Expert
Joined March 2012
1.32m
Views
647
Published
6.8k
Comments
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!
Published
Comments
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.
What to make of Geelong heading into 2019? Contender or also-ran? Their time is over, or only just beginning?
Super Saturday at Flemington in the autumn is always one to look forward to, with the Newmarket Handicap and Australian Cup the two best races in Melbourne at this time of year. This years fields do not disappoint.
North Melbourne were a surprise packet of season 2018, rising above doom and gloom predictions to be in the finals hunt all year.
The Sydney autumn carnival is in full cry now, and even with no Winx on the Randwick card there are still eight black-type races to be run and won, headlined by two Group 1 events.
Several of the 2018 finalists met an inglorious end last September. It was almost a theme of the finals series.
Last year saw a gaping chasm between the top 12 teams in the competition and the bottom six. But can the Lions break away from the bottom in 2019?
Hawthorn surprised most by finishing fourth on the ladder at the end of the home and away rounds last year, but were not a particularly strong side.
The Australian Guineas is the Group 1 feature at Flemington this Saturday, as the headquarters of Australian racing kicks off their three-week autumn carnival.
Are Port Adelaide any good? It seems to have been the eternal question under Ken Hinkley. The other one is, can the man actually coach?
Group 1 racing returns to Sydney for the first time since early October, and there is no better way than for such an event to be headlined by the greatest of our time, and probably the greatest of all time, Winx.
“The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.”
It’s easy to forget Fremantle finished on top of the ladder in 2015, and ended up making the prelim. Three weeks can be a long time in football, but three years is an eternity.
Blue Diamond Stakes day is one of the best days racing of the Melbourne spring and complements the other big Group 1 days at Caulfield from the spring nicely.
It’s been a grim five years for Carlton, with an average final ladder position of 16th since 2014. Ouch.
Welcome back to another year of AFL season previews here at The Roar.
Headline should probably be Geelong and Brisbane facing straight sets exits, which would be true, but also obvious, while still giving the impression that I’m tipping against both.
Straight-sets exits await Geelong and Brisbane
I’m happy to concede Richmond are now the best team in it, or at least have the form, momentum and confidence at the right time, but I’m pretty comfortable saying West Coast are the second best too. When they are on, their best is dazzling. The problem for them this year is those down games where they’ve been thumped.
Straight-sets exits await Geelong and Brisbane
I think any sort of rest and reset tends to suit a lower performing team. Easier to get up from that base rather than the grind of a 24th round. But that could just be nonsense I’ve made up on the spot of course. I think I know what I mean, even if no-one else will.
Straight-sets exits await Geelong and Brisbane
It’s fair to say Rohan has never been a four quarter player, has most often been a one quarter player, and frequently is a no quarter player.
Straight-sets exits await Geelong and Brisbane
Ambrose is a jobber. No doubt a good season, but still a jobber.
The fact that Bellchambers is seen as some sort of a weapon by the Bomber faithful after a career of indifference tells me enough about Essendon’s chances.
An AFL finals series full of intrigue awaits
No idea what the stats say, but anecdotally I feel interstate home ground advantage is less of a factor in finals. I feel like psychology (especially dealing with cut-throat finals) and momentum are more important factors.
An AFL finals series full of intrigue awaits
Even though it’s at the Gabba (albeit the Tiges have a strong record there in recent years), it will be quite an achievement for Brisbane to win against a pretty seasoned finals unit in Richmond. If we lose, I won’t be thinking of the Gabba as a factor, it will have just been beaten by a better team on the day.
An AFL finals series full of intrigue awaits
As a Richmond man, the Dogs are who I fear the most, no doubt.
An AFL finals series full of intrigue awaits
All good comments. Yes, forgot about that China game. Even one out of the next four leaves you a handy 5-5 before the draw opens up again.
Can St Kilda play finals in 2019?
You’d think they’ll end up ahead of NM, Syd, Carl, WB and GC. Will Melbourne ever get going, or will they be bottom six too? I think the Saints can stay in the race for a long while.
Can St Kilda play finals in 2019?
I suspect there would barely be a contest on a footy field where a player isn’t breaking the rules to the letter of the law. I’ve always felt footy should be umpired in spirit rather than law.
AFL media misses the point, yet again
A really good point there Grand-Dag. We get far too many close-ups on the TV coverage, which often provides no context for what the players are doing.
AFL media misses the point, yet again
Very enjoyable rant yourself Tom, a few laughs in there. And it is clear you have a deep well of hostility for everything Barrett represents.
AFL media misses the point, yet again
Ultimately, footy is a club game (which is why state of origin died for us, and will never recapture the glory of yesteryear). Our passion is fuelled most by the team we follow, and our emotions rise or dip based on that performances. Everything else is secondary really. In fact, as supporters, some of our favourite wins are the ugly ones, because they are more about heart than anything else.
AFL media misses the point, yet again
He certainly knows what he’s doing Kane, and serves his employer well.
AFL media misses the point, yet again
Part of the narrative push is to want more contests, yet taking players off the field would greatly reduce then. The game would be more about aerobic capacity than anything else.
6-6-6 at all stoppages, not just centre bounces, would be interesting I think. Or even 4-8-4.
I’ve enjoyed a lot of the games I’ve watched this season, and I’ve watched a great many.
AFL media misses the point, yet again
Ruck frees are often a joke, and the players involved rarely know which way it’s going. They should all be let go.
And I didn’t like the slide rule from the get-go, but it seems more unfairly umpired this year.
AFL media misses the point, yet again
Yes, it is a cool name. Sydney Stack has a great ring to it too.
Five teams to catch in the AFL
I think I wrote in my Pies season preview that the forward mix with Elliott thrown in would need to find their own chemistry, and so it has come to pass. Cox, de Goey, Elliott are all best suited as the deepest forward, but all three can’t do it at once, and some players get lost when playing half-forward. I can’t see Ben Reid as any sort of answer though, I must say.
The depth is unquestioned, but it’s trying to find that best 22 that clicks together.
Five teams to catch in the AFL
Opinions are always welcome, Redbacks fan. Thank-you for both reading my preview series, and the compliment on them.
I’m not kidding when I say this is the match I am most looking forward to this week. Season on the line stuff in Round 3 for two premiership fancies, Friday night football, it’s a huge match, it’s a big story. And I think Tom identified in his comment above that I am having a bit of fun with is as well.
Football is a passionate part of people’s lives, but it’s not always enjoyable. The downs are painful, the ups are sweet. Part of the joy of winning against the odds or when backs are to the wall is because of those who have kicked us when we’re down. We all love the game in our own way.
Death-match at the MCG
Yes, at Homebush. I was at that game.
I trust Brisbane to perform closer to their best this week than I do GWS, so that’s enough for me.
Straight-sets exits await Geelong and Brisbane