AFL 2011

[Troy]

I would love to know how much money the umpires had on Richmond to beat North. The umpiring was shocking and even the commentators were disgusted at it as were the panel on After the Bounce.

Petrie was impeded 15m in front of goal when we were 12 points up yet no free kick given. Paul Roos can't believe it in the commentary box. Richmond get a goal out of it.
Pratt was taken out by King head high yet no free kick given. Paul Roos disgusted in the commentary box. Richmond get a goal.
Dustin Martin ducks into a tackle holds the ball, umpire blows the whistle, everyone thinks it is for holding the ball but it is for head high even though he ducked. None of the commentators can believe it and Richmond kick a goal.

That was just in a span of about 15 minutes in the last quarter and it was just a joke.

Hope that something comes of this, the umpires have to at least be dropped for a couple of games.

 

[Troy]

A great round of AFL last week. So many close matches and some huge crowds turned up for the big matches. The only negative was there was so long between games.

AFL tv rights were announced and it is a huge $1.25 billion. Seven and Foxtel win the rights with Foxtel getting five games a week and Seven four games. Foxtel will also be allowed to broadcast live games that are on Seven so that every game is live in every state. I am really happy with this because I hate games that aren't live and I hate when FTA and Foxtel show the same game.

So far this round West Coast thumped Melbourne and Carlton beat a lacklustre Sydney. Carlton took time to get going whereas Sydney were just too stop start.

 

[Troy]

Yesterday North Melbourne finally won a game for the season defeating Port 133-73. It should have been a much bigger win since we were yet again inaccurate in front of goal kicking 18.25. Richmond defeated a fighting Brisbane team 124-98. Riewoldt kicked five and Dustin Martin keeps showing that he is going to be one of the best players in the competition in the future. Adelaide surprisingly defeated St Kilda last night 90-71. St Kilda are in all sorts of trouble this season and need to cut a lot of players from their list at the end of the season.

Earlier today Essendon threatened to break all records against Gold Coast. 94-1 at quarter time! I missed the first half of the game because I was watching UFC 129 and I was shocked when I saw the score. The finished the game 197-58 so unfortunately they couldn't score 200. Riemers kicked 8 goals and it was just an incredible performance by Essendon. Gold Coast play Brisbane next week and will need to forget about this game quickly.

Collingwood vs Western Bulldogs has just started. Should be a good win to Collingwood.

 

[Andrew]

I'm watching Pies/Dogs via a stream; leading at quarter time 18-7.

Carn them Doggies!

 

[Troy]

Dogs started quickly but then just couldn't score at all. They are lucky Collingwood haven't found their radar in front of goal yet. 33-18 at half time.

 

[Troy]

Collingwood 105 Western Bulldogs 57.

Bulldogs were in the game right up to five minutes into the last quarter until Collingwood kicked 8 goals in 18 minutes. Leigh Brown kicked four goals in the final quarter. Bulldogs are suffering due to injuries and need more forward options. Has Patrick Vespremi been playing? Robert Murphy needs to stay up forward rather than be a rebounding defender. Collingwood just have all the tricks.

 

[Andrew]

Veszpremi hasn't played a game yet. He's been down with injury I believe, major blow

 

[Troy]

Damn. He would be good up front since he showed promise at Sydney and at Western Bulldogs he could cement a spot in a team which needs more targets up forward. Hall should be back next week I think.

 

[Troy]

Tonight Hawthorn struggled against Port which was surprising. It was a close game until the final quarter when Hawthorn kicked away from Port. In the end they won by 32 but it wasn't as convincing as it should have been.

 

[Troy]

Another week and another North loss, at least this time we were expected to lose since we played Geelong. So many skill errors from North defenders and we need to make some big selection changes. Geelong look very good and next friday nights game against Collingwood should be a great battle.

Western Bulldogs lost for the third week in a row with Sydney winning by eight points. Western Bulldogs have only won two out of their six games so far and are struggling this year and it will be a challenge to make the top four since a lot of teams are challenging this year. Bulldogs desperately need another big forward target other than Hall.

Richmond surprisingly thrashed Fremantle 148-99. They work so well as a team and look good for the future. Fremantle have now lost eight in a row at the MCG and AFL need to start giving them more games there.

The big one last night was Gold Coast beating Brisbane by eight points in a high scoring match. A lot of umpire errors but it was even for both sides. Brennan and Krakouer were standouts for the Gold Coast but the whole team was great. Two wins is more than many predicted that they would get for the whole year let alone six rounds. They play Adelaide next week so that is another chance for a win. Brisbane are 0-6 and Voss looks like he will be out of a job at the end of the year.

Today Essendon defeated West Coast by 16 points. West Coast were on top early but didn't score a goal in the third quarter. Essendon are third at the moment and keep surprising as do West Coast who have looked strong even against top teams.

Adelaide were pathetic today and that is why I think Gold Coast are a great chance to win next week. Melbourne, a team that had only beaten Brisbane and Gold Coast this year, thrashed Adelaide 149-53. Excellent come back for Melbourne who controlled the ball the entire match.

Tomorrow night Carlton face St Kilda. For some reason I think that St Kilda will win, there have been enough upsets this season so nothing would surprise me.

This has been a very interesting season so far. Not what I expected at all from most teams. Collingwood and Geelong are the clear top two and the gap to the next team is quite large. Carlton, Essendon, Hawthorn and Fremantle are all battling for the last two spots in the top four but all those teams have key weaknesses. At the other end of the table Brisbane and Port will battle it out for the wooden spoon. Brisbane are woeful without Jonathon Brown and Port are missing their captain Cassisi as well.

My team North are third to bottom but so far we have lost to West Coast, Collingwood, Fremantle, Richmond and Geelong. All those teams bar West Coast are in the top eight so we have a lot of winnable games coming up. We need to make some selection changes though because we keep giving the younger players too much latitude. Our defence is pathetic and we need to drop a few of them to make a statement.

What have you thought of the season so far and how do you rate the performance of your team so far?

 

[ants]

Collingwood and Geelong, a lot of things have changed over the summer, but the fact that these are the two best teams in the competition is not one of them. I can't wait for next Friday night to see them go one-on-one, Collingwood fresh from a bye, and Geelong fresh from playing Kangaroos (sorry Troy). Noticed that Geelong withdrew Steve Johnson as a precautionary measure, and they subbed off big Brad Ottens (which screwed my supercoach team) just after half time to keep them fresh for the big game.

Carlton, probably considered to be the third best side in the competition at this point in time. Tied with Essendon, and lost to Collingwood, definitely what I would consider to be a surprise as I dont rate their backline, and their forward line is full of a bunch of blokes who have a tendency to go missing for major patches of games. Its clear that having the supreme midfield of Judd, Murphy, Gibbs, and now Curnow (who I played all my junior footy against) is paying major dividends.

Essendon, Sydney, Hawthorn, Fremantle:

Im throwing the Swans in this bracket, and hears why. We have only lost to Geelong and Collingwood, who have already been mentioned above. We beat Essendon, we beat the Bulldogs who when they get back to full strength are classified as a top 4 side, we beat West Coast at Subiaco who have proven to be a side on the improve this year and have got back some key players, and we tied with Melbourne at the MCG who proved today how hard they are to beat on the big ground. Therefore I consider us to be amongst the best 4-7 sides in the competition.

Essendon, a major improver, amazing what a side can do when they actually like the bloke that coaches them. Whether that means that there all a bunch of softcocks for not playing as well as they could for there previous coach, or this coach actually ha figured out how they gel properly on the field still remains to be seen.

Fremantle: lock them in for a win at Subiaco most games of the year, the thing that seems to worry me is that they lost to Richmond on the weekend, and had probably three of the four best players on the ground. The gap between there best 5 or 6 and the rest is far too big for a top 4 side I think, and they struggle away from home, meaning they will not be a contender in the last two weeks of finals.

Hawthorn: Amazing how well they play against the good sides, and still lose, but they play horribly against the crap sides and find a way to win. Keep them handy come September because they have a side full of big game players, the only problem they seem to have is bringing home the bacon.

The bottom 5: Kangaroos-stink, Port-Horrible, Brisbane- Bahahahahahaha, Adelaide-wayyyyy to inconsistent, Gold Coast- bloody happy to see theyve won two games, and will win more if they continue to play with passion.

Fighting for 8th: Saints, Bulldogs, Melbourne, Richmond, West Coast- Im more inclined to go with either saints or bulldogs at this stage even with bad starts to the season because they have great lists and just need to start putting it together. That being said, Richmond are playing like a team possessed at the moment, Melbourne are hard to beat at the G where they play a lot of games, and West Coast get 11 games at Subiaco, so really it is anyones spot. I think the top 7 are a cut above these sides at this stage though.

 

[Troy]

It was a nice warm-up for Geelong, North could only stay with them for the first one and a half quarters and after that it was curtains for North. Always good when you can rest your players ahead of a vital game to ensure they are fit. It is going to be the game of the year so far and hopefully the fans turn out in huge numbers to support both teams. Always good when the MCG is near capacity.

Carlton have surprised me because like you I don't rate their backline or forward line. Their midfield is one of the best and their small forwards keep performing week in week out. Monday's game against Saints will be a measuring stick, it is Saints season on the line and it will be a match for Carlton to show they are the third best side by winning by a convincing margin.

Sydney have flown under the radar a bit and I didn't realise that their only loses have come against Geelong and Collingwood. I definitely think top eight for the Swans I don't know if they have the forward line to push for top four. I am really liking what Everitt has done at the Swans so far and am amazed at the run he has for a taller player.

I am hoping that between rounds 8-12 North can pick up at least three wins. We play Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Gold Coast. Melbourne and Sydney will be tough games but really North should win the other three. It will be good when we get McIntosh and Bastinac back in the team as well, we need our number one ruckman back and Bastinac adds so much pace in the middle.

This year I think we will see a number of coaches being released from their contracts for missing expectations. A lot of them are out of contract this season anyway so I see a lot of changes. Rodney Eade will be gone unless he can turn around Bulldogs season. Michael Voss will be lucky to get another contract extension if Brisbane can't move off the bottom of the ladder. Neil Craig has been under the pump after last year and if they finish bottom four this year he could be gone. Primus is in his first year so he is under no threat and Scott is in his second at North so his job is safe for another year. Alistair Clarkson and Ross Lyon's contracts will be under review as well if they don't make the top four.

 

[Troy]

It is so good to see North have a strong win. We finally kicked straight and dropping Edwards to the VFL for a week did wonders. He kicked ten in the VFL last week and kicked six this week against Melbourne. Wells and Goldstein were stars as well. If we play like we did in the last three quarters for the rest of the season we should do alright. Next week is against Brisbane at the Gabba so hopefully we continue this form up there and start to get our season back on track.

Saints today were ahead of Hawthorn 33-1 at quarter time and then decided to shut up shop and were defeated by five goals with Franklin kicking 5.5. Saints need to do some rebuilding at the end of the year, they need to get rid of guys like Kosi who add nothing to the team.

Western Bulldogs found some form against Richmond in a very high scoring game and West Coast were able to beat Fremantle as well.

This season keeps getting stranger and stranger with there still no clear indication of what the top eight will look like.

 

[Troy]

I don't know why I keep watching this game. North were completely screwed by the umps yet again, the Fox Sports commentators even felt sorry for us. In that second half everything went Brisbanes way even when Simon Black gave a basketball pass that resulted in a goal yet wasn't called a throw. The Wells taps the ball, like ruckman do week in week out, and is called for a throw by that same umpire. Absolute joke and all we will get is an apology from the AFL when we should get the four points. Pathetic that the umpires are so bad, we need full time umpires. North desperately couldn't afford to lose this match and the damn umpires cost us again.

 

[Troy]

This season keeps getting stranger.

Adelaide were leading Collingwood for three quarters before Collingwood kicked eleven goals in the final quarter to win by 43 points. Hawthorn beat Sydney by a comfortable margin with Franklin kicking a bag again, 6.6. Then West Coast absolutely thumped Western Bulldogs, it was a Gold Coast style thrashing, 175-52. Josh Kennedy kicked ten for West Coast.

Crazy season so far and it makes tipping difficult.