AFL SEASON 2007
Welcome tipsters to what will be a great AFL season no doubt, with or without Ben Cousins. That quiet hiatus between seasons came to an abrupt end with the revelation about just how high the Eagles are flying sometimes and was followed by a heap of finger-pointing by just about everyone with a digit at the ineptitude of the AFL hierarchy in trying to put a stop to the amount of drugs infiltrating our wonderful game. Back in my playing days the game of footy was drug enough and you could get high on a good whiff of liniment in the change rooms and if you had a bit of daring you could follow up with a puff of a smuggled in weed of marijuana after the game and when you were so full of alcohol it wasn’t going to make any difference anyway. Times have changed. I couldn’t play very well with a belly full of booze and it’s hard to work out how players at the level of fitness they achieve these days can play with their systems full of amphetamines or coke or marijuana or whatever it is they take under the heading of “recreational” drugs.
Then there was that betting scandal. Remember those stories about some of the Australian cricketers who used to bet on the horses during games and the results used to be posted on the scoreboards? Simon Goodwin may have had a problem but what about the young bloke from Melbourne with his $10 bet? Fairdinkum. In the meantime the AFL ignores its drug problem while it chases footballers making $1 bets in the TAB. I bet Demetriou doesn’t take a pay cut this year?
The really great news of the season I thought was the success of Foxtel in securing 4 live games every weekend. When talks had resulted in Foxtel walking away from footy telecasts altogether I was in the depths of despair wondering how I could get rid of a big black dish on my roof and a load of cable and electronic boxes from the lounge. Sanity, and a fistful of Foxtel dollars prevailed and my football viewing will be a joy and commercial free. As Bruce MCAvaney would say: “It’s sspeeccial!”
No doubt you have all entered your footy tipping competitions across the nation and this first week always offers a challenge to even the most astute football expert. The new young blood in the teams are all eager to make their mark and early in the season their bodies can take a pounding. It gets a whole lot harder as the season progresses. This makes tipping winners over the first few rounds more difficult and some lucky picks early on can give tipsters a handy break. But, footy’s a funny game and we can look forward to a season full of upsets that will no doubt defy explanation. A good example is Carlton winning the pre-season competition again. We all know what that means for them so tipsters will need to be on their toes to pick just which 5 games the Blues will win this year!!
Enough of the dribble! I’m sure you have all been reading the AFL news during the break so I won’t bore you by repeating dramas, disasters, drop outs and deals that occurred within the 16 AFL teams. Good luck to you all in your quest for tipping excellence and to strive for the dubious honour of being the champion tipster on your dung heap for the 2007 season. It will take about 125 correct selections over the 176 games to win that trophy.
Melbourne V St Kilda Friday Night at the MCG
Riewoldt out for the Saints and Demon Neitz getting old and the Saints with a new coach. Hmmm. Matthew Clarke from Adelaide is the Saints’ answer to their rucking problems. What’s missing? Eddie Maguire doing the commentating will be sadly missed from Friday night football especially when Colingwood play. Thank heavens we got Dennis Cometti back and that should take the edge off having to listen to Bruce and his unctious commentary. Back to the footy. For the opening match of the season this should be a great game as we can expect both of these teams to figure in the finals. Teams usually win for their new coach but that’s only the case when there has been a mid season sacking so this will be a tough introduction for Ross Lyon into the big league of coaching. If he has a new game plan it will be interesting to see how the Saints players make it work. Without Reiwoldt it’s a big ask and in fact too big. Have to go for the Dees in this one but it will be close for most of the game.
Melbourne by 19
Kangaroos V Collingwood at the MCG Saturday Arvo
The Pies have lost Tarrant but fear not they have replaced him with Medhurst from the Dockers!! Sheesh! Fortunately the Kangaroos have lost Thompson but those Shinboners are still a hard team to toss. Maybe Laidley can recall Sav Rocca from the Pittsburgh Steelers or whichever team Sav is punting for in the NFL to help them kick some goals. Or how about Carey makes a comeback to centre half forward? They can pay him with complimentary tickets to the local spa baths and Wayne and Dean (sounds like a band from the 60’s) can sit together and talk about the grand old times at the Kangaroos. Collingwood are without the mighty Buckley as well but one would think that their overall strength and experience across the ground should be good enough to get them over the line in what will also be a tight game in the early quarters. Collingwood with a fit and fast forward line could run amuck so it’s the Pies as the tip in this match.
Collingwood by 33
Fremantle V Port Adelaide at Subiaco Saturday arvo
Going by the local press Freo should win this by over 100 points and set up the season that will give them the premiership. Every player is a champion and with the inclusion of Tarrant and Solomon the Dorks will be unbeatable. Some pre-season indiscretions by Farmer, Johnson and Carr have left them with a few big holes to fill and Port Adelaide doesn’t mind a bit of rough stuff either. Should be a good game played in fairly warm conditions and Freo has the opportunity to make Subi a graveyard for opposition teams just as the Eagles have. The Dockers have developed a bit of depth over the past couple of seasons so they should be able to cover the player losses. In Farmer’s case they can just pretend he was playing but having a bad day and they can do that fpr 6 weeks no worries. The Power doesn’t look too bad on paper but they would have been a lot better with Tredrea’s name appearing. Let’s hope the purple haze can handle a close game but they should walk away happier that Freo can start the season with a win.
Fremantle by 11
Brisbane Lions V Hawthorn at the Gabba Saturday night
I saw both these teams play pre-season and I didn’t see anything that would make me say something hopeful to supporters of either club. Brisbane will win a few and they’ll lose a few but they won’t win enough to make the eight. Ditto for Hawthorn who are still a couple of seasons away from being a threat to the stronger teams, except, of course, on their day. Jonathon Brown looms in the Brisbane forward line but Bradshaw copped a knee injury which has finished his season before it started. The Hawks have named Franklin at centre half forward and Roughead at full forward but I doubt that they will line up like that. Both teams have good runners and Black versus Hodge should be good footy viewing for those that appreciate skills. As a tipster you will have to be attracted to the home ground advantage and hopefully that’s enough to get the Lions over the line in what should be a close game as well.
Brisbane by 12
Sydney V West Coast at Telstra Stadium Saturday night
The grand final replay and it should be a cracker. West Coast have lost Cousins as we all know in headlines larger than the proclamation of World War 2, Fletcher has cast a plate and Embley is still suffering after being hit by Daniel Chick in a friendly fight they had over Cuz or his girlfriend or some left over drugs or something. But one thing is for sure the Eagles have depth and replacements have been readily found to fill the vacant positions admirably. Maybe Kerr can take on some more responsibility rather than pinching the gloves, shorts and jumpers from fellow team members to send to mates in goal. Who knows? The Swans look a little better with Spider Everitt filling the ruck position for them so Dean Cox and Mark Seaby will know they’re in for a tough encounter. Sydney’s blanketing style of game won’t worry the Eagles and when you look at the line ups West Coast do look a little more potent up forward except for Barry Hall, Nick Davis, Michael O’Loughlin and Adam Goodes for Sydney!! Just how disruptive have these widely reported drug events affected the premiership team? How much does Sydney want to get back at the Eagles after the one point loss in last year’s grand final? Fletcher, Embley and Cousins account for about 90 possessions a game and that will be difficult for any team to cover. In fact – too hard.
Sydney by 17
Adelaide V Essendon at AMI Stadium Sunday early afternoon
So the AAMI stadium is sold out for the big game? Big deal! The Crows have more members than can be seated at the stadium so future headlines should be stating “8 spare seats at AAMI for this week’s match!” Adelaide was the big favourite for the flag last year and one would have thought that they would make the grand final. Some inopportune injuries at the latter end of the season to good players certainly cost them dearly. I bet Goodwin plays this week! Oops! Not allowed to bet Simon. Still, I bet Riscuitto doesn’t play. Essendon have the services of their captain and number one goalkicker back after almost a whole season away and Lloyd will be raring to get some games and goals under his belt this year. It will make a big difference to the Bombers as they lost a few close ones last year that they may have won if Lloyd had been on the field. Mal Michael lines up for his new team in the back line and one wonders whether he will replace Dustin Fletcher in that position. Sheedy has opted to put two young kids in Davey and Jetta in the forward pocket which could provide a bit of excitement for Essendon fans. I hope Hird goes the season and he has a great year. It’s a big ask for them to beat the Crows at AAMI so I won’t.
Adelaide by 28
Western Bulldogs V Geelong at Telstra Dome Sunday arvo
A Bulldogs team with the inclusion of Darcy, Akermanis and Murphy should be too good for a Cats team that promised so much but delivered so little particularly last year. The Bullies are getting better every year and some of their young guns like Cooney and Ray are real first class contributors. Geelong was mediocre last year and the tip is that they will be pretty much the same this year. The Bulldogs will not help change the sour looks of Bomber Thomson in the first week of AFL footy and it sure won’t help the disposition of all the Cats supporters who will not only have to see their team lose but will also have to make the long trip up the highway to see them do it. Will Cameron Mooney get reported first week? Will Matthew Scarlett head b*tt the opposition full forward to keep in practice for another night out with his mates? Will Brad Ottens play more than 2 quarters of football in any given game? Will the Ford motor company keep sponsoring pussycats? All these questions and many more will be answered in the 2007 season. The most important one though is – will Geelong beat the Bulldogs at Telstra? No.
Bulldogs by 42
Carlton V Richmond at the MCG Sunday night
There is a god in heaven and he’s in charge of fixturing this season. A normally boring Sunday night has been filled with a game of AFL footy. Shame it’s between these two teams as the level of interest may not be strong enough to keep me from flicking to the Comedy channel or National Geographic. Carlton are broke so they made sure they put their best side on the field in the pre-season to win the money in order to keep the social club open for drinks during and after the game. That same team will be lucky to win more than a handful of games this season and why would I turn to the comedy channel when I can listen to Carlton people talk about making the finals this year. Richmond on the other hand may have improved enough to give it a better crack than last year but I see the Tigers as a finals proposition in 2009. In this instance though Richmond will be good enough to inflict the first of many defeats on Carlton for season 2007.
Richmond by 31
Article last changed on Friday, March 30, 2007 - 3:26 PM EDT
