AFL 2008

[Jinxy]

 

[Uladh]

The London Times - Tube Tragedy

Was the tragedy that the tube was still breathing?

[Aerlik]

Well lads, I'm still hoarse from Friday night's thriller at Subiaco.  Not the best performance by Freo, but a very technical one which pushed Geelong to the brink.  One point...one feckin point.  Jayzus I nearly cried.  Mini-me just looked up and declared "It's only a game dad".  Nearly fell over laughing when he said that.   The last five minutes of the second quarter are to be forgotten but I will say one name.  Tom Hawkins.  Watch out for the next superstar of the game.  Ah feckit, I'm still hurting.  Fecking one point.  ONE POINT.  Feckit.

[stephenite]

Well lads, I'm still hoarse from Friday night's thriller at Subiaco.  Not the best performance by Freo, but a very technical one which pushed Geelong to the brink.  One point...one feckin point.  Jayzus I nearly cried.  Mini-me just looked up and declared "It's only a game dad".  Nearly fell over laughing when he said that.   The last five minutes of the second quarter are to be forgotten but I will say one name.  Tom Hawkins.  Watch out for the next superstar of the game.  Ah feckit, I'm still hurting.  Fecking one point.  ONE POINT.  Feckit.

And ye was robbed of 9 seconds playing time

[Tadhg_Kennelly]

I've been to two games so far this year, for two draws. What are the odds on that.

I still believe Brett Kirk kicked a goal. 

[JimStynes]

Bloods' test comes back too negative
Mike Sheahan
Monday, April 28, 2008 at 09:23am 


SYDNEY's Darren Jolly kicked a goal from the opening bounce yesterday. In the first 60 seconds.

Were we in for a rare treat from the Swans?

Nuh. Nooooo. Definitely not. It was to be business as usual.

A two-hour war of attrition with North Melbourne fittingly ended in a draw - 64 points each.

No winner. No satisfaction or joy in the stands, either.

Why must the Swans come face to face with defeat before they embrace the task of winning rather than saving a game?

They were 16 points down with less than eight minutes to play before the penny dropped.

In the end, they will count themselves unlucky, kicking 2.6 in the final term. It was their second-best quarter of the game.

At Telstra Dome. With the roof closed.

They kicked 8.16 for the afternoon and six of the behinds were rushed.

Why such negativity? From both teams.

The only winning score lower than 12 goals in first five rounds this year was St Kilda's 6.15 in Round 1.

Against guess who? Yep, Sydney.

The Swans salvaged two points from the game only because their most imaginative, creative player, Tadhg Kennelly, finally tired of the frustration and imposed himself on the contest.

Kennelly had nine disposals in the last quarter and was single-handedly responsible for the Sydney revival, even allowing for Michael O'Loughlin's two goals for the term.

He won the footy, ran with it, took opponents on, and delivered superbly, as usual.

He is only millimetres behind Adam Goodes as the team's most important player.

Thankfully, mercifully, Goodes was prepared to play the game with the flair it allows. Invites. He kept most of us engaged for the first three quarters.

North Melbourne isn't quite Geelong, either, in the way it plays its footy, but was more adventurous than the opposition this time.

In the third quarter, the Swans kept banging the ball into their forward half, only to see it rebound from a one-on-three or four contest.

Yes, Barry Hall is missing, but the forward division still includes Ryan O'Keefe, O'Loughlin and Nick Davis.

Not that Davis is any certainty to survive.He missed two sitters (for him) in the first half and had just two possessions in the second half, finishing with 1.2.

Jude Bolton also made a hash of his opportunities in the third quarter, but, unlike Davis, Bolton has an alibi of sorts - he is an habitually poor kick for goal.

To further illustrate the point about how conservative the Swans are in their forward moves, they racked up 81 more possessions than the Roos and finished square on the scoreboard.

North and the Swans sit 3-2 with a draw after six rounds. They are in no trouble, but the extra two points would have rewarded the winner with a spot in the top four.

While the Swans have Hall, Peter Everitt and Nick Malceski to return, North was missing Josh Gibson, Daniel Pratt and Jesse Smith.

Both teams will need to improve significantly to challenge the big boys, Geelong and Hawthorn. Maybe even the Western Bulldogs.

We shall learn more next weekend, when North faces Adelaide in Adelaide and Sydney hosts the Bulldogs.

Had the fixture thrown up Adelaide and Sydney instead, we would have been in for a snorefest.

The Crows strangled Carlton at the MCG on Saturday before surging to a 30-point win.

Chris Judd and Nick Stevens lacked sparkle and the team's Dr Jekyll and and Mr Hyde, Brendan Fevola, came as Mr Hyde.

From the moment he spilled a pass from Judd in the first quarter, he was in a for a long, trying, afternoon, and so it unfolded. His return was a miserable 1.3.

The Blues were disappointing after two wins in a row. Too little intensity, too many unforced errors.

One or two of them just didn't cope with the pressure that the good teams apply, the pressure of a big game.

The revival at Princes Park still has a long way to go.



Just shows you how highly Kennelly is rated. Also he is chosen in the dream team match to be played in a while as part of the AFL 150 birthday celebrations. He is representing the 'Rest of Australia' team against the Victoria team.  I think my namesake represented Victoria in his day.

[hitzelsperger]

tadgh has been one of the best in AFL for the last few years and im sure he would get on any team in the competition...his running out of defence is his strong point and im sure could come back at 32 years and probably get another crack at all ireland. he'd be mad to come home now and leave the lifestyle and plenty of $$$ behind down under

[Aerlik]

And ye was robbed of 9 seconds playing time

Nah, feckit, giving up 6 goals in 8 minutes at the end of the second period doesn't justify anyone gurning about 9 seconds.  Now if Schammer had kicked the ball towards Sandilands at the end then it might have been a different story.  Jaysus he's a big hoor. All 7ft. of him.  I'm pleased to say I was at the game where Sandilands gave his first stellar performance for the Dockers.

[JimStynes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCNPHdTScBA&feature=related
Tadgh and Brendan Murphy on St Paddys Day this year.


Brendan Murphy has been getting very good reports so far this year. Consistantly beening named in the best players every week.

[Aerlik]

Begley is out for the Lions, Kennelly Right Corner Back, as is Setanta and Clarke is on the interchange for this weekend's games.

Alot of excitement over here with the return of Chris Judd to Subiaco to front up to the Eagles.  Had to laugh when on the Footy Show last night, Garry Lyons asked him if his decision to leave the WC Eagles was anything to do with the off-field behaviour of Cousins, Chick, Kerr.  And true to form he said it wasn't.  Yeah, right, of course not.

Melbourne are favourites to beat Freo this weekend.  Oh Sweet Jayzus please let there be a Freo win.  Losing at the G in front of 20,000 to the Demons will be the end of the season otherwise.

[zoyler]

Nice to see Setanta showing a bit of form against thw West Coast Eagles thismorning.  Made some good runs -dis not give the ball away and got in some good spoiling blocks/punches.  Probable the best hes played this season though the Eagles were awful especially in the first half and did well to get as close as they did.

[stephenite]

The Eagles were disgraceful in the first half - indiscipline everywhere. More interested in trying to punch Chris Judd - fair play to Setanta is right, did his job quietly and efficently

[Tadhg_Kennelly]

The Eagles are a rabble at the moment. lol

[Tadhg_Kennelly]

West Coast 2.1 2.7 8.9 10.14 (74)
Carlton 2.4 10.7 12.8 17.9 (111)

GOALS
West Coast: Kennedy 2, Armstrong 2, Embley, C Jones, Schofield, Selwood, Rosa, Lynch
Carlton: Fevola 4, Simpson 2, Gibbs 2, Betts 2, Murphy, Cloke, Ellard, Browne, Wiggins, Fisher, Stevens

BEST
West Coast: Embley, Cox, Selwood, B Jones, Wirrpanda, Lynch, Glass
Carlton: Carrazzo, Scotland, Stevens, Simpson, Fisher, Judd, Browne

INJURIES
West Coast: Nil
Carlton: Nil

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Margetts, McLaren, Head

Official crowd: 41,254 at Subiaco.

[stephenite]

Hawthorn continuing their good form against Collingwood

Hawthorn 154 ; Collingwood 89