance yet of repeating what they did
to Richmond at The Source Of All Our Misery. It all falls away
after that.
St Kilda and Port? Are they serious? North and Geelong is just a
travesty, while the less said about the Melbourne-Hawthorn clash
the better. Adelaide and Carlton in Serial Killer City offers
some comic relief, and the powerhouse that is Western Australian
football will be the winner when the two form teams of the
competition clash at Subiaco.
But I'm going to watch Preston take on Coburg at Cramer Street.
Dunno why, I guess there's f*ck all else to do.
The Bullants are hanging on while the rest of the Northern
Suburbs gets cauterized.
Go Ants.
I'm sick of Melbourne.
Sick of pooncy football administrators sanitizing a great game.
Sick of bloody good footy mags going broke.
F*ck football.
They can stick it up their arse.
Phil Doyle - copping an earful from the coach at quarter time.
If you would like to receive the very irregular and factually
unreliable Out Of Bounds directly via email then send a message
to phildoyle2000@yahoo.com.au
Hotmail have decided to be silly buggers and have stuffed up any
reasonable method of addressing mail. So if you like this sort
of crap in your e-mail then send me money. Otherwise I couldn't
be f*cked!
+----------+
4) Weekly Round-Up
from our Regular Contributors
http://www.afltips.com/people/
(E-mail adrian@afltips.com if you'd like to become a
contributor.)
**********
Kangaroos v. Geelong
Friday, 10 August 2001 - Colonial Stadium 7:40 PM
The finals have arrived early, with tonight's clash effectively
an elimination match for either side. Both Geelong and North
had shock losses last week, though the latter's performance was
probably more of a shocker than a shock. Losing to Sydney at the
SCG is bad enough but 107 points? Not happy Jan, as commentator
Sandy Roberts is particularly fond of saying. As for Geelong,
well, losing to Melbourne was always on the cards because just
when you think Geelong are actually going to make the finals,
they lose the important ones on the way to said finals. North
supporters will be hoping that trend continues tonight.
Should be a right royal battle, especially as three kings take
the field tonight. King David and King Carey will line up for
the Roos and Steven King for Geelong. The out of sorts David
Mensch has been dropped whilst Cameron Mooney and Josh Hunt
return for the Sleepy Hollowers. Ronnie Burns misses, courtesy
of that hamstring with more twangs than a country and western
singer.
Justin Murphy comes back in for the Cats, a welcome inclusion,
considering he'd been averaging 20 possessions a game before his
recent injury. The Cats will be hoping this balances the return
of David King for North. Historically, Garry Hocking plays
extremely well against North and it's a shame that one of his old
sparring partners, Anthony Stevens, is out injured, and unable to
play on Buddha for the last time. Similarly, I'm going to miss
seeing Leigh Colbert front up for North against his old side -
the more boos he gets from the Geelong supporters means the more
possessions he's racking up.
Meanwhile, Carey and Corey McKernan are both due for big games
and this game could be a potential shootout, with Ben Graham
doing well up forward for Geelong, Clint Bizzell able to shine at
ground level and able to take high marks, and Mitchell White
bobbing up at opportune times. Last time the two teams played,
Shell Stadium was indeed a shell - a seashell at the bottom of a
rock pool, such was the amount of rain falling in Geelong on that
April day. North ruled in the wet, prevailing by a couple of
goals, with wet-weather specialists Brent Harvey and co
outstanding in terrible conditions. While the closed roof will
mean different circumstances and Geelong will be every bit as
desperate as North, I just think there's life in the old Roos yet
and with Shannon Grant playing his 150th game, pride and team-
mateship will rule the day. North by 8 points
Others:
St Kilda to be tormented by Port Adelaide
Melbourne to be given a bit of a hiding by Hawthorn
Adelaide to lose slightly to Carlton
Essendon to pulverise Sydney
Brisbane to ensure Richmond shuts up about the finals for a week
or two
Collingwood to pip Western Bulldogs
West Coast to lose to next year's Premiers, Fremantle
- Jane Woolard
**********
St Kilda v. Port Adelaide
Saturday, 11 August 2001 - Colonial Stadium 2:10 PM
Played Saint Kilda 5 Port Adelaide 1
Colonial Saint Kilda 1 Port Adelaide 0
Day Saint Kilda 1 Port Adelaide 0
HISTORY
WHERE WHEN CROWD FINAL SCORE
Margin
97-R7-P Sa(N)May 10 17,752 StK 20.6-126 d PA
8.13-61 65pts
97-R22-FP Su(N)Aug 31 39,589 StK 17.15-117 d
PA 12.12-84 33pts
98-R8-P Sa(N)May 16 20,063 StK 10.12-72 d PA
5.15-45 27pts
99-R9-P Su-May 23 22,232 StK 18.11-119 d
PA 7.15-57 62pts
00-R11-Dok Fr(N)May 19 17,509 StK 17.15-117 d
PA 8.7-55 62pts
01-R4-FP Sa(N)Apr 21 27,017 PA 17.12-114 d
StK 7.8-50 64pts
PORT EYES SECOND!
This Saturday Port Adelaide will visit Colonial Stadium eyeing
second spot on the table to post their 13th win of the season and
51st win since entering the competition in 1997. Its amazing to
think that this game could be so one sided seeing that Port have
only beaten Saint Kilda once from the six previous games but this
probably really shows where Saint Kilda is at as a football team
at the moment.
Port in the great form that they are in at the moment should win
their last four games of the season, the only game that could be
considered a fifty-fifty game would be the Western Bulldogs game
in Round 21 which is also played at the Colonial Stadium. By
winning the last four games will keep the pressure on Brisbane
who are only one game ahead with a slightly higher percentage.
If Brisbane is to drop a game in this period Port should be able
to take second spot as the rest should all be percentage-boosting
games. The pressure is surely on Brisbane to hold second, as
they wouldn't want to visit Football Park again after losing two
games earlier this year to Port.
As for the game this weekend against the Saints, its not a
question of will Port Adelaide win but a question of by how much.
Saint Kilda lost to the second to bottom side last week by a
margin of 92 points, this week they play the third ranked side so
it looks like being a long day for the Saints in the comfort of
the Colonial Stadium.
Port Adelaide are playing great football, they started the demise
of the Essendon Football Club two weeks ago and last week came
back from 37 points behind to beat Adelaide, they are showing all
the signs of a great club. Expect to see Port Adelaide use the
bench a fair bit this weekend so not to tire out some of their
players. Darren Mead for one should spend a fair amount of time
on the bench so he can give Darryl Wakelin a fair run on the
ground this week. He will probably only be used if needed.
Saint Kilda has a lot of problems but their form is only really a
shadow of what it can be. On the most part injuries have played
their toll, missing key players like Harvey, Burke and Loewe from
any side would surely make it hard. The dismissal of Malcolm
Blight has played its part as well leaving a lot of disgruntled
players. Peter Everitt is one player that isn't satisfied with
Saint Kilda and would much prefer to be somewhere else, he might
even decide to help Port out this week but he won't be needed. I
must congratulate the Saints on their dismissal of Malcolm
Blight, the way he left Adelaide was a sure kick in the bum to
the Crows, its great to see someone finally stick it up the so
called Messiah. I bet Malcolm wasn't expecting the decision and
was caught with his pants down just like Sam Newman.
I probably should have discussed the game a little more but Saint
Kilda just have no show. Most of the play will just be, Primus
wins the tap, Francou hand passes to Stevens who passes
beautifully to Tredrea! Tredrea Goals!
My prediction: Port by 90 points
Tips for Round 19:
Kangaroos
Port Adelaide
Hawthorn
Carlton
Brisbane
Western Bulldogs
Essendon
West Coast
Progressive: 96/144 = 66.67%
- Scott
**********
Melbourne v. Hawthorn
Saturday, 11 August 2001 - MCG 7:00 PM
Are Melbourne gearing themselves up for another good season in
2002? After managing to throw away 2001 (and a president in the
process) Melbourne are finally beginning to play some football
similar to the sort that helped them to the Grand Final this
year.
Recent wins over Carlton at Princes Park and Geelong indicate the
Demons may finally be getting it together. But two weeks ago,
when Ben Dixon kicked a memorable winner to put the Hawks in the
top 4, most people thought Hawthorn had established themselves,
finally, as a genuine finals contender.
Until last week's miserable performance against Fremantle,
resulting in the Dockers pulling off one of the greatest upsets
in AFL history. But a key factor behind the loss was a massive
injury toll that saw Hawthorn play the 2nd half without a bench,
and forced to leave a very unfit Shaun Rehn at full forward.
This week the Hawks will be forced to go into action without
Daniel Chick, Tim Clarke and most probably Jade Rawlings and
Shane Crawford. Compensating for this slightly is the likely
return of Daniel Harford, Lance Picione and Trent Croad from
suspension.
So picking this one is difficult to say the least, two of the
most unpredictable sides in the league. The ruck battle should
be interesting, with Rehn and Jeff White both struggling. The
difference been Hawthorn have a magnificent backup in Nathan
Thompson, who has been in fantastic form in recent weeks.
On paper the midfield appears to lean in Melbourne's favour with
Chick & Crawford out, but the likes of Woewodin and Grgic have
been out of touch all year.
Hawthorn will try to stretch Melbourne's backline by playing
Croad forward with Barker, Dixon and Thompson, and this may mean
David Neitz is forced back once again. The dangerous Jeff Farmer
is likely to be taken by Luke McCabe once again, although Joel
Smith may be an option.
The wildcard is a man by the name of Aaron Lord. He dominated
the Round 4 clash in terrible conditions, condition 6 goals, as
many as the Melbourne side. The Demons seem to struggle to find
a matchup for him, but consistency has never been one of Lordy's
strong points.
All in all an interesting clash that could go either way. I've
decided to give the Hawks another chance, because a loss here
would be the end of their top 4 aspirations, while Melbourne are
already out of the finals race.
Tip: Hawthorn by 14 points.
Other games:
Geelong by 21
Bulldogs by 33
Essendon by 41
Carlton by 25
Fremantle by 9
Brisbane by 38
Port by 65
- Dominic Milesi
**********
Adelaide v. Carlton
Saturday, 11 August 2001 - Football Park 7:10 PM (7:40 PM AEST)
How to have a very big week in Australian rules football:
1. Have a veteran in your team bring up 350 games
2. Reduce your odds to win the cup
3. Beat a team that has killed the competition for the past two
years
4. Promote a rookie to your seniors list
5. Sign one of the most influential players in the league for
another 2 years.
How to make it even better:
* Beat a similarly placed side on Saturday at their home ground.
This game is big! Although last week, Carlton took on the might
of Essendon and conquered the giant, that doesn't guarantee them
a win the next week. Especially after the results of last round.
In fact Adelaide can go into this game and feel like favorites in
their own mind and quite rightly so. Both sides have been playing
well without really breaking away from one another.
On the ladder Carlton have a one match advantage over the crows
and Adelaide are outside the eight only on percentage. A win by
they crow will not only give them a boost towards the finals, but
it makes the remaining rounds even more crucial as it will make
the competition for spots on the ladder closer together.
The Crows will be relying on the crowd (in the new capacity
stadium) to push them towards a victory, while the Blues will be
trying to bring back some of the spart of the first quarter of
last weeks game. No doubt they will be firing after such a
positive week in their clubs history.
A major blow for the crows this week was the loss of Matty Clark
with a bruised thigh. Also out with an injury is Peter Vardy
(groin) for the crows and Michael Mansfield (abdomen) for the
Blues, both really big name players. On paper the teams look like
they will fight this one down to the wire.
My pick? Not too sure... Blues (only because of the big week) by
4 points. Nothing in it.
Other matches:
Geelong
Port
Hawks
Brisbane
Bulldogs
Essendon (but I don't know)
Eagles
- Josh Hemelaar
**********
Brisbane v. Richmond
Sunday, 12 August 2001 - Gabba 2:10 PM
Last week at the shooting range:
The guys that like to label themselves a Tiger, showed us why hey
use that name. Their opposition really pied them in the second
round of the shoot out. But in the remaining rounds the Tigers
managed to distract their opposition enough to only allow them to
hit one bulls-eye to their six.
Meanwhile on the other range, the boys from Brisbane (and
Fitzroy) have been really showing the other teams how to hit the
targets. This week when they shot out with some dogs, the
struggled to break away. However they used one dead eye **** by
the name of Akermanis and moved him back 30 metres and really
inspired the group by hitting some incredible shots. Yet again
they won the day, nine in a row now.
This week Richmond will venture North to the fast becoming
hunting ground, "the GABBA". The Lions are putting their hand up
and jumping around showing everyone that they are a force that
wants to take it's first flag. Now they are one win away from
taking a minor premiership and are improving their odds daily.
Richmond however have also been in great form and have won their
last three matches. Beating both Collingwood and the Bulldogs
have been some really great achievements over the past two weeks,
because about half of the 2001 ladder are fighting for a place in
the finals and teams are playing some desperate footy.
A real positive for the Tigers, is that Aaron Fiora this week was
awarded the round 18 Ansett rising star nomination. This is just
an indication of how their whole team is stepping up and trying
to bring them to that much talked about 'next level'.
At present there is not a negative thing the Lions can blame and
they have nothing to blame about either. With all these wins
under their buckle against QUALITY sides, the fact that they are
now back to a full strength side (with the much awaited return of
Leppitsch this week to booster proceedings) is looking ever more
threatening for the sides that Brisbane still have to face. It
seems the only problem they have at the moment is how many
players they can get to kick the goals each week.
This does not by any means hand the Lions a win however. The
average tipping score last week was 3! Now this is a sure
indication that sides a desperate for that place in the finals
and it makes every match much more even. The Lions will go into
the game as favorites, by Richmond can take away a victory if
they can get on top of the midfield.
My tip: Lions by 63 (but I may be a little biased :-))
- Joshua Hemelaar
**********
Collingwood v. Western Bulldogs
Sunday, 12 August 2001 - MCG 2:10 PM
I narrowly missed Jarrod Molloy doing the live chat on the
official AFL website last night, so the question of who wears the
biggest shorts in football goes begging. The Magpies will need
Mr Molloy, among others, to bandy those big shorts around in no
uncertain style this weekend if they reckon they're going to be
any chance of a crack at the finals.
Either way the cookie crumbles, somebody here is going home an
unhappy camper at the end of the round in what shapes up as an
early elimination final of sorts. Fortunately for the dry
weather specialists Collingwood, who always love a little bit of
sunshine to play under, Sunday is predicted
to be fine all the way.
Young Josh Fraser needs to step up a notch and win hands down
over Luke Darcy in the ruck as this will be a crucial element in
deciding the game. Scott West had a migraine last week and will
be raring to go and if there's going to be any dust ups expect
Paul Licuria to be in there boxing on.
Overall its a real stymie tip. 50-50 either way. Going on form
and the slight height advantage their forwards have over
Collingwood's back line, I predict The Dogs to sneak through by
the skin of their dentures. This of course will only happen if
Chris Grant actually wakes up before the game and blokes like
Johnson, Brown and West can shake the tags of Steinfort, little
Dimma and so forth. I would tip a draw but there's as much
chance of that happening as there is of me getting 8 correct this
round. So it's the Dogs by 7 points, after snatching the lead in
the final quarter when Collingwood' s sun goes down along with
their finals hopes.
But gee, I hope I'm wrong on this one...
- matto
*Here are the "you shouldn't listen to me because I only got 4
last week for
a total of 94 this year" mattotips for round 19:
cats over roos by 16
port over saints by 21
hawks over demons by 19
blues over crows by 9
dogs over pies by 7
lions over tigers by 45
bombers over swans by 35
eagles over dockers by 32
*Again, this week's winning Tattslotto numbers as stated above
are: 16, 21,
19, 9, 7, 45; supplementaries 35 and 32.
**********
Essendon v. Sydney
Sunday, 12 August 2001 - Colonial Stadium 2:10 PM
Have the Swans seduced their fans yet again only to let them down
or are they the 'Real Deal'? Have Essendon given their fans
another fright before reverting back to their immortal,
impregnable state?
Those two questions will be answered on Sunday.
You can not the Swans have not been consistent this year. They
have been consistently inconsistent. 3 wins, 5 losses, 3 wins, 2
losses and 5 wins.
Just one more win would see them now in 4th place.
The Swans are playing some semblance of good footy and some
chance on Sunday. At least unlike last time, the ground will be
dry.
Essendon fans might be worried by the absence of Hird and Lloyd
but why boast and proclaim your depth if its never needed? It's
one thing to say that there are guys running round in the
reserves that would make any other team in the comp, well now is
the time to prove it.
Who knows what the last 3 weeks have done to the Bombers. Its not
September now and they are still in first place.
The Swans recent run of good form has been built around its
defence and Essendon might find it hard to kick goals without
Lloyd.
The big name droppings haven't eventuated although a full
interchange bench
has to be trimmed.
The Swans have kept their 22 but have to trun the bench as well
Tips: Sydney by 1 point
Other tips:
Geelong
Port Adelaide
Hawthorn
Carlton
Brisbane
Collingwood
Fremantle
- David Wiseman
(Continued...)