The worst round of betting in two years! No jokes! Starting with Geelong’s loss on Friday night, followed by Collingwood’s shock win over GWS on Saturday, I was down and out by Saturday night, and I didn’t even go near a pub! A shocker of a round for betting!
Aside from losing money, let’s see what else happened…
Oh Yes!
It certainly was hot potato footy at Simmonds Stadium on Friday night…fast-paced, tough and tight, a loud and rowdy crowd who were heavily involved in every moment. Patrick Dangerfield got 18 disposals in the first quarter, but considering he bolted out of the blocks, Sydney kept him relatively quiet (by his standards) for the remainder of the game. He still managed a lazy 34 disposals. Fittingly, Kieran Jack got the first goal (and the last goal) in his 200th game. After the week he’s had, it could not have been scripted better. His girlfriend, Charlotte Goodlet, who’s been at the centre of the family-rift controversy, was shown in the grandstand, sitting with her parents. She was clearly emotional. Geelong’s loss by 38-points means they are in all sorts of trouble. They panicked, looked sloppy, and they heard footsteps when Sydney pressured them around the ball. The Cats have massive problems, especially when they can no longer dominate on their home ground.
Collingwood were the roughest odds of the round, showing $10 in H2H markets. A 9-goal second quarter sent shockwaves through the Giants camp and they looked on the back-foot from that point on. Not even the half time break could settle them. Safe to say, a 32-point win to the Pies has thrown a massive spanner into the works of an already tight competition, making the top eight shuffle even more interesting than it was before this round begun. Travis Cloke played his best game of the year – four goals from 20 disposals and 12 marks.
The Bulldogs hung on to clinch another thriller against Richmond at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night. A 10-point loss secured their top four spot.
Carlton royalty, Jack Silvagni, aka “SOJ” (Son of Jo) kicked his first AFL goal. Teammate Dennis Armfield kept Carlton in the game in the first quarter, booting three goals straight from outside fifty metres. He was their only goal kicker for the first term. None of it was enough to get the Blues the win. Adelaide won comfortably in the end. That’s two consecutive wins in a row at the MCG. They’ve proven the doubters. They can win anywhere! The Crows host the Magpies at home this week. What an interesting bird-fight that game will be!
Oh No!
The unsociable Hawks were well and truly back at it on Thursday night. The Port Adelaide players were dropping like flies in a Mortein factory! A horrific landing from Brad Ebert meant he was on hands and knees and spitting blood in the first quarter. He was taken straight off the ground and transported to Royal Adelaide Hospital with a suspected lung/kidney laceration, as well as a possible concussion. Ebert has come out of the incident with a diagnosis of bruised ribs, but there was a lot of blood pouring from his mouth when he was kneeling on all fours and gasping for air, so an internal laceration was likely, probably from the lungs. Teammate, Hamish Hartlett hit the ground hard and landed heavily on his head in the second quarter. He was dazed, confused and needed help from the ground. He was on the sidelines for exactly 5 minutes and 20 seconds. Surprisingly, he returned to play out the game. Um, what happened to the 20-minute concussion test? Hartlett admitted he was “seeing a few stars” at half time, but they were already one man down with Ebert no chance of returning. Being one man down does not alleviate the seriousness of another player’s injury. We’ve come so far in taking care of players who’ve had serious in-game head knocks. One look at the replay would tell anyone that Hartlett wasn’t okay to play on. Five minutes out of the game was not protocol for that particular injury. A please explain from the AFL would not surprise! Travis Boak came off second best in a marking contest with Luke Hodge in the third term, Logan Austin copped a head knock and Charlie Dixon was having real trouble in the last quarter with a sore back.
The Q-Clash between Gold Coast and Brisbane was a high-scoring shoot-out, with a combined 252 points scored between both teams. Brisbane were competitive for the most part, but it was a 26-point win to the Suns in the end. The victory was soured by even more injury concerns for Rodney Eade’s charges. In his 100th game for the Suns, Michael Rischitelli went down after hearing his knee “pop” within the first few minutes of the game. If it’s the likely ACL injury that’s suspected, he’ll be sidelined for the rest of the season. The bigger story is that Gary Ablett came off second best in a tackle attempt on Lion, Mitch Robinson in the final term. Holding his wrist to support his shoulder, he grimaced in pain as he left the ground. A possible re-injury to that same troublesome left shoulder that was reconstructed two years ago means there’ll be some tense moments for the Suns as they await scans on two of their key players this week. On the upside, tall forwards, Tom Lynch, and last week’s Rising Star nominee, Peter Wright combined for 10 goals! Touk Miller was a deserving winner of the Marcus Ashcroft Medal.
It was 28 degrees on Saturday night at TIO Stadium in Darwin, but the heat didn’t appear to affect Melbourne. At the long break, the Demons had kicked a whooping 62-points to Fremantle’s lowly 19! It was so hot and humid, when players were coming off for a rest, they were sticking their heads into the boundary line eskies to cool themselves down! The Demons were in control from the outset, winning the game by 32-points.
Wanna buy a T-shirt cannon? North Melbourne has one for sale – cheap! The Roos’ paid $7000 for a 12-shooter earlier this year. It’s now useless. You see, the beloved T-shirt cannon is apparently classified as a “loaded firearm.” It’s no longer allowed to be used at AFL matches! What?! These air cannons are loaded up and used to shoot free merchandise into the crowds at sporting events worldwide. It makes everyone smile. There are no concussions involved. No lawsuits. But, apparently, a T-shirt cannon and a bazooka are classed as exactly the same type of weapon. The fun police win on a technicality yet again! Game over!
The boundary line push is the new gut punch! Pushing the player in front as he’s running toward the boundary line has got to be harshly penalized before a player gets seriously hurt. It’s been happening a bit lately. A bit too much! The player in front is running at full pace. The player behind gives him a hard shove, often propelling him further (and faster) as he tries to pull up short before hitting the boundary fence. Stamp it out with an automatic free-kick/50 metre penalty and a fine for the offending player.
North Melbourne are slowly losing their grip on the top eight. In fact, with today’s loss, they’re now in eighth spot. The stress of consecutive losses is showing. Many of the players are losing their cool and playing frustrated footy. A 32-point thumping by the Eagles at Domain Stadium on Sunday afternoon hasn’t made them feel any better either. Can they hang on to play finals?
The Saints hung on to win a thriller at Etihad (11 points). It was a high-scoring, gutsy effort by both teams, with over 200 points kicked between them. The Bombers were unlucky to lose it. Essendon are edging closer to another win. It’s coming!
