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Fremantle (23) vs Collingwood
St Kilda (66) vs Adelaide
Essendon (19) vs Carlton
Sydney Swans (9)vs Kangaroos
Western Bulldogs vs Hawthorn (32)
Brisbane Lions (55)vs West Coast Eagles
Richmond vs Geelong (44)
Port Adelaide (30)vs Melbourne
Are we there yet?
Given the recent surge in coaching sackings you could be excused for thinking that we had at least seen the back of the home and away season!
I'm expecting Sydney and the Kangaroos to put on the game of the round, with both sides desperate to shore-up tenuous positions at the lower end of the 8. The Kangaroos position looks truly forlorn and they MUST win here, or all but concede the finals in 2004. Sydney were sensational last week and a performance anything near 75% like that will be good enough here. Both sides suffer from a dearth of overall class, but the Swans will certainly respond better to the small SCG surrounds. Glenn Archer's 250th should inspire the blue & whites, but at the end of the day they lack the poise required to be a genuine finals aspirant. Sydney to sneak home.
Fremantle and Collingwood should also be an entertaining contest, with the Magpies enjoying a good record against Freo in past times. Freo will almost surely nail a home final, but would be expected to win matches like this against ordinary and flat opposition. The Dockers still look better on paper than they do in the flesh, but their height and midfield dash should be hard for the black & whites to counter, particularly on the wide open spaces of Subiaco. The Dockers lack the killer punch to take out the genuine top sides, but should have more than enough in reserve here.
You can bet dollars to donuts that the Bulldogs and Hawthorn will play to one of the 5 smallest crowds of the season this week. That being said, I'm still predicting a tough and tight contest for much of the day, with Hawthorn grinding down the opposition for a long overdue win. Hawthorn is struggling, but its effort across 4 quarters was solid against the ladder leader last week, and the Bulldogs have endured a shocking week and would be well down on morale. Never thought I'd be tipping the Hawks again this season, but there you go.
Melbourne heads to Adelaide a game clear on top of the table and confident in the knowledge that it has comfortably beaten the Power twice over 2003-04. Of course, both these results were recorded at the MCG, and it should be remembered that the Demons were destroyed by struggling Adelaide on their last visit to AAMI Stadium. Port were terrible themselves against Essendon (who they've "owned" in recent years) and will be keen to atone for that milksop display. Generally this season the Power has shown solid running defence and sound ball getting capacity and would be expected to have the strength and experience to rebound strongly at home.
St Kilda is rarely beaten at the Telstra Dome and will prove far too tall, fast and skilled for a troubled Adelaide team. The Crows deserve credit for gutsing out an ugly win against the Kangaroos last week, but they sadly lack the key position strength to be able to run with the Saints in the ever-perfect conditions at the Dome.
Conversely, Carlton has shown itself to be regularly capable of beating Essendon regardless of ladder positions. Its form has been indifferent all season, but I still expect it to perform solidly here. Essendon should win though, mainly because it remains firmly in the finals hunt and would appear to have too much forward power for the Blues defence. If Essendon expects to play finals for a club record 7th successive season then it must win a game like this. Still too good with its experienced core group for the limited but improving Blues.
Brisbane coming off a bad upset loss, at home to an ordinary Eagles side? It can only be a matter of margin...
Geelong was fabulous against the Saints in a scintillating match last Sunday, and has Richmond beaten all across the park. I'm expecting the Cats to be a boom side in 2005, and its not as if they're too shabby now. Best defence in the competition, exciting and hard running midfield, rock solid ruck capability, and an unpretentious but workmanlike forward structure. A handy overall package in this competition! Richmond still have some forward sting and can muster genuine midfield drive when on song, but remain light-on for class in many positions and lack the stamina to go all day with a side that works as hard as this Geelong side. Its also the hardest physical Geelong side I can remember...
Looking forward to seeing them go around in the finals.
CyberKev
St Kilda (66) vs Adelaide
Essendon (19) vs Carlton
Sydney Swans (9)vs Kangaroos
Western Bulldogs vs Hawthorn (32)
Brisbane Lions (55)vs West Coast Eagles
Richmond vs Geelong (44)
Port Adelaide (30)vs Melbourne
Are we there yet?
Given the recent surge in coaching sackings you could be excused for thinking that we had at least seen the back of the home and away season!
I'm expecting Sydney and the Kangaroos to put on the game of the round, with both sides desperate to shore-up tenuous positions at the lower end of the 8. The Kangaroos position looks truly forlorn and they MUST win here, or all but concede the finals in 2004. Sydney were sensational last week and a performance anything near 75% like that will be good enough here. Both sides suffer from a dearth of overall class, but the Swans will certainly respond better to the small SCG surrounds. Glenn Archer's 250th should inspire the blue & whites, but at the end of the day they lack the poise required to be a genuine finals aspirant. Sydney to sneak home.
Fremantle and Collingwood should also be an entertaining contest, with the Magpies enjoying a good record against Freo in past times. Freo will almost surely nail a home final, but would be expected to win matches like this against ordinary and flat opposition. The Dockers still look better on paper than they do in the flesh, but their height and midfield dash should be hard for the black & whites to counter, particularly on the wide open spaces of Subiaco. The Dockers lack the killer punch to take out the genuine top sides, but should have more than enough in reserve here.
You can bet dollars to donuts that the Bulldogs and Hawthorn will play to one of the 5 smallest crowds of the season this week. That being said, I'm still predicting a tough and tight contest for much of the day, with Hawthorn grinding down the opposition for a long overdue win. Hawthorn is struggling, but its effort across 4 quarters was solid against the ladder leader last week, and the Bulldogs have endured a shocking week and would be well down on morale. Never thought I'd be tipping the Hawks again this season, but there you go.
Melbourne heads to Adelaide a game clear on top of the table and confident in the knowledge that it has comfortably beaten the Power twice over 2003-04. Of course, both these results were recorded at the MCG, and it should be remembered that the Demons were destroyed by struggling Adelaide on their last visit to AAMI Stadium. Port were terrible themselves against Essendon (who they've "owned" in recent years) and will be keen to atone for that milksop display. Generally this season the Power has shown solid running defence and sound ball getting capacity and would be expected to have the strength and experience to rebound strongly at home.
St Kilda is rarely beaten at the Telstra Dome and will prove far too tall, fast and skilled for a troubled Adelaide team. The Crows deserve credit for gutsing out an ugly win against the Kangaroos last week, but they sadly lack the key position strength to be able to run with the Saints in the ever-perfect conditions at the Dome.
Conversely, Carlton has shown itself to be regularly capable of beating Essendon regardless of ladder positions. Its form has been indifferent all season, but I still expect it to perform solidly here. Essendon should win though, mainly because it remains firmly in the finals hunt and would appear to have too much forward power for the Blues defence. If Essendon expects to play finals for a club record 7th successive season then it must win a game like this. Still too good with its experienced core group for the limited but improving Blues.
Brisbane coming off a bad upset loss, at home to an ordinary Eagles side? It can only be a matter of margin...
Geelong was fabulous against the Saints in a scintillating match last Sunday, and has Richmond beaten all across the park. I'm expecting the Cats to be a boom side in 2005, and its not as if they're too shabby now. Best defence in the competition, exciting and hard running midfield, rock solid ruck capability, and an unpretentious but workmanlike forward structure. A handy overall package in this competition! Richmond still have some forward sting and can muster genuine midfield drive when on song, but remain light-on for class in many positions and lack the stamina to go all day with a side that works as hard as this Geelong side. Its also the hardest physical Geelong side I can remember...
Looking forward to seeing them go around in the finals.
CyberKev
