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Ryan likes his sport played efficiently, effectively and elegantly, like a Nic Naitanui hit out to advantage. Always searching for an interesting angle, Ryan loves nothing more than digging deep into the play and searching for the signal others miss in the noise. You can follow Ryan here (@RyanBuckland7).
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The best short-form cricket competition in the world is back, figuratively and literally bigger than ever. Each week we’ll be running through the games, power rankings style.
Christmas comes but once a year, and in my very particular case, a day later than usual. It’s time to unwrap the 2019 AFL fixture, and see who got lumped with this year’s coal.
No one has won or lost this year’s trade period, because you can’t be a winner or a loser this far out from the 2019 season. This column doesn’t crown winners and losers, but it does have views on the most important outcomes from this year’s trade period.
Player exchange in the AFL needs an overhaul. The last time the Collective Bargaining Agreement was thrashed out both sides failed the challenge of change. Let’s start the process early this time around.
This season there has been far too much talk about what is wrong with the AFL. Let’s celebrate what’s right by running through the best moments of the season.
Our last two premiers have something in common: they were expected to fall out of contention, but surprised us all and won it all. There’s something else: active off seasons.
From the editors: The West Coast Eagles won the 2018 AFL premiership yesterday – but what if they hadn’t?
New colours, new logo, new stadium. More than that, in 2018 West Coast changed its approach to football, built on its strengths – and now they’re a four-time AFL premier.
Two extraordinary football stories are set to duke it out for the premiership cup. Here’s the Xs and Os that will shape the outcome.
It’s official: we’re living in the post-truth AFL, and nothing makes sense anymore.
Perth holds no fear for Melbourne, so it goes. But there’s many more reasons for the Dees to feel confident heading into this afternoon’s preliminary final against the West Coast Eagles.
There’s a common thread to a whole heap of mooted player exchanges looming large over the 2018 off season. And it suggests players, their agents and many clubs are growing more sophisticated in how they deal with player exchange.
Another weekend, another post-mortem or two for finals losers. Both Hawthorn and the GWS Giants lost, but won plenty along the way.
The second chances are done; now we’re playing for keeps. And the Pies have a fight on their hands to progress to the penultimate weekend of the season.
As you might expect, the washup from Week 1 of this year’s AFL finals series has centred on the two eliminated losers.
Hands up who picked this match-up before the beginning of the season? It wasn’t supposed to be this way, but now it is, and the winner of Eagles-Magpies takes their first step towards the players’ race on grand final day.
Are you ready for the most compelling AFL finals series ever? I hope so, because it starts tonight, and here’s everything you need to know.
The third year of the AFL’s pre-finals bye felt like a real season momentum killer, unlike the two which preceded it. We cannot abide this going forward.
A team’s record is rarely a perfect indicator of its underlying potential. So it is for this year’s Brisbane Lions, who should harbour realistic ambitions to finish inside the top eight in 2019.
Later on today the AFL will unveil the initial All Australian squad of 40, ahead of the team’s announcement on Wednesday. We can skip all that: here’s the team of the year for 2018.
Yeah I really think it comes down to their batting. There is enough there by way of both power and accumulation, but they’ll be fairly reliant on a middle order full of all rounders. Also not sure what Michael Klinger has been up to.
Big Bash power rankings: Week 1
You’re getting caught in the BS media narrative. Look at it objectively: Fremantle converted a player who was evidently going to leave next year plus pick six into 3-4 best 22 players plus a draft hand equivalent to if they’d have finished in the top six. It’s phenomenal work.
The Giants aren't done, Peter Bell is a golden god and other observations from this year's trade period
My top ten moments of the 2018 AFL season. Emphasis on the my. Of course it’s biased.
Best of the best: My top ten moments of the 2018 AFL season
Based on what I’ve heard over the weekend, I’m not celebrating until I see his signature on a piece of paper.
Best of the best: My top ten moments of the 2018 AFL season
I don’t think it’s ranting. Collingwood/GWS will be the third team in 19 years or something like that to play a preliminary final off a six day break. It’s just not the done thing. The AFL has lost the plot when it comes to appeasing its main broadcaster this year and this is just another example of it.
What now for the Geelong Cats, the AFL's most interesting team?
Rance led the league in one on one contests by so far it’s a joke, taking the best forward of the opposition most of the time, and lost fewer than almost all of them. Add to that his spoiling, intercept work and ability to set up the play and he is the first man picked in the team. It’s trendy to say he’s not that good; don’t fall for it.
Here's who should be in the 2018 All Australian Team
And the fans are heading for the exits.
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Q4 – 28m – And that’s probably the game. Melbourne finds Jake Melksham unmarked deep inside 50. He takes his full 30 seconds and kicks the goal. Melbourne by 17 points.
West Coast: 14.7 (91)
Melbourne: 16.12 (108)
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Q4 – 27m – Dean Kent takes a mark just inside 50 from some good work from Christian Salem, and he kicks the goal. Melbourne’s up by 11 points, with two minutes on the game clock. Tough ask for West Coast from here.
West Coast: 14.7 (91)
Melbourne: 15.12 (102)
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Max Gawn has gone behind the ball at this stoppage.
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Q4 – 24m – Elliot Yeo takes a huge mark to help West Coast exit Melbourne’s half of the ground, but they can’t capitalise with a poor entry kick. Melbourne by five, and they’ve started to slow the game down.
West Coast: 14.7 (91)
Melbourne: 14.12 (96)
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Q4 – 21m – It’s getting tense out there as the ball is camped on the West Coast forward 50. Melbourne gets a break and Mitch Hannan finds an unmarked Jake Melksham in the goal square. They’re back in front, by five points.
West Coast: 14.7 (91)
Melbourne: 14.12 (96)
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Q4 – 18m – Mark LeCras puts West Coast in front! The Eagles break from a D50 exit and despite a poor Jack Redden kick which is smothered find Mark LeCras leading about 40 metres out. They’re in front. Huge. Seven minutes on the game clock.
West Coast: 14.7 (91)
Melbourne: 13.12 (90)
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Mark LeCras has a shot at goal. This could be for a West Coast lead for the first time today
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Gee it’d be a deflating one. They’ve had so much of hte play on their terms
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Q4 – 15m – And West Coast finds the answer! A free kick off the back of the square results in a West Coast forward thrust, and Willie Rioli snaps true roving a pack inside 50. Three points. Great game this.
West Coast: 13.7 (85)
Melbourne: 13.10 (88)
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Q4 – 14m – Melbourne gets the centre break again – as they’ve done for much of the day – but Jake Melksham can’t find the big posts. The kick out heads out of bounds but West Coast manage to snuff the re-entry. They break to the open side but can’t find a shot at goal. That was a huge opportunity to close within a goal.
West Coast: 12.7 (79)
Melbourne: 13.10 (88)
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Q4 – 12m – A sparkling run through the middle from Brad Sheppard, who finds Jamie Cripps inside 50. Cripps keeps the ball in front of him and hangs it to a wide open Mark Hutchings, who marks 40 metres out dead in front and goals. Eight points again.
West Coast: 12.7 (79)
Melbourne: 13.9 (87)
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Q4 – 10m – We’ve definitely entered a different phase of play here, with the ball spending time going back and forth around the West Coast forward 50 arc. There’s skill errors and fumbles galore, and all we get out of it is a West Coast behind. On the ensuing kick in another incisive Melbourne kick opens up the fat side of the ground, and Jake Melksham finds Mitch Hannan inside 50. He misses, and we start it all again.
West Coast: 11.7 (73)
Melbourne: 13.9 (87)
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Melbourne wouldn’t want to be getting too conservative though, they have given up bursts of goals to the Eagles on a couple of occasions today.
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Q4 – 5m – The ball spends some time on the broadcast wing, and the Eagles get a clean look inside 50 on the back of some great work in the clinches. However the entry kick is shanked, and Melbourne exit with ease switching to the outer side. The game certainly looks a bit less skilful to start the last, perhaps the effects of the warm temperature are kicking in.
West Coast: 11.6 (72)
Melbourne: 13.8 (86)
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
Q4 – 3m – Melbourne gets the first of the quarter with some strong pressure locking the ball in from a centre clearance. Jake Melksham continues a very good day for Melbourne’s half forward line, and the Dees are out by 14 points again.
West Coast: 11.6 (72)
Melbourne: 13.8 (86)
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne Demons: AFL live scores, blog
I reckon the Sydney Thunder line up of the first couple of years of the BBL has this one covered in terms of on-paper awfulness.
If there’s any consolation on-paper talent has meant very little in the BBL when it comes to finals spots. Hobart looked like it has put together a bad squad last year, and they made it to the final!
Big Bash power rankings: Week 1