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Finals - 2024 Grand Final Review

 The season is done and what an end to the season it was.  By that, I mean it was really disappointing.  After one of the closest seasons in history, it was really disappointing that the Grand Final was such a blowout.  Firstly, lets deal with Sydney.  If you’re a Sydney supporter, you’re not going to like the next bit…I suggest you skip the next paragraph. Luckily, the English language is highly flexible and has words for almost everything.   The word that I feel most fits this situation is ‘Insipid’.   Or maybe I’d choose deplorable.   Sydney was bad…really bad.   They didn’t even turn up.   A lot of their positive attitude responses at the end of the game was that they’d prefer to get to the Grand Final to have a chance to swing a punch than not get there at all.   The problem is that they didn’t throw a punch.   If you’re running the rope-a-dope strategy, the key to it is once your opponent is tired from smashing you, you need to put them away.   Sydney was badly out-played, gene
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Finals Week 4 AFL Preview - Grand Final

Last Week           2/2           Season Total      131/215 It’s come down to this.   The last installment of the 2024 season and we are raring to go.   But of course, there are some other formalities to get out of the way first. Last week, I managed to get both tips right.   A rare event this finals series.   Sydney steam-rolled Port who, as suspected, probably played their Grand Final the week before.   They were never really in the hunt and Ken copped it from the supporters as suspected, but it’s too late this season to do anything about it.   To the trade negotiations they go.   What will Ken’s benchmark be for next season?   He’s fast running out of reasons not to be in Grand Finals. Geelong were gallant but ultimately succumbed to a surging Brisbane who came back from 25 points down in what is becoming a regular theme for the Lions.   Can they win it after a triple road trip?   Find out below.   Geelong perhaps performed above themselves for much of the season and were bene
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Finals Week 3 AFL Preview - Preliminary Finals

Last Week           0/2          Season Total      129/213 Last week was a disaster.   In more ways than one.   I didn’t get a tip right which was a real bummer, but not only that I now have very little interest in any of the teams going any further and have to summon all my strength to analyse these games and provide insightful reasons to tip a team or not.   That being said, coming off a zero from the semifinals doesn’t really prove to anyone that the things I’m doing here are profound or insightful.   But then getting 1 correct, or even 2 correct wouldn’t have proven that either so we’re back into that realm of making random selections, or at least making sense of randomness by trying to find patterns in the data which is all we can really hope for. GWS lost in dramatic circumstances after coughing up a 44-point lead and this a week after coughing up a 28-point lead, and, if you want to take it further, they coughed up a 17-point lead last year to lose the Prelim.   That’s a lot
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Finals Week 2 AFL Preview - Semi-Finals

  Last Week           2/4           Season Total      129/211 It was a first week of finals footy that really illustrated why a pre-finals bye is just not compatible with the competition.   Three really ordinary games which were over mostly before quarter time.   At least there was one cracker in there!   For a season that was so close all year, it was a real let down.   Even if some unexpected teams got up.   Trade chatter continues for the supporters of the other 12 teams highlighted by a Mac Andrew signing which came with a price that allows plenty of Gold Coast Night Club money.   Actually $12M isn’t that much these days.   After buying a couple of rounds at the pub you’d be skint.   Stringer has been strung out.   Petracca said, “nah, actually we all love each other here at Melbourne” and nefarious people at clubs do nefarious deals to secure nefarious things (I’m talking about list managers).   A couple of tantalizing games this week.  Let’s dive in and make some random selec
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Finals Week 1 AFL Preview - Qualifying & Elimination Finals

Last Week           6/9           Season Total      127/207 As I said last week, the season has ended for 10 teams.   Normally, my team is still in it, and I take pleasure in asking people why they are looking at Trades already when the footy is still on?   I know, it’s childish and passive aggressive but pleasure is still there.   But now, I’ve spent the last week looking at trade information and am not even aware which games are on this week, so I feel like I have a very large portion of egg in the vicinity of my face. Speaking of food, we’ve had 25 courses of degustation delights and with a week off, it feels a bit like a palate cleanser before a more substantial part of the main meal.   The 25 courses have ranged from your standard spring rolls and arancini balls to incredible delicacies served on ornate spoons that come from exotic locations and probably made from endangered things.   Occasionally we had cabanossi sticks dressed up as a charcuterie board, but we usually pass o
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Pre Finals Break 2024 – State Of The Game

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Last Week           6/9           Season Total      127/207 The regular season has come to a close and it’s time for surgery and the reading of trade news for most of the competition.  For 8 teams though the season continues.  We’ll look at their plight next week.  This week is a chance to reflect back on the season that was and understand where it all went right or wrong for your team. Let’s start by acknowledging what a wonderful and tense final day to the season proper that it was.  Aside from some idiot pegging a bottle at an umpire (that gentleman is about to save a lot of money by not attending a footy match ever again…ever), the AFL would be well pleased with the drama that occurred throughout the day.  The Dogs blew away GWS with the help of a howling breeze and then Carlton, who had to win to guarantee their spot, let it slip with only seconds on the clock.  This made it a tense wait watching fumbly Freo drop the ball in more ways than one to settle the ladder. It was a
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Round 24 AFL Preview

  Last Week           5/9           Season Total      121/198 A formal inquiry has been lodged.   There will be a full inquest with findings handed down in a Royal Commission with heavy input from the AFL and Sporting ombudsman.   An injustice has been dealt through deceit and trickery that will not stand.   Collusion is afoot.   All West Coast had to do was, at home, beat a Carlton team that consisted of pretty much only 1 of their top 22 players, but in losing, and badly, West Coast have all but assured that their most hated enemy, Fremantle likely will not make it and, at the same time, Carlton’s most hated enemy (well, everyone’s most hated enemy) will likely not make it.   This is the kind of skullduggery one expects in other sports and is on par with controversies like The Hand of God, Nancy Kerrigan and Lance Armstrong.   A dark day in sports indeed.   We’ll see what action, if any, the AFL takes on these matters.   Not to mention that it buggered up my tipping!   Which was th
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