One thing that I'm finding a little bit strange at the moment, is the number of teams that are still a realistic chance of making the eight. Even if they're currently on a record of 8 wins and 11 losses, and for teams like St Kilda and Carlton, many pundits, including me, had pronounced them dead ages ago. Which was probably the sensible thing to do, since for most seasons of the 18 team comp, you usually need a record of 12/10 to get a finals spot, and sometimes, even that isn't enough. But this year, it's quite possible that a 10/12 team will sneak into the last finals spot. So, the zombies still walk amongst us.
The round starts tonight with Geelong hosting GWS. (Well, I assume that's still the case, but these days, you never really know). Sitting on 8 wins and a draw, you'd think that would be a must win game for GWS, but I doubt if that's really the case. Still, it would be nice if they won, as it'd increase our rough chance of catching Geelong.
The first Saturday match is Carlton v Gold Coast. Lately, bad Gold Coast have re-emerged, so there's every chance that Carlton will have a percentage boosting win, and bizarrely, they might even be in the eight by round's end. But it's okay, as their clash with Port next round, should kick them straight back out again.
Next up is Richmond and North. You could probably make the case that North has better recent form. Which I don't think anyone would have predicted at the start of the season.
The two night games are Us v St Kilda and the Adelaide showdown. I can't really see Adelaide doing us a favour by beating Port, but I've every confidence that we'll kill of the Saints for good.
The first Sunday game is Collingwood v Hawthorn. Pass.
That's followed by The Bulldogs and Essendon. I doubt if we can catch the chuckers, so perhaps it would be nice if they put the injectors into further difficulty? Then again: 2016.
The final Sunday game is Brisbane taking on the 9/10 and currently eighth, Fremantle. I don't dislike Fremantle, so it would probably be a good thing, if they were to win this and strengthen their finals chances.
We then have a Monday night match in Perth, between West Coast and Melbourne. It would be useful, if the badly out of form West Coast could beat the vulnerable Melbourne, to give us a chance of catching Melbourne. On the other hand, with their last two games against Fremantle and Brisbane, there's a reasonable chance that a loss here could see West Coast collapsing in a heap and missing the finals. Which does have a certain appeal.
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