TAR - Finals Series 2008

[Gyroscope_182]

Welcome,

This is my first story, so be generous. I have looked around the Gaming Stories board and found some interesting stories along the way, but mainly looked to see the TAR ones, supported well by members such as Pie 4 Life. I felt a passion to do my own, but a small one to start.

I have simmed the entire season up until the finals, using 2008 lists acquired. I am not playing any of these games, well, finals, and will be taking you through a detailed journey in what possibly could be the 2008 finals series.

The simmed results are quite good, for the home and away season, which will be provided.

Enjoy

 

[Gyroscope_182]

Monday, September 1

The Finals Series was launched last night with the AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou announcing the official games, times and venues for the first week of the 2008 AFL Finals Series. With the conclusion of the Home and Away Season, Round 22 did pull great disappointment, with Brisbane Lions and Fremantle needing wins to advance, but missing out.

The matches were constructed in time slots to attract the biggest potential numbers turning up, with Hawthorn and Collingwood, and St Kilda and Geelong, both playing under the sun, while West Coast and North Melbourne will get the series underway at Subiaco. Western Bulldogs will host Sydney at the Telstra Dome to get a near capacity crowd of 50,000.

1st Elimination Final
Friday Night, Subiaco, 6:45PM Local Time
West Coast vs North Melbourne

1st Qualifying Final
Saturday Afternoon, MCG, 2:30PM Local Time
Hawthorn vs Collingwood

2nd Elimination Final
Saturday Night, Telstra Dome, 7:45PM Local Time
Western Bulldogs vs Sydney

2nd Qualifying Final
Sunday Afternoon, MCG, 2:30PM Local Time
St Kilda vs Geelong

 

[Gyroscope_182]

Season by Numbers

Fraser Gehrig has been the surprise with his third Coleman Medal, coming after retirement, then being re-drafted. Travis Cloke was close behind, where the 21 year-old best and fairest winner has once again added to his game. Nathan Thompson and Daniel Bradshaw both showed that knee reconstructions haven't disrupted their career for too long, both with great returns.

 

[TheDodgers]

great story mate keep it up, well presented

 

[Gyroscope_182]

Tuesday, September 2

All-Australian Team Nominees

The AFL, with assistance from clubs, have reached their short-list for the 2008 All-Australian Team of 40 players. 11 defenders, 14 midfielders, 11 forwards and 4 ruckman were shortlisted.

Geelong and St Kilda were well represented, with six and five each, as Fremantle had four representatives. The All-Australian Team, picked next week after the Qualifying Finals, will bring the squad down to the traditional 22 players in positions.

Alistair Clarkson, Ross Lyon, Mark Thompson and Mick Malthouse all were picked, with no guesses there as they represent the top four sides.

Defenders
Nathan Bassett (Adelaide)
Heath Shaw (Collingwood)
Adam McPhee (Essendon)
Mark McVeigh (Essendon)
Dean Solomon (Fremantle)
Josh Gibson (Kangaroos)
Chris Newman (Richmond)
Matt Maguire (St Kilda)
Craig Bolton (Sydney)
Darren Glass (West Coast)
Brian Harris (W Bulldogs)

Midfielders
Simon Black (Brisbane Lions)
Chris Judd (Carlton)
Scott Burns (Collingwood)
Jason Johnson (Essendon)
Jimmy Bartel (Geelong)
Joel Corey (Geelong)
Shane Crawford (Hawthorn)
Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
Brett Deledio (Richmond)
Nick Dal Santo (St Kilda)
Lenny Hayes (St Kilda)
Daniel Kerr (West Coast)
Jason Akermanis (W Bulldogs)
Scott West (W Bulldogs)

Rucks
Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle)
Brad Ottens (Geelong)
Jeff White (Melbourne)
Dean Cox (West Coast)

Forwards
Brett Burton (Adelaide)
Travis Cloke (Collingwood)
Jeff Farmer (Fremantle)
Matthew Pavlich (Fremantle)
Gary Ablett (Geelong)
Steve Johnson (Geelong)
Cameron Mooney (Geelong)
Danny Meyer (Richmond)
Fraser Gehrig (St Kilda)
Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
Barry Hall (Sydney)

Danny Meyer (Rich), Heath Shaw (Coll) and Josh Gibson (Roos) were the young nominated trio of 2008 after stellar seasons

 

[Gyroscope_182]

Wednesday, September 3

Rising Star a two-horse race?

In what has been a terrific season yet again, the only downside may have been injuries to young guns expected to shine during 2008. With David Armitage and Mitch Clark having season ending injuries, while Trent Cotchin, Rhys Palmer and Garrick Ibbotson as well as Ricky Petterd all struggling with niggling injuries kept them to limited games.

However, Carlton indigineous midfielder Joe Anderson and Collingwood backman Nathan J. Brown look to have the pole positions in winning this years Ron Evans Medal. Anderson provided 19 games to the Blues with a handful of goals and fifteen touches a game while Brown, the favourite, played all but round one, in a top four side. He covered the losses of Tyson Goldsack and Harry O'Brien who played three games between them due to osteitis pubis and a broken leg respectively. Brown also averaged thirteen disposals and kicked four goals.

Collingwood's Ben Reid, Port Adelaide's Alipate Carlile and Essendon's Leroy Jetta are also expected to push for a win, but unlikely.

Nominees

Magpie Ben Reid, Bomber Leroy Jetta, and Lion Matthew Leuenberger are all outsiders for the Ron Evans Medal

 

[Gyroscope_182]

Thursday, September 4

Teams: Week One

Friday, September 5

1st Elimination Final, Subiaco, 6:45PM
West Coast vs North Melbourne

WEST COAST
B: Wirrpanda, Hunter, Thomson
HB: B Jones, Glass, Hurn
C: Embley, Braun, A Selwood
HF: Brown, Seaby, LeCras
F: C Jones, Lynch, Staker
Foll: Cox, Fletcher, Kerr
I/C: Butler, Armstrong, Stenglein, Nicoski

IN: B Jones, C Jones, Seaby
OUT: Graham (suspended), Rosa, Masten

NORTH MELBOURNE
B: Gibson, Lower, Hansen
HB: Sinclair, Brown, Power
C: Harvey, Simpson, Davies
HF: Sansbury, Petrie, Jones
F: Edwards, Thompson, Harding
Foll: McIntosh, Wells, Grant
I/C: Harris, Hale, Rawlings, Watt

IN: Davies, Edwards, Hansen, Lower, Sansbury
OUT: Firrito (leg), Pratt (suspended), Grima, Smith, Tarrant

Roos make 5 changes with there defence changed, with Firrito and Pratt to miss one week. Graham is suspended while Seaby and the two Jones' come back into the side. Kennedy, Priddis and Waters all doubtful to return in 2008.

Saturday, September 6

1st Qualifying Final, MCG, 2:45PM
Hawthorn vs Collingwood

HAWTHORN
B: Jacobs, Gilham, Guerra
HB: Brown, Croad, Birchall
C: Lewis, Crawford, Clarke
HF: Bateman, Roughead, Williams
F: Dew, Boyle, McEntee
Foll: Campbell, Mitchell, Hodge
I/C: Ellis, Ladson, Murphy, Dawson

IN: Dew, McEntee, Murphy
OUT: Rioli (hamstring), Dowler, Renouf

COLLINGWOOD
B: Lonie, Prestigiacomo, Brown
HB: H Shaw, Wakelin, Lockyer
C: Didak, Swan, Burns
HF: Pendlebury, Rocca, Egan
F: Medhurst, Cloke, Reid
Foll: Wood, Holland, O'Bree
I/C: Rusling, Bryan, R Shaw, Johnson

IN: Medhurst, Rusling
OUT: Davis (finger), Barham

Pies still without Fraser for another fortnight while Davis will miss with a finger injury after three goals last week. Hawthorn still miss Franklin for another two-three games with a back injury. Sewell won't return for finals.

2nd Elimination Final, Telstra Dome, 7:45PM
Western Bulldogs vs Sydney

WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: Hargrave, Wight, Williams
HB: Griffen, Harris, Morris
C: Eagleton, Cooney, Griffen
HF: Grant, Welsh, Akermanis
F: Johnson, McDougall, Higgins
Foll: Hudson, Murphy, Boyd
I/C: Ray, Giansiracusa, Harbrow, Callan

IN: Wight
OUT: Everitt (hip)

SYDNEY
B: Roberts-Thomson, Barry, Crouch
HB: Kennelly, C Bolton, Bevan
C: McVeigh, Mattner, Buchanan
HF: O'Keefe, Goodes, O'Loughlin
F: Davis, Hall, Playfair
Foll: Jolly, Kirk, J Bolton
I/C: Mathews, Everitt, Ablett, Fosdike

IN: Bevan
OUT: Malceski

Malceski is dropped for Swans after poor month, while Bevan has averaged 28 touches for the reserves side. Everitt will miss while West still has two weeks remaining on his suspension, as Gilbee is still one week away which hurts as Cross will be out for 4 months.

Sunday, September 7

2nd Qualifying Final, MCG, 2:45PM
St Kilda vs Geelong

ST KILDA
B: Goddard, Hudghton, L Fisher
HB: X Clarke, Maguire, S Fisher
C: Harvey, Hayes, Birss
HF: Schneider, Riewoldt, C Gardiner
F: Koschitzke, Gehrig, Milne
Foll: King, Dal Santo, Ball
I/C: R Clarke, M Gardiner, Fiora, Baker

IN: R Clarke, Fiora
OUT: Gwilt, McEvoy

GEELONG
B: Taylor, Scarlett, Enright
HB: Milburn, Harley, Rooke
C: Byrnes, Ablett, Corey
HF: Ling, Mooney, Chapman
F: Hawkins, Ottens, Stokes
Foll: Blake, S Johnson, Bartel
I/C: Prismall, Lonergan, D Johnson, Mackie

IN: Blake, Byrnes, Mackie, Prismall, Taylor
OUT: Egan (back), Kelly (hamstring), Selwood, Simpson, Tenace

St Kilda come in with close to full strength, still without Gram and Montagna with injury, while Geelong made some cuts of Selwood and Tenace while Egan and Kelly were forced out. Prismall and Taylor come back from the sidelines while Wojcinski will miss the rest of season.

Brent Prismall (Geelong) and Brett Jones (West Coast) will return from injury for the Finals.

 

[Gyroscope_182]

Friday, September 5

Eagles advance after controlled second half

West Coast have delivered an easy victory over the Kangaroos to advance to the Semi-Finals of the 2008 AFL Season. After a close first half, the home side won 14.14 (98) to 10.9 (69) in front of a sell-out crowd of 43,596 at Subiaco Oval.

West Coast were inspired and lead all night by giant ruckman Dean Cox, who managed 22 disposals, 9 marks and kicked two goals, as well as demonstrating good touch in the ruck. A proven performer, the All-Australian Cox, who will be looking at his fourth guernsey next week, was everywhere around the ground. He had good support from veterans Michael Braun and Chad Fletcher, while Mark LeCras played a key role at half forward.

Nathan Thompson was the lone hand up forward for the Roos, booting four goals, while given no support. He also took ten marks, three which were contested on Darren Glass. Drew Petrie played at both ends but couldn't do any damage on the scoreboard while Daniel Wells was terrific.

West Coast will play the loser out of Hawthorn and Collingwood at the MCG, most likely next Friday Night.

West Coast 5.4 6.7 11.14 14.14 (98)
North Melbourne 2.2 6.2 8.5 10.9 (69)

Goals: West Coast: Staker 3, Seaby, Cox 2, LeCras, C Jones, B Jones, Hurn, Embley, Lynch, Brown. North Melb: Thompson 4, McIntosh, Harding, Wells, Harvey, Watt, Sansbury.

Best: West Coast: Cox, LeCras, Fletcher, Braun, Staker, Hurn, Selwood. North Melb: Thompson, Wells, Petrie, Simpson, Lower.

Injuries: West Coast: Nil. North Melb: Nil.

Reports: West Coast: Nil. North Melb: Nil.

Crowd: 43,596 at Subiaco

Dean Cox was too good for Hamish McIntosh in all four quarters.

 

[HBK619]

Very good story so far, immaculately presented too!

 

[Gyroscope_182]

Saturday, September 6

Dogs hold off tight Swans in Dome thriller

In another thrilling final with Sydney involved, this time the Western Bulldogs were the opposing side strangled by Paul Roos gameplay, however it didn't mean a problem under the Telstra Dome roof for the young Dogs. A one-goal each final term kept the game in aww, as the home side recorded a 10.19 (79) to 10.12 (72) victory in front of 44,512 fans.

Without Scott West, Daniel Cross or Lindsay Gilbee, the youth were lead by Daniel Giansiracusa (23 touches, 2 goals) and Dale Morris (25 disposals, 11 marks) to get over the line. Impressive signs were also shown by Andrew McDougall, who kicked a couple goals but provided an essential forward target, taking a dozen marks. Youngster Jarrad Grant, was also damaging playing at both ends.

The Swans were without a starring forward, where Barry Hall and Adam Goodes kicked two goals between them, but missed a combined eight times. Goodes, manned by Brian Lake, was well held.

The Swans bow out of the Finals Series, while the Dogs live another day, set to face the weakest of the Saints and Geelong next Saturday Night at the MCG.

Western Bulldogs 1.4 5.7 9.13 10.19 (79)
Sydney 3.5 4.6 9.8 10.12 (72)

Goals: Bulldogs: McDougall, Giansiracusa 2, Cooney, Hudson, Welsh, Akermanis, Griffen, Johnson. Sydney: Davis, Kennelly, Kirk, Everitt, Goodes, Bevan, O'Keefe, Hall, O'Loughlin, Playfair.

Best: Bulldogs: Morris, Giansiracusa, McDougall, Harris, Cooney, Grant, Griffen, Eagleton. Sydney: Mattner, Kennelly, O'Loughlin, Buchanan, Barry.

Injuries: Bulldogs: Nil. Sydney: Crawford (back)

Reports: Bulldogs: Nil. Sydney: Nil.

Crowd: 44,512 at Telstra Dome

Dale Morris and Daniel Giansiracusa stood up for the Bulldogs in their seven-point Elimination Final against Sydney..

 

[Pie 4 Life]

There is only so well you can present a story. As of now I've realised, this is the pinnacle. Well done mate, I am stunned at your brilliant presentation and clear time and effort put into it!