Wild weather played a part in some of our bets tanking, unlike Fremantle, who actually won their first game of the season, and by a hefty margin at that!
The deluge at Metricon didn’t suit the big men, so Franklin for most goals of the round didn’t happen. Additionally, our Rising Star prediction for this round, Sydney’s, Callum Mills, was a late out. He’s being “managed” but he should be back next week for the derby against GWS. Mills is still showing 10-1, in from 21-1 from mid last week. He’ll shorten further once the nomination happens.
It’s not all bad news, punters! Our Multi #2 got up > Hawthorn, Carlton, Sydney, Adelaide – all over 15.5 = $3.62. Hope you got on that one!
Oh Yes!
Carlton won – yet again, and they’re now kissing the top eight! Crazy, huh? It was an emphatic 38-point victory over the limping Lions. It could have been a much bigger margin, and it was, for a lot of the game, but junk time scoring sent the Lions home with a loss far less than the usual average smashing of 11 goals. On a positive note, Tom Rockliff racked up 48 possessions in his first game back following a hamstring injury. That said, he can’t win games on his own. He’s one of the few Lions players who can say he gives it a red-hot go when he’s out there. Most of the players look disinterested, disheartened and completely defeated before the quarter time siren sounds.
Ex-Cat, Stevie J was collectively cheered by the fans at Simmonds Stadium. Well played, Geelong fans. Classy stuff.
Fremantle won their first game of the season and they’re off the bottom of the ladder. See, they’re not tanking after all! Phew, glad we can all put that conspiracy to bed. A 79-point win over the top-up Bombers is hardly anything to brag about, but a win’s a win. You know, I realised it’s been 38 weeks since Freo won a game. That’s an entire pregnancy! I believe many of the players hummed along to the song in the rooms afterward, with a few, “fake the words, fake the words,” thrown in for good measure. Matthew Pavlich even kicked 3 goals!
Dockers’ fans applauding Ryan Crowley (now one of Essendon’s top-up players) as he limped off the ground following a hamstring injury late in the game. “The reception I had from Freo fans all night and especially at the end, I will never forget it,” Crowley tweeted.
Melbourne’s banner message to Jarryd Roughead was gold. It read: “You don’t need to wear red & blue to be in our hearts. Good luck, Roughy”. Following the news of a recurrence of melanoma that has spread to one of his lungs, starting this week, Roughhead will undergo a 12-month round of immunotherapy. This is much bigger than football. This is life. His life. Everyone is hoping beyond hope for an outcome that will allow Jarryd Roughead to run through another Hawks banner by the end of next year, if not at the start of the 2018 season. We’re all with you, Roughy!
Ex-Melbourne captain, Jack Trengrove returned (after 797 days away) to play his 82nd match in a solid first game against Hawthorn, with 19 possessions and 4 clearances, fans cheered whenever he touched the ball. A severe foot injury has kept Trengrove out of the game since round 2 of the 2014 season. At 24 years of age, he’s got plenty of footy left in him. Welcome back, Jack!
The Adelaide Crows are a well-oiled machine at home. They slaughtered St. Kilda in the last match of the round. The game was already won at quarter time. At the final siren, it was an 88-point belting! Josh Jenkins kicked 7 goals, 3 behinds for the match and Adelaide scored 19.19 for the game. There were some very kickable goals that went astray for the Crows. If they were more accurate in front of the big sticks, the final margin could have easily been over 100 points. Still, an 88-point win isn’t too shabby. In a tightly contested competition, it’s a much needed percentage boost for the Crows.
Oh No!
It was frigid Tassie weather on Friday night, but even with Todd Goldstein out and their coach in hospital with a viral illness, North Melbourne meant business. Despite the late hiccups, the Roos knew what they needed to do, and they did it – comfortably! In what was tipped to have been a close encounter, it was anything but that, with the toothless Tigers losing to the tune of 70 points! There were injuries galore, so much so, the on-field ambulance had more touches than some of the Tigers players! Alex Rance and Jack Riewoldt were the only two for the Tigers who had a crack for four quarters. Safe to say, Richmond playing finals is a daydream they’ll be having on their end of season trip. Book the tickets early, boys!
Hawthorn, they just continue to worry me. Yes, they won over Melbourne, but it was a close game all day, with the Hawks (once again!) pulling away in the last quarter. I honestly don’t know what to make of them. They’re winning – quietly. It’s almost eerie.
Lions midfielder, Allen Christensen broke his collarbone in the second quarter of the Carlton/Brisbane game at Etihad. He’ll be out for a month. Honestly, a broken collarbone is probably far less painful than watching the Lions play each week! Brisbane kicked just three behinds in the first quarter, and 1 goal, 7 behinds for the first half. There’s no excuse for that lack of accuracy, especially when playing in an indoor stadium with the roof closed.
Patrick Dangerfield’s goal kicking accuracy. What’s going on?
Playing football in the eye of a storm. That’s what the Gold Coast Suns and Sydney did on Saturday afternoon. Of the few fans that did show up, those with a sense of humour wore snorkelling gear…NOT joking! It was a hard, sloppy, wet slog, but Sydney still managed to win comfortably (by 38 points). Gary Ablett’s troublesome shoulder was being looked at in the dying minutes of the game and promising forward, Tom Lynch has been reported for striking. Just when the Suns look to be turning a corner, the curse continues.
Collingwood’s injuries are stacking up, which meant Travis Cloke was named in the senior team for their game against Port Adelaide at the MCG on Sunday afternoon. After running around in the VFL since being dropped for the ANZAC Day clash with Essendon, all eyes were on Cloke’s return. It was either going to be a fairytale return, or a nightmare. It didn’t go well. Cloke remained goalless (he kicked 1 behind) and Collingwood were belted by an embarrassing margin of 67 points. So, is Cloke the problem, or is Collingwood the problem? To be fair to Cloke, the Pies have issues that run much, much deeper than his lack of form. Coach, Nathan Buckley, described Cloke’s contribution in his comeback game as “serviceable,” which is hardly a glowing word of choice. It’s basically generic press conference talk for that other word that starts with an “s.” Right now, the surest thing of the year is that Collingwood AND Richmond can both get a nifty package deal on the same accommodation for their end of season trip. Neither have a chance of making the finals. Yet another year wasted!
West Coast lost on the road – yet again, but this time, they were in it all the way. It was a hard fought, back and forth arm wrestle for most of the game, but the Bulldogs took the four points with a narrow 8 point victory. The Eagles now have to get on a plane home and they have a few hours of think time. At the end of the day, they stayed in it, had their chances, and right into time on in the last quarter, the game could have been theirs for the taking. Thrashings are hard to take, but a narrow loss can be an even harder pill to swallow. That game, that loss, it could be the difference between playing finals – or not.
I’ve already taken a sneak peak at the Round 12 matches. At first glance it’s probably the toughest round to date! Check back in on Friday for all the tips and best bets.
