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I've never heard a conversation about footy or cricket that I haven't wanted to join in immediately. If you disagree with me, you'll be made to work very hard to change my mind!
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Every week is a big week in football, to steal a phrase from the now defunct Footy Show, but some weeks are bigger than others. Round 9 shapes as one of those.
Geelong has finally become the team they were supposed to be.
The completion of Round 6 sees us a quarter of the way through the 23-round AFL home-and-away season. It’s enough of a time to do a stocktake and see were each team sits.
In most years we see a club make a leap up the ladder that no-one saw coming.
“Keepings off is starting to become an epidemic in our game.” – Mark Robinson, 3AW
Day 1 of The Championships was a roaring success, with some outstanding performances and great racing.
Three rounds into the AFL season and already it’s easy to identify four premiership contenders that look likely to set the pace in the first half of the season as well as a fifth team that is the most watchable in the league right now.
A huge Saturday of racing awaits on day one of The Championships.
The Championships has rejuvenated what had become a tired racing scene in New South Wales, and all involved are to be applauded.
The anticipation is already building. The excitement is palpable. Rarely have we seen a match of the round like it.
Rarely have we seen a Round 1 like it in terms of throwing the early part of the season on its head.
Golden Slipper day is always a feature of the Sydney autumn carnival, the only race day in Australia that has five Group 1 races on the card.
Welcome to the last of The Roar’s AFL preview series for 2019. We’re only a day away from the opening of the season, and it’s a magical time of nervous anticipation.
Collingwood were a surprise packet of the 2018 season, rocketing from a 13th-placed finish in 2017 all the way to leading a grand final with five minutes to play.
From 2007 to 2013, from the end of the Neale Daniher era to the end of Mark Neeld, Melbourne finished 15th on the ladder on average – and a large part of this period of time was in a 16-team competition.
In an era of unexpected premierships, West Coast’s 2018 flag wasn’t as storied as the Western Bulldogs in 2016 or Richmond in 2017.
The inaugural running of the All Star Mile is here, notwithstanding its share of controversy along the way.
Richmond’s charge towards back-to-back premierships, seen as almost a foregone conclusion by some due to the Tigers’ overall dominance in 2018, came to an abrupt and gruesome end against Collingwood on preliminary final weekend last year.
No team has more heavily spruiked in the off-season than Essendon despite the club not having won a final for 5302 days (@EFCFinals is a wonderful Twitter account for those who don’t follow the Bombers).
After finishing fourth on the ladder in both 2016 and 2017, and losing their preliminary final to the eventual premier each time, GWS fell back to a seventh place finish in the home and away rounds last year.
West Coast outplayed them over the course of the last three quarters, so deserved the win. The Pies were almost up too much too early. They should improve which will help them in their record against the better teams.
2019 AFL season preview: Collingwood Magpies
Thanks Peter. Plenty of good stuff in your comment there. I think Pendles is a clearance mid, just not a grunt one like the others, and we can’t forget Grundy there as well. I’m fascinated to see who gets spots at the Pies, because the depth is outstanding. Some good players are going to be playing VFL.
2019 AFL season preview: Collingwood Magpies
It means, when not looking through the lens of a Roar writer.
I just don’t like them Floyd, and would prefer they stay in the basement.
2019 AFL season preview: Melbourne Demons
Well, we don’t disagree on that! I got my ratings out of the Prospectus, btw.
2019 AFL season preview: Melbourne Demons
Yeah, Saints too. I think they’ll go about things differently this year, which will help them, but the toll is rising. I thought they had a decent chance to get out of the bottom four this year, but that’s almost impossible now.
2019 AFL season preview: Melbourne Demons
Given the Melbounre list ranks 10th for age and 13th for games played heading into 2019, you’d have to say if the Dees have already peaked then Goodwin will have made a mess of it from here. They’ve ticked the making finals and winning them box in the same year too. I think they’ve got enough of a growing group of core players 25 and under to say they will improve as individuals, and we know how important cohesion is to remaining a top side. They have a big group that is going to play a lot of football together.
2019 AFL season preview: Melbourne Demons
I’m clearly bullish on Adelaide, and their write-up is coming.
Good points about the Pies, and that last line can be true. West Coast and the Dogs showed you can still win with good players missing though.
2019 AFL season preview: Melbourne Demons
Thanks Redbacks. Hard to argue with what you say, and you’re right, they really are missing that long striding fast wingman that can cover a lot of ground. If McDonald goes down they look vulnerable.
2019 AFL season preview: Melbourne Demons
As a pure football supporter, I have no love for Melbourne at all, and so desperately hope they don’t win a flag. But they are building the right way and reach their contending years now.
2019 AFL season preview: Melbourne Demons
It’s a good question Macca, given I start writing these in mid Feb.
I think I’d have Carlton a couple of spots higher, the Dogs a couple lower. Geelong above Essendon. Hawks and Port a bit higher. North and Brisbane a bit lower.
2019 AFL season preview: Melbourne Demons
People said the same about West Coast and Nic Nat, and looked what happened. A single midfield player is never that important, and ruckmen certainly never are. I wouldn’t change my tip for Melbourne or Collingwood a single iota if Gawn or Grundy went down.
2019 AFL season preview: Melbourne Demons
Firstly, I’d like to think I would be at the ground if the Tiges make the prelim James.
As for your Pies Pete, you’ll get to read what I think about them tomorrow or Wednesday…
2019 AFL season preview: Melbourne Demons
Good commentary as always Tom. What you talk about was also a feature of the Bulldogs September in 2016, and to a lesser extent the rise of Richmond in 2017 which was then sustained through 2018 suggesting it was as much system as blend of individual players striking form. But yeah, for WC guys you mentioned outside the less experienced Sheed, to have career best form at that stage of their careers, credit to all involved.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
Yeah, I see five main premiership chances, and they could all finish anywhere in the top six without surprising me.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
More dangerous than ever in the context of the current group. If I say I think Isaac Heeney will be a gun in the midfield this year, I don’t necessarily think people will counter with something about Bob Skilton.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
Something must have happened behind the scenes, but it looks corrected now.
Personally, I think a lot of these streaks get overplayed. Richmond won a lot of games from mid-2017 to end of last season, and obviously play a lot at the MCG. I don’t think the ground was a decisive factor.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
I get it, but when was the last time grand finalists finished 1-2 on the ladder the next year? It just doesn’t happen that way.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
Richmond had a pretty soft draw on paper to open last year, and even the Dogs in 2017 wasn’t that hard either. Just a quirk I guess.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
I think I did Shaun instead of Jack Higgins in the Richmond one too. Brain is fried after all these previews…
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
I did think about putting Allen in ahead of Waterman. Masten clearly the stiffest, but I moved him out at the last second given it seems Petrucelle is going to play. With Gaff and Cripps missing early, Masten will play and no doubt keep his spot.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
Simpson does seem to like a tall side though, and Waterman played 16 games last year. Although a lot of those one or both of Kennedy / Darling were out. I prefer Vardy for around the ground, but neither he nor Hickey are Dean Cox, let’s face it.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
I’m pretty convinced they’ll bounce back hard. Hard to split the top five, but obviously at least one of them is going to miss out and possible more if there are some surprises in store, which there often are.
2019 AFL season preview: West Coast Eagles
Everything about the Dogs under Beveridge is strange.
The Pies did have a very favourable draw, but I think they showed enough quality to say they are a good side. They certainly have a sterner one this time around.
2019 AFL season preview: Collingwood Magpies