Darren Jolly

by Lisa Albergo reporting from Chicago

Jobe Watson played his 143rd game in Round 11, putting him and his father Tim in eighth place on the league list of father-son combinations. Tim Watson played 307 games for the Bombers and is currently the co-host of Morning Glory on SEN Radio. The father-son combination leaders are Fletcher, 621 games (Ken, 264 and Dustin, 357 through Round 11) and Tuck, 577 games (Michael, 426 and Shane, 151 through Round 11).

With both teams coming off first round losses, the Round 2 clash between Collingwood and Richmond was destined to be a desperate affair with the combatants striving to avoid the dreaded 0-2 start to season 2012. Collingwood was heavily favored by the bookmakers due to their impeccable regular season record of the past few years while the Tigers have rarely troubled any of the League pacesetters in recent times.

Between the end of the NAB Cup series and the start of Round One on March 24, the AFL held the season launch in Sydney. In between the festivities, League officials met with club captains and coaches to discuss the new rules which were tried out in the preseason. One rule which was high on the agenda was the two substitute-two interchange player rule.

Collingwood and West Coast have played each other in three Finals over recent years. Each game has been a closely fought affair, including one draw. This was Allan Didak’s 200th game and while most were expecting the Pies to win, the encounter didn’t go entirely to plan.

Collingwood ruckman Darren Jolly joins an elite list of players who have played in winning Grand Final teams with two different clubs.

Both Collingwood and St Kilda have made minimal changes to the teams which will line up for the Grand Final replay. One good news story is Saint Ben McEvoy, who played 18 games this season as a back up ruckman to Michael Gardiner.