Australian Football Association of North America

by John Loffler, special to AFANA, from Kalgoorlie, WA

Last Week: 2 from 2. Finals to date: 5 from 6

Lovers of AFL and tipsters in finals tipping competitions, we are getting down to the real thorny end of the season. Only two weeks to go and the determination of the grand finalists for this 2009 season appears murkily from the depths of AFL brouhaha, applied psychology and amazing injury recoveries. This is how we see it poetically.

Pendlebury broke his leg but is playing Saturday night
Steve Johnson’s hip or thigh came good, will he play? He might.
Rooke is in, Medhurst out, Josh Fraser’s knee is good
Will Malthouse leave out Rocca? Opinion says he should.
Mick says Cats are under pressure, Mark says Mick’s deranged!
While the Bullies team against the Saints sees both sides stay unchanged.
The Brownlow count is Monday, Friday the parade
Gawd our love for this great game will never, ever fade.
The thrust and parry of the coaches as grand final day arrives
Without the AFL to entertain we’d lead such poorer lives.

St Kilda V Western Bulldogs MCG Friday night

I cannot for the life of me work out why the AFL has to have one of the grand final teams play Friday night while the other teams play Saturday night in preliminary finals giving at least one team the advantage of an extra day’s rest. You say it doesn’t matter? Read the sports pages on Monday and get back to me. Anyway, it’s a shame that the combatants in this match have won just one premiership each and have to face each other in a sudden death game leaving one of them still having only one premiership to their name. Look, I don’t want to diminish the Western Bulldogs and the effort they have put in to get this far but let’s face it, their opposition, St Kilda, has lost only two games this year. The Saints are a team about 5 games better than most of these sides and it would be an injustice to see them bundled out in a prelim. The Bulldogs will fight this out to the bitter end but for them it will be just that – bitter. It’s the Saints for me.

St Kilda by 26

Geelong V Collingwood MCG Saturday Night

As a Magpies supporter I am ever hopeful that the Pies can win this one against the Cats but reality is that Geelong, like St Kilda, is head and shoulders above teams placed 3rd to 16th on the 2009 season ladder. It’s true that Collingwood has a reasonable chance to win the game but as a Collingwood supporter I would not like to see them face the Saints in another grand final, one they would lose. Will Pendlebury really play? Gee, it’s not like Mick to take chances like that on injured players and it would be some sort of record to see a player return to the highest level of competition after breaking his leg just two weeks ago. Best scenario for the Pies? Bulldogs beat the Saints and face Collingwood in the Grand Final. My credit card would be out to go and see that one. Reality s**ks. It could be another tantalisingly close game to watch and the Magpie win against the Crows last week was one of the great football moments of 2009. But it’s over for Collingwood and the Cats will get that chance to fulfil their destiny as one of the great teams of the decade.

Geelong by 19