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Round 23 AFL Review

Friday
Collingwood 10.16.76 defeated Essendon 10.5.65
On Friday night at the MCG, over 85,000 fans watched a tough-fought battle between traditional rivals Collingwood and Essendon. During the initial portions of the match, the Bombers really took it up to the more fancied Magpies, leading by three goals at quarter time. During the second quarter, disaster struck for the Bombers, when key defender Michael Hurley left the ground with a shoulder injury; up until that point Hurley had been one of the Bombers best. The Pies also suffered injuries to key players, with Matthew Scharenberg (concussion) and Darcy Moore (hamstring) both lost to the match, in the first quarter and last quarter respectively. Depending on how other results go, these two teams could be facing off again in the first round of the finals in two weeks, and I am sure it will be another quality contest if that comes to pass.

Saturday
Sydney 17.7.109 defeated St. Kilda 8.16.64
At the SCG on Saturday afternoon th…
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Round 23 AFL Preview

Friday
Collingwood vs Essendon @ The MCG - 19:50
In the first game of the last game of the regular season two finals contenders, in Collingwood and Essendon, go head-to-head at the MCG on Friday night. With Essendon finding some good form, in part thanks to getting some senior players back from injury in time to help them move up the ladder, this shapes as a match that should be very entertaining. Not to be outdone, the Magpies have won their last three matches, albeit against lower-ranked opposition, and are currently sitting in 5th place on the ladder after another good season. With the Mapies having won the past three encounters between these two teams, I am going to stick with them for this encounter.
Collingwood by 15 points

Saturday
Sydney vs St. Kilda @ The SCG - 13:45
Up at the SCG this weekend we have the 15th placed Sydney Swans taking on their neighbours, being the 14th placed St Kilda, and after their win last weekend, the Swannies are looking like the tippers choic…
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Round 22 AFL Review

Friday
Melbourne 5.12.42 defeated by Sydney 15.5.95
Just when you think things couldn't get any worse for the Melbourne Football Club, at the MCG on Friday night they did! Even though the Demons had more Disposals, Inside 50s, Free kicks and Contested Possessions, they still had their score more than doubled by a young Swans outfit out to show their coach they have what it takes! And they did! To show the dominance of Sydney, not only did they kick the first three goals of the match, they also kicked the last four. To add insult to injury, the Swans dominance was so great that they held Melbourne goalless for the second and third quarters of the match. While Max Gawn (52 Hit-outs) was again great for the Demons, it was the bevy of Sydney youngsters that would have had their coach smiling widely. Even with Sydney's lowly finish this year, they at least looked like a side with upside, unlike the dispirited Demons.

Saturday
Carlton 11.12.78 defeated St. Kilda 10.8.68
In …
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Round 22 AFL Preview

Friday
Melbourne vs Sydney @ The MCG - 19:50
Our first game of Round 22 sees the Sydney Swans travel to the MCG to take on the Melbourne Demons in a match that will have zero impact on the Top 8, and will only give the winning team a boost as they make plans for the 2020 pre-season. Both of these teams are coming off solid (Sydney) and very good (Melbourne) seasons in 2018, but both have had very disappointing years in 2019 that will see them likely to finish in the bottom quarter of the ladder. For the Demons, Steven May looks like missing the rest of the year, and at the Swans, they don't have any further injury worries, so should be looking to include players they can move forward with next season. Max Gawn should rack up over 50 hit-outs in this match, giving the Dees first use of the ball often enough to get a win.
Melbourne by 14 points

Saturday
Carlton vs St. Kilda @ The MCG - 13:45
On Saturday afternoon the MCG will play host to a match between the Carlton Blues and…
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Round 21 AFL Review

Friday
GWS Giants 4.5.29 defeated by Hawthorn 13.7.85
In a first for not only the Giants and Hawthorn but for the entire history of the AFL, on Friday night at UNSW in Canberra, it snowed during a match of footy. While this happens all the time in European and American sports, it was an Australian first, and it made for a very impressive sight! Perhaps the snow and cold were why the Giants appeared to do everything slower than their Hawthorn opponents. Whatever it was, the Hawks made them pay by keeping GWS to it's lowest ever score; hey, that's two firsts in the one match! Nice work AFL. Having lost their key-forward, Jack Gunston, before the match had begun, the Hawks spread the goal-kicking around, with nine players getting on the scoreboard. While the midfield dominated the Giants, again it was James Sicily (33 Disp, 6 Marks) who marshalled the troops down back, keeping the Coleman Medal leader to a single goal.

Saturday
Melbourne 7.11.53 defeated by Collingwood 1…
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Round 21 AFL Preview

Friday
GWS Giants vs Hawthorn @ UNSW Canberra - 19:50
Our Friday night match-up takes us to... Canberra? (yep, that's what the fixture says!) where the 5th placed GWS Giants are at 'home' to a Hawthorn outfit that may have found themselves out of finals contention after their loss to the Kangaroos last weekend. The last time these two teams met it was at the MCG in Round 8, where the Hawks kept the Giants to one goal, four points for the entire second half of the match, a feat they will need to achieve again if they are to get past a Giants team that is very much still in the hunt for a Top 4 berth. Will the Hawks Mathew Walker get a promotion after kicking 9 goals from 12 attempts in the VFL, and what will the Giants do with Jeremy Cameron and Josh Kelly as they return from injury? If either is right for a call-up, it will be a big plus for their team!
GWS Giants by 25 points

Saturday
Melbourne vs Collingwood @ The MCG - 13:45
At the MCG on Saturday afternoon the D…
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Round 20 AFL Review

Friday
North Melbourne 12.14.86 defeated Hawthorn 9.10.64
With a lot riding on the outcome of this game, the Hawks jumped out of the gates, and fireworks smoke, to take a big early lead in their match-up against the Kangaroos at Marvel Stadium on Friday night, but then the quarter time siren sounded and things began to change. Once the whistle blew to start the second quarter, the North Melbourne players picked up the pace, and aggression, and started to win the ball through the middle, changing the tide of the game completely. Ben Brown (14 Disp, 6 Marks, 5 Hit-outs, 4 Tackles and 4 Goals), Jack Ziebell (18 Disp, 5 Tackles and 3 Goals) and Mason Wood (12 Disp and 2 Goals) all began to get some touches and kick goals from them. The only Hawk to stand up to the Roos was James Worpel (37 Disp, 5 Marks and 5 Tackles), but he could only do so much... Congratulations go to the new full-time North Melbourne Coach, Rhyce Shaw, who gets to celebrate a win from his first, sort of, …
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