Western Bulldogs All-Australian Adam Cooney is suffering from a double hit of a flu virus and a minor knee injury, but assistant coach Leon Cameron insists that Cooney will be set to play on Friday night against Geelong. And speaking of the Cats, Geelong captain Tom Harley defended his side's mental approach in the wake of allegations from Bulldogs star Jason Akermanis that the defending premiers are "too cocky".
Exactly what I was thinking a few days ago. And while I doubt that Matty Scarlett made the comments Akermanis alleged over the weekend, I can't say that Akermanis' Brisbane Lions triple Premiership-winning sides weren't without their moments of a swagger, as well. Geelong have that certain mojo about them right now, and have for the last couple of years. Completely agreed. I know Jason Akermanis offline, from having worked at functions he's been a guest at, and he is pretty full on. Which isn't a bad thing -- he's a pleasure to be around, and very entertaining. It's fun working a room together with him -- and in our own ways!
In Wednesday night's news... Geelong have already scratched Paul Chapman from contention to play against the Western Bulldogs on Friday night, even despite the standout half-forward flanker coming through unscathed at training yesterday. The club's brains trust have cited Chapman's history with soft-tissue injuries to his ailing hamstring, and have opted to hold him out should the Cats get to the Grand Final again.
The preliminary finals teams have been unveiled... Teams story: Kelly, Wojcinski return for Cats -- foxsports.com.au Teams, Week 3 of Finals -- Herald Sun
Summary: While the Western Bulldogs have submitted an unchanged team from the squad that beat Sydney last week, Geelong have made a pair of compulsory changes with James Kelly and David Wojcinski coming in for the injured duo of Paul Chapman and Brett Prismall. Meanwhile, both Hawthorn and St. Kilda have named players -- defender Trent Croad and midfielder Luke Ball, respectively -- that may not necessarily play, due to injuries.
And my tips: Geelong Hawthorn One need not be a brain surgeon to figure these out -- but having said that, in the "upsets" department, St. Kilda are much more likely to beat Hawthorn than the Western Bulldogs would be to beat Geelong.
Geelong v Western Bulldogs Hawthorn v St. Kilda can't really see either being an upset. I wonder what odds you could get on a Bulldogs v St Kilda final.
Geelong v Western Bulldogs: I know I've gone with a gut feeling twice this season and was rewarded. I know this makes no sense in the grand scheme of things, but I think Western Bulldogs shocks Geelong. Western Bulldogs Hawthorn v St. Kilda: Hawthorn
I'll go with the majority and tip Geelong and Hawthorn. I don't really see either game being very close, either.
Result from the first preliminary final between Geelong and the Western Bulldogs, at the MCG: [result]Geelong 12.11 (83) Western Bulldogs 7.12 (54)[/result]
And the second Grand Final combatant is now known, after the second preliminary final at the MCG between Hawthorn and St. Kilda: [result]Hawthorn 18.10 (118) St. Kilda 9.10 (64)[/result]
Tipping results, for the preliminary final round -- and going with the conventional wisdom rewarded a lot of people (sort of like picking Weekend Hussler in the 6th at Caulfield today)... el-capitano -- 2 Spartacus -- 2 RichardL -- 2 babytiger2001 -- 2 ChrisH -- 2 bcwildcatjohn -- 1 mrsbabytiger2001 -- DNP
And the aggregate totals, our new finals leaderboard, heading into next weekend's Grand Final: el-capitano -- 6 Spartacus -- 6 RichardL -- 6 ChrisH -- 6 babytiger2001 -- 5 mrsbabytiger2001 -- 4 bcwildcatjohn -- 3 And as we head into the Grand Final Week thread, this competition is indeed going to be decided by the tie-breaker, picking the margin of the game itself.
Let me get the new thread started first, and we can get into that. That's an angle I wouldn't mind updating each day leading up to Saturday, as well.
Just finished watching both prelim finals (finally posted on Aussie Sport TV)... Did anyone feel like they were in the middle of a Hitchcock movie in the Friday final? I've seen gulls around plenty of times (how many venues in San Francisco are thick with them?). But I've never seen them become so ingrained in the action. Generally they stay above the fray (or hover like vultures on the stadium roof until after the humans have left the premises). And what's up with Gary Ablett Jnr.'s haircut? Tribute to Paul Chapman?
I think I'm in a unique position to comment on this, seeing my day job is only about a 10-minute train ride east of the CBD, and the MCG... About 90 minutes before the start of the match, we had some massive showers and thunderstorms, including a lightning strike or two. Seagulls around here tend to roost after storms of that nature, and man, did they really rally around the MCG. Made viewing at times a tough act. Could've been a tribute to Tom Harley, too; he's also very follically challenged. Nah, Junior's been sporting that look all year. My theory is that since he's started losing his hair much like his father did, except worse. And along those lines, he figured that -- much like Michael Jordan did, in the third season of his NBA career -- what the hell, might as well take all of it off.