The AFL has responded to the covid scheduling difficulties, by swapping a few round 20 games into round 19. Which sort of makes sense now, but if the various lockdowns and restrictions don't lift soon, then that might make less sense in the future? You probably wouldn't want them to continue reshuffling fixtures until round 23, only to hear a cry of anguish from AFL headquarters, followed by the announcement, that everyone playing finals now gets two bye weeks, instead of one. Hopefully, things work out.
Anyway, the round starts with Collingwood playing away to Port at, hmm, Marvel. Hopefully they can take advantage of that and do us a favour by beating Port, but I can't really see it happening.
The first Saturday game is Carlton v North. With the withdrawal of Harry McKay, it seems that this game has been robbed of its major drawcard, that of twins Ben and Harry playing on each other. The sledging between the two was quite entertaining, but I think that the points went to Ben, who when asked if he'll be playing on Harry, replied, "Well, I normally take the best forward. So, I'll probably be on Levi". Strangely, if Carlton win this, they're still a reasonable chance of making the eight: so, go North.
The next game is one of those that have been brought forward from round 20; Brisbane v Gold Coast. It would be nice if Gold Coast assisted us in our mission to get past Brisbane. And despite the odds being offered, there must be a reasonable chance of that: Brisbane have lost their last two, while Gold Coast have had wins against Richmond and GWS, and a narrow loss against the Bulldogs.
Next up is West Coast v St Kilda. West Coast are strong favourites, despite St Kilda having clearly the better recent form. Go figure. Maybe people still think they're almost unbeatable in front of their rabid home crowd?
The first night game should be the match of the round, Melbourne v Bulldogs. Well, it should have been the match of round 20, but hey. It would seem to be better for us, if the Demons beat the Chuckers. As that would give us some sort of chance of running them down. Plus, I'm more or less of the opinion, that if we don't win the premiership, then it would be nice if Melbourne broke their long drought.
The other Saturday night game is Adelaide hosting Hawthorn at, hmm, Marvel. I wouldn't mind someone doing a survey, to see what the fans of these clubs would prefer, a win here, or pick number 2.
We kick off Sunday with our match against Fremantle. Go the Swans!!
Next up is another, will the underdog does us a favour game, Geelong v Richmond. I guess the big question here, is how Richmond will cope without Dusty? Will they fall in a heap? Or will their many other talented players, show that they have the skills and the game plan to still beat anyone?
The final game is a classic 8 point game, Essendon v GWS. I just wish I cared.
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