Round 9

[AuckMel]

Better late than never.

Dogs v Cats
Tigers v Hawks
Suns v Port
Saints v Swans
Crows v Pies
GWS v Bombers
Roos v Lions
Blues v Demons
Eagles v Dockers

Gee, friday nights game is a real open one. I'm going with the Cats but not with any great confidence.
Hawks by 10 in a great game
Suns by 4
Saints by 8
Crows by 18. Just far too many injuries and despite the fact we usually play well in Adelaide.
Bombers by 80+
Roos by 12
Blues by 40
Eagles by 22

 

[CyberKev]

Lets start with the certainties for this round...

Essendon will pound GWS;
Carlton will be all over Melbourne; and
North will coffee scroll Brisbane with ease.

In the likelies column...

I expect Geelong to be too good for the Pups;
Port's form is better than the Suns; and
West Coast have the edge over the Dockers.

And then things get tight...

Hawthorn to beat Richmond, but will need to be on song. Could easily get towelled.
Sydney to beat St Kilda, but could well be close; and
Adelaide to get the job done in a potential beauty against the Magpies.

Really looking forward to this last one. Collingwood are getting the job done 'old school', while Adelaide is the 'new vogue' team of choice for mine.

 

[Twizzle]

same but I tipped Saints over the Swans

 

[CyberKev]

What was I saying about needing to be on song!!! Only two players worth a pinch of poop for the game! I've been worried by our form all season and thought it hilarious that the bookies had us flag favourites. Worst loss since the Bulldogs hammered us in 2009.

Conversely its the best win I've seen by the Tigers in years. I'm not sure of the last time they won all four quarters, but their effort was fantastic across the park and they pretty much won all areas. The Tigers big enemy is usually decision-making and ball usage , but they were on song here too. Much, much better than their ladder position suggests.

 

[meltiger]

Well that was unexpected

Result was fair though. Pretty much dominated and once we worked out how to break down the uber flood the horse bolted.

You are right to be dissapointed Kev. What is wrong with them at present? They are much better than that.

I agree too. Best win I've seen in a long time. Dimma is building a new Richmond. Not there yet, but we are getting there

 

[CyberKev]

Just not good enough, is the simple answer.

We've given sides sighters pretty much every week, but usually we've been doing it with a lead to fall back on.

I expected the Tigers to win the midfield, as its a clear strength of the side. Its also a problem area for Hawthorn. Players like Mitchell and Sewell, who have been good in the past, have fallen off the pace of the game. They'll still get by against most opposition, but the genuine quality midfields will catch them out. Changes are required there, but probably won't be made until the offseason.

The Tigers should be pleased with how they fared outside of the centre though. The defence combined well, aided by some woeful inside-50 entry; and the Tiger attack eventually made the most of weight of opportunity coming in.

More tellingly, we have limited run as it is, so when Birchall is down and Smith, Savage, Rioli, Bruest and Young all fail to impact the contest, we're not going to win against anyone of any sort of note.

Given the Tigers form as opposed to ours, I'm actually surprised we were (technically) still in the game right up until Maric nailed the two goals just prior to the final change.

Not majorly surprised by the result, but unimpressed by the margin. The scoreboard reflected the Tigers dominance though.

 

[meltiger]

There was one instance that summed up the game for mine. Ball is in Ruchmonds forward line, 2 players chase the Hawk creating a free Hawk upfield, one by one Richmond peel off till ball is outside 50 with Roughy standing unmarked in the g square. 3 kicks later, no one has tried to kick it to Jarryd, ball gets cleared, we score going the other way.

12 goal turnaround and Hawks never got back into it.

Just seemed to sum up the day, those little basic things Hawthorn seemed to be missing. Very very unlike them.

 

[AuckMel]

Haven't seen the Pies game, but a great win over a very much in form side.

Good to see the Tigers firing.

 

[CyberKev]

Fantastic win by Collingwood and very unfortunate to lose yet another player for the season with a knee injury.

Good showing by St Kilda too.

By CyberKev... Not so much. No more upsets today FFS.

 

[Skcusy Bgur]

No clear flag favorite yet.

 

[AuckMel]

 

[AuckMel]

West Coast look the goods. Bombers have a soft draw which might help them get to the finals, but will they be ready? Too young for mine. Swans got shown up by Saints as did the Hawks. 13th down are out of it. Happy to give Adelaide the BOD for now as they looked really good prior.

Pies? Don't know. So many injuries it's hard to tell. Too early to write off the Cats despite looking weaker than last year.

 

[Twizzle]

Cats are still experimenting, new players debuting every week and they seem along way from settling on their strongest team, still got Varcoe and Wojo to return from injuries, they are very unsettled atm.

Weagles seem to be getting stronger away from Perth and thats what they will need to do consistently.

Long way to go yet.

 

[StormCats]

West Coast look the goods. Bombers have a soft draw which might help them get to the finals, but will they be ready? Too young for mine. Swans got shown up by Saints as did the Hawks. 13th down are out of it. Happy to give Adelaide the BOD for now as they looked really good prior.

Pies? Don't know. So many injuries it's hard to tell. Too early to write off the Cats despite looking weaker than last year.

Not sure about that, after Melbourne this week they have hard ones against Freo (in Perth),Saints,Cats,Hawks,Crows (at AAMI),Blues,Pies and tricky ones against Swannies,Tiges,Nth & Bullies. Only certainty is Port.

However said that they should make top 4 unless they completly fall away.

 

[Skcusy Bgur]

Not sure about that, after Melbourne this week they have hard ones against Freo (in Perth),Saints,Cats,Hawks,Crows (at AAMI),Blues,Pies and tricky ones against Swannies,Tiges,Nth & Bullies. Only certainty is Port.

However said that they should make top 4 unless they completly fall away.

That looks on paper like a very tough draw. Long way to go for all. Haven't Carlton slid quickly into the abyss since the St Kilda game. Still looked good during that game, but the two since they have been soft. Still six contenders atm.

 

[CyberKev]

Collingwood are not as good as they were in 2010, much less as good as they were for about three quarters of 2011 and they have taken some personnel hits.

That said, they're my favourite at this stage and, for now, I can only see one of three sides winning it (Collingwood, Adelaide, West Coast).

Carlton may yet recover though and perhaps Essendon is the real deal. Very interesting season.