Round 11 - the other games

[Maltopia]

Deja will hopefully give his insights into the rest of the round.

I have scored a great free ticket in the member's area (19 rows back, level with one centre square line) to tonight's Freo vs Pies game. Really hope Freo win to help keep the Pies out of the top 2 or 4 by season end.

Pies have a really easy draw for a premiership team after tonight.

They play us and Gold Coast away,.

But play home games against Geelong, Bulldogs, Essendon, Brisbane, and Richmond
And 'away' games at the MCG vs Hawthorn, Melbourne and Carlton, plus an away game vs North at Marvel.

So they get eight more games at the MCG after tonight, plus a trip up the road to Marvel, to Gold Coast and to us.

What a rort!

[Thunder Shaker]

(Note: I don't use the temporary names for some clubs because I don't remember them very well.)

My thoughts on the remaining matches.

Fremantle vs Collingwood - 8-point game. If Fremantle are to play finals, they simply have to win this game.

North Melbourne vs Port Adelaide - Another likely loss for North Melbourne. Port could give the Roos a 60-point head start and still win it.

Carlton vs Gold Coast - another 8-point match, this is a genuinely interesting match that has finals implications.

Geelong vs GWS Giants - A month ago these two teams were considered premiership favourites. Now both teams have lost three games in a row and the loser of this match will have lost four in a row. I have been very sceptical of Geelong's form and my suspicions have been confirmed in the last month.

Richmond vs Essendon - A match that would reveal absolutely nothing about either team. Richmond have so many injuries that they can barely field a team and Essendon's form is dubious despite sitting second on the ladder. Essendon has only beaten one team in the top half of the ladder (GWS by 20 points) and that won't change this week. Essendon should win by 12 goals or more but many of their wins have been by single-digit margins.

Hawthorn vs Brisbane Lions - A surprising fact: Brisbane has not beaten Hawthorn for four years. Can Brisbane break this losing streak? Or will an improving Hawthorn put a dent in Brisbane's chances of playing finals?

Melbourne vs St Kilda - This should be a regulation win for Melbourne, but Melbourne lost to West Coast by 35 points last week. Will the Saints pull off an upset?

Adelaide vs West Coast - Another game that could be surprisingly interesting. Adelaide has a chance to get their sputtering season going but West Coast has been far more competitive than many expected.

[Thunder Shaker]

Deja will hopefully give his insights into the rest of the round.

I have scored a great free ticket in the member's area (19 rows back, level with one centre square line) to tonight's Freo vs Pies game. Really hope Freo win to help keep the Pies out of the top 2 or 4 by season end.

Pies have a really easy draw for a premiership team after tonight.

They play us and Gold Coast away,.

But play home games against Geelong, Bulldogs, Essendon, Brisbane, and Richmond
And 'away' games at the MCG vs Hawthorn, Melbourne and Carlton, plus an away game vs North at Marvel.

So they get eight more games at the MCG after tonight, plus a trip up the road to Marvel, to Gold Coast and to us.

What a rort!

Collingwood are such a protected species regarding match venues that there are two retired 100-game Collingwood players who have only played at six venues: Ryan Lonie 123 games and Alan Didak 218 games (no player has played more games at only 6 venues). By contrast, David Swallow (current Suns player) has played at 22 venues in 229 games. No player has played at more than that.

Scott Pendlebury has played 247 games at the MCG and Steele Sidebottom has played 203. No player has played more games at one venue. Third best all time is Kevin Bartlett (Richmond) with 200 games.

[707]

Draw between Pies and Freo is a good result for us, keeps the chasing pack at arms length.

After our break we've got an 8 point game against Geelong, another chance to widen the gap

[dejavoodoo44]

Collingwood are such a protected species regarding match venues that there are two retired 100-game Collingwood players who have only played at six venues: Ryan Lonie 123 games and Alan Didak 218 games (no player has played more games at only 6 venues). By contrast, David Swallow (current Suns player) has played at 22 venues in 229 games. No player has played at more than that.

Scott Pendlebury has played 247 games at the MCG and Steele Sidebottom has played 203. No player has played more games at one venue. Third best all time is Kevin Bartlett (Richmond) with 200 games.

In our match against Collingwood earlier in the season, it was mentioned that Pendlebury had played more games at the MCG than Sydney/South Melbourne.

- - - Updated - - -

Draw between Pies and Freo is a good result for us, keeps the chasing pack at arms length.

After our break we've got an 8 point game against Geelong, another chance to widen the gap

I had a look at what the Collingwood fans on Bigfooty thought of the free awarded by Mathew Nicholls. It's quite a fun read.

[Thunder Shaker]

In our match against Collingwood earlier in the season, it was mentioned that Pendlebury had played more games at the MCG than Sydney/South Melbourne.

Pendlebury 247 games Venues
Sydney/South Melbourne 243 games Sydney - Venue Records

[Maltopia]

I was at the Freo game, and it was rocking in the first half. Then more and more frustration as the Pies kept scoring and got it out to a big lead.

It went absolutely nuts as the Dockers came on late and almost took the lead. Getting the tie was a victory for the Dockers in a way, as they were looking at a loss deep in the final quarter.

[Sandridge]

Deja will hopefully give his insights into the rest of the round.

I have scored a great free ticket in the member's area (19 rows back, level with one centre square line) to tonight's Freo vs Pies game. Really hope Freo win to help keep the Pies out of the top 2 or 4 by season end.

Pies have a really easy draw for a premiership team after tonight.

They play us and Gold Coast away,.

But play home games against Geelong, Bulldogs, Essendon, Brisbane, and Richmond
And 'away' games at the MCG vs Hawthorn, Melbourne and Carlton, plus an away game vs North at Marvel.

So they get eight more games at the MCG after tonight, plus a trip up the road to Marvel, to Gold Coast and to us.

What a rort!

Yet, Eddie used to complain about "advantages" our club had!

I've said it before on RWO and I'll say it again. In 2018, West Coast finished the season on top of the ladder AND beat Collingwood in a lead up final. However, when the 2 teams met again in the Grand Final, it was played on Collingwood's home ground! The competition is severely compromised when the Grand Final is always played on a ground that is the home ground of a handful of Victorian teams!

Pity the Dockers couldn't get over the line last night although a draw is probably helpful to us.

[Hotpotato]

Toby and Leapin Leek buried the Cats ,
maniacal finish .

[KTigers]

Toby and Leapin Leek buried the Cats ,
maniacal finish .

Incredible goal, and an even better mark. GWS have now won their last four games at the Cattery.
What do they know that other teams don't ?

[KTigers]

Yet, Eddie used to complain about "advantages" our club had!

I've said it before on RWO and I'll say it again. In 2018, West Coast finished the season on top of the ladder AND beat Collingwood in a lead up final. However, when the 2 teams met again in the Grand Final, it was played on Collingwood's home ground! The competition is severely compromised when the Grand Final is always played on a ground that is the home ground of a handful of Victorian teams!

Pity the Dockers couldn't get over the line last night although a draw is probably helpful to us.

When the deal was announced in 2017 to play the GF at the MCG till 2057 the only offer they made to interstate teams who make the
GF was that they would pay for a charter flight for the teams to Melbourne. Huge.

[Blood Fever]

Yet, Eddie used to complain about "advantages" our club had!

I've said it before on RWO and I'll say it again. In 2018, West Coast finished the season on top of the ladder AND beat Collingwood in a lead up final. However, when the 2 teams met again in the Grand Final, it was played on Collingwood's home ground! The competition is severely compromised when the Grand Final is always played on a ground that is the home ground of a handful of Victorian teams!

Pity the Dockers couldn't get over the line last night although a draw is probably helpful to us.

Spot on. Was at GF 2018. Very happy with the result. Same thing happened in 2015 except Hawthorn won. Should be an asterisk next to their name as well as Richmond 2017. Should be 2 asterisks besides Bulldogs 2016. One for unfair home GF and the other for the free kick shambles.