The semi-finals kick off tonight, with Richmond v St Kilda. Richmond are short priced favourites, after St Kilda lost Ryder, Carlisle and Long from last week's side, while Richmond regained Lynch and Broad. There's also historical precedence, with the qualifying final losers having a vastly superior semi-final record, than the elimination final winners. Since the introduction of the present finals system in 2000, the win/loss record is 32 to 8. Although since the introduction of the week's rest in 2016, it has been 5 to 3. In addition to that, Richmond has much more finals experience, especially recent winning finals experience. So, it's a bit hard to see a St Kilda win. Although I suspect that most people, with the exception of Richmond fans and punters taking the short odds, will be barracking for the Saints.
Tomorrow night is Geelong v Collingwood. Here, I think that many people will be going for a Geelong loss; just to watch a truculent Chris Scott, subjected to another losing finals press conference. Though on the other hand, if Collingwood win, there's a chance that they'll become this season's version of the valiant fairypuppies. Which may not be an appealing prospect to many people.
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