So it is finally done.

The great and mighty Cooooooolllllliiiiiiinnnngggggggwwwwwooooooodddddd  has been beaten.  No one strutting around in a gold jacket, no Maguire pumping up himself and his coaching transition and no Melbourne town rocking to the dreaded tune of “Goodbye Dolly Gray”.

Instead we are on the precipice of one of the greatest teams of all time.  Geelong richly deserved its victory on Saturday and there are a plethora of Carlton and Essendon supporters who are just as happy as those at the newly named Simmonds Stadium.

Congratulations to Geelong.  Well done!

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First there were 17, then 8, then 4 and now 2.

And who can forget Dane Swan getting what he so richly deserved last year.  It shows how much I know about footy when I didn’t think Judd had a very good 2010 and I don’t think Swan deserved to be in the All Australian team in 2011.  I have never called for the Brownlow votes to be taken off the umpies …until now.  Surely Pendlebury or Boyd deserved it more..  surely.  Seriousl though, well done to Swannie.

This weeks GF promises to be one for the ages.  Let’s hope that Geelong remembers it for an eternity.

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Whoever would have thought that the coaching merry-go-round, already whizzing around at the speed of light, would get even crazier with the unethical and immoral transfer of a so-called Supercoach (who has ultimately achieved nothing) to a rival club which NO-ONE in the medja saw coming.

The man with no loyalty – who neither commanded, demanded nor gave to his club or players.

One can only shake one’s head at such a foul stench emanating from the West. No, I am not talking about Ross Lyon now, rather the three monkey’s in red at the West Coast game.

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Some sanity returns this week.  Maybe not some intelligent footy insight, but some semblance of normality.

And just which staff member has undergone a metamorphisis this week and come out with a new nickname???

On the footy side of things, we LOVE finals footy.

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And what an even MORE bizarre podcast.

In what promised to be a Round 24 semi-extravaganza podcast,  it because quite heated on-air and especially in the green room post-match, so much so that it could almost be termed a the world’s first Australian Footy p*rncast.

Whew…we are all still wiping our brows.

Thanks to all the presenters who have helped out throughout the year and a special welcome to A.K.A and also The Cheerleader for their valuable assistance on this weeks show.

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WE love the term ‘the penultimate round’ down here at Footytalk.com.au and this week is a prime example of what happens towards the end of the year.  A lot of one-sided games and some surprise ‘almost-upsets’ have occurred but that is part and parcel for the ‘penultimate round’ of footy.

Sadly though, most games went the way as expected except the Sydney v Geelong game.  Has the Horse finally gotten through to his charges or are they simply going into the last part of the year playing on pure emotion in support for their skipper.

One more round and then the real footy starts.

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In what could have easily deteriorated into a political podcast (might be a new line of business for the Explosion), I managed to squelch the rage inside after joining the ‘Convoy of No Confidence’ to storm Canberra last weekend and demand an election to rid this once great country of the current Footscray full-forward.  She is an embarrassment.

Thankfully there was some footy to distract me from doing something really silly like driving a B-Double loaded with rotting cattle carcasses  through the front foyer of Parliament House.

Thanks to the AFP and Canberra Police who provided us with a stress-free Convoy.

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After another week stuck in Quarantine, we are finally back in the land of the living, even if our body and soul is only lukewarm but thanks to D.J for offering his support this week in an interesting podcast.

So much has happened in the past few days, with the culmination of Rocket Eade being sacked by Smorgon and his pisley cronies.  Tough decision would have been to back Rocket all the way for another 2 years to get them back where he wants them.

Alas poor Rocket……

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Another week in quarantine sees what is probably the best of the worst of Footytalk.com.au Podcast in 7 years.  You can be forgiven for switching off from this one but hopefully a new week will see the team back to full health and ranting about all things footy as finals approach.

What an over-reaction the medja hype surrounding the big scores and big margins is.  Don’t these so-called ‘journos’ have anything decent to write about.  Obviously not.

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What an over-reaction the medja hype surrounding the big scores and big margins is.  Don’t these so-called ‘journos’ have anything decent to write about.  Obviously not.

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Apologies for being lone-voice-explosion this week but I am in Quarantine after catching every dreaded disease under the sun this week.

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Getting towards the business end of the season and still the final make-up of the final 8 is unknown.  Who but the most ardent of St. Kilda supporters would have thought that the Saints will be marching in some 6 weeks ago? The Bombre’s were on a mission but have gone AWOL this week with another huge match coming against the Premier-elect and the Top 4 has been opened up to the West Coast.  Bloody Ballantyne!!!!

Watch this space

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Scandal!!!  How dare they??  It is bordering on criminality.  I am NOT talking about the betting issues that surrounds Collingwood or even the scourge that may become the Director of Football at Collingwood next year.  I am not even talking about the AFL wanting to start it’s own player agency.

Nooo…. whilst all these issues are big and important, the main scandal I talk about is the alleged second best midfield in the comp continuing to show just how pathetic it really is.  I talk of course of the fab 4 from Tiger land…..a fighting fury!

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However, we had to put aside our political differences to bring you an informative and rant-filled podcast this week.

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Finally, the ‘greatest team of all’ has been brought crashing down to earth with a loss.  And weren’t the Bombre’s absolutely brilliant.  The scary thing for the rest of the competition is that this win will now give Thompson’s charges a lot of belief and confidence.  Just when we thought it was safe to drive down Napier St again….*sigh*

The pay dispute continues to drag on and on.  Whilst there will be no player strike, it remains to be seen just how stubborn both parties will be.  Sure, the players deserve a lot more of the pie given the huge increase in total revenue, but at what expense.

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Thanks to the plethora of listeners who have requested OMG to co-host the show again, and no, we won’t be doing a vidcast with her.  She has a great head for podcasting .  (Just jokes OMG).

This week sees another old favourite grace the microphone in his first show for the year.  Welcome back Moose.

Lots of topics this week but is the heat really coming on down there at Windy Hill-cum-Sunbury-cum-Tullarmarine Airport sports fields?  If not this week then wait to see what happens next week after a big game against Geelong.

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We are over this whole merry-go-round but it does make for some amusing and humorous podcasting.

Seriously, can anyone actually believe any of the lies or half-truths that come out of either of these people.

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How can we cope with no Collingwood to pump up this week.  Better start with the great display of the Tigers up north against a lowly ranked and under-manned Brisbane outfit that the yellow and black struggled to put away.  Thank goodness for Dustin ‘cut along dotted line’ Martin.

The demise of the Bombre’s continues to amuse Dermott and West Coast appear to be a really good win away from top 4 contention.

Ladies and gents – the season is about to heat up!

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Fair dinkum, these people get paid a bucketload to tell you and I and the rest of the footy public what we already know and can see on TV every week.

How do they keep their journalistic integrity then?

In this day and age of high technology and social media, it’s frigging ridiculous that members of the medja have to resort to using twitter, facebook, fan forums and pub gossip to do their jobs.

And to make it even worse, they have to consult so-called experts in other sports on their opinions.

Sad really isn’t it.

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Half way through the season and there are more questions than answers that have been raised in the preceding 12 weeks.  Eade? St. Kilda? Craig? West Coast?  Essendon?  Thompson? are just 6 of them.

Of course the most pressing question is ‘how do you solve a problem like a-Malthouse?” for 2012.  Figgers thinks he has it all figured out but does he really?  How can Eduardo say au revoir to the best coach the club has seen since James McHale?

How badly are Melbourne actually travelling?

Will the Saints make the 8?

How will the Hawks fare in the 2nd half of the year with half a side out there?

Geez we love the footy.

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Kudos to Mike Sheahan for getting on board.  Unfortunately for the censors at the Bostonian, they don’t like being told they are 7 years too late.

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So the greatest player in the competition at the moment is falible and doesn’t know how to handle a tag he doesn’t like until he had to resort to fisticuffs to prove he is tough.  Have a holiday Mr. Thomas.

Footytalk.com.au management is also learning to appreciate just how serious racial vilification actually is.  It has taken a long time and a lot of soul-searching but much like Stan Marsh in South Park, we finally get it because we don’t get it.

What we do get is the difference between out and out abuse and racial vilification though – something some of our more esteemed medja peers and footballing Presidents just don’t get.

After a great deal of correspondence, we are working towards being more inclusive of the ‘me-gen’ to include younger presenters, and also appealling to a greater demographic by including a new female presenter.  Please give a huge welcome to our newest full-time staff member – OMG!

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Should a team sell a game for financial gain during the season.  That is the big question on our lips this week as Richmond appear to have foregone a HUGE cash injection from making finals by playing meek, insipid footy against the also-rans up at Marrara.  That’s 4 points they will never get back.

Collingwood continues to roll o and Daisy Thomas is apparently the best player in the league at the moment.  As Sandy Roberts would exclaim…”Oh My Giddy Hat”

Fair dinkum, what is the footy medja coming to?

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We were on the cusp of the biggest upset in footy history..at least for a couple of years..and then Collingwood decided to spoil the party by pushing the button and turning on a display of quality footy that has left the majority of the footy medja flummoxed.  How did  they do it?

The question needs to be asked though.  Just how did Collingwood..the great Collingwood, the unbeatable Collingwood, the team of all ages Collingwood go through a half with scoring only 2 goals.

All is not rosey down there at Westpac-cum-Lexus-cum-Jock McHale-cum-Victoria Park.  No amount of Selleys ‘roof and gutter silicone’ will gloss over the fact.  And that comes directly from a Collingwood supporter.

In other news, footy players should stay away from social networking sites and twitter. It can only lead to tears.

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Since receiving a plethora of emails requestig some new voices from the ‘Me Generation’ to co-host the podcasts, we have scoured both Australia and Brunei to find just the right person for the job.

Footytalk.com.au is proud to present a new presenter this week for his first foray behind the microphone.  Please everyone give a huge welcome to ‘The Whip’.  This week’s show turned into a quite a long rant as the young bloke decided he had to ‘crack the whip’ on occasion and it is worth listening for.

Now we just need to find a regular female presenter as the fans are screaming loudly for one of quality.   As with all our regular presenters, she must have a good head for podcasting.

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Gee, what is going on here.  Footy players behaving themselves off the field.  The clubs in control of all aspects of their playes lives and no idiotic no-name drunken fools trying to pick fights with players to have a notch on their belts?

Barely seems worth reporting on anything really.  Just as well there were a few quality games and good upsets to keep us interested in the footy.

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Finally the announcement of the year has been made – FOXTEL is set to become RICH but not as rich as Telstra.  They are the real winners out of all this.  But where do the players stand.  Watch this space for a fight of epic proportions.

And Richmond is now making a bit of noise about how good they will be.  Not before time I would suggest but the medja has a new darling in Dustin Martin so watch every journo gush and ohhhh – ahhh  every time he goes near the ball.  It is sickening just thinking about it.

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We also join the whole footballing community in paying our respects to the fallen heroes of the ANZAC’s, and all those who have fought and died to enable us to live in the wonderful country we inhabit.

Chance dictated where we would be born – the courage and sacrifice of the men and women our our armed forces have made it safe and the envy of many other nations around the world.

We should honour them further by leaving THEIR day sacred – and not play ANY footy on ANZAC day at all.

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Another trip onto the wrong side of the Yarra this week sees Footytalk hosted out in the ‘burbs once again. Apart from the exceptional soundproofing of the studio, we share some quality banter and informative footy discussion with the Collingwood President-Elect – Obama Rookie.

Footytalk is slowly becoming the Collingwood Show again.  We need some sensible commentary from non-Collingwood, non-Essendon and non-Carlton supporters.

Only 7 games this week and very few off-field issues to tackle so we hope you enjoy our ramblings.

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RICHMOND
B: Newman, Astbury, Conca
HB: Deledio, Thursfield, Batchelor
C: Cotchin, Martin, Edwards
HF: King, Vickery, Grigg
F: Helbig, Riewoldt, Houli
Foll: Graham, Jackson, Foley
I/C: Nahas, White, Grimes, Miller
Emg: Tuck, Dea, Nason
In: Thursfield, Miller
Out: Connors (leg), Morton
New: Miller (Melbourne)

COLLINGWOOD
B: Shaw, Tarrant, Toovey
HB: O’Brien, Reid, Maxwell
C: Krakouer, Ball, Thomas
HF: Beams, Dawes, Pendlebury
F: Sidebottom, Brown, Cloke
Foll: Wood, Dane Swan, Alan Didak
I/C: Davis, Johnson, Wellingham, Blair
Emg:Brad Dick, Goldsack, McCarthy
In: Wood
Out: Jolly (knee)

The Caringbush are just continuing on their merry way and one
could not imagine that Richmond will bother them for a moment.
As I said in this week’s podcast, Collingwood is all about
structure as opposed to individuals and it will take a lot of
theories on how to beat them, unless one looks at the way they
structure up in all aspects of the game, you are on a hiding to
nothing.

Collingwood does not care about the randomness of the shape of the
ball or the way it bounces. IT does not care about how good an
opposition player might be or the wind.  What Malthouse has done
is drill into his players the ability only to control the things
they have direct control over.

How to kick, where to run, where to kick to, mateship on the
ground, working in tandem and running in waves.  This is the key
both to their winning ways, and is also going to be the key to
beating them.  Once the algorithms of the Malthouse system has
been sorted out, and counter-balances implemented by opposition
coaches, they will be so indoctrinated into their own methods that
the players will soon resort to the randomness of footy and the
creation of more contests which will be their downfall.

It will happen this year.

Unfortunately it will not happen with Richmond.

Richmond supporters can talk up their improvement so far in 2011
but the reality is somewhat different.  They are just not a very
good side.

Good to see Thursfield back and he should take Cloke whilst young
Astbury should go with Dawes.  If Richmond are to create a close
contest, they will need to stop the Collingwood run-on with tempo
footy but they will also need to push quickly forward at times.

The biggest trick will be juggling when to do either.

Collingwood by 58 points.

Hawthorn v West Coast
Aurora Stadium, Launceston, Saturday 16, April, 2.10pm

HAWTHORN
B: Ladson, Gilham, Bruce
H: Birchall, Gibson, Suckling
C: Bateman, Mitchell, Shiels
HF: Young, Franklin, Burgoyne
F: Osborne, Roughead, Lewis
Foll: Renouf, Hodge, Sewell
I/C: Ellis, Guerra, Savage, Hale
Emg: Whitecross, Murphy, Puopolo
In: Mitchell, Rioli
Out: Osborne (calf), Stratton (knee)

WEST COAST
B: Brown, Glass, Hurn
HB: Butler, Mackenzie, S Selwood
C: Rosa, Priddis, Embley
HF: Ebert, Kennedy, Shuey
F: Nicoski, Lynch, Naitanui
Foll: Cox, A Selwood, Kerr
I/C: Schofield, Dalziell, Gaff, Darling
Emg: Swift, McGinnity, Sheppard
In: Dalziell
Out: McGinnity

Tassie gets its first taste of the big league for 2011 and this
could seriously be a fantastic game.  The medja has been creaming
its collective self over how great Buddy is but maybe the cooler
climate of Tassie might help put his ego in check a bit – even
though he is used to the lifestyle down there.
Mr. Said is back after his suspension and there will be gushing
aplenty every time he goes near the ball.  It will be that
sickening that I don’t think I will watch or listen to it.  *yawn*

Woosha should run Butler with Said to just pressure him a lot.
Scott Selwood has been getting a lot of the ball recently and
would be wasted in a negating role so let him run and carry.

I would be tempted to let Embley run with Hodge.  Both are great
players and will get a lot of the ball as they play wide of each
other.

I just feel that Hodge has been getting his own way so
much in his career as he floated around halfback without an
opponent that ANYONE paying any attention to him and able to hurt
him the other way is going to get him frustrated and put him off
his game a bit.  Not that he doesn’t like the hard ball….just
that he has forgotten how to get it.

The midfield battle should be interesting because neither is
overly endowed with extreme pace.  Dana Sewell will go with
Priddis and that should be a great battle.  Both are in and under
players so the clash of heads and egos will be great to watch.

Hmm, so who should match up on Buddy.???  WAtch this space but I
would say throw a hat into the ring with Natanui and let the big Q
Bomber take the rucking duties when Coxy has his big breaks.

Looking at this game, I can actually see that the new look West
coast matches up very well on Hawthorn.  I can see Kennedy having
a day out on Josh Gibson and I am tipping West Coast to win by a
goal.

Carlton v Essendon
MCG, Saturday 16, April, 2.10pm

CARLTON
B: White, Jamison, Carrazzo
HB: Duigan, Laidler, Russell,
C: Scotland, Judd, Yarran
HF: Betts, Waite, Simpson
F:  Hampson, Henderson, Garlett
Foll: Warnock, Murphy, Gibbs,
I/C: Walker, Robinson, Curnow, Collins
Emg: Armfield, Ellard, Lucas
In: Henderson, White, Jamison
Out: Thornton, Watson

ESSENDON
B: Hardingham, Fletcher, Dempsey
H: Heppell, Hooker, Lovett-Murray
C: McVeigh, Watson, Stanton
HF: Zaharakis, Hurley, Winderlich
F: Crameri, Ryder, Monfries
Foll: Bellchambers, Howlett, Hocking
I/C: Lonergan, Jetta, Prismall, Melksham
Emg: Reimers, Hille, Davey
In: Prismall
Out: Davey

So much to say about this game but knowing my allegiances, I
better keep it simple, stupid.

In an nutshell, Essendon has too much pace and move the ball way
to quickly for Carlton.  Carlton will try to play tempo footy as
they did last week against Collingwood but this will only play
into Essendon’s hands and with the usual turnover coming off
half-back by the Blues (would be worse if Bower and Thornton were
playing), Hurley, Ryder and Zaharakis will get a lot of scoring
opportunities.

Look for Monfries to try to rough up his opponent prior to the
bounce, only to cop a touch on his precious Michael Finnigin, and
go down in a heap like a screaming meamie!  A free before the
bounce in the goalsquare. For crying out loud Gieschen, its not
like we haven’t seen that before FFS!

As for the matchups, Jamison should take Hurley although the
Essendon big forwards will rotate between FF and CHF.  Laidler
will probably take the resting ruckman when he goes down there,
which means the Blues are very short down back.  (and
inexperienced)

Duigan will go to Monfries and get sucked in, Yarran should go to
Winderich and Russell will probably go with Zaharakis.

I can’t see the Blueboys getting up because of one bloke…
Carazzo.  How he continues to get a game is beyond anyone’s
comprehension.  He is just not good enough and will cough up a lot
of turnovers to opponents.  He is slow and unskilled. WHERE THE
HELL IS ARMFIELD FFS RATTEN??

I don’t think there will be much tagging through the middle unless
Carlton decides to run Gibbs with Jobey the Watt in a negating
role.

Down back for the Bombre’s, Fletch the Letch will do what he likes
against Waite and Henderson.  Hooker is just a solid and quality
player – he plays tight and tough and knows where to kick and run
off.  Waite will play the lazy forward and not chase.

Carlton has to stop the press from being set up easily and this is
what coach Thompson has been working on all summer.  The red and
black attack is doing it very well.

As much as it pains me to say, I cannot see Carlton’s forwards
kicking enough goals and its midfield does not impact the
scoreboard as much as Essendon’s does.

Bombers by 18 points.

Sydney v Geelong
SCG, Saturday 16, April, 7.10pm

SYDNEY
B: Bevan, Richards, Mattner
H: Shaw, Grundy, Johnson
C: McGlynn, Jack, Smith
HF: Bolton, Reid, Goodes
F: O’Keefe, White, Hannebery
Foll: Mumford, Kennedy, McVeigh
I/C: Bird, Rohan, Jetta, Everitt
Emg: Pyke, Sumner, Parker
NO CHANGE

GEELONG
B: J Hunt, Scarlett, Enright
HB: Mackie, Taylor, Kelly
C: Bartel, Ling, Johnson
HF: Stokes, Mooney, Varcoe
F: Menzel, Podsiadly, Chapman
Foll: Ottens, Corey, Selwood
I/C: Lonergan, Milburn, Wojcinski, T Hunt
Emg: West, Christensen, Cowan
In: Lonergan, Mackie, Wojcinski
Out: Hawkins (back), Duncan (soreness), Allen Christensen

Game of the round up in Sydney for mine.  Two unbeaten teams and a
top 2 spot up for grabs, as well as the chance to put some space
between themselves and other teams early in the year.
I certainly didn’t expect either side to be in this situation 3
games in but it augers well for a quality match-up.

The big Horse is quietly confident from the looks of it as there
are no changes in his side from last week whilst the Cats have
lost a few that they can easily afford to lose and welcome back
Premiership players.

One thing that does bother me in terms of a spectacle is both
sides abilities to kick goals.  Neither is really reknowned for
their big scoring so it looks like it is going to be a very dour
(and boring) affair.  I only hope that it is much better than the
St. Kilda v Geelong game in round 1.

Jessie White tries hard and has a day out once every 6 weeks.
Young Reid is still learning the caper and the old reliance on
Goodes, Bolton and O’Keefe gets a bit stale as they can’t keep
going to the well time and time and time again.  As both teams
have found however, the need to inject more goal kickers rather
than big named forwards is vitally important.  Rohan, Everitt and
Hannebery for the Swannies have been great in keeping the
scoreboard ticking over.

For Geelong it is the same old story as well.  Chapamn, Mooney and
Stokes added to some of the midfield scorers has generally been
the M.O but the introduction of Menzel has been a revelation so
far in 2011.  I don’t think he will be able to do it over and over
again however.

Geelong’s strength is its midfield as we know but I think Mumford
will get the better of Ottie, who is on his last legs in 2011, and
will give Jack, McGlynn, Hannebury and Kennedy an armchair ride
through the guts.  I actually struggle to see how Geelong will
keep Kennedy quite to be honest and I am calling him for 3 votes
already.

If either side can keep the other to 12 goals, they should come
out on top.

In Sydney, I think the Swannies will win by 9 points.

Port Adelaide v Adelaide
AAMI Stadium, Saturday 16, April, 7.40pm

PORT ADELAIDE
B: Logan, Carlile, Trengove
HB: Pettigrew, Chaplin, Surjan
C: Boak, Thomas, Stewart
HF: Broadbent, C. Cornes, Gray
F: Ebert, Westhoff, D. Motlop
Foll: Brogan, Hartlett, Rodan
I/C: Salopek, Pittard, Hitchcock, O’Shea
Emg: Banner, Davenport, Irons
In: Ebert, Pettigrew, Salopek, Surjan, Hitchcock
Out: K. Cornes, Irons, Pearce, Davenport, Stewart

ADELAIDE
B: Tambling, Rutten, Johncock
HB: van Berlo, L Thompson, Symes
C: Smith, Dangerfield, Martin
HF: Vince, Walker, Knights
F: Jaensch, Tippett, Henderson
Foll: Maric, Thompson, Reilly
I/C: Douglas, Otten, Cook, McKernan
Emg: Moran, Gunston, Wright
In: Cook, L Thompson
Out: Stevens (illness), Davis (shoulder),
New: Luke Thompson (Geelong Falcons)

Even though those in the eastern (or western) states couldn’t
really care too much about this game, thank God the code has gone
national.  This should be a quality matchup.  (Can you feel the
sincerity there??)

Tarvis Boak is showing the sort of form that the Melbourne clubs
are keen to harness and they will be cursing that they will have
to wait for another 3 years before doing so.

The Chad is on his last legs and seems to have completely lost the
passion for the game. Getting pumped every week both by opposition
teams and in the medja won’t help but we will have to say a teary
farewell to The at the end of the year.  The strangest thing is
that iPrimus has dropped the wrong Jimmy Crack Cornes.  What is
going on there??

Let’s be honest about this game though.  Port just do not seem to
have much going for them do they?  There are some good ‘ins’ with
Surjan, Salopek and Ebert but they seem to lack the really good
quality that Adelaide has.

Losing Phil Davis from CHB will hurt and it will give a chance for
big Justin Westhoffer to put a stamp on the match.  They guy is
capable but doesn’t do it very often.

I can’t see the Port Adelaide backline keeping Adelaide to a
losing score though. Tippet, Walker, Vince and Knights should run

rings around Port and they will be well fed by Thompson, Reilly,
Dangerfield, Martin and Van Berlo.

There just seems to be not enough quality at Port to cause any
problems and although there will be a lot of emotion early in the
game, it won’t last long and the Crows should win by 45 points.

Gold Coast v Melbourne
Gabba, Sunday 17, April, 2.10pm

GOLD COAST
B: Bock, Hunt, Tape
HB: Toy, Coad, Harbrow
C: Rischitelli, G Ablett, Shaw
HF: Russell, Dixon, Stanley
F: Fraser, Gorringe, Matera
F: Smith, Harris, Swallow
I/C: (from) Prestia, Brennan, McKenzie, Weller, Jolly, Hutchins,
Magin
In: Fraser, Russell, Jolly, Toy, Shaw, Hutchins
Out: Brown (suspended) Krakouer, Bennell
New: Matt Shaw, 19, Dandenong U18; Luke Russell, 19, Tasmania U18;
Hayden Jolly, 19, Glenelg SA; Jack Hutchins, 19, Sandringham U18

MELBOURNE
B: Bartram, Frawley, Tapscott
HB: Trengove, Garland, Rivers
C: Bail, Grimes, Gysberts
HF: Bennell, Green, Wonaeamirri
F: Davey Dunn, Jurrah
F: Jamar, Moloney, Sylvia
I: (from) Jones, Petterd, Morton, Maric, Martin, Watts, Strauss
In: Petterd Maric Strauss

This is another one of those ‘who care’s sort of games as most
games with the two new interstate sides over the next 5 years will
be. Complete and utter waste of time, effort and space as far as
this reporter is concerned.

The only thing that will be of any interest is how Clint Bartram
plays on young Matera, how GC17 plays without NUTS Brown down back
and how their first gamers go.  Congrats to Matt Shaw, Luke
Russell, Hayden Jolly and Jack Hutchins.

Speaking of Jacks.  Jackie Watts should use this game to show the
football world all those fantastic skills that he had prior to his
being drafted.  If he doesn’t, then his passport to Penrith will
be stamped with a big red “deported’ mark – never to return to
Victoria.

Great to see Austin Wonaeamirri back in some form as well so that
will create a bit more interest as well.

Melbourne didn’t play great footy to beat Brisbane last week and
GC17 will give themselves a shot at causing an upset.

Unfortunately, pipedreams do not equal reality and Melbourne will
win by 48 points.

Fremantle v North Melbourne
Patersons Stadium, Sunday 17, April, 4.40pm

FREMANTLE
B: De Boer Grover McPhee
HB: Broughton McPharlin, Duffield
C: Fyfe Suban Mundy
HF: Bradley Mayne Hill
F: Ballantyne Johnson Pitt
Foll: Sandilands Pavlich Crowley
I/C: (from): Roberton, Palmer, Lower, Walters, Crichton, van
Berlo, Ibbotson
In: Ibbotson, van Berlo, Crichton
Out: Nil

NORTH MELBOURNE
B: Rawlings, Grima, Thompson
HB: Firrito Tarrant Richardson
C: Adams Anthony Harvey
HF: Wells Hansen McMahon
F: Wright Petrie Thomas
Foll: Goldstein Swallow Garlett
I/C: (from): Warren, Ziebell, Cunnington, Atley, Edwards, Pratt,
Pedersen
In: Pratt Warren Pedersen
Out:Nil

Freo – Good. North – Bad.

Enough said.

Well done to Pavlich who is an out and out champion of the game.
If people over here want to talk up NUTS Riewoldt as being one of
the best current day players, well seriously, he gets in line a
long long long way behind Matt Pavlich.

North looks to have a team full of ‘fillers’.  Those blokes who
would be able to come in from the Ressies on any given day and
perform well for one or two weeks.  The problem is that they are
being asked to do the top job week in and week out when they are
not up to it.

A forward structure of Wells, Hansen, McMahon, Wright, Petrie and
Thomas.  I mean..please!!!  Who is in charge of recruiting down
there at Arden St?  As I said – each on their own and in a good
team could do the job from time to time.  They can’t all do it
regularly enough in the team environment to really trouble anyone.

Yet!

The backline doesn’t look too bad with Thompson, Firrito, Rawlings
and Grima but it just seems to lack polish.

Freo will run rings off North on the huge expanse of Subiaco.
Fyfe continues to improve and impress, Mundy is just quality, Hill
is an absolute gun and even blokes like Ibbotson, Crowley and I
shudder to say Ballantyne are all dangerous when on song.

The biggest difference in this game is not so much the individual
players, but the way they play together as a team.

Chris Scott will try hard to generate a solid game plan but the
group seems to be splintered and pretty much ineffective at the
moment.

That being said, I think that Freo will win by 10 goals.

Ahhh, the usual tripe.  Does anything actually change in this game from week to week.  A Collingwood win, a drunken frat-boy footballer, Richmond on the skids and another bizarre umpiring mistake that the AFL glosses over.

Is footy actually becoming boring?  Should we concentrate on the World Game?  I shudder at the thought….

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MCG,   Friday, April 8, 7.50pm

COLLINGWOOD
B: Heath Shaw, Chris Tarrant, Alan Toovey
HB: Heritier O’Brien, Ben Reid, Nick Maxwell
C: Andrew Krakouer, Luke Ball, Dale Thomas
HF: Dayne Beams, Chris Dawes, Scott Pendlebury
F: Steele Sidebottom, Leigh Brown, Travis Cloke
Foll: Darren Jolly, Dane Swan, Alan Didak
I/C: Leon Davis, Jarryd Blair, Sharrod Wellingham, Ben Johnson,
Emg: Cameron Wood, Lachlan Keeffe, Brent Macaffer
In: Nick Maxwell, Leon Davis
Out: Brent Macaffer, Simon Buckley (groin)

CARLTON
B: Jeremy Laidler, Michael Jamison, Matthew Watson
HB: Nick Duigan, Bret Thornton, Jordan Russell,
C: Kade Simpson, Bryce Gibbs, Heath Scotland
HF: Marc Murphy, Jarrad Waite, Christopher Yarran
F: Eddie Betts, Shaun Hampson, Jeffrey Garlett
Foll: Robert Warnock, Andrew Walker, Chris Judd
I/C: Andrew Carrazzo, Andrew Collins, Edward Curnow, Mitch

Robinson
Emg: David Ellard, Simon White, Dennis Armfield
In: Andrew Collins, Michael Jamison
Out: Simon White, Dennis Armfield

All the talk about this game is how much Collingwood will spiflicate the hapless and insipid Blues by.  I personally think the reality is much different to that.
I still expect Collingwood to win but I think the game will be a lot closer than what most pundits think.

No-one in the mainstream medja actually rates Carlton as a threat this year and that may be a good thing as the Blues unassumingly build something special but it is going to take something exceptionally brilliant to get over the top of a rampant Collingwood this week.

Looking at the sides, the Collingwood Premiership names just roll off the tongue whilst one looks at Carlton’s squad and wonders where the danger is for Collingwood.
I will say straight up that I think the game will be won in the Collingwood forward 50.

I believe both teams match up very well in the midfield and they really should balance each other out in terms of contested ball wins and entries into the forward 50.  Carlton however has a very undermanned backline when matching up against Collingwoods guns.

Travis Cloke is always a danger in terms of being a big body, however I don’t think that he really ‘hurts’ teams with lots of goals.  To me, he is a good, honest toiler who struggles with his goalkicking.
The biggest threat to kicking a winning score will be Chris Dawes.  The bloke is the most improved player in the competition over the past year and his long and accurate kicking, as well as his ability to mark strongly and pick up plenty of contested ball at ground level means that Jamison will have to really be on-song to stop him.  I don’t think he can do it.

It is the Collingwood mid-sized forwards as well who have the potential to do a lot of damage.  Guys like Beams, Blair and Sidebottom will be difficult to counter and when the rotations of other big name midfielders are thrown into the mix, it looks very messy for the Blues.

If Carlton is to make any inroads into this game, it will have to find a way to counter the forward press that Collingwood has so effectively employed over the past year.  The key to do this is to understand where the space is when rebounding out of the back 50.

Collingwood uses the boundary line to attack which allows their defenders to float down and help build that arc across half-forward, and in the guts.

Collingwood’s press is designed in an arc so there will be space over the back and out on the wings.  Carlton will need to use a damaging running player such as Yarran to cut through the zone, as well as a long kicking player to kick over the top of it.

That is where Laidler and Watson will become very important.  The space out on the wings will be come vital on the rebound.

Carlton’s forwards simply cannot get sucked too deep into the play to clog up the scoring zone.  They need to hold back on their opponents when the zone press is being set and create a contest when the ball is rebounding to the edge of the zone.

Looking at Carlton’s forwards, they have the talent to kick goals against their defenders.  They HAVE to take advantage of their chances.   Garlett is an under-rated star and will become the main Carlton forward in time.  Waite needs to lift and stay focussed.

Carlton also cannot allow Maxwell to float around the backline without an opponent as this is where a lot of the drive comes from.

I expect Collingwood to win by 5 goals or so, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it a lot closer than that.

I tip Carlton only out of hope  – by 15 points.

Western Bulldogs v Gold Coast,
Etihad Stadium, Saturday, April 9, 2.10pm

WESTERN BULLDOGS
B: Brennan Stack, Brian Lake, Dale Morris
HB: Liam Picken, Tom L. Williams, Robert Murphy
C: Daniel Cross, Matthew Boyd, Justin Sherman
HF: Josh Hill, Barry Hall, Shaun Higgins
F: Daniel Giansiracusa, Jordan Roughead, Jarrad Grant
Foll: Ben Hudson, Adam Cooney, Ryan Griffen
I/C: Lindsay Gilbee, Thomas Liberatore, Lukas Markovic, Callan
Ward
Emg: Nathan Djerrkura, Liam Jones, Mitch Wallis
In: Brian Lake, Lindsay Gilbee
Out: Nathan Djerrkura, Liam Jones

GOLD COAST
B: Michael Coad, Nathan Bock, Campbell Brown
HB: Seb Tape, Karmichael Hunt, Nathan Krakouer
C: Jarrod Harbrow, Daniel Harris, Michael Rischitelli
HF: Harley Bennell, Charlie Dixon, Daniel Stanley
F: Jared Brennan, Daniel Gorringe,  Brandon Matera
Foll: Zac Smith, Gary Ablett, David Swallow
I/C: Maverick Weller, Dion Prestia, Alik Magin, Trent McKenzie
Emg: Marc Lock, Matt Shaw, Josh Toy
In: Michael Coad, Maverick Weller, Daniel Gorringe
Out: Josh Fraser, Marc Lock, Josh Toy

The Doggies hit back last week with an easy victory and the GC17
were basically a hapless box of bedwetters mushed together
without a plan and without any hope.  Seriously, who on earth,
apart from Craig Hutchinson really thought that a bunch of guys
with 12 kids who had never played the game at the highest level
would be able to match it with a seasoned and hardened team?

Nothing will be different this week either. GC17 will try hard
and will have some minor successes in the game but the reality is
that it will take a long time for these kids to gell together
with any system.

There will be no tagging in this game.  Ablett is no danger at
the moment and he needs big bodies around him, as well as a
decent system and set plays in placed to allow him to get the
space he is reknowned for.  It won’t happen this week.

The biggest interest will be in how the seasoned veterans from
GC17 actually play.  Rischitelli was good last week whereas Bock,
Brennan, Harbrow, Campbell Brown and Danny Stanely were all very
quiet and very underdone.  That does not bode well for them going
forward.

The Doggies should just treat this as a training session but be
relentless about it.  A percentage booster is important and they
will need to keep the pressure on all day and not lairise.

It would be a good day for Rocket to practise some of his set
plays, zones and pressures against a team who will struggle to go
forward.

Barry Hall to kick 8.

Doggies by 75 points

Adelaide v Fremantle,
AAMI Stadium, Saturday, April 9, 3.10pm

ADELAIDE
Backs: Johncock Rutten Stevens
Half-backs: Tambling Davis Symes
Centres: van Berlo Otten Smith
Half-forwards: Knights Walker Dangerfield
Forwards: Henderson Tippett Douglas
Followers: Maric Thompson Reilly
Interchange: Jaensch Vince McKernan Martin
Emergencies: Moran Cook Petrenko
In: Symes Jaensch Tippett Martin
Out: Doughty (corked thigh) Porplyzia (shoulder) Mackay
(shoulder) Sloane (jaw and thumb)

FREMANTLE
Backs: Crowley Grover Johnson
Half-backs: Broughton McPharlin Duffield
Centres: Fyfe DeBoer Mundy
Half-forwards: Bradley Pavlich Hill
Forwards: Ballantyne Mayne Pitt
Followers: Sandilands McPhee  Lower
Interchange: Roberton Walters Suban Palmer
Emergencies: van Berlo Anthony Crichton
In: Pitt
Out: van Berlo

This actually could be the game of the round.  Both teams have a
lot of upside and would be expecting big things to happen in
2011.  Adelaide would be happy with its start to the year and
seem to have stabilised some of the early problems they had in
2010, whilst Freo are keen to solidify their status as a power
team in the competition following a huge leap forward in 2010.

Losing Van Berlo from the midfield will be a loss as Freo’s mid’s
have developed speed, run, carry and skill so one of the main
counters to that will be hard to replace. Young Pitt is going to
be thrown into the wolves a bit in order to try and replace that.

His transition between forward and midfield will be a real test.
The Crows get Tippet back into the side and whilst he is the real
messiah down there, his inaccuracy in front of goal is an issue.
Combined with Taylor Walker’s unreliable kicking as well, the
Crows will struggle to kick a decent score if their midfielders
do not chip in with plenty.

McPharlin should play on big Kurt and Grover on Walker although
they may swap from time to time.

Key matchups in the middle are hard to pick with the amount of
rotations off the bench and also through the forward zone but I
would expect Stephen Hill to cop a bit of attention from a
rejuvenated Tambling, who seems to have found his feet at his new
club and has already played more quality games than he played at
Richmond.

Up forward for the Dockers, Kepler Bradley looms as an unusual
and unlikely key.  We all know the big names – Pavlich,
Ballantyne and Mayne will continue to provide targets, but an
unheralded Bradley continues to somehow keep his career on life
support by chipping in with timely goals at important moments in
games.  As a 3rd or 4th forward option, he is not expected to do
much, and generally doesn’t, but he does enough.

The Dockers will obviously get an armchair ride through their
dominant ruckman but I think the pressure of the Adelaide
midfiled on the ball carriers will be enough to counter act this
and I would expect to see Adelaide reading the taps and taking
advantage of this a lot more than other teams do.

In the end, I expect Adelaide to win by a point.

Richmond v Hawthorn,
MCG, Saturday, April 9, 7.10pm

RICHMOND
Backs: Newman Astbury Conca
Half-backs: Deledio Connors Batchelor
Centres: Cotchin Martin Edwards
Half-forwards: Morton Vickery Grigg
Forwards: Helbig Riewoldt Houli
Followers: Graham Jackson Foley
Interchange: Nahas White King Grimes
Emergencies: Nason Tuck Dea
In: Grimes
Out: McGuane (suspended)

HAWTHORN
Backs: Ladson Gilham Stratton
Half-backs: Birchall Gibson Bruce
Centres: Bateman Mitchell Shiels
Half-forwards: Young Franklin Burgoyne
Forwards: Osborne Roughead Lewis
Followers: Renouf Hodge Sewell
Interchange: Suckling Hale Savage Ellis
Emergencies: Whitecross Guerra Puopolo
In: Ellis
Out: Rioli (suspended)

Poor Cyril Said.  Did so much good last week to try and fight his
way out of the bag of cashews but then let himself down with a
brain ‘xplozn’ of utter stupidity.  Clarkson can complain about the
softness of the hit all he likes, but geez, if this match review
panel existed when Clarkson was playing, he would never have
played after the Battle of Britain.

And then we have Luke McGuane who launched himself at Faran Ray
but came off second best in terms of HIS suspension.   Young
Rance is also suspended from the Tiges which leaves the young
cubs very susceptible to a cricket score being kicked against
them.

In reality, the Hawthorn side looks way to strong and shouldn’t
be troubled by the much-vaunted, newer looking, stronger, faster,
fitter and more powerful Richmond midfield (according to every
Richmond supporter).

Hodge is just sliding back into form after an interrupted
pre-season and he will chalk up plenty of touches.  Richmond
should run Grigg on him as a defensive forward to make him
accountable.  Unlikely to happen though unfortunately, as I
believe Hardwick thinks he can win without resorting to a
defensive mind-set.

Young suckling for the Hawks is showing a lot and as a unit, the
Hawthorn backline should be able to keep the Richmond forward
line to a losing score very easily.  Gilham is quite experienced
now and is also a quality player and Big Jack will find his body
work to be a bit more difficult to get around than in Round 1.

I didn’t think there was ever going to be anyone in footy who was
more overhyped than NUTS, but his cousin is slowly achieving that
feat thanks to the medja and Big Jack’s petulance.

Apart from Franklin and Roughead up forward, the Hawks will be
exceptionally well served by Osborne who is one of the underrated
players of footy outside of his own club, and also Burgoyne who
is fit and firing in 2011 and I can’t see Delidio and Newman
being able to keep them quite for a lot of the the night.  They
may not kick a lot of goals between themselves but they will be
able to set up the play with quality disposal and hardness at the
ball which Richmond won’t be able to counter.

Hawthorn by a lazy 6 goals.

West Coast v Sydney,
Patersons Stadium, Saturday, April 9, 8.10pm

WEST COAST
Backs: Brown Glass Hurn
Half-backs: Butler Mackenzie S Selwood
Centres: Rosa Priddis Embley
Half-forwards: Ebert Kennedy Shuey
Forwards: Nicoski Lynch Darling
Followers: Cox A Selwood Kerr
Interchange: Gaff Naitanui McGinnity Schofield
Emergencies: Hams Swift Sheppard
In: Butler Mackenzie
Out: Waters (elbow) B Sheppard

SYDNEY
Backs: Bevan Richards Mattner
Half-backs: Shaw Grundy Johnson
Centres: McGlynn Jack Smith
Half-forwards: Bolton Reid Goodes
Forwards: O’Keefe White Hannebery
Followers: Mumford Kennedy McVeigh
Interchange: Bird Rohan Jetta Everitt
Emergencies: Lamb Meredith Pyke
In: Johnson
Out: Meredith
New: Alex Johnson, 19, Oakleigh U18

Hmm, it has been a few years since a clash between these two
juggernauts has taken on a great deal of interest outside of the
two capital cities.  Even people in Adelaide and on the Gold
Coast are getting excited about this game.

It’s great to see MacKenzie back from West Coast and he will add
stability and strength to the backline.  I would expect him to
keep young Reid very quite and have little influence.  That being
said, Reid was exceptional at times last week and really showed
that he has a long future in the game.  He is strong, fit, can
take a mark and presents very well so watch him in the years to
come.

All the hype this year about West Coast is around Dean Cox again,
who seems to have found a new lease on life.  The shame is that
he is 5 years older than he was in the halcyon days, and will run
out of steam in the latter parts of the year. He will find it
very tough against a quality ruckman in Mumford and neither side
will really get a real advantage in the ruck.

One of the biggest surprises in the Sydney line up is Josh
Kennedy.   The former Hawk is fast becoming a great player and
really adds a lot of grunt and skill to the midfield – which is
even more relevant now that Kirky is gone.  Watch him tear it up
a lot more in this game.

For the Eagles, their most important player would be Andrew
Embley – another one who is showing some great signs and a
welcome return to form.  Kennedy and Embley will probably find
themselves matched up at some stage during the game.

I find it hard to belive that Ted Richards is still strutting
around on an AFL list.  As a toiler, he does his job to an extent
but he is just the sort of bloke that the big Q Bomber would
relish lining up on.

I think the biggest difference in this game will be the midfield.
Sydney seems to have a bit more class than West Coast and if
Adam Goodes is called in to help stabilise its efficiency at
times, then West coast could find themselves in a bit of trouble.

Priddis is great at getting the ball but his speed and skill
level are no match for Sydney’s ball winners.

I am tipping Sydney by 4 goals.

According to the medja, the Sun has set on the Gold Coast already.  Surely one bad loss at the start of a dynasty does not a career make.  Or is that only coming from the knob at thepunch.com.au – a Sydney-centric internet rag with journo’s who should stick to rugby rather than get involved in real footy issues.

And then we have a plethora of umpiring mistakes.  Geez Giesch!!  IF even YOU don’t know the rules or now the game should be umpired, what hope have the rest of us got?

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Thank goodness the footy is finally upon us.  It is such a long wait from the first weekend in October until the last weekend in March and so much to keep footy fresh in our minds has graced the pages of the exhalted medja but nothing beats the anticipation of strutting along to the ‘G’ on a cold Thursday night with the light towers glaring as dusk falls over the dusty concrete city – your hopes and dreams still yet to be realised or dashed.  At this stage, anyone can win it.

Gee…… it’s good to be back!!!

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Carlton v Richmond.

MCG.  7.40pm

CARLTON

B: N.Duigan, B.Thornton, C.Yarran
HB: K.Lucas, S.White, J.Russell
C: J.Laidler, B.Gibbs, H.Scotland
HF: A.Walker, J.Waite, K.Simpson
F: E.Betts, S.Hampson, J.Garlett
Foll: R.Warnock, C.Judd, M.Murphy
Int: A.Carrazzo, D.Armfield, E.Curnow, M.Robinson
Emg: A.Collins, L.Henderson, M.Watson
New: Nick Duigan, Ed Curnow

RICHMOND

B: C.Newman, A.Rance, L.McGuane
HB: B.Deledio, D.Astbury, R.Conca
C: T.Cotchin, D.Martin, S.Edwards
HF: M.Morton, T.Vickery, S.Grigg
F: M.White, J.Riewoldt, B.Helbig
Foll: A.Graham, D.Jackson, N.Foley
Inter: B.Houli, J.Batchelor, R.Nahas, D.Connors
Emg: B.Nason, J.Post,  M.Dea
New: Bachar Houli (Essendon), Shaun Grigg (Carlton), Reece Conca, Brad Helbig, Jake Batchlor

Looking at this big game as the introduction to the 2011 season, one has to really wonder how Carlton will stop Richmond’s big powerful forward line.  Carlton’s undermanned defence will struggle against the tall timber and even though Jack-Jack-Jackie has had an interrupted preseason, he should easily be too much for the likes of Thornton, White or even Waite if Ratten decides to throw the versatile utility down back.

Expect Tyrone Vickery to tear the game apart if the weather is dry.  This kid can take a big grab and has been quitely developing his game over the pre-season.  His only downfall could be his kicking for goal which can be a bit M.Richardson-esque from time to time.  The forecast wet weather may not do him any favours either.  It is hard to see who will actually match up on those two big forwards as Carlton’s backline has been decimated by injury and suspension.

Alternatively, you look at Carlton’s forward line and there is not a lot to like.  The Blue’s brainstrust will try to make the Andrew Walker thing work.  It simply won’t.  Jarrad Waite will start forward and have a bit of an impact at various times throughout the match but inconsistency is his big problem.

Delidio and Newman will be instrumental in creating run and rebound from defence in much the same way that Carlton will hope Yarran and new boy Duigan will do so but Richmond’s backline seems to have a bit more stability and reliability and as such will create more for their forwards.

The midfields are hard to split.  The Tiges are talking up Martin, Cotchin, Grigg, Edwards et al and with good reason.  Their development continues to move ahead in leaps and bounds whereas Carlton’s remains built around one guy. Just moving Gibbs into the middle will not make him a good player worthy of his #1 draft pick however I do recognise that Marc Murphy is a much underrated player outside of Carlton and he could surprise.

The difference will be where the goals come from. Carlton is going to rely on its small forward set up with Garlett (All Australian in 2011) and Betts and they will be seriously required because Hampson cannot take a mark.

Richmond’s small forwards in Nahas, Houli and Helbig may surpise in the wet and help the Tiges over the line.

I will tip the Blues.. just..8 points.

GEELONG v ST KILDA,
Friday 25 March, 7.40pm AEDT,
MCG

Geelong
Backs: Enright Scarlett J Hunt
Half-backs: Mackie Taylor Lonergan
Centres: Kelly Duncan Corey
Half-forwards: Varcoe Mooney Stokes
Forwards: Menzel Hawkins S Johnson
Followers: Ottens Bartel Rover: Selwood
Interchange: Guthrie T Hunt Wojcinski Milburn
Emergencies: Christensen Cowan Chapman
New: Cameron Guthrie, 18, Calder U18 <

St Kilda
Backs: Baker Dawson Blake
Half-backs: Gilbert Fisher Goddard
Centres: Dal Santo Hayes Montagna
Half-forwards: McQualter Riewoldt Milne
Forwards: Clarke Gamble Armitage
Followers: McEvoy Gram Jones
Interchange: Peake Dempster Gwilt Ray
Emergencies: Geary Cripps Archer
New: Ryan Gamble, 23, (Geelong)

Both teams will be wondering what has happened to the aura that they
have built up over the past 6 or so years.  Geelong has lots its best player, its coach and its president. St. Kilda has lost its soul and
no amount of ‘priming the public’ with forced unity in a short
documentary will convince me that things are not rotten down there at Linton St-come Seaford Bowls Club.

I actually think this will be a very close game because of this very
fact.  The strength of both teams seems to have been decimated over
the summer and it will take a lot more than window dressing to repair
it.

Geelong’s forward line is a huge concern and I have major doubts over
Mooney’s and Hawkin’s capacity to kick goals.  The over-reliance on
they had Gary Ablett will show up this year as they won’t have him to
move forward to make up the difference.

There is still a lot of skill in each side but I wonder about the
hunger and ability to keep ‘going to the well’ to get the best out of
their teams and players.

Geelong may only win with a bit of Stevie J magic but his
inconsistency is as reliable as NUTS Riewoldt’s kicking, and also
because it’s backline is probably a bit more solid and capable of
keeping the Saints to a losing score.

Both teams will be best served by forgetting tags and run-withs and
just letting it go head to head, mano-et-mano.  Watch out for key
players in Hunt and Bartel to begin bombing torps from half-back to
try and get over the zone press and for Varcoe and Stokes to be ready
to swoop.

Cats by 5 points

COLLINGWOOD v PORT ADELAIDE,

Etihad Stadium, 2.10pm AEDT,

Saturday 26 March

Collingwood
Backs: Shaw Tarrant Toovey
Half-backs: O’Brien Reid Wellingham
Centres: Krakouer Ball Thomas
Half-forwards: Beams Dawes Pendlebury
Forwards: Sidebottom L Brown Cloke
Followers: Jolly Swan Rover: Didak
Interchange: Buckley Blair Johnson Davis
Emergencies:

Port Adelaide
Backs: Logan Carlile Trengove
Half-backs: Salopek Chaplin P Stewart
Centres: Pearce Cassisi Broadbent
Half-forwards: Thomas J Westhoff K Cornes
Forwards: Hitchcock Schulz Gray
Followers: Brogan Boak Rodan
Interchange: Irons Pittard D Stewart O’Shea
Emergencies: Pettigrew C Cornes Banner
New: Jarrad Irons, 18, Perth (WA); Jasper Pittard, 19, Geelong U18;
Cameron O’Shea, 19, Eastern U18

Does anyone know if iPrimus is strutting around with new sponsorship
on his t-shirt yet.?  If not, opportuity missed.

Even though everyone in the world except 60,000 Collingwood members
detest everything black and white, it is impossible to make a case for
the iPrimus Power to win this game.

Seriously, looking at the teams there is nothing to get excited about with Port.  All they will do is go through the motions and try to
begin developing their young kids and their new game plan.

It will be interesting to see if Primus and the match committee over
at Alberton have done a lot of homework to try and implement a way
through, around or over the Magpie Nest (zone) because if they
haven’t, this could get very very ugly.

The most interesting aspect of this game will be how the Collingwood
players and coaching staff adapt to playing away.  I doubt they can
even find the ground so they all better have their GPS’s working
properly.. and it is now called Etihad Stadium and not the Footcray
railyards that it was referred to when Collingwood last wandered down
that way.

Collingwood by 56 points

ADELAIDE v HAWTHORN,
Saturday 26 March, 7.40pm,
AAMI Stadium

Adelaide
Backs: Johncock Rutten Stevens
Half-backs: van Berlo Davis Doughty
Centres: Tambling Sloane Mackay
Half-forwards: Knights Walker Douglas
Forwards: Porplyzia McKernan Vince
Followers: Maric Thompson Reilly
Interchange: Otten Dangerfield Smith Henderson
Emergencies: Moran Jaensch Symes
New: Brodie Smith, 19, Woodville-West Torrens (SA); Richard Tambling,
24, Richmond

Hawthorn
Backs: Ladson Gilham Suckling
Half-backs: Stratton Gibson Birchall
Centres: Young Mitchell Bateman
Half-forwards: Burgoyne Franklin Rioli
Forwards: Osborne Roughead Bruce
Followers: Renouf Sewell Rover: Lewis
Interchange: Hale Shiels Savage Whitecross
Emergencies: Cheney Ellis Lisle
New: Cameron Bruce, 31, Melbourne; David Hale, 26, North Melbourne

This could well be the match of the round.  There is a lot of talk
about both sides in the off-season and their respective chances but
most of the early mail is for Hawthorn to be the big improvers and the
ONLY team that will cause any problems to Collingwood for the flag.
Personally I think that Adelaide could be the biggest threat at the start of the year but missing Tippet from the early rounds will be a
huge loss.

Rutten will more than likely get Lance but I would be prone to play a
more versatile player on him.  Rutten moves like the Titanic most of
the time and Lance would run rings around him so through up something
different and try Davis on him.  He is just a young kid in terms of
games played but is able to run and move a bit quicker.  Rutten to
stay on Roughead.

Doughty to completely blanket Rioli’s influence and confine Cyril Said
to the bag of cashews where he belongs.

Hawthorn’s backline to me looks a bit susceptible and even though they
are the same players as last year, I think Knights, Walker, and the
Porpoise could do enough to kick a winning score against them.

Hodge will be a HUGE loss to Hawthorn as the free floating man with no
opponent in the backline and his drive, tenacity and hardness will be
impossible to replace.

Adelaide by 18 points

BRISBANE LIONS v FREMANTLE,
Saturday 26 March, 7.10pm,
Gabba

Brisbane Lions
Backs: McGrath Merrett Hanley
Half-backs: Adcock Patfull Stiller
Centres: Redden Black Rockliff
Half-forwards: Power Clark O’Brien
Forwards: Staker Brown Banfield
Followers: Leuenberger Rich Rover: Raines
Interchange: Polkinghorne Lester Buchanan Bewick
Emergencies: Sheldon Collier Beams
New: Ryan Lester, 18, Oakleigh U18; Rohan Bewick, 21, West Perth (WA)

Fremantle
Backs: Broughton Grover van Berlo
Half-backs: Crowley McPharlin Duffield
Centres: Lower Mundy Fyfe
Half-forwards: Bradley Pavlich Johnson
Forwards: Ballantyne Mayne Hill
Followers: Sandilands McPhee Rover: Suban
Interchange: Palmer Pitt Robertson Walters
Emergencies: Crichton Anthony Michie
New: Jayden Pitt, 18, Geelong U18; Nick Lower, 23, Norwood (SA)

Funnily enough, in spite of their respective finishes in 2010, I think
that Brisbane can actually win this game.  But then I think that they
have been decimated by a mass exodus courtesy of Voss’s stubborness
and stupidity over the past two years and I wonder how on earth they
will win any games, let alone this one.

Brisbane has a smattering of decent players but their preseason form
has been up and down without setting the world on fire. And then
Voss’s big gun is coming into the game without any preseason practice
match behind him.

Really just not a great way to come into a season when he is obviously in the twilight of his career and with dodgy
knees, groins and hammies.  I would be tempted to play McPharlin on
him rather than Grover as McPharlin has more body size and
versatility.

Freo should get an armchair ride from the stoppages from Sandilands so
Pavlich an Mayne will get plenty of opportunities to kick a big score.
I can’t see how Brisbane can get a lot of the ball from the stoppages
to actually provide Brown and Clark with chances so Freo to win easily

Freo by 6 goals.

ESSENDON v WESTERN BULLDOGS,
Etihad Stadium,
Sunday 27 March, 1.10pm AEDT

ESSENDON
Backs: Hardingham Hooker Fletcher
Half-backs: Heppell Myers Dempsey
Centres: Stanton Watson Melksham
Half-forwards: Monfries Hurley Winderlich
Forwards: Crameri Ryder Jetta
Followers: Hille Hocking McVeigh
Interchange: From: Zaharakis Howlett Lonergan Lovett-Murray Prismall
Colyer Bellchambers
New: Dyson Heppell, 18, Gippsland U18

WESTERN BULLDOGS
Backs: Wood Markovic Morris
Half-backs: Murphy Williams Stack
Centres: Griffen Boyd Ward
Half-forwards: Higgins Jones Giansiracusa
Forwards: Grant Hall Cooney
Followers: Hudson Cross Liberatore
Interchange: From: Barlow Djerrkura Hill Minson Picken Sherman Wallis

The Doggies have flown under the radar during the preseason unlike the
Premiers-elect with the best coaching panel in the history of the
world (Bombre’s)  Maybe it is just going to be a good way for the
Doggies to treat the year.  No hype, no accolades, no pomp and
paegentry – just get on with the job of winning games.

Both teams now love to run the ball – hard and fast.  Both teams will
be relying bursting  the game apart with speed and skill.
Mark Thompson seems to have instilled a certain character into his
charges over the preseason based upon this type of game plan.  It may
work against teams who are not as quick as his players but against
Footscray, who are equally adept in the pace department, they may get
torn apart going the other way.

Footscray will play the corridor, unlike Collingwood, and any
turnovers could see the ball in Barry Hall’s hands quicker than you
can say ‘kick it to me..kick it to me’.

Boyd will get plenty of the ball and justify his brownlow favouritism
in my eyes.  There seems little point in trying to look for specific
midfield matchups as the rotations alter this soo much most of the
time, however I would not be surprised to see Stanton try to run with
Cooney.

In the end however, I think the Bombres bubble will burst and Footscray
will win by 4 goals to start an organisational rethink by Bomber
Thompson and his well paid assistant.

MELBOURNE v SYDNEY SWANS,
MCG,
Sunday 27 March, 2.10pm AEDT

Melbourne
Backs: Bartram Rivers Macdonald
Half-backs: Grimes Garland Bennell
Centres: Jones Moloney Tapscott
Half-forwards: Bail Sylvia Jurrah
Forwards: Watts Green Maric
Followers: Jamar Dunn Rover: Davey
Interchange: From: Jetta Martin Petterd Spencer Strauss Trengove
Warnock
New: Luke Tapscott, 19, North Adelaide (SA) <

Sydney
Backs: Bevan Richards Mattner
Half-backs: Shaw Grundy Everitt
Centres: Hannebery Jack Smith
Half-forwards: Jetta Goodes McGlynn
Forwards: O’Keefe Reid White
Followers: Mumford Kennedy McVeigh
Interchange: From: Bolton Dennis-Lane Meredith Moore Rohan Seaby
Sumner
New: Andrejs Everitt, 22, Western Bulldogs; Byron Sumner, 19,
Woodville-West Torrens (SA)

GET BARTRAM onto Dennis-Lane and leave him there.  Give that over-awed
second-rate match winner something to think about as he is still
living off his one-in-a-lifetime-tackle-and-goal in the Elimination
final last year.  Still hurts!

Anyway lets talk about this game.  It actually should be a great game
because Melbourne are on the way up (according to all and sundry in
the medja) yet have done little to justify this belief as yet.  Sydney
have a new coach and some new players yet pretty much the same boring
game plan and the question is how well they can implement any subtle
changes to it without Brett Kirk around to rally the troops.

I thnk the key here will be the Sydney backline with blokes like
Grundy, Everitt and Shaw providing a lot of drive and rebound down to
Goodes, White and O’Keefe.  All those blokes on their day are capable
of being possible matchwinners.  Losing Frawley does not help their
cause either.

It is hard to see where Melbourne’s matchwinners are despite the hype
surrounding their progression up the laddder.  Maybe Jamar resting up
forward is a key along with Petterd but they Dees will need to get a
LOT more out of Jack Watts… surely he has to show
something..sometime…somewhere as this could well be an audition for
his next life in Western Sydney next year.

Sydney by 25 points.

WEST COAST v NORTH MELBOURNE,
Patersons Stadium,
Sunday 27 March, 4.10pm

WEST COAST
B: Sheppard Glass Hurn
HB: Waters Brown S Selwood
C: Rosa Priddis Embley
HF: Ebert Kennedy Shuey
F: Darling Naitanui LeCras
FOLL: Cox Masten A Selwood
I/C: From: Gaff Hams Lynch McGinnity Nicoski Schofield C Wilson
NEW: Jack Darling, 18, West Perth (WA); Andrew Gaff, 18, Oakleigh U18

NORTH MELBOURNE
B: Rawlings Pedersen Thompson
HB: Firrito Tarrant Richardson
C: Wells Anthony Harvey
HF: Atley Hansen McMahon
F: Wright McKinley Thomas
FOLL: Goldstein Swallow Garlett
I/C: From: Warren Ziebell Cunnington Adams Urquhart Edwards Pratt
NEW: Ben McKinley, 24, West Coast; Cameron Pedersen, 24, Box Hill;
Cameron Richardson, 23, North Ballarat; Shaun Atley, 18, Murray U18

A new name for an old worn out stadium over in Perth.  Much like
renaming North Melbourne to become officially the Kangaroos only to
have to revert back to North Melbourne again when the new image obviously didnt work.

Nothing new in terms of the playing list or game plan from the
westerns either.  West Coast will try hard to implement run and carry
but their collective skills will cause too many turnovers and allow

North to swoop and return the ball forward time and time again.

Natanui really needs to step up but whilst he is a great athlete, he
is still learning positioning, how to use his body and to understand
the flow of the game.  One wonders how long a work in progress can take before it is finally written off as being a dud.  I guess the
many teams who have tried the Irish Experiment are still trying to
find the next Sean Wight.

West Coasts lack of scoring options is its achilles heel and Marc The
Crap cannot do it all alone.  Josh Kennedy tries hard but has not yet
established himself well enough to exert more influence on the match-
perhaps this game will be the start for him as North’s backline could
be susceptible to a big score against it.

Similarly, I don’t know where North’s goals will come from if the
cheating little ‘he who shall not be named’ doesn’t get free kicks for
falling to the ground in front of goal.  Maybe McKinley will be able
to step up and tear it apart himself along with Lachie Hansen.

I am tipping North by 13 points

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Our first show of the year looks at the scandal-filled off-season that we have been through. With the St. Kilda Schoolgirl, Ricky Nixon, Fevalio and the NAB Cup to discuss, our panel of armchair experts put forward their thoughts in what is happening to our great game.

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