AFL 2010

Week one of the AFL season begins. Many games look straight forward from a tipping point of view, however IMO there are some dicey games this round.
Carl vs Rich - No rocket science needed here with the Blues storming away here.
Geel vs Ess - The cats smashed the bombers last time and the trend is likely to continue.
Hawt vs Melb - Melb are in for another hard season and this game will be no easier with Franklin and Roughhead causing havoc for the Dees young defence.
Bris vs West - Although West C. have a good record up at Brissy, the Lions will be too classy and they certainly will be in the top 5 this year. Brown and Fev. combo will be closely watched no doubt!
Syd vs St.K - Syd. have a great record at ANZ St. and have many close encounters with the Saints but true class shines through in a close one.
Port vs Kang - Port are favourites here but I would not be surprised if the Kangas get up here. the Kangaroos are Port's nemesis here.
West vs Coll - Both teams stake their claims as having the strongest team in their squads for some time. The bullies here for mine but the Woods always start off slowly but motor home.
Freo vs Adel. Tricky game. Adelaide smashed the living daylights out of Freo last time. Adelaide are w/o a few great players. Can the young brigade fill those shoes. I think so. Neil Craig is classy and so are the Crows outfit.

IMO the the value games for betting are:
Freo vs Adel
Port vs Kangas

I think u are spot on with the value games. I do however like west coast with 24.5+ at $1.72ish.

Cats class prevails again. Never ride off a champion team. The cats got out to $2.30 at one stage. Thankyou and thankyou Essendon for not playing 4 quarters!

Yeah there was actually a bit of a whisper around for the Bombers MP. Reportedly those within the club were very confident that they could beat the Cats and it nearly came good for them, probably should have won I guess but should doesn't get the 4 points.
Carlton comfortable on Friday night, I don't think I've seen a Carlton side move the ball aswell as they did in the first quarter in the last decade, particularly when they were under pressure, obviously it's something they have worked on over the summer.
Hawks, Brisbane and Saints should all win and I think Port will account for North, don't really rate the Kangas. Bulldogs should keep on keeping on and beat the Woods, worth watching tho I'd say as I thought when the Bulldogs played the Pies in round 22 last year it was one of the best games of the season. Freo are quite possibly the worst team in the league, just when they look like they are finally doing the right thing and going with youth they go and get another recycled Essendon player, they needs to sack nearly everyone over there and start again. Have never been close to a flag and won't be close for the next 3 years at least, I think they are a disgrace.

Agree with some points Molly. But I will say this, sorry to offend anyone but Richmond are the worst team in the comp. Their list is terrible and the managment should be shot!

Ha ha, at the moment you're probably right MP but I think Hardwick has them going in the right direction at least. They have a couple of talented kids and I was glad to see them get rid of some of the older guys late last year. They have recruited poorly for a long time but their last year or two has been a lot better. Freo just continue to do the wrong things over and over and Mark Harvey is struggling I think and some of the things he says to the media are just absurd. Remember last year, I think Freo had lost 5 in a row and had a record of about 2-7 or something and he comes out and starts talking about how dangerous they are, saying something like other teams should be wary against us because we're dangerous. What a ridiculous thing to say and a shocking example to set, they are shit. Melbourne, Freo, Tigers and North will all struggle I would suggest but I think 3 of them r on the right track whereas Freo r just doing the same things wrong over and over again.

i think freo will be the big improvers and have backed to them to make the eight

As long as there in contention with a few rounds to go then i don't care because i will be layingoff.
$7 to me was value just like bright expectations was at the $34 before saturdays race(now $7) another nice trade....btw how's your supercoach going ? i am on 2038 points with Dangerfield Patrick, Barlow Michael, and Sandilands, Aaron to go.

Good luck Plugger. Freo won't be making the 8, period. I think the Kangas are on the right track. Not saying they are flash atm but they are developing a good bunch of players. Richmond have nothing, took a punt on Cousins, wrong again. Gee, if I was at the helm I would rake out another half of their playing list. Wake up Richmond. You have an enormous amount of loyal fan base, but do the right thing and start making decisions that will get the wins on the board and your fans smiling again!
As for Melbourne, the tag of 'We've got a young squad developing', come on how many years are they going to use that one?

Gees Mick is right. Collingwood will be right there this year, mark my words. i think they are the forgotten team in the betting.

Freo! Way to go
Hit 'em real hard
Send them down below
Freo! Give 'em the old heave-ho
We are the Freo Dockers!

Hahahahaha!!

Ignore Freo result, makes no difference. I'm willing to risk egg on my face coz I think it's a small risk. Melbourne's senior players let them down on the weekend, their kids were good. Cousins is Richmond's best player by far but there's no point him being at the Tigers because of his age, he would be good at somewhere like Brisbane who I still think need someone to break the lines. Collingwood r good MP but my concern is their bottom 4 or 5, I think they have a couple of players who r concerns and there r still some question marks over a couple of their players in big games (Leon Davis averages something like 4 possessions and less than a goal in finals). Leigh Brown worries me and at times Josh Fraser worries me, I'm still not and may never be sold on Medhurst and like Brisbane I worry about Collingwood's pace. Geelong were probably the best winners of the round I thought.

Absolute dribble molanski!

Don't know about your points about the Woods Molly. But hey, that's what this thread is for to voice your opinion whether it be right or wrong. I'm still not sold on Freo...so much promise every year and so little gains. Don't read into the Adelaide game. Crows fielded a second string team due to injuries. the Crows have a very easy first half draw but will they get their players back in time? I am worried.

I completely agree on Freo MP, every year they play a good couple of games somewhere but you watch, they will have a couple of absolutely disgraceful games (Saints game last year...pathetic!). Yeah I know a lot of people won't agree with Woods comments but I still am not sure about them, they also rely a lot on their small and medium forwards (which works most of the time) but they don't have any quality talls down there.
Horace, next time tell me what you don't agree with, don't just say 'absolute dribble', as Plugger said this thread is for us to voice opinions and have the odd debate....

I think the power are a real chance against West Coast this w/e. I know it was a NAB cup game, but sheesh Port blew them away on their home ground. If they get out of the blocks hard and early and sustain that run for 4 quarters, they will be hard to beat. port will be temting odds this w/e.

Yahoo PORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the crystal ball was clear yahoooooooooooooooo!!!

How bad were Adelaide! Just havent got the players...too many injuries and not enough balls. As I mentioned previously, don't expect much from them in the first half of the year. But will their run be too late as the second half draw for them is very hard. I am worried ;(

CHEER CHEER THE RED AND THE WHITE! HONOUR THE NAME BY DAY AND BY NIGHT! LIFT THAT NOBLE BANNER HIGH, SHAKE DOWN THE THUNDER FROM THE SKY! WHETHER THE ODDS BE GREAT OR SMALL, SWANS WILL GO IN AND WIN OVERALL, WHILE HER LOYAL SONS ARE MARCHING ONWARDS TO VICTORY!

Neil Craig OUT! Neil Craig OUT!

You are on drugs JT? It's not Neil, Adelaide just haven't got the players due to injury!

Might become the Hawks of 2010 MP, just not enough fit players and come home strong to just miss out. I get the feeling it might be a hard year to get into the eight, the Bombers got in on 10.5 wins last year which is ridiculous, don't think we'll see that this year. Probably need to get 12.

Spot on assessment Molly. As mentioned earlier, Adelaide will come home hard but the bird might have fown by then Gees, wilL Melbourne be favs against them this w/e at the G? Odds will be interesting.

last year with a full team adelaide struggled against melbourne but still won the match and it looks easy looking at the scores but being there it wasnt... i go to alot of melbourne games as my mrs follows them they will be good once they get experience but i cant see them beating the crows... collingwood dropped to there level on saturday... They attacked the ball and where very committed but still lacked the skill and composure otherwise they wouldve won by 5-6 goals... it will be scrappy against the crows with lots of numbers around the ball. Adelaide by under 39 or at the line if its around 20 points

Interesting analysis tenchy. I've had a good look through stats on the last few games this team has met. Summing it all up...Melbourne will be a great bet this weekend IMO or at least take them at a suitable line bet.

Melbourne are a twice as good at the MCG than anywhere else and i think Adelaide are twice as bad. Take that into consideration with the results this year and put aside previous seasons and expectations and Melbourne should be a short priced favourite around the $1.50 mark at the very best. I will be linking Melbourne in with my multis and having a decent crack at them head to head. There are some very good odds around this weekend i think.

Collingwood @ 2.60
Port Adelaide @ 1.91
Essendon @ 2.50
Melbourne @ 2.55
Geelong @ 1.61 are very good odds. Are the cats missing players? if so who?

On form MP, which as racing fans is what we follow, Melbourne would have to be favourites wouldn't they?

Sky, I live in Geelong and know a couple of their younger players and usually you hear mail around town but I haven't heard a thing regarding any missing players. Essendon's record against Carlton is very good in recent times but I think eventually the form has to hold up. I think Carlton have been pretty good, if Brisbane are a top 4 team then for Carlton to play the way they did last week with Bower and Judd absent that's a fantastic effort. Bombers however are battling, their forwards are giving nothing and they just seem to leak goals. I am tempted by the $2.50 due to past efforts but I reckon the Blues might buck the trend Saturday night.

Adelaide will smash the Dees, best bet of the round, over 39.5
Melbourne are vomit.

Scarlett and Mooney are suspended for the cats

Looking at the teams into more depth now that they have been published, I think I have found a 'SPECIAL'. West Coast! Why? few reasons...Kangas haven't beaten West Coast in Melboune since 1998/1999. The inclusions of Lecras and Hansen set them up nicely as to where they went wrong last week. WC went inside 50 a staggering 60 times to Port's 37 last week. IMO, I believe that the West Cost midfield can dominate and deliver effectively from the get go with the likes of Cox, Ebert, Selwood, Nit Nat, Kerr, Masten and Kennedy.
The key to West Coast winning will be their ability to negate Liam Anthony, Boomer Harvey (who had a shocker last week), Wells and Harding..
Watch the Eagles Fly!!!!
Sports Betting tips will be in tomorrow arvo. Catchya then people ;)

Oh when the saints
go marchin in
oh when the saints go marchin in
oh how i want to be in st kilda
oh when the saints go marchin in

______________________________________

I hate collingwood and i must say they are weak as yellow rain
no spirit ! and only to think two weeks ago they were talkin up there chances for 2010
Travi cloke is an coplete an utter dud
Jolly pickup of the year !! lol

Great gutsy win by the Saints. Great game IMO. Some bruised and battered bodies. The Saints defence was the best I've ever seen and kept the Woods scoreless in the last half. Class prevails again but I would not ride off a full strength woods team yet. They paid the ultimate price for not kicking straight early and therefore did not apply that important score board pressure.
Big Nick is going to be a great loss for the Sainters and i'm guessing he won't play for another 4 weeks.

Blues couldn't break their hoodoo in the Bombers. I must say that I don't support either team, but I just witnessed the worst display of umpiring ever! Holding the ball is holding the ball for goodness sake! Back to the Auskick grade for all of those umps.
Getting back to the blues....Gees, how hard is their next 5/6 games?

Neil Craig OUT! Neil Craig OUT!

What a strange round...MP, last night's game between the Blues and Bombers was a shocker. Umpires were shocking, Carlton were shocking and Bombers were just. Carlton's next month is the hardest in the league but this may actually be a good thing for them, this may sound confusing but looking through last years stats their record against the top teams was exceptional. Beaten by 11 points by Saints, smashed Dogs by 40 odd, beat Geelong pretty comfortably, smashed the Woods once by 40 odd points and then got beaten by them later in the year...it's interesting I think, they may have become one of these teams that sort of plays to the oppositions level, really good against a good Brisbane last week then terrible against a battling Essendon...

We were right about the Demons too MP, Adelaide in massive trouble now, I don't think a side has made the finals after being 0-4 for something like 20 years? So if they lose next week you'd have to say finals are almost gone (would basically have to win 12 out of 18 from that point). Next week against Carlton is huge now, if Adelaide win then both sides are struggling but have a sniff whereas Carlton win and Crows might be gone and Carlton keep in touch.

Goddamnit Freo...someone beat them already. Interesting that both Geelong and Hawks got beat though, and both sort of faded in the last quarter. I wouldn't be surprised if last weeks game caught up with them as can often happen. Same could happen for Collingwood and St. Kilda next week who play the Hawks (V Pies) and Freo (V Saints).

I saw the Geelong result coming before the game, but I don't like to bet against my own team unless the odds are fantastic and 2.50 odd wasn't great, Must admit though thought during the game i thought we'd win up until the last 10 minutes or so, Credit to Freo and Harvey i've not had any time for them in the past but they look a different team this year.

I'm going to eat my words here and agree with Steels. I have watched Freo and they are certainly a different team. Some really good up and coming players. I have been really impressed with their their defensive zone. They have finally caught up with the modern game. One player won the game...Pavlich! He is a gun. Geelong and Hawks Molly, yup smashed each other prior to last round and paid the price.
Gees, Adelaide have no players left and are in real trouble. Wow this year is wide open with the exceptions of Richmond and a few others. IMO, it will be the battle of the team that escapes with the least amount of injuries. Yeah, and that aint going to be Adelaide ;(

ADELAIDE are a great side just down on confidence, have injuries and didn't have a proper preseason.
Mark my words they will make the eight...I told you FREMANTLE were the big improvers this year and they are now into $1.35 to make the eight ! i backed them preseason at $6.80. So in Three games they have come in $6.80 - $1.35 !! the market has overreacted to there great start because there terrible in melb winning only 1 out of there last 17 matches and i expect a similar story this year maybe winning a maximum of 4 games in melb. Expected winning games for the year is between 11-13
Borderline on making the eight.

Suggested bet is ADELAIDE to make the eight at $3.50 and a small bet on ADELAIDE to make the top 4 at $26...Also back them on BETFAIR to win the premiership at the current quote of around $50, with a view to laying off when they improve, because make make no mistake ADELAIDE are a quality who will turn it around, when they are up and running they are the hardest home side to beat.

Don't forget ADELAIDE were 3 wins after 8 games last year and finished 5th ! The market always overreacts to certain teams and situations and you can make a killing on backing with a view to laying off later down the track when there in contention.

Have to agree PDucky, My home team Adelaide are awesome on their day. In saying that, yes i can remember Adelaide start last year but the huge dfference this year is that they are decimated by injuries. Their last half draw is very tough and that is when they will get some players back,, the question is, will it be too late? IMO, I think so...I hope I'm wrong!

Gees how hard is it to pick the next round?

Plugger I don't think top 4 is a good bet. I mean if they win this week they stay in touch but to be 0-4 after four rounds, you basically start the season late and have just 18 games to win 12 (probably need 12 to finish 6th, 7th, 8th and probably need 15 to make the top 4! So if they get beaten this week they would need to win 15 out of 18 which would be one of the better feats in modern football...and as MP mentioned, their second half draw is no picnic...I just think this is the Hawks of last year all over again to be honest. They CAN still make the 8, no doubt, but even though it's early the top 4 for mine will be the last thing on their minds.

Is a tough round MP, think the Weagles at home will be good enough. Not sure about Essendon. Sydney come to Arden Street (well, Etihad Staidum anyway) and should be too good for North despite a much improved effort last week. Adelaide and Carlton is tough, Blues haven't had much luck over there in recent years (although they haven't had much luck ANYWHERE in recent years) but I think they might show some character. Ratten was furious this week and Carlton training was pretty tough from what I here so it's time some of them stood up and showed some character and Juddy back helps. Brisbane I think can beat the Dogs up there with Brown the league's in form player and the Fev-Brown combo causing real problems. Collingwood and Hawks is a raffle, think the Hawks on my theory that Saints and Pies will be hurting after lasts weeks ferocious encounter. RIchmond V Melbourne, I think Melbourne win this comfortably really, their form and list is considerably better and remarkably they should be 2-1. Geelong will beat Port despite Brogan and Rodan likely to return. St. Kilda & Freo a fascinating game, last year when these two met Freo put in one of the most disgraceful displays of footy one will ever see. They shouldn't be that bad but despite their hot start the Saints might sneak home with the home advantage and despite a hard game last week...Freo don't travel well and if it was at Subiaco I'd pick them.

Eagles vs bombers is a toss of the coin job really, rumour has it lynch has signed with the gold coast hense why he isn't selected... With the success of freo they are copping it over in the west there SEN correspondsdant said yesterday. So Ill pick them on that. Sydney will beat north. Close one between dogs ans bris, I think the lions have a very good forward line with fev and brown with young banfield running around the dogs are tired after last weeks game and have a few injuries. So I'm going Brisbane.

Carlton will beat Adelaide. Hawks have the wood over my pies, but I feel this is our best chance to beat them jolly has to dominate the ruck, Dawes should come in and play as our key forward inside 50. Frustrates me Mick doesn't play him more. Both teams don't wanna lose this but I'm gonna stick with my pies. If melbourne don't beat Richmond then Melbourne should be ashamed. Melbourne will win.

Geelong will easily beat port and freo will go down in a game that will be closed down by the saints and will be interesting to see how freo handle it. Can see saints winning by 4-5 goals. The saints won't miss roo unless they are playing teams in the top 4-5 in the comp, I hope they pick stanly to replace him.

What a hard week, well I guess the positive is alot of value for those moons to align if ya got the guts and balls.

Coll vs Hawks - Initally, I would have tipped Hawks but looking through the teams and stats IMO Collingwood will get over the line by about 21 pts. The loss of Franklin for the Hawks is a big blow considering he has helped them beat Collingwood in the past with bags of 5.

Adel. vs Blues - A very brave but calculated bet here. Seen the match ups and I have Adelaide to get over the line. Fev was a key factor to them winning back a while in Adel. but hey no Fev no more. Both teams forward structure are struggling atm and make no mistake...the game will be won here. The Crows are playing for their lives and reports down at Westlakes is that the boys will be throwing everything at the Blues come first bounce. More direct footy down the guts and playing on quickly to get over the Blues zone will get them over the line.

Eagles vs Essendon - Another brave tip here but calculated. Essendon's record isn't that great at Subi, but I like the way they dug deep. Eagles have been terrible. Essendon too quick here. Bombers fly up-up...just.

Syd vs Nth Melb. - Never knock the shin boner spirit, but seriously the Swans are playing SPECIAL footy here. With little injuries to their list and the Swans working like a well oiled machined, the Swans will account for the Kangas by about 6 goals.

Lions vs WDogs - What a cracker this is going to be. The Lions will be still smarming from their massive smashing by the Doggies which ended their finals run last year. Redemption???? I'm tipping the doggies here but only just. I think they have enough to cover Browny and Fev.

Rich vs Dees - No offence but if the Dees can't get up here...they might as well hang up the boots. I think the Tigers have made 9 new inclusions and that's a record. I reckon Port Melboune could beat them atm IMO.

Geel vs Port - The cats at the Cattery with the inclusions of some players back. Can't see Port repeating that famous win a few years ago. G. Ablett = 38 disposals here.

St. K vs Freo - Last time these two teams met in Melbourne, Freo only scored a total of 28 points. For sure they are a different unit. Sainters are NickLESS but have too many stars to cover the men in purple.

Best tip from the INSIDE WORD is Adelaide this week. Brave and Bold!

Multis up about 3pm ACST.

Good luck everyone!

ADELAIDE will win, time for them too stand up because they have been dreadful and i am predicting this game to be the start of there form turnaround.

Essendon cannot possibly beat WEST COAST no way..

I am taking a multi
BRONCO'S TO WIN
STORM TO WIN
ADELAIDE TO WIN
WEST COAST TO WIN
GELL OVER 39 +
STK OVER 15+

Yes Plugger, the more and more I look at the match ups...Adelaide will win. Yes I'll be cheering in a corporate box come bounce time. Giddyup you Crow boys. Can't remember the last time Adelaide were 0-4!

Neil Craig OUT. Neil Craig OUT
Hahahaha gee whiz what sh$t cnts

Yeah was at the game and the coach has to be accountable for some of the shocking performance yesterday. U-turns should be non-negotiables, use the centre corridor and just kick the damn thing!

I might sound stupid here, but I think the swans are the real deal this year, along with brissy,geelong and the saints. The swans were awesome yesterday, brisbane showed guts last night... wont be smooth sailing for geelong this year

Yeah i watched the replay(adelaide) last night and seriously they were dreadful again but i am still sticking to them because they are just out of form, there actually a really good side but confidence wise they have lost it bigtime especially in the forward line. He needs to keep dangerfield in the midfield and perservere with tippett and burton at full forward....they will come good and remember they have stevens, hentshel, van berlo and bock to come back. I am going to have more on them to make the eight this week because don't forget they were 3 wins from 8 eight games last year and finished 5th 1 game from the top four...

if the saints get up ive gotten 8 :D shouldve done an accumulator head to head or the line.... Adelaide might as well use this year to give some younger blokes experience, sydney will be in the teams 3-6 all even but wont be good enough to beat the saints or geelong.. although the saints might be different story now with no roo

this weeks round should be pretty easy money and to pick 8 the only 2 games that are dangers of the favourites getting up is hawks/north and pies/bombers

Look so easy on paper doesnt it?

Plugger, 3 from 8 is completely different to 0-4. Since the top 8 system came in no side has ever made the 8 after being 0-4 and the last side to make the finals from 0-4 was North Melbourne in 1976! Save your money mate, there has been a lot of mail around (and there have been people in the media hinting at it too) that a lot of the players have lost all faith in Craig's gameplan and that maybe playing the way he coaches has just taken too much out of the playing group mentally and physically. Even if they get those players back they have a hard road, there's only so much that people can blame on injuries. Tippett needs to lift drastically, Burton can't expected to be the number 1 forward, they can no longer rely on Edwards, Burton, McLeod, Johncock & Goodwin. It is actually very realistic that round 7 could see the Tigers play the Crows with both teams at 0-6 and there's no making the finals from there I can guarantee that.

I am waiting until i hope they lose this week against the bulldogs and then i am going to back them at hopefully around the $15 - $20 mark...there are no guarantees in football this far out and i can guarantee you that !

Btw they will be 0-5 after this round they then play PORT ADEL which they will win, then they play RICHMOND at home - no comment, then they play NTH MELB at etihad which will be tough on there current form but hopefully they will win and then they play BRISBANE at home which if they hit form by then they will win that as well so my prediction is they will be in a similar scenario as last year being either
3-5 or at worst 3-6
I am predicting they will be 8 wins and 7 losses after 15 rounds with abit of luck...

well plugger, at the start of every year me and a few mates get together at our baseball club and do a ladder predictor... you go through the season put in the results and you pick the margins for each game at the end of the season the one with the most correct ladder wins, if there is two of the same then they go back and check the margins one with the most closet margins gets up.... out of 18 ppl we had the average games to win was at 10 to make the 8... i was one of very few that had adelaide to miss the 8 but i had them about 9th which at the start of the season i jumped on the 6-1 of them missing the 8.. They hit there straps about this time last year adelaide but i just cant see them doing it again... the team who could be the surprise packet is melbourne looking at the fixtures if they keep playin like they are now they play north x 2 adelaide again port x 2 richmond again and west coast... so if they win most of those and steal one or two others they could have 8-10 wins... highly unlikely though as they are so young you'd expect them to fade away around mid season..

Plugger, how can you say they will beat Port Adelaide? It's the derby so it should be close but on form Port would win, I admit they have two winnable games then in Richmond and North but they back that up against the two sides who are currently undefeated! My logic says they will be more like 2-8. Their run home isn't terrifying and the home games help but they still have Saints, Pies in Melbourne, Lions at the Gabba, host the Dogs, host Geelong, West Coast in Perth...I don't think they can flick the switch this year either...to be honest I reckon there's a couple of guys who could do with a week or 2 in the reserves to get some confidence back (Tippett & Porplyzia amongst others) but because of their injuries can't afford to do it.
I admire your balls mate and if they somehow get in the 8 I'll be the first to congratulate you but just can't see where the wins are going to come from...there are no guarantees yet but if they are at 0-6 then forget the finals and I reckon we may even see a mid year retirement or two.

Adelaide Injury List
Nathan Bock (hamstring) - 1-2 weeks
Trent Hentschel (knee) - TBC
Nathan van Berlo (hamstring/back) - Test
Rory Sloane (ankle) - 3-4 weeks
James Sellar (hamstring) - 2 weeks
Scott Stevens (concussion) - Test
Sam Shaw (shin) - 2-3 weeks
Brad Symes (knee) - indefinite
Brad Moran (knee) - indefinite
Brodie Martin (knee) - indefinite
Andy Otten (knee) - season
Updated April 19

PORT ADELAIDE - ADELAIDE give me a break...ADELAIDE are just playing poor football but are a much much better side than PORT and would have to only be at 75% best to beat PORT. They are probably playing at 30-40% atm. I don't think the majority remember how bad ADELAIDE were early last year
I am very confident they will come good and i don't really care if they don't make the eight..i just want them to come into contention and there price drops considerably so i can lay off and spread the profit on betfair. I said FREMANTLE would be the big improvers this year and i backed them at $6.80 guess what they are now into $1.30 ! i will be laying off after this week and spreading the profit.

Believe they are a much better side than they are showing and i am very very confident that they will turn things around in the next 6 weeks

Gotta agree with Molly here. The bird will fly and Adelaide will be too late to make the 8. Admire ya balls but cant see your bet coming off and sheesh...Port will win. And yes, I'm a bloody Crows supporter. Will be travelling to Melbourne this week for the game...why am going? Well ya just gotta go through thick and thin with your club. I now know how the Tigers and Dees fans have been feeling for sooo long. It's not a pleasant feeling...trust me!

If you picked 8 this week...yo know NOTHING about footy!

haha i got 4 this week and i didnt do an AFL multi cause i knew it was all to good to be true...Watched melbourne on saturday night at the G boy they looked good as did the pies on sunday :D pumped for carlton this week....You can now write off Richmond, Essendon, Hawthorn and Adelaide there seasons are over

I just had $2000 on ADELAIDE to make the eight at $13 !!! call me crazy but i stand by my prediction

Call me stupid too but I'm with Plugger here. I don't think Adelaide are finished...just yet. I was at the game in Melbourne. I could sense the Crows were getting back to some form for 2.5 quarters. Yes you have to play 4 qtrs to win but the point here is that they are working into form. The question is, will it be too late? That silly 10 minutes by Simon Goodwin, I have no doubt changed the complexion of the game. Bloody hell, he's the captain and those pathetic kick ins from full back gave the W.Bullies 3 easy goals on a platter. I will stand by this, the Bullies didn't play well at all...Adelaide made stupid mistakes and made them look better. I gotta have something on them to make the 8. Massive game this w/e. Call Plugger and I fools, but only a fool would doubt the calibre of an Adelaide Crows side. The question is, I will be the fool come Saturday if the Power win. Let there be a GOD and shine on Adelaide..please!

I hope you beat port as I really hate them.. You should beat Richmond but other than that I dunno tippet and the porps (who I have a man crush on) need to step up aswell rutton who is moving like my grandma at the moment... I'm writing them off but I'm happy for you guys if I'm proven wrong and I'll eat the pie if I am. Good bet this week is the blues, first time since the saints game I havnt been confident that we can get up and some agencies have Carlton at $2.35 which is just ridiculous. We are due a flat game after being set for the hawks and bombers, also I feel we have an eye on the few rounds after the roos when we play freo,Geelong and dogs again in a 4 week period

$5000 on the swans to win the minor premiership at $13. That is the best overs I have seen for a long time. Besides the saints and geelong, I think my swans are right up there with the best. I know they havent beaten much but they have done it with authority and they are only going to get better with experience playing as a team. Based on what I have seen so far this season, I think the swans are the benchmark for 2010

MP, I really only thought Adelaide played 15 minutes of good footy against the Dogs, not 2.5 quarters...it looks a tall order for them against Port I think.
How was last nights game? I think it looked bad for the Dogs and the Saints personally. Saints can't score and the Dogs were unwilling to take the game on and take a risk when they were dominating (kept kicking sideways). Saints need to find a way to kick goals, Kosi is not the answer as this bloke is just not very good I'm sorry to say. The Dogs are just all at sea I reckon, not sure what they need to fix but their consistency is a major problem.
Nudgie I wouldn't say the Swans are overs but they are reasonable value. Their next 5 weeks will give us a better idea of where they are at I reckon, still $13 is not a bad bet.
Last weeks win by the Blues was really huge I think, at the start of the season this looked like a really tough month for them but now they've smashed the Crows and beaten Geelong pretty comfortably (interestingly the only side to beat the Cats at the MCG since round 18 last year is the Blues and they've done it twice) and will be a big chance tomorrow and I think they might get St. Kilda at the right time too. Then they get a pretty smooth couple of months, Port, Hawks, West Coast, Melbourne, North Mebourne. How's that for a run? They then play the Lions which they will prob lose and then the Dogs who they have a fantastic record against. They also get West Coast, Essendon & Richmond again so suddenly their draw looks really good.

I probably wouldn't be putting too much more on the Crows to make the 8 boys...

NEIL CRAIG OUT
NEIL CRAIG OUT

Ok smart-a@#e, who would you have to replace him? BTW, out of all the coaches surveyed, they rated Neil Craig as the 2nd hardest to coach against.

Dont know about your 15 mins Molly but one thing that we'll agree on is Adelaide can't play 4 qtrs!
I'll tell ya...some of the coaching staff need to inform the players to play on and take some chances to get over the defensive zones. Adelaide looked so good when they did they against port. But again, lack of straight kicking led to lack of score board pressure. Todd Viney has definitley brought this handalling crap to Adelaide...man that is crapping me right off. BTW dont write off the tigers next week. Wooden spoon for the Crows then!

Im trying to determine whos in poorer form: Adelaide or Hawthorn? I literally cant split it... Adelaide have had a couple of excuses but their form has been awful, whilst Hawthorn have had no excuses what so ever and are still getting beat by an Essendon side plagued with injuries

The Nudge - Great Bet on Sydney. If i can get $10 for the same bet you had at the end of the round i will be following your bet.

Pluggerduck - Very poor bet on Adelaide. No one who watched Adelaides games this year would put a cent on them for the 8. They are horrible. You will go broke backing teams out of form HOPING they will find it.

MIGHTandPOWER - Adelaide supporter i am guessing?

thanks champ. The big test for my swans will be next week when they travel to Geelong. If they can beat the cats next week, I'll declare them the 2010 premiers

You betya Blacky no rocket science needed there. It just craps me how supporters call for the coaches head after a few games without without really analysing who else is at fault for their poor form.

You're right MP. Craig does have to take some blame but some of his players have really let him down. Those mid level age guys just haven't come on this year and I wouldn't be at all surprised if a few blokes there are playing for their futures at Adelaide.
Collingwood super impressive against the Blues today and their the best side in the comp right now (Blues and Pies were probably the two form sides before today). The thing was that the Blues actually played pretty well for all but the first half of the second quarter and probably would have beaten nearly every other team this week and they managed to keep Didak pretty quiet and Davis (who is becoming more and more selfish every game he plays) very quiet but Brock McLean needs to go, they made a big mistake trading such an early pick for him. I think he and Henderson might go out next week with Waite, Thornton, Johnso and Grigg all possibilities. How good is Chris Judd?! Best in the comp.
Hawthorn really bad last night at times, looked horribly slow, Roughead needs to spend some time in the reserves because he was pathetic last night, let a near 35 year old treat him like a small child, Fletcher ran off him with ease and if I was a Hawks fan I'd be disgusted in Roughead.
Next week the Crows Vs Tigers promises to be the least anticipated game in AFL/VFL history, I'd expect an attendance of around 35 including players and staff.

TheNudge i think you are right and what a good pick up Bradshaw has been. If they beat Geelong this week which i really think they can then there odds will come crashing in. I rate Sydney, Geelong and Collingwood as the 3 best so far this year so this weeks game will be a big one.
Agree with yoy Might and Power for now but if they get toppled by Richmond then i think Adelaide will be getting a new coach before the end of the year. I hope not but i think it will happen.

Surely St. Kilda have been better than the Cats at this point Blacky?

With Riewoldt YES
Without Riewoldt NO

Cannot believe Sydney are still $13 to win the minor premiership. They lost to the Saints in Rd1 in a close game that they arguably should of won minus a couple dubious umpire calls in the second half, then they won the next 6 beating a very good Brisbane in there last match. Fremantle are also not a bad price seeings they will play half there games at Subiaco. Will be having a big go at Sydney and a small one on Freo

Molanski13 - Alastair Clarkson was on Fox's 'On the Couch' last night. He mentioned Roughead was carrying a corked shin from playing in the ruck against North Melbourne the week before, and really should not have played saturday night.

sydney will have there test this week against the cats, although i am worried that injuries may ruin them..Mcglynn is having complecations apparently and they are missing there key backman bolton and ruckman seaby for an extended period, one more injury to a key player could see them fall away from top 4 side to top 8 side. The interesting game coming up this week is carlton vs st kilda... St kilda will stick to there game plan but unlike the dogs and port i think carlton will take them on and not try and beat them at there own game. If carlton can kick some goals and put scoreboard pressure on i cant see st kilda kicking enough goals unless goddard tears them a new one.

Watch for the roos collingwood game this week, we have been up for the last few weeks with some big games with some big crowds... we have freo at subi next round then the dogs, cats and sydney coming up pretty quickly aswell. So maybe expect an upset or a close scrappy game similar to when we played melbourne....First time since the saints game i havnt been confident of winning.

Adelaide will also smash richmond by 8-10 goals in adelaide

I agree on the Nrth Melb Vs Coll game tenchy. I am going to have a little bet on the roos to get up at the $4.50 for a bit of value. This week looks like loads of value. Will have a go on Port at $2.05 and West Coast at $1.75 they look very good prices

Have a point about the Woods tenchy, still think they might be able to beat North tho, they aint a brilliant side, far from it.
Totally agree on the Blues too Tench, I reckon the Blues will be thinking they've run into the Saints at the perfect time. They wil definitely take the game on and try run through the zone and if they can do it (there's no doubt they have superior pace to the Saints) they might be able to out score the Saints (I have no idea where they will find goals). Worth noting that last year when the Blues met the Saints (with Riewoldt) the Blues got beaten by 11 points. At that point teams were averaging 65 points a game against the Saints, Carlton had 61 at half time...so they will try and attack beause Ratten will know they can't beat the Saints in a contested style of game.

Agree with many points on here lads. The bet of the round is port to beat the Power at $2.15. Can't believe that. Check out the Powers dominanace over the bombers and you'll see what I mean...and yes even at Etihad Stadium!
As for the Pies...sadly I have to confess that they are a very good team this year. It just might be their time in September...Christ I hope not! Sorry to say but IMO, you guys are dreaming that the Roos can get over the Pies this w/e. The Pies will smash the living daylights out of them!
By the way, the blues are a chance w/o Reiwoldtless Saints. Yes Molly, your assesment is correct re their last encounter. They can't afford the Saints to get the first 5 goals of the match this time. Setanta coud stand tall here..he needs to!
Adelaide will win and hand the Tigers the wooden spoon in the last baton change of the relay race. I'm not really confident of a smashing but am hoping for one ;)
Finally, Sydney are playing really well, no questions about it. But with a few injuries creeping in be very wary. I don't think they will win for 2 reasons. 1. it's at the Cattery and the cats don't lose there and 2. The cats gain a few great players this week.

Final thoughts....get on Power to win...they will win in a canter IMO.
Adelaide coaching staff have finally listened to the players. No training before game day and make training interesting. C'mon Craigy..it's not rocket science...Sports Science!
And Matty Primus can you lend me $20 to put on my SPORTS MULTI for this weekend?

Port to beat the power eh MIGHT !!!! lol

11.16am shite i must be in the wrong timezone lol

Ha ha, you'd want good odds to back the Power to beat themselves MP! Bit of a typo there mate, good point about the Bombers and Power though.

LOL boys. Bloody hell it was getting late lads ;) Gees, I wish the power would knock themselves out...cross town rivalry here of course.
extra extra...read all about it!
Get on the power to shoot down the Bombers lol ;)

Spot on with the Power MP. They are goin alright actually. Quite remarkable really that Hawks and Crows were both considering top 4 chances before the season started and now both won't make the 8. The Hawks I think are almost gonna have to start again, they are too slow and their game plan has expired. I get the feeling there'll be a few blokes expendable at the end of the season and might be traded to get some pace and class in, Lewis, Birchall, Guerra, Young, Ladson, Murphy (dud) I think would all be considered.

Young wont be goin anywhere. One of there few link up players with dash and drive.

Hawks and Crows are both going to be bottom 4 teams this year with Richmond, should be a reasonably close go for the spoon.

I am a Hawks Member and it pains me to agree that Thomas Murphy is a DUD !!!!!!!

Yeah probably right on Young Soxy. I like him actually, they will need to change something tho, too many similar players. Lewis would be the one I would be looking at, he's just like Hodge and Mitchell really but not as good. I think he would have some very good value, a club like Carlton or Essendon would be very keen on him I'd suspect. Yeah you're right Gordy, he's just one of these players that comes into the system and shouldn't be playing AFL footy, every club has had them and most clubs have one or two still. Even the better clubs have a few shockers.

im hoping we lose to freo so we can a keep a lid on things at pie land and the media can put all the pressure of being the flag favourite on another side like geelong as it should be as they are the best side in the comp as they showed today by dismantling freo who are exposed down back and will miss bolton against sides like the saints(with roo), geelong, collingwood and doggies (when they are going).. they may have to swing bradshaw down back and hope that white and barlow can hold down the forward line

Geez the Crows made hard work of it, won by 50 points but with 15 minutes left in the last quarter the scores were level! Maybe they clicked for the last 15 minutes the Crows but geez it was against the undisputed worst team in the comp and for mine they were't overally convincing...Geelong however were very convincing. Just when the Pies looked certain to be p'ship favourites the Cats give Sydney a huge reality check, just to let everyone know they are still about.

Affirmative Molly. The Crows were really lucky to escape. You can't win a match playing just 15 mins against better sides than Richmond and that means all the other teams in the comp. Agreed Molly, I'm not convinced on that Crows win at all. The Kangas next match at Etihad will be an interesting one, the Kangas will want to hit back hard after that big loss. Liam Anthony to injury is a massive loss for them. Well the Crows look like they might lose Johncock and McLeod to AC injuries.
Never doubt a champion team...get on Geelong to win the flag for sure. They have players coming back and they are all class. Ablett, Scarlett, Chapman, Steve J, Podsiadly, Stokes to make his return, Ling, Selwood, Bartell and the list goes on and on. How classy is that!

Collingwood and Freo will be there...I'm hoping the Pies go cold!

NUDGE injuries have hurt the swannies but GEELONG to me are clearly the side to beat and i can't see your bet holding up. FREMANTLE won again so layed off on 10 sides and made a MASSSIVE profit !! ADELAIDE are still not completly out the top eight contention but i am not holding my breath, i just hope they get into contention so i can lay off and green up !! GARY ABLETT looks a moral even this early out to salute for his second back to back brownlow....

I think Chapman is a good bet for the Brownlow, Umps seem reluctant to give Gary Votes us he's head and shoulders better than everyone else, they also love a player/midfielder that Kicks the ball more than Handballs, marks over head & kicks goals Chappy ticks all those boxes

I cannot see Young, Ladson, Birchall or Lewis going anywhere. Guerra will be safe for at least another year. Agreed Thomas Murphy is gone.

Hawks side for the game against Richmond should see the inclusion of Mitchell, Franklin, Burgoyne, Skipper and possibly Hooper. Osbourne should be back in the side as well, imo. I think you will see players that have been put under the pump Lewis, Birchall, Ladson, Ellis, Osbourne etc play alot better with a stronger 22 out on the park.

First time for 2010 they will have two ruckmen, along with having there best midfield players available. Hence they will win more clearances. They have been getting killed in this area all season, which places the backline under imense pressure when the ball is coming so quick and clean.

2010 is a long year.

+ finally Hodge, Roughead, Shoemakers can play in there regular positions rather than having to pinch hit in the ruck.

Ood I think the Hawks will have no choice, they simply have too many similar players. They are just so slow across the ground, they were in 2008 but their zone countered this, now their zone is useless so their pace is continually exploited by sides that aren't even that quick. Jason Dunstall has said himself that perhaps the club need to concede that a few guys simply aren't going to offer much more and they came good for 2008 but aren't up to the standard any more and I would say Guerra is one of these for sure, just doesn't offer much for mine. We've seen what needs to be done to beat the good sides by Carlton in 2 of their last 3 games and Hawthorn can't do that, they simply don't have the cattle. It's a long season for sure and I suppose there is still a chance to make the 8. They get Richmond next week so they should win that but then they play the Blues, Sydney, Power, Crows, Bombers at the G again (have been smashed last 3 times against the Dons). They then have one of the hardest patches you could imagine, Dogs, Cats, Lions, Saints, Power in Adelaide, Swans in Sydney! The problem for the Hawks is that they've probably just gone through their easiest part of their draw...and won 1 game!
Carlton fantastic last night, wasn't surprised by the result like a few on here, not sure how well the Saints are going. Suddenly with Riewoldt out they seem to have numerous weaknesses, bit slow, no run from defence (some of their players look pretty weak one on one now, eg Raph Clarke who needs to go) and just can't kick goals. Reasonably easy draw coming up so they should be able to keep going along okay but they desperately need to get Riewoldt back.

Does anyone else think the lions could be the go this weekend... They knocked them off last year up there? no ipod and mooney/hawkins havnt been great lately... Where are geelong going to get there goals from unless stokes/johnson/chappy all fire.. Brissy usually score around 90 points and are pretty good at home.. Might be worth a look

Keen on Crows this week. Do not rate the Kangas at all. Bet of Round at the +

Just on the pies against freo, we are due a loss and we have some big games coming up but I'm confident we will knock freo off tomorrow night. The bet I would take though would be 32-34 goals and 220+ points. It's going to be an open game with lots of goals the way both these teams go about it

I really like Essendon at 2.80 against St Kilda, they beat them last year with Riewoldt and if carlton can beat them playing their running game then i think Essendon can too. Saints are struggling to get a score these days. I also think Sydney are at good value $2.25 against dogs.

Carlton's running game is far more superior to Essendon's. They aren't even comparable I don't think. The thing is with Essendon, they aren't that quick and they don't have the polish and skills of Murphy, Judd, Gibbs, Yarran, Simpson, Scotland etc who are all very good users and also don't have the class down forward like the Blues do in Waite, Garlett, Yarran and Betts. I don't think anyway.I think the Saints will suffocate them.
Sydney are very good value at $2.25, Dogs have been very underwhelming since the NAB cup (which I personally pay zero attention to) and just can't find their groove. Swans are a big chance. Tenchy I aint sure about the Lions, The cats have been patchy until the last 2 weeks when they have found some form, you might be right about the goals though, no pod and Stevie J hasn't been in very good form. My concern is Jonathan Brown, it seems obvious he's got some sort of injury and when he was playing well they won their worst 4 and since his form has slumped they have lost 3 straight. I would probably sit it out.

Well now I'm pumped for next Friday! Got good odds on the pies by under 39 got done on the goals After the siren but got the 220+ points. Now for mcdonald to get most possies tomorrow with lecra to score most goals

i gotta say I think the Blues will smah the power this w/e!

i concur... judd and setanta with his little helpers should be to much for rodan,pearce ebert and grey

Adelaide are pathetic, thats all you can say about them... and Geelong at $3.50 to win the comp is stupid... they should be $2 after last night

Plugger I think you've done your dough on the Crows mate, no finals for them this year, and I'd say it's a guarantee now. They are just no good.

Gez the hawk made me nervous today and i dont even follow them.. Port threw it away against carlton who are playing well and well the saints.. im loving the fact they are traveling so poor cause they are one of my most hated teams... As a pie fan we will get smashed this friday but the best side in the comp and a team that is just getting better.

....I forgot to mention...NEIL CRAIG OUT! NEIL CRAIG OUT!

Adelaide Season over now unleash the player within and let them take risks and play on at all costs! Stop this slow style of footy, well I should say soccer!

HeyTrotter you forgot to mention a whole stack of guys that should go eg. Goodwin, Edwards, Mcleod, Riley, Thompson!

Exactly MP, bad news though with Vince, Johncock and I believe a 3rd player all having the week off due to disciplinary reasons...just keeps getting worse but they definitely need to throw caution to the wind now and maybe even look at moving on a few older blokes.
I thought Port Adelaide's loss was a concern, Carlton were entitled to lose really. I just wonder if Port's draw so far has flattered them a little bit and maybe they aren't going quite as well as we thought. They haven't beaten many stand outs and got hammered by Geelong before they found their best form so even though they are 5-3 I'm still just reserving my judgement. Few of them might be frontrunners, Motlop went missing when the heat was on and got absolutely flogged by Gibbs, Pearce is seriously gifted but can't break a tag and just can't seem to assert himself when his team needs him and I thought his and Marc Murphy's last quarters told a story, Pearce got beaten all day and got worse in the last when the game was to be won and Murphy was beaten for 3 quarters by Cornes but in the last he was able to get free and impact the final result. Also Grey and Westhoff are both talented but both questionable when their team needs them.
Hawks and Blues usually play good games when they meet but geez it's hard to see how the Hawks can be competitive here, on form this is like a horse at his peak during a multiple group winning campaign meeting a horse that won a maiden at terang at his last start by a nose. Just can't see how the Hawks can win, hopefully they are competitive and we see a good game but Carlton's pace will be a serious concern for Hawthorn.
West Coast will be a big chance, especially as its over there and I think Subiaco is the biggest ground in the league? So the Saints may struggle to contain them and still can't kick goals without a form forward. Make no mistake Koschitzke didn't play a good game on the weekend, kicked 3 goals but 1 was from a very poor rushed behind decision and 1 was from a downfield free kick.

Yeah, that new guy was Mathew Jeansch. Stupid young boy. You get picked up by an AFL club and you do that you fool! Couldn't agree more with all your points Molly.
Port aren't that flash, let me tell ya!
Motlop showboating and then loses his head when the team is down. Save the showboating when you're team is up by 10 goals mate!

All I got to say to the guy that personally attacked me concerning the topic about the POWER (you know who you are), just a reminder that this thread is about opinions and not attacks. If you want to post crap like that, again admin will delete it. Contribute to the forum but dont get personal ;)

mathew jeansch is stupid... he was lucky to be rookie listed or even in the AFL after he played up last year and missed SAs team at the under 18 champs for being very intoxicated at a formal event for the SA u18s

TENCHY!!! For once someone with some common sense and analysis. I rest my case BLACK SOX. As Tenchy has pointed out to one of the points, I don't think I've been too harsh on young Jeansch.

Sounds like he's made a pretty serious blue doesn't it and as we all know these issues are always magnified when the club is going badly and Adelaide couldn't be going any worse, gee the club must be disappointed in the other two as well though. Vince has been touted as future captain and Johncock a 10 year player and both let the club down when they are going so badly, it doesn't bode well and I get the feeling it would be a pretty ordinary place to be right now AAMI stadium and I just wonder if something has to give MP?
Carlton look like they'll have to make 3 forced changes, Waite cops 2 weeks, Lucas has pinged a hammy and it would seem now that Houlihan might also have a slight hamstring strain so he'll miss I'd suggest, maybe only one. Henderson kicked 4 in the VFL on the weekend so he'll come in for Waite I'd say (unless they maybe bring in Warnock and play Kreuzer up forward for most of the game? Don't think they will but they could probably get away with it against Hawks weak rucks and lack of key defenders), young Mitch Robinson has been in good form and might have already been back in had he not gone into a minor altercation with Michael Gardiner a couple of weeks back so he'll come in for Houlihan I'd say and maybe Steven Browne in for Kane Lucas, disappointing for young Lucas as he had been showing a bit. The changes obviously help the Hawks but the fact that it doesn't really change the Blues' elite midfield keeps the Blues well in front. Hopefully it makes the game a bit more competitive but I might be grasping at straws...?

an early look at this round

Collingwood to just win against the cats.. I think collingwood will want to prove something this week as for the cats they will just treat it as another game and they know they will finish top 4 like last year they will just cruise into the finals and be the real contender come crunch time as for my pies until we do well in december ill always doubt them but my support for them wont waine as i see them most weeks... Suggested bet 32-34 or 34+ goals and 210-220 and 221+ are great bets and at value cause both teams score heavily around the 5-6 dollar mark

North and the dogs is a one way game north will be pumped to play well against a top side after poor efforts against the pies and the saints but the dogs will have them covered the line is currently 24 take the dogs on the line $1.90

Sydney Freo... not an easy game here freo will wanna bounce back but some key injuries could hurt them as are the injuries to some key swans players... if bradshaw plays i think sydney get up in sydney and if he does then the swans under 39.5 is a good bet $2.30

Bombers and tigers.. both teams i really dislike so a draw would be great... i really dont like knights lol... but the bombers will dismantle the tigers.. the bombers at the line is a safe $1.90 and only -22.5 but i think the money is 20-39 or 40- 59 at $4.25 and $5.25 is the way to go

Melb and port in darwin is the toughest of the week i reckon up there both teams are away.. I think port should get up but a melbourne win wouldnt surprise me if they turn up like they did for those few games in a row but they were really disapointing last week.. I think the injuries to there forward line will stop them scoring enough goals and unless sylvia and green step up then goals will be at a premium..191-200 points at darwin seems the go at $7 or get on mcdonald or cassisi for most possies

Adelaide and brissy is another tough one but i cant take adelaide at the moment and brissy need to win after 4 straight losses... dunno if brown or fev are going to play but if they dont i still think brissy have enough its going to be a close one take brissy under 39,5 or 1-19 points

Carlton will lose to hawks... bold statement i know but i have a bit of a funny feelign about this one and at $3 just take the hawks straight out

The eagles and saints will be a game worth watching... if the eagles win more pressure goes onto lyon if the saints win they get a little bit of pressure taken off but over in perth and with kennedy and le cras running amuck down forward.. im hoping the west coast midfield also learn to kick to hit a target aswell at training this week... If you get a chance to watch them on TV watch there disposal by foot it makes you sick lol west coast straight out at $1.95

Great analysisTenchy. Couldn't agree with you more Molly re the need for changes at WestLakes.
Oh and Vicey..lol, there's always one in the crowd mate...I wonder who that could be?

Yeah I think they just need to bite the bullet MP, this season is not lost if they use it to build for next season and that's how I'd be thinking. If they have a few kids running around in the SANFL or whatever showing a bit then put them in I say, why not? Got nothing to lose now.
Tenchy I sorta feel the same about the Blues V Hawks game but then I get a glimpse of the ladder and question my own sanity. For some reason I reckon it'll be a good game and be close but I just can't see HOW it's gonna be close, Hawks simply HAVE to win the centre clearances otherwise this game could be over at quarter time. Blues had been starting a bit better than last year until the Port game and if Judd, Murphy, Gibbs, Simpson etc. win the centre clearances early and get the ball into space then the Hawks won't have a prayer and it could get ugly. If I'm Clarkson I'm trying to make it a contested game and use the Hawks bigger bodies in close and use the confined space of Etihad, Hawks will be glad it's not at the G.
I can't help but feel that the Cats will win Friday night and win comfortably. I hope it's a really good game but we'll finally see for real how good the Pies are. Game undoubtedly means a lot more to Collingwood and this could both a positive and a negative. Geelong at the line.
The wheels have just come absolutely tumbling off up at Brisbane, such a brilliant start and now 4 straight losses. Pressure will be building on Voss as he alone has constructed this team to be able to win a premiership in the next 2-3 years whilst Brown, Black, McGarth and Power can contribute. He would know they will bottom out drastically in 3-4 years time but hopes to have a flag or two to show for it, I've said it for a while and I think I've been proven right, this side is very one paced and as good as Daniel Rich is (although his season so far has been ordinary) I still wonder if they drafted the right bloke or should have gone with a quick midfielder. If Adelaide can play the quick style of footy they have played for about 15 minutes for the entire season they may be able to break Brisbane open, especially if Brown and Fev don't play (and even if they do they are clearly both struggling and Fev with and injury is very bad Fev as he thinks the whole world should feel sorry for him.

Yes Molly, I don't think Hawks can win. Might be close for a qrt or 2 but think the Blues will blow this game apart in the later stages. Hawks have no rucks that can win and this is going to be crucial against a team like CARLTON which has some speedy small guys that will kills you when they get their hands on it so easily.
I have no doubt that PORT will smash the living daylights out of the Dees up in Darwin. Yes, that's my opinion.
Adelaide, Just let the guys play their game and take risks. If they play that slow crap game, the lions will blow them away.
Hate to say it but don't underestimate the Pies. It will be a tight game until the middle of the 3rd qrt then Geelong goes bang. They are all class. Steve J or PODDER will kick a bag full.

Gotta agree with Tenchy, Bradshaw is the key if Swans are to get up here. If he doesn't play I'll be smashing Freo for sure.

Ok this is interesting...the last time the Tigers played Bombers I think the Tiges got up..just!

Saints will win no doubt...yes they have been struggling but sheesh I dont rate WC this year. If Saints little forwards can get on top eg. Milne...Saints will win!

And one last thought.....I think Aker, you should leave your mouth in the closet!

The swans at $1.75 is very easy money I think... this drug drama will hit freo hard and swans should be too good. Best bet is Geelong Hd2Hd int swans Hd2Hd

I have a feeling the Tigers are going to beat the Bombers

Frappe I am with you mate, just put my multi on for the weekend and the Tigers are in. Bit of a whisper around for them and a lot of Essendon supporters are saying they will get beaten.

Don't think the Swans at $1.75 is easy money Nudge, I went through theirs and Freo's results so far today and if I'm honest, neither are very impressive at all. Only win of note for Freo was the Cats when they weren't going that well and Sydney's only win of note is the Lions at the SCG when they weren't going well so I'm not sure that's even a win of note?
In fact, how's this for a stat, as the ladder stands now...Freo and Sydney haven't beaten a top 8 side BETWEEN THEM...and here we were saying both were going great guns...think we were a bit premature lads.
The actual ladder is a bit deceiving right now.

Geelong to the script! Put your house on the cats. They are by far the best team in the league and still have players to come back. Pies kicked themselves out of the game.

i went last night and boy was i annoyed at our last qtr and a half... I was already annoyed from the first 2 n a half qtrs.... Our disposal was poor all night poor old cloke and dawes were taking on 2-3 every time the ball went to them and when they had the advantage of a lead or over the top the kick was poor to them... Leon is carrying osteo and shouldnt be playing i dunno why he is i know he has the most tackles inside 50m in the comp but he can barely walk the poor bloke, wish the club would come out and say he is carryin the injury to instead of keeping it in house so everyone can keep knocking him..

Brad dick is still 3 weeks away as he is only play 60% in the VFL but i really think when he is fit he is the key to our forward set up he is one of those livewires in the cyril mould but obivously cyril is streaks ahead of any other aboriginal in the AFL in that role he plays

Mcaffer, Brown, Wood and Davis will be out for lockyer, fraser, presti and possibly leigh brown. Medhurst is still 1-2 weeks away.

On geelone WOW! they can play and the $3 for the flag is still overs.. They have corey, rooke and ottens to come back into that side and the way duncan was playin and the other young bloke they deserve games and would be playin in any other AFL side atm..The way they aborbed the pressure was awesome and there back line was emense in there zones... Ablett had anothe poor week but kelly chappy and selwood picked up the slack with mooney killing us as there hit up forward.

Obivously geelong are the best team and keep getting better there are only 2 teams that can beat them from ive seen this year so far and even for that to happen geelong would have to be 5% off and the other mob will have to be playing at 120%

positives from last night as a pies supporter is ball, thomas and reid i thought played pretty well and thomas is now starting to live up to his high draft pick... the other thing i looked at is brown,reid,dawes,beams,sidebottom,wood,mcaffer have all play under 30 odd games which bodes well for our future and gives them experience against the best of the best in big games

Who are the two teams you feel can beat the Cats tenchy? I think there are maybe 3 teams that can 'potentially' beat them. Blues obviously simply due to their pace and because their the only side in the comp to beat Geelong at the G in recent times and they've done it twice, Geelong are a brilliant side and their only weakness really (forward line isn't really a weakness anymore becoz of the POD) is their leg speed. St. Kilda at their best (this means Riewoldt back and fully fit) can still beat Geelong I think but the question is can they get their skipper back and can they get their confidence back? I think if the Dogs can click they can still be a premiership force. They haven't been anywhere near the best for long yet, been glimpses of what they can do but if they can hit their peak at the right time they'll be there abouts. I still like Geelong over all 3 for the flag though as long as they stay fit obviously.

a full saints side, freo and the dogs.... the saints and dogs speak for themselves but freo with pav and sandilands have a key forward and the best ruckman in the AFL to give there midfielders who are quick and skillful first use...Carlton im sorry wouldnt beat geelong in a crunch game... They might in a year or two but at the moment they are a 5-9 position on hte ladder team not a top 2-3 team

The tigers, what was I thinking!? Highlights how bad the hawks played last week!

Geez how about Barry Hall's effort? That bloke needs a tranquilizer!

Yeah Frappe, I thought the Tigers might cause an upset but they were very ordinary. They will win games, how I dont know

Watch the tigers next week against port, port traveling back from darwin playing on a saturday and the amount of fluids they lost plus how tired they will be after that game will play in the tigers hands but in saying that i think port will get up just be abit closer than you may think

Time to fess up. How wrong was I on the Hawks and Power. Should've known that blues have a shocking record against Hawks.

Explain to me someone: How does Hawthorn beat Carlton after they fell in against Richmond??? Unbelievable. I thought the NRL brings up weird results.

Nudge you are absolutely spot on! What the hell goes on there!? And winning by 50 points!!!

well i had 4/8 with port and west coast the ones that shouldve won... if west coast can learn to dispose of the ball better they would be a very good side... i also nailed 3 of my suggested bets which if you had $1 on each you wouldve finished infront only just lol Looking forward to next week already and the best thing in sport starts soon aswell the world cup

West coast should of won ? not sure what game you were watching but you may want to check the stats after half time. St kilda completly dominated the third quarter 10 mins onwards and 10 mins onwards into the last quarter. St kilda won that game on there own merits and fully deserved the victory. Melb were also the better side last night and it was good to see them win a close one for once.
Kosi still isn't performing good enough for my liking.

How does Thomas Murphy get a game for the Hawks? Someone tell me??????

Plugga I ment given the players out of melbournes side and where port think they are as a finals team shouldve beaten melb and given saints recent form and traveling to Perth and the position they were in just before half time west coast shouldve done better. The saints are struggling though but have a good run against some poorer teams. I think the top 3 is set the next 5 spots is wide open

Nudgey, I'm not really shocked that Hawks beat Blues. If you have a look at past winning streaks...Blues just can't beat them!

Yeah I knew that Mighty but I was looking at the current form and Carlton simply were better on paper. Is this the start of the Hawks premiership aspirations?

Agreed Nudgey, on current form yes the Blues were on fire but you know what they say about hoodoo teams...some teams cant beat them due to superior match ups etc. The bottom of the top 8 is open IMO with a few teams on a downward spiral. So to say it Nudgey, but Sydney is one of them, Brisbane is another. Hawks got a few players back and who knows can they make the 8. IMO if Franklin and Roughy keep that form up...look out!

Hawthorn are no chance of making the finals, they play one good game and people want to jump on the bandwagon. They are simply playing terrible footy and dont have a good enough team. Im expecting the Swans to give them a nice touch up this week to put them back in there place. The market has over reacted in my opinion, 1 win to Hawthorn and now they are starting $1.30ish. Ridiculous. Does anyone else think Sydney are very decent value? I also like Adelaide for a bit of value against the Saints who played pretty bad footy on the weekend also its just that the Eagles played worse. I can see a few upsets this round in one that looks preety simple on paper.

I give chances to Essendon, Sydney, Adelaide, Richmond, Brisbane and North Melbourne this round and i would be extremely surprised if atleast one or two of those teams didnt get up.

Agreed Donatello Ninja turtle (just kiddin'). Yes the market has definitely over reacted for sure. By the way don't jump on the Adelaide band wagon yet. I'm an Adelaide supporter and I'm not convinced yet. Btw, Sydney has a few injuries now which has upset the balance of the team. It's going to be a very intersting month of footy ahead for many teams. Who are the finals contenders and who are the pretenders? What's your thoughts guys?

Lol. Im not convinced of the crows yet either but im even less convinced of the Saints and im sure it will be a very low scoring game which always brings the outsider right into the equation. You are right about the Sydney injuries but even so i think they are a bit of value. Geelong, Collingwood, Fremantle and Bulldogs are the 4 top teams clearly and should be the certain top 4 teams at the end of the year on current form. A couple at good value to make the finals are Essendon and North Melbourne i think. Geez Geelong are short to be the minor premiers. $1.34 is way too short not even at the halfway stage. I will be having a wager on Fremantle as they are only behind geelong by percentage at the moment and $17 looks pretty good there, maybe the dogs at $21 also.

Richmond first win to be against Melbourne in Rd19 at $41 should be some value come round 19. The only team i give them a remote chance of beating is West Coast but if they lose that then you should have 40-1 about Richmond to win come round 19 which would give you an entertaining game

Carlton were pretty ordinary yesterday, had a feeling the Hawks were a show. Blues are still a young side and young sides are inconsistent, I think they were due an off day and they had one, they have gotten themselves a few injuries too which isn't helping. Thomas Murphy is freakin' hopeless, how he is playing AFL footy I do not know. I know Blues haven't beaten Hawks for a while but sometimes have to be careful when looking at streaks with sides like Carlton as they were pretty bad for a pretty long time so obviously there's gonna be some streaks there and over the last season and a bit a lot of these streaks have been snapped except against the Hawks and the Bombers.
North Melbourne were shocking except for the first few minutes, they are just a side. Not really sure where to look form wise, a lot of sides high up haven't beaten much yet and the Dogs have now started coming good, the wheels have are well and truly off up at Brisbane and Sydney are getting smashed by injuries. It's hard to pick winners at the moment.

Agreed Molly, the injuries to clubs in the next month is really going to tell a story or two for sure.

Yeah I'd say there'll be at least one team whose injuries cost them a chance at finals. Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and now even Carlton are getting themselves a few injuries and it's noticeable with these sides because whilst their best is very good, none of them are very deep. Good best 20-25 but then they fall away quickly as opposed to Geelong who have guys like Hogan, Duncan etc who can't get a game.

Spot on Molly and that's why IMO the odds on Geelong to win the flag are very generous atm imo. They still have players to come back which is a scary thought and like you said those young cats that can't get a game...gees there's plenty of back up if injuries do come. Even their number one draft pick Daniel Menzel (which I used to teach) can play some serious footy. GULP!

With Kennelly and Bradshaw also out for Sydney, Hawthorn should do a spank job

Anyone know how long Bradshaw is out for?

2-3 weeks

Don't get too excited by the media hype about the Hawks Nudge. They won against a very flat Carlton and I didn't think played that well (thought it was a pretty bad game). They've only won 3 games and have been hopeless apart from 2 rounds...
Not surprised to see Goodwin announce his retirement. If they lose a couple more games I think we might see Burton, Edwards and Johncock also consider giving it away, McLeod probably stays for one more.

Some interesting thoughts from members here about Sydney touching up Hawks and vice-versa this week. Well Sydney are definitely on the slide and with Bradshaw out for 3 weeks so I'm going to jump on Hawks to win especially at the G. This by no means that I am saying they will make the finals!

Simon Goodwin, the right call, has been a great player for the club with 3 club champions, 2 premierships and 5 all Australians. He stated that he wanted to go out on top of his game..NO NO, Simon you are playing terribly and no disrespect, retire now, Macca, Edwards, Burton will be all gone no doubt about it. Macca'a knee is getting worse. Adelaide, play the kids you've got nothing to lose!

Ok I'm going to ruffle some Port feathers again but I stand by this statement. Daniel Motlop, stop being so selfish and stop the showboating and do the team things. The club should hand him down a suspension because he was out in Darwin til 2am the night/morning before the game. Some of these guys just don't get it. AFL careers are very short, enjoy it but don't abuse it. And for those Power fans surely you can't disagree with that?

motlot = fev ... in the way its all about him.. if port had any real leaders at the club he would be a star.. with a coach like matthews, malthouse, thompson and to a lesser extent eade or with blokes like brown, hodge or some blokes at saints would sort him out

just read how motlop was suspended for picking up his mrs at 2am the morning before the game... Are port serious?? fair enough if he was out n about but if he just left his room to pick her up that is stiff... i wonder what odds you could get for motlop (both) not to be at port next season?

Also just read the Motlop story that is ridiculous. If they really want to make a point, stand their ground and kick him in the arse for 'picking up his Mrs' surely a fine would be enough at the most!

The only trouble is boys is that Chocco Williams loves him so as long as Chocco's there so is Motlop! I'll tell ya when Dean Laidley takes over the helm down the track, he won't put up with any of this.

Donatello make that 3-4 months for bradshaw he had surgery... you can write off swans now

Really stating to realise how important Drummond is to Brisbane's finals hopes

agreed bootwhip him and mcgrath are the only real players that break the lines and have pace for the lions.. for the lions to succeed they need brown and fev going with those two playin well... rich is going to be a gun he is a young version of voss gets the ball and hits targets he aint gonna run with it and have 3-4 bounces.. Injuries have hurt both lions and swans seasons and the lions could pay for the way they went at last years draft in 2-3 years. Going down the melb and rich route

2 Down 2 to go at Adelaide. Thanks God for that! Tyson Edwards retires immediately with the dummy spit of being dropped this week. Macca and the Birdman are next ;)

With Trengrove and Scully rested watch for Gysbets... Tough game for him to debut in against the catters but boy can he play

tenchy you cannot possibly compare the Lions drafting/recruiting with that of Melbourne or Richmond. Richmond have not have recruited 1 good player in the history of the draft (Deledio most probably the best of em - Richo was father/son). Thats why they are where they are (and they'll be there for some time !). Melbourne played off in a Grand Final 10 years ago and today have plenty of future stars on their list. It was a masterstroke to recruit ready made players last year. I can promise you you won't see the likes of a Fevola, Staker, Raines, Buchanan, Maguire, Clarke all end up at the 1 club in the next few years as all AFL clubs are making it a priority to resign all their players to stop Gold Coast and West Sydney grabbing them. I've never seen any team go bad off the back of 1 poor draft. You must remember they have got the likes of Sherman, Mitch Clark, Leuenberger, Reddan, Rischitelli, Rich in the past 4 - 5 years...they are all going to be 10 year players. You may as well bolster your list now with ready made players as nobody will have access to the best young talent for the next 3, 4 or 5 years with GC and WS getting 1st dibs. Who is going to trade a Brown, Franklin or Judd to get an unproven kid ? Injuries to the likes of a Merrett, Brown, Fevola, Drummond, Brennan, Charman at the same time is going to stop any team. Look out for them next year

i said could leeroy... it may very well work... as i said injuries are hurting them, the other point is at some point in the next 4-5 years they will have to rebuild and most clubs that rebuild from now will follow the melbourne/hawks strategy of recuiting hte best available youngsters and building a side like geelong successful over time. You do have a young spine to work with but none of them are the likes of a J.brown,Fev,Black,power,lappin,voss etc that apart from fev made you so successfull those years back. Im happy to be wrong mate its just my opinion :)

I'm not so sure any team can follow the Hawks/Demons path due to the fact that Gold Coast and Greater West Sydney are gonna at least get the top 10 and the best part of the top 20 young kids in the country for the next 4 - 5 years....thats my whole point mate. Basically what clubs have now they are stuck with......unless they trade good players for high draft picks (you wouldn't think GC & GWS would be trading too many, if any, of their high draft picks). Thats why I like Voss' decision to get these ready made players into the club now. I know not every good young player goes top 20 in the draft but AFL clubs have got it down to a fine art now (except Rich lol)

I tend to agree with tenchy here, I think people believe Brisbane are set up to be really good for the next 5-6 years when in reality they've probably got a 2 year window to win a flag and then they will bottom out pretty badly. Power, Black, Brown, McGrath and Fev are all a LOT close to the end then they are to the start and could well all be gone in 3 years, plus they are really slow and the game is only getting quicker. They won't have any good picks over the next two years so I think they'll be good for the next 2 years (if they can get fit) but they won't win a flag and doubt they'll get close to flag and then will bottom out. Bootwhip is spot on with Drummond, he is crucial because as mentioned above he is one of only 2 or 3 players the Lions have who can break the lines but injuries are becoming all too common for him and that must be a real concern for Brisbane.
Just on the Gold Coast, does anyone else feel all this hype about big name players leaving their clubs for the Coast is turning into nothing? I know Ablett still hasn't signed and Harbrow might be gone but in the last month or so a whole heap of stars seem to have signed on with their current clubs. Selwood is locked in, Gibbs signed on today. AFL would have to be getting a bit nervous wouldn't they that no one seems interested in the Gold Coast?

Sorry Leeroy I see what you mean with the comprised drafts. There are a few clubs that might struggle if they don't recruit right over the next few years asking as rich stay rubbish and the bombers stay inconsisebt and never win anything I'll be happy and the pies keep winning and win a flag :) on the gold coast Molly the afl won't let it fail they'll Just give them more concessions and money but west Sydney will be the team that afl does everything to help

Agree professor Tenchy! Who has been in charge of the recruiting down at Tigerland? They should be shot...and before all you Tiger fans crack a wobbly at me, I'm merely stating facts. Going through the Tigers squad, I can't believe that there is a huge proportion that average 179cm. Yes you need fast playersbut surely you need a mix of tall timber too! Surely this is an oversite on behalf of the recruiting management or a stuff up.
I'll say it again, the Tigers have a massive following but just how long are members going to put up with the board making he wrong decisions? I must say Jack Riewoldt is going to be a great player for the club.
Oh and BTW lads, I hope that Patty Dangerfield quickly put pen to paper down at Westlakes ;)

haha mightandpower.. i should change my name now. Sorry about my spelling mistakes in my last post bloody phone has spell check on it and i didnt see it. Id be more worried about the 4-5 players that look like not signing contracts like thompson, bock, patty etc with the likes of edwards, goodwin, birdman etc all retiring at seasons end you wont want those sort of players leaving or else you could be up a creek with out a paddle

Tenchy, I know the AFL won't let it fail but they must surely be getting concerned that suddenly no-one seems interested in the big dollars up there. The fact of the matter is that they are going to need to show some sort of success right from the word go otherwise there'll be no interest, I heard ex Brisbane Lions player Matt Campbell on the Morngrook Footy Show last night and he said it well I thought when he said 'it's a winners environment up there'. They will embrace a successful team but if they lose a lot of games early it could go pear shaped very quickly. To win games they will need more than the land's best teenagers.
The team behind the poor recruiting at Richmond over the last few years have been moved on over the last 12-24 months from what I understand MP and rightfully so. Missing guys like Buddy Franklin and drafting Oakley Nicholls and Tambling so high were poor decisions.
The good thing about those guys retiring MP is that suddenly the Crows are going to have a bit of extra salary cap that they hadn't expected they would have so Dangerfield etc can probably get an extra $100,000 or so each than what they would have got otherwise.

Well Gold coast will get ablett by the looks of things but as for other players they will only sign B,C graders who want to make extra coin... the benifit they have is they will get alot of VERY good kids and look at the sort of impact scully and trengrove have made in there first season... They get the fist 3 picks this year isnt it? and 9 of the first round? they have the best in clayton as there recruitment man and he will get them right... It may take them 2-3 years but they will be dominant when the youth are experienced...GWS seem to be going the other way sheedy wants to sign the best youth at other clubs, they have a "scout team" going round watching the VFL, SAFL,WAFL etc looking at kids who are on lists not getting games and "verbally" offerering them contracts...

Spot on Molly and Tenchy. I hink Ablett is going and I think Thomo knows it and is quit pissed with Gazza. I think clubs really have to worry about the fact that the AfL hasnt announced the concessions that the new clubs will receive.
BTW lads, Bulldogs I'm telling ya are pretenders!

they have announced the concessions M&P !!

Yup found all of them Plugger ;)

Well done Tigers...something for the fans to be happy about. Gees, they belted the Power. The trips to Darwin are no good for the power coming back.

ok lads, collingwood to beat brissy and saints to beat the crows?

no and no imo. I believe the lions will fire tonight up forward and will over power the pies. The saints are just rubbish and the crows have a little bit of form on the board now and wont need to be that good to beat St Kilda

well im glad i went to the ronnie johns stage show tonight than watch my rabble lose to brissy.. can someone tell the boys that our first game in june isnt until next week...Mick needs to get the experienced players like lockyer in and never play anthony again... hope medders is fit this week and dick played ok in the magoos this week in his 2nd game back from injury... well done the tigers and i told you about port :P but i still tipped the tigers... ill tell you next week port will get thumped by the hawks they have players out injured and have had 2 really tough weeks of footy that will physically hurt them

From a neutral observers point of view tenchy21 I enjoyed the hard fought game between Collingwood and Brisbane. And yeah Go Tigers.

it was a good game to watch i watched it this morning, just was disapointed with the result last night cracka sets up a big game next week against the dogs

There will be Hot Pies next weekend and the Dogs will be sent barking. BTW lads, the Bombers are charging late with some big scalps of late and a nice winning streak.

well as a pie fan im not so confident mighty.

Where do you think the Pies are going wrong then Tenchy?

tryin to get that mix right of experienced and youth players. Mcaffer is going to be a decent player but his form has dropped off so lockyer needs to come in. Anthony is no good, he was recruited to replace clement time to send him down back in the VFL to give him a chance to get back into our side otherwise his days at collingwood are numbered. I think the last 2 weeks have shown how much we really miss medhurst, especially when cloke goes missing it leaves to much for dawes to do. The other player that is just returning from injury that when he did his shoulder at the start of the year i was shattered he will add ALOT to our team is brad dick. I really think we also lack that hard nut, the scott burns mould, leigh brown gave it to us but i dont think he is in our best 22. I also think we have been up for a while every team has a down period in the season it might be our time.

I would watch for the saints aswell.. rememeber this time last year everyone was writing off the cats? but they were missing chappy, ablett, ottens, stevie j plus others for most of the season then got them back just before the finals? although the saints only have the roo as there main injury he is very critical to that side. They will just keep ticking along doing what they have to do until later in the year. The saints cats GF is still my way of thinking.

Thats why i dont think the cats have gotten better from last year they have just had a better run with injuries. Only really corey, rooke, ottens and scarlett have been the injuries. Corey hasnt been really missed due to here midfield depth and the fact the jpod is down there and hawkins is playing so well across half forward and in the ruck ottens and rooke havnt been missed. Scarlett is to good not to miss.

The John Anthony experiment has definitely failed tenchy and I agree with you, needs to be adandoned. He's just one of these players who is more than capable at VFL level but can't translate that at AFL level, there's plenty of them and he's another. Should be delisted at the end of the season I think or traded.
Agree with the comment on the Cats tench, I don't think they have gotten better either but have had a good run but Scarlet injury has shown (teams are scoring more against them overall but they are just putting up massive cricket scores week after week). I also think their competition has dropped off a bit (or is at least inconsistent). Dogs can't find any form, Saints are missing the league's second most valuable player (Judd is AFL MVP in my humble opinion), Pies have somehow lost potency and might just be having a lull which happens, Blues are brilliant on their day but still haven't won more than 2 in a row, and Freo are...well Freo are Freo and I think a lot of people are still not sold and probably won't be until they win a flag because of their history. Sydney and Brisbane have dropped off (altho Lions won well on the weekend) and Brown and Fev seem to be a week to week proposition and Port Adelaide I think have been flattered by their draw to this point. Geelong seem a near certainty for the minor premiership and Saints, Freo, Collingwood, Carlton and Dogs are all looking like they'll make the 8 so that leaves Hawks, Bombers, Port, Brisbane and Swans battling for 7th and 8th, I reckon Hawks might end up sneaking in because the other teams might fall by the way side, I think 11 wins will be enough to get 8th spot. (West Coast, North, Melbourne, Adelaide and Tigers are all shot I'd say)

well melbourne showed on the weekend by resting a couple of players that finals this year is not in there mind. I fear if the hawks make the finals they could go all the way.. Look at there games earlier in the year against geelong, dogs with no ruckman and without some key players in those games they played bloody well and at points in the game couldve gone on with it but didnt and if buddy and roughy fire on one day with hodge and cyril well they have enough to beat most teams, but thats just athought and its only round 10. 12 more to go. Cant believe its nearly half way through the season. Soon enough we will be talking finals then the Ashes in the cricket lol

Yeah you're spot on Tenchy, probably the right thing to do, don't play them against Geelong and keep them fit and healthy and keep their confidence up. I still don't know about the Hawks, they still haven't really done much I don't think and I reckon to win pretty much Franklin, Rioli, Hodge and maybe even Roughy and Mitchell all have to play well. They have too many passengers when things aren't going well, it's still going to be a big effort to make the 8 and remember how hard it is to win a flag from outside the top 4, they've got a long way to go yet.

FOLAU signs with gws

So it seems Besty. Gee he is going to have to work extremely hard to even be a fringe player, has never played AFL (at least Hunt played it as a kid) and I get the feeling he's going to get a big reality check when he starts playing. Lot different to rugby (have to run at least twice as far in a game) plus the awareness required is far greater. I'm not a fan of these guys coming into the league and getting paid as much as Chris Judd and Nick Riewoldt in their first season (not bad for someone who may never reach 50 games).

just imagine what will happen if these two turn out to be successful C to B grade players or even a B+ player.. the NRL would lose players all over the place cause the money is better in the AFL and the players are better looked after... If setanta can do it i cant see why these 2 cant.

Frightening money, but it isn't to play footy - it's to make commercials. Folau is a questionable choice on that front. He played for Melb, Brissy, and QLD but is being used to promote the game in NSW?
The other thing about Folau is that I don't think he has ever kicked a ball in an NRL match before, but apparently the "scout" (McArtney?) thinks he'll pick it up. He is right when he says that they are already elite athletes and will know what to expect, they'll work hard to succeed. One thing is a guarantee - they will shorten some blokes up with their tackling.

I feel a bit sorry for Ablett, he is going to get the same cash as these two to play at the Gold Coast but is a superstar of the AFL.

they AFL put him through a skills session similar to Hunt with mcartney, sheedy and a few others watching.. The AFL werent gonna give this guy the money if he was a complete spud... The reason teams are now taking athletes and tryin to convert them is the AFL clubs are being successful. Setanta played hurling and never ever touched a footy didnt even play gaelic and had seen and AFL 1-2 times on TV when he came over here in daniel harford said it looked like he was playing in a rubix cube... few years later now look at him he is the main focal point in a decent AFL side and is kicking 2-3 goals a week. I do however feel the money is over the top and as you said whiz the big players in the comp would be pissed

Tenchy I think to compare Setanta with NRL players is not very accurate. Setanta was a star athlete but he was a hard runner (he had played gaelic too mate, his brother was the best gaelic footballer in Ireland and he was the best young hurler but both had played both sports with each other) and also, he has been in the system for many years now and Carlton have had to be extremely patient with him (their patience wore out with his younger brother). After 5 or so years he is only now becoming a regular in the 22, do you think GWS coaches and fans and front office will be as patient if after 3, 4 or 5 years (at $1.5 million a year!) Folau is at the stage Setanta was at? I think not. Setanta was a project player on minimal money with no huge expectations and the club was in a hole on the field so they could develop him, Folau is a franchise player on more money than any other player. Completely different scenarios in my opinion. They are talking about playing Folau at Centre Half Forward, the hardest position on the ground! There are people that have been playing there for 15 years that still don't fully understand it and they want him to play there in year 1? Guys like Lake, Jamison, Scarlett etc who read the play back there so well would kill him.
Whiz, I agree that it's for marketing as much as anything but surely potential AFL fans would rather watch Gary Ablett or Chriss Judd run around for GWS rather than Folau? I don't doubt he is an elite athlete but Matthew Mitcham is an elite athlete as well...he's elite but in the wrong way. They reckon that the most he would have covered in a game would be about 6-7kms, back pockets cover more than that in the AFL.
Big players in the comp would be pissed but so would teenagers trying to make the AFL. A lot of very talented kids just want a chance to play, they'll play for free if you let them, all they want is a chance at AFL and they work extremely hard to get there and most fail, these guys coming in having never kicked a footy before earning ridiculous money sets a dangerous precedent I think.

I can't argue about anyone's thoughts on the actual game because I don't follow it regularly, but blind freddy knows that they won't be able to play at the "marquee" level. Definately not to begin with, probably not ever. But I won't bet against them. They've made it to the top once, and they're still kids.

I don't know how many African or Pacific Islander players are currently in the AFL. There are thousands of kids from these backgrounds in West Sydney who the AFL haven't targeted yet. African kids are being recruited into basketball and are starting to make their mark, the Islander boys have exploded in Rugby League in the last 5-10 years. All these kids with different body composition, skills, speed, strength, athletism............it's guaranteed the AFL can find some excellent players out there. A new style of player maybe. It all hinges on GWS.
Folau is the man they are hoping can capture their imagination and get to them before the other sports. He already has an image out there. They don't expect him to win the Coleman or a Brownlow. If GWS succeed, the AFL will be like a kid in a candy store looking at all the talent they have got out there. Different to the traditional talent. At virtually every NRL club the fastest guy and the strongest guy is an Islander. The AFL want them to pick up a Sherrin first. You'll see the results in 5-10 years.

Molly im against the expansion as the AFL has changed the game so much in the last 5-10 years (and im young) they are spending so much money on these new teams that oculd be used in better areas. Im not against sides signing rugby players, gymnists, triathletes or whatever aslong as the money isnt over the top as it is here with hunt and izzy. I just dont wanna write these guys off until they are given a chance. I think alot of ppl are getting angry with izzy and hunt when really they have taken a huge bet taking this on. If they fail they will be remembered forever for it and the AFL will be slaughtered and probs lose kids that they are tryin to attract to the game. I just want to give them a chance and not slander them. Ill slander the AFL however :D lol and the Gold coast team and GWS. The stories like setanta, kennelly, Harry O (although he is everywhere atm) should be the ones the AFL is selling to get other areas of our community into the AFL. There is one more player who only started last october he is our international rookie Seamus McNamara. He was an elite basketballer who wanted a challenge saw an AFL game and loved it came over here tryed out with the pies and we drafted him, he has been playing in the VFL no the reserves but our actual VFL side that is travelling quite well. He did get dropped i think last weekend but still for a bloke who has played the game for what? 5-6 months its amazing. Granted his ball handling skills aint up to it atm but his tapwork and ability to pick up the ball so cleanly etc is top class and to the point where a few coaches are estatic with his progress. I love ppl like this are taking on tryin to play our game its good for australia and for the AFL and im sayin this as a massive football fan baseball fan and cricket fan before i look at any AFL. Its just my opinion :)

I share the same thoughts as many do here. IMO there's no doubt the AFL is a successful generating money machine. Some games maybe be a little more boring to others but if you look at the stats, total attendances to games are up.
I feel as though the NRL can never offer the same level of money to players due to the fact that AFL is bigger and that is no disrespect to the NRL code. AFL is bigger in terms of crowds (the sheer capacity) to fill bigger stadiums week in and week out.
The AFL has certainly done their homework and will not let GC and GWS sides fail. Marketing strategies to the ground roots program of Auskick into these communities will be a successful piece in this game of chess so to speak.
For a young person to aspire to become a great player in any code, apart from the love and passion for the game, at some point money has no doubt a bearing on one's decision. As Tenchy said, it's my opinion here :P

You're 90% right about the size/future of NRL vs AFL except for a couple of things MP.
The AFL has bigger attendance but smaller TV audience. That is the straw NRL CEO Gallop is clutching too when it comes around to signing a new TV deal and dealing with the salary cap. The NRL is expected to sign a drastically upgraded deal in a year or two and (presumably) find new ways to spend it ie on the marquee players, wages, etc.
And the AFL fills bigger stadiums week in and week out.....except for the Swans, they struggle to fill it once a fortnight.

The money for these two is scary, and the people that think it is unfair should realise that fair hasn't got anything to do with it. The hardcore NRL fans in Parramatta and Penrith don't know who Cooney or Franklin are, but they know Izzy. Here I am, a league fan always, and I'm writing about Aussie Rules!

The AFL have recruited another one, DR. WHIZ!!!! That's a work in progress lol ;)

this afternoon instead of studyin for my exam tomorrow i did what i usually do and go through this rounds matches...One game i look at and wont be fully committed to until the teams are named is melb and carlton... carlton last week played well enough to beat west coast but it wasnt great they looked in 3rd gear for most of the game...if carlton turn up like that against melbourne i think the dee's could get up.

Now my mrs is a mad melbourne supporter (she goes every week and has for hte last 2n half years we have been together) so she could be clouding my judgment.. but heres how i see it.. melbournes defence matches up very well on carltons. Warnock and frawley can both play small or tall but will probs get hendo and setanta.. Bennell will play back on one of the 3 small guys Garland can take one of them aswell as bartrem or dunne as they have the pace and strength (the last 2-3 weeks they have been quite teams have gone out there and every oppertunity they will hurt them in the rules ofthe game of course)

Melbs midfield of scully,trengrove,gysbets(this rounds rising star award R10), mckenzie, moloney etc i feel is quicker and more skillful than carltons, the blues midfield relies on judd and murphy but only really judd breaks lines. Its one thing i heard the commentators say alot about carlton last week that they lacked pace.

So the dees have them covered down back and if they play and get away with there run and carry style of footy they should win... but the main concern is up front... Watts isnt going to kick a bag, will jetta be consistent? if bennell stays forward he will be a handful... austin isnt really match fit then theres sylvia and green. Unless colin and brad kick the majority of there goals or the dees lil quick skillful aborignie players get their do what betts garland and yarren have at times this year i worry about melbourne kicking a big enough score....

Again ill wait until i see the teams but at $3 for the win and more for them to win by under 39.5 the dees could be a goer on the weekend

I tend to disagree here Tench, I agree they were in third gear and tried to be too cute but I think sometimes that happens because a team doesn't need to get out of third gear. They were never going to lose that game last week and if there hadn't have been a scoreboard you would have thought Carlton won by 10 goals. I reckon they'll get themselves back up.
In the media most people seem to think it's been Melbourne's tall backmen that have been good and their smaller ones have been pretty inconsistent so that could be a problem with Houlihan to come back in and maybe Yarran too. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say Carlton lack pace, I would have thought they were one of the quickest in the comp and Judd (besides last week) has spent more time as an inside midfielder than an outside midfielder and they have plenty of guys who can break the lines in Simpson, Russell, Gibbs, Murphy, Judd, Waite, Carrazzo, Armfield, Walker and Scotland.
Melbourne's forward line is still learning whereas Carlton's much maligned backline has now become very good, Russell is the most improved player in the comp I think, Waite, Armfield, Jamison is gonna be very good, Thornton, Walker and Scotland. It's actually quite a good backline. Waite and Houlihan will definitely come back in, 2 good ins, and Bower is a chance too.
The Dees have improved a lot, and so they should be improving I suppose, but I think Carlton are a legitimate top four contender whereas the Demons probably won't play finals and I think we'll see that this weekend.

Both Dees and Blues inconsistent as you would expect from 2 young sides. I'm going to agree with Tenchy here in what IMO is going to be a close game. The Blues destroyed the Eagles last week early that is but sheesh who couldn't beat WC atm?
I think the key to both teams is the delivery from the midfield to the forwards or the ability to spread the goals amongst the midfield players. Both teams possess blistering pace but for some reason the Dees can really grow another leg at the G.
I agree with Tenchy, if the Dees can get the jump early on the Blues is going to be a close encounter. It will be very interesting going through the final teams when they are announced. It should be an interesting tussle.

The Blues really destroyed them all game, had 100 more possessions which is remarkable, just couldn't convert it to the scoreboard. The Dees are good at the G, no doubt about it, Carlton certainly don't go badly at the G and if you get rid of the loss to Hawks their form is very, very good. The other thing to take into account of course is the Judd factor, Melbourne don't have a star, and it's amazing how often Judd can swing a 50/50 game of football. If it's close look for him to take the game by the scruff of the neck late but I don't think it'll be that close.

They've kept Port and North very safe unfortunately

If the real Port turn up, dare I say it, they are a chance against the Frankless Hawks IMO. btw Molly, I'm hopping on the Blues this w/e.

every week just back jack riewoldt to kick most goals and more often than not you'll get a return... he is kicking most of there goals each game and will kick 3-5 each week which most weeks unless against pav,brown or fev he will out kick most times

How good is Jack Reiwoldt? He is turning into a fine young footballer. Gees, he's not far off the leaders for the Coleman!!!

Bristle said last night that tigers supporters used to come watch richmond for richo... now they'll come watch them for Jacko. He has that arrogance and presence up forward and ppl think he is a small forward but he is a big unit and a key forward. He will carry that side for the next few years and could be a Fev like player in the way he will kick 80% of there goals, which could be a bad thing as they may come predictable. If post or ashbury come through and become good forwards then richmond migh start putting together a good side. Their midfield is one of the toughest going around and if tambling lives up to expectations with a few other of their young group then they will have pace to burn with inside players like martin and cotchin who are stars. I tell you now get on martin or banfield as roughies for the rising star award

sorry i screwed up with the dees lol i apoligise molly :)

Ha ha, that's okay mate, that's what this thread is all about, sometimes we have these hunches but I just couldn't see it in this game. Dees actually got better in the wet which is weird considering we seem to think they are very quick and skilful, their skills were actually pretty ordinary and they need to change boot suppliers beause half of them fall over for no apparent reason. I went to the game and the rain was extremely heavy but they were falling over when it was dry. Chris Judd is phenomenal, I'm not sure the game was really up for grabs at 3 quarter time but if it was he snuffed out any chance the Demons had with his last quarter, some of the half volley pick ups he made in the wet were quite remarkable and I think he had 5 of the first 9 clearances in the last quarter. Just a star. Houlihan and Waite proved to be very good ins, 7 goals between them.

I think judd standing up when the dees started a comeback was the difference in the two teams almost. During that 3rd qtr the blues went to sleep. Geelong could be trouble now with them getting a alot of injuries and hawkins could be out for the a while now and you saw last night how important he had been as they really missed him

Spot on Moll about Judd thos w/e. Was the difference. IMO Tenchy, Tommahawk hasn't had the best of season. There will be someone to fill his shoes.

Tend to agree with MP here regarding Hawkins, but may be he is important structurally even if he isn't a very good player? Not quite sure at this stage. They do have a few injuries though admittedly so their depth will be tested in the next couple of weeks before the week off. Interesting watching Ablett on the weekend I thought, he just seems really frustrated and annoyed with the world and to be honest the Geelong team as a whole all seem pissed off with each other...I just wonder if all the media hype around Ablett etc is starting to have an impact?

I spruiked gysbets a two weeks ago he won the NAB rising star this week him martin and banfield are the best roughies for the rising star. If sam blease gets a game in the next few rounds he is another gun. I saw gysbets last year and he is just as good as scully / trengrove. Melbs midfield in 2-3 years will be unbelievable. On geelong hawkins was important to their structure he was their backup ruckman, now they have a young kid who didnt look to great and hunt who made his debut looked ok. They had a bloke kick 4-5 goals this week in the VFL that a few cats ppl rate so he might get a gig. Or ryan gamble gets probs his last chance. Interesting how they go. As for ablett i think he is annoyed he isnt playing in the midfield as much as is to much down forward. They pretty much coach themselves at times which si why i think they get annoyed with each other.

Agreed Tenchy, young Gysbets is a great long term pick up for Melbourne. Dees supporters, hang on for the ride in 2 years time, your team is set to fly!
There's no doubt Martin is also a great pick up for the Tigers but in saying that I would give young Hanneberry from the Swans a greater chance of taking out the NABRS.
Gees, it was a tough week tipping last week, any ideas this week guys?

Looks tough doesnt it. Carlton, Hawks, Bombers? Sydney, Eagles, Dogs? Freo and collingwood. Not sold on the bombers and dogs though hense the ?.... Also what about rohan might he is a superstar in the making to... so many good kids coming through to be the next generation i love it. To many redheads though haha

Those Rangas can certainly play footy lol ;)

Doing the AFL form again lads came up with this:

I know Richmond have improved over the past few weeks and West Coast generally don't travel to well but why are Richmond Favourites here? West Coast beat Melbourne at the MCG a few weeks ago and Richmond are nowhere near as good as the Demons. If you're using form lines you can't back Richmond and the fact the last 3 times these two teams have played at the MCG West Coast have won. So im backing the eagles in a tight 4-5 goal affair.

Suggested Bet: You can take West coast to win @ $2 or under 39.5 points @ $2.60. If your looking for better odds then stake out Le Cras, Kennedy and Riewoldt for most goals as those 3 generally kick the most goals for their side each week. Noting that Le Cras has the most goals 13 and Jack is 3rd with 7 in the last 4 games these 2 have played in against each other...Lynch is 2nd but may not play.

Agreed Tenchy and going through the sides I think WC really matches up well, they will need to contain Reiwoldt obviously.
Can't believe the odds on Sydney either. They have some good players coming back in and I don't rate Port at all.
I think these 2games are the most valuefor sure.
It's interesting to note that the Blues don't have the best of records against the Kangas but they did manage to scrape in I think by 10 points in their last encounter.

Yeah sydney should do a number on port..Yeah the blues dont have a great record but they will get over the line against the roos, like their last two games they will just do enough and win by 5 or so goals. The only game im not sure on now is the dogs and lions... Both teams are unpredictable

The Blues had the blues and their bad record continues against the Kangas.

Why couldn't this Carlton play last week against Melbourne lol they are killing me

How does it happen??? haha I mean Carlton just looked so much better on paper and form this year than the Kangaroos... Carlton remind me of the Roosters

Like I mentioned before lads the Blues have an atrocious record against the Kangas, I'm not that surprised!

Can't believe Sydney were outsiders against the Power. Was the bet of the year - big collect yeah baby!

Just in regards to melbourne's midfield, I agree with comments above that they have the potential to be very good, just have 2 concerns. One, their skills need to improve a fair bit as they just can't hurt you the way Murphy, Gibbs, Palmer, Rich etc could when they first came in, they really need to get 20+ possessions to have an impact whereas a Murphy could get 15 and be best on ground because he's so efficient and dangerous. Second concern is that they are perhaps getting too many of the same type of midfielders, Trengrove, Scully, Gysberts, Jones, McDonald are all inside types whereas to be a good team nowadays you need some outside running types. They might have a couple running around somewhere but it's no good having 4-5 star inside midfielders and no outsiders as you'll win all the contested possession and go nowhere with it. They do all look very good players and have Melbourne stitched up Carlton with the Brock McLean trade or what? (Just in case some of you are unaware, Carlton traded away pick 11 for Brock McLean which the Demons used to get Gysberts).

Carlton were shocking Friday night, they have to start winning these game as the young side (even though they are still very young) excuse is getting a bit old, need to find some consistency quickly. They'll play finals (ladder very rarely changes much, if at all after about round 12) but they need to play well every week as their best is very, very good whilst their worst is at times atrocious. The new Fremantle? Probably not that bad I guess...Carlton's record against the Kangas isn't that bad but again we have to be careful when looking at past records with sides like Carlton as they were very bad for a very long time (and in that time North were pretty good) so the Blues don't really have a particularly good record against anyone over the last decade...

Agree with some of your point Molly but seriously look at the past few rounds against the Roos, the Roos haven't been that flash in he past few years either. ;)

Gees, it's a tough split round lads. I'm tipping a few upsets ;)

Tonights game is going to be a cracker... i want hawks to get up so a few more of their supporters come out of the woodwork spruiking how good they are before they go crashing back to earth :) The other game im worried about is the freo vs blues... freo are at $2 which i think is insane considering how they have been traveling (yes i know they have lost 2 straight but one was to the saints) and the blues lost to north last week.... its the sort of game you expect freo to win but one that the inconsistant blues would get up for...If west coast play like they did at subi against geelong they will beat the doggies.. but north will beat port and the lions will dismantle teh tigers

Tipped Hawks, Freo, Port, Brisbane and Gone safe with dogs but if you see the multi bet thread then ive taken the eagles at the line

Blues ordinary again, let themselves down, had they kicked straight could have easily won but this is Carlton now it would seem, break has probably come at the right time. Brisbane are gone unfortunately and we're down to 9 teams that can play finals, can't believe the way the wheels have come off for the Lions, four straight to start off now 1 out of their last 8 and they are probably the worst team in the league right now along with West Coast and Port Adelaide not far away. Ladder very rarely changes after round 10 and it almost never changes after round 12, only possible change would be for North to replace the Hawks or Blues but knowing Carlton they could come out and win their next 5 and we still are not sure about the Hawks but I still can't rate the Kangaroos either so who the hell knows anymore, top 9 looks settled though, just a matter of order.

Gotta agree with you Molly, gees how bad are the Lions going atm! Like I said before injuries will definitley shape the 8 in the next half of the year. Some teams no doubt see this break as a relief in more than 1 way that's for sure.

Funny how every time the media hypes up a team they hit a wall... First it was brisbane then collingwood, essendon and carlton. Now its the hawks. I havnt been sold on any of those teams not even my side really. For the simple reason they havnt been consistant nor have they beaten the top 2 teams in the comp the saints and cats. Yes we know carlton beat the cats and the saints but really they got both teams at good times and as you can see with how they have gone against teams like collingwood, freo, hawks and north they aint contenders. If the hawks can step up and beat one of those two teams over the next few weeks and knock off the doggies then i might give them a chance but tis still a two horse race. The only teams i can see challenging the cats and saints are hawks and freo. Only because they have players like buddy, cyril, hodge, pav, sandilands who can turn a match on their own. The saints have milne, hayes goddard and the roo and im not going to name half of the cats side. To much gets left for judd at the blues and collingwood doesnt have a forward line that can mark inside 50 and convert. Against the dees which we went inside 58 odd times we marked the ball inside 50 4 times and so all of our 31 scoring shots except 4 came from general play. Not good enough and wont win you games. Dogs are a good side but i said at the start of the year Hall is not the answer and they havnt beaten anyone on the ladder above them. By the way how good was buddy the other night him and cyril *drrooolllss*

Gotta agree with you Tenchy, it's going to be a 2 horse race again. The Saints will just go about thier winning ways and then with the big ROO back in a few weeks this will only strengthen their campaign for September glory.
By the way, no question about it, Buddy is a star but gees I can't stand him!

Well the saints beat the cats which im not surprised about but surely the cats and saints may be missing a few players this week, my pies beat the swans but didnt really capitilise on the amount of ball we had and shouldve won by 60 not 25, our kicking is still shite... And the demons continue to kill me... Seems when ever i back them they decide to stay at home and when i back against them they turn up and play football like you've never seen. You watch them push the saints next week possibly even get up yet the crows will probs get done over by the bombers... Now the final 8 is practically set i just want the finals to start... this is the only problem i have with extending the season. By round 12-14 you can see which are the top 8-10 the other 6 (next year 7) you might aswell right off. Which as a punter makes tipping hard this time of year.. i reckon from round 15-22 more "upsets" would happen than before round 15 due to the fact teams know they are in the finals etc. Some tough games next week starting on thursday night... Anyone know why there is a thursday night game? is it like the monday night thing or another reason??

Probably because its coming up the break, and its school holidays also now.

Gees Tenchy, thought you might have had faith in your Pies vs Swans. They have the wood over the Swans especially at ANZ.
BTW, I'll eat my hat if the Dees beat the Saints. Sure they will be good but consistantly, not yet! If the bombers were playing in Melbourne, yup I'd back them but Adelaide will be too strong because it is at Aami and the Bombers play terribly here as do the Dees.
So many hard games to tip agreed. I'm not sold on Hawks yet but if the beat the Blues and definitely a winnable game, I might change my tune.

nah mate our last 2 weeks had been poor and coming off a break i thought we could be abit flat like melbourne were... i dont think the dees will win but if you look at whose beaten the saints this year carlton and the bombers who play that run and carry game similar to the saints.. but they dont have enough goal kickers to test the saints.

Exactly Tenchy, not enough goal kickers for the Dees and the Saints back 6 have a great record and rate highly comparing other clubs. IMO, the Blues and Lions game will be very close, staying outta that one ;)

I was going to tip the blues but after how vossy came out and put a bit on his players in his presser, i expect them to come out firing... Not many coaches would have his respect and pull when he says something like he did players generally respond if they dont then they will find them selfs out of a career

Baker gets 9 weeks! Gee I know he was being an absolute pest but that seems a bit harsh! Surely they will front and appeal! Stevie j 4 weeks that also seems harsh although it was a nasty elbow.

IMO portcolts they wont appeal.. Obivously the AFL want to make an example of this and if they went to appeal and it was reduced then the match review panel would look like gooses.. I know the AFL have nothing to do with all of this but thats just as believable as julia gillard having fake red hair

Hahahaha I agree.

Baker contesting 2 out of 4 charges. Has taken 5 weeks and will be risking another 5. Doubt he will get off! Stevie j accepted 3.

Baker knew what he was doing and I hope justice is served!

Tonight it will go to 10 weeks... if he gets off watch the uproar lol

Baker should certainly get off a few of his charges imo. He was being a pest but being a pest is not against the rules...the rules need to be looked at with regards to what can and can't be done to an opponent off the ball but as it stands now most of what Baker did happens to every star player every week. The match review panel already look like gooses dishing out the penalties they did to Baker - a couple of glancing blows to the face/neck at best should be the only things looked at and this is not to mention Stevie J - who I believe should have got roughly what he did however if his name was Judd he would have gotten off. Where is the consistancy with these clowns ?? Baker gets 10 weeks for what really amounted to low impact blows (watch Fevola punch the full backs hand when they rest it on his chest every week !) and Stevie J gets 4 for a round house elbow to the eye socket that was clearly high impact.....Baker gets 10 - more than Barry Halls knockout punch that knocked Brent Staker into next week ??? Go figure

The biggest problem from all of this is why didnt the umpire when the first incident happened who was right there and saw it all didnt give a free kick? And at every AFL game the umpires have a coach (yes they have a coach) who looks at them during the game where they are positioned etc and whether they made a howler or a good decision... they are actually wired up to the umpires.. Surely he has a monitor of the game like the coaches etc do he shouldve seen the channel 7 telecast and said make sure you keep an eye on baker and johnson... not to mention the emergencey umpires just sittting down doing nothing... The AFL and Umpires will go through that this week and watch anything off the ball be paid this week... We need tosack gieshen and make AFL umpires Full Time

I gotta agree Leeroy, Baker gets more than Hall..... sheeeesh!

Hall's punch was one incident, this fella had 4 incidents. And you can't suspend a bloke longer just because he throws a good punch, only because he threw a punch.
Hall gets 7 weeks for 1 strong punch, and Baker gets 9 weeks for 4-5 punches? Not to mention punching a bloke on his broken hand. Sounds like Hall got the rough end. The damage done in an incident has nothing to do with the legality of the action or the intent behind it.
To get reported for striking 4 times in one match and only get a total of 9 weeks, 2-3 weeks per incident, seems lenient to me, given that the AFL is generally very strong on dirty play.

a players suspension is directly related to the "impact" of the incident so comparing Halls 1 punch, which knocked the player out cold, with Baker's 2,3,4 "punches" that fair dinkum would not have hurt a school kid is like comparing apples with oranges. With relation to the punching of a players hand watch the footy every week and see it happen multiple times in every game. Thats my main point, the inconsistancy of the match review panel is a blight on the game. Was it reasonable to assume his hand was broken when the incident happened ??? I think it could be easily argued that Baker didn't know his hand was broken given that the incident happened on the field of play with no doctors or trainers nearby and not in a medical room.

Fair call about the knowledge of the broken hand. I think he had a suspicion though. And the mentions about the refs in previous posts obviously make sense. I'm not defending Hall, but it's an obvious suspension to a compare to.

True, the punches wouldn't have hurt his little sister, but it was pretty dirty stuff. Of the 5 reports, were the 2 players ever facing each other when they struck? Seems that it was a lot of hitting from behind, spinning elbows. Just sneaky, dirty, low stuff. I know hitting broken hands, dreadlock pulling, and attacking players while they leave the field etc is happen all the time but that doesn't change the fact it's crap. The worst thing about Hall/Staker was that it was a king hit IMO - no chance to defend himself, dirty dog shot. If Staker had shaped up or started a fight, does Hall get 7 for being heavy handed?

I don't know about the "impact" call - would Johnson have escaped suspension or got a smaller suspension if Baker had not been split and left the field for treatment? Surely they can't go soft on players spinning around and striking an unsuspecting opponent in the face with an elbow (or similar), just because the victim has a strong jaw or "tough" reputation? Can they go hard on a player if he attacks a victim with a glass jaw? Would a player escape suspension because he is smaller and weaker than the player he attacked, and could not cause much damage? Doesn't seem fair.

Comparing a good punch to the head with a bad punch is the same as comparing a good kick to the head with a bad one. Both are against the rules and are designed to hurt an opponent to gain an advantage in the game.

I might be way off the mark, but I thought Baker got off ok considering. I'm not sure if there is loading in the AFL or if the loading can accumulate during the single match. Apples and oranges again, but a player in the NRL who was reported 4 times in a season for striking, the last suspension would probably 6 weeks+ in itself (and yes, more if the damage was significant). If it was 4 times in a match..................

Dont comment here please Leeroy.
1. You back out of bets after you lose
2. You are low down trash.
3. No one on this site likes you.
4. You are low down trash
5. You would stab your own mother for $5

Hmmm, I must have missed something here Vicey, seems like someone doesn't pay up. Anyway, IMO I think Whiz you are off the mark but that's your opinion and you are entitled to it for a healthy debate. But a king hit and knocking the guy out cold without any notice seems to me like a round in the UFC. Both cases were filthy and we don't need that capper in our game. Both players have a bad history with the tribunal too. Impact and the severeity accounts for alot in the eyes of the T. panel.

Bring on the grandy because there's gunna be some fire works between these 2 sides lads!!!!!

.

CARLTON AND BRISBANE GAME TONIGHT thoughts???

Tonkin, carlton just cant lose tonight... the implications it would have on their season and finals aspirations. I cant see how Brisbane will score more than 12 goals tonight and Carlton should have enough to knock them off, especially after how poor they were last week against freo. Carlton are the better team and need to win thats why ive tipped them... Brisbane since they knocked us off have been terrible.

Yes MightandPower its Leeroy that doesnt pay up so dont get suckered into betting with him. He owes Sinestro $100 now. So low.....

Fair call MP. I've onIy posted here a couple of times and have appreciated the intelligent comments I've read in response. I learn more reading this thread than some of the papers/tv.

Back to the footy ! :)

PS The AFL have done it again, they've got a dead set rugby league fan commenting on the AFL for the 2nd time in a month!!!!!

LOL Doc, I knew Kevin Sheedy had you in his recruiting sites. It's great to see a rugby league fan taking an interest in AFL. I have also taking a like to NRL since joining PP due to some the guys on here. At least we can have an opinion and debate on here w/o being over aggressive or childish for that matter.

BTW Vicey, I have read the threads and it appears pretty bad that the member that you cited hasn't honoured the bet. Thank God he isn't a book maker because I'd have to call the AFP to follow him as he leaves the country in hiding ;)

just heard the roo.. riewoldt has redone his hammy

richmond 4 in a row... who wouldve thought...

Jack has been the difference!

tenchy, is that true about Riewoldt's hamstring? That's huge if he has.

Brisbane are in absolute disarray up there, Carlton were very ordinary in the first half and the Lions were still down by 20 at half time, there would have to be a chance of J. Brown being rested for the remainder of the season wouldn't there? Is there any point him playing?

Huge loss to Sydney, they missed a chance to go a game up on North who were obviously always going to lose to the Cats. Now North travel to Sydney next week to play the Swans in a game that could decide who finishes 8th. Big wins for Blues and Hawks as they are near certainties to play finals now. Blues V Dogs becomes a blockbuster now, winner still has a small sniff at top 4, loser will have to settle for top 8 and boys can I suggest that you watch this game, over the last couple of years when the Dogs and Blues have met they have played some simply brilliant games of football. Free flowing, attacking, high scoring...the way it should be and the midfield battle is a beauty, Judd, Murphy, Simpson, Gibbs, Carrazzo, Yarran and Grigg against Higgins, Cooney, Griffin, Cross and Boyd,

Molly i heard from someone friday morning but didnt wanna make it make it a rumour etc but when greame cornese went with it on adelaide radio and saying he was told by the physio at the saints then thats when i thought well its public now and might be true.. But since then no one in any media has gone with it... so i gather either the saints are keeping it a secret very well or its a false rumour and i was misinformed and greame cornes ran with somthing he didnt really have evidence on.. so in all honesty i shouldnt have posted that but at the time i thought it was true.. I spose we will find out when the teams come up this week

That 8th spot is up for grabs for sure lads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My$13 for adelaide to make the eight isn't looking out of business yet and i hope they keep winning as i'll be happy to take a coulple of grand profit because i still don't think they will make it. Learning when to enter and exit a market is so important when trading on betfair. Nudge Sydney to win the minor premiership - jeez you got that one wrong they will struggle to make the eight. Bradshaw is the key to them, have won 5 and lost 1 from his 6 games this year. Saints look the only side possible that can take it up to geelong, collingwood are pretenders and the dogs don't look as dangerous with hall in there side. Looks as though fremantle might start to struggle now especially with barlow gone for the year but i've made a killing on the afl this year especially on fremantle. Looks a Geelong and St'kilda grand final even this far out.

I hear Ben Cousins had an adverse reaction to a sleeping pill. Sounds suspect.....
To me thats like Cheech and Chong having an adverse reaction to a cigarette......

vicey it was the mixture of a bottle of wine, a handful or nodos, the sleeping pill and dehydration from what ive heard and the riewoldt thing is wrong as he is going to be playing this week according to some. Sydney and north are the only two teams who can still make the 8 the rest are gone... Adelaide have only beaten a young melbourne side running out of legs and a deplorable bombers team and their luck continues this week against the weagles but 2 games still behind and only one after this round i feel with the cats,pies,saints,richmond (in melb) and dogs still to play as north have a better draw as do the swans especially if bradshaw comes back... dont expect the pies to smash the power this week either.. its a great rivaly that generally produces cracking games no matter where either side is at. Also plugger... I know im a pies man and abit bias but im starting to believe with my pies.. i think we have got our side almost right with selections.. if we can get dick back who ive been saying all year is a very important player with medhurst then im quietly confident.. but they have hurt me before in september and until they prove themselves i spose everyone has the right to call them pretenders

Still unconfirmed though? And its Ben Cousins, until its confirmed, its a funny coincidence you'd have to agree....

it is.. i kinda feel sorry for him, if it was any other AFL footballer none of this would be in the news. Look at pears who had pancreas surgery the other week.

Don't get me wrong, Ill take him as innocent until proven guilty so to speak, but yeah, for this to happen to Ben Cousins of all players......

yeah i get ya mate, he has left him self open to it im afraid

I feel sorry for him too, has worked very hard to get himself to where he is. It sounds like he made a legitimate mistake but with him you just never know. He has been given the all clear and released this morning though so hopefully he's fine.

I can see why some people are getting excited about Adelaide but at the same time, 2 games out is a lot at this stage of the season. Also Sydney play North next week so one of them has to win which makes it harder again for Adelaide as they will still be 2 games out and suddenly we only have 7 games left. I've said it before, I don't think the 8 will change now, it rarely does after round 10 and almost never does after the split round, just the way it goes.

Regarding the Dogs as mentioned above, I honestly think the teams in the top 4 would rather play the Dogs in the second week of finals rather than the Hawks or Blues. Dogs just really struggle in close games and against teams above them whereas we know Carlton and Hawthorn can get themselves up for big games against the good sides. I just don't think the Dogs have been able to click yet, against Hawthorn I felt that the Dogs were threatening to find top gear and blow them away but just couldn't do it. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Carlton end up 5th and Hawthorn 6th and both of them look a lot more dangerous in the 8 than the Dogs I reckon.

A lot of people worked hard to get where they are without taking drugs in the first place.

You'd think if the bloke has had substance issues, then the club would not let him take No Doze and Stilnox (or whatever it was), assuming they knew?.........bit of controversy lately with blokes mixing caffeine and sleeping pills to get a high without breaking the rules.

i agree vicey... i wont mention names but i know of a bloke who i was mates with at high school who is currently playing in the VFL we stopped being mates when his drug addiction became a problem.. he sorted himself out and started playing footy again this bloke dominated local footy winning flags and league B&Fs etc he was a very good performer in the under 16 state side... Gold coast spoke to him last year and told him to play a year in the VFL and if he performs well enough they will take him... So far he is probs leading the clubs B&F in the VFL and i have no doubt he will get picked up. Its great he sorted himself out and might get to play AFL level but there are so many others that have the talent but get lost in the wrong crowd.... unfortunatly its society these days... Then you look at blokes like crawf who was one of the hardest working people who was clean and made the most of his talent with hard work and you wonder why dont kids who have a talent to play AFL work that hard cause if i did have that talent i would be like crawf

Hmmm, Adelaide have a damn hard draw on enroute to September. As I previously mentioned, Adelaide will be storming home in the last half of the year. IMO, it's a toss of the coin if they make the 8. I don't rate Sydney or Kangas so IMO I think one of them will be slip sliding away, so Plugger for the sake of my team, I hope you are right.

BTY lads, I hate to ruffle feathers but how bad was that Blues vs Lions game. I reckon my little Auskickers have better skills atm than both sides. I'm sorry but I don't rate the Blues as a serious contender.

Tenchy, I hear whispers thst Bradshaw won't be playing again in 2010 which makes it even harder for the Swans.

As for Benny, I feel for the guy. He's worked so hard and played an absolute cracker last w/e. I really hope that wasn't his last game.

Finally, I think the Doggies are running out of time to win a flag. Their list is ageing rapidly and the window is closing for sure.

Collingwood to beat Port by 5-6 goals but dont be surprised if its closer.. even though the players dont admit it we have saints next week and the side will have an eye on them.. Geelong and Hawks is a tough one either team can win and it will be within 1-2 goals ablett was quiet last week and be interesting to see who comes back for the cats, i think the hawks will maybe get up just looking at whose been firing for them recently and buddy wasnt exactly great last week and roughy just hitting his straps im going to tip the hawks :-/ lol

Saints and Freo will smash the lions and tigers... Freo were still way to good for port last week even with all those injuries and they cant afford to lose a game with the likes of hawthorn chasing a top4 spot and well we know how poor the lions are.

Call me crazy but im going to tip the eagles to beat adelaide this week... The weagles play alot better at subi than they do anywhere else and i keep thinking to 2-3 weeks ago when they pushed geelong the whole way..

North and sydney is a toss of a coin... I think north will win cause scott will have the roos pumped up and bradshaw as discussed is to important... Sydney are only averaging 70 odd points lately and with the way the roo's have been scoring recently that wont be enough

Dogs to beat the blues who still look flat and that goes back to when they beat the eagles... they have beaten sides like melb, West coast and brisbane but looked average in doing it and against freo and north they just looked poor.

Melbourne will get back jarrah and sylvia which will make their forward line alot more potent.. If jamar stays fit and plays they will dominate the ruck and centre.. ill be there on sunday and for my sake the dee's get up.. that means a happy mrs and she will be even more happy if ive had a good weekend on the punt ;)

See all the market moves and current odds available for round 15 at www.orangeodds.com

Well why in earth did Port sign choco last year when clearly neither of them wanted to.. surely now paying him out isnt the way to go especially after the AFL and SA government have already handed them cash to get them out of trouble. I'm now a little worried about tonight cause port surely will come out firing. The other thing i came across doing the stats for the games was that the saints have only won once at the gabba and that was a few years ago... i cant see them losing this game but just interesting to take note... also strange that they are risking the roo up there this week but i spose they want game time into him before they take on my mob next saturday

Affirmative Tenchy, Port will go broke again and again. Put Laidley in the drivers seat and strap in for the ride with the master tactician I say.

having a think about that mighty.. Why on earth would laidley want to coach port?? he has coached north where he was cash strapped and a club of honest footballers no stars and did what he did with what cattle he had... Why would he want to take over at port where they are worse off than what the Roos where a few years ago.. i personally think he is waiting for the Eagles job.... If i was port id start a rebuild and get Scott Burns as there coach.. I'd prefer him to take over at the pies than bucks

So Matty Primus is in the drivers seat at Port, Good luck Matty with a list that is very poor to work with. Laidley states that he's not interested in any senior coaching role in AFL....maybe not at Port but hell i reckon there would be a few clubs out there that may want him down the track.
How about those Tigers again. Damien Hardwick take a bow.
Isn't funny how some bookmakers will be paing out twice on the wooden spoon (Richmond they already paid out on and now West Coast looks like another pay out. LMAO I say!
Looking at the draw and points....my beloved team Adelaide have left their run too late to make the finals but I tell ya they are in good stead for 2011.

lmao at the bookies who paid out Richmond bets. Sport, Racing and Punting are funny things and anything is possible.

Spot on Cashy ;)

Holy crap, just completed my 'Bailey's' finals ladder predictor from the AFL website and my ladder is as follows on the completion of round 22 keeping in mind my predictions of each games from rounds16 - 22. I hope it doesn't end this way for Adelaide, I'll be heart broken!

1. Geel -76 pts better %
2. Saints -76 pts
3. Coll - 62
4. Freo - 56
5. Haw - 56
6. West. B - 52
7. Carl - 44
8. Syd - 40 (103.6%)
9. Adel - 40 (94.9%)
10. Nth M.- 40 (84.9%
11.Lions - 36
12. Rich - 30
13. Melb - 28
14. Ess -28
15. Port -28
16 West.C -12

And then after having done that, have a crack at the finals predictor, could be surprising!

Very interesting at the bottom end of 8, as Sydney/Adel both have a tough draw to come home with. Similiar to last season when Essendon fell into the 8 by default. Brisbane could storm home.... last 5 all look very winnable to me, but tough next 2.

Will make for an intereting finals series if the Hawks can snare 4th.

Bombers are gone, and to all those supporters whinging about the umpires just stop... you had more inside 50s more scoring shots and at times dominated the game but under pressure you fumble and turn it over way to easily.. the umpires have been redhot on the 50s the past 2-3 weeks so get used it and ADJUST like every other team has... If you go to the footy and walk away blaming the umpires then you shouldnt watch or go to the footy cause you should be there watching the game 2-3 mistakes by an umpire isnt going to cost you the game when your down by 40 odd points.... end of rant lol

Freo are struggling with a few injuries but shouldve locked that game away before half time, pav has been poor since the adelaide game i wonder whether he is carrying an injury... The blues as suspected are a side that dont have enough quality around the ground and judd, murphy,gibbs cant do it all... Dogs look good unless they are playing a top 3-4 team... Richmond could win 5 straight when they take on a disapointing North this week who couldnt pump themselves up for a game as big as sydney and where not great... Lions werent that good they controlled most of the saints game but failed to convert with alot of turnovers, the saints looked rusty and i think they really missed goddard and he is their most inportant player not the roo.. Already discussed port and well my mob i dont know what to make of us yet and we have another test this week with no Cloke who was just bloody dumb but hopefully young Reed will get his chance and Medhurst should come back for anthony who is in the leigh brown category of spud.

West Coast showed more heart and im sorry might but adelaide aint beating much and wont play finals. Melb still turn the ball over to much but looked alot better structuley upforward with Sylvia, Jarrah and Green rotating through... Watts is good athletically and has some strong points but he doesnt have a football brain and he makes poor decisions yesterday that frustrated me as i was there with the mrs.. Hawks if they stay fit and firing will be the first team to win the flag outside the 8 and geelong just keep powering on

MY predicted ladder

Cats
Saints
Pies
Dogs
Hawks
Freo
North
Syd
Melb
Carlton
Rich
Adelaide
Lions
Port
West coast
Essendon

Geelong vs Hawks final and id love the bombers to finish last :D

Doubt the 8 will change Tenchy, rarely does this time of the year and looking at the run home for the sides in the 8 all should be able to win enough games I think. North had their chance on the weekend against Sydney and were pretty disappointing, played like a side not ready for the 8 this season. If Brisbane can get a few back they might be a sneaky chance but they are all at sea and think the chance has passed them by. Dogs V Blues was a strange game, stats were remarkable, almost equal on possessions, tackles, contested ball and Dogs had just 4 more inside 50s (Carlton led inside 50s at half time somehow) yet Blues got pumped. I thought the midfield battle was actually pretty even it was just what the teams did when they got it. Gibbs and Murphy who we know are two of the better kicks in the league let alone at Carlton both turned it over nearly 10 times which probably sums up the Blues day. I'd say Wiggins might come in as well as Waite to give them some contested marking options which will help a lot. Beginning to wonder if the Freo slump we have all been waiting for is here? Barlow goes and then a loss to Richmond is almost a disaster really. Dogs play Freo on Sunday week and that game will more than likely decided 4th spot now and if Freo end up out of the top 4 they will cop a lot of criticism. Poor old Matty Knights is under the pump big time and I think rightfully so in a way, with every loss the offer to James Hird gets an extra zero added I still think West Coast will finish last though, they are really bad and John Worsfold is beginning to remind me of Denis Pagan when he coached Carlton, a coach who simply hasn't and can't adjust to the modern game.

Not happy with macaffer coming in for cloke, you have a young kid in Reed kicking bags in the VFL and you wont pick him when a key forward spot opens up... i know its against the saints but geezzz Mick did this with Dawes over the past 2-3 years and it frustrates the life out of me

Hey, JAY TROTTER, haven't heard from you in this thread for a while. Is this because Craigy and the boys have won 4 straight and now sit 1 game outside the 8? Never underestimate a great coach mate! PLUGGER, it's going to be a close one mate, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
GO YOU CROW BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's hope so might because it's worth $28,000 to me but i'll be laying some off before then.
I made a killing on freo so let's hope adelaide can follow suit. Now that the game is so fast young sides are the way to go. Rutten looks completly lost in the pace of the game, he'll be lucky too make the cut at the end of this year.

He may lack pace Plugger but never underestimate a player that is and can be a major back bone to the backline attacking structure. But agreed, the speed of the game has definitely increased. Last night's game was breathtaking, a true contest of speed, nerves and attack. I've said it all along, Adelaide has a few players back now and are more settled as a side, they are barnstorming home! I would love the Kangas and Swans to get beaten this w/e. I can feel a raja comin' on ;)

By the way Plugger, I have done some research and am interested in having a go at Trading on betfair. What free software could you recommend and have you got any tips in regards to trading eg. Greening up etc?

Cheers mate, Go you Crow Boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GEEKSTOY without doubt is the best software available and it's free mate.
http://geekstoy.co.uk/ToyVersion1.0f.msi
If anyone has issues downloading from the above link, try http://geekstoy.com/Download/ToyVersion1.0f.msi

Call me if you like and i'll run you through it over the phone to make life alot easier and faster or just muck around with it. If you want my mobile no. just message me.

Here's the videos of the badger from the racing traders site - he's an aussie

http://www.easytraderpro2.co.uk/videos.html ! enjoy

I also trade alot on uk horse racing - here's abit of info i use http://www.patternform.co.uk/dobbing.htm

http://www.patternform.co.uk/

Martin owns the site and puts up the dobbing cards everyday for free, i also check the betfair timeform site to make a final decision with the pace cards as frontrunners have a tendancy to firm IR
Here's the link for that - http://form.horseracing.betfair.com/timeform

Also if you want a trick on how to bet IP on australian sports PM (Private Message) me

Thanks Ducky, I'll have a whirl in the next few days ;) btw, how do you PM a PP member on here?

Just write on a members wall and delete it and make sure you have email box ticked, you probably already know this anyway. Not a PM but sorta

Is it just me or does the $2.35 for the Swans seem great value?

Awful Value, Swans will struggle.

i have swans the bet of the round i have several multi's relying on the swans. i need a change of fortune.

$2.55 all week as well

Cmon Swans!!! $2.55 baby!

not only the swans but the kangaroos are at great value check the sports multi thread ;)

Oh the excitement, little nervous but surely the swans are home.... Cmon

well done podo

WELL DONE PODO!!!!!!
Got it all wrong.

Thanks guys, it was a bit of a thrill actually to see them win in the end i was extremely confident with sydney's chances of winning when filling in my multi's thursday and made sure they were in every one i put on, but as each other leg one and i realised that it was all up to sydney sunday i must admit i was very tempted to lay a bit off, but being a gambler at heart i went with my gut and sat glued to the tv, i could not believe the start they got off to and the ease at which they one, never did i think that it was going to be a white wash from the kick off, i just simply thought they were great value for any multi. It turned out to be a great result for once, but watching such a long game on the couch, having money in the phone account and lappy close by, i ended up donating a large chunk to my 4 legged friends throughout the day. It took a little gloss off but still it was a very profitable weekend. They generally let me win every now and again cause they know its only a loan and they will get it back off anyway.

haha Podo, sounds like myself.. i win i take out the profits then reinvest the money i originally start with.. sometimes abit extra.. bookies must love blokes like us..

my wrap up of the weekend.... Adelaide are back, like last year they change their gameplan and become more attacking and taking risks running the ball and it pays off, you got to ask why the last two years they havnt started the season playing like this, is it craigy or what?? but with the way carlton look there is a possibility the crows could sneak in. Geelong have been hot and cold this year, this is the 2nd time this year where they have had a few losses and havnt been playing great footy but you know how good they are and with players starting to come back from injuries they will be back and look out lions this week at skilled stadium, you also got to wonder what impact their doctor getting resusetated on the ground just before the start wouldve had on the players

I tipped my mob to beat the saints, as soon as cloke was suspended i knew we would be written off and its the type of game we always play our best footy when we are the underdogs not expected to win, loved how quickly the commentators started back tracking on how good the saints are and that the pies aint big game team when we were smashing them... but the lid is still on with me we havnt done anything recently in the finals to be taken seriously... the saints well we all know they are serious contenders and it will take them another week or 2 before they get used to having the Roo back much like it has taken the dogs time to adjust to Hall but i think the hawks will knock them off this friday

The hawks are firing and can shake up the finals if they all stay fit and well the lions are in the same boat as carlton and bombers atleast they can use injuries to key 4-6 players for their poor form.

I ended up tipping west coast as after watching the bombers live last week i couldnt see them getting up and i keep thinking back to how west coast have been playing recently against the cats, looked good for a qtr or 2 against the dogs and nearly knocked off the crows last week and boy wasnt le cras something special this week they will beat carlton this week at subi and we will have 5 teams level on 20 points at the bottom of the ladder.

Port are woeful and will be for the rest of the year it will be between them and bombers for last... The dogs will rest key players this week against the dockers cause of the travel and the effects from the game in darwin, remember how flat the dees and port where after their trip to darwin. The dogs have barely trained last week and again this week tryin to keep the players fresh after losing anywhere from 3-6 kilos during the game last night

Tigers were tigers of old today and will drop off abit now, the roos kept their finals chances alive and have a big game next week where you would expect them to beat a deflated essendon

Carlton will miss the finals and ive been sayin here for a while look disinterested even when they beat teams like the lions, dees and eagles. Betts i think is their most important player if he aint kicking goals and looking lively then carlton are poor, I would start playing hendo as a key forward with waite and sentanta around him as hendo is a future key forward and will be a gun with more development... carlton will be regretting and giving away kennedy now

Freo survived a scare against the dees and will benifit from some good fixuturing and hang onto 4th spot although wont go far come finals time unless they get 1-2 players back from injury as they will be relying on hill,ballytyne,pav and Sandilands to do to much.. the dees keep progressing just need to convert their chances and watts needs to learn the game of football he frustrates me with his decision making..

sorry for the rant guys just my thoughts and might give us something to discuss over the week whilst at work/uni

Gee I feel sorry for the punters who took the Swans winning by 39.5 points+...a behind in the last 90 seconds and the margin finishes at 39. If my Swans play like that each week, can they give the premiership a crack?

They are a decent side nugde and alot will depend on whether Bradshaw comes back and is fit.. but i just dont think the swans will be able to match it with the pies,geelong or hawks. If they get the saints then maybe cause the gameplans and styles are similar as we saw early this year when both teams played. The good thing is, with blokes like jack, Hannerby, Rohan, White etc coming through the swans will be around the mark for a few years to come

Guys some stand out bets this weekend get on now before lines change:

Bombers მ.5 @$1.91

Port Adelaide უ.5 @ $1.91

Both are morals IMO any get a slice.

Jezza, we can't really see what your pts margin is on the power due to typo error but imo I think the Power will get flogged by the Crows. Just have a look at the woeful results of Port coming back from Darwin....I rest my case!

I don't contribute much to this thread so i'll keep this simple:
I dont feel sorry for Akermanis.

little bit harsh on Aker I think... it's not as if he's done anything differently this year, he's been just as outspoken as he's always been... i'm sure the Bulldogs knew what they were getting themselves into when they signed him originally and then extended his contract last year....

i can promise you that smorgan will cop more flack for this and it will be interesting to see whether Hall is on the footy show tonight and whether he has been gagged cause him and aker are mates and the leadership group spoke for all the players but not all the players were involved... Two prominate players of the dogs where lead players in this... This will effect this club especially when smorgan comes out and says every player and every staffer wanted aker gone when that is not true

Hawthorn, Bulldogs and Swans straight out at $4.34 will do me this week.

Affirmative Vicey, negative Tenchy. There's more to it than what the story is coming out. I support Smorgan or anyone for that matter that crosses the line of keeping things in-house and trust me there are alot of the doggies players that wanted Aker out. His used by date has passed imo. Sorry to agree to disagree. One thing is for sure and that the bullies window for a premiership is closing.

Once again keeping it simple, how many warnings did Akermanis want!?

Totally agree with tenchy! What are they clarevoyants? The publisher of his book has said no one has even seen it! Yet they know what's in it! The smiling assassin has a lot to do with this decision believe you me

Aren't we forgetting Aker previously got the boot from another club? No rocket science needed for a warning sign to shut your mouth.

he didnt get sacked from the lions mate they parted ways mutually due to circumstances and at the lions he never leaked any info or anything it was more his relationship with a few players mainly J. Brown where strained.. Bulldogs have sacked him for leaking info which was sams bad cause it was from a private convo but they waited 3 weeks to do it. When eade says that Aker is in the mix etc then the next day he gets the sack there is something fishy going on.. . especailly when the dogs wont say anything and say that it was said by EVERY player when i know for a fact there are about 10 or so from there starting 22 who are dumbfounded by this... As i said before barry hall was ment to be on the footy show last night but hte dogs pulled him from the show... no coincedence that him and aker are good mates you think??

Aker had a huge falling out with leppitch it had to do with a wedding, j brown believed aker was in the wrong and the relationship was strained between them from then on. As brown was skipper aker did not have much support at the club and your right tench both parted ways mutually. That article was only an issue when Sam newman leaked a private conversation between him and aker about the editing of the article. Newman has since admitted to betraying aker s trust.

Wherever Acker goes, whatever he does, he will always end up in the same situations and having the same coversations with the boss. Doesn't matter if it's media or footy. He ruffles feathers and he loves it.
We all know that if you are in a sporting team you don't rock the boat and you keep your mouth shut. It's pretty much how all workplaces are to an extent. Play as a team.
Acker either doesn't know this or doesn't care.

Quite frankly a guy with such an ego and a big mouth deserves to be on the outer. Read into all the stories as you will but one must remember that Aker was a great player but his ego got the better of him...period.

Fair enough M&P but they recruited him knowing his track record, and like Aker himself said it's only when his form slips of that his football clubs have a problem with him

Saying that Aker and the Brisbane Lions "parted ways mutually" means they were gonna get rid of him anyway.

It's the politically correct terminology used nowadays. A bit like when schools expel kids. Now they are "asked to leave".

Exactly, when really the club said:
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out ya f**kin arrogant twat"

Pity that Aker wasn't playing at the Kanga's a few years ago eh? Wankery could have blamed him. Unfortunately Jason will be remembered for his falling out from two clubs and not the fact that he talked the talk, then walked the walk out on the ground for both of them.
Pity that the first wasn't a wake up call to him............sorta like Cuz before the "sleeping pill" dilemna. ........or many others before him.
The original excuse for his exorcism from the dogs being his article about being gay in AFL footy and if you were, not coming out..........There was nothing antigay or homophobic in what he said in that article, but was picked up on by the press in particular as being so and run with brutally.
Missed the Sam Newman bit with Adam Cooney on the footy show, but in the end the AFL's version of the HUMAN HEADLINE did bring some/most of this on himself.
Wish there were more extroverts/characters like Jason Akermanis out on the ground, rather than the robots that are wanted by the AFL and affiliate competitions rather than the bland "week by week" chumps that front the cameras and microphones each round.
Footy is far more interesting with them than without them.
Who'd stick their neck out though?

well another player that attracts headlines is rumoured to be offered a get out clause at Brisbane so he can return to melbourne to be with his family as they cant afford a house up in QLD to live. Big loss for brisbane if this is the case they have given up Hendo who trust me will be Josh kennedy like in a year or 2 and will be one of the focal points in the Blues forward line. I think Voss will persist with young Cornelious. If this is true i doubt any melbourne clubs would take him to be honest. If i was fev i would stop playing now spend the next 4-6 months sorting myself out then get back to playing footy cause you want to play with mates and have a laugh, not playing for the coin to get himself out of debt. What i can see happening is Fev retiring from AFL and going to try and make the big bucks in the NFL not succeed at it and then try and make an AFL comeback