Opinion AFL 2024 Round 18 - Weekend Wrap & Liked, Learnt, Hated

[Zevon]

Another fine round of footy, let's get wrapping...

Pies v Cats, Friday night: Bad to worse for the Magpies on the injury front, and they bumped into a side that has suddenly re-discovered its groove. That was never going to be a winning combination. Title defence is hanging by a thread.

Hawks v Dockers, Saturday arvo: Fortress Tassie was alive and well for the Hawks, who bounced back impressively after their hiding last week. Reality check for the high flying Dockers.

Swans v North, Saturday arvo: Normal service has resumed - the Swans are back 3 games clear on top! The young Roos were probably due a down week, and they got Sydney on the rebound. Ugly scoreboard for North, but not early-season ugly. They’re still heading the right way.

Dogs v Blues, Saturday twilight: Match of the round and it wasn’t even close. Doggies supporters must be frustrated that they can’t find this sort of performance more consistently, because they put in a blinder against the all-conquering Blues.



Crows v Saints, Saturday night: Ah, Saturday night footy at Adelaide Oval Ferry Wharf. I’m not sure this would have been a pretty encounter in pristine conditions; it certainly wasn’t in the wet. Ross Lyon footy versus Matty Nicks footy. It’s a no from me.

Demons v Bombers, Saturday night: This wasn’t pretty to watch either, but it was great battling stuff from the Demons. They really had no business winning against a fellow finals contender with no Gawn and no Petracca, but the players they sent out put in a very solid night’s work. Question marks again over the Bombers. Haven’t heard much about the “edge” in a while.

Suns v Port, Sunday arvo: I honestly don't know why Gold Coast supporters bother watching them. They win at home, they lose away. Go out and enjoy your Sunday afternoons without having to wonder if your team won or lost. It's like clockwork.



Tigers v Giants, Sunday arvo: Green and Whitfield racked up about 800 possessions between them in what was a professional all-round performance from the orange team. Well placed now sitting inside the 8 with a home game against the Gold Coast Suns (aka the bye) next week.

Eagles v Lions, Sunday arvo: The Eagles tried their darndest to pull off a good old fashioned 'win for the coach' but the Lions were a little too good. Might be missing Charlie Cameron

23

Charlie Cameron

Age

30

Ht

180cm

Wt

76kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.1

3star

K

8.4

3star

HB

3.7

3star

M

3.0

3star

T

3.2

5star

G

1.5

5star

D

9.6

2star

K

7.9

3star

HB

1.7

1star

M

3.6

4star

T

1.7

3star

G

1.9

5star

D

9.6

3star

K

5.4

2star

HB

4.2

4star

M

1.4

2star

T

3.4

5star

G

1.2

4star

for a crucial date with the Swans next week though.

Don't forget to post your liked, learnt, hated below... along with any other thoughts you had from Round 18!

 

[The King!]

I reckon the Dees for all their talent lack heart at times, then with a vfl squad they were all heart, and exposed Essendon as frauds

 

[JackFlash]

Liked: Beating the Pies is always a wonderful thing, Shaun Mannagh and Lawson Humphries.

Learnt: Essendon are just "gliding" along and conning their supporters.

Hated: Cats wearing white shorts in their away game against Collingwood, they wear them in their home game too, it's insane.

 

[Toump Ass]

Great win by the dees and go suck a fat egg Carlton Blues.

 

[Mr Cheese]

Liked: All of Freo's First and Second Round picks got better.

Learnt: The Hawks have got a brutal midfield when on and should ask to play in Tassie if they get to finals. Plus we're not winning the big one without Darcy and straight kicking.

Hated: The HtB rule/Umpiring - both Hawks and Dockers fans had every right to be spewing; some terrible decisions in an otherwise top-notch slugfest.

 

[Obzerva]

Learnt: The Hawks have got a brutal midfield when on and should ask to play in Tassie if they get to finals.

It’s an interesting idea, would make them hard to beat in an elimination final

 

[chaddy22]

Liked a few upsets. Pies lost. Going to be a real dog fight to make the eight.
Learnt a few sides have learnt how to play collingwood.
Hated umpiring is still hopeless

 

[BigBoSS_Riot]

Liked: Adelaide win, Thilthorpe return, Bond debut. Brisbane continuing to ascend, more slip ups from those in the 2nd to 13th area making the ladder even more congested. West Coast and Richmond put in improved performances.

Learnt: It doesn't matter how long the losing streak is, Gold Coast will break it to win at home.

Hated: We likely went back two picks in the draft. Umpiring in our game was dire.

 

[TubbsFarquhar]

Liked:
The kids showed plenty. Dowling, Taylor and Bond all look like they belong
Thilthorpe returning and having an immediate impact
Undermanned defence and no Treloar yet the Dogs got it done. That was an impressive win.

Learnt:
Gold Coast are the easiest team to tip
Teams I wrote off have now hit form again. Geelong and Melbourne, I'm looking at you
Teams I thought were top 4 locks are now looking wobbly (Carlton)
I need to re-evaluate my life choices. Why did I attend Nicksball vs Rossball on a cold, wet night?

Hated:
The continuing incompetence of umpiring
Matt Nicholls still being a registered umpire

 

[Hawksboy72]

Liked: Hawks win with Sis going forward. The dogs/blues game was good 2 watch. England loosing another final.
The return of Riley Tilthorpe hope that guy gets a good go at it.

Learnt: Melbourne's team selection was Latin for "We Think Sam Draper is a bang average ruckman"

Hated: Footy tipping comps that involve Port Adelaide games on a weekly basis.

On SM-S918B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[MCG-Unit]

Liked:

Geelong, Swans, Gold Coast, GWS Giants, Brisbane Lions

 

[Mr Meow]

Liked:

Geelong, Swans, Gold Coast, GWS Giants, Brisbane Lions

Bulldogs stiff.

 

[p4p1]

I think we all know what we hated

 

[Sixpence]

I think we all know what we hated

Essendon continuing to exist?

 

[JoondalupJ]

Starting to hate the AFL administration.The ridiculous penalties for tackles in a contact sport, the rules so many that are not even needed, like tiggy touchwood, that is BAD ENOUGH

Yet here we have another stupid 3 week penalty for a player playing the game, and the inexplicable MRB, who are led by those who are and have already gone too far with silly penalties but the EXACT same of a 3 weeks for James Sicily

6

James Sicily

Age

29

Ht

188cm

Wt

90kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

18.3

5star

K

12.7

5star

HB

5.7

4star

M

6.3

5star

T

1.5

3star

MG

365.0

5star

D

19.4

4star

K

14.3

5star

HB

5.1

3star

M

5.9

5star

T

1.0

2star

MG

437.4

5star

D

10.0

3star

K

6.0

3star

HB

4.0

3star

M

4.2

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

173.8

3star

last year, the most ridiculous unfair instruction of umpires as well as people who profess to know the game MRP .They don't.

As Jonathon Brown said and Bucks in "On The Couch" we are at a cross roads, our sport is a contact sport,
you can never stop and never will stop head injuries , it is the contact . If you try remodelling players to play differently then you are in fact training them to play a totally different sport.

If young players want to play get their chance they know the risks!
It should be part of a contract.

There is an easy way out, for those who have the fear of what happens later
DON'T PLAY, DON'T TRY, PLAY TENNIS.

The game has now become changed so badly because of fear of contact, ( not from players, but officials)
to a point where restraint of trade is visible against players, its changed to where it appears contact is not going to be allowed.

Jon Browns comment about motor racing having speed cameras on the really bad corners was a Joke!

But the common sense has gone from our sport. And it may not be a Joke.

And free kicks can kill wins, and cause losses. AND IT SHOULD NEVER DO THAT EVER!!!!!

And that misconstruing by 4 different umpires in a game where such grey grey rules,
are available where umpires have a multiple choice for calling out any frees from one incident.
In a split second.

That is why we get one decision one minute and another from a different perspective and different Umpire at the other end of the ground.

We've all been hoodwinked because the good parts of the game are the best on earth, but the free kick reasoning for head injuries and just pure plain and simple basic incidental touching or nonsensical petty penalties and frees that now rule the game.

You can have a gem of a day and then, one two three frees can kill you.
Some of those frees are mind bendingly unfair, not understood by the main people,

The paying fans!

That is not sport or merit, it is overkill at the worst I have ever seen.

And I 've been bleating on about this since the early 2004 and 5's.
And got worse.

It nearly puts you off, how many of us do nothing but talk about the unfair
petty frees every Monday every week every game!
And we don't understand half of them.

Don't blame the Umpires its the AFL hierarchy and some weird idea
that you can never be hurt playing football, Australian style.

Or to the umpires,guessing who and what is deliberate or nor by reading minds.
Or having to make decisionsin a split secondfrom a different angle or perspective,
to me we should be fighting for some BLACK AND WHITE RULES THAT WE ALL
NEED TO UNDERSTAND.
Then the biggest question of all for petty rule changing, WHY?????????????????????

You can protect the head , just so much. Contact though is unprotectable , its the risk!

Why then do we have stupid rules for arm touching what is a push in the back what is a shepherd or a block how does a player change what he is doing at full pace, and think on his opponents safety, they try some. At times it is impossible.
Like a safe contact sport is impossible, to be 100% safe. And sometimes its devastating. But its the game. play it like it should be orgive it away.

 

[PerthBoy86]

Liked: most of the results, especially the Bulldogs (my Melbourne team) getting the win. We put in a respectable performance.

Learnt: the Bulldogs are a chance if they put some form and consistency together. Some of the Eagles coaching changes are having an affect. If not for their slow start Hawks are top 4.

Hated: nothing new or major.

 

[Mr Meow]

Starting to hate the AFL administration.The ridiculous penalties for tackles in a contact sport, the rules so many that are not even needed, like tiggy touchwood, that is BAD ENOUGH

Yet here we have another stupid 3 week penalty for a player playing the game, and the inexplicable MRB, who are led by those who are and have already gone too far with silly penalties but the EXACT same of a 3 weeks for James Sicily last year, the most ridiculous unfair instruction of umpires as well as people who profess to know the game MRP .They don't.

As Jonathon Brown said and Bucks in "On The Couch" we are at a cross roads, our sport is a contact sport,
you can never stop and never will stop head injuries , it is the contact . If you try remodelling players to play differently then you are in fact training them to play a totally different sport.

If young players want to play get their chance they know the risks!
It should be part of a contract.

There is an easy way out, for those who have the fear of what happens later
DON'T PLAY, DON'T TRY, PLAY TENNIS.

The game has now become changed so badly because of fear of contact, ( not from players, but officials)
to a point where restraint of trade is visible against players, its changed to where it appears contact is not going to be allowed.

Jon Browns comment about motor racing having speed cameras on the really bad corners was a Joke!

But the common sense has gone from our sport. And it may not be a Joke.

And free kicks can kill wins, and cause losses. AND IT SHOULD NEVER DO THAT EVER!!!!!

And that misconstruing by 4 different umpires in a game where such grey grey rules,
are available where umpires have a multiple choice for calling out any frees from one incident.
In a split second.

That is why we get one decision one minute and another from a different perspective and different Umpire at the other end of the ground.

We've all been hoodwinked because the good parts of the game are the best on earth, but the free kick reasoning for head injuries and just pure plain and simple basic incidental touching or nonsensical petty penalties and frees that now rule the game.

You can have a gem of a day and then, one two three frees can kill you.
Some of those frees are mind bendingly unfair, not understood by the main people,

The paying fans!

That is not sport or merit, it is overkill at the worst I have ever seen.

And I 've been bleating on about this since the early 2004 and 5's.
And got worse.

It nearly puts you off, how many of us do nothing but talk about the unfair
petty frees every Monday every week every game!
And we don't understand half of them.

Don't blame the Umpires its the AFL hierarchy and some weird idea
that you can never be hurt playing football, Australian style.

Or to the umpires,guessing who and what is deliberate or nor by reading minds.
Or having to make decisionsin a split secondfrom a different angle or perspective,
to me we should be fighting for some BLACK AND WHITE RULES THAT WE ALL
NEED TO UNDERSTAND.
Then the biggest question of all for petty rule changing, WHY?????????????????????

You can protect the head , just so much. Contact though is unprotectable , its the risk!

Why then do we have stupid rules for arm touching what is a push in the back what is a shepherd or a block how does a player change what he is doing at full pace, and think on his opponents safety, they try some. At times it is impossible.
Like a safe contact sport is impossible, to be 100% safe. And sometimes its devastating. But its the game. play it like it should be orgive it away.

Besides that did you have a good weekend?

 

[MCG-Unit]

Bulldogs stiff.

Fair enough

 

[Polly]

Liked: Most of our ladder position rivals dropping games as well.
Hated: Our players and flight crew having to travel back home on a plane with full dunnies.

Fair and equitable