Marty Clarke to make debut

[bcarrier]

Live on setanta 2 now. Otherwise updates at www.afl.com.au. Collingwood have started well 15-8 after 9.

[Statto-Gael]

Collingwood 90 - 62 up at the end of Q3 .... looking like Marty going to get a semi appearance at least

[zoyler]

Great display from Collingwood and again Marty does not put a foot wrong.  Played some great linking handpasses and was great at making himself vailable to receive and move on the ball.

The Oz comentators at the end were full of wonder at his progress and composure.  He also took a big hit from Big Bad Barry but carried on regardless.  A goog game but not a patch on the other game this morning which Hawthorn won with the last kick of the game. It was fantastic!

[Aerlik]

Marty's not quite in the semis...yet.

Here's how the AFL playoffs work.

The top 8 teams qualify for the finals.

this weekend:
(A) 1 v 4, Geelong v. Nth.Melbourne Kangaroos (Sunday)
(B) 2 v 3, Port Adelaide beat West Coast EGOs, the winners have a week off while the losers must play the next weekend.

(C) 5 v 8, Hawthorn beat Adelaide
(D) 6 v 7, Collingwood beat Sydney, the losers are automatically out, so Sydney and Adelaide can start planning for next season.

Next weekend:
(I) The loser of A will now play Hawthorn next weekend (probably Kangaroos v. Hawthorn)
(II)The loser of B, the Egos, now play Collingwood (...hark hark is that the fan base of Collingwood in WA doubling as all the Freo fans start shouting for the Pies?  Prob not as Collingwood are the most hated in the country.  'twill be the only game I will ever support the Eagles this season.

Preliminary Finals:
Winner of Geelong/Nth.Mel v. II (Egos v. Pies)
Port Adelaide v. I (Hawthorn v. Geelong/Nth.Mel)

Clear?  I thought so.

[FermGael]

Why are Collingwood hated???

[Cloc Mor]

I believe the Collingwood game is on Friday morning.  Will have to tape it or maybe pull a sickie.

[Tiger Craig]

Clarke is looking pretty useful. Still looks a bit lost at times, but given his time in the game that is understandable. Good kicking skills.

He is also a bit of what we call a "receiver" in that he generally doesn't really get stuck into the packs to get the ball, but hangs out and receives from other. Again not necessarily a bad thing.

As to why people hate Collingwood...

Basically their supporters can be quite arrogant, and are very very passionate to the extent of being 'feral'.

They are historically one of the most successful clubs, with some shady underworld connections in the 1920's & 1930's. They had a a long period (1958 to 1990) when they didn't win a grand final despite numerous appearances (the term "Colliwobbles" was coined for failure to handle pressure). Have not won anything since 1990.

A lot of recent criticism came due to their president, Eddie Maguire, being a media personality (and one time CEO of Channel Nine). When Channel Nine still had the telecast rights Eddie was chief commentator and Colingwood got a lot of TV exposure. He also hosted The Footy Show, which at times should have been renamed The Collingwood Show, as they seemed to get more airplay than other clubs. They also seem to get good fixture draws, with less interstate travel than some other clubs.

Personally I quite like them (heresy for a Richmond supporter)

[stephenite]

Swans never got going really, amazing how much they miss Tadhg. Collingwood were full value for their win however and seem to have the momentum going into next weeks game against an Eagles side that look to be without Ben Cousins. Magpies have a great chance of progressing....

[Aerlik]

Tiger Craig, what really pissed me off was McGuire's blatant bias when commentating on his own club.  Nearly as bad as listening to John Motson on England. ( And that wee gimball on Channel 7 who tries to immitate the brilliant NRL commentator is another one.)  And the fact that clubs like Richmond and Western Bulldogs had to travel twice to Perth and Adelaide yet the Pies only ever go once a year.    They may have the biggest fan base but seeing some of them on a game day would make you think Deliverance was set in Melbourne.

The Tigers had a very good win at the end of the season so things are looking better for them.  Personally I don't care who wins on Friday as after yesterday's performance I doubt if anyone will touch Geelong.  So I'm going for the Power again.

[Declan]

Damn thuggish Aussies at it again-

Great commentary tough- Eddie Fogarty eat your heart out.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ede_1189614495

[lynchbhoy]

my melbourne based uncle (since 1975) was home a month ago and was telling me about thediff teams in Melbourne (the rest are just recent creations with no history legacy yet)
Anyhow I forget most of which he told me but from an Irish perspective (I could be wrong and mixing the latter few up but...)
Collingwood - were the working class, predominantly pro-Irish team
Carlton - the freemasons of the AFL
Essendon - the elite/aristocrats and team the money men supported - looked down on the rest
Hawthorn - working class team, mostly mediterranean immigrants supported

I found his rundown on the older traditional Melbourne clubs very interesting indeed. Pity I cant remember feck all of what he told me.

[redandblackjack]

Damn thuggish Aussies at it again-

Great commentary tough- Eddie Fogarty eat your heart out.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ede_1189614495

"I am never comming back to this damn shithole"

Clones?

[hitzelsperger]

being an eagles man i hope west coast win but i cant see it with cousins out and a half fit judd just wont do it on the other hand i want to see marty doing well and getting to a final though the cats are looking too strong and will probably win the flag with gary ablett walking the brownlow contest!

[Uladh]

What if the GAA were to set up their own AFL Franchise, stocked completely with irishmen, to compete in australia? they'd have the biggest roster to pick from and could reinvest the monies generated in player development back home.

[bcarrier]

or what if GPA did ?