The match of the round is definitely the clash on Saturday night at Telstra Dome between the up and coming St Kilda Saints, (currently undefeated and on top) verses the Premiers of the last 3 seasons, Brisbane. (currently 3rd with 4 wins and 1 loss) It promises to be a ripper of a match, along with the other games of the round. Friday 30th April Richmond vs Hawthorn Saturday 1st May Kangaroos vs Western Bulldogs Essendon vs Sydney Swans St Kilda vs Brisbane Lions West Coast Eagles vs Fremantle Sunday 2nd May Geelong vs Adelaide Melbourne vs Carlton Port Adelaide vs Collingwood After getting 6/8 last week for a total of 24, I have gone with Hawthorn, Kangaroos, Essendon, St Kilda, West Coast, Geelong, Melbourne and my certainty of the round, Port Adelaide at home against the hapless Magpies.
Here's the complete list, with local opening-bounce times and venues... FRIDAY, 30 APRIL Richmond vs. Hawthorn, Telstra Dome - 7:40PM SATURDAY, 1 MAY Kangaroos vs. W. Bulldogs, Manuka Oval, Canberra - 2:10PM Essendon vs. Sydney, MCG - 2:10PM St Kilda vs. Brisbane, Telstra Dome - 7:10PM West Coast vs. Fremantle, Subiaco - 7:40PM SUNDAY, 2 MAY Geelong vs. Adelaide, Skilled Stadium - 1:10PM Melbourne vs. Carlton, MCG - 2:10PM Port Adelaide vs. Collingwood, AAMI Stadium - 3:15PM Mrs. BT and I had planned on going to the Geelong v Adelaide game on Sunday-- but with the death of my father last night, we've decided that we are going to stay home and grieve and celebrate his life. But back to happier thoughts... It's going to be Geelong's first true home game of the season, with a reduced capacity at Kardinia Park due to the reconstruction of the stadium.
And here are my tips (so far, I'm 25/40 for the season)... FRIDAY Richmond vs. Hawthorn SATURDAY Kangaroos vs. W. Bulldogs Essendon vs. Sydney St Kilda vs. Brisbane West Coast vs. Fremantle SUNDAY Geelong vs. Adelaide Melbourne vs. Carlton Port Adelaide vs. Collingwood Probably best round of the season so far-- too many close games that wind up in the "too close to call" category.
There's always the free live audio connection on the AFL's official site. The best bet is on Triple M's coverage. "Triple M ROCKS football!"
JB's not bad, but Brian Taylor's the best footy commentator in the country right now. And as I said last weekend, Sam Newman's in fine form as well. In fact, the whole Triple M team is travelling very, very well. (As evidence, their expose, on Richmond president Clinton Casey over Danny Frawley's real job future with the Tigers.) And having said that... Frawley could be in a whole lot of trouble tonight...
Catching up on the scores so far this weekend... Friday night, at Telstra Dome, Richmond v Hawthorn: [result]Richmond 12.12 (84) Hawthorn 13.5 (83)[/result] Saturday's games... Essendon v Sydney, at the MCG: [result]Essendon 16.12 (108) Sydney 15.8 (98)[/result] North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs, at Manuka Oval, Canberra: [result]North Melbourne 18.11 (119) Western Bulldogs 19.6 (120)[/result] The Western Derby, West Coast v Fremantle, at Subiaco Oval: [result]West Coast 11.7 (73) Fremantle 12.11 (83)[/result] And the blockbuster of the round-- and a match with a controversial finish amid a final quarter for the ages-- St. Kilda v Brisbane, at Telstra Dome: [result]St. Kilda 13.14 (92) Brisbane 14.7 (91)[/result] Too many damn close games, as forecast. Wow. And we still have three games on Sunday.
Great performance by Geelong today at Skilled Stadium to dispose of the Adelaide Crows by 43 points. After a fairly slow start in the opening quarter, Geelong got on top with the wind in the 2nd term to lead by 2 points at half time, then opened up with the first 5 goals against the wind in the 3rd term and eventually ran out easy 43 point winners, 15.11.101 to 8.10.58. From a Geelong point of view, the most pleasing aspect of today's play was the way we attacked the ball and put pressure on the Adelaide players. We were relentless after half time, and if we can continue to play with this sort of endeavour, there's no reason why the Cats can't be in the mix to make the finals. And as for my tipping, 5/8 this week for a score of 29 for the season. Hawthorn, Kangaroos and West Coast let me down this week.
Sunday's results... The aforementioned Geelong v Adelaide match, at Kardinia Park: [result]Geelong 15.11 (101) Adelaide 8.10 (58)[/result] Melbourne v Carlton, at the MCG: [result]Melbourne 25.10 (160) Carlton 8.7 (55)[/result] Port Adelaide v Collingwood, at AAMI Stadium: [result]Port Adelaide 14.17 (101) Collingwood 12.12 (84)[/result] All in all, a very entertaining round. I went 6/8 on my tipping, vaulting ahead of my wife in the competition we're both in, and thereby advancing my season total to 31/48. Going quite well there.
The ladder's starting to take shape after six rounds, and with a few surprises so far, too. Full ladder -- afl.com.au
Collingwood have had a couple of injuries to key players Nathan Buckley and Chris Tarrant which haven't helped their cause, but even with those players missing, they seem to lack the same level of hunger and team spirit which saw them reach the last 2 Grand Finals.
I like Tarrant because he has the same name as the British 'Who wants to be a Millionaire' host. I mentioned that in another forum and a girl said that the Aussie 'Millionaire' host is Eddie McGuire who owns the Magpies. Final Answer?
Now there's a coincidence for you, although technically Eddie MaGuire doesn't own the Collingwood Football Club, but rather is the President. He also hosts The Footy Show which is one of the most popular tv shows during the Football Season here in Australia, and commentates on Channel Nine and occasionally on Triple M radio.