A bit of an odd round, in that there's a few high stakes matches, in amongst games that may only be of interest to fans of the clubs involved, and plenty of them have probably lost interest.
Tonight's game could be classed as an elimination final for St Kilda. Lose against Brisbane and they have next to no chance of catching Carlton or Richmond, or of even holding off the Western Bulldogs. And it's probably better for us if they do win, as it keeps Brisbane off our tails. Although, it could be argued, that since we play St Kilda next week, then it might be better for us, if we play a side demoralised by the fact that they won't be playing finals?
The first Saturday game is the Western Bulldogs hosting GWS. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs have still got a reasonable chance of making the eight, and it's hard to see their chances being dealt a cruel blow, by a GWS side that's generally been pretty woeful and who are now without their main man, Toby Greene.
The next game is Adelaide v North. Which is only really notable for the return of Ben Cunnington, who's making his return after a long and difficult battle with testicular cancer. So, a definite feel good story there. Though it would probably be more of a feel good story if he wasn't playing for North, but still, a famous upset is on the cards, and I certainly wouldn't want to take the $1.16 currently being offered on an Adelaide victory.
The twilight game is at Metricon between Gold Coast and Geelong. Here I'm already feeling a bit sorry for the Geelong fans who have travelled up for the match, thinking that they'll get a sunny Queensland escape from the Victorian weather. The forecast for the game is heavy rain and about 15 degrees. Still, don't really know if the Suns will cause further misery with an upset win, now that their finals hopes are officially gone. And the Geelong ins of Dangerfield, Selwood, Blicavs and Rohan are a pretty impressive addition to a winning side. Though I did chuckle, when I noticed that three of the Geelong outs were listed as "managed". I mean, with those ins, I think everybody realises that they're being dropped, rather than managed.
Then it's on to Melbourne v Carlton. Which is a dilemma for me. While I know that a Carlton win would be better for us, there's something quite appealing about Carlton missing the eight. And there's also the fact that Cripps is now free to play, after Carlton's highly paid legal representatives managed to convince the legal minds of the AFL Appeals Board, that an obvious bump wasn't a bump. God knows what arguments they used in the four and half hour hearing, but it's truly remarkable to me that they could manage to argue for that long. I mean, normal people would find it hard to stretch the discussion much further than;
"So, if he was going for the ball, then wouldn't his arms have been reaching for the ball?"
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"Therefore, since he wasn't going for the ball, then that would make it an illegal bump, wouldn't it?
Though I suppose looking on the bright side, I wasn't in the room to suffer through their interminable arguments.
The other Saturday game looks like being a definite meh, that is, a one sided Western derby.
The first Sunday game should see Richmond consolidate their finals spot by beating Hawthorn.
Then it's what should be the match of the round, us taking on Collingwood.
Then a final meh: Port v Essendon. Where perhaps the main interest is, whoever loses, will probably claim the title as the most disappointing side of 2022.
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