Geelong have a few injuries. I'll reserve judgement until cameron and danger get back in.
Geelong have a few injuries. I'll reserve judgement until cameron and danger get back in.
After 4 rounds, the top 3 teams are Bulldogs, Melbourne and SWANNIES. Wonder if those 3 clubs have ever held the top 3 spots before?
Wonder no more! This has occurred on the following occasions.
Season Round Top 3 1945 2 Melbourne/Sydney/Footscray 1998 5 Sydney/Footscray/Melbourne 1998 6 Sydney/Footscray/Melbourne 1998 7 Sydney/Footscray/Melbourne 1998 8 Footscray/Sydney/Melbourne 2021 3 Footscray/Sydney/Melbourne
Note: data from AFL Tables so South Melbourne = Sydney, Western Bulldogs = Footscray.
There were a couple of instances of staging in the Melbourne v Geelong game, that I hope will attract fines from the tribunal, but I doubt will, since there doesn't to be much comment about them.
One was late in the game, when a long kick went into the Geelong forward line. Moving towards the ball drop were Stanley, who was being closely followed by Gawn. It then seemed that Stanley was impeded. The umpire gives a free, causing an obviously flabbergasted reaction from Gawn. The replay showed why that reaction was appropriate. It started with Gawn's hands lightly touching Stanley's hips. He then moved his hands away, as they started running. Stanley then threw his body back, as if he had been grabbed. The replay strongly suggested that Gawn hadn't done anything to impede Stanley.
Whoops, accidentally pushed post. I'll continue.
While I can grudgingly accept players accentuating contact that has actually occurred, I really don't like them pretending that contact has occurred. It's just cheating and should be punished.
The other incident happened earlier in the game, when Selwood was penalised for a high tackle on Spargo. However, replays showed that Spargo had thrown his head back, as if it had been hit, well before any contact had been made. Then when contact was made, it didn't appear to be around the head. At first, I had a bit of a chuckle, at Selwood being penalised for a high tackle, but then I thought, no, that sort of blatant staging should be punished.
I remember 1998, it looked so good at the start, then went south further into the season. The last shot of the Roos,Lockett,Kelly era
I've been expecting Geelong to make a significant fall down the ladder in the next couple of years, as in not making the finals. All their best players are over 30 and retirements and injuries will take their toll. I wasn't expecting it to happen this year, but it could already be happening.
Geelong's recruitment has been short-term, focused on "win the flag now", without considering that their prospects in the longer term are dire. After their aging stars retire with no young players to replace them, I expect they will finish close to the bottom four in the next few years.
"Unbelievable!" -- Nick Davis leaves his mark on the 2005 semi final
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