Bluey
18th May 2001, 18:44
AFLTips.Com Preview News
Round 8 - 18 May 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
+----------+
By the way û I've noticed that the formatting of this newsletter stuffs up in some MS Outlook versions. This is due entirely to the utter uselessness of Microsoft programmers and their attempts to program 'intelligence' into the formatting in Outlook.
+----------+
INDEX
1) Prize Draw
2) Quiz Questions from The Half Back Flanker
3) "Out of Bounds" û Phil Doyle sounds off.
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
This week's winner of a footy geurnsey stubby holder is a 'Pies supporter. More details as they come to hand.
Read about the prize draw here:
http://www.afltips.com/prizedraw.html
Until next time,
Adrian Appleyard
adrian@afltips.com
+----------+
2) Footy Quiz No. 008 - Questions
by The Half Back Flanker
http://www.afltips.com/people/halfbackflanker.html
1. Name the only players to have won two Norm Smith Medals? 2. How many premierships have Collingwood won?
3. Which team did Richmond record its highest ever score against?
4. Which two players tied for the 1996 Brownlow Medal?
5. Which player was the leading goalkicker for West Coast in their inaugural season (1987)?
Answers are at the end of this newsletter.
+----------+
3) Out of Bounds
- Phil Doyle's Bit
http://www.afltips.com/people/phildoyle.html
They Call Me Bruce
'I go to the football to cheer for my team
I go to the football to hear myself scream.'
Dave Warner - 'Suburban Boy'.
I've always been a big wrap for Bruce McAvaney. There's something special about this guy. I think he's one of the best, if not THE best, commentator going around at the moment. This is vintage McAvaney, who's commentating some of the best commentary of his career. This is a man who has turned the cliche into a virtuoso art form.
Which is probably why the AFL is set to crack down on those amateurs who like to pass their time at the footy by offering friendly bits of advice to opposition players and supporters, along with speculation on the aforementioned's parentage. They get a lot of angst out of the system that would otherwise be spent on your typical drive by staring on Springvale Road.
'What are ya?'
'What are you?'
In fact, probably the only commentator in the game really eclipsing Bruce is SBS's work experience commentator, Ed Wyatt, whose Friday night segments on Malvern Star World Sport are truly special. Last week, f'rinstance, we found out that Freo are oh and six, when everyone else has been saying they are oh and dear.
As for Freo, well, I blame former Hockeyroos coach Rick Charlesworth. It's not Damian Drum's fault. He brought Charlesworth in to explain to the Freo lads what winning was all about - which has obviously been a runaway success. Maybe Drum might have more success if he started flaying into his players with one of Ric's old hockey sticks.
It's interesting to note that the only win Freo have had all year in any recognised competition is against the supposedly unassailable Hawks during the Civil Aviation Safety Authority Cup.
The greatest Fullback of the century, known as Sos to his friends and enemies alike, took the AFL to new territory by wearing a codpiece into last week's game against Geelong in an effort to protect the family jewels. Sos's misfortune has a precedent in the 1938 Grand Final when 'Soapy' Vallence (or was it Bob Chitty) bit Ron Todd's balls. Traditionalists throughout the game nod knowingly whenever the squirrel grip is mentioned. Wira, when he was at Footscray, resorted to the involuntary nip and tuck on at least one occasion - which should give the brains trust at Freo something to work with in the coming weeks.
And as for Sos, well I'd want to protect any kind of jewels while John Elliott was in the room.
It's good that the AFL is cracking down on these amateur McAvaneys in the outer. Now that they've sanitised everything on the field, we can now sanitise everything off the field as well. Spectators WILL enjoy themselves and they WILL behave in a manner as determined by the AFL.
This involves sitting quietly except for those times when it is necessary to open wallets and purses in order to contribute yet more hard earned readies into the pockets of the senior executives of the AFL.
The AFL senior executives remain as untouchable as an umpire, with the unfortunately named Matthew Head getting his ounce of attention after going the hip and shoulder last weekend. I think the umpies doing it for attention. Everyone knows they're attention ****s.
The AFL's experiment with the free market is continuing according to the HIH Insurance model with the Kangaroos posting a $1.14 million loss last year, despite having won two of the last five premierships.
Imagine how well they'd be doing if they'd had some success on the field. North Melbourne Spokesman Miller said that although the Kangaroos were membership-based, they were already effectively privately owned, because a group of six or eight people had controlled the club's shares for the last 15 years.
Which makes you wonder why anyone would bother taking out a membership (oh, that's right, there's the administrators salaries to pay isn't there). It also explains why it was so easy for the club to dump the North Melbourne tag and become the first lost tribe of the AFL. Carlton used to own $150,000 worth of North shares, which is off in the realms of the bizarre. What are they, the Carlton Kangaroos? John Elliott would buy shares in his own death if it were publicly listed.
Now Rupert 'Monty Burns' Murdoch is set to become another tribal chief, with rumours abounding that North has a principle of one person one vote, and Rupert is set to become the one person with that one vote. People don't follow teams, they follow clubs. And it remains to be seen whether or not they will support a homogenised entity, especially given the AFL's litany of broken promises, which is consistent with the rest of corporate Australia. At least they stuck to their deal to not close the roof at The Source Of All Our Misery unless it was absolutely necessary.
'Whether we like it or not, although uniquely Australian, Aussie Rules is a tribal code.' Says Queenslander Ross Fitzgerald. And there was silly me thinking it was a business enterprise.
Phil Doyle - flying over the pack to take a screamer.
This weeks mail:
ben@labourhireaustralia.com.au writes, after a fashion:
as a queenslander, i love hearing you winge about the death of the game in victoria. For all i care, you can all die!
auskick is not compulsory hear and our club clinic of 30 kids last year is 60 this year with my son attending a school clinic with 50 kids. this is a first run at a school in our area.
Qld had number 1 draft pick and nephew of a workmate has been pick up by Hawthorne. we are exporting players from up here. maybe it is an attitude we instill up here. It is the AFL now, you had your chance and blew it!
Victorian clubs complain about special concession to interstate clubs, at least we do not breach the salary cap like the evil empire!
Well said ben, what a fantastic understanding of history. I'm glad to hear that along with auskick that spelling isn't compulsory as part of the queensland education system either. No doubt when the game dies in the Southern states it will continue to thrive in the heartland of Queensland.
Just ask the people at Mayne what a riproaring success the national competition has been.
If you would like to receive the very irregular and factually unreliable Out Of Bounds directly via email then send a message to phildoyle33@hotmail.com. Out Of Bounds can also be seen at the wonderful http://www.afltips.com/ website.
[Actually Phil, Ben spells pretty well compared to Joffa! û AA]
+----------+
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.)
**********
Richmond v. Adelaide
Friday, 18 May 2001 - MCG 7:40 PM
This week, we have a Richmond team who were horribly exposed by Essendon last week and looking to redeem some sort of lost pride up against an Adelaide side, that whilst not quite back in town could be considered to be skirting the outskirts of it.
Danny Frawley has set the challenge to his players to make a statement about themselves. It wasn't the fact that Richmond lost to Essendon, it was the way they lost. He's aware that a defeat against Adelaide on top of last week's effort could put enough doubt into his own player's minds about their own abilities and result in opposition teams taking advantage and cause a mini-slump for the Tigers. After all, in recent years, it has been a bugbear for the Tigers that they could never string together more than 2 or 3 wins in a row, and whenever they did manage to do that, they'd go on and lose a corresponding 2 or 3 games in a row to even up the ledger. Thus for Richmond, rebounding from last week's loss will give a great indication of their mental strength.
Meanwhile, Gary Ayres knows that an Adelaide win will take from the outskirts of town to somewhere that's a lot closer to the town square. The Crows have quietly gone about their business, taking opposition scalps as they arise, and slowly building momentum. In a reverse situation to Richmond, a win for the Crows will put doubt into opposition club's minds (they will not take it for granted that they'll get four easy points) and give the Crows confidence to create enough momentum to string a further 3 or 4 wins in a row. The Crows wins have been against Carlton, the Kangaroos, and Fremantle, and none of these clubs have set the world alight this season, but they did have a credible loss against the Hawks. Still, while four points is four points, there are doubts about whether the Crows can mount a challenge for the finals or not. However, what must be admired about these wins is the way they've gone about it. They've won the contested ball and worked hard enough to ensure they've kept their noses in front of the opposition.
Comparing the two sides, it's beyond doubt that Richmond will have far more natural talent on the field than the Crows. But the Crows have heart and a couple of players by the names of McLeod and Jarman who could win the game by themselves, and more ominously for the Tigers, both have been in good recent form. However, I think a couple of factors will swing the game the Tigers way. Firstly, they have more talent than the Crows across the field. Secondly, while I think the Crows can pressure the Tigers, I don't think the Tigers will allow their game plan to collapse like it did last week. Finally, I think Frawley would have impressed upon his players to prove to everyone that last week was an aberration. It will be a hard fought contest, but in the end, the Tigers should get over the line by a not-so-
comfortable goal or two.
- Shinboners
http://www.afltips.com/people/shinboners.html
**********
Carlton v. Brisbane
Saturday, 19 May 2001 - Optus Oval 2:10 PM
They may be the king of the jungle but even Lion's get the Blues once in a while. In fact, a Lion without courage is merely an extra in 'The Wizard Of Oz.'
I had a Lion's fan tell me this week that Brisbane have a good record at Optus Oval overall including games against the Dogs and Fitzroy. Well, I instantly flashed on Warwick Capper kicking the goal that ended Robert Walls' coaching career with Carlton and accepted the statement graciously.
Closer scrutiny tells me that Brisbane have won only two from thirteen matches played at Optus. My confidence here is somewhat restored. The Lions are a great side to watch in full flight. The problem is that too many teams know how to clip their wings. Carlton are most definitely one of those teams.
According to a lot of scribes, the Blues forward line is not much good?
Fevola is inconsistent! Whitnall is under too much pressure! ... and there is not much else to write home about! Take a longer look. With Hickmott, Lappin and Koutoufides rotating through the forward 50 regularly and a goalkicking midfielder in Camporeale in fine touch, the options look tantalising. Add to that, the luxury of being able to ease Silvagni back in to the side by 'resting' him in the square and you start to see some real
goalkicking potential.
Carlton do lack height in defense but the resolve is still there. Christou has returned in fine fettle and Manton, Beaumont, Hotton, Massie and McKay are capable of holding it all together especially when they can enlist the services of Kouta, Whitnall and Sos on a rotational basis.
The Lions options are not so obvious. They have some quality mid-size players at both ends and a good example of this is the returning Chris Scott and Luke Power who cause some real problems for the opposition in defence and on the forward line respectively. Add in the brilliance of Michael Voss, the ball getting ability of Nigel Lappin and Craig McRae and the Lions more than match the Blues across the ground.
Clark Keating is also back this week but may find it tough to slip into top form immediately. Beau McDonald will find it tough against Mark Porter in the ruck. Porter found the going tough against Steven King last week and will be keen to make amends. Porter is just as mobile as McDonald but wins out on the strength front. Justin Leppitsch is missing and Daniel Bradshaw has been dropped again. Alastair Lynch is best suited in the goal square these days while Mal Michael is predominantly a backman. Jonathan Brown is inexperienced away from his roving centre half forward role which leaves only Darryl White as the key position swingman should things start to go wrong.
The Blues have brought back Jordan Doering and rightly so, while Simon Fletcher has been sent to find some form in the V.F.L. Unfortunately, Jim Plunkett has been left wasting his god given talents in the two's again. Michael Mansfield is the logical player under the pump and will be hoping for a good one here.
Nonetheless, the Blues have the capability to turn on the power and have the better of the recent encounters against Brisbane. While in Oz, the Lion may have eventually found its courage but the Blues will be the ones proving that there is no place like home!
Blues by 20
Tigers by 33
Hawks by 60
Roos by 1
Port by 40
Bombers by 45
Dogs by 13
Dockers by 10
Cheers ....
- Old Dark Navys
http://www.afltips.com/people/olddarknavys.html
Round 8 - 18 May 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
+----------+
By the way û I've noticed that the formatting of this newsletter stuffs up in some MS Outlook versions. This is due entirely to the utter uselessness of Microsoft programmers and their attempts to program 'intelligence' into the formatting in Outlook.
+----------+
INDEX
1) Prize Draw
2) Quiz Questions from The Half Back Flanker
3) "Out of Bounds" û Phil Doyle sounds off.
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
This week's winner of a footy geurnsey stubby holder is a 'Pies supporter. More details as they come to hand.
Read about the prize draw here:
http://www.afltips.com/prizedraw.html
Until next time,
Adrian Appleyard
adrian@afltips.com
+----------+
2) Footy Quiz No. 008 - Questions
by The Half Back Flanker
http://www.afltips.com/people/halfbackflanker.html
1. Name the only players to have won two Norm Smith Medals? 2. How many premierships have Collingwood won?
3. Which team did Richmond record its highest ever score against?
4. Which two players tied for the 1996 Brownlow Medal?
5. Which player was the leading goalkicker for West Coast in their inaugural season (1987)?
Answers are at the end of this newsletter.
+----------+
3) Out of Bounds
- Phil Doyle's Bit
http://www.afltips.com/people/phildoyle.html
They Call Me Bruce
'I go to the football to cheer for my team
I go to the football to hear myself scream.'
Dave Warner - 'Suburban Boy'.
I've always been a big wrap for Bruce McAvaney. There's something special about this guy. I think he's one of the best, if not THE best, commentator going around at the moment. This is vintage McAvaney, who's commentating some of the best commentary of his career. This is a man who has turned the cliche into a virtuoso art form.
Which is probably why the AFL is set to crack down on those amateurs who like to pass their time at the footy by offering friendly bits of advice to opposition players and supporters, along with speculation on the aforementioned's parentage. They get a lot of angst out of the system that would otherwise be spent on your typical drive by staring on Springvale Road.
'What are ya?'
'What are you?'
In fact, probably the only commentator in the game really eclipsing Bruce is SBS's work experience commentator, Ed Wyatt, whose Friday night segments on Malvern Star World Sport are truly special. Last week, f'rinstance, we found out that Freo are oh and six, when everyone else has been saying they are oh and dear.
As for Freo, well, I blame former Hockeyroos coach Rick Charlesworth. It's not Damian Drum's fault. He brought Charlesworth in to explain to the Freo lads what winning was all about - which has obviously been a runaway success. Maybe Drum might have more success if he started flaying into his players with one of Ric's old hockey sticks.
It's interesting to note that the only win Freo have had all year in any recognised competition is against the supposedly unassailable Hawks during the Civil Aviation Safety Authority Cup.
The greatest Fullback of the century, known as Sos to his friends and enemies alike, took the AFL to new territory by wearing a codpiece into last week's game against Geelong in an effort to protect the family jewels. Sos's misfortune has a precedent in the 1938 Grand Final when 'Soapy' Vallence (or was it Bob Chitty) bit Ron Todd's balls. Traditionalists throughout the game nod knowingly whenever the squirrel grip is mentioned. Wira, when he was at Footscray, resorted to the involuntary nip and tuck on at least one occasion - which should give the brains trust at Freo something to work with in the coming weeks.
And as for Sos, well I'd want to protect any kind of jewels while John Elliott was in the room.
It's good that the AFL is cracking down on these amateur McAvaneys in the outer. Now that they've sanitised everything on the field, we can now sanitise everything off the field as well. Spectators WILL enjoy themselves and they WILL behave in a manner as determined by the AFL.
This involves sitting quietly except for those times when it is necessary to open wallets and purses in order to contribute yet more hard earned readies into the pockets of the senior executives of the AFL.
The AFL senior executives remain as untouchable as an umpire, with the unfortunately named Matthew Head getting his ounce of attention after going the hip and shoulder last weekend. I think the umpies doing it for attention. Everyone knows they're attention ****s.
The AFL's experiment with the free market is continuing according to the HIH Insurance model with the Kangaroos posting a $1.14 million loss last year, despite having won two of the last five premierships.
Imagine how well they'd be doing if they'd had some success on the field. North Melbourne Spokesman Miller said that although the Kangaroos were membership-based, they were already effectively privately owned, because a group of six or eight people had controlled the club's shares for the last 15 years.
Which makes you wonder why anyone would bother taking out a membership (oh, that's right, there's the administrators salaries to pay isn't there). It also explains why it was so easy for the club to dump the North Melbourne tag and become the first lost tribe of the AFL. Carlton used to own $150,000 worth of North shares, which is off in the realms of the bizarre. What are they, the Carlton Kangaroos? John Elliott would buy shares in his own death if it were publicly listed.
Now Rupert 'Monty Burns' Murdoch is set to become another tribal chief, with rumours abounding that North has a principle of one person one vote, and Rupert is set to become the one person with that one vote. People don't follow teams, they follow clubs. And it remains to be seen whether or not they will support a homogenised entity, especially given the AFL's litany of broken promises, which is consistent with the rest of corporate Australia. At least they stuck to their deal to not close the roof at The Source Of All Our Misery unless it was absolutely necessary.
'Whether we like it or not, although uniquely Australian, Aussie Rules is a tribal code.' Says Queenslander Ross Fitzgerald. And there was silly me thinking it was a business enterprise.
Phil Doyle - flying over the pack to take a screamer.
This weeks mail:
ben@labourhireaustralia.com.au writes, after a fashion:
as a queenslander, i love hearing you winge about the death of the game in victoria. For all i care, you can all die!
auskick is not compulsory hear and our club clinic of 30 kids last year is 60 this year with my son attending a school clinic with 50 kids. this is a first run at a school in our area.
Qld had number 1 draft pick and nephew of a workmate has been pick up by Hawthorne. we are exporting players from up here. maybe it is an attitude we instill up here. It is the AFL now, you had your chance and blew it!
Victorian clubs complain about special concession to interstate clubs, at least we do not breach the salary cap like the evil empire!
Well said ben, what a fantastic understanding of history. I'm glad to hear that along with auskick that spelling isn't compulsory as part of the queensland education system either. No doubt when the game dies in the Southern states it will continue to thrive in the heartland of Queensland.
Just ask the people at Mayne what a riproaring success the national competition has been.
If you would like to receive the very irregular and factually unreliable Out Of Bounds directly via email then send a message to phildoyle33@hotmail.com. Out Of Bounds can also be seen at the wonderful http://www.afltips.com/ website.
[Actually Phil, Ben spells pretty well compared to Joffa! û AA]
+----------+
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.)
**********
Richmond v. Adelaide
Friday, 18 May 2001 - MCG 7:40 PM
This week, we have a Richmond team who were horribly exposed by Essendon last week and looking to redeem some sort of lost pride up against an Adelaide side, that whilst not quite back in town could be considered to be skirting the outskirts of it.
Danny Frawley has set the challenge to his players to make a statement about themselves. It wasn't the fact that Richmond lost to Essendon, it was the way they lost. He's aware that a defeat against Adelaide on top of last week's effort could put enough doubt into his own player's minds about their own abilities and result in opposition teams taking advantage and cause a mini-slump for the Tigers. After all, in recent years, it has been a bugbear for the Tigers that they could never string together more than 2 or 3 wins in a row, and whenever they did manage to do that, they'd go on and lose a corresponding 2 or 3 games in a row to even up the ledger. Thus for Richmond, rebounding from last week's loss will give a great indication of their mental strength.
Meanwhile, Gary Ayres knows that an Adelaide win will take from the outskirts of town to somewhere that's a lot closer to the town square. The Crows have quietly gone about their business, taking opposition scalps as they arise, and slowly building momentum. In a reverse situation to Richmond, a win for the Crows will put doubt into opposition club's minds (they will not take it for granted that they'll get four easy points) and give the Crows confidence to create enough momentum to string a further 3 or 4 wins in a row. The Crows wins have been against Carlton, the Kangaroos, and Fremantle, and none of these clubs have set the world alight this season, but they did have a credible loss against the Hawks. Still, while four points is four points, there are doubts about whether the Crows can mount a challenge for the finals or not. However, what must be admired about these wins is the way they've gone about it. They've won the contested ball and worked hard enough to ensure they've kept their noses in front of the opposition.
Comparing the two sides, it's beyond doubt that Richmond will have far more natural talent on the field than the Crows. But the Crows have heart and a couple of players by the names of McLeod and Jarman who could win the game by themselves, and more ominously for the Tigers, both have been in good recent form. However, I think a couple of factors will swing the game the Tigers way. Firstly, they have more talent than the Crows across the field. Secondly, while I think the Crows can pressure the Tigers, I don't think the Tigers will allow their game plan to collapse like it did last week. Finally, I think Frawley would have impressed upon his players to prove to everyone that last week was an aberration. It will be a hard fought contest, but in the end, the Tigers should get over the line by a not-so-
comfortable goal or two.
- Shinboners
http://www.afltips.com/people/shinboners.html
**********
Carlton v. Brisbane
Saturday, 19 May 2001 - Optus Oval 2:10 PM
They may be the king of the jungle but even Lion's get the Blues once in a while. In fact, a Lion without courage is merely an extra in 'The Wizard Of Oz.'
I had a Lion's fan tell me this week that Brisbane have a good record at Optus Oval overall including games against the Dogs and Fitzroy. Well, I instantly flashed on Warwick Capper kicking the goal that ended Robert Walls' coaching career with Carlton and accepted the statement graciously.
Closer scrutiny tells me that Brisbane have won only two from thirteen matches played at Optus. My confidence here is somewhat restored. The Lions are a great side to watch in full flight. The problem is that too many teams know how to clip their wings. Carlton are most definitely one of those teams.
According to a lot of scribes, the Blues forward line is not much good?
Fevola is inconsistent! Whitnall is under too much pressure! ... and there is not much else to write home about! Take a longer look. With Hickmott, Lappin and Koutoufides rotating through the forward 50 regularly and a goalkicking midfielder in Camporeale in fine touch, the options look tantalising. Add to that, the luxury of being able to ease Silvagni back in to the side by 'resting' him in the square and you start to see some real
goalkicking potential.
Carlton do lack height in defense but the resolve is still there. Christou has returned in fine fettle and Manton, Beaumont, Hotton, Massie and McKay are capable of holding it all together especially when they can enlist the services of Kouta, Whitnall and Sos on a rotational basis.
The Lions options are not so obvious. They have some quality mid-size players at both ends and a good example of this is the returning Chris Scott and Luke Power who cause some real problems for the opposition in defence and on the forward line respectively. Add in the brilliance of Michael Voss, the ball getting ability of Nigel Lappin and Craig McRae and the Lions more than match the Blues across the ground.
Clark Keating is also back this week but may find it tough to slip into top form immediately. Beau McDonald will find it tough against Mark Porter in the ruck. Porter found the going tough against Steven King last week and will be keen to make amends. Porter is just as mobile as McDonald but wins out on the strength front. Justin Leppitsch is missing and Daniel Bradshaw has been dropped again. Alastair Lynch is best suited in the goal square these days while Mal Michael is predominantly a backman. Jonathan Brown is inexperienced away from his roving centre half forward role which leaves only Darryl White as the key position swingman should things start to go wrong.
The Blues have brought back Jordan Doering and rightly so, while Simon Fletcher has been sent to find some form in the V.F.L. Unfortunately, Jim Plunkett has been left wasting his god given talents in the two's again. Michael Mansfield is the logical player under the pump and will be hoping for a good one here.
Nonetheless, the Blues have the capability to turn on the power and have the better of the recent encounters against Brisbane. While in Oz, the Lion may have eventually found its courage but the Blues will be the ones proving that there is no place like home!
Blues by 20
Tigers by 33
Hawks by 60
Roos by 1
Port by 40
Bombers by 45
Dogs by 13
Dockers by 10
Cheers ....
- Old Dark Navys
http://www.afltips.com/people/olddarknavys.html